This week…
We have finished the regular season and are now ready for finals!
Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!
Here are the results and highlights from Round Eighteen:
Thursday, September 17, 2020
North Melbourne Kangaroos 34 v West Coast Eagles 49 at Metricon Stadium
The Eagles took care of the Roos, as expected, and now get ready for finals.
Friday, September 18, 2020
St. Kilda Saints 82 v GWS Giants 30 at The Gabba
In what must have been a shock to Litre_cola, the Saints showed they could win a huge game and are in finals!
Essendon Bombers 49 v Melbourne Demons 68 at Metricon Stadium
In a must-win situation, the Demons won, but it wasn’t enough.
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Adelaide Crows 33 v Richmond Tigers 77 at Adelaide Oval
Richmond tuned up for finals by stopping the Adelaide win streak and getting the Double Chance.
Brisbane Lions 78 v Carlton Blues 61 at The Gabba
The Lions took care of business against the Blues and ended up 2nd thanks to Port’s win.
Hawthorn Hawks 108 v Gold Coast Suns 57 at Adelaide Oval
The Hawks ended the season the right way by both beating the Suns and honoring their departing players.
Sydney Swans 63 v Geelong Cats 69 at Metricon Stadium
The Swans gave the Cats all they could handle, but the Cats were able to get the points and the Double Chance.
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Fremantle Dockers 44 v Western Bulldogs 74 at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns
With their season on the line, the Doggies won and knocked out Melbourne for the last spot in the Eight.
Monday, September 21, 2020
Collingwood Magpies 45 v Port Adelaide Power 61 at The Gabba
The Pies couldn’t pull off the upset and now will have to win in Perth to stay alive.
***
Let’s take a look at the ladder, shall we?
| P | TEAM | W | L | T | PTS | % |
| 1 | Port Adelaide Power | 14 | 3 | 0 | 56 | 136.4 |
| 2 | Brisbane Lions | 14 | 3 | 0 | 56 | 124.9 |
| 3 | Richmond Tigers | 12 | 4 | 1 | 48 | 129.9 |
| 4 | Geelong Cats | 12 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 136.8 |
| 5 | West Coast Eagles | 12 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 117.0 |
| 6 | St. Kilda Saints | 10 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 116.2 |
| 7 | Western Bulldogs | 10 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 106.7 |
| 8 | Collingwood Magpies | 9 | 7 | 1 | 38 | 109.5 |
| 9 | Melbourne Demons | 0 | 8 | 0 | 36 | 107.8 |
| 10 | GWS Giants | 8 | 9 | 0 | 32 | 95.6 |
| 11 | Carlton Blues | 7 | 10 | 0 | 28 | 94.3 |
| 12 | Fremantle Dockers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 28 | 93.7 |
| 13 | Essendon Bombers | 6 | 10 | 1 | 26 | 79.2 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Suns | 5 | 11 | 1 | 22 | 90.6 |
| 15 | Hawthorn Hawks | 5 | 12 | 0 | 20 | 84.1 |
| 16 | Sydney Swans | 5 | 12 | 0 | 20 | 82.6 |
| 17 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | 3 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 71.2 |
| 18 | Adelaide Crows | 3 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 64.4 |
Here is the Balls GraphTM:
[gview file=”https://www.doorfliesopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AFL-Ladder-2020R18.pdf”]
***
Footy Tipping Contest
Here is where we are after Round Eighteen:
| P | TIPPER | Round Tips |
Round Margin |
Total Tips | Total Margin |
| 1 | Dolph Ucker | 8 | 3 | 110 | 444 |
| 2 | SonOfSpam | 8 | 1 | 108 | 413 |
| 3 | BFC | 7 | 8 | 107 | 331 |
| 4 | Litre_cola | 8 | 9 | 104 | 390 |
| 5 | BALLS | 6 | 20 | 100 | 465 |
| 6 | 7 | 1 | 100 | 516 | |
| 7 | Sunrisesunrise | 8 | 6 | 99 | 615 |
| 8 | Yeah Right | 7 | 9 | 97 | 431 |
| 9 | BC Dick | 7 | 16 | 96 | 447 |
| 10 | WhyEaglesWhy | 8 | 32 | 92 | 448 |
| 11 | Game Time Decision | 6 | 31 | 89 | 520 |
| 12 | Maestro | 5 | 16 | 82 | 427 |
| 13 | Sharkbait | 7 | 34 | 71 | 700 |
| 14 | Reverend Mayhem | 5 | 16 | 64 | 423 |
A lot of people got really good scores this week, so there was only minor movement. HOWEVAH, one of the moves was SonOfSpam displacing BFC for 2nd place. The race at the top is still super tight with Litre_cola an outside shot to claim the coveted gently-used fleshlight!
