Afternoon all,

What a round we had, not only in SC leagues but the AFL served up a beauty with a draw (how many were on the bench anyway?), some floggings handed out by a couple of real contenders, some big upsets for sides aspiring to make the 8, and some flop performances from the games superstars.

On to the TS leagues which, like the real stuff, served up an absolute cracker this week and as we get to the business end of the year, wins in leagues this tight are nothing short of gold. To put it in perspective, a team in the Pine Warmers moved up from 12th to 4th in 2 weeks on the back of 2 great wins, and those above him falling at critical times.

The fact of the matter is, both these leagues are wide open and it’s anyone’s game this year.

On that note, I’m thinking of making these leagues inaugural next season (maybe start a third depending on numbers) but obviously would like to go a bit better in the rankings and maybe crack into the top 10 leagues, so I am throwing it out there to those who want to be in one of these leagues next year, drop me a line on this thread and I will file you away for next season (sorry but I cannot post my email publicly).

It will not be a cash league but maybe walsey can dig up some goodies out of his dust gathering prize cabinet. I know there are still 5 rounds left but I thought I would give all an opportunity to get on board. To ensure these leagues remain competitive throughout the season (so there are no teams that get blitzed early then come good, or blitz early and then drop off), players will need to submit their team id (which is the number required to enter the TS Sideways Cup and is shown here in bold – http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/?p=other_teams&tid=87492&lid=1 – please click right here to figure out how to get this number) and hopefully we wont get a league with 15 top 2,000 players and 1 top 20,000.

or click right here to figure out how to get this number

On with the review and we shall start with the Orange Boys who had a very interesting round where ladder positions (last round) 1, 4, 7, 8, 9 all lost opening the 8 right up. Portland Players belted finals hopeful Banana Slugs by 300 points and bottom 3 placed sambeno embarrassed pseudonuts (another finals hopeful) by over 400 points. CJs Legends just got over the line against tommys guns by 67 points setting themselves up for a chance at the top 4 while bottom placed at the time Whispering Blaze caused upset of the round knocking off WesternRoys in a 32 point thriller. HFC-Premiers 2010! got over the line in a tight one against top 4 side The Mob Goes Wild and jumped into the 8 on the back of some results going their way.

Next weeks fixtures prove a crucial one for all, as to be expected 1 week out from finals, but all games will have an impact on the top 8. There are still 2 spots in the 4 open and it comes down to 4 teams: Buzz Boys, Half Time Heroes, CJs Legends & The Mob Goes Wild with the last 3 mentioned playing in top 8 battles this week and Buzz Boys playing against bottom placed The Duds, who have been hot and cold this year. The last couple of spots in the 8 are still open and anyone down to 12th can still make it (although those lower teams must win and need some results to go there way).

The Armchair Athletes are set to take the minor premiership out playing the 2nd bottom placed Whispering Blaze while 7th placed HFC Premiers 2010 must beat guaranteed top 3 finisher Portland Players to stay in the 8. Other big pre-finals battles next week include Banana Slugs(8) vs The Mob Goes Wild(6), WesternRoys(9) vs Half Time Heroes(4), & pseudonuts(10) vs CJs Legends(5). Needless to say, this one’s coming down to the wire!!!

On to the Pine Warmers where this week dished up some classics with Prospectus Boy getting over the line against Year of the Cats by 24 points and setting themselves up for a shot at the finals in a must win game for Knightsee next week against top of the ladder Krunchy Nuts. A win for fcmeh would have moved them from 13th into 7th but alas, they got pipped at line by last minute ring-in Thunder Guns by 14 points, all but sealing their fate to miss out on finals while having the second highest overall score in the league (this loss makes it hard as they are coming up against a top 4 side this week, but they are still a chance pending some other results).

Team LiQuiD kept their finals hope alive with a 200 point win over the steamed hams. Tiger4Life convincingly knocked of ladder leader Krunchy Nuts, and snuck into the 8 in the process setting up a crucial game this week against Year Of The Cats. Life Post-Richo was handed an absolute shellacking by 9/11WasAnInsideJob to the tune of 230 points and securing them a spot in the finals, while making if difficult for LPR to stay up after being top of the summit for a long period earlier in the season.

