Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

We’ve eliminated two teams. Which ones were they? Let’s see what happened.

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AFL 2021 Finals Week 1 Recaps

Port Adelaide Power 86 – 43 Geelong Cats

I woke up early for work and turned on the game just to see that Geelong was getting its ass kicked. There was a wisp of hope that was quickly smothered by a Power goal and I turned the whole thing off.

Here are the highlights, now in Mini-Match format!

Sydney Swans 73 – 74 GWS Giants

Holy shit! I told you guys this was the game to watch! You have to see the Mini-Match to see how it went down but this was an instant classic.

Here are the highlights in Mini Match format!

Melbourne Demons 93 – 60 Brisbane Lions

To tell you the truth, I really expected the Lions to put up a bigger fight. They were just outhustled at every turn and now Melbourne gets a week of rest before their Preliminary Final.

Here are the highlights in Mini Match format!

Western Bulldogs 85 – 36 Essendon Bombers

This was not pretty for the Bombers. They hung in there for a half but then the bottom fell out. The Doggies now face Brisbane next week.

Here are the highlights in Mini Match format!

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Footy Tipping Contest

Here is where we stand after the first week of finals:

I not only got a score of 0, I did worse than those that did not enter picks. Which just goes to show you that just because I write these posts, that doesn’t mean I’m an expert. Not by a long shot. Joliet Jake suffered the same fate as me and dropped down the standings like I did.

Great job to BC Dick, SonOfSpam, BFC, Game Time Decision, and Dolph Ucker for getting top scores this week! The margin is still 4 but now Mr. Ayo is the one nipping at Litre’s heels!

Please remember that the Tipping Contest runs THROUGH the Grand Final! You can still enter tips on the app! There is still time to overtake Litre as there are five games left.

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Balls Sechs

• Brisbane will host the Western Bulldogs in one of the Semi-Finals and the fact that the game is being held in Brisbane makes this a much tougher game to tip. I think the Lions will be disappointed with their performance last week and will take care of business at home.
• Speaking of disappointed in their performance, the Geelong Cats will “host” the GWS Giants in Perth due to the COVID situation in Victoria. As I type (North American Monday afternoon), Toby Greene is going before the Tribunal defending himself against a possible charge of contact with an umpire. If he is banned, that would be a problem for the Giants.
• If I get the verdict before I go to sleep tonight, I’ll post it in this slot. UPDATE: Toby Greene has been banned for 3 games, which means his season is over even if the Giants make the Grand Final. WOW! I did not expect that.
• As you can see in the diagram at the top of the post, the winner of Geelong-GWS plays Melbourne in one Preliminary Final in Perth while the winner of Brisbane-Western plays Port Adelaide, in Adelaide.
• Again due to COVID, the Grand Final will probably be moved to Optus Stadium in Perth. The AFL is waiting until the last minute to make that call, but it doesn’t look like the restrictions will ease any time soon in Victoria.
• The Match of the Round next week is probably Brisbane-Western. That seems like a really even matchup.

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Finals Week Two Schedule

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

Friday, September 3, 2021

2:50 AM – Geelong Cats v GWS Giants at Optus Stadium

Saturday, September 4, 2021

TBD – Brisbane Lions v Western Bulldogs at The Gabba

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