REB's Rubbish: Round Three

[Rik E Boy]

Chief REBBUM speak heap em rubbish in scalper round.

Richmond have named Troy Simmonds for it's clash with the Magpies at the MCG tomorrow night and if he has a run in the ruck at all, expect a lot more ball from the Richmond midfield to actually reach the forward 50. The Tigers have been getting a lot of the ball in both of its matches but have been butchering it a fair bit and I think this is due to excessive chipping due to a lack of talls. Of course if Simmonds doesn't play this one is line ball but coming back from Perth and a tough match I reckon the Tigers can open their account and win by 10 points.

Essendon's spine looks fantastic at the moment, Michael, Fletcher, Hille, Lucas, Lloyd and the Bombers look a bit quicker as well. I think it's fair to say that the Bombers are at full strength at the moment and look well primed to defeat their old rivals the Blues this week. Carlton will obviously hit back from last week's catastrophe but Essendon look too settled here. I think they will salute by 34 points after an even first half.

Adelaide should be able to get one back on their cross town rivals in showdown XXXXIXIXIXIXVILC. To me the Crows have the edge in experience and while they will obviously miss Johncock, the return of Burton to the side will give them that X factor that can often go missing at times with this combination. Port have been exciting so far this season but I reckon the Cows will go into Craig 'lockdown' mode and this is something that Port have yet to encounter this season coming off of two wins against combinations that have proven to be suspect defensively this season. Adelaide Crows by 17 points.

Western Bulldogs will win this one's toughie of the week. Both sides have shown off their Jekyl and Hyde personnas to perfection so far this season and it could be a case of which Bulldogs and Sainter combinations show up on the day. St Nick is due to return for the Saints but the Bulldogs welcome back fullback Harris and also have included the beanpole Ruckman Peter Street in its squad. It is tempting to select the Saints here as the G Train has derailed the Bulldogs in many past clashes, having scored 18 goals against the Bullies in the last three matches. I'll back Harris to keep the G train to about four, thus giving the Bulldogs a 7 point victory.

West Coast Eagles can reverse a recent trend of Freo dominance in Western Der Bees as this combination just keeps finding ways to win while the disappointing dockers are conceeding goals at an alarming rate. If the Dockers had advanced as much as we all thought they would have this season, they wouldn't be needing to bring back honest battler Troy Cook just to provide some physicality to a side that has been sadly lacking it this year. Too much is left to too few at Dockerland at the moment and with injuries and suspensions proving very costly to team structure, the Eagles look primed to pounce. West Coast by 33 points.

Sydney should celebrate Micky O'Loughlin's 250th game with a hard fought victory at the SCG. While the Swannies often struggle to get over the line at the larger Telstra Stadium, they remain a tough nut to crack at the basketball court SCG. Surely Barry Hall won't front for the Swans but don't underestimate young Grundy who would be an adequete replacement (although no Bazza obviously). The Brisbane side has been solid this year and welcomes back gun ruckman Jamie Charman as well as Lappin and Hadley who is playing his first game for the Gorillas since the 2004 decider. Brisbane will go very close here but I reckon the Swans will put a bit more heat on the Lions than they copped in the first two matches. Sydney to win by 15 points.

Geelong has the perfect opportunity to make it back to back percentage boosters when they tackle a Melbourne side that is missing its two premier forwards in Neitz and Robertson. This will force Melbourne to bring back duds like Ben Holland who might take one mark and kick two goals tops but with the underwhelming Miller at CHF, the attack looks decidedly toothless for the Dees. The midfield is missing leader Brock McLean as well as the solid Byron Pickett so Geelong are in position to exert some authority over a side that caused them much pain last year. Revenge will be sweet for the Cats as they enjoy a 64 point triumph.

Hawthorn played some exciting football last weekend and with a mobile forward line look to have the goods against a Roo defence missing Glenn Archer this week. The Roos are a plucky combination and if they had topped up with youngsters instead of blokes like Johnno Hay, Jade Rawlings and Lance Picconie they might have been a force to be reckoned with this year. Short of forwards and a little light on for leadership, expect the Hawk midfield to gain an advantage and provide forwards such as Williams, Boyle, Franklin and maybe even Croad plenty of opportunities to score. I like the Hawks here and I reckon they can win by 22 points, but only after another resolute effort from the Roos.

Fairly confident about most matches this week but the St Kilda v Bullies match is tough and it won't be a walk up start for Sydney at the SCG. In fact the 2.90 for Brisbane looks enticing given their form this season. The Power look really good on paper but I reckon the Crows can close them down. Four in week one, Five in week two...Six in week three? Now that would be novel..you wouldn't read about it.

regards,

REB

[Dutchy]

No mention of the Cats coming off 2 games at the DOOM?

[Rik E Boy]

No mention of the Cats coming off 2 games at the DOOM?

I'll leave that to you and mally.

regards,

REB

[sydney-dog]

Tigers, have been very competitve in the first two rounds, Pies look a little unbalanced
Essendon, but the Blues match up well against the Bombers and do have some form against them
Sydney, danger game for swans, Hall no certainty to play
Adelaide, agree, may have the edge in experience
Fremantle, backs are against the wall, this gives the club an opportunity to show the footy public what they are made
Geelong, No Neitz, No Robertson, No Dee's
Hawks, flip of the coin job
Bulldogs, too many forward options for the Saints thin defence

[Thiele]

Pies
Essendon
Power
West Coast
Bulldogs
Sydney
Geelong
Hawks

[Rik E Boy]

Richmond! What was I thinking! They were bloody ordinary tonight. The Pies did a Geelong and went in with a host of debutants and come out with the points. The wait for respect will be a long one for Carlton and Richmond one feels.

regards,

REB

[sydney-dog]

REB

I too fell in to the Richmond trap

Three times this year they have been in a position to win gamesto win this year and three times they have lost, Carlton, Sydney and last night to a Collingwood team.

Given the Collingwood team was full of rookies, one can only access the Tigers have no TICKER

[Dutchy]

i thought the Tigers played some good footy, they got the best out of themselves tonight to lead for a while, they simply are no good however adn will finish bottom as I predicted when everyone said the Roos will

[mal]

No mention of the Cats coming off 2 games at the DOOM?

I'll leave that to you and mally.

regards,

REB

Is there any reason why LONGMUIR[Fraudmantle] was not selected at the Doom last week ?????????????

[Rik E Boy]

i thought the Tigers played some good footy, they got the best out of themselves tonight to lead for a while, they simply are no good however adn will finish bottom as I predicted when everyone said the Roos will

Looks like a pretty good call at this stage Dutchy.

regards,

REB