St Kilda beat Richmond for the 13th time in a row yesterday afternoon but it was far from impressive.

Richmond actually led by 7 points at quarter time and were in the game until deep into the final quarter, St Kilda eventually winning by 21 points. Two weeks out from the finals, this was an alarmingly inept performance against the team second bottom of the ladder.

The St Kilda forward line was good – Nick Riewoldt took 9 marks and kicked 3.3 while Justin Koschitzke had his best game of 2010 taking 7 marks and kicking 5.1. At the other end, Nick’s cousin Jack kicked 7 goals adding to the 6 he got against St Kilda in round 11. He now looks certain to win the Coleman Medal.

The midfield was undermanned with St Kilda’s best player in that area, Lenny Hayes, missing along with leading tagger Clinton Jones. That might explain why Richmond managed 48 inside 50s, more than St Kilda normally concede, from which they kicked 14 goals. The defence was horribly exposed with gaping holes appearing everywhere. If St Kilda have 14 goals kicked against them in September, they will lose and they will be playing far better teams than Richmond.

There was one big highlight in the game, though – the best mark of 2010. This will surely win Brendan Goddard a car:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb74YTYYVM8

The biggest game of the last round of the season was tonight - whoever won between Fremantle and Carlton was guaranteed a home elimination final. In front of a huge crowd, with a finals like atmosphere and intensity, Freo won by 6 points - it will be only their third final at Subiaco next week.

The only remaining issue to be decided this weekend is the other home elimination finalist and it's a straight fight between Sydney and Hawthorn. Hawthorn must beat Collingwood and hope Sydney lose at Brisbane so you would think the Swans should make it.

The Geelong Advertiser has renamed itself this week in a desperate bid to persuade Gary Ablett not to go to the Gold Coast.

I didn’t see St Kilda’s 28 point loss away to Adelaide yesterday because I was at a wedding but, by all accounts, it was a “let’s not get injured or reported” performance which may not have worked all that well with concerns about defender Sam Fisher’s hamstring. He would be a massive loss if he misses the Geelong game.

Geelong themselves didn’t seem to care much yesterday either – they were actually losing at home to wooden spooners West Coast half way through the third quarter. They still won, though, because losing to West Coast is just about impossible.

Collingwood also struggled losing for the first time in 12 games to Hawthorn but Hawthorn did have a home final to play for. They didn’t get it, though, because Sydney won at Brisbane last night.

The finals schedule:

Qualifying Finals
Collingwood v Western Bulldogs (MCG, Saturday, 7.20)
Geelong v St Kilda (MCG, Friday, 7.45)

Elimination Finals
Sydney v Carlton (ANZ Stadium, Sunday, 2.40)
Fremantle v Hawthorn (Subiaco, Saturday, 1.20 Perth/3.20 Melbourne)

The final ladder after round 22 was completed today:

1 Collingwood 70
2 Geelong 68
3 St. Kilda 62
4 Western Bulldogs 56
5 Sydney 52
6 Fremantle 52
7 Hawthorn 50
8 Carlton 44
9 North Melbourne 44
10 Port Adelaide 40
11 Adelaide 36
12 Melbourne 34
13 Brisbane 28
14 Essendon 28
15 Richmond 24
16 West Coast 16

Well, Essendon didn't hang around. Less than 24 hours after their season ended, coach Matthew Knights has been sacked. Essendon slipped from 8th to 14th this season and their crowds have nosedived in recent weeks with genuine fears that membership could collapse next season if Knights was still in charge.

Hopefully the top three teams lift themselves for the Finals, as they all looked a bit flat this weekend. The Magpies, Cats and Saints really have been in a class above the others for most of the season (although St Kilda do seem to slump more dramatically than the other two when they do slump!)

As for Carlton, they don't really deserve to be in the Finals, having lost as many games as they have won. But who am I to criticise the AFL finals system...? Academics at Monash have probably spent years devising and perfecting it....

trimster wrote:
As for Carlton, they don't really deserve to be in the Finals, having lost as many games as they have won.

Essendon made the finals last year with 10 wins and 11 losses and then got thrashed in the finals by over 90 points by Adelaide. At least Carlton won't be that bad.

