TooSerious

For those who take it way too seriously

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! :D
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...
Thanks to rysmith who has done the Brisbane season review.

It’s been a trying year for the Lions, as soon as Brown’s head collided with McPharlin’s knee late in the third qtr of Round 1, not only did his face shatter so too did the spirit of his teammates and supporters along with it. The season was long and injury plagued but despite that there were still plenty of positives to take out of the growing list of players trying to find their feet without their maestro. Close losses to 3 of the top 4 sides Collingwood, Geelong and West Coast in the final rounds of the season gave fans some hope that the future might not be as bleak as many might first have thought.

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GOOD:

Leuenberger, the club has had high hopes on the young ruckmen for a few years now but after getting over some massive injuries, including a staph infection, the Brissie big man is finally starting to live up to those expectations. Leuenbergers’ supercoach average was 105.26 for the year finishing 2nd in the AFL with 724 hit outs, which we all know is a huge scoring stat especially if they are to the advantage. He finished the year strong averaging 126.6 over the last 10 rounds and at the tender age of 23 you can assume that there is still a lot of improvement in him yet. I think a number of teams will be looking to have him as a lock in for their 1st or 2nd Ruck next year or at least they should be.

Rockliff or should I say the ‘magnet’ has averaged 28 disposals a game with a S.C average of 114.05, cracking the ton 16 times throughout the season. His top score came in round 23 against the narrow loss at home to the Eagles with a massive score of 179. The young gun is the future of the Lions midfield and it’s just a matter of time before he starts copping a hard tag which could hurt his scores, but like swan he seems to just have a huge motor and keeps accumulating kick after kick. I believe he is on the road to becoming one of the AFL top...
I was originally planning to do a Donor team season review this week; however will do that some time during the finals series... This week, Ill just do the usual weekly writeup. And this week was a good week too...

We continued our rise up the rankings, and also won all the grand finals we were in! We scored 2414 in round 24, which saw us pretty much tread water, but move up 32 spots to finish the season ranked 737th. Which was a pretty good effort I reckon, considering the joint effort that went into the team decisions. And we did win both grannys, but more importantly, we finished 1st in total points in three leagues and 3rd in each of the other two.

We didnt have many decisions to make last week, as trades were out and benches thin. But we still managed to make some good decisions and one not so good... We picked GAJ as cap which was great :D , with only Goodsey scoring more and just by 2 points. Boyd was our VC which was also a good pick as he was our 3rd best scorer. We had to bench 2 of our 6 M/F mpps and made the right calls - playing Goodes, Chappy, Mzungu &amp; ISmith over Callinan and Prestia. But our bench decision in the backline wasnt near as good: We decided to bench Broughton... who turned out to be our highest scoring defender for the week!! :(

Now over the break youll find our players individual scores from round 24; as well as a more detailed look at our league grand finals:::::::::

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<table id="scoringPlayers" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>

<td colspan="2">SCORING PLAYERS



<td colspan="2">



1. <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/player/632">Goddard[/url] (DEF)
<td align="right">97



2. <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/player/130">Scotland[/url] (DEF)
<td align="right">82



3. <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/player/575">Deledio[/url] (DEF)
<td align="right">94



4. <a...
Welcome to the first of my Finals Previews.   This week is packed with four fantastic matches, all of the teams playing off have history against each other, and there is plenty to be said for 4 finals in Melbourne in week 1 of the series.   It has the potential to explode with action this weekend.

First, I need to look at the things leading up to the matches.   Because like all great dramas, the main action is predicated on key prior events, that often are only easily found when looking from a past perspective.   This weekend, we are looking at teams with different preparations - some squaring off, and others possibly leaving their powder dry for later battles.

