So we COULD have a final between Bulldogs (last and only GF win in 1954), and St Kilda (last and only GF win in 1966). That might be nice. Won't happen though will it?

Bulldogs fans will tell you that they should have played St Kilda in the 1997 Grand Final. They lost to Adelaide by 2 points in the Preliminary Final having led by 22 at three quarter time. There was a moment of huge controversy in the final quarter when what appeared to be a Bulldogs goal was given as a behind.

Next Monday night’s Brownlow Medal is the most prestigious awards ceremony but it’s basically just a best midfielder trophy. The All Australian team selected tonight at least acknowledges that there great defenders, forwards and ruckmen. Although they’ve been even better in 2008 than they were last year, Geelong’s representation dropped from 9 to 7. No other team had more than 2 players.

ALL-AUSTRALIAN 2008

B: Dale Morris (Western Bulldogs), Matthew Scarlett (Geelong), Tom Harley (Geelong, Vice Captain)

HB: Luke Hodge (Hawthorn), Nathan Bock (Adelaide), Sam Fisher (St Kilda)

C: Jimmy Bartel (Geelong), Joel Corey (Geelong), Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs)

HF: Steve Johnson (Geelong), Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda), Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)

F: Brendan Fevola (Carlton), Lance Franklin (Hawthorn), Paul Medhurst (Collingwood)

Foll: Dean Cox (West Coast), Chris Judd (Carlton, Captain), Gary Ablett (Geelong)

I/C: Corey Enright (Geelong), Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle), Matthew Richardson (Richmond), Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)

So far, we've had 3 finals that were expected to attract 80,000 plus but fell short. The AFL's response is not to reduce ticket prices but to revise estimates down for this weekend's preliminary finals in order to make them look good when they exceed target. Both games are "expected" to draw 70-75,000 we're now being told.

St Kilda and Western Bulldogs fans have been hit particularly hard with 3 successive finals in Melbourne. A normal league game costs around $25 (I'm not sure of the exact price because I'm a season ticket holder). This is what I've had to pay so far for an adult seat in Level 1 (my son's seat has been less than half price, in fairness):

Qualifying Final - $57

Semi Final - $63 (I don't understand the logic in this being more expensive than the qualifying final bearing in mind that it's a game between a team that lost in week 1 and a team that finished 5th to 8th)

Preliminary Final - $102

The cheapest seat for the Grand Final will be $161 ($108 for children).

Melbourne Arab wrote:

QUOTE:
Qualifying Final
Semi Final
Preliminary Final
Grand Final

So that's where Super League got all that shit from...

I'm still struggling with the idea that winning a semi final doesn't actually get you into a final (ie the final 2).

The struggle for me is that you can lose a (seemingly) knock-out match, but can come back for more...

The current Top Eight Finals system has been around since 1994. Apparently, it was "designed by Ken MacIntyre, who has been working out Finals systems for the league since 1931..."!

It's really all about creating as many big, crowd pulling matches in September as possible... although, originally, it was supposed to "give everyone a chance", as well as ensuring that the minor premiers always reached the Final.

Geelong are in the Grand Final after beating the Western Bulldogs by 29 points but this was a game the Bulldogs could have won. Late in the third quarter, with Geelong 15 points ahead, the Bulldogs were dominating. They managed to kick 3 behinds in succession all of which were decent chances. The trend continued early in the fourth, the Bulldogs wasting opportunites. Then, midway through the quarter, with the game in the balance the Bulldogs Brad Johnston took what appeared to be a mark in defence. Geelong's Max Rooke clattered into him, the ball broke free and Geelong scored. Johnston was injured and the game effectively over.

Geelong looked surprisingly tired last night after a week off. Maybe they were just rusty. They struggled in last year's prelimiary final as well before humiliating Port Adelaide in the Grand Final. Nevertheless, a youthful Hawthorn will probably have been encouraged by what they saw.

The crowd was again disappointing - 70,140 for what was the Bulldogs third Melbourne final in 3 weeks.

St. Kilda lost.

And thus, MA got scooped by a Yank.

Sorry MA.

But thanks as usual for the reports. I hope you'll be able to see a Saints victory one of these decades.

