Australian Rules Football - AFL Pre Season Discussion

[Beejayville]

Been too long since we have had an AFL Thread and I am sure there are many of you out there that have heard some AFL news or gossip and this is the place to put it.

Anything related to AFL, if you have heard something, then let us know!

Only thing that I have heard recently is that Mal Micheal is a marked man when he plays for his new club Essendon against Brisbane next year.

Did here another one too, apparently Brendon Fevola had a Bingle in his car

[miguel_hamburglar]

I have a good one, Shane Warne to commentate on the AFL, probably as a boundary rider in the future, maybe a move onto the St Kilda board in the long term too!

Also Carlton at $126 to win the flag could be the worst odds in history, should be around $126,000, on a serious note the Blues to take the spoon again is around the 2.75 mark, with Essendon looking ok this season the Roos are the only real threat to the spoon, 2.75 is worth a stab here.

G'day Beejay!

[Beejayville]

Originally Posted by miguel_hamburglar

I have a good one, Shane Warne to commentate on the AFL, probably as a boundary rider in the future, maybe a move onto the St Kilda board in the long term too!

Also Carlton at $126 to win the flag could be the worst odds in history, should be around $126,000, on a serious note the Blues to take the spoon again is around the 2.75 mark, with Essendon looking ok this season the Roos are the only real threat to the spoon, 2.75 is worth a stab here.

G'day Beejay!

Should be $1,260,000 to 1 to be honest

Nice to see you back Miguel...Miss your input in the A League

That's not a bad way for Warne to go, and interesting thought to say the least, cos he loves his footy.

Bombers will go ok this year with Lloyd back in the goal scquare, and Michael down back. They have a fair goal to goal line with lucas and Fletcher there, and young Watson firing in the centre or roving. Expect them to be up there somewhere. Tarrant will probably be a superstar at Freo and that will annoy the schaissenhausen out of me, but if Medhurst can kick 44 goals next year he will be better value than Tarrant anyway.

Hey did u happen to go to the Victory game with the 50,000 plus fans? I did, was great night!

[miguel_hamburglar]

Originally Posted by Beejayville

Should be $1,260,000 to 1 to be honest

Nice to see you back Miguel...Miss your input in the A League

That's not a bad way for Warne to go, and interesting thought to say the least, cos he loves his footy.

Bombers will go ok this year with Lloyd back in the goal scquare, and Michael down back. They have a fair goal to goal line with lucas and Fletcher there, and young Watson firing in the centre or roving. Expect them to be up there somewhere. Tarrant will probably be a superstar at Freo and that will annoy the schaissenhausen out of me, but if Medhurst can kick 44 goals next year he will be better value than Tarrant anyway.

Hey did u happen to go to the Victory game with the 50,000 plus fans? I did, was great night!

For all of Essendons crap last season I would almost have a small stake on them being in the top 8, when you look at the line-up this year (assuming all stay fit) they seem to be very balanced and look to have lost their weakness from last season in forcing players out of position to cover weaknesses/holes. A full season by Lloyd will make a huge difference.

What do you think about all 8 games going free-to-air next year? Not sure if it's locked in yet but the word is that foxtel are out and c31 will pick up games in Syd and Bris. Could be the death of V8 racing in Aus and could really hurt 10 and 7 from broadcasting some potentially crap games with very low ratings.

So i think this thread sould have some big, outlandish predictions that we can look back on and laugh at them next season, so I'll lead off.

Predictions on:
- Who will win the flag
- Scandal of the year
- Brownlow winner
- First sacked coach


For Me:
- Freo to win the flag
- Fevola to get sacked from Carlton (drug related)
- Brown to win the Brownlow by 8 votes
- First coach to go will be Laidley

The only sure thing this season is that the AFL V A-League 'Who's scared of who debate" will go on forever and this time next year the same crap will be dug up about bogan afl fans and fighting muzza football fans!

Beejay, I missed the 50k game, I had to work late, could have made it at half time but it sounded like a very slow game so gave it a skip, massive numbers tho, great to see Melbournians show that we are the centre of the sports world. Sunday night at OP was sensational, made up for missing the week before, that chip over the wall for Allsops second goal was one of the best plays ever, Muscat is a god!