In a top 3 battle, Jackson Harvey FC smashed Whoknows? by 150 points in a bit of an anti climax game and recent mover and shaker Razors continued their surge up the ladder after flogging bottom placed Snotties to the tune of 200 points and booting up to 4th on ladder after being 12th just 2 weeks ago. Game of the round was without a doubt the 6 point thriller that saw Veni Vidi Vici defeat PowerfromPort to keep them out of the 8, and keep VVV’s finals hopes alive with a relatively easy game coming up this week, and if the results go their way they could sneak into the 8.

Next weeks fixture is poised to be a beauty as all games have a bearing on the final 8, but the 4 matchups that will most likely shape up the top 8 are:

1. tiger4life(7th) vs Year of the CATS(8th) – separated by only 0.35%.
2. PowerfromPort(9th) vs LiQuiD(11th) – separated by only 0.53%.
3. Razors(4th) vs Life Post-Richo(6th) – LPR % is below 100 so a loss could see them falling out of the finals, and Razors is looking ominous.
4. Jackson Harvey FC(3rd) vs fcmeh(13th) – fcmeh has the best % outside the 8 and is ranked 2nd overall. A win could see fcmeh jump into the 8.
5. Krunchy Nuts(1st) vs Prospectus Boy(10th) – a win for the Nuts seals the minor premiership but a finals berth should be secured if Prospectus Boy gets up.

The winners of the first two games will most likely take up the 7th-8th spots however there are big chances for teams like fcmeh and Prospectus Boy to make it if they upset their top 3 opponents (Thanks TimmyJ ). Just like the Orange Boys, this one’s set up to be a cracker of a finish!!!

So until next week, the full round 17 game review, updated ladder and the crucial final round fixtures over the break. (more…)

So, we’re getting to the business of the season- well, at least for SuperCoach. One more round before the finals.

And this round got off to a real humdinger, a draw between the Saints and Hawks, and dare I say, with a little less contraversy, could have been a Hawks win- Cue the Hawks fans predicting September glory… Anyways, the game, Hodge top scored with a great 149. Burgoyne rewarded his owners with a 130 while Sewell rounded out the top3 with a 127. It seems I’ve lost my “Roo won’t break 100 til round 20″ bet, with the big man scoring a 106. Maybe one more week and bringing him in for the finals. Looks like we might be picking up a few bargins through the finals. Namely, Dal Santo’s 77 and Montagna’s 49 will see them both drop significantly from their current $600k pricetag, while in the backline a 45 to Gilbert will raise a few eyebrows.

Saturday rolled around and went off with a pair of thumpings. Firstly, a Dane Swan 190 lead the Pies to absolutely cream the Tigers. Holey, pencil in 3 votes for him mate! Macaffer did suprisingly well with a 150 while Didak tabled a 141. Really, it was all Collingwood, with only one Tiger, Morton, who scored above 100. Not too many suprises considering the score line, but for the Martin owners it was a little sad to see him score only 50.

And next up, the Cats missed doubling the lions by 1 point. This time, Selwood led the way with a great 175 off 41 touches. Bravo to all of you who picked his as captain. Milburn got a great 145, while Gaz returned to his Perma captain roots, with a 144. Worryingly though, it took him kicking 5 goals to do it! Personally, I liked having a chance to compare Rockliff to Pods- With the Pod getting ahead early, it good to see the Lobster getting a game back with his 101 to Pods 70.

Saturday night saw the Bombers fall over the line against a valant Roos outfit by 3 points. However it was the Swallow who took the cream as the highest scorer with a 156. Watson and Greenwood took the next two spots with a 139. I hear that someone’s opponent had Greenwood- did you still get the win mate? bloody unlucky though! Hardingham kicked 4 goals on debut for a 89, while MacMillian and Speight both got solid 40’s.

The other game saw the Eagles give the Blues a run for their money, getting out to a big lead at half time, only to get blown away in the 3rd quarter as the Blues kicked a massive 7.9. Simpson top scored with a 139 while Murphy and Grigg came in next with a 129 and 121. Le Cras top scored for the Eagles kicking 3.5 and scoring 113. Waite scored a 102, but scored himself another report in junk time- will he never learn?! Hams did magnificently scoring 95 off 13 touches, while newbie Strijkl did great with a 95. But it wasn’t enough to get them up with a number of disappointing efforts- Priddis 68, Hurn 60, NitNat 52, Cox 33 and Sheppard 27 were all telling of the Eagles game.

