2010 Grand Final

St. Kilda and Collingwood met twice during the 2010 home-and-away season. The Saints won a round 3 matchup way back in April, and the Magpies took the round 16 rematch three months later.

Collingwood won the minor premiership and were the #1 seed as a result of having the best win-loss record during the season, while St. Kilda finished third on the ladder. They would meet in what would normally be the last game of the season, and then they'd do it again.

The 2010 Grand Final between the two sides was a riveting affair, the Pies clinging to a one-point lead with under 2:00 to play and the Saints knocking on the door, bringing every ounce of desperation they had.

Saint Lenny Hayes kicked from just outside the forward 50-meter line, hoping to find a friendly face near the sticks. Not having the distance, the ball caromed away from teammate Stephen Milne and through for a behind, tying the game at 68. Had the ball bounced into Milne's hands (he'd gotten away from his defender), he had an open kick at goal from point-blank range that would've given the underdog Saints a five-point margin late in the match.

Instead that's where the scoring ended. Hayes won the 2010 Norm Smith Medal as the best on ground.

This match became the third of its kind in AFL history. In the other two, Melbourne beat Essendon in 1948 and North Melbourne defeated Collingwood in the rematch of the 1977 Grand Final.

The exhaustion...

and the stunned disbelief of both sides following a drawn Grand Final.

It's fascinating to watch the closing moments as the siren presided over drawn teams. The feeling is surreal at the MCG-- all the energy just completely left the building, replaced with a feeling of bewilderment at having to process a tie.

The sting must have been a little sharper for St. Kilda because they squandered a fourth quarter lead and lost the 2009 Grand Final to the Geelong Cats.

Instead the Saints and Pies went through more preparation and somehow tried to get their minds and bodies ready to play another match on the biggest stage of them all.

What's amazing about this is the overtime rules were in effect for all other finals matches, and were actually implemented in 1994 (North Melbourne over Hawthorn) and in the 2007 playoffs when Collingwood defeated West Coast.

Those games were settled with two five-minute extra periods, with sudden death in case scores are still level.

I compare this to America and the feeling that would be out there if the Super Bowl was still tied and everyone went home. It wouldn't happen of course because of how the rules are set up, but what if the Packers and Patriots were told to come back next week? Disbelief and outrage, correct?

So earlier this year the AFL amended their bylaws so that the Grand Final would also go to the two five-minute extra periods. I feel like this should have been done sooner, but part of the reasoning is that they seemed to like the possibility of having a tie. It makes sense, since they get to have another 100,000 fans buy tickets. Another stated reason is travel, as a non-Victorian side may have a disadvantage of added plane rides.

As for the 2010 Grand Final replay, Collingwood held St. Kilda to one first-half goal and won by 56 points. It marked their 15th (and most recent) Premiership. Scott Pendlebury for the Magpies won the Norm Smith Medal.

Centimetre Perfect

TV commentator Dennis Cometti retired from calling AFL games at the close of the 2016 season. 

He's been a staple of Australian sports TV as well as Australian Rules Football telecasts for a long, long time. He was on the air for 17 Grand Finals, and had the mic as the siren sounded on the Western Bulldogs' first league title in 62 years at the end of the 2016 season. He broadcast his first game in 1971 and began his A-list TV career in 1986. 

His partnership with Bruce McAvaney is also the stuff of legend. They go back and forth seamlessly during a telecast. One knows when to jump in when the other stops, many times during the run of play. The Sydney/Western Bulldogs Grand Final was their 12th together.

Cometti also covered Olympic swimming in 1992, 1996, and 2000. He's delivered some signature moments at special times to generations of Australian sports fans, many of whom are the athletes themselves. 

There is a generation of AFL fans who don't know what the game is like without him. His past experience as a player and a coach added a lot of insight, and he started his on-air career in the early 70s when players didn't become on-air personalities like they do now.

As a new watcher of the game I sure found his high baritone voice helpful as he explained things more deeply. I know I always paid attention to what he said-- as much for how he said as for what he said. Centimetre perfect is one of his many signature one-liners. 

He's not completely stepping away from the game, just the travel. The man is 67 years old and says that part of things takes some of the fun out of it. I totally understand that, as it happens stateside a lot, especially in baseball when there is six months of travel involved. More veteran announcers will skip a road trip here and there to save some wear and tear on their bodies. 

Cometti says he'll sit in on some WAFL (Western Australia) broadcasts as a way of staying involved, perhaps injecting some commentary here and there. Perth is his hometown, so it makes a lot of sense since the league is based there. I guess once something is as much a part of you as footy is to Dennis, quitting cold turkey just doesn't make sense. I can't imagine he'll be too involved-- my thought is that he won't want to be the center of attention and to give others the same chance he got. 

Besides, the WAFL is where it all began for him, so this is a way of bringing it full circle.

The man sure has the respect of his peers and of his public.

Cheers, Dennis. And thanks.

Australian Football

I was born and raised in El Paso, in far West Texas. Not quite the end of the world, but you can see it from there.

El Paso is home of the Sun Bowl, home stadium of my favorite team on the planet, the UTEP Miners. I grew up watching bad football and great basketball seemingly every season. That changed in the late 1980s when current Athletic Director Bob Stull became the head football coach prior to the 1986 campaign. The good guys went 4-7, then 7-4 in 1987. 1988 was a great year, as the Miners won 10 games and actually made it to a postseason bowl game.

