And so round 17 draws to a close- just two more weeks worth of league games til the finals roll up, so before I get into the reviews I gotta ask the question, Are you in? Or are the next two weeks hugely important?

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Essendon vs Adelaide
Result: Essendon by 11, 12.12.84 to 10.13.73

Alright, theres no way I can review this game without my bias showing through, it was definitely a game of two difference stories- and how inaccurate kicking changes games. It started off with the Bombers being inaccurate, kicking 2.7 to the first half, then kicking 10.5 in the second half. This was the total opposite of what Adelaide did, kicking 8.7 in the first half and 2.6 in the second half. Leading the charge for the Bombers was Angus Monfries, perhaps his confession throughout the week put a bit of a rocket under him- heres hoping he can continue that form! Anyways, he picked up 35 disposals for a 126SC. Top scoring for the Crow was Scott Thompson, who really seemed everywhere, picking up 37 touches and 111SC. Jacobs scored himself a 106SC with 30 hitouts, Petrenko played another great game with 19 touches for a 105SC whil Dangerfield kicked 3 goals for a 104SC. On the rookie front, Talia is approaching his bubble with a fantastic average and an 81SC this week- his DEF/FWD could be invaluable if youve got Murphy in your squad! The biggest villian for the game, through no fault of his own- he did score a 50 off essentially one quarter of football.

Heroes: Monfries, Thompsons, Jacobs
Villians: Howlett, Johncock, Smith

Richmond vs Gold Coast
Result: Gold Coast by 15, 12.13.85 to 9.16.70

Boy I love rooting for the Gold Coast, nothing beats cheering an underdog to victory, but as with Fridays game, it was really inaccurate kicking that kept them in it, with Richmond kicking 2.7 in the 3rd quarter. It was a strange game though, with one end of the ground having 19.23 kicked at it to 2.6 - bizarre. The top 3 scorers all belong to the Tigers, with Newman leading the way with 31 disposals for a 154SC. Houli put in a great one, his 30 touches leading to a 131SC while Rance scored himself a 130SC off 25 touches and at magnificent 96% DE. Top scoring for the Suns was Nathan Bock, his 21 touches made him a 128SC while Gary Ablett did well after his knee last week, collecting 27 touches for a 127SC. Other decent scores of note were Stanleys 101SC, Prestias 98SC, Isles 97SC and Swallows 93SC.

Heroes: Newman, Houli, Rance
Villians: Toy, Vickery, Martin

Carlton vs Collingwood
Result: Collingwood by 19, 13.20.98 to 11.13.79

So, it was billed as the game of the round, and really it was a decent showing, sure the kicking by the Pies was inaacurate, but it really added to the closeness of the game and gave the illusion that Carlton could come back at any time. Now, before I go on with the review, first allow me to get this off my chest- Heath Shaw, I had you in my SC, DreamTeam and Sportsbet team- I cant tell you enough how disappointed I am in how bloody stupid you must be to gamble on football- in particular, a Collingwood game! Seriously, its called a brain champ, use it! Now, with that out of the way, Daisy was fantastic, 29 touches, 10 marks and 146SC. Just behind, his partner in crime, Scott Pendlebury collected 26 disposals and 2 goals for a 145SC while Luke ball also croke the 140 mark, his 141SC coming off 22 touches. Top scoring for the Blues was Chris Judd, his 122SC coming off 35 touches- which if I remember the sportsbet ads from all week means than nobody lost money on this game with Sportsbet- Juddjuddjuddjuddjudd. Juddjuddjuddjuddjudd. Meanwhile, the top5 was rounded out by Bryce Gibbs, 27 touches for a 115SC was a solid return ofor his efforts. We saw ourselves a bubble burst this game, with Watson bursting his with a 40SC.

Heroes: Thomas, Pendlebury, Ball
Villians: Curnow, Thornton, Shaw!

St. Kilda vs West Coast
Result: St. Kilda by 21, 13.4.82 to 9.7.61

Wow, I didnt see this result coming, but now that its hear, the top 8 officially has one more teams knocking on the door! The game was a fair nail biter though, St. Kilda dominated the first quarter, kicking 6.1 to just a behind, but West Coast spend the next two quarters reeling in the lead, going into the final quarter 2 points up- but it was the Saints, and their accurate kicking that managed to come out in front. Montagna led the way for the Sainters, 34 touches for a very nice 154SC. On the Coasters side, Cox collected 22 touches and 36 hitouts for a 137SC. 3rd and 4th were both shared on 112SC with Fishers 26 touches and Naitanuis 17 hitouts getting them there. Rounding out the top5 was Dal Santo who managed a very tidy 107SC. McEvoy was the chief villian, with his inability to to even score half of his 5 game average of 134. Or should the title of Chief go to Saint Nick and his 56?

