AFL Thread

[42x16ss]

Re:

Thanks for sharing your inside views. I am jeaulos of you having the possibility to be right in there. The game looks fast, highly skilled even on TV to me. I wonder how it would be in the stadium.
I hope one day I can have the same experience (by visiting Australia). I only can imagine how I would have felt today: Either getting a heart attack, or getting lights out drunk after the game to absorb my loss. I was sooo close.

A shame with the banner waste...

Next up: Swans vs Rich... My No 1 team playing. Excited already.

It's a fun sport to watch and in some ways it has a lot in common with football (soccer). The flow of the game is similar and when you watch it at the ground you get a better appreciation of the ball movement and flow of play. It's not like Rugby League which is very compact, fast and almost made for TV.

Are you a Sydney or Richmond fan Foxxy?

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Imagine, just started to follow footy last August when accidently stumbling across the GF-1989 docu while cruising trou youtube... I was fascinated by it instantly (btw, Brereton looks as if he didn´t age, only his hair is way shorter , when I saw him interviewing a player some weeks ago).

After watching a few (past) games on youtube I really became to like Freo (my No 2 team, even though I bet against them this week b/c of the favourable odds*) especially "Whiskey"**, then saw the awesome stuff Goodes & especially Franklin did in my first AFL-pass-games (late finals games of last year). With great help of leftover I learned the rules in a hurry (still learning ofc)... And now Swans are my No 1 team. Truly impressed how they came back against Ess, and really liked everything they did since then (even in the losing efforts to WB & Freo with another amazing comeback try)

"It's a fun sport to watch and in some ways it has a lot in common with football (soccer)"

Funny thing is: I otoh see a lot of similarities to American Football. The toughness, the ball ofc, the gaining of field position, the catches, the collisions, etc...

Either way, really felt in love with that great sport.

* But I won´t bet against my No 1 team... otoh; never say never
** Btw, I call Hayden Ballantyne "Whiskey".. The name just smells like. The most football name ever in my opinion, outside of all that amazing "german" OL men in American Football.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

So, so... Swans on their way to another walk trou blow-out

... And the HT talk is Franklin is facing a suspension for his hit on the head of a opponent. (good-bye chance for the Brownlow medal)
I see the positive: A time-off will keep him fresh for the playoffs. Less chances to get injured before the finals.

 

[darwin553]

You know FoxxyBrown that you remind me of a mate that isn't really an AFL fan but took up to watch the sport because another one of his mates loved it and this person just so happened to barrack for the Swans and in only his 2nd year of supporting them I think they won the flag. A marriage made in heaven, eh?

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Was pure chance to root for the two teams at top of the ladder. Who really thought pre-season that Freo & Swans would be 1-2 (if looking at winning percentage) that far into the season, that both got off to their best seasons ever respectively since decades.
I got into AFL because of the game itself. No one but that great docu got me there. As I said: Pure chance

 

[darwin553]

Re:

Was pure chance to root for the two teams at top of the ladder. Who really thought pre-season that Freo & Swans would be 1-2 (if looking at winning percentage) that far into the season, that both got off to their best seasons ever respectively since decades.
I got into AFL because of the game itself. No one but that great docu got me there. As I said: Pure chance

Good to know but you have basically taken up arms with two teams that look set to be competing in the finals for the next 5 years at least.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Hey Darwin your post... and jinxed the Swans are. Tippett getting his report too. Lets see how the Swans will do without forwards.

Pre season talk was Freo on their way down. "Last chance saloon talk" like. Experts are wrong some times too.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Oh what have you done Darwin? Since your magical jinx post everything is going wrong.
Might be some kind of a turning point. Franklin quiet since his report, Tippett reported too + bloody face, and Rich came back big to go into the 4th with a lead.

Edit: Bitter, bitter, bitter in another nail-biter. And in the last 2 (net-)mins the score even skyrocketed for Rich.

