Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

The Finals picture is taking shape. Let’s see what happened.

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AFL 2021 Season Week 22 Recaps

GWS Giants 106 – 67 Richmond Tigers

The Giants put one giant boot on the cockroach-like Finals chances for the Tigers. Funnily enough, other results assured that the Tigers are mathematically still alive. The Giants, however, are in great shape and will be a tough out come finals.

Here are the highlights:

Hawthorn Hawks 64 – 37

The Hawks are sending off coach Alistair Clarkson in the right way, playing their best footy of the year. On the other side, the Doggies are reeling from the loss of star Josh Bruce. They do not look good at all going into finals and could lose a Top Four spot with a loss next week.

Here are the highlights:

Geelong Cats 85 -71 St. Kilda Saints

This game was a lot closer than the score indicates. The Saints got out to a 31 point lead in the first quarter. The Cats grabbed momentum in the second and steadily chipped away until they finally got the lead. The final margin wasn’t decided until the very end. This officially ends the Saints’ finals hopes.

Here are the highlights:

Port Adelaide 140 – 45 Carlton Blues

Given the final score, you’d find it strange that the Blues actually led by 20+ points in the second quarter. What happened then was a total capitulation that may end coach David Teague’s tenure at Carlton. Just unbelievable how they just gave up.

Here are the highlights:

Brisbane Lions 142 -57 Collingwood Magpies

The Pies know their season is over and played like it. The Lions are warming up for finals in exactly the right way. With a win this weekend and a Doggies loss, they could claim a Top Four spot.

Here are the highlights:

North Melbourne Kangaroos 77 – 91 Sydney Swans

Even though they lost, the Roos continually to play well and hard. This should give them a big confidence boost going into next season. They may have won the Wooden Spoon this year, but they should not win it again next year.

Here are the highlights:

Melbourne Demons 104 – 63 Adelaide Crows

The Demons took care of business as they were supposed to and will now play the Cats at Geelong for the Minor Premiership (#1 in the regular season) next week.

Here are the highlights:

Gold Coast Suns 30 – 98 Essendon Bombers

The Bombers put themselves in the driver’s seat for the last spot in the Eight. A win next weekend against the Pies will seal their Finals spot and ensure Richmond doesn’t repeat.

Here are the highlights:

Fremantle Dockers 79 – 64 West Coast Eagles

West Coast has completed their late-season collapse and are now officially out of the Eight. Meanwhile, the Dockers are making a case that they are now the best team in Perth.

Here are the highlights:

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2021 Ladder

Here is how the teams stand after Round 22:

P	TEAM	W	L	T	PTS	%
1	Melbourne Demons	16	4	1	66	132.3
2	Geelong Cats	16	5	0	64	128.6
3	Port Adelaide Power	16	5	0	64	127.3
4	Western Bulldogs	15	6	0	60	134.5
5	Brisbane Lions	14	7	0	56	132.7
6	Sydney Swans	14	7	0	56	115.1
7	GWS Giants	10	10	1	42	98.9
8	Essendon Bombers	10	11	0	40	107.2
9	West Coast Eagles	10	11	0	40	94.9
10	Fremantle Dockers	10	11	0	40	89.0
11	Richmond Tigers	9	12	0	36	97.8
12	St. Kilda Saints	9	12	0	36	88.0
13	Carlton Blues	8	13	0	32	88.7
14	Hawthorn Hawks	7	13	1	30	84.5
15	Gold Coast Suns	7	14	0	28	80.0
16	Collingwood Magpies	6	15	0	24	87.0
17	Adelaide Crows	6	15	0	24	79.2
18	North Melbourne Kangaroos	4	16	1	18	71.0

Here is the Balls Graph (TM) as of Week 22:

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Footy Tipping Contest

Here is where we stand after Round 22:

P	TIPPER	Round Tips	Round Margin	Total Tips	Total Margin
1	Litre_cola	7	47	127	674
2	Dok Zymm	8	39	124	675
3		8	24	123	575
4	Mr. Ayo	5	49	123	625
5	BFC	8	25	122	676
6	SonOfSpam	6	46	121	610
7	BALLS	7	31	119	646
8	BC Dick	7	64	117	664
9	Dolph Ucker	5	46	116	658
10	Game Time Decision	5	51	112	604
11	Why Eagles Why	7	46	112	610
12	bk109	2	39	99	593
13	Reverend Mayhem	2	39	88	601
14	Maestro	2	39	86	627
15	Yeah Right	2	39	85	643

Big congratulations to Dok, Joliet Jake, and BFC, who all got top score and moved ever closer to Litre_cola! Wisconsin must be good to Jake for tipping as he is on fire with the tips and has now made it all the way to 3rd place! Keep up the good work, everyone!

Please remember that the Tipping Contest runs THROUGH the Grand Final! That means next week is not the final week for the contest. There is still time to overtake Litre!

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Balls Sechs

• While the Giants could theoretically still miss finals by losing to Carlton and others winning, that’s highly unlikely given how they’ve been playing the last few weeks. Plus, they get Toby Greene back next week. Depending on how results fall, they could play Sydney in an Elimination Final and would be a good chance to beat them.
• If Geelong beat Melbourne at home next week, they should end the season #1 and host the #4 team with a Double Chance. If they lose, they could fall all the way down to #4 and play the Demons again the following game.
• However, if Port Adelaide beat the Doggies by a large enough margin and Geelong beats Melbourne by a small enough margin, the Power could end up #1.
• If the Doggies lose to the Power and Brisbane beats West Coast, the Lions would take the #4 spot and the Doggies would end up in an Elimination Final.
• If the Giants and Essendon both win, they are in. Simple as that and I expect that to happen as they play Carlton and Collingwood, whose seasons are over and who will both be looking for new permanent coaches next year.
• The Match of the Round next week is Geelong v Melbourne for the #1 spot but Port Adelaide-Western will also be a good match. It’s rare that the Top Four play each other in the final week with so much at stake.

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Round Twenty Three Schedule

Here are your games this week (all times Pacific):

Friday, August 20, 2021

2:50 AM – Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide Power at Marvel Stadium

8:35 PM Richmond Tigers v Hawthorn Hawks at the MCG

8:45 PM – Sydney Swans v Gold Coast Suns at the Marvel Stadium

11:35 PM – Brisbane Lions v West Coast Eagles at The Gabba

Saturday, August 21, 2021

2:25 AM – Geelong Cats v Melbourne Demons at GMHBA Stadium

2:40 AM = Carlton Blues v GWS Giants at Marvel Stadium

7:15 PM – St. Kilda Saints v Fremantle Dockers at TBD

10:20 PM – Essendon Bombers v Collingwood Magpies at the MCG

11:40 PM – Adelaide Crows v North Melbourne Kangaroos at Adelaide Oval

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