So, Sunday rolled around and bam, all of my tips went askew. Despite a trip to the NT last week, the Doggies managed to come back into town and destroy the Dockers. Unsuprisingly, the Dogs dominated the top scores, with the CoonDog top scoring with a 130. Griffen did well with a 124 while Harbrow’s 120 means that any neccessary back upgrades could be looking in his direction. Suban, Pav and Johnson all top scored for the dockers, and all on 99 points. The biggest news though was Sandilands. A 45 to the big man will hurt a lot of SuperCoaches. However, more hurt will be anyone covering with Fyfe, Roberton or Morabito- scoring 26, 16 and 7 retrospectively.

Next game saw the Dees destroy a near guarenteed September for Sydneys. In fact, were they not a game clear of 9th and 2 clear of 10th- with a heck of a lot of percentage, I would have written them off after their efforts today. But with 5 games left, they haven’t done themselves any favors today. Suprisingly, Goodes top scored, with a 141. Green and the maligned Sylvia came next with a 123 and 117. The biggest news for the game though is ROK. 25 points for the guy, anyone got any ideas on how that happened?

The final game for the round say me go 0/3 in tips for the day. The second team today to win from a trip back from NT. Port was lead by Chaplin who scored a 150, Cassisi with a 146 and Ebert with 130. Meanwhile, Adelaide only had 3 players who scored above 80 points. Adelaides barometer, the Tipster lost along with Adeliade, scoring a miserable 32. Not as miserable as Hitchcock or Stewart who scored a 20 and 17 respectively.

So that’s our week. A funny funny week in footy. In non footy news, apparently girls like Julia Gillard and boys like Tony Abbott. Seriously, since when did real life become high, no, primary school where you pick your team on gender lines? Bah, at least Masterchef is providing better watching

Joshy did a great job getting EPL talk into it’s own thread, and I believe he’ll be doing the same thing again this week- so everyone, wait til that thread before you get talking about the Drogba surgery…

I hear the good folk at iScent have extended their comp out to the end of the year, so as a thanks, I reckon you should all at least head over there and see what they have to offer.

So there we go- we’re getting close to the business end. Stats will go up once lockout ends and perhaps more importantly, how are you all doing?

Hello all,

Sorry for the delay, but I’ve been hammered at work, so I have to keep this one quick. Also, I would like to send my best out to SoUpS who’s dad is hospital and thus he won’t be contributing this week. Hope he is okay mate from all here at TS.

On with the review and we are 2 weeks out of the finals and things are heating up in all leagues around the country, with some make or break games due to happen this week. Do you trade to ensure top 4 in the finals (I say no unless you have heaps), do you trade to get in full stop (of course).

Key outs over the week cost a few I am sure (NDS in particular, cost me a game by 2 points and I dropped from 2nd to 5th in another league), but with a mass of in’s, I am sure we saw some teams that were struggling get right back in the mix.

On to the review and in the TS 20 league, the weekly top score by SoUpS sees him move into the top spot, with Mash Sticks and Behind the Goals hot on his tail. Some close games saw Hard@It and Winners r Grinners sneak over the line against Sultans of Swing and Behind The Goals respectively, and game of the round was a 13 point thriller that saw The Green Jelly Bean take the chocolates over The Dirty Dozen.

In the Orange Boys (who moved up 10 posies to sit 179 overall), we had a top of the table clash that resulted in top place getting knocked off in a 30 point thriller. Next week shapes up as a crucial round for many teams with 2 top 8 games being played and 7 teams still vying for the last 4 spots in the finals.

The Pine Warmers continued there string run and moved into 19th overall and this round had a bit of everything. There was a few upsets, some massive movement up and down the ladder, a 2 point thriller and a whopping high score. The thing is, finals are open to anyone all the way down to 14th in this league (percentage makes it tough but not impossible)…it is tight like a tiger.