Biggest HT comeback for Rich since 1973!

 

[One Eyed Aussie]

Another good match Foxxy. Glad to see the Swans go down. Rance was able to hold off umpire's pet Buddy .
Richmond Fans have got to be some of the best in the league. The team has had SFA success since 1980 but still they come out. Good also to see Riewoldt play a good game because he can be a sook if things don't go his way.
And Buddy and Tippett might get a holiday!

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Re:

Another good match Foxxy. Glad to see the Swans go down.

... Say thanks to Darwin. He did it.

Rance was able to hold off umpire's pet Buddy

Another

Richmond Fans have got to be some of the best in the league. The team has had SFA success since 1980 but still they come out. Good also to see Riewoldt play a good game because he can be a sook if things don't go his way.
And Buddy and Tippett might get a holiday!

Riewoldt on the money under pressure. Indeed great game. We got two really awesome games for two days in a row now. Franklin certainly will be suspended, Tippett we´ll see. The Swans are doomed. No forwards to go to if both "go on holidays"... We saw how it goes if Franklin is a non-factor (like this 2nd half, thinking about the consequences of his hit). He had other games when he was a no-show. But I guess that was because opponents simply took him out, which opened space for the other players. Todays (2nd-half-)case was simply him being ... well ... not there.

Next up for me tomorrow: Rooting for leftovers young gunners WB vs the Saints.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

This suspension system is complicated to say the least

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFL_Tribunal

Can be offensive levels hint at the length of a suspension?
Example:
Franklin gets 2 points "conduct" (reckless), 3 pooints "impact" (high), 2 points "contact" (that one is obvious since he hit the head) = 7 "activation points" > offence level 4... So far, so good

Now what I didn´t found is: How much weeks are level 4 offences "worth"? Experts needed again. Thanks in advance.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Upset time In Brisbane, thanks to Crows kicking "accuracy" ... that got me in the game early 3rd Qtr.(killing the time until the WB game)...
Ofc rooting for the dogs. I think the Lions will get away with that one. Since Rich is coming, the Crows will be in trouble to make the finals after their sensational good start into the season... Well, you never know which bounces a un-round ball takes...

Edit: Too bad for BL... there was too much time left for the Crows to come back. OK, any other team but GC would have kept the big 4th Qtr lead. But Lions are just too much below average...

HT in Melbourne... Leftover, geez... WB is really getting away with this one. If not their defensive play, they´d be out of this game already.
Btw, the Ins50s scoring mystery I asked about some weeks ago is clarified just by chance, although I couldn´t find anything on the internet... There was a game I watched when I looked at the AFL live scoring as a Ins50 was just scored when a kick got into the opposition 50. The defender caught it, and still the offensive team got credited one.
So the easy rule is: Any ball getting into the opponents 50 is scored as Ins50, no matter if the offensive team gains possession or not.
Today I make a control test. Yes it is like this. While I scored 32-21 for SK, the official stats show 31-21 at HT. Guess I scored one too much that was close but not in the 50...

Edit II: 10-point lead (after three Qtrs)... looks good. Since 1999, 4th Qtr comebacks happen in aprox 12% of games. That includes games when teams only lead by 1. Otoh, it also includes games when the lead is 40 or something like that. So I´d give WB a 90+ % chance to win that game since (on paper) they are the better team. WB just slept for the 1st half before waking up in the 3rd...

Edit III: O.M.G. !!! With 7 (net-)mins left I said to myself "No,no, no, not again, Leftover won´t survive this" WB giving up another monster lead in the waning minutes. And then they juuuust survived. What a thriller. A.w.e.s.o.m.e.!
Thanks god the TdF is coming up, and I can relax trou some boring flat stages. I was really suffering with you Leftover, estimated 10.000 miles away. After this weekend with the 3 thrillers in a row (four if I count the BL loss too), I have no more finger-nails left to bite down, literally.
Of all the great games I saw this season, this one tonight ranks 2nd for me, just behind the ESS last min win vs Hawks in week two.

