First off, I apologize for the AFL Beat being late this week. A certain DFO pub crawl got in the way. FYI, a good time was had by all and Sponch! was in the da house.
This week,
we dive into what had to be the best round yet of AFL Women’s, we recap the AFL preseason, and
Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!
As I mentioned last week, this week’s first game between the GWS Giants and the Melbourne Demons was going to be a YUUGE determining factor in who was able to contend for the Grand Final. If the Demons won, they would be able to take advantage of the fact that the co-leaders (Adelaide Crows and Brisbane Lions) would be playing each other in the last game of the round.
The game was played late Thursday night/Friday morning on the West Coast so, thanks to the Watch AFL app and some self-discipline, I was able to watch it as soon as I got home on Friday night without knowing the score. The Giants (my second-favorite AFL Women’s team now) did me proud and messed up Melbourne’s season by winning a super tight and hard-hitting contest 20-15 in Sydney. Here is an example:
The Giants played really well and hung on at the end. Here is the full highlights package:
The highlights video doesn’t really show how hard-hitting this game was. If you can, I recommend watching the whole thing. Later on Friday night, I watched the entire game between Carlton and the Western Bulldogs. Since the Demons had lost, a win would vault Carlton into a tie in points with the Demons. Here is the Blues’ Darcy Vescio with an awesome mark that would lead to a goal:
As you can see, the Blues learned their lesson and were back to their regular dark blue colors. This, I believe, appeased the Hippo and got rid of the Curse, so the Blues were able to come out 54-48 winners. Here is a cool goal scored by Kate Shierlaw.
And the full highlights video:
Even later on Friday night, the Collingwood Magpies traveled to the Australian West Coast to play the Fremantle Dockers. I, unfortunately, fell asleep in the third quarter. It turns out the Pies won their second in a row by just one measly point. Before we get to the highlights, can we talk about how cool this referee looks doing the goal signal?
Like she’s going fast motion and sloooows it down for the landing. Awesome.
There were other things happening in this game too, but the ref to me was the highlight. Here is the highlights video:
And now we get to the big game: Adelaide v Brisbane. I watched this on Saturday morning and Holy Shit my friends was this a game. It had the intensity of a Grand Final. If you can watch the replay, do so. This was probably the best game of AFL Women’s I have seen.
This is a recap, so I’ll dispense with the suspense and tell you that my favorite team, the Brisbane Lions, won and that they only need to win one more game to guarantee a spot in the Grand Final. If they can win both, they are guaranteed to HOST the Grand Final.
Here is the highlights video:
Now get ready for some hard hits:
and bad blood:
Yeah, this game was a thriller. If these two teams meet again in the Grand Final, it will be one hell of a game. I’m hoping that Tayla Harris will have a bigger game next time. The Crows did a good job of controlling her and lessening her impact on the game. Let’s take a look at the ladder, shall we?
| PLACE | TEAM | G | W | T | L | % | POINTS |
| 1 | Brisbane Lions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 172.6 | 20 |
| 2 | Adelaide Crows | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 180 | 16 |
| 3 | Carlton Blues | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 129.6 | 12 |
| 4 | Melbourne Demons | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 114.1 | 12 |
| 5 | Collingwood Magpies | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 71.1 | 8 |
| 6 | GWS Giants | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 60.2 | 6 |
| 7 | Western Bulldogs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 89.4 | 4 |
| 8 | Fremantle Dockers | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 65.7 | 2 |
and let’s take a look at the schedule:
Melbourne plays Adelaide coming off a loss. If they can somehow beat them, they are well and truly alive in the chase for a Grand Final spot. If not, their season is over.
Carlton play winless Fremantle and better not wear their light blue U*NC-like unis. If they should fall to the Dockers, their season is over.
Brisbane plays Western in a game they SHOULD win, but the Lions cannot afford a let-up after this week’s gigantic win. If they win, they will wrap up a Grand Final berth. The Giants can vault over Collingwood into 5th place with a win against the Pies.
***
AFL Preseason
Coming off the excitement of the AFL Women’s, the AFL preseason games were kinda boring in comparison. I watched the Geelong-Adelaide match but, as I mentioned previously, it is really difficult to learn anything from these games as stars are rested for full quarters or halves. Here are the scores:
Western Bulldogs 58 – 66 Brisbane Lions
GWS Giants 42 – 54 Sydney Swans
Carlton Blues 30 – 122 St. Kilda Saints (!)
Fremantle Dockers 87 – 85 Collingwood Magpies (only three points separated the four teams this weekend!)
Adelaide Crows 70 – 64 Geelong Cats
Port Adelaide Power 51 – 79 Richmond Tigers
***
AFL Footy Tipping Contest
As you may remember, Litre_cola was nice enough to set up a contest last year in which we make picks as to who will win each AFL game straight up. As a tiebreaking procedure, you must also choose the winning margin for one game each week. It runs the entire season and culminates in the Grand Final.
I AGAIN highly encourage everyone to join. Since we have a few new fans, this is another great way for you to get into the game and learn more about it and the league as a whole. It’s on the ESPN Australia site and is, of course, free. The link to the group is here:
http://hosted.mobile.footytips.com.au/competitions/?ff=settings&competitionId=401652
We’re currently at 9 members. I pledge to you that if we can get to 15 members, I will offer a prize along the lines of what we have previously done at DFO for the NFL picks competitions. The more the merrier, so join the fun!
***
This is all for this week. I highly recommend for you all to catch a replay of the Brisbane Lions – Adelaide Crows AFL Women’s match from this weekend. It was really sport at its best. I leave you with this week’s Pacific Heat dialogue:
Maddie: That’s tough out there. I don’t know how you do it.
