The Grand Finalists are in and that one day in September we look forward to is upon us. Here is a look at what has caught my eye.
THE TOP FOUR
1. THE FINAL TWO – Well people the time is finally upon us, the Grand Final is all but days away. The two best teams of 2009 remain with the Saints and Cats looking for premiership glory. It is the final all people expected and after round 14 wanted to see. Let’s just hope for footballs sake that this game lives up to the hype being created.
2. ONE UP MANSHIP – Gary Ablett junior has finally got one up on his father when it comes to individual awards in the game. While yes Gary did play in the 2007 premiership, something his father never achieved now he has an award that his father could have won, The Brownlow Medal. Ablett won the award by 8 votes and noted that it is now something he can say he has achieved that Senior has not. Well done Gaz!
3. STOKED WITH STOKES – On a personal note I am very impressed with the attitude of Matthew Stokes for the Cats who pulled out of Saturday’s night clash with the Pies with groin issues. Stokes who was heavily criticized for playing injured last season in the Grand Final, Stokes this year did not make the same mistake. By withdrawing he may have cost himself a Grand Final spot but has gained a lot of respect in my eyes.
4. ROO – Saints skipper Nick Riewoldt gets a mention this week after his efforts on Friday evening against the Dogs. If it wasn’t for the efforts of the Captain I doubt that the Saints would be playing this week. Whether he likes it or not he is the key to the Premiership for St Kilda. If he has a big game then a new piece of silverware will be handed over to the Saints.
THE BOTTOM FOUR
1. BUDDY – Lance Franklin this week found himself in some trouble by no fault of his own. He was assaulted while drinking with his sister and her boyfriend Matt Giteau. The incident is an example of all that is wrong with society today. A man minding his own business is punched for no apparent reason. The two likely responses would be, I hit that Buddy Franklin (haha) or last night I just hit some bloke (haha). Seriously guys its time to grow up!!
2. SEAGULLS – Sitting at the MCG on Saturday night I thought to myself surely we can do something about the seagulls. Apparently the AFL is happy to let hundreds of the white birds flock on the ground during some of the most important games of the season. It looks bad on the television but even worse when sitting in your seat.
3. DON’T LOOK BANK IN ANGER – This is just a little not from a passionate Cats supporter. Mick Malthouse’s intentions may have been to get under the Cats skin with his pressure article. Unfortunately for Mick such accusations have been made at the Cats before, 2007 Grand Final week by Mark Williams and we all know the result of the match that followed. I doubt that St Kilda will fall into the same trap this week and try to ruffle up the Cats. On past form it does not work.
4. UMPS – From watching the game on Friday night it has been well published hat the umpiring was questionable. I am not going to criticize heavily the umpiring decisions but I will say the firstly if umpires are going to pay decisions make sure they are consistent, don’t begin to pay free kicks late in a match that have been let go all day. Secondly use a little bit of common sense when dealing with certain decisions, one I will not name especially. I watched recently a documentary on the art of diving on the soccer field and let’s just say one Saint Player displayed some pretty telling signs.
Tags: Gary Ablett, Lance Franklin, Matthew Stokes, Mick Malthouse, Nick Riewoldt
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