But at 1-10, 1985 was another lost season for UTEP football. The one highlight was a 23-16 upset win at home over BYU. Head Coach Bill Yung got sacked during the season. The Miners actually played the final game of the '85 schedule in Australia against the Wyoming Cowboys, who had already fired Head Coach Al Kincaid.

The game was played at VFL Park (now Waverley Park, training grounds for Hawthorn) in Mulgrave, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. 19,107 curious Australians came out to watch the game, and to watch the Miners give up a two-touchdown lead and fall to the Cowboys 23-21.

I was reminded of this game because California and Hawaii played in Sydney at the start of this current college football season. It was actually the first college game played this season. The Bears beat the Rainbows 51-31 on August 27, 2016 at ANZ Stadium, formerly Olympic Stadium. It's weird since the Sydney Swans closed the 2016 home-and-away season 11 miles away at the SCG with a 164-51 home win over Richmond in a match that started maybe an hour after the Cal/UH game ended.

I just find it interesting that the Swans gave up a home game for the college event. However it seems logical that some sort of agreement was reached to balance the books, since Sydney played to a house of 36,000 vs. 61,000+ at ANZ.

Elsewhere...

The 2017 AFL fixture is out. Something I found interesting is that Gold Coast and Port Adelaide play their round 8 tilt at Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai, China on May 14.

American Championships

Two weekends ago, the United States Australian Rules Football league held their national championships in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida on October 15 and 16. Streamed live on YouTube, it was different watching games being played in what looked like rec fields on a university campus. Watching cars go by and everything, instead of crowds of 40,000+ at a major metropolitan oval where people are trying to sell me watches and insurance.

But it was still fun to watch. Obviously the skill level is different, since these are men and women with day jobs who are committing a lot of time to footy. 36 teams were separated by divisions and then again into pools. The side nearest me, the Atlanta Kookaburras, went 2-1 in pool play, beating teams from Denver and Tulsa, but losing to a squad from Des Moines. They ran six ovals (one for the women) for most of Saturday the 15th and part of Sunday the 16th, with the finals played in the afternoon on Sunday.

The Portland Sockeyes defeated Montreal to win the women's premiership, and congrats to the Division 4 men's champions Ohio Valley and to D3 champs Portland who beat North Carolina. The Division 2 premiers are from Calgary (also home of my favorite hockey team).

The Division 1 winners are the Austin Crows, for whom Nolan Cox plays. Nolan is the brother of Mason Cox, the Collingwood big man of whom we have spoken here. Austin is tied to the Adelaide Crows, and the big club even gave them a shout out on their web site.

What really weirded me out about that is that Mason the Magpie made it onto an opponent's web site:

Collingwood player Mason Cox, left, with his brother Nolan who plays
for the USAFL team in Austin, Texas. Picture taken from the Adelaide Crows site.

Play on!

A Grand Final

I found a work around that allowed me to check out the match between the Swans and the Bulldogs. I knew how the match ended, and I paid attention to the first half of the match in real time via gametracker. I even checked out radio broadcasts (professional courtesy) there for a little while.

This was an entertaining game to watch. The 22-point margin for Western Bulldogs does not tell the story of how hard-fought the game was, how neither side scored for the first 7:30 of the opening term, or how this was a one-point lead for WB with eight minutes to go.

But I've watched the same victory celebrations on YouTube for the last two days, and I can't get past how deep this seems to run for Bulldog fans. This is their first premiership since 1954 when they beat Melbourne and they overcame the loss of captain Bob Murphy (more on him in a moment). They were also the seven seed and won three road games in the finals, beating West Coast soundly, getting a win over three-time reigning champs Hawthorn (technically a road game), and winning at GWS before beating Sydney.

I realize that when you win a league title (in any sport) there is much rejoicing and celebrating, but the sheer joyousness of the Bulldog players, coaches, and staff amazed me. I wondered if they would ever run out of hugs. This made me think of how a team plays for its people and citizenry and how it adopts the characteristics of the surrounding community. In this case the people of Footscray, where the Dogs call home and where the team was founded back in 1877. Kind of how the Pittsburgh Steelers are a blue collar-type squad in the NFL.

This was the first time I ever watched the trophy and medal presentation, and it was fascinating how the AFL handles their business. The defeated Swans, losing their second Grand Final in three years, sat on the field at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and watched the Bulldogs celebrate. Captain Kieren Jack stepped to the mic and gave a few words before he joined his mates. That never happens stateside, where we see a few congratulatory handshakes before the vanquished side retreats to their locker room. Not so in the AFL, where the losing team gets salt rubbed in the wound. Seems harsh and a tad unfair, but...

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge called Bob Murphy up on stage and gave him his Jock McHale medal (given to the winning coach), saying he (Murphy) deserved it more than anybody. Extremely classy move, and one that seems to have been very well received. This is another cultural difference, since to my knowledge, pro athletes in the states play very little part in team activities once they've been lost for the season due to injury. Murphy (lost to a knee injury in round 3) was right in there during the celebrations, and the hugs and cheers he got were as big and strong as any I saw.

So season 2016 folds its tents and steals off into the night. This blog? Nope. There's more to say and more to look at.

Don't go anywhere.

Sons of the West

It's Preliminary Finals week in the AFL, or the end of my (televised) season since my cable carrier has puts the Grand Final on the premium tier of channels and it's not worth the $12 per month to me.