Veni Vidi Vici got over the line in the game of the round against Prospectus Boy to the tune of a measly 2 points, Thunder Guns knocked off 9/11WasAnInsideJob in a massive upset, fcmeh plummeted 3 spots down the ladder, and Razors top scored for the round, knocked off 3rd place, and rocketed 4 spots up the ladder into 6th and with a couple of easy games coming up, is a chance at the top 4.

Next week is crucial in this league with a top 4 clash and 2 top 8 clashes…and this is going to be an absolute ball tearer of a finish.

Review over the break but until next week… (more…)

Hello all and sorry for the delay, I have been unwell for a few days but better late than never.

Great round of footy last weekend meant a great round for league battles, but with some premiums under performing or withdarwing from games all together, we saw some low scores this week.

Lets start with SoUpS and the TS20 league as there were some blinders and beltings. Bend Sinister top scored for the round with 2450 and handed Siminoz a smashing to the tune of 350 points, Code Monkeys held off second placed Mash Sticks in a 26 point thriller but the game of the round was the blinder played out between top of the table Behind The Goals and second bottom placed The Stugots. The leader of the race just managed to hold out for a 15 point win meaning he now has 2 teams pecking at his heels.

On to the Pine Warmers who held their league position at 20th overall with a lowly 2167 point average for this round. A top 4 clash between Life Post-Richo and Whoknows? proved to be a let down with Whoknows? dishing out a 424 point belting. In other round smashings, fcmeh handed Snotties and 391 point flogging and Razors trounced Thunder Guns by 348 but the game of the round was a top 8 clash played out between the Krunchy Nuts and the PowerfromPort and resulted in a 38 point thriller with the Krunchy Nuts proving too strong and holding on to top spot.

Finally the Orange Boys where we had a 1 vs 2 top of the table clash which ended up with the Armchair Athletes doing the job over The Mob Goes Wild by 158 points and moving 2 games clear at the top, and the Portland Players snuck into second by percentage who are incidently playing teh Armchair Athletes this week. Can they leave all challengers in their wake? HFC-Premiers top scored for the round with 2,298 and gave Half Time Heroes a 261 flogging in the process and the league dropped a spot down to 189 with an average score this round of 2106.

Ladders, fixtures, etc over the break. (more…)

Hi all, sorry I’m a day late.

OK it’s time to do some Best Buys analysis, and once again it’s  a good time to think about how many trades we might need come finals time.  That’s the advice for this week:  I’m thinking that 3 going into R19 is a good number.  Currently I have 5 and I’m planning one this week, and one over the next fortnight.  Then three more for the year.  Of these 5 I can see two sideways, two upgrades and one downgrade.  I have $ in the bank to upgrade this week.  Any less trades and I could not have the opportunity to roll with the punches, any more and I would have probably been in a stuffed position in leagues…well more than I am already (yes TS50 almost season over I admit).

So onto the quick decisions that need to be made by tomorrow evening:
(more…)

I would like to start this weeks review by mentioning Michael Barlow’s horrific double broken leg and the fact my, and I am sure all the TS followers, best wishes go out to him, his family & friends, and his team mates. We wish him a speedy and smooth recovery, and look forward to seeing him back in the game sooner rather than later. He has provided us all with a inspiring and phenomenal story this season, and has truly impressed with his silky skills, cool head under pressure, maturity on the ball, football brain/vision, and general toughness at the contest.

Also, I would like to send a shout out to Jo, Walesy, and soon to be little Walesy. Congrats and I wish you all the happiness in the world. Let’s pray for his sake he does not stray to the dark side of the force, and remains loyal to the Windy Hill cause. It would be nothing short of a tragedy to have another blue bagger running a muck around the J & W household. It would also leave the great man outnumbered 3 to 2…a travesty of justice!!!

Now, what a weekend of football!!! Argentina were flogged by the Krauts, the Dutch did a number on Brasil, and the Hawks have won 7 on the trot

That being said, these next 3 weeks will be crucial for the mighty Hawks with the all conquering Cats at the G, the lacklustre Lions in Tassie (danger game) and the scintillating Saints at Jihad to come over the next 3 weeks. If the Hawks can win 2 of these, they are in the box seat to have a strong run in the finals.

