Round 9 preview

This is a bit of a different way of doing things but I still am giving you my tips.

• Collingwood vs Geelong (MCG) Friday night. I am tipping Collingwood by 3 points. I wanted to tip a draw as I really couldn't decide on this game. I ruled with my head rather than my heart but I wouldn't be surprised who would win this game. Looking forward to watching this game.
• North Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs (Etihad Stadium) Saturday Afternoon. I am tipping the Dogs by 31 points. I feel as if they have more man power at this stage to take this game but when North get players back then they will have more of a run then.
• Sydney vs Fremantle (SCG) Saturday afternoon. The Dockers haven't won at the SCG and that's why I am tipping them in an upset by 8 points. They have broken one hoodoo this year and this is going to be the time that they are going to beat the Swans at the SCG.
• Essendon vs Richmond (MCG) Saturday Night. Essendon should win this one by 44 points. Richmond did play with more intent but with Dream time at the G being showcased, the Bombers will want to impress more.
• Melbourne vs Port Adelaide (TIO) Saturday Night. Port Adelaide to win by 38 points. Melbourne will play better but Port have played in Darwin and Melbourne haven't so that's why they will win.
• Adelaide vs Brisbane (AAMI) Sunday. Adelaide will win by 10 points. I feel as if with whatever the Crows have been through and the homeground advantage they will take this game. Brisbane need the win as well but the Crows will prevail.
• Carlton vs Hawthorn (Etihad Stadium) Sunday. Carlton to win this by 22 points. Hawthorn do need this game but Carlton are playing better footy at the moment and will win this game.
• West Coast vs St Kilda (Subiaco) Sunday. West Coast to win by 13 points. West Coast have played better footy as of late than St Kilda so that's why I reckon they will win. St Kilda should rock the boat a bit but won't overtake the Eagles at home.

So a few tips against the grain let's see how I go.

More to follow....

Ok let me at em!!

Umpires!!! Need I say anymore? No probably not but I am going to anyway...

This week just gone was Umpire appreciation round. Um since when???? People say we should appreciate the umpires for all they do for the game, ok I have so many problems with that on so many levels!

I must admit it will be a tough gig being an umpire, that would be for sure. But there are so many positions out there that will be much tougher. Realistically people who work long hours are the ones that I appreciate the most. Doctors, nurses, some police officers (and I say some, excluding one in particular but that's a different matter all together), Firemen and women and most importantly the volunteers. The volunteers on many levels of the game are the ones that should be appreciated and not the umpires.

Umpires get paid to do what they do. They have got it good. Hey I would get abuse hurled at me if I was getting paid that much. I got less at one job and still got abuse hurled at me. In a way I am pretty immune to it so for these umpires to not want abuse hurled at them well boo hoo! Get used to it it comes with the territory you goonbags!

Umpires need to earn the right to be appreciated. There have been to many times when they have made many blunders, and I mean many. I applauded the AFL (yes don't get used to it) when they dropped Scott McLaren for that rushed behind incident. Whether it was rushed or not is not the point here but the fact that the AFL had some balls (which I was wondering whether they owned any) to say that bad decisions will not be condoned. The AFL needs to do this more to make sure that the right decisions are made. You can't get them all right I must admit that but surely the most obvious ones need to be picked up and if you have umpires constantly making mistakes, then you can truly understand how for me "Umpire appreciation" week is an absolute joke.

The AFL needs to constantly review decisions made because at the end of the day, the reason why umpires are getting abused at is not because it's fun for supporters but because they suck at making decisions! If you don't want to be booed at or cop abuse from footballers, then do the job that you get paid for. Hmm maybe I should be an umpire? I would do a better job that some of these bozos!

An appology

For not getting my tips across to you, ran out of time. I will do better this week I promise!! Here are my tips with how I went, kind of a two for one thing.