Sydney/Geelong was the first match chronologically, but the AFL calls it the second prelim final. Probably has something to do with where the teams are on the playoff bracket.

Anyhow the Swans punched hard and fast in the opening quarter, much like they did against Adelaide in the previous match. It was effective both times, as Sydney routed the Crows by 38 and Geelong by 37. Neither game was that close.

Sydney is through to the Grand Final.

In sharp contrast the other prelim final, Western Bulldogs against GWS Giants was a fantastic and riveting game that swung back and forth. So captivating, in fact, that the TV types were seemingly out of breath for the last seven or eight minutes. GWS scored a goal to tie with less than four minutes remaining, giving the commentators reason to mention a five-minute extra time session in case of a tie at the end of regulation. It made no difference as the Bulldogs got it done at the end and won by six points.

It was about a 50/50 split in terms of crowd support at Spotless Stadium, home of the Giants. The crowd roared as the final siren sounded-- so much so you'd have thought the Dogs were at home. It's the first time they've been to the Grand Final since 1961, and this could be their first premiership since 1954, so this has been a big, big win for the Western Bulldogs organization.

Someone I kind of feel badly for is Bulldogs captain Robert Murphy, whose season was lost to a torn ACL at the very end of a close loss to Hawthorn. He debuted with the club back in 2000 and has played 295 games waiting for a chance to play in a game like this.

So it's Swans/Bulldogs for the 2016 premiership.

Preliminary Finals

And then there were four.

Western Bulldogs beat Hawthorn and did so comfortably. In the early stages, the Hawks played like the three-time defending premiers they are, but the Bulldogs came back strongly and wound up winning by 23 points. The Hawks lost to Geelong last week and to WB this week, sending them out of the postseason despite having the double chance to move on.

This was a rematch of the round 3 matchup I watched earlier in the season, that Hawthorn won by three points. It was also the game where Bulldog captain Robert Murphy blew his knee out in the latter stages of the game. I remember talk back then that the Dogs were premiership favorites, and thinking they would have trouble without Murphy. But now they're into the preliminary final against GWS, a side in only their fifth year of existence. Interesting factoid-- I talked about St. Kilda champion Lenny Hayes a month or so ago, and found out he's an assistant with GWS.

Interesting that this match is being played at 24,000-seat Spotless Stadium, home of the GWS Giants. League semifinals should probably be played in buildings that hold more than that number. It just seems like a larger number of fans would be interested in seeing this game, especially since Western is looking for a chance to play in their first Grand Final since 1961. That kind of makes me want to root for them-- their fans have paid the price to be supporters of the team, whereas the Giants are the new kids on the block. I won't actually back one side or the other since it's a kiss of death for the team I choose.

In the other semifinal, Sydney scored 45 first-quarter points and withstood serious pressure from Adelaide in the middle two quarters to win by 36 points. The Swans move on to play Geelong in the other matchup in the round of four at the MCG.

So of the top four teams, top-seed Sydney, second-place side Geelong and number four GWS are still alive, as is the #7 seed Western Bulldogs.

Play on!

The Finals

Last week I watched all four of the opening round playoff matches-- two elimination finals and two qualifying finals. The top four seeds play in qualifying finals, in a 1-4 and 2-3 matchup. Win and you qualify for a bye into the final four, or a preliminary final match. Lose and you have to play your way through, but your season is not over.

I think the elimination final concept is pretty self-explanatory... the 5th place team meets the eighth place side, and 6 meets 7. Lose and you're eliminated. Win and you play the losers of the 1-4 and 2-3 games. 

So. 

Geelong and Hawthorn played in the 2-3 game, and it was a match worthy of being a playoff game. The Hawks missed a kick after the final siren and the Cats won by three points. Hawthorn would then have to play two more matches to make the Grand Final, whereas Geelong only needs to win one more time. 

Hawthorn would go on to face the Western Bulldogs, a side that beat the West Coast Eagles. Western went to Perth and won big against the Eagles. West Coast defeated playoff team Adelaide in the last week of the home-and-away season, giving us a reason to think the blue and yellow could win without their big ruckman Nic Natanui. It's especially weird since WCE has a reputaiton for playing poorly on the road. This time they played a bad game and did it in the safety of their home grounds.

Elsewhere regular-season premiers Sydney took a beating from the GWS Giants, in an intra-Sydney squabble. So the Swans move on to face Adelaide, who drummed North Melbourne out of the postseason. The biggest thing about the Kangaroos is that Brent Harvey played his final game in the blue and white after he and three others were not offered contracts for 2017, so this became a sort of swan song for some North greats. 

The next round will see Hawthorn vs. Western Bulldogs and Adelaide vs. Sydney. Winners advance to face Geelong or GWS, losers pack their stuff.

Off week

So the regular season wrapped nearly two weeks ago and there was no AFL footy played last week. There was a legends game, and there was also a women's match as the AFL seems interested in putting together a women's league.

The AFL playoff sides took a week off, so your humble correspondent also chose to take a Labor Day vacation.

That's something I don't understand. Eight teams bust their tails in order to make the playoffs, and there is a premium places on finishing in the top four because in the 1-4 and 2-3 opening round matchup has the payout of a rest week to the winner. But now everyone gets a week off. Even North Melbourne, which lost their last four matches but made the eight anyhow.

