AFL Finals Week 1

[mighty_tiger_79]

SD

finals are next week........

for whats its worth I dont particularly care about teams other then Geelong and sydney/west coast who i have in g/f quinellas.

they are the 3 real contenders

[sydney-dog]

you made a statement that Adelaide were just making up the numbers, which ids fine, I was just interested in your thoughts of why you believed this was so

Up to today Sydney's form was patchy, very similar journey to that of Adelaide

I actually believe the Pies have a red hot chance of beating Sydney next week

[NFC]

Kangaroos to win by 4 points.

Big call.

Cats by 50 pts IMO.

[Pidge]

Sydney V WCE Grand Final again with Sydney winning. Go the SWANS!!!!

[Dutchy]

well worked out pretty close to what I said, they have given the Roos the 7 day break also as a reward for finishing 4th, my thinking was they would give the Hawks the 7 day break cause of the travel...

The draw is beautiful for the Crows, Hawks earn a home final but dont play it on their home ground? WHy wouldnt this game be at the MCG where they can get more than 52K?, I would think at the G the game could get 60K...Hawks come off a 6 day break against the physical Swans plus travel 2 out of the last 3 weeks...

Geelong/Roos is going to be a cracker, people keep underestimating the Roos and that is just fine...Reckon WCE win, Crows probably and Swans easily

[sydney-dog]

I am only looking one week at a time

Week 1, my early tips

I like West Coast over Port, the edge for me is Eagles Final experience, bigger bodies and their defensive capability to close Port down, Lynch match up will be a huge concern for Port

I like the Crows over Hawks, once again, Crows have the edge in experience, Hawks have not played finals since 2001, Crows have a good record at the TD and against the Hawks, the Crows also have the luxury of 2 extra days break. Crows need to watch Franklin, Hodge and Mitchell very closely

I am leaning towards Sydney over Collingwood, once again the Swans finals experience may hold the key, however, Fraser, Didak and Rusling will all return and the Swans may play some 50 / 50 players in Hall and Kennelly, the Pies are not out of this contest.

Finally, the Cats over the Kanga's, Laidley's men are in my view the most honest side in the comp, they will stay with the Cats for a while but the Cats will have too many match winners

[Aerie]

Early tips...

I think Port will beat West Coast on Friday night. They seem to match up well on West Coast and have the home ground advantage.

Crows should beat Hawthorn at the Dome. Obviously the Crows will try and close Hawthorn down. The Hawks best chance is if they get off to a flyer and attack.

I think Sydney will beat Collingwood. For much the same reasons I think the Crows will beat Hawthorn.

Geelong will easily beat the Kangaroos.

[sydney-dog]

on the Hawks

Bateman will definitely miss, Croad went to hospital with heavy concussion, so he will be under some doubt and Mitchell hurt his knee, however went back on and continued to play due to the lack of numbers.....

On Mitchell, they may not understand the impact of his injury until tomorrow when the knee cools down, he would be a massive loss

[Hondo]

I think Hawthorn are struggling and the Crows should win but it will be a close one.

I think Geelong will beat the Kangaroos.

I think Sydney will knock out Collingwood - 2nd year in a row for the Pies.

Port and West Coast is tough - Port are close to full strength, playing great footy and the Eagles have more injury concerns. An Eagles win means they avoid playing Geelong in the Prelim final in Melbourne and get themselves a home prelim (that right anyone?) - massive incentive. Eagles by 1 point!

[MatteeG]

The draw is beautiful for the Crows, Hawks earn a home final but dont play it on their home ground? WHy wouldnt this game be at the MCG where they can get more than 52K?,

Totally agree Dutchy- Hawks earn (use that term loosely after todays 'effort') a home final, yet play at the Doom, with 2 days less break than their opposition?

Not happy Jan, MCG is our home ground... It is akin to the Power playing their first home final at the Adelaide Oval.

Ah well- if we'd won today none of this would have happened

[NFC]

Can this 'Doom' rubbish please stop.

Anyway...

Crows have a great draw. If we beat the Hawks, we'll then face the Roos which is too easy! We would probably be better off with the Power winning on Friday, but I can't support the Power at the best of times let alone in a final.

[McAlmanac]

The Crows do have a great draw, but it's more a case of...

The Hawks have been shafted

[NFC]

The Crows do have a great draw, but it's more a case of...

The Hawks have been shafted

2002, Adelaide v Melbourne at the MCG.

[McAlmanac]

The Crows do have a great draw, but it's more a case of...

The Hawks have been shafted

2002, Adelaide v Melbourne at the MCG.

Irrelevant in 2007. Don't get me wrong, I'll be there cheering for the Crows, but Hawthorn have been screwed over by scheduling and TV.

[sydney-dog]

I also heard that a couple of incidents involving hawks players may be reviewed by the tribunal panel

did anyone see the today's game who may be able to comment?

[McAlmanac]

I also heard that a couple of incidents involving hawks players may be reviewed by the tribunal panel

did anyone see the today's game who may be able to comment?

I think Birchall was involved in an incident, but it was just a quick flash on the news.

[NFC]

Birchall has nothing to worry about.

[rod_rooster]

Hawthorn only have their own ineptness to blame. If they weren't such a weak pathetic bunch of sooks they would be well and truly in the top 4. As it stands the Cows will smash them next week. All pretty irrelevant though considering the Cats are as sure a thing since Essendon in 2000.

[rod_rooster]

Birchall has nothing to worry about.

He's got a lot to worry about. Hardening the f*ck up for starters! That goes for the entire Hawthorn squad. Weak pricks.

[Leaping Lindner]

The Crows do have a great draw, but it's more a case of...

The Hawks have been shafted

2002, Adelaide v Melbourne at the MCG.

Irrelevant in 2007. Don't get me wrong, I'll be there cheering for the Crows, but Hawthorn have been screwed over by scheduling and TV.

I'm rapt! We couldn't have got a better draw. Whilst the Hawks have been shafted in having to play at Docklands that's mainly to our great record there which is the best of the non-victorian teams. And to be fair to the AFL (for once ) I don't think the AFL take "form" into account when deciding the venue.