TooSerious

The season that could have been: By lezyeoh

Melbourne finished 13th this year. Definitely a fail in the opinion of a Melbourne supporter. That said one more win and they would have finished 10th. Woulda Coulda Shoulda….

A season that started with so much promise ended up with Melbourne being the Jekyll and Hyde of the competition. When Melbourne won they won convincingly. When Melbourne lost, they got thumped.

With what I would have called a dream fixture at the start of the year including 2 games against port, GC, Richmond and West Coast turned out not as great as I thought. West Coast turned into a top 4 side and the potential at Melbourne was exactly that….potential. The biggest loss of the year broke all sorts of records against Geelong. 186 points, cost Bailey his job, most likely cost Green the captaincy and wrote off the rest of the season.


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The Good
Stefan Martin - Boy was I wrong about this kid. I predicted him to be struggling to make the 22 and would probably be delisted come end of the year. He proved me wrong. Coming in at basement price he was ideal for those that got him. He improved his kicking, his marking and no doubt his ruck work. Jarmars injury mid season coupled with Spencer, Robbie Campbell both being injured proved the catalyst. Thrusting him into the role of main ruck man he stood up. He ranked 19th of all defenders and had a price rise of 202,000. Whether hes worth it next year is another question. Could be good as Im predicting MPP. Could be good back up for ruck…but is it worth him taking a spot on the team for a premium?

Jeremy Howe - Jumping Jeremy, the boy from Tassie. Mature aged recruit. Came through and clunked come good marks. Slotted some goals and just had energy. Hes quick, can lead up and has agility too. Provided great protection for those towards the end of the year as the General kicked in. Wouldnt pick him...

Alright guys, 2 games this week- for mine it should be a near on conclusion, Hawthorn and West Coast, but hey- this is finals and funny things do happen!

As always, feel free to join us over in the live stats for a chat!

Massive news as Fremantle axes Mark Harvey, while Ross Lyon walks out on the Saints to fill his shoes.

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Honestly, the Lyon out rumours have been circulating for a while now, but it was to Melbourne that he was rumoured to be going.

Meanwhile, Harvey has been the head of Fremantle since taking over as a caretaker from Connolly back in 2007. Harvey took a, well, a bit of a rabble and turned then into final contenders last year. Decimated with more injuries than Ive ever seen in a year, its no suprise that the Dockers went backwards. Wonder if that means hell be coaching Melbourne next year- hes shown that he knows what hes doing.

That said however, Lyon to Freo will undoubtably make some big changes to how Fremantle go about it, so it will be very interesting to see what changes he makes- and more importantly, how benefits the most!

Any thoughts?

Woah, little late with the post-

So, we reckon Buddy will be a late withdrawal?

Its gunna be tough for the Blues with the Eagles Kerr in vs their Gibbs out- still, this is the kind of match you need to be able to win to have a shot against the other 3 in the top 4!

Full teams over the break
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Hawthorn

B: Thomas Murphy, Josh Gibson, Brent Guerra

HB: Grant Birchall, Ryan Schoenmakers, Paul Puopolo

C: Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Isaac Smith

HF: Luke Hodge, Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli

F: Brendan Whitecross, David Hale, Michael Osborne

Foll: Max Bailey, Shaun Burgoyne, Brad Sewell

I/C: Chance Bateman, Liam Shiels, Matt Suckling, Benjamin Stratton

Emg: Jordan Lisle, Shane Savage, Luke Breust

In: Benjamin Stratton

Out: Luke Breust

Sydney Swans

B: Rhyce Shaw, Ted Richards, Lewis Roberts-Thomson

HB: Martin Mattner, Alex Johnson, Nicholas Smith

C: Josh P. Kennedy, Adam Goodes, Jarrad McVeigh

HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Sam Reid, Gary Rohan

F: Jesse White, Matt Spangher, Ben McGlynn

Foll: Shane Mumford, Jude Bolton, Kieren Jack

I/C: Tadhg Kennelly, Craig Bird, Daniel Hannebery, Luke Parker

Emg: Paul Bevan, Nick Malceski, Lewis Jetta



West Coast Eagles

B: Shannon Hurn, Darren Glass, Will Schofield

HB: Sam Butler, Eric Mackenzie, Beau Waters

C: Luke Shuey, Matthew Priddis, Andrew Embley

HF: Mark LeCras, Josh Kennedy, Mark Nicoski

F: Jack Darling, Quinten Lynch, Nic Naitanui

Foll: Dean Cox, Adam Selwood, Scott Selwood

I/C: Daniel Kerr, Chris Masten, Patrick McGinnity, Andrew Gaff

Emg: Bradley Ebert, Ashley Smith, Ashton Hams

In: Daniel Kerr

Out: Bradley Ebert



Carlton

B: Aaron Joseph, Michael Jamison, Jeremy Laidler

HB: Christopher Yarran, Bret Thornton, Nick Duigan

C: Kade Simpson, Mitch Robinson, Heath Scotland

HF: Jeffrey Garlett, Lachlan Henderson, Andrew Carrazzo

F: Eddie Betts,...