Elsewhere, briefly, Fremantle star Matthew Pavlich retired at the end of the home-and-away season after 353 games. It was a pretty gloomy year for the Dockers, who had enjoyed a lot of success recently. But their win over the Western Bulldogs (who made the eight) was a nice way to end the season and to honor a great player. Matty Pavs seems like a decent sort and it sounds like he's ready to face some new life challenges now that his footy career has wrapped.

Now on to the eight. These all seem like really good matches, and I have the DVR set to record all four.

(7) Western Bulldogs is at (6) West Coast Eagles. WCE was thought to not be a contender, then they played so well vs. Adelaide.

(2) Geelong plays (3) Hawthorn. Great. your reward for playing strong footy at the end of the season is getting to play the three-time reigning premiers. And at the MCG instead of at your home grounds.

(1) Sydney is at home vs. (4) GWS. This game is being played at ANZ (pronounced A-N-ZED) Stadium, instead of Sydney's home, the Sydney Cricket Ground, or at Spotless Stadium, home of the Giants. A nice intra-city squabble here. ANZ Stadium was where Hawaii played (American) college football against California a few weeks ago. I've got another blog post on college football Down Under.

The final game of the weekend is (5) Adelaide at home vs. (8) North Melbourne. The Crows laid an egg against West Coast to close the season, when they had a top four seed to play for. The Kangaroos played well to start the season and closed the season poorly.

In the 1-4/2-3 games, the winner gets a bye and an extra week of rest but also the risk of rust, since they'll have played one meaningful game in 3+ weeks. The losers of those games play the winners of 5-8/6-7. The losers of the lower-seeded games are done for the season. So it starts with 8 and will be down to 6 by the end of the weekend, then four, then two then, well, I think you get the idea.

Looking forward to it. Play on!

Golf Clubs

So it looks as though the eight playoff sides have been determined. As you can see by a look at the ladder after week 22, St. Kilda is the only side that can catch North Melbourne. They're one game back of North with one game to play. The Saints play Brisbane and the Kangaroos face GWS. The odds favor North Melbourne ending the season tied with St. Kilda. 

However, StK would have to win by something like 25 goals and the Roos would also have to lose by that amount in order for North Melbourne to miss the playoffs, because of percentages. So it's not very likely.

AFL ladder after round 22

Also, Hawthorn has lost two of their last three to fall to fourth from the top spot. If they don't fall further, they'll play in the first round of the finals still with the opportunity for a bye should they win. The disadvantage is that it'd be a road game.

The Hawks lost last week to West Coast, who lost their big ruckman Nic Natanui to an ACL tear during the game. Nic Nat will be out till the middle of next year. Bummer. It's fun watching him play. The Eagles will make the eight, but making a deep run in the postseason is less likely without the big man.

Last week I watched North fall to Sydney. I saw today that Kangaroos player Brent Harvey at age 38 will not be offered a contract for 2017. There seems to be a greater emphasis on the team and the collective in the AFL, because the reason given was that they want to get young players game experience. I don't know-- Harvey just set the league record for games played and still looks to be in fine form. I get that his days are numbered, but his loyalty and commitment to the club and to the game should give him the opportunity to exit on his own terms.

Adelaide overcame beat Port Adelaide to move into a tie for the top spot. Eddie Betts of the Crows had a great game in helping his side to their 16th win of the season. It's amazing what they've done, since their head coach Phil Walsh was killed during the 2015 season. Walsh's son stands accused of killing his father.

Anyhow, what they've overcome is awesome stuff.

Up for this week: West Coast (without a key piece of the puzzle) meets Adelaide, and Melbourne faces Geelong. When the week is over, everyone else gets to head out to the golf course and play 18 and get ready for 2017.

The Run Home

There was some pretty good footy played in round 21...

Western Bulldogs overcame a stubborn yet inconsistent Collingwood side. The Dogs are hoping for a top six finish, which would involve a home game to start the playoffs. The top four sides play for the chance to get a bye week, the next two play for home ground to open the finals, and the seventh and eighth place have to battle all the way through. So Western helped themselves on that count. 

A goal from ruckman Nic Natanui with :08 left helped West Coast beat GWS by one point. It's amazing how those single-point behinds can make such a big difference. 

And in one of the two games I saw, Geelong looked dead in the water against an inspired Richmond, trailing the Tigers by 35 at three-quarter time. But then the Cats found their inspiration, kicking six goals and scoring 45 consecutive points in the fourth term to beat Richmond. 

In looking last week at home grounds and how the sides in and around Melbourne play the majority of their games close to home, Geelong also has it pretty good, as they're only an hour away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground or Etihad Stadium, where many AFL games are played. It does seem to be a bit of an advantage to the Victorian clubs since travel is reduced during the home-and-away season. Outliers such as Fremantle and West Coast have a nearly three-hour plane ride to Adelaide and 3:30 to Melbourne. Multiply that by two or three and it can add up, especially if you add in a trip to Sydney or Brisbane. 

It's not as bad for the Brisbane Lions on the other coast, as it's 2:30 by plane to Melbourne, and Sydney/GWS only fly an hour and a half into town. 

It's why those home games in the postseason are so critical.

Elsewhere, Hawthorn also beat North Melbourne to stay at the top of the ladder. 