[ads25]

Predictions on:
- Who will win the flag - West Coast again
- Scandal of the year - Dunno, something about Fevola i guess?
- Brownlow winner - Kent Kinglsey
- First sacked coach - Dennis Pagan

[ads25]

Originally Posted by ads25

Predictions on:
- Who will win the flag - West Coast again
- Scandal of the year - Dunno, something about Fevola i guess?
- Brownlow winner - Kent Kinglsey
- First sacked coach - Dennis Pagan

I disagree about Kent Kinglsey winning the Brownlow. He is crap to be honest, id probably go for Chris Judd to win it

[Beejayville]

- Who will win the flag: West Coast
- Scandal of the year: Nathan Brown from Richmond outed
- Brownlow winner: Daniel Kerr
- First sacked coach: Denis Pagan

[Kewell]

Originally Posted by ads25

Predictions on:
- Who will win the flag - West Coast again
- Scandal of the year - Dunno, something about Fevola i guess?
- Brownlow winner - Kent Kinglsey
- First sacked coach - Dennis Pagan

Kent Kinglsey... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh mate, stop it, i think i've cracked a rib.

[Beejayville]

Originally Posted by ads25

Predictions on:
- Who will win the flag - West Coast again
- Scandal of the year - Dunno, something about Fevola i guess?
- Brownlow winner - Kent Kinglsey
- First sacked coach - Dennis Pagan

Have you been drinking or something Ads? Are you related to Kent Kingsley or something?

He will be lucky to get a Brownlow vote yet alone win it hahaha As a footballer, Kinglsey makes a nice gardener

[Hands Solo]

- Who will win the flag - West Coast again
- Scandal of the year - Something to do with Eddie McGuire
- Brownlow winner - Daniel Kerr and Judd are the obvious choices. In with a great chance too is Nick Dal Santo. For a real smokey, I'd go Richard Hadlee. If I had to go with just one though, it'd be Kerr. (I've also followed Luke Power every year for the past 3-4, so will feel obliged to do so this year. He can be a real vote magnet)
- First sacked coach - Dennis Pagan

[Ashtee]

By about mid December I'm looking for a fix also.

Carlton do look a likely punching bag again - invariably will impact badly if the off field issues arn't tight.

Brisbane may be the other wooden spoon contender (Carl & Ess also IMO) given the class and experience they've lost - it can't be understated the worth of Mal Michael IMO. They have carried the longest injury list the last two seasons, so a better run in that regard will help. Obviously could have some motivational pull against WBD and Essendon.

Geelong had some issues with player unity last year so who knows, Kingsley may well fire given the change. TBH he has the ability but hasn't given me the impression he's got the mental side (not just from watching him play).

Any inkling on Nathan Brown you wish to divulge Beejay, or just a stab? Actually I love watching Richmond games when he's firing - one of my faves - so hope he's back fit and well.

Last I heard 8-games free to air looks as close as to locked in, Miguel. And on the subject of 8-games I guess your figuring J. Brown is fit enough to line-up about that many times, which should give him 24-votes, of course . May still not win it cos always got to allow for the suspensions .

I've been framing a Brownlow market which I may post for discussion at some stage. Obviously Brown, but no short price for me for reasons above. Judd and Kerr are standouts IMV and when markets are released they may even come up some value, I feel? Freo could easily go top this year so Freo smokeys are well worth considering IMO. Obviously Pavlich but some other smokeys I feel are Michael Johnson, Sandilands, Crowley and Mundy. I rate Hodge among the top six chances and some other smokeys include Brock McLean, Andrew Raines, Andrew Embley, Josh Fraser, Jared Rivers, Heath Shaw and Dane Swan. BTW, I noticed one or two formed the opinion last season I'm a Freo supporter, which isn't the case .

Ash.

[Beejayville]

Interesting thoughts Ash

Nathan Brown is a great footballer, don't get me wrong, but he is so far up himself it is a wonder he can walk. I like watching him play football cos he is all class, but hate seeing him on the footy show with his always smug "Fcuk Im Good Just Ask Me" look and I find him to be so full of himself that it irritates the shit out of me and I love it when someone takes the piss out of him and he falls flat on his face now and then.

I can't see the Brisbane Lions bottom of the ladder cos they have some quality youngsters that tasted some gametime this year, and they will have Nigel Lappin back who is a class act, and if Brown can stand up then they still have a fairly sound goal to goal line. Any team with Power, Black and Lappin, and the emerging Sherman in the guts, with Brown and Bradshaw as key forwards have the capability of outscoring the lower sides more than 5 or 6 times to avoid the wooden spoon.

