Yep. It is Grand Final weekend. Where all the hopes and dreams of the season are put on the line for the glory of the victory lap.
Saturday sees Port Adelaide up against Geelong in the AFL Grand Final. I admit to apathy regarding the AFL this year so have no idea regarding the footy strengths and weaknesses of either side. However, Geelong seem to be the sentimental favourites being without a flag for 44 years. And that is good enough for me.
Sunday, we have the Melbourne Storm facing off with the Manly Sea Eagles for the NRL premiership. For the NRL fan who is not a supporter of either club, it is a tough decision about who to get behind. For me, I’m going with Manly for the reasons outlined here.
So who do you think is going to win?
Hopefully Melbourne Victory will win.
Hopefully port Adelaide Power will win.
But that is very hopeful.
GO THE STORM!!
Also, LP should in general support the Storm, what with their colour-coordination….
It used to be you went for two teams in the Sydney competition; your team and whoever was playing Manly. That was until the Brisbane Broncos joined the league.
Weather report, 12 noon, east of Melb ~
Overnight 14 mm rain. Currently windy, occasional downpours, thunder, a little hail. Snow forecast down to 900m tonight.
HYPOTHESIS #1 Cats will cope with damp or slippery conditions better that Port Power (we Vics understand there’s been a worse drought in Adelaide than in Melb, and our dry spell has been broken in last 3 months).
HYPOTHESIS # 2 Cats supporters will be dreading the game, much as Collingwood supporters dread every Grand Final appearance. Local AFL fans call that ability to snatch defeat from a 50:50 contest, the “Collywobbles”. It gives pleasure to all Collingwood-haters. These folk seem more numerous than the “Howard-haters”, were that possible.
HYPOTHESIS #3 Many Victorians will support the Cats simply because they are (said to be) Victorians, though many of us believe Victoria finishes just after Werribee, as you head West from Footerscray.
I’d use the same logic to drum up support for the Dockers, but I think the Storm might have a better chance. Being not perennially disappointing and all.
Go the Kitty-cats!!! If they don’t win, I fear the City of Geelong will be a smoking crater come Monday.
Such a tough decision who to support for the AFL final.
Geelong because they knocked out Collingwood.
Port Adelaide because Geelong failed to humiliate Collingwood by enough.
Geelong because it’s been a long wait since 1963.
Port Adelaide because me ex boss was a Geelong supporter and anything that makes him happy is an absolute bad.
Geelong because Port Adelaide are South Australia’s version of Collingwood.
Port Adelaide because I’m opposed to any Victorian team that isn’t Carlton.
Geelong because Gazza’s the most fun to watch in the AFL.
Port Adelaide because I love the speed and skills of the Burgoyne boys.
Geelong because I never want to hear the Port Adelaide song again.
Port Adelaide because I never want to hear the Geelong song again.
etc, etc
So I’ll be the one loudly booing both sides.
“Go the Kitty-cats!!! If they don’t win, I fear the City of Geelong will be a smoking crater come Monday” ~~FDB
And that’s a problem because … ?
Cats and Storm.
I might throw a double on. (Just missed last year!) Good idea. Back in a mo!
“…though many of us believe Victoria finishes just after Werribee, as you head West from Footerscray.”
Nah, once you head east from Mt. Gambier its all Victoria, all the way to the Pacific [South Melbourne Swans, Fitzroy Lions].
Jenny said:
I would add:
Geelong because they gave hope to Collingwood then deprived them by less than a goal.
Also Geelong, because it gives hope to the rest of us following teams who haven’t won a premiership in our lifetime (Go the Demons for 2008!)
You’ll keep. Go the Storm, because they’re almost a Queensland team anyway.
Go Demons in 2008!
A few years ago me little brother was real scared ‘cos Collingwood had reached the Grand Final. I tried to reassure him with, “In order to see Collingwood humiliated in a GF, they must first be IN the GF. This carries a terrible risk, but think of the pleasure that awaits us.”
Not sure he liked it.
Dr Fish
How did you enjoy that last home and away round, when if the Tiges had won, Melbourne and Carlton would’ve played off for the Wooden Spoon? And the Tiges were ahead in their game for a while.
It’s going to be tough but I hope Melbourne Victory can have its first win against Queensland Roar tonight.
Oh…yes…sorry
Geelong
Manly
Queensland Roar????
WTF sort of name is that? I thought Glory was stupid.
Even Tommy Raudonikus has thrown his support Manly way, albeit with begrudgingly.
If you going to have a flutter, Manly is still paying around $2.70 which is a great price.
Sorry to intrude triviality into a serious topic but Tommy Raudonikus [whoever he is] has thrown his support the way of more than Manly [I thought that was a beach?].
He is a voice on an ALP radio ad, to be run finals day, noting the huge spending of the Coalition disguised as government information ads..
Also Crackers Keenan [now him I know] doing the same.
FC to pump three past the Jets on saturday, Juninho to have a hand in all of them.
Jardel to come off at halftime and not to return until Jets hit 8th place.
Doesn’t Rupert Murdoch own the Storm. On that grounds alone I’ll be supporting Manly (unless someone tells me he owns them as well).