After round 21, the final eight are still pretty much set, though not confirmed. North Melbourne leads St. Kilda and Melbourne by two games with two to play. The other seven are confirmed and are more concerned about seeding as mentioned.

On tap for round 22, I'll look at Sydney at North, and Adelaide is at Port Adelaide. This is a technicality, since the Crows and Power both call the Adelaide Oval their home grounds. Sydney and Adelaide both have a chance at a home game in week 1 of the finals, so there's still a lot that's up in the air. 

History Lesson

So Mason Cox was back in the lineup for Collingwood. He managed to kick a couple of goals but his shoulder was wrapped pretty well and it was plain to see it was bothering him. The up and down season of the Pies continues with a 15-point loss to the Richmond Tigers, who are struggling this season. Last year Richmond had a big streak to close out the season, winning like their last nine to qualify for the postseason. They're not having similar fortune this season.

My other match of the week was the Western Bulldogs qualifying for the eight with a win over North Melbourne. The Kangaroos can still make it, but Western sealed their trip to the postseason. It's pretty remarkable work by the Bulldogs since they've lost a lot of players to injury this season, including their captain Robert Murphy very early in the season.

Last week I wrote about Matthew Pavlich and Brent Harvey, and I saw some St Kilda highlights the other day and another player was wearing the old #7 jumper that Lenny Hayes wore before retiring in 2014. Those things made me think about how AFL teams honor their great players of the past, because Hayes was prominent on those two hard-luck Saints teams in 2009-10 and it didn't take long for someone else to put on his old guernsey.

I get it that there are only so many to go around and that you can't retire everyone's number, hang them from the rafters, put them on the ring of honor or whatever. There are 18 AFL teams and many teams share different venues such as Etihad or the MCG. That makes it tough honor past players in any of those ways.

Geography plays a role, since in the area of Melbourne, Victoria, you have the teams Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon, Melbourne, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, and North Melbourne all within a very close proximity of one another. That's almost half of the 18 teams in the competition. A park for each of those sides isn't practical. In fact, I find it amazing that there's such strong fan support for teams that are so close geographically.

Stateside the situation is different. Teams don't share a venue unless it's a situation like the Seattle Seahawks/Sounders. In a league of X number of teams, there are X stadiums nationwide, so honoring past players by putting their names/numbers on display is easier. Each team gets to do their own thing.

I have noticed that individual AFL teams each do a great job of preserving histories on their own websites. There are a lot of 'teams of the century' from the older clubs, as well as naming of all players to wear a specific guernsey number, premiership seasons, and such. So it's nice to see these things told, retold, and preserved.

On tap for this week-- three weeks left in the 2016 home and away season. Geelong at Richmond, and North Melbourne at Hawthorn. The Hawks dropped one to Melbourne last week and are now just one game clear of four other sides at the top of the ladder. I saw one prediction list them as falling to fifth by the end of the season. Their percentage isn't as good as the teams below them, and they've got questions regarding injury and suspension. Should be fun.

Play on!

Brent Harvey and Matthew Pavlich

The two matches shown last week both involved milestone performances by two longtime champion footballers: North Melbourne/St. Kilda and Sydney at Fremantle.

We'll start with Kangaroos champion Brent Harvey who set the AFL record for career games played with 427. He is listed at 167 cm/77kg, or about 5 feet 8 inches tall, 170 pounds and plays on the forward line. Being that size, speed and accuracy are important parts of his game. He debuted in 1996 and has played in two Grand Finals, winning in 1999. Hawthorn's Michael Tuck held the previous record of 426 games before his retirement in 1991.

Harvey, at age 38, seems to think he can still play and contribute-- he sees 450 games as a possibility. Watching him zip through the middle of the field makes me think sure, why not? However Harvey is aware of the needs of the club and is loyal to the club when he understands it's not about him.

North defeated the Saints 85-62. Harvey kicked his only goal near the end of the game. The Saints needed to win to keep their hopes alive of finishing in the top 8.

Freo's Matthew Pavlich is 6'3" and 220 lbs (192 cm/99 kg) and is a center half-forward. He reached milestone game number 350 this past week. Matty Pavs was the Dockers' captain from 2007-15, and he's played in one Grand Final, falling to Hawthorn in 2013. His height is a major advantage when taking marks within range of goal. He's one of only 15 men in the history of the league (which dates back to 1897) to reach 350 games.

Pavlich's milestone was overshadowed by Harvey's. Didn't really matter much-- Freo stayed within shouting distance in the first half, but Sydney blew it wide open in the second, winning by 90 points. In listening to the commentators, it sounds like the retirement writing is on the wall for Matthew. It's weird, since at age 34 you'd think he's got a few more years left. Also a little sad that such a fine and versatile player has not hoisted a premiership trophy.

An individual player's milestone games seem to be more of a thing down under than they do here in the states. My thought is that we place a higher value on it when a coach does it, and more likely if it's a round (and big) number win. Maybe it has something to do with the number of games that are played. Here it's 82 (NBA), 162 (MLB), 16 (NFL), and 80 (NHL). These just don't seem to be numbers that lend themselves to milestone games, with the exception of the NFL, but that's slightly misleading, as the nature of the NFL leads to more injuries, missed games, and subsequent retirements.

So it's nice to see the AFL honor two of their all-time greats.

On the DVR this week: four weeks left in the 2016 home-and-away season. Collingwood/Richmond and North Melbourne is at the Western Bulldogs. The hot-and cold Magpies are in 12th position on the ladder, and Richmond laid an egg last week in a big loss to GWS.