 

[leftover pie]

a heart stopper for bulldogs fans, good thing we're used to such things

now we're back in the 8 and marching towards September....woof woof!

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Woof woof... LOL

So, Franklin & Tippett each 1 week. They got lucky. I guess "star bonus" came into play for Franklin at least.

 

[leftover pie]

Re:

So, Franklin & Tippett each 1 week. They got lucky. I guess "star bonus" came into play for Franklin at least.

I think it's more that Sydney is a protected asset of the AFL because it is in New South Wales which isn't a traditional football market.

they seem to have a lot of "luck" when it comes to matters like these.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Now you sound like me (talking negative) in the NFL thread (about that fixing stuff and all )
... and I thought I found true real love with AFL footy ... AFL players not over-paid pampered crybabies, blow-outs en masse (which shows me the "fix it to tight games for more entertainment" is not going on), favourites actually prevailing most of times (like it should be), but still thrilling games...
In the end, I may just didn´t got deep enough into the dirt like I had time to do with the NFL since the mid 80s...
For now, I just enjoy the game like a 14 years old: Watching the games with a open mouth in awe.

Btw, I read in some .au comments the golden egg for the AFL (Franklin) won´t be touched, thus him won´t be suspended at all.
I think Brereton said it best: Franklin could have been worse off... TBH, I understand the AFL (protecting those who sell tickets, at least to some extend)... NFL reacted worse (Montana was caught with coke (no, not the drink ), still allowed to play the 89-SB)

 

[One Eyed Aussie]

It wasn't that long ago that hits like Franklin's hit would have been let off without any suspension (just a part of a contact sport), but in the modern climate he definitely should have got 2 - 3 weeks.
Sydneys' players definitely get a (almost) free pass at the tribunal. That's how Barry Hall played a grand final a few years ago and how Adam Goodes gets away with things left right and centre.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

So I am basically rooting for a "hated" team. Thanks leftover & OneEyed for the inside infos...

In the end it makes the Swans wins sweeter.

 

[Sasquatch]

Phil Walsh, the Adelaide coach was murdered by his son overnight. Multiple stab wounds.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-07-03/phil-walsh-dead-after-domestic-dispute

Sad news

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Indeed sad. Saw the news when I looked for the Swans game report on Thurs night european time... My monthly pass is on halt for July, so I can´t watch this month.
But I see the live scoring. WB again with a forgetable 1st half against Carlton , but now (as last week) on their way to win with a good 3rd Qtr. The question is: Will they collapse in the 4th yet again?

Edit: Oh, I see, the collapse started. Three goals in a row by Carlton. Geez lefty, this Bulldogs... you never can be sure.

Edit II: Sigh of relief. A win is a win...

 

[leftover pie]

Re:

Edit II: Sigh of relief. A win is a win...

a win is a win. . that's 3 in a row, could it be 4 this week?

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

could it be 4 this week

Yes, yes, trust me. The stats work if interpreted correctly. Seems ins50s are predictive...
So book your finals flight. But be aware of some minor heart attacks in between. I learned it forever: No Bulldogs without drama collapses.

 

[leftover pie]

Re:

could it be 4 this weekYes, yes, trust me. The stats work if interpreted correctly. Seems ins50s are predictive...
So book your finals flight. But be aware of some minor heart attacks in between. I learned it forever: No Bulldogs without drama collapses.

But Gary is back....

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Gary is back? Missed it... Otoh, you have Bontempelli and awesome forwards, and Gary won´t help in all important hit-outs and clearences... Let him have his 20whatever dispossals, you´ll have more... Common, a T-8 team doesn´t fear wooden spooners... sure, a collapse will happen. So instead of a 99-46 win, it´s gonna be 99-87 "only".

 

[leftover pie]

but foxxxy... it's gary.