AFL 2019
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AFL season kicks off tomorrow with the traditional sacrifice of Carlton to ensure a bountiful harvest.
Before a ball is kicked in anger, the rankings look like:
Collingwood, Melbourne, Richmond, West Coast, and Adelaide in the premiership hunt
GWS, Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney, and maybe even North aiming for finals.
Freo, Brisbane, Port probably not good enough for finals, but aiming for the 10 win mark
Carlton, St Kilda, Gold Coast and the Bulldogs to make up the bottom 4.Of course, the last 3 seasons have proven that preseason predictions mean fuck all, none of the last 3 premiers were expected in March.
I am worried about the level of expectation being piled on the Lions. There are more than a few picking them to tip over the Premiers in Round 1. That has all the hallmarks of a disappointing 6-goal loss written all over it. Losing Beams is going to hurt, no matter who we have got in the door. That said, anything less than 10 wins would be seen as a disappointment this year.
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Get on the Tigers train early peeps.
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Seems to be a trend recently , a team comes from nowhere to be a top contender , that no one picks pre season ,
In consecutive years we had the Dogs ,Tigers , Pies ( didnt win but went close ) ,
Be interesting to see if we get a side coming from nowhere again ,
I wouldnt be surprised to see a side like Port right up there ,
Tigers unleash Tom Lynch tomorrow night , im expecting to win but Carlton to be far more competitive than in recent years , their pre season form was pretty good ,their recruiting has been good, they look to be turning a corner .
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AFL tipping hack
I ran a tipping experiment in 4 mates tipping comp. Winner gets a carton from the other 3. It won't be a startling revelation but I simply and exclusively went by the tab odds on each Thursday for every game.
Pissed it in. 3 cartons before round 21 basically. Might be more of an indictment on the 3 mates though
However, by Christ it was soul destroyingly boring and I felt dirty, but there you go.
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Collingwood, Melbourne, Richmond, West Coast, and Adelaide in the premiership hunt
Wht do I get Warrior type vibes? ... this is our year ...
AFL tipping hack
I ran a tipping experiment in 4 mates tipping comp. Winner gets a carton from the other 3. It won't be a startling revelation but I simply and exclusively went by the tab odds on each Thursday for every game.
Pissed it in. 3 cartons before round 21 basically. Might be more of an indictment on the 3 mates though
However, by Christ it was soul destroyingly boring and I felt dirty, but there you go.
Why?
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@booboo there was no ummming and ahhing for each pick. It was all robotic. No gut feelings. It didn't seem like a battle of wits with the other blokes. It felt like, "its not if you win or lose, but how you play the game" 😀
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You have to be impressed with the crowds they get for the AFL, Richmond off to a flyer with 4 goals. Whilst I am not a major fan of the game I have been to a few live and had a great time. Lots of scoring keeps the crowd entertained.
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Richmond win by 5 goals. Carlton gave them a nudge after quarter time, but faded. That's been the story of the fixture the last couple of years, but carlton looked alright this year, their ball movement was good. Richmond looked like a good team doing enough to win the first game.
Only story being talked about is Alex Rance has probably done his ACL and is therefore done for the year.
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Richmond went to sleep for the middle two quarters and Carlton looked good going straight through the middle. Hopefully it's not an ACL for Rance
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Rance gone by the looks of things ,
Been regarded as the best defender in the league for some time , 5 times consecutive AA ,
Massive loss
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@kiwiinmelb especially with the 6-6-6 rule making key position players even more important.
The commentator narrative was pretty obvious last night. A huge amount about how Carlton are the better team (after quarter time) and how good they are. Yet every time they got close the Tigers kicked a goal and kept them at arms length.
Ah the Ch7 commentary team, Bruce asking questions for two hours, while they congratulate themselves on how great their call is. Appalling work.
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Ah the Ch7 commentary team, Bruce asking questions for two hours, while they congratulate themselves on how great their call is. Appalling work.
One of the few times I'm happy I have a commentary team that includes Ed.
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@antipodean said in AFL 2019:
@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Ah the Ch7 commentary team, Bruce asking questions for two hours, while they congratulate themselves on how great their call is. Appalling work.
One of the few times I'm happy I have a commentary team that includes Ed.
i watched on Foxtel, and you still get the Ch7 guys except at the breaks.
Surprised Bruce isn't saving all his energy for his Winx wank-fest on Saturday. Only two more times Bruce...