Angie The Stripper: When I first came to this country, it was not my dream to be a stripper.
Maddie: So why do you keep working here?
Angie: I have no choice. I need the money. Besides, I cannot leave. I know too much.
Maddie: What do you mean?
Angie: The girls, the cocktails, it’s just a front. You know where the real money is?
Veronica: Bottled water?
Angie: No. They sell the drugs.
Maddie: Meth?
Angie: Yes, but if I was to tell you any more, they will kill me.
Maddie: Angie, listen to me. We can help you.
Angie: Who are you?
Maddie: I can’t say.
Angie: You’re cops.
Maddie: How did you know?
Angie: Questions. She can’t dance.
Maddie: Alright, you joined the dots.
Angie: You’re also a little overweight.
Veronica: Hey, don’t push it.
See you next week!
So the 9 we have are Myself, Balls, BFC, Blax, SofS, Spanky, Sunrise, Zymm, WhyEagles Why. We had a lurker for a wee bit but they deleted themselves.
As for the question of prompts, yes if you put it in your setting to prompt you to pick as there are upcoming games it is a huge help. I know I would forget if I didn’t get that email.
Go the Saints.
I finished watching the last four episodes of Pacific Heat last week. Enjoyed the hell out of the entire season.
Sweet! Glad you enjoyed it!
According to ESPN Australia, I logged in and posted an avatar TOMORROW!!1! LOOGIT ME! I’M A FUCKIN’ TIME TRAVELER!!
Looks like the Carlton men won’t be spooning the ladies anytime soon, but each other might be a different story…FFS. 30??
That was an awesome finger gun by the ref. In my mind, she meant: “Enough! Die by the gun or get a pummelin'”
Also, do we need to do anything to reup in the footy contest or should I just expect emails reminding me to pick and kick your ass in a contest I know almost nothing about?
You should have gotten an email, but I’d go into the site just to make sure. I’m pretty sure you are still signed up, but you might want to double check.
Good timing, Balls, as I just finished watching the first have of the JLT match between GWS and Sydney and have some new fan questions:
-What does “go for nine” mean? I take it that it’s a higher point goal, but is it anything outside of fifty meters or are there other criteria to qualify for a nine point attempt?
-Similarly, can you explain what counts as “too high” for hits? It got called a bit and seems to be a point of emphasis, but I feel like an NFL ref trying to figure out what a catch is.
-Do the ruckmen take every jump ball? I thought they were basically hockey enforcers but am learning that’s not the case. What else do they do that differentiates them from other players?
-Is a “disposal” just a stat for number of times you got the ball out of the zone or something else?
-Do the Swans always get favorable treatment from the refs?
Thanks, Balls!
Excellent questions! I really should have explained some of the nuances of the preseason and the game in general. Here are the answers:
1- In preseason games, they have what they call the “Super Goal” which is worth 9 points. That happens whenever the player kicks a goal from outside the 50 meter line. Something weird happened this weekend too. A player took a mark inside 50 but then kicked the ball from outside 50 and it went in. In that situation, it only counted the regular six points. The Super Goal only happens in pre-season, so you do not need to worry about it in the regular season. It’s basically a ploy to get fans interested in meaningless games and to pump up scores of otherwise low-scoring preseason games.
2- The “too-high” call has to do with how a player gets tackled. Generally, tackles are supposed to be made from the shoulders down to the knees. Anything too low is considered a foul as is any contact that starts at the shoulders or above. You’re right in that it’s NFL-like as they are trying to avoid head injuries that way. At least in the AFL they acknowledge that head injuries are bad short term and long-term. It is definitely a point of emphasis this year for the refs. The problem, as you stated it, is that some players “duck” into tackles. That is also a penalty and makes it tough for the ref to figure out if the contact was caused by someone trying to tackle too high or if the person getting tackled ducked and the tackler had no choice but to take him high.
3- The ruckmen are usually the tallest players and usually take the bounce-up or ball-up. HOWEVAH, there is no rule that says they must take every single one. Sometimes a ball-up may occur far from where a ruckman may be and someone else can take the jump. That person raises their hand so the ref can identify who is jumping. The new rule this year is that a third person will not be allowed in the ruck. In the past, more than one person was allowed to jump for the ball. This year, only two are allowed. The ruckmen’s role has diversified so that they are now expected to go up front as necessary to assist the forwards and try to score goals. At the same time, they may be needed in the back to defend. They’re a little more like midfielders in that regard. Obviously, that’s a super hard task for really tall dudes, so not everyone can and does do this. The ones that do are considered superstars.
4- A “disposal” is a stat that indicates every time you have the ball and get rid of it. If you are able to make successful passes to teammates by either hand-balls or kicks, then your disposal percentage goes up. If your kicks or hand-balls result in loose balls or go to the other team, your disposal percentage goes down. It also measures how involved you are in the game. If you only have three disposals all game, that means you hardly ever touched the ball.
5- If they’re playing in Sydney, yes. That’s a joke, obviously. The refs in the AFL are actually pretty good and tend to call the game the same way for both teams. The calls that end up being judgment calls (such as the “too high” call you mentioned above or the “holding the ball” call) may be perceived as being biased if a player is perceived to be a “ducker” but doesn’t get called for ducking and instead gets a free kick. Players do have reputations and that influences the perception of how calls are made.
Thanks, Balls!
/hope I can keep saying that for decades
WOOOOO SWANS!!!!1!