FIXTURE FORTUNE - Geelong, Carlton and Essendon

Player management doesnt get any easier than this.   Their recent bye presents a perfect opportunity for freshening up a tired team.   Essendon "hit the wall" earlier in the season when going on a long run without a weekend off, and so this bye in Round 24 is just the tonic to provide them with a readiness for the trials ahead.   Personally, I think Geelong has it perfectly positioned.  A week off, then a few matches to get the rust off should see them hit finals in absolute peak condition.

FLAT TO THE FLOOR - St Kilda, West Coast and (to an extent Sydney)

These teams have in the case of WCE and St Kilda had a long run without a bye.   But their solution is not really to give a dose of "The General" but simply to put them in to perform week-in, week out.   It is a day job after all.   Sydney showed signs of fatigue, but have managed their run home well to go in with a great sense of confidence.   The Saints and Eagles might be running on the smell of an oily rag, but who argues with a locomotive with all that momentum?  Only Superman.

RESTING AND, DARE WE SAY IT, TANKING - Hawthorn and Collingwood

Two teams beset by niggling injuries all year have struggled to get their team in peak shape all season, but when it counts the...
Welcome to September peoples!

Not long now before the opening epic, Geelong vs Hawthorn kicks off.

Feel free to drop into the live score, and have a chat. Give Lucas a little about Collingwood going down to the West Coast.

Maybe have a crack at the Blues- yeah, Go you mighty BOMBERS!!!

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WE ARE ESSENDON!
I dunno guys, Ive come home early cause Im not feel too crash hot.

Dont think youll get too much biting criticism from me, but feel free to discus them!

Go the Bombers!!

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Geelong Cats
B: Josh Hunt, Matthew Scarlett, Tom Lonergan
HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, Andrew Mackie
C: Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly, Mitch Duncan
HF: Steve Johnson, Cameron Ling, Mathew Stokes
F: Tom Hawkins, James Podsiadly, Daniel Menzel
Foll: Brad Ottens, Paul Chapman, Joel Selwood
I/C: David Wojcinski, Travis Varcoe, Trent West, Allen Christensen
Emg: Darren Milburn, Cameron Mooney, Steven Motlop
In: Tom Lonergan, Mathew Stokes
Out: Shannon Byrnes (Calf), Darren Milburn
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Hawthorn Hawks
B: Thomas Murphy, Josh Gibson, Brent Guerra
HB: Grant Birchall, Ryan Schoenmakers, Matt Suckling
C: Brad Sewell, Sam Mitchell, Chance Bateman
HF: Cyril Rioli, Lance Franklin, Michael Osborne
F: Luke Breust, David Hale, Shaun Burgoyne
Foll: Max Bailey, Jordan Lewis, Luke Hodge
I/C: Brendan Whitecross, Liam Shiels, Isaac Smith, Paul Puopolo
Emg: Xavier Ellis, Benjamin Stratton, Kyle Cheney
In: Max Bailey, Grant Birchall, Lance Franklin, Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis, Brad Sewell, Cyril Rioli, Shaun Burgoyne
Out: Xavier Ellis, Rick Ladson, Paul Johnson, Jordan Lisle, Shane Savage, Benjamin Stratton, Kyle Cheney, Cameron Bruce (Soreness)
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Collingwood Magpies
B: Alan Toovey, Ben Reid, Heritier O&#8217;Brien
HB: Nick Maxwell, Chris Tarrant, Heath Shaw
C: Dayne Beams, Sharrod Wellingham, Tyson Goldsack
HF: Ben Johnson, Leigh Brown, Alan Didak
F: Steele Sidebottom, Travis Cloke, Luke Ball
Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Andrew Krakouer
I/C: Leon Davis, Dane Swan, Chris Dawes, Jarryd Blair
Emg: Ben Sinclair, Simon Buckley, Alex Fasolo
In: Leon Davis, Nick Maxwell, Heath Shaw
Out: Cameron Wood, Ben Sinclair, Alex Fasolo
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West Coast Eagles
B: Shannon Hurn, Darren Glass, Will...
What suprises me is that Richmond only won 2 more games then they did in 2010, yet they seemed to have a much better year this season and I think have taken some massive steps forward. For one they are no longer reliant on Riewoldt to kick all their goals. They have managed to share the load quite well. They had their ups and downs this year but that’s to be expected with such a young side. What amazes me is Melbourne get talked up as one the best young lists going around, I have always said that I believe Richmond will play finals and win a premiership before them, and I stand by that comment. With some good recruiting in this years trade &amp; draft period I can see them winning 11-13 games next year and really push  for a spot in the 8.