North is in 8th position, three games clear of ninth place with four games to play. The Bulldogs are in 7th place with the same number of wins, but ahead of NMFC by virtue of a higher percentage. That ought to be a fun one.

This means the eight playoff sides are already in place, barring some unusual occurrences. First-place Hawthorn leads the field by two games. After that it's a mess. four teams are tied at 13 wins and three are knotted a game behind at 12 victories. So it'll be a wild ride, but it seems as though we know who the eight will be.

Eddie Betts

Two matches last week... Geelong gets the job done against Fremantle, and Adelaide wins their eighth straight by defeating a stubborn Collingwood side. The Pies have not listed Mason Cox for the last couple of weeks after he played for the big club for 10 consecutive games and kicked 15 goals. However I think the Pies have gotten some people back from injuries (such as Travis Cloke) so decisions have to be made as to who plays and who sits.

As near as I can tell, Cox plays on the VFL side which I think is similar to playing on the developmental team, or like AAA baseball. Getting a chance to play and get experience, but not at the senior level. It makes sense, given his neophyte footy status. In scrolling through his Twitter feed it seems as though he feels wanted and appreciated at Collingwood, so I don't think there's much to read into this.

When the broadcast crew talks about a team looking to finish in the top two of the eight postseason sides, it means the one they're talking about is pretty solid. This is how they talked about the Adelaide Crows during the match with Collingwood.

All eight playoff teams play in the first week but those in the top two get to play that first game at home (1 v 4 and 2 v 3), with a possible bye week to follow if they win. Top four teams cannot be eliminated the first week, win or lose. Finishing fifth or sixth means a home playoff game initially but having to play the next week regardless, after a long and grinding season. So for the Crows to be in this position is remarkable. This is the team whose players last season had to mourn the loss of their coach Phil Walsh, allegedly at the hands of his own son.

Which brings us to Eddie Betts who is a key member of the Crows forward line. He's 5'8" so speed is his weapon, and he uses it often. He's another one of the players the broadcast crew seems to fall in love with, although it sure seems justified, since Betts can really run and really play. He kicks straight, too. He's in the third year of a four-year contract since coming over from Carlton. It's really hard to see the Crows not keeping him for the long term given the fact that he's only 29 and that they could be heading toward a special season.

In the week to come... North Melbourne/Collingwood and the Crows look to make it nine in a row vs. Geelong.

Play on!

Western Bulldogs

So two weeks ago I saw the Western Bulldogs kick a goal in the closing seconds to defeat Sydney. It was a great game that had some violent mood swings and several lead changes.

The Dogs have had some rough patches over the last couple of decades, including poor play on the field as well as financial troubles and low membership totals off it. They've only won one premiership, in 1954.

But these days they've put a solid team on the field and even made the playoffs last season. I watched them play Hawthorn in round 3 and they gave the Hawks all they wanted before coming up short. To add insult to injury (or injury to insult), the Dogs lost captain Robert Murphy to a knee injury at the very end of the game. They were seen as premiership contenders beforehand, and I thought they would regress a little because of it. However they're playing well and are in the thick of the chase, trailing Hawthorn by one game as we head into week 17.

AFL ladder after round 16. Hawthorn has already played Sydney as we go to press.
No spoilers here.

Bulldogs captain Murphy is planning to return for his 17th season at the club following knee surgery and rehab. I think he sees something special right now and wants to be part of it. He probably deserves the chance to see it through, given that he's been there for the bad times, though there was talk that he should retire. It's interesting to me how there is such open talk on whether a player should do this (Matthew Pavlich at Fremantle is hearing it too), even during the season. I don't think we see this in the states-- we'd likely view it as quitting on your team.

In returning from vacation I watched Sydney beat up on Geelong and I got to see the GWS (Greater Western Sydney) Giants play Collingwood. The Magpies picked up their third straight win after beating GWS by 32 points. The Giants played well in the first quarter, scoring 44 points, but it took them almost the whole rest of the game to score that many again.

On tap for this week: Geelong/Fremantle and Collingwood at Adelaide.

Play on!

Holiday

This week is causing me to be more creative, as I'm visiting family in Texas this week.

Typically I spend the weekend and first part of the week watching the footy and sharing my thoughts later on in the week. But the wife and I flew out on Independence Day (no traffic and no lines at the airport!), so I didn't get a chance to watch the matches in their entirety.

What I wound up doing was checking out the first part of the game, a little through the middle, and then the last five minutes or so. The score bug is in the corner of the screen, so I could stop at a place where it looked good.

I recorded three games in round 14 two weeks ago (playing a little catch up here)-- I was a little bummed that I recorded only the last quarter and a half of Adelaide/North Melbourne, which the Crows won by 33 points. I got over it pretty quickly, since I still got St. Kilda/Geelong and Hawthorn/Gold Coast.

St. Kilda vs. the Geelong Cats was likely the best match of round 14, with the Saints getting a big first-half lead and then having to rally from nine down late to win by three points. Their rally got help because of Geelong's substitution patterns, as two of the guys the Cats really needed out there were waiting to re-enter after taking one last breather. However St. K kept the pressure on and Geelong couldn't get their studs back in. The Saints move to 6-7 after the big win.