But enough of the Hawks, how about those Tigers? Are they the tigers of old? 3 in a row and 4 out of there last 5 suggests they have re-opened for business, and the fact they are nurturing some exciting talent should warn teams that if you underestimate them, you do so at your own peril.

And next week is shaping up to be a beauty in the AFL where by 6 of the top 9 are playing off with 1st playing 7th, 5th playing 6th, and 8th playing 9th.

Anyways, on with the league review and what a round we had in the Pine Warmers League with top place getting knocked of there perch at the summit, and plummeting back to fifth place (proving how tight this league is) and there replacement at the top is none other than the mighty Krunchy Nuts. Go you Nuts!!!

We saw some massive games this week with 6 of the top 8 playing each other, and they proved to be crackers with 9/11WasAnInsideJob getting over the line by 20 points against Year of the CATS. Edit:Prospectus Boy knocked off top place in a Edit: very unconvincing win (chris88 was 2 men short and would have pants him otherwise) and the Krunchy Nuts got a narrow win by 9 points over the Razors. But game of the round went to Whoknows? who took the chocolates over LiQuiD in an 8 point thriller.

Top scorer this round went to fcmeh with a convincing 2445, handing Veni Vidi Vici a 236 point flogging in the process, while Jackson Harvey FC moved up the ladder into 2nd and Whoknows? consolidated there spot in third. This league is sitting 20th overall with an average score this week of 2265 and an overall average of 2217.

On to the Orange Boys where we also had some blinders played this weekend including a few upsets like sambeno getting off the bottom of the ladder by beating the WesternRoys by 11 points, and Funsters knocking off the Banana Slugs by 12 points. Second bottom side The Duds went down to a top 4 side in Portland Players by 15 points which has all but ended the Duds late tilt at the finals. But the big game this round was the absolute flogging handed out by the Buzz Boys (top round scorer – 2509) to HFC-Premiers 2010! to the tune of a cool 200 points. You have got to feel for a team that scores 2309 and gets flogged by 200!!!

This league is sitting 182nd overall with an average score this week of 2227 and an overall average of 2153. Next week we see a top of the table clash with 1st playing 2nd in what could decide who takes the minor premiership.

Full ladder and results over the break… (more…)

–crud! looks like it didn’t post- sorry it’s so late, I though I posted it up after the saints game… ah well, details are in the post–

Alright, I’m gunna open this week up with a brief announcement. The due date for the latest little Walesy is exactly 3 days ago. So as you can imagine, I’m a little pressed for time at the moment- and could possibly just dissappear for a few days without a moments notice.

But fear not, I’ll do my darnest to keep everything around here in order until it happens.

The round started off on Thurday- catching a few coaches by suprise I might add. And it was a shocker of a game. Though from the score line, I would have to say that Brisbane were *twice* as bad as the Blues. Simpson top scored for the Blues with a 151, Betts 5 goal haul helped him to a 138 while Leuenberger topscored for the Lions. I was happy to see Cornelius score well, it’s just a shame that he was nerfed as a downgrade option by his single game last year.

Hawthorn are officially back. The doubters were all over the shop of late due to the calibur of the teams they’ve beaten of late, but to take it to the dogs and win like they did- they are easily a top 8 side- And that Burgoyne trade is looking great; haven’t lost a game with him in the team! Anyways, Lil Delicious top scored with a 159- further hurting all those coaches who were fed up with him. Lake put in another 156 performance while Mitchell scored 135. Higgins scored a 60, which is a little under what you’d expect; but it’s good to see him get through the game unscathed. Bazza put in a disappointing 39 points with 7 touches and 2 goals- Though you do expect his inconsistancies.

Fremantle’s season rolled on with a 60 point win over the Power. Sandilands top scored with a 121, while second place was shared by Cassisi and Palmer on 109. Though Palmer has made the news for all the wrong reasons- breaking the leg of his teammate and perenial SuperCoach SuperStar, Barlow. I think just about every serious coach in the league will be affected by this, so I hope you’ve planned for this kind of injury. I reckon you could expect a fair few more of these by the end of the season, so if you have been going hard with your trades, I don’t want to hear the sob stories when you run out- you knew the risks.

