Two in a row! Let’s see how far I can do this…

Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

The byes and the COVID match reschedules will start next week! Also, we get the Indigenous Round!

First, let’s see what happened this week.

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AFL 2021 Season Week 11 Recaps

Western Bulldogs 59 – 87 Melbourne Demons

The Demons took care of the Doggies and now you can’t really say they’re not for real. I mean, I’ll stick talk shit about them because I don’t like them, but they’re undeniably the top team. For now.

Here are the highlights:

Collingwood Magpies 51 – 61 Geelong Cats

This was the definition of an ugly win by the Cats. Neither side could kick straight for almost the entire game. Oh well, we’ll take it.

Here are the highlights:

Brisbane Lions 129 – 65 GWS Giants

I really expected this game to be a lot closer. The Lions are roaring (sorry) and they take on the Demons next week. Maybe the Lions are the real top team in the comp?

Here are the highlights:

St. Kilda Saints 88 – 68 North Melbourne Kangaroos

Litre keeps joking that the Saints are always destined to finish 10th. This year is no exception. The Roos, meanwhile, are still stuck on just the one win.

Here are the highlights:

Gold Coast Suns 113 – 76 Hawthorn Hawks

The Sunnies got back on the winning side with a handy win against the Hawks. Does that mean they’re any good? We won’t find out until they play a team in the top side of the ladder.

Here are the highlights:

West Coast Eagles 71 – 87 Essendon Bombers

The Bombers accomplished something that not many teams have done. They beat the Eagles in Perth. That’s pretty impressive and could mean they are headed for finals.

Here are the highlights:

Richmond Tigers 111 – 83 Adelaide Crows

The Tigers are playing possum a lot this year. They look pretty pedestrian and the other team takes a good lead and then all of a sudden they wake up, start playing right, and win going away. You gotta wonder if they can keep that up in finals.

Here are the highlights:

Sydney Swans 100 – 78 Carlton Blues

The Swans keep rolling along and are firmly in the finals picture. Meanwhile, Carlton needed to win this to show that they’ve improved and are ready to challenge. They did not and are not.

Here are the highlights:

Port Adelaide Power 115 – 69 Fremantle Dockers

The Power enjoyed a nice victory at home over the flailing Dockers. The Dockers need to right the ship as too many losses will get them further away from the Eight.

Here are the highlights:

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2021 Ladder

Here is how the teams stand after Round 11:

P	TEAM	W	L	T	PTS	%
1	Melbourne Demons	10	1	0	40	138.5
2	Western Bulldogs	10	1	0	40	150.6
3	Brisbane Lions	8	3	0	32	133.5
4	Geelong Cats	8	3	0	32	130.6
5	Port Adelaide Power	8	3	0	32	123.3
6	Sydney Swans	7	4	0	28	113.0
7	West Coast Eagles	6	5	0	24	106.4
8	Richmond Tigers	6	5	0	24	102.4
9	Essendon Bombers	5	6	0	20	106.2
10	GWS Giants	5	6	0	20	93.3
11	Fremantle Dockers	5	6	0	20	90.2
12	St. Kilda Saints	5	6	0	20	76.4
13	Carlton Blues	4	7	0	16	93.9
14	Gold Coast Suns	4	7	0	16	92.7
15	Adelaide Crows	4	7	0	16	85.0
16	Collingwood Magpies	2	9	0	8	85.8
17	Hawthorn Hawks	2	9	0	8	74.4
18	North Melbourne Kangaroos	1	10	0	4	57.9

Here is the Balls Graph (TM) as of Week 11:

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Footy Tipping Contest

Here is where we stand after Round 11:

P	TIPPER	Round Tips	Round Margin	Total Tips	Total Margin
1	Doktor Zymm	8	23	73	315
2	SonOfSpam	7	37	69	297
3	Litre_cola	7	38	69	337
4	Mr. Ayo	6	38	66	310
5	BC Dick	7	33	66	324
6	BFC	6	41	65	388
7	Dolph Ucker	6	43	65	342
8	WhyEaglesWhy	6	32	62	318
9		3	28	62	325
10	BALLS	7	31	62	343
11	Game Time Decision	7	39	59	312
12	bk109	3	28	52	304
13	Maestro	3	28	43	306
14	Reverend Mayhem	3	28	41	312
15	Yeah Right	3	28	38	354

Dok went on vacation and still got top score. This is Dok’s world and we’re just living in it. There was some movement in the middle of the pack as we have some tense battles at the 62, 65, 66, and 69 point marks. Well done everyone!

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Balls Sechs

• Byes start this week so we will only have 6 games instead of the usual nine.
• Due to a COVID outbreak in Melbourne, all the Melbourne games are being moved to other states. That means the traditional Dreamtime At The G game between Essendon and Richmond will take place at Optus Stadium in Perth.
• The Dreamtime Game also signals that it’s the Sir Doug Nicholls Round! As you know, this is my favourite round of the competition as all teams wear special guernseys.
• You can see all of this year’s special guernseys and their stories by following this link.
• I think Essendon’s is rather sharp. I also like Richmond’s, which means the Dreamtime Game will be worth a watch beyond the teams playing.
• The Match of The Round next week is probably the Dreamtime Game. I think Richmond will win, but the guernseys and having the celebrations at Optus Stadium will be quite special.

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Round Twelve Schedule

Here is the Round 12 schedule (all times Pacific):

Friday, June 4, 2021

2:50 AM – Melbourne Demons v Brisbane Lions at ???

8:45 PM – St. Kilda Saints v Sydney Swans at ???

9:10 PM – BYE

11:35 PM – Adelaide Crows v Collingwood Magpies at Adelaide Oval

Saturday, June 5, 2021

2:40 AM – Essendon Bombers v Richmond Tigers at Optus Stadium

2:40 AM – BYE

8:10 PM – BYE

10:20 PM – Carlton Blues v West Coast Eagles at ???

1:40 AM – Fremantle Dockers v Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium

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That’s all for this week. See you next week!