Tis the first week of byes and the second week of Indigenous guernseys!

Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

Let’s see what happened this week.

***

AFL 2021 Season Week 12 Recaps

Melbourne Demons 97 – 75 Brisbane Lions

For COVID reasons, this game was moved to Sydney but that didn’t faze the Demons as they overcame a 20 point deficit and beat the Lions going away. Apparently, they’re for real.

Here are the highlights:

Sydney Swans 92 – 83 St. Kilda Saints

I saw the end of this game. The Saints had at least 5 chances to put this game away and couldn’t kick straight. That’s why their season is going down the toilet.

Here are the highlights:

Adelaide Crows 73 – 78 Collingwood Magpies

After all the weeks of scrutiny, the Pies finally get another win. Will this shut up the critics and ease the pressure on Nathan Buckley? Probably not, it’s Collingwood.

Here are the highlights:

Essendon Bombers 84 – 123 Richmond Tigers

The Dreamtime at the G at Optus Stadium match went to the Tigers, as expected. They always show up for the big games…

Here are the highlights:

Carlton Blues 73 – 99 West Coast Eagles

The Eagles got back on the winning track with a big win on the road in Sydney. The game was moved there due to COVID in Victoria.

Here are the highlights:

Fremantle Dockers 65 – 93 Western Bulldogs

The Doggies keep right on rolling are are still trying to catch Melbourne for the top spot in the ladder.

Here are the highlights:

Bye

The rest of the teams are on bye, but I’m keeping the formatting because I’m lazy. Please enjoy last week’s highlights.

Here are the highlights:

Bye 2

Did I mention I’m lazy? Please enjoy last week’s highlights?

Here are the highlights:

Bye 3

Ok, I’m not THAT lazy. Please enjoy Australian band Men At Work.

Here are the highlights:

***

2021 Ladder

Here is how the teams stand after Round 12:

P	TEAM	W	L	T	PTS	%
1	Melbourne Demons	11	1	0	44	137.6
2	Western Bulldogs	10	2	0	40	150.0
3	Geelong Cats	8	3	0	32	130.6
4	Brisbane Lions	8	4	0	32	127.3
5	Port Adelaide Power	8	3	0	32	123.3
6	Sydney Swans	8	4	0	32	112.9
7	West Coast Eagles	7	5	0	28	108.2
8	Richmond Tigers	7	5	0	28	106.2
9	Essendon Bombers	5	7	0	20	102.0
10	GWS Giants	5	6	0	20	93.3
11	Fremantle Dockers	5	7	0	20	88.4
12	St. Kilda Saints	5	7	0	20	77.6
13	Gold Coast Suns	4	7	0	16	92.7
14	Carlton Blues	4	8	0	16	92.4
15	Adelaide Crows	4	8	0	16	85.6
16	Collingwood Magpies	3	9	0	12	87.5
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 12:

***

Footy Tipping Contest

Here is where we stand after Round 12:

P	TIPPER	Round Tips	Round Margin	Total Tips	Total Margin
1	Doktor Zymm	6	7	79	322
2	SonOfSpam	4	14	73	311
3	Litre_cola	4	26	73	363
4	BFC	5	4	71	392
5	BC Dick	4	3	70	327
6	Mr. Ayo	4	22	70	332
7	Dolph Ucker	4	1	69	343
8		5	10	67	335
9	WhyEaglesWhy	4	28	66	346
10	BALLS	4	30	66	373
11	Game Time Decision	6	3	65	313
12	bk109	4	22	58	326
13	Maestro	3	34	47	340
14	Reverend Mayhem	4	22	45	334
15	Yeah Right	4	22	42	376

Dok must really want a Gently-Used Fleshlight! She followed up last week’s top score with not just another top score, but a perfect 6 for 6! Big congratulations to Game Time Decision, who also got a perfect week! Well done!

***

Balls Sechs

• Byes continue this week so we will only have 7 games instead of the usual nine.
• Due to a COVID outbreak in Melbourne, all the Melbourne games continue to be moved to other states. No word yet on when games can return to Victoria.
• The Demons were able to come back against the Lions in a neutral venue which tells me that they’re the real thing. The only question that remains is whether they will choke in finals like the Leafs.
• I’m repeating the item on this year’s special guernseys and their stories to make sure you follow this link.
• I looks like the Top Two are locked in and the Eight are locked in. You have a two game gap between Eight and Ninth and I just don’t think there is a team out there that can make that up, let alone a team that will drop down that far.
• The Match of The Round next week is probably the Port Adelaide-Geelong game. Two top four contenders going at it. Too bad it will be on in the middle of the night here.

***

Round Thirteen Schedule

Here is the Round 13 schedule (all times Pacific):

Thursday, June 10, 2021

2:40 AM – Port Adelaide Power v Geelong Cats at Adelaide Oval

Friday, June 11, 2021

2:50 AM – Sydney Swans v Hawthorn Hawks at the SCG

8:45 PM – BYE

9:10 PM – BYE

11:15 PM – Fremantle Dockers v Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium

Saturday, June 12, 2021

2:25 AM – St. Kilda Saints v Adelaide Crows at Cazaly’s Stadium

10:20 PM – North Melbourne Kangaroos v GWS Giants at Blundstone Arena

Sunday, June 13, 2021

1:40 AM – West Coast Eagles v Richmond Tigers at Optus Stadium

10:20 PM – Melbourne Demons v Collingwood Magpies at the SCG

***

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