I expected the Hawthorn and Gold Coast game to be a bit of a blowout, as the Hawks seemingly are rounding into premiership form, but GC made them work in a 26-point Hawthorn win. This was a home match for the Hawks, played in Launceston, Tasmania. I like the wide camera shots during the games that are played there, as they really show off the countryside in the distance. Hawthorn also wore guernseys with brown and pink vertical stripes instead of their standard brown and gold, to help raise breast cancer awareness.

The Hawks moved to the top of the AFL ladder with the win. It was also fun to see the Suns' Gary Ablett back and playing well after spending most of the last two seasons battling shoulder trouble.

A few other things...

Fremantle's winning streak stopped at three in Round 14 after a beating from a Collingwood side that really needed a win, and Richmond got well against a struggling Brisbane Lions side.

Now the trick has been to stay out of the Twitterverse, as the games I've recorded have already been played, and I saw the AFL feed on my timeline, so I have to shut my eyes or distract myself as I scroll further down as round 16's results come across. There's a two-hour time difference from when I'm at home, so I'm being extra careful.

Round 15's report is still to come.

Hawthorn gonna Hawthorn

So North Melbourne is continuing their stretch of playing teams toward the top of the table. They battled hard but fell against a Hawthorn team that seems to be rounding into form a little bit.

Something I can't shake when watching the Hawks is that they just keep coming and coming. They are very steady and very cool when other sides are bringing their best, such as the Kangaroos did in round 13. It reminds me of watching Hawthorn early in season 2016 vs. Western Bulldogs, who are an up and coming side with aspirations. They brought their best, but the Hawks got it done. They're very professional and know what to do and how to do it when it matters most.  It was a fun match to watch, but... Hawthorn just keeps doing what they do winning by nine points, taking advantage of North's inability to kick straight.

Fremantle is probably already playing for 2017, as they are trying to fit some new pieces into place. Ruckman Aaron Sandilands has been out for a while and reigning Brownlow Medalist Nat Fyfe is out for the season with a broken leg. These are two key players for the Dockers, along with forward Matthew Pavlich, who is nearing retirement. Freo started 2016 by losing their first 10 games. Port was trying to hold on to stay within shouting distance of the eight.

You would have trouble knowing which side was at the bottom of the ladder and which was battling for a playoff spot-- Fremantle won their third in a row, defeating the 2004 Premiers by 17 points.

Round 14 sees the start of bye weeks, not to be underestimated by players who have been punishing their bodies for the last three months. I get three matches, well two and a half as I didn't get the DVR set in time. Coming up this week: Adelaide/North, Geelong meets St. Kilda and I get my first chance to see Gold Coast as they face Hawthorn.

Round 12

We're in the middle of a busy period here on the grounds...

This week saw another Collingwood match-- this time against Melbourne. It was Queen Elizabeth's birthday, so we got Monday footy.

The Demons are on the back end of a supplement scandal that had center stage a few years ago. They were closer to the basement the last couple of seasons, but they're in the middle of the pack right now. Collingwood doesn't seem to be playing all that well right now, and Melbourne spanked them by 46 points. Mason Cox kicked two goals for the Pies, but they're just not a very good side right now. 104-58 was the final for Melbourne.

Geelong-North Melbourne was one of the better matches of the week. North had some injury concerns during the game, which affect substitution patterns and fatigue sets in later in the game when guys don't get the in-game rest they need. These injury look to be a problem for the Kangaroos as they go forward. The Cats played well in disposing of North by 31 points.

The Kangas stay a game clear on the top of the AFL ladder, as the GWS (Greater Western Sydney) Giants beat second-place Sydney. GWS is a new side, having come forth within the last five years. They were in sixth place at the start of the round, and beating a quality Swans side can only help their confidence going forward.

Coming up this week... North Melbourne's rough patch of scheduling continues as they meet reigning premiers Hawthorn, and Port Adelaide meets Fremantle. I haven't seen Freo play since early in the season. They lost in the preliminary final last season but lost their first ten matches to start 2016.

Mason Cox

The past week's matches saw North Melbourne get past Richmond, getting the league-leading Roos back in the win column and ending Richmond's three-match winning streak. Collingwood started out well in the first five minutes in their match with Port Adelaide, but the Power took control as things progressed, especially in the second half. Here is the ladder after 11 rounds:

One nice story about Collingwood actually comes from the states. Mason Cox was a member of some good Flower Mound Marcus (Texas) soccer teams that won consecutive state titles. He was already 6'5" then he grew six more inches. But he didn't play basketball for the Marauders. 

One day he was just playing around on the basketball floor at Oklahoma State when he caught the attention of a member of the OSU women's basketball staff. Next thing he knew, he was "Brittney Griner" in practice, helping in practice by imitating her as the team prepped for matchups against those outstanding Bears teams Griner anchored. 

Then Cox got onto the men's scout team, and he even got to play a little bit as depth became an issue. He was a mechanical engineering major at OSU and even had a job in Houston lined up with a big oil company after graduation. Over two years ago, he went to Los Angeles for an AFL combine, made an impression as a big man who can move, and is now a starter for the Magpies. It's more remarkable because the track record is not good when American athletes try out for the AFL. Different skill sets are required. 

Cox's bio from the Collingwood team website.

He splits time between ruckman and the forward line. At the ruck position he helps win possession off center bounces, and as a forward his height is an advantage when the ball is kicked to him. Mason kicked two goals for the Pies in the loss to Port. 