Join us over the break as I continue a quick review of the Tigers season before Chris88 takes over for a full review of the key Tigers supercoach season.

<!--more-->The Tiges will look back on Season 2011 and think what could have been if we didn’t sell our home games and have to travel interstate to play Melbourne &amp; Port Adelaide. Especially given how pathetic Port have been this year. A loss to the Gold Coast would also sting when considering most AFL clubs would have pencilled in a win against the new boys this year. How different would their season have been if they had won those 3 games? Well they would have finished equal with Essendon and just miss out on the 8 by percentage. But what ifs mean nothing when it comes down to it. From a non Tigers supporters view i firmly believe there will be some gold in amongst the Tigers list next season for a supercoach perspective. I firmly believe they will take a big step as a club next season and this should also see their players averages rise.

Anyway im sure your sick of me waffling on so thanks to Chris88 here is his review of the players.

The Good

Brett Deledio - Borderline All-Australian and another 100+ ppg SuperCoach scorer. Simply...
Just got the Supercoach Survey e-mail. And heres a list of interesting/funny questions.  Note the thoughts here are not completely those of the owner of this site, or of all who use it, this is just a bit of humour.  Lets hope we have comments that show its been done in the right light...
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[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">Thinking of your AFL Supercoach experience, did you purchase a SuperCoach Gold annual or monthly subscription?

[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">On which days do you usually read the Herald Sun [span style="text-decoration: underline">newspaper (i.e. the printed version)?  I dont read hahaha

[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">Do you own a smart phone?

[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">How likely are you to buy an iPad?  (Because we cant be stuffed writing an app tbh)

[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">Why dont you subscribe to Pay TV? (Hmmm who owns Foxtel...?)

[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">Which brands do you associate with Supercoach (The Age for the luls hahaha)

[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">SuperCoach is sponsored by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC). In your opinion, how good a "brand fit" is the sponsorship between SuperCoach and the [span style="color: #0066ff">TAC? (very good because your team looks like a car crash at least once per season...?)

[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">[span style="font-family: arial;color: #333399">Now wed like to know what you think about the SuperCoach brand (as pictured). Which of the following words, if any, do you most closely associate with SuperCoach? (How about offering Too Serious as an option?)



[span style="font-family: arial;color:...
Not content with sitting on the sidelines, when the AFL Supercoach finals came around a full strength NBA charged team bashed up the TinLids in the final. I am thinking General Soreness was a key player, but lets just see what they have to say for themselves.

Scores for the combatants:
TS NBA CREW: 37412 (talk about bringing it to the table when it counts)
Defeated
TS Tin Lids: 36192

Congrats to the NBA Crew. Huge performance to win from so far back.
Commisserations to the Tin Lids, though I suspect they copped The General, and that their original wins earlier in the finals were due to storing more trades than their rivals. In the end, sometimes, what goes around, comes around.

Im hoping next year we will still really focus on our overall teams, but for those who are keen to see their leagues progress, we might do some more factoring in the finals to make it easier for the top teams to win. Not sure how because they were whipped!

Finally, here are the top leagues from 2011 from TooSerious:

TS Donor Kebabs - P2
TS Platinum League - P5
Too Serious Donors - P10
Waaaaay Too Serious - P14
TS2 - 2Secs Too Slow - P18
FF v TS Challenge - P19

Id be interested to know how close the TinLids and the NBA Crew got to making top 20.