Thanks to TooSerious member "Sean" for this review of Sydneys season.

[span style="text-decoration: underline">Rambling Swans Report


It’s been a season of three halves for the Swans. After the draw against Melbourne, they got away well, with wins over the Dons and West Coast.  Out at ANZ against the bombers that day and watching us sneak home late, I remember thinking there was a bit of the ’05 vibe about the boys. We had a habit of coming back strong in the second half in that era and we pulled it off that day.

Things kind of went as expected for the year until round thirteen, which would see a distressing mid – season slump with some expected losses, but also some unexpected to the Crows (in an awful wet game) and culminating in the defeat by Richmond in round 21. Won only 2 from 8 (against GC and WBD) and things were looking dire.

This would all turn around to beat the Saints after some early inaccuracy, and culminating in a brilliant victory down at the Cattery. Definitely the highlight of the H+A season.

Typically the Swans have been strong in the midfield and backs with players like Grundy, Bolton, Matner, and Richards continuing the hardworking Bloods ethic.

Most of the issue all year has been the forward line and the missing big target that can really impose himself on a game. Jesse White looked OK early, but with a good defender seems to be negated pretty easily. These days he seems to be deliberately moving the key defender he inevitably draws out of the forward line so perhaps not a bad thing. But he found himself in and out of the team.

Former Defenders Andrejs Everitt , and LRT have been effective options, and even Rhys Shaw has had a go. Fortunately for the Bloods, Sam Reid is looking like a great pair of hands, and if he can bulk up a bit, we should see a great future from. And of course a resting Goodes, ROK, and Mumford have all pulled some good shifts through the forward line.

Finally, for the last few...

Its everyones lucky day today with the West Coast review. Why you ask, well the simple answer is because I have 2 different reviews from 2 different people. Which if i must say is brilliant because it gives us 2 different views on the West Coast season. Considering their remarkable turn around this year, from wooden spooners to top 4 it makes for interesting reading. The first review is done by JPK &amp; the 2nd one by silacious. So get yourself a cuppa and get comfy and join us over the break for both the reviews.

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I’ve been asked if I can do the West Coast Eagles 2011 season review, so I thought I’d give it a crack and we’ll see how it works out.  I should clarify that I’ve been living in the footy-blackspot that is South America all year, so I basically haven’t seen any footage of the footy, nor attended any games, training, or anything else footy related (unless the round ball counts???). This however does mean that I have been rather focused on the names and the stats, more than on the heart.  So, here we go:

Its fair to say that the Eagles were the surprise packet of the AFL this season, going from 2010’s wooden spooners to the top four and a genuine, although outside, shot at the cup.  I’m actually writing this after the loss to the Pies, which while sad was probably expected, but at least the boys showed enough heart to fight the entire game and not get blown away by the toughness of finals footy or the dominance of the Pies players.  Actually, the AFL website has a great line with a small quote from Mick Malthouse, simply saying that the win was “one of the "gutsiest" in his time at the club”.  Clearly Mick thought the Eagles boys came to play!  The big thing is that to most Eagles fans, this season did not come as a huge surprise – we were rather decimated by injuries last year (not in the same way as the 2011 Dockers, but still), and we didn’t quite have the list going that we needed. Woosha stuck to his...

Just a few quick points from a VS aspect for the EPL then we can get back to following that Brownlow.

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Edin Dzeko, after being awesome sat out last week, allowing Aguero to get three goals of his own.

Speaking of 3 goals, Rooney is in stupidly good form, picking up 3 goals and punishing all of us who dont have him! Heck, hell be heading towards a 15+ Mil salary in VS soon!

On the Fresh meat front, we have a couple of options- Kieran Gibbs played his 2nd this weekend and is looking great value for an Arsenal defender- particularly with their fixture.

Anyways, stats are up so check em out!

I dont get out much these days, so when the offer came up from an Eagles supporting mate to go to the Magpies-Eagles game I jumped at the chance.