Saturday night was about demolishions. Firstly Collingwood smashed to Eagles, sending them to the bottom to the ladder. Dane Swan top scored with 38 touches and 2 goals for 163. Collingwood had 9 players score over 100 to Westcoasts 1, Priddis on 118. Sheppard flew the flag well with a 96, but for the most it was an ugly day for Eagles and just about anyone else in your team scored pretty poorly.

It was a similar result over at AAMI stadium, with Adeliade smashing my beloved Bombers. The season is officially over peoples! Thompson top scored with a 155 while the TipRat came in just behind with a 153. I think he needs to be a lesson to us for next year- bloody back your picks at the start of the year! He’s been averaging almost 90 points per game since round 7 and about 100 for the last 5 games- He would seriously be providing welcome relief right now for all of the ruck issues we’ve been having. If you’ll excuse me though, I’ll neglect to comment much more on this game, else I might fall into the trap of ranting about out disposal and calling for Knight’s neck!

Geelong accounted for the Roos easy enough, and was led by the great Podsiadly! 145 points to the big man in a 5 goal haul. Geelong took out the top 10 spots in the game with Chappy, Selwood, Kelly, Ablett, Stokes and Enright all breaking the ton. My round 9 team is very dissappointed with Thomas though! I picked him up to make some quick cash over the last few weeks, but even with a 217 in his rolling average, his 18 this week has said goodbye to that plan.

Richmond got off the bottom of the ladder! Great job guys!! Still let Sydney get the top three scores, but thats fine. Particularly when ROK top scores with a mighty 149. Bolton came in next best with a 133 while Mumford did us proud with 117. Word around is that Deledio did himself a Hyper extended elbow, so anyone with him will need to keep an eye open- Yes, he came back onto the field, but who knows. TDL dissappointed in his first game with a 23, while the late names Playfair did even worse with a 21.

The round rolled out as expected- the saints got over the Dees pretty easily with Montagna top scoring with 155. Looks like Goddards 135 wasn’t enough to keep his salary in the $700k’s, while C. Jones rounded out the top three. Green top scored for the Dee’s while Trengove did pretty solidly with a 102.

Anyways, I’ll get the stats up when lockout ends- until then, what is everyones plan when it comes to Barlow? Is it the straw breaking the camels back? Or just a road hump on the journey that is SuperCoach?

Nothing like a good Best Buys column to warm you up on a freezing Melbourne morning.  But going by some of the comments, we’ve seen a bit of a view forward of the carnage to come as a long season takes its’ toll on our teams.  Those that travel well, could be doing so with a thin line between success and failure, and that could be something as temporary as rookie form, or lack of injuries.   Even the best coaches have to manage injuries and players having poor form, and it’s interesting to see the faith and lack thereof shown to players on these forums.

Advice for the week…this week I would have to say back your team in.  I wouldn’t be trading other than upgrades or downgrades or long term injuries.  Form is temporary, class is permanent, and if you have a team of classy but out of form players – people like Adam Goodes for example – you just need to do the BonJovi and Keep the Faith.  He could pump out a 150 on the ball this week, you never know.

Now onto the best buys action for the week: (more…)

Hello all and welcome to another installment of the TS Leagues Review, and what a week it has been. As previously mentioned by walsey, Freo are firming up as a contender to the top 4 winning in Melbourne for the second time this year, the Hawks are well and truly back in business having won 6 on the trot now but with a tough 4 weeks coming up, we will see if they are a (Too) serious contender for the flag or not. Adelaide managed to stay off the bottom for now with a thumping over a hapless Melbourne, the Roos continue to impress and remain hot on the heels of the 8, Brisbane’s season continues to spiral out of control as does West Coast’s, Collingwood looked very convincing against the Bloods and the game of the round proved to be just that with Saints holding the wood over the Cats in the home and away season.

Full league review over the break. (more…)

Man, I should have written the first half of this thing last week- the ol’ memory ain’t what it used to be.

It does remember the first game of the round, particularly Franklin single handedly dominating the Bombers with a couple of runs down the win and quite posibly goal of the year. He top scored for the game with 159, with Watson coming in behind him with 150. Mitchell has finally put in two games in a row with a 110, while Rioli brought up his 4th ton in a row, 102. Schoenmakers had a day out with 95, but I’d hazard a guess that anyone who had him has traded him out by now. Hodge has finally had a bad game putting in a 67, but the effects on his salary won’t be seen in force til next week.

