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!

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 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.