Having said that there last 4 games this year were not so good.
R19 - 60
R20 - 52
R21 - 40
R22 - 57

Fairly poor scoring there, but Johnathon Brown is capable of winning games off his own boot, and they also have Charman in the ruck who is fast becoming one of the League's best ruckmen. So they have the foundations of a goodside, and Matthews has been patience with the youngsters. Doubt Leigh would have re-signed and stayed in Brisbane if he envisaged a lean period for the Lions. Some of there kids are very good players, the ones that played this year anyways.

The Bombers look big improvers to me (worse luck)

[Hands Solo]

Do you mean Charman Ads? Sherman is a smallish midfielder who has amazing determination. I think he can fill Akermanis' role very nicely. Charman as a totally dominant ruckman and he gets some vital hit outs. Not sure what the go with Beau McDonald is either. I think Power coming from the backpocket should help them and as you said Black and Lappin are super midfielders. Justin Sherman I think is going to get even better next year (he got some impressive figures last year) and with a little luck Richard Hadlee will be able to get his career back on track. A few years ago he was looking like a real star in the making and I genuinely thought he could fill the void that Voss has left.

Jonathan Brown is a colossus, and I think may well be the Lions captain this year (Not sure on this, but he had been earmarked for it). Don't forget that Matthews has also used him in midfield before. He did it I think in a game against Freo last year or year before and he picked up 30 possessions. He played there a few more times and got similar numbers. The man is a genius. Biggest problem for the Lions I think is a shortage of key players elsewhere, but if guys like Ash McGrath can sneak 2-3 a game and players like Anthony Corrie and Rhan Hooper can develop a bit more, I think the Lions can make the 8.

[Beejayville]

Yes you are right Oscar, I edited my post re the Sherman/Charman. I am not sure what the Lions have got down back though, so it may be in a defensive capacity they might struggle at times. Michael is a big loss although he wasn't having a go late last season.

[Hands Solo]

Chris Johnson is still around but he's on tiring legs. Whether he can offer dynamism running forward is a big question. The loss of Leppitsch at centre half back is a big loss too. McDonald is a decent option there but he's not the best. Don't forget that Bradshaw has often been rated a better defender than full-forward, so he may be switched back there if somebody like Daniel Merritt can progress. Lions also picked up a very promising ruckman (#3) in the recent draft, so that will mean he and someone like Charman may also push forward from time to time. Unless I'm mistaken Clark Keating is still around too.

Back onto defence, we are indeed a lot weaker. Got a couple of other youngsters but I can't recall their names off hand. One of them is a left footer, very good at the kick in.

[Ashtee]

Of course a lot depends on how the young blokes progress and whether Brown's a regular. A concern I have is that Lappin and Hadley won't be back to their best.

Luke Power's another super player they have but with 7.00 already available I can see myself having a nibble once more books get involved.

Ash.

[Hands Solo]

While we are on it, anyone know of any bookies taking Prop bets for the AFL. Something like Brownlow and/or Coleman winner to come from teams outside the final top 8. I'd like to know the odds for this.

[Ashtee]

Lions also picked up a very promising ruckman (#3) in the recent draft

Matthew Leuenberger 203cm, 93kg, DOB 7/6/88. I'd imagine he'd be in cotton wool awhile? Keating's gone I'm pretty sure. The other rucks are Charman & McDonald.

[Ashtee]

Originally Posted by Oscar the Crouch

While we are on it, anyone know of any bookies taking Prop bets for the AFL. Something like Brownlow and/or Coleman winner to come from teams outside the final top 8. I'd like to know the odds for this.

Nothing too exotic out there yet Oscar.

[Beejayville]

Richmond Tiger charged with assault

RICHMOND star Andrew Krakouer has been charged with assault over an incident that left a man in hospital with serious head injuries.

Krakouer, 23, was charged yesterdaywith assault causing grievous bodily harm over the alleged attack in Fremantle about midnight on Friday. Justin Martin, 24, remained in the intensive care unit of a Perth hospital last night in a serious but stable condition. Another man has also been charged with assault.

Krakouer is expected to defend the charge in Fremantle Magistrates' Court on Thursday.