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@mariner4life I've long realised there's no such thing as karma. For decades I've waited for McAvaney to die a slow painful in a horrific accident as payback for his commentary on sport. And the passengers in the same vehicle would be the people who keep hiring him.
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@antipodean i don't hate on Bruce, he's passionate and knowledgeable across a wide number of sports. As a presenter i just feel he's top draw, don't you reckon?
I actually quite like him doing Ch7 racing (except the whole Winx thing is actually a little weird).
But his commentary is fucking annoying.
That said, i would take 8 hours of him a day, 365 days straight, over 10 minutes of Hamish McLachlan
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Confirmed ACL rupture for Rance. Shit news for him.
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my fondest memories of Rance goes back to when we were shit ,
And he would almost single handedly keep us in games that we probably didnt deserve to be in with his mopping up at the back , wouldnt only beat his direct opponent , he would peel off and intercept the ball entering the forward line from all directions ,
Massive loss for us , one of those guys you simply cant replace .
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We beat the premiers by 7 goals!!!
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so far the 666 rule which was supposed to reduce congestion and open the game up , has resulted in lower scoring games
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Crows = Warriors
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Except for Richmond getting the bye has every game been an upset?
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Except for Richmond getting the bye has every game been an upset?
I was upset about Rance's injury.
But s far my AFL tipping is doing as well as my Super Rugby...
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Saints v Suns was a ripper, Saints get up by a point.
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Couple of teams back to the drawing board this week
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Crows = Warriors
Nah. The Warriors have at least won a game.
Not a bad first round.
Geelong coming back to beat the Pies, Brissy with a 70+ point turnaround to win big against Premiers, Bombers and North getting smashed, Bulldogs with an upset win and of course the Saints getting the win in a thriller.
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Before a ball is kicked in anger, the rankings look like:
Collingwood, Melbourne, Richmond, West Coast, and Adelaide in the premiership hunt ONLY 1 OF THESE TEAMS WON
GWS, Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney, and maybe even North aiming for finals. 3 WINNERS, TWO GOT ABSOLUTELY BELTED
Freo, Brisbane, Port probably not good enough for finals, but aiming for the 10 win mark ALL 3 HAD BIG WINS
Carlton, St Kilda, Gold Coast and the Bulldogs to make up the bottom 4. TWO WINS AND THE OTHER TWO NOT DISCRACED
Of course, the last 3 seasons have proven that preseason predictions mean fuck all, none of the last 3 premiers were expected in March.
I am worried about the level of expectation being piled on the Lions. There are more than a few picking them to tip over the Premiers in Round 1. That has all the hallmarks of a disappointing 6-goal loss written all over it. Losing Beams is going to hurt, no matter who we have got in the door. That said, anything less than 10 wins would be seen as a disappointment this year. NO WORRIES -
@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Before a ball is kicked in anger, the rankings look like:
Collingwood, Melbourne, Richmond, West Coast, and Adelaide in the premiership hunt ONLY 1 OF THESE TEAMS WON
GWS, Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney, and maybe even North aiming for finals. 3 WINNERS, TWO GOT ABSOLUTELY BELTED
Freo, Brisbane, Port probably not good enough for finals, but aiming for the 10 win mark ALL 3 HAD BIG WINS
Carlton, St Kilda, Gold Coast and the Bulldogs to make up the bottom 4. TWO WINS AND THE OTHER TWO NOT DISCRACED
Of course, the last 3 seasons have proven that preseason predictions mean fuck all, none of the last 3 premiers were expected in March.
I am worried about the level of expectation being piled on the Lions. There are more than a few picking them to tip over the Premiers in Round 1. That has all the hallmarks of a disappointing 6-goal loss written all over it. Losing Beams is going to hurt, no matter who we have got in the door. That said, anything less than 10 wins would be seen as a disappointment this year. NO WORRIESYep nothing like a good old Round 1 to throw all the pundits predictions into a frenzy
Not sure if Freos form will last but Lions could definetly be a surprise package this season
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I remember after 2 rounds last year , collingwood had lost both games and were being written off ,
They ended up being one kick away from a premiership ,
Just like the NRL, its more of a marathon than a sprint ,
Heaps of twists and turns to go
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@kiwiinmelb said in AFL 2019:
I remember after 2 rounds last year , collingwood had lost both games and were being written off ,
They ended up being one kick away from a premiership ,
Just like the NRL, its more of a marathon than a sprint ,
Heaps of twists and turns to go
yeah, i sort of have this idea that some teams target round 1 for a statement, put a heap of planning and prep in to that one game. While the guys with ambitions in September are focused more long term.