Preliminary Final
Hawthorn 118 St Kilda 64
Crowd 77,002

The last time we lost a Preliminary Final (2005), I was gutted for a very long time afterwards. We led Sydney at three quarter time and, had we not been hit by so many injuries, would have won. I can’t prove that, of course, but it’s a fact; just as obviously, we would have beaten West Coast in the final.

It’s different this time. I’m over it already. This year’s AFL has featured 1 outstanding team (Geelong), 1 very good team (Hawthorn), 1 above average team (Western Bulldogs) and 5 mediocre teams who made the finals. St Kilda just managed to finish top of those 5.

In 2 September games against the best 2 sides, we’ve lost by 58 and 54 points. In both cases, the final margin was artificially low because Geelong and Hawthorn weren’t going to over exert themselves after the game had been won.

Last night, the signs were there in the first quarter but we managed to hang in there – 13 points down at quarter time. In the second quarter, it was 7 goals to 1 and the game was finished. The second half was a complete waste of everybody’s Saturday night.

It seems absurd to talk about men vs boys when St Kilda are the more experienced side but that’s what it looked like. At every centre bounce, at every stoppage, at every contest, the St Kilda players were swatted aside like flies. As the bloke next to me said “there’s no fucking mongrel in this team.” Hawthorn play what has become known as “unsociable football.” Basically, they’re a bunch of dirty bastards – the amount of off the ball niggling which you don’t see on tv is extraordinary. I really miss Aaron Hamill who retired last year - a St Kilda player who was more interested in belting the opposition than paying attention to the ball. How we need him now.

Before the game started, it was announced that Luke Ball would not be playing. This is the second week in a row this has happened. Who are they trying to kid? Ball’s replacement was soft as shite Aaron Fiora. Laughter was the only appropriate response.

There was 1 highlight last night. Lance Franklin, the game’s biggest superstar, a man we are all being ordered to love, the David Beckham of the AFL, was comprehensively beaten by St Kilda’s ancient defender Max Hudghton. Again. The big streak of piss only managed 1 goal all night.

And Robert Harvey has retired after 383 games. I’ve never seen so many grown men in tears. The only reason St Kilda’s support didn’t go home long before the end was The Great Man’s retirement. What a horrible way for him to finish.
http://www.theage.com.au/multimedia/AFL/2008/Hawks_Saints_prelim/index.html

jason voorhees wrote:

QUOTE:
St. Kilda lost.

And thus, MA got scooped by a Yank.

Sorry MA.

But thanks as usual for the reports. I hope you'll be able to see a Saints victory one of these decades.

Cheers as always, JV.

The drought stretches to 43 years. Still, that's 2 years shorter than Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs haven't won it since 1954.

Well, for what it's worth, Lawrence Taylor's last game for the Giants was a 44-3 playoff loss to one of his more bitter enemies (San Francisco 49ers.)

Put it this way, you won't remember it.
You'll remember the good times. If Harvey had fucked up and scored a behind from 5 metres out in a 4-point loss, that's what you would've remembered.

Adam Cooney of the Western Bulldogs has become the first number 1 draft pick to win a Brownlow Medal benefitting from Geelong's legion of brilliant midfielders sharing votes and from the injury that kept Gary Ablett out for 3 weeks towards the end of season. Ablett finished 2 votes behind in joint third alongside 33 year old Matthew Richardson of Richmond. It was fairly clear from the audience reaction that everyone was desperate for Richardson to win it. Runner up, Simon Black of Brisbane (the 2002 winner), led for most of the night.

There was a gloriously over the top tribute to Robert Harvey. After new Brisbane coach, Michael Voss, delivered a glowing speech and we got clips from Harvey's career, a saxophinist played "When The Saints Go Marching In" as several key figures from Harvey's career formed a guard of honour to welcome him on stage. A very frail Jack Barber, father of Harvey's former teammate the late Trevor Barker, was wheeled on stage. Harvey only just avoided breaking down in tears.

MA, do you mean the first no. 1 pick to win the Medal in the year he was drafted, or the first ever?

The latter seems improbable.

How does the AFL draft work, anyway?