Saturday night saw Fremantle keep back the Blues with Sandilands scoring a big 157 and Barlow following closely behind with a 146. Eddie Betts top scored for the blues with 129 with a 4 goal haul. Jarryd Waite broke a lot of hearts, not because of his 100, but because of his 2 week holiday, while Kep continues his solid form. The biggest news from the game was Mathew Kruezer, doing himself an ACL and is gone for the rest of the season. All of us here at TooSerious are hoping for a speedy recovery for the guy, and not just from a fantasy football front.

Richmond continued their good form knocking off the Lions. Chris Newman top scored with a 137, with Deledio (129), Tuck (126) and Riewoldt (114) following. Staker top scored for the Lions kicking 3 goals and scoring 113. Rockliff put in a solid 106 to put out the gauntlet in the Rock/Pod challenge.

North Melbourne and Port both continued there current form. Good and bad. Harvey top scored with a 152 with Ports Pearce and Schulz taking out 2nd and 3rd spot with a 138 and 127, With Schulz’s seven goal haul not being enough to get them over the line. Lachie Hansen kicked 5 himself which got him a return of 116 points. It’s around now that my memory of the Sundays games gets a little hazy. Honestly I blame the soccer- all these late nights and early mornings aren’t helping at all!

Anyways, the next game for Sunday saw the Bulldogs dominate the West Coast Eagles. Gilbee top scored with 151, with the next highest scorers being Cross (136), Giansiracusa (131) and Griffen (127). Dalziell top scored for the Eagles with 106, while Scooter Selwood but in a great game with 99. Sheppard did just nicely scoring 89 as a rookie while Grant scored a 68. Steven put in a decent first game scoring 42 but sadly, Hurn scored a 33 and got himself injured.

Then we had an intermission. Australia made up for their dismal German performance, but it just wasn’t enough to see them get through. Which was sad because last night, Ghana managed to beat the USA in over time- should have been us!! Ah well, bygones.

This week saw three games, starting off with a grand final rematch. It started off as many would have expected, a tight game, with Geelong pulling away in the second. What no-one expected to see though, was Geelong being kept goalless for a whole half of football with the Saints running away victorious. Even in defeat though, Ablett still top scored with 154. Personally, I reckon second place, Dal Santo was a little ripped off, with one less handall but 4 more marks and tackles (149)- but hey, that’s Supercoach. Bartel and Johnson look to have done themselves some damage, so we’ll have to keep a watch on them throughout the week. While Podsiadly bottom scored for probably the first time this year, with a 24. (Another point to the Lobster!)

Saturday saw the Pies go about it, beating the Swannies by 25 points. Steele Sidebottom (and name of the year winner – personally though, I liked Spontaneous Gordon and Nohjay Nimpson.) top scored with a 133, while Shaw had a welcome return to form scoring 126 points. Mattner and Malceski both scored 118 points while Jolly had a day out against his old team scoring 115 points. Goodes on the other hand failed miserable, with a pitiful 16- shame shame mate, like the balloon boy, in the balloon town with a pin, you’ve let us all down.

Finally, Adelaide are playing themselves back into some form, getting home over the Demons. The top three scorers for the Crows were Goodwin (144), Johncock (132) and Symes (126). Bate top scored for the Demons with 120 while the TipRat brought it home with a 118. With three 110+ in the last 4 weeks, I wonder if any coaches will have the cajones to jump back onto him with Krueze going down? Slone and Jaensch did a great job for their price, both breaking the ton, while Scully scored a 89.

Anyways, I’m getting this post up early because I know that I’m not going to have the time to write anything on the post-lockout stuff later on, I will get the stats up though.

Now, with Hurn, Goodes, 2 zeros and a swag of failures, I reckon I’ll be lucky to break 2k this week- the season is in absolute tatters!! So, after the split round, hows everyone else going? Happy with your year? Or have the wheels fallen off? Give me a couple of good news stories! Cause surely some of you guys have got to be doing well!