I stuck on my Ayr United scarf (black and white! Remember?), pulled out my false teeth, combed back my mullet and joined the black and white hordes. I sensed my mate was feeling a bit out of place, but this was of little concern to me. I was here to support my adopted Magpies, and with no Supercoach to confuse matters, there will be no discreet fist-pump for another mark in the goal square for big Cox or sly smile for a 36th handball disposal for Mattie Priddis!

"Magpies"! That got me thinking of the other Magpies - Newcastle United. Sleeping giants of English soccer - theyve been sleeping for longer than Rip Van Winkle, but theyre giants nonetheless.<!--more-->

Theyve surprised me this year! A draw against Arsenal, a win at bitter rivals Sunderland, as well as a straight-forward win against Fulham. Seven out of a possible nine points. Im impressed and decide that this week Ill be watching the Geordies.

I wont be supporting these Magpies though, as the realisation hits that theyre playing against QPR - who I tipped to avoid relegation on these very pages just last week - and their ex-teammate Joey Barton.

This makes for a delicious sub-plot and I vow there and then to check my online account to see what odds the bookies are offering for a red-card. Due to Joeys previous record of beating up his own teammates, the thought that he might kick seven shades of shite out of Taarabt for continuing penalty kick duties, crossed my mind.

It was also a chance to see Shaun Wright-Phillips (SWP) line up for his new club. This wee guy is an entertainer and the way that he plays the game is one reason why Ill be looking out for QPR each week.

Apart from an early Leon Best chance for Newcastle, it was QPR that were looking the goods. Taarabt, with his pin-point passing, and SWP with his pace and skill were causing...

So, it looks like the fine folk at <a href="http://record.sportsbetaffiliates.com.au/_QDxtD1fqwejlE-K0mpYMyWNd7ZgqdRLk/1?payload=tooserious">SportsBet[/url] have come to the party and are offering Brownlow multis on the team votes.

Sure, the odds arent nearly as sweet as they were last year, but hey- it still looks like you can make some decent coin for relatively little risk (remember- gamble responsibly, no system is fool proof, so only gamble what you can afford to lose!).

Oh, an if you do decide to put a little on it, use our <a href="http://record.sportsbetaffiliates.com.au/_QDxtD1fqwejlE-K0mpYMyWNd7ZgqdRLk/1?payload=tooserious">affiliate link![/url] - its good for us!

Read more of my experience over the break
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So, Ive gone for broke and am laying it on the following group of 10: Watson, Dal Santo, Cotchin, Gray, Judd, Priddis, Swallow, Selwood, Pavlich and Pendlebury.

Last year, we rolled with a 10 man, 6 leg parley bet, at $1 per bet. Which is essentially a $1 punt on each 6-man combination of the above 10 players. This year Ive done much the same thing, however, while last year it took hours laying all 210 bets, this year, IASBet offer the functionality to select your 10 players, then simply
bet your $1 on the "6 folds" option.

Too bloody easy and makes the whole operation a cinch!

Anyways, if you do lay a bet or two, let us know what you put down! Its not like any changes to the odd matter once youve already got your cash down!

And then there were six.   Finals generally throw up some interesting results, lots of subplots, and its where the champions step up to the plate.  It was no different this weekend, where a record weekend finals crowd witnessed four games - one I would call a very good game, two decent games, and one a blow-out.   No need for Hornsy to tell me which game that was this weekend.

So now - onto the reviews for each team.   We start with the drama unfolding on Friday night...

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Geelong 14.14.98 defeated Hawthorn 9.13.67

GEELONG
Geelong turned what looked like an epic struggle early in the third quarter (after Hodges goals) into their typical routine win.  Centre square dominance from Ottens, the support acts from Steve Johnson, and the tall forwards played each into the Cats hands, and unfortunately for the Hawks, played into their pre-game weaknesses.   Lots can be made out of injuries to key players, but the game was done and dusted by then.   Geelong franked its premiership credentials with a performance befitting their rating as one of the greatest teams of all time.   They have earned the rest, and emerged almost unscathed from the game.   Sadly, Daniel Menzels ACL injury will hurt them in both this years finals series and into next season.  His loss will not be covered from outside the team; that said Joel Corey is a more than fair "in".

Best Player: Brad Ottens
Surprise Packets: Allen Christensen &amp; Trent West
Struggler: No one.  To a man the Cats were strong across the park
This Week: Rest up and then play either West Coast or Carlton in the Saturday Night Preliminary Final

HAWTHORN

Some would say that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Hawthorn, and they would be incorrect.  As Leigh Matthews would say, things are never as good as they appear, and they are never as bad as they appear.   The truth lies in the middle.   Put simply, performances at the level of Friday night...