This week, the lights went out in California (more specifically, a one square mile block where my house happens to be in), so I was not able to get the Beat out. Therefore, here we go!

Apologies as one game has already been played. Actually, make that two games. Blame COVID. The AFLW has compressed the schedule to get makeup games in and there was a game on Australian Thursday night and a game on Australian Friday night, which translated to North American Thursday AM and Friday AM. So, yeah. Oopsies!

Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

Let’s get right to the games that were played last week and the games that have already been played this week.

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Week 6 Recaps

Gold Coast Suns 49 – 38 Geelong Cats

This was a very exciting game that was closer than the score indicates. It will be interesting to see how far the Suns can move up.

Here are the highlights:

Richmond Tigers 18 – 37 North Melbourne Kangaroos

The Roos are getting hot at just the right time while the Tigers are cooling down greatly from their hot start.

Here are the highlights:

Melbourne Demons 44 – 7 GWS Giants

Yikes! Man, that scoreline is not pretty. Neither was this game if you are a Giants fan.

Here are the highlights:

Fremantle Dockers 51 – 9 Carlton Blues

Another week, another ass-kicking heading Carlton’s way. To think that the media in Australia thought Carlton might get into finals this year…

Here are the highlights:

St. Kilda Saints 26 – 31 Brisbane Lions

The Saints were SO CLOSE to their first win and it was also against the reigning champs! They really played a hell of a game.

Here are the highlights:

West Coast Eagles 22 – 46 Collingwood Magpies

I thought the return to Western Australia would help the Eagles get their season going, but the Pies had other ideas.

Here are the highlights:

Adelaide Crows 48 – 49 Western Bulldogs

In the UPSET of the week (and perhaps YEAR), the Doggies overcame the seemingly-unbeatable Crows. Have they given everyone else the key to beating them? We shall see…

Here are the highlights:

Gold Coast Suns 16 – 85 Brisbane Lions

This was the most points scored by a Lions team in AFLW history. The winning margin? Very nice.

Here are the highlights:

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Ladder

Here is how the teams stand after Round 6. Please note that I have included the game that Brisbane played against Gold Coast but NOT the game that Western played against Geelong. Until all the games are made up, it’s going to look screwy anyway, so just roll with it:

P	TEAM	W	L	T	PTS	%
1	Fremantle Dockers	6	1	0	24	211.2
2	Adelaide Crows	5	1	0	20	203.2
3	Melbourne Demons	5	1	0	20	176.8
4	Brisbane Lions	5	1	0	20	172.4
5	North Melbourne Kangaroos	5	1	0	20	159.1
6	Collingwood Magpies	4	2	0	16	116.5
7	Gold Coast Suns	3	3	0	12	74.6
8	Western Bulldogs	2	3	0	8	81.1
9	GWS Giants	2	3	0	8	68.9
10	Richmond Tigers	1	5	0	4	85.2
11	Geelong Cats	1	5	0	4	77.6
12	West Coast Eagles	1	5	0	4	55.8
13	Carlton Blues	1	5	0	4	45.5
14	St. Kilda Saints	0	5	0	0	48.4

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Balls Graph

Here it is in all its glory, again taking into account the Brisbane-Gold Coast game but NOT the Western-Geelong game:

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Footy Tipping Contest

Here is how we stack up after Round 6:

P	TIPPER	Round Tips	Round Margin	Total Tips	Total Margin
1	SonOfSpam	6	17	34	84
2	Dok Zymm	6	20	34	118
3	Litre_cola	6	7	33	111
4	BALLS	5	11	30	96
5	BFC	6	5	29	118
6	Game Time Decision	2	5	27	95
7		4	16	27	125
8	Dolph Ucker	2	5	24	87
9	Fronkenshteen	2	5	16	71

It was a very even week for those tippers that remembered to put their tips in. For those that didn’t (namely Game Time Decision), that meant a costly dive in the standings.

I remind you, as always,

DON’T FORGET TO PUT THE FOOTY TIPS IN!

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Balls’ Sechs

• There are no more unbeatens after Adelaide’s stunning upset.
• The cream is rising to the top as the Top Five are pretty much set. The only suspense is who will fill out that sixth spot.
• Last week, I wrote, “St. Kilda is the only winless team left but they do not look like they will stay winless. That first win is coming soon.” They ALMOST pulled it off against Brisbane. I think they win in the next batch of games.
• The West Coast teams were able to play at home, but that didn’t help much.
• The last Finals spot will be decided, I think, by Western and Collingwood with their Round 8 game most likely the decider.
• There some BLOCKBUSTER matchups in Round 8!

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Round Seven AND Eight Schedule

As I mentioned, it’s compressed, so there is no break in between games. Here are this week’s (and then some!) games (all times Pacific):

Friday, February 18, 2022

12:10 AM – Western Bulldogs v Geelong Cats at Whitten Oval (already played)

8:10 PM – GWS Giants v Adelaide Crows at Henson Park

10:10 PM – Carlton Blues v St. Kilda Saints at IKON Park

Saturday, February 19, 2022

12:10 AM – West Coast Eagles v Richmond Tigers at Mineral Resources Park

8:10 PM – North Melbourne Kangaroos v Collingwood Magpies at North Hobart Oval

Monday, February 21, 2022

12:10 AM – Brisbane Lions v Melbourne Demons at Metricon Stadium

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

12:10 AM – Gold Coast Suns v Western Bulldogs at Metricon Stadium

10:40 PM – GWS Giants v St. Kilda Saints at Blacktown International Sportspark

Friday, February 26, 2022

8:10 PM – Fremantle Dockers v Adelaide Crows at Fremantle Oval

10:10 PM – Richmond Tigers v Geelong Cats at Swinburne Centre

Saturday, February 27, 2022

12:10 AM – Melbourne Demons v North Melbourne Kangaroos at Casey Fields

6:10 PM – St. Kilda Saints v Gold Coast Suns at RSEA Park

8:10 PM – Collingwood Magpies v Western Bulldogs at Victoria Park

10:10 PM – West Coast Eagles v Brisbane Lions at Mineral Resources Park

Sunday, February 28, 2022

12:10 AM – GWS Giants v Carlton Blues at Manuka Oval

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That’s all for this week. Given the schedule I just laid out for you, I have no idea when I’ll do the next AFL Beat. Maybe Thursday? See you next week!