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.

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.

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.