Oh kids, do we have some great stuff this week!  Gather around and let Ole Balls tell you about this weekend’s finals games!

Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

We start off with the surprise of Finals Week 1.  Going in, few people, me included, thought that the Western Bulldogs would have much of a chance to win the “West”ern Derby and beat West Coast in Perth on Australian Thursday Night (North American Thursday morning).  As our old buddy Herm taught us, though,

and that’s exactly what the Doggies did.  In convincing fashion too, I might add.  They took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Here is a highlight package of what the AFL thinks are the top five plays from the game:

I myself prefer highlights where the words “long and strong” are used:

This game probably represents a vote in the + column when the AFL starts evaluating whether the bye before Finals Week 1 was a good idea or not.   The Bulldogs were able to get a lot of key players back from injury, which made a huge difference.  Also, this allowed the AFL to have a final on Thursday night in Australia, which produced massive TV ratings, the highest of the season.

That was, of course, until Geelong played Hawthorne on Australian Friday Night (North American Friday morning) at the MCG the next day.  This game not only set a new TV ratings record, it was an all-time classic thriller.  This is the type of game that they used to make VHS cassettes or DVDs of and sell and people would buy them in droves.  Let’s watch the last two minutes, shall we?

Was Balls’ heart pounding like crazy and was there a YUUUUUUUGE sigh of relief at the end?

I was watching the game on my tablet and the Australian TV feed continued after the game was over.  At one point, they had a great slow-motion shot of players from both teams in the same frame and their reactions prior to and after the kick.  Geelong thought they were going to lose and were distraught.  Then, the miss came and that emotion got moved to the Hawks while the Cats erupted in celebration.  I couldn’t find a video of it online, otherwise I would have included it here.  If WhyEaglesWhy saw it live or, hopefully DVR’ed the game, maybe he knows how to post it.  I don’t know if Australia has Emmys, but someone needs to win something for that.  Amazing broadcasting.

The next final was the Sydney Derby between GWS and the Swans. I managed to watch the first quarter before falling asleep on North American Friday night. To my pleasant surprise, I woke up on Saturday morning to find out that GWS had actually pulled the upset and beat the Swans by 36.  This highlight package gives a pretty good indication of how the game flowed:

The last game was, fittingly, the last game in a Kangaroos uniform for many veterans.  I had openly questioned last week whether the timing of announcing that these players’ contracts would not be renewed right before the final was a clever motivational ploy or a dumb idea.  We can debate it all day long, but the fact is that the Roos got their butts kicked by the Crows in Adelaide by 62.  Kind of a shit way to go out.  Here are a few highlights:

Every time I see him, I am convinced that Tex Walker is really just playing AFL as a side gig from his main job as Australia’s pre-eminent porn star.  Also, it wouldn’t be an Adelaide recap without an Eddie Betts highlight.  Here is one of his six (!) goals:

So, what does all this action this weekend mean?  For one, it means that I, despite giving away my tips for the whole world to see last week, am back on top due to Litre_cola’s unfortunate decision to back the Hawks.  I guess it pays to be a homer sometimes.  Special kudos go to BFC who has not only overtaken Blax, but also Dok Zymm with a tremendous 3 out of 4 performance!  Here are the standings for our Footy Tipping Contest:

As you can see, two people forgot TO PUT THE TIP IN!

Seriously folks, do I need to get more explicit with my reminders?

Besides our own personal glory, this weekend’s results mean that Geelong and GWS get a bye next week while Sydney and Hawthorn get a second chance to reach the Grand Final. The bracket and games are:

The game schedule is as follows (all times Pacific):

Second Semifinal – Friday September 16

Hawthorn Hawks v Western Bulldogs at MCG – 2:50 AM (LIVE on Fox Sports 2 and TSN2!)

First Semifinal – Saturday September 17

Sydney Swans v Adelaide Crows at SCG – 2:25 AM (LIVE on Fox Sports 2 and TSN2!)

I will not do a full preview this week as, honestly, I have no idea who will win.  This second week of finals should be just as good, if not better, than the first week.  Stay up late/wake up early and watch these games!  I promise you that it will be worth it!

Since the NFL season is underway, I’m moving the AFL Beat to Sunday nights after the SNF game for the remainder of the AFL season.  Hopefully this will cleanse the bad taste of Cris Collingsworth out of your mouths.  See you next week!