Please keep in mind that the Footy Tipping Contest continues through the Grand Final so I remind you, as always,
DON’T FORGET TO PUT THE FOOTY TIPS IN!
***
Without further ado, it’s
Balls’ Sechs
1- There was only one matchup of teams that needed to win to get into finals and the Saints really impressed. Maybe the Giants weren’t that good and were put out of their misery, but that was a big statement win by St. Kilda.
2- The other teams that needed to win against teams not in contention were able to, so you can’t really say that anyone backed into finals. The field is set and looks pretty strong. There will be no pushovers.
3- The Power surprised me with their victory over the Pies on the last day of the season. That gives the Pies a VERY difficult path to the Grand Final as they would have to beat West Coast in Perth in an Elimination Final.
4- The Saints and Doggies will face off in the other Elimination Final in what had to be relief for both teams. I’m pretty sure both teams feel they can win that game.
5- We have a repeat of last year’s Qualifying Final with Richmond taking on Brisbane at The Gabba. The Lions have improved greatly since then and it will be interesting to see if the result is any different.
6- Finally, the Cats take on the Power in Adelaide where, just as recently as Round 12, the Cats beat them by 60. I highly doubt we will see a repeat of that!
***
That’s all for this week.
As discussed last week, Fox Sports has the rights to the AFL in the United States while TSN has the rights in Canada and the AFL is pressuring them to have more games available on the FS1, FS2, and TSN networks. Now is the perfect chance for you to see what all the fun is about!
Not only that, but ESPN has jumped back into the AFL pool! They’ll be broadcasting one game per week live on an ESPN network and streaming another live on ESPN3.
You can find the latest broadcast information on the Australian Football Association of North America website here.
Here is your Finals Week One live broadcast schedule with North American broadcast partner:
Finals Week One
Thursday, October 1, 2020
2:40 AM – Port Adelaide Power v Geelong Cats at Adelaide Oval (FS1, TSN1)
Friday, October 2, 2020
2:50 AM – Brisbane Lions v Richmond Tigers at The Gabba (FS1, TSN1)
11:40 PM – St. Kilda Saints v Western Bulldogs at The Gabba (FS2, TSN1)
Saturday, October 3, 2020
3:10 AM – West Coast Eagles v Collingwood Magpies at Optus Stadium (FS2, TSN1)
***
See you next time!
It’s WEW vs. Balls Part 2!
Yeah baby!! It’s going to be a great game!
Who farted?
The one who has smelt, is the one who has dealt.
Devonta Freeman? More like Devonta Gman
This job is going to kill me
You are getting the mudd butt, too? I thought it was just me.
In one of my leagues, I had Kamara and Waller. Both showed up last night huge for me.
In one of my leagues I had Barkley and Sutton. Both on IR now.
Breaking News: Blake Bortles Buses to Broncos.
Broncos buy Bortles boast of better backing?
Broncos bargain with Bortles to buoy ball-throwing.
Broncos buy bored backup baller Blake Bortlles.
Beautiful, just fucking beautiful.
2020 in GIF form
The rich are the blue guy.
Boo this season
I will admit I was absolutely shocked by the Saints performance. From start to finish they were the better side. Now, where the hell was that all season????
Need to give the upside down rock to Aussie Kamara.