And in real football news, there are three good reasons to support Geelong:
1) 44 years without a premiership (and getting so close), they deserve a break.
2) They play a truly beautiful brand of football
3) There are more marginal seats in South Australia than Victoria. The wave of euphoria generated by a Port victory would be more valuable to Howard than that generated by Geelong winning.
Yep. New Limited does have an interest in the Storm. A remnant of the Super League days.
hannah’s dad, Tommy Raudonikus is a league legend. As tough as nails and a fierce competitor.
Congrats to Melbourne! The Storm were simply amazing tonight. Manly turned up for the first 10 minutes and then went missing. They were never in the match once the Storm got going.
The Storm will be hard to beat for next year’s title given they will have much the same squad.
Another 6 months without the footy. At least we have cricket.
I read that at first as saying hannah’s dad WAS tommy R… I thought REALLY?! See you never can predict….
But then i realised. Very disappointed.
razor was on the money. did you get your bet on?
http://larvatusprodeo.net/2007/09/28/tis-that-time-of-year/#comment-407471
two forgettable games, except for the winners supporters. i was v. happy to see the cats win finally, but the maggots were crap as usual, and not that it would have effected the outcome at all, but soft in favour of the cats.
port mightn’t make the eight next year after that fully embarrassing display. were geelong that good? or were port just total shit – it’s hard to tell in record margin floggings.
and as for tonights…
melbourne playing for the pride of their jumper (groan) ……but whatever…. that news ltd scum can really play very very, good footy.
crocker however, should have been sent off. since when is decapitating the opposition not even reported by the ref?
manly put on a better show than port – but only just.
for die-hards, the season never truly ends esp. in the AFL – there is always the draft and trade week and coaching changes to keep the news cycle going – like Matthew Knights is the new Essendon coach….like WTF?…..
Geelong’s success lay in the discovery of a method to beat the flood.
The key is precision transition of the ball just behind the centre, a spectacular but not particularly difficult task given the amount of space in the fattest part of the ground.
This disposal opens up options, which have to be called by someone smart, in this case by Geelong Captain Tom Harley.
But once the right option is called for the direction and depth of entry into the Geelong forward line, the opposition defence is simply overwhelmed by the options it must cover.
This playing style represents the next evolution of the greatest and most dynamic game ever conceived of by human intelligence.
Nothing is surer: another coach will find a way to stop this. Malthouse’s Collingwood tactic of turning every contest into a dogfight is one way, but incredibly sapping of energy if it must be relied upon week after week.
But in the meantime, well done Geelong.
As a league-AFL bandwagoner, let it be known that this was the “Meh”-est finals series ever.
Geez, you’re hard to please Leinad.
Port beat WCE on the last kick of the game.
Collingwood beat WCE in overtime.
Geelong scraped in against Collingwood in perhaps the most intense game of footy for a decade.
Bit of a shame to have the real GF in the semis – Port were never going to figure. Only beating a lacklustre and understrength WCE by a whisker was a big warning sign. Plus as someone said upthread, the more disappointed the Pies are the better – if it can’t be the wooden spoon, runner-up is next best.
Katz: eh, the West Coke Eagles (as FDB has just pointed out) had been flagging – not every close game is neccesarily a good one to watch. Collingwood-Geelong I’ll give you, but otherwise this was the story of the minor Premiers of both codes crushing all before them. For anyone but their respective fans it was a big yawn.
re the NRL GF, while far from the best grand final, it wasn’t a bad game and the first half was quite intense. But you did have the impression that Manly were gone by half time.
The hit by Crocker (which was legal) on Stewart was the moment when Manly surrendered. Cross’ raking his hand across Stewart’s face was a low act.
not so cut & dried shaun,
i thought it was a low act, and if you really are a champion team – you shouldn’t need a thug like crocker to win the premiership.
Back to the AFL – was it any surprise that scarlett wasn’t given the norm smith. this overlooking of backmen for any gong is a joke.
True, Jo.
How goddamned impenetrable was the GFC’s backline? And instead of flooding back, they basically flooded the centre square and rarely let the ball get more than a kick away from their forward fifty. Pretty impressive, although Port should have gone for a Pies-style man-on-man smash-and-grab game from midway through the second quarter.
RIP Chris Mainwaring.
A bit of a dick, to be sure, but a great footy player. Another victim of the WCE’s toxic culture?
scarlett was still running in and punching the ball 45 metres, when they were 119 ahead, and one minute to go.
absolutely FDB, port didnt change their game at all – how many times were they chased down and caught with the ball?
the pies play alot like sydney 05/06 in the man-on-man and tackling dept- but as katz pointed out – it’s hard to do it – week in week out, i wasnt surprised the swans ran out of petrol this year after 3 years on the job. would’ve been easier if barry frigging hall could mark and kick a goal more than once a game, of course.
RIP Chris.
a great weagle.
what’s with the “no suspicious circumstances”….as they are roping off his house, DOA at 41 y.o after yelling in the street an hour earlier? nothing to see here folks, move along…..
and you’re right FDB – like adelaide is the weird murder capital, perth is the toxic footy capital…always more extreme and more bizarre.
I’m no fan of Crocker jo but he has escaped attention of the judiciary.