Heroes: Montagna, Cox, Naitanui
Villians: McEvoy, Riewoldt, Darling

Melbourne vs Port Adelaide
Result: Melbourne by 21, 17.11.113 to 14.8.92

Well, this game went to script- Melbourne got out early, and stayed their for the game. Boy, Martin is a gun though! 23 touches and 16 hitouts for a 126SC, sharing the top score with Ricky Petterd and his 25 touches, 3 goals. Sylvia did well, picking up 25 touches of his own for a 115SC. Robbie Gray top scored for the Power and is in a rich vein of form with a 19 touch, 114SC meanwhile Chad Cornes made the top 5 with a 17 touch, 3 goal performance with a 111SC. With everything said and done though, there was a fair few disappointing scores- particularly from the rookies with Howes 15 and Strauss 27 being the prime offenders.

Heroes: Martin, Petterd, Sylvia
Villians: Salopek, Boak, Howe

Sydney vs Fremantle
Result: Fremantle by 11, 15.8.98 to 13.9.87

A huge third quarter for the Dockers saw them secure themselves a fantastic win for their season, nearly doubling their halftime score in a single quarter! Lower was at his best, picking up the ball 30 times for a massive 146SC (and a 130DT score that I had on my bench! Would have done better if Id kept Shaw and unleashed Lower onto the field!). Fyfe did very well, 31 touches for a 138SC while the coaches that traded in Broughton for Shaw will be very happy with his 127SC off 31 touches. Top scoring for the Swan was Keiren Jack, who might finally be getting his season underway after being injury strickened through the first 2 thirds scoring a 120SC, meanwhile McVeigh rounded out the top5 with a 119SC off 24 touches. For the coaches that jumped on the bargain Silvagni however, will be frowning at his 44SC off 9 touches.

Heroes: Lower, Fyfe, Broughton
Villians: Duffield, Silvagni, Mzungu

Brisbane vs Geelong
Result: Geelong by 29, 20.13.133 to 15.14.104

Wow, I dont know what to think of this game, but the result doesnt highlight just how close this game was- and Im just not sure what to think of the implications, are Brisbane better than theyve been showing all year? Or is the wheels officially falling off the Geelong season? Were it not for the grace of Pods, and his 8 goal haul for 132SC, or the brave injury to Johnnp Brown, it could have been a different result. Rockliff top scored for the Lions, 30 touches and a goal for a 126 while Bartel did nicely with 32 touches and a goal for 123SC. Tom Hawkins had what was probably his best performance for the year with a 114SC off just 13 touches, including 3 big goals while Leuenberger topped a 109SC off 17 disposals and 34 hitouts. We got to see the first game back for Joel selwood in fours weeks, and it wasnt pretty- just 23 touches for a 78SC- but it wasnt the most disappointing score for the game, not with Enright scoring 74 off 23 touches and StevieJ just 69SC off 17 touches.

Heroes: Podsiadly, Rockliff, Bartel
Villians: Selwood, Enright, Stevie J.

North Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
Result: North Melbourne by 31, 21.16.142 to 17.9.111

What a huge difference a single week makes in football, North coming off a complete pounding by the Pies, while the Dogs were riding high after a shock win over the Blues. 5 goals and 23 touches from Petrie for a 157SC, a massive 41 disposals for a 151SC from Jack Ziebell and a 36 touch, 142SC to Andrew Swallow saw the Kangeroos blaze away in the final term with an 8 goal performance. Daniel Cross top scored for the Doggies with a 127SC while Daniel Wells rounded out the top5 with a 33 touch 118SC. The Brent Harvey owners out there will be happy to see him play- not just play though, he absolutely dominated the final quarter when it was on and picked up a 115SC for himself.

Heroes: Petrie, Ziebell, Swallow
Villians: Gilbee, Rawlings, Thompson

ST isnow open and Im still in 11th which is nice, while I fell to 5th is Sportsbet, however I dont think my 2386 will be enough to get me back into the top 100 in Supercoach, Ive seen a lot of 2500s around the place this week- cant wait til it opens to see how the chips all lie.

So, howd you go? It was a pretty bullet free week this week with just a few Geelong boys going well under average on us.

Finally, with Port having their bye next week- how good does it feel to put a full team on the park! Im going to have premiums on the bench as playing emergencies this week for goodness sakes!