Not bad for someone who hadn't even heard of the game until he went to the combine a few years ago. 

What I'm watching this weekend: Cox and his Collingwood teammates play Melbourne, and another test for North Melbourne as they play the Geelong Cats.

Dreamtime at the G

Round 10 of the AFL season is the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, where the league raises awareness of Aboriginal culture in Australia. The term 'indigenous' refers to the people already living in Australia in the late 1700s when the British started colonizing. The history between settlers and Aborigines has often been unpleasant, so this is a great chance to bring people together and bring about a deeper knowledge and understanding. Doug Nicholls was a prominent Aboriginal Australian who played for the old Fitzroy Football Club in the 1930s.

Flag of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. 

Additionally, each AFL team wears specially designed guernseys to commemorate the week.

The 'Dreamtime at the G' match is the highlight of the round, played at the end of Reconciliation Week by Essendon and Richmond each year since 2005. The two sides were chosen because their combined team colors constitute the colors of the Australian Aboriginal flag. Both sides wear black jumpers. Richmond adds a gold sash, Essendon a red one. There were two groups of Aborigines who performed ritual dances prior to the start of the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, known as 'the G' by the locals.

Richmond seems to be getting things turned around a bit, picking up their third straight win with their victory over the Bombers.

My other match of the week was North Melbourne/Sydney. One old AFL memory I have is of John Longmire playing for the Kangaroos many years ago. He now wears the red and the white of Sydney as their head coach. The Swans ended North's undefeated run to start the season, but the Roos are still a game ahead of Sydney, and two games ahead of five other teams that are tied for third position on the ladder.

On tap for week 11-- another tough test for Richmond as they play North Melbourne. I'll also check out Port Adelaide at Collingwood. Interesting fact: Mason Cox played college basketball at Oklahoma State and is getting minutes with the Magpies. We'll talk about him more next week.

Round 9

I typically record two matches per week on Fox Sports 1 or 2 and watch them during the week, as mentioned. This week did not include the Richmond Tigers, a side that I've seen play several times this season.

The first game I watched was Sydney vs. Hawthorn, featuring two of the better sides in the AFL, and a rematch of the 2014 Grand Final, won by Hawthorn in a blowout. This game saw the Swans get a big lead early and keep their opponent at arm's length down the stretch. It was an entertaining affair. The Hawks have won the last three premierships so I knew they'd make a run and they did but fell short.

What I've noticed over time is the commentators' weird love affair with Lance "Buddy" Franklin, an outstanding Sydney player. Granted, he kicked a goal from 70 meters, but two weeks ago they showed footage and talked about one of the water boys smiling because he got to give the great Buddy a water bottle. Maybe the guy was just happy because Buddy just kicked a goal. I don't know. It just seems strange is all.

I also picked up West Coast at Port Adelaide. I like watching games at the Adelaide Oval because they show an old hand-operated cricket scoreboard in the background that has the match score. It seems to me that scoreboard (which is right next to a snazzy electric one) has been used for a long, long time and could tell a story or two.

West Coast, last year's premiership runner-up, has a hard time winning road games, and they had trouble putting away the Power after leading by 30+ in the second half. The Eagles did pick up the win and got the job done. Port will lose defender Tom Jonas to suspension for six matches after he struck Eagle Andrew Gaff with an elbow, knocking Gaff out for a few minutes.

So here is the ladder (standings) after nine rounds:

Top 8 teams make the postseason. The percentage column indicates the amount of points a team scores for every 100 points scored against it. Hawthorn, in 7th position, is winning but not by wide margins, as they're scoring 102.7 points for every 100 their opponent tallies. 

My DVR is already set to record North Melbourne at Sydney and Richmond/Essendon this week. I'm particularly looking forward to North/Sydney, which should be a good one.

Opening Bounce

I've spent time on one of my other blogs talking about my affection for Australian Rules Football. I'm not a strategist or anything, I think it's interesting and exciting to watch. Admittedly, it looks a lot like a free for all most times, but I'm starting to see a little of the strategy and tactics that go into the game. I also like experiencing a different culture-- what their commentators say, how they say it, etc.

It stems from watching ESPN back in the early-mid 80s when they were showing things like Vic's Vacant Lot. They didn't have a lot of shows, they needed programming to fill time slots, and they didn't own the rights to as many events as they do now. Back in this day, ESPN was a little engine that could. And Aussie Rules Football was something they'd present. There was even a half-hour highlight show hosted by Stephen Quartermain that was a wrap of the week's VFL (Victorian Football League, at that time) matches.

When I was a sailor in the U.S. Navy, we ported in Cairns, in Queensland on the far northeastern coast of Australia. I remember paying too much money for two AFL shirts-- West Coast Eagles and St. Kilda Saints. Both are long since gone to history, as is the annual preview mag I bought.

Fast forward about 20 years, when I've found AFL matches on Fox Sports. I record the games on the weekend and watch them during the week as time allows. I rarely watch a game front to back, and I never watch live (the wife does not share my interest). So it may take me a few days to recap the week that was in the AFL. Because of these delays, I don't follow the AFL on Facebook, and I stay off of Twitter when the matches are being played. Spoilers and everything.

So I hope to share my experiences with the game-- what I saw, how I interpret it, and such. Season 2016 is not quite to the halfway mark.

Off we go.