• Collingwood by 36 points. I tipped Collingwood to win by 14 points. Collingwood look impressive and now we are looking at Friday night where they play the Cats at the MCG in a top of the ladder clash.
• Western Bulldogs by 38 points. I had Sydney to win by 6 points. A bit out there. Disappointed with the Swans in this game really thought they would win. The Dogs were impressive with Barry Hall turning it up against his old side.
• West Coast by 29 points. More of a surprise than anything. I had Melbourne to win by 21 points. So the game was a complete turnaround.
• Geelong by 81 points. Another surprise in a way. I had Geelong to win by 16 points. More surprised with the margin but I was impressed with how the Cats played. If Collingwood wasn't playing as good as they have been then you would say that the Cats are premiership favourites but the Pies are for me.
• North Melbourne by 9 points. I had North to win by 3 points, so I wasn't too far out. North were impressive but the last quarter when the Crows got into the game and just lost I know if I was a North Supporter I would be disappointed with that fact.
• Hawthorn by 3 points. I had Hawthorn by 34 points. Richmond played well and to me should have won the game if it hadn't been for some idiotic umpires. See the next post I will tell you what I think. Hawthorn were disappointing even though they won.
• Carlton by 26 points. I tipped Carlton to win by 22 points. Not too far out. Carlton have been playing well over the past month. How far can they go?
• Essendon by 12 points. I tipped St Kilda by 1 point. I thought it was going to be close and to the Bombers credit they outplayed the Saints.

Well 5 out of 8 seemed to be the norm. Let's see how I go next week

More to follow...

Getting there...

Alright my tips were ok but they could have been better. Ah well there is always next week.

• Western Bulldogs by 4 points. Melbourne played well and probably should have won the game if it hadn't been for a gay umpire...oh nah he was wearing pink so very close. Also a couple of 50/50 decisions that could of gone the Dees way. But a well deserving win to Western Bulldogs who did what was done to them a week before.
• Port Adelaide by 3 points. What a game! This game wasn't boring at all and at one stage I thought Essendon were going to win. But what a goal from Daniel Motlop! It stole the game for the Power.
• West Coast by 8 points. An up and down game by the sounds of things and Hawthorn could have challenged the Eagles more. Having said that the Eagles really should have put Hawthorn away. Handy win for the Eagles and the Hawks have a lot of work to do to even make finals.
• Collingwood by 66 points. The Pies are looking good and made North look inferior. Do they deserve to premiership favourites? In my opinion they should be up there.
• Fremantle by 13 points. Very good win by the Dockers considering they hadn't won at the Gabba. The Lions challenged them but they held onto win.
• Geelong by 67 points. Surprised the Cats won by over ten goals considering the Swans are on top of the Ladder and have always played well at Skilled Stadium. Shows how good the Cats are down there.
• Adelaide by 50 points. Richmond challenged the Crows for three quarters and I thought we could have an upset but the Crows responded and kicked away to a 50 point win. Was impressed with the Tigers who are closer to a win now I think.
• Carlton by 61 points. Great effort by the Blues who put pressure on the Saints from go to wo and the result speaks for itself. Are the Saints lost without Riewoldt or was that just a bad performance? Or was it just that Carlton were just too good on the night? I think it was a bit of all really.

Well that's all for this round. NEXT!

Round 7 Preview

Here we go. Round 7 already? Who would have thought. And now let's look at these in a little more focus:

Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs (MCG) Friday Night.
Rather interesting prospect this game. Both teams last round lost games that people thought they would win. If this game was at Etihad Stadium then the Dogs would have the advantage but being at the MCG it sways things back in the Dees favour. In this case though, because of how both teams are going this year, that being a mixed bag start to the year, it's kind of hard to guage what's going to happen in this game. If Melbourne can us the space of the MCG then that's the key here. The Dogs will have to play like they do at Etihad Stadium to really dominate this game. I just feel that the Dogs have more leg speed regardless of the fact that this game is at the MCG or not. Dogs to win by 26 points.

Essendon vs Port Adelaide (Etihad Stadium) Saturday.
Hmm. Another tough game to tip. Both teams have had an up and down year and have come off wins last week. Being at Etihad Stadium it means that this is not real advantage to either side. After all, the Bombers lost to Fremantle by 44 points there, so anything can happen. Port on the otherhand can play well away from home but can also be too inconsistent. Who do you tip? Essendon had a very good win against Hawthorn and that's the way they should play if they are going to dominate Port, otherwise Port will dominate them. I do believe a home ground advantage will give Essendon a light edge and they will win by 9 points.

West Coast vs Hawthorn (Subiaco) Saturday.
Oww. All the sudden this game is ultra important, with both teams only having one win, the loser will be in a tough spot for the rest of the year. Being at Subiaco means the Eagles will have an advantage there. However the Hawks do need a win and should have put in a better effort last week, so they will be eager to play way better footy. Man who do you pick? After a lot of thinking I do believe that because of what pressure the Hawks have been in through the week and with the re-signing of Franklin, Roughead and Mitchell they will win by 12 points.