I've watched a replay of the Lions, they were really bloody good. Smashed them in the midfield, forwards created enormous pressure, while the backs were able to get the team out over and over again. Great performance.
I worry we will now be expected to smoke North, and what that does to young heads.
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Interesting stat noted last night. While there was no positive impact on scoring, there was a serious reduction in around the ground stoppages. meaning that the 6-6-6 might be freeing the game up. It certainly looked that way in the games i watched, but it will be interesting to see if we have a meaningful change in June when the weather is shit.
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Interesting stat noted last night. While there was no positive impact on scoring, there was a serious reduction in around the ground stoppages. meaning that the 6-6-6 might be freeing the game up. It certainly looked that way in the games i watched, but it will be interesting to see if we have a meaningful change in June when the weather is shit.
Can you please explain to a simpleton what this 6-6-6 rule is and what it has replaced?
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Interesting stat noted last night. While there was no positive impact on scoring, there was a serious reduction in around the ground stoppages. meaning that the 6-6-6 might be freeing the game up. It certainly looked that way in the games i watched, but it will be interesting to see if we have a meaningful change in June when the weather is shit.
Can you please explain to a simpleton what this 6-6-6 rule is and what it has replaced?
At the restart of play, each team must have:
Six players stationed in each of the 50m arcs and centre square zone, including
- One player inside the goalsquare.
- Four midfielders inside the centre square with the two wingmen stationed along the wing.
The idea is it gives the midfielders more time and space to clear the ball from the bounce. So far the opposite appears to be true - everyone is neatly marked.
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@antipodean Cheers! Where as before you didn't need to be in any particular zone at restart?
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
Interesting stat noted last night. While there was no positive impact on scoring, there was a serious reduction in around the ground stoppages. meaning that the 6-6-6 might be freeing the game up. It certainly looked that way in the games i watched, but it will be interesting to see if we have a meaningful change in June when the weather is shit.
Can you please explain to a simpleton what this 6-6-6 rule is and what it has replaced?
Up until last year, you could pretty much set your team up at a centre bounce how ever the fuck you wanted. Pack the midfield? Throw everyone forward? Throw everyone back? Go for it. It led to midfields being packed with approximately 100 players within 30m of the ball, and AFL games developed in to a set of rolling mauls
SO this year, you need to have 6 in your forward 50, 6 in your back 50, and s6 in the middle, with 2 on the "wings". And the ground has opened up. However strangely it did not reflect that on the scoreboard.
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@antipodean Cheers! Where as before you didn't need to be in any particular zone at restart?
Yeap, you could flood it.
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@mariner4life said in AFL 2019:
@kiwiinmelb said in AFL 2019:
I remember after 2 rounds last year , collingwood had lost both games and were being written off ,
They ended up being one kick away from a premiership ,
Just like the NRL, its more of a marathon than a sprint ,
Heaps of twists and turns to go
yeah, i sort of have this idea that some teams target round 1 for a statement, put a heap of planning and prep in to that one game. While the guys with ambitions in September are focused more long term.
I've watched a replay of the Lions, they were really bloody good. Smashed them in the midfield, forwards created enormous pressure, while the backs were able to get the team out over and over again. Great performance.
I worry we will now be expected to smoke North, and what that does to young heads.
What I’ve noticed with young teams , not sure if it’s mental or physical or a bit of both ,
After a good start they seem to struggle maintaining a high standard for the length of a season, they quite often hit the wall somewhere and then it all falls apart, All part of learning .
When I look at Richmond, their last two seasons were very different , 17 they were just thereabouts, kept in touch with the top 4 , nothing too outstanding, then got on a roll in the last 2 months .
18 they went out of the blocks hard , almost seem triggered by the talk they might suffer a premiership hangover .
Then ran out of gas towards the end , peaked in June , not September. -
Crows = Warriors
Well. That was a better result. Swans not picked for much this year though?
A graphic came up during the last quarter (which was the only bit I watched) that had all the commentary "experts" picking Swans at around 7th-9th.
Same panel all had Crows in the 8, two actually had ghem winning (idiots).
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@booboo Swans are absolutely no chance this year probably even to make the eight, in fact I think they will easily be in the bottom eight.
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Geelong have had a good first 2 weeks. Melbourne not so much. This is a flogging.
Good on the Saints today as well.
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Lions!!