Collingwood vs North Melbourne (MCG) Saturday Night.
Clearly, the Pies are playing the best footy out of these two teams at the moment, but don't underestimate North Melbourne. The Pies at the moment will be right up there in the premiership race. Their win against Carlton was mightyly impressive. It's the same with North Melbourne they are doing well considering not a lot of people predicted them to do so. So that's where this game is not as people think an easy one to tip. North Melbourne will play well but Collingwood will kick away and win by 46 points but not after it being tight early.

Brisbane vs Fremantle (Gabba) Saturday Night.
Looking forward to watching this game. Brisbane have done ok but are yet to really kick into geat. Fremantle on the otherhand look really good and have more consistency in their game. This game is at the Gabba where the Lions are consistent and considering they didn't disgrace themselves last week against Sydney. Fremantle are playing more fast paced exciting games and could really take this game on at the Gabba. So there is a bit of dilemma on who to tip there. I am in this case going for a semi upset and tip Fremantle by 4 points. The loss will kick Brisbane into gear.

Geelong vs Sydney (Skilled Stadium) Sunday.
The Swans go into this game being on top of the ladder with winning five in a row. The Cats are going into this game with not as good record but with a rather impressive 108 point win over Richmond. Geelong have an awesome record at Skilled Stadium but they are up against a quality opposition in the Sydney Swans. I am excited about going to the Cattery to watch this one and could there be an upset here? I am liking the Swans style of play. They have added players to their list that really compliments the previous list. Geelong have strengths in particular with Ablett and Scarlett coming back into the side. Who do you tip? The main difference here will be the home ground advantage and that's why the Cats will win by 33 points. But this is a danger game for both sides.

Adelaide vs Richmond (AAMI Stadium) Sunday.
The battle of 15th vs 16th. This game last year would have had Adelaide as being sure favourites. This time however means that one team will be winless after this round and that there is no front runner. I belive that Richmond will want to play with more effort and intent after last week's shocking performance against Geelong. Adelaide need to win as well as they are surprisingly bad at the moment, they have more pride than the performances that they have been displaying. I am tipping the Crows by 2 points in a nail bitter but Richmond will be more closer to a win.

St Kilda vs Carlton (Etihad Stadium) Monday Night.
This was another tough game to tip. St Kilda played a rather interesting style of footy last week which saw them pip the Dogs at the post by 3 points. Carlton on the otherhand played ok but still got blown away at the hands (and feet)of Collingwood. So you can see a dilemma here. St Kilda have no Riewoldt who was the main difference last time these two teams met last year. I don't believe however that Riewoldt is the St Kilda Footy Club and that they will win enough games without him. This will be a more fast paced gameand if the Blues play this way then they will dictate terms. If St Kilda play the way they did last week then they will win. I however think that St Kilda will win this one in a tight one by 18 points.

Well that's my tips for round 7. Let's see how I go.

More to follow....

I must admit...

This tipping thing is hard to do. Well here are the results from round 6.

• St Kilda by 3 points. This was such a low scoring game which got people saying just what a tough and boring game. But anything with a dramatic finish I call exciting don't know about you guys.
• North Melbourne by 26 points. Melbourne were flat and North were good, could have been better if they kicked straight. But having said that a much needed win for North.
• Port Adelaide by 23 points. Adelaide can buy a win at the moment, but they do play Richmond who don't have a win either and unless it's a draw one team will have a win.
• Essendon by 43 points. Essendon were good considering how they performed on ANZAC Day. Hawthorn have a lot of work to do if they are going to keep themselves away from the bottom of the ladder.
• Sydney by 20 points. Good game. The intensity was up and each team ran a lot created play but Sydney with their home ground advantage had just that advantage.
• Geelong by 108 points. Geelong were awesome even without Ablett and others and Richmond's season is getting worse and worse.
• Collingwood by 53 points. Collingwood looks really good best they have been for a while and could be a good challenger in September. Carlton were not disgraced and they were just up against a better opposition.
• Fremantle by 38 points.In the Western Derby this was a tight game until Fremantle blew it away.

Well that's round 6 done and dusted, round 7 is yet to come!

More to follow...