Hopefully, we won't be landed with a 9 or 10 team finals series when there are 18 teams. If there are 8 out of 18 it should just about ensure every finalist has a positive win/loss record.

Just days after the Ben Cousins documentary warned us all about the dangers of drugs, we have the first AFL player to register three strikes under the illicit drugs code. It comes as no surprise that it’s a Hawthorn player - not one of their big names, although it is a player with significant family connections.

Travis Tuck is 23 and has played just 20 games for Hawthorn. However, his father Michael is the all time games record holder and Tuck’s uncle is Gary Ablett Sr and his cousin Gary Ablett Jr. Tuck’s punishment has yet to be announced.

Tuck has been suspended for 12 games, the minimum sanction possible, after the AFL took into consideration "extenuating and compelling circumstances" - namely that he is being treated for clinical depression.

Sydney's Daniel Hannebery, who was taken as low as 30 in the national draft, has won the Rising Star Award with a maximum 45 votes (9 judges all awarding him 5). Nic Naitanui, the early favourite for the award, polled a miserable 2.

Melbourne Arab wrote:
Tuck has been suspended for 12 games, the minimum sanction possible, after the AFL took into consideration "extenuating and compelling circumstances" - namely that he is being treated for clinical depression.

Being the product of such a great footballing pedigree, and yet only managing 20 games in four years... is probably the cause of his depression.

Qualifying Final
Geelong 79 St Kilda 83

Was this the greatest game of Australian Rules Football ever played?

It certainly feels like it.

With about 90 seconds to go, and St Kilda 4 points ahead, the Saints were deep in attack. One goal would clinch it or we could just try and lock it in there for the last few seconds. Predictably, Geelong won possession and quickly got it down the other end where their captain, Cameron Ling, kicked the winning goal. The Geelong supporters went wild, the woman sitting next to me screamed in despair and I slumped forward, head in hands, “why the fuck does this always happen to St Kilda?” My self pity was interrupted by a female shouting “it’s a free kick! It’s a free kick!” I looked up and saw the umpire pointing for a St Kilda free kick for a push in the back by Geelong forward Cameron Mooney – he’d actually blown the whistle just before Ling’s shot but nobody heard it. St Kilda had just over a minute to hold on. Somehow, the ball worked its way to the forward line and the siren went. I can’t ever recall going from complete despair to absolute bloody ecstacy in a few seconds like that before.

For about two and a half quarters, St Kilda were absolutely bloody brilliant. After a slow start to the first 2 quarters, we built up a quarter time lead of 8 and a half time lead of 20. Midway through the third quarter, it was 33 points. The tide was turned by a hugely controversial Geelong goal for Cameron Mooney which was clearly touched over the line by St Kilda defender Zac Dawson. Even in real time it was obvious but the replay was damning for the goal umpire. Bearing in mind that Geelong got a goal in the grand final that hit the post, this was a real sickener. Geelong finished the third quarter strongly with 5 of the last 6 goals reducing the margin to 11. There was only one team in it in the last quarter – St Kilda’s only score was a goal but Geelong managed a ludicrous 1.7 before the incredible finish.

This result is enormously significant for the rest of September. St Kilda are now in the weak half of the draw with the Western Bulldogs, Sydney and Carlton. Geelong will probably have to play Hawthorn in the next round and then Collingwood in the Preliminary Final. Even if they beat Hawthorn, they will be bruised and battered against a fresh Collingwood. Had St Kilda lost, I would have been supporting Fremantle today. Now, I desperately want a Hawthorn win. If Freo win, Geelong will just swat them aside. Then, tonight, I have to support another team I loathe – Collingwood. It’s all in a good cause, though.

Trust the umpires to make themselves centre of attention by influencing the result of a qualifying final in the very last minute!

AFL umpires really give me the creeps... when you hear them during the game on TV, they always sound so uptight and defensive. They never seem to have an easy rapport with the players- despite their insistence on always calling the players by their first names. It's no wonder that nobody is allowed to touch them...

trimster wrote:
Trust the umpires to make themselves centre of attention by influencing the result of a qualifying final in the very last minute!


But it was a clear free kick - the controversy is that being generated by Geelong, a bunch of sore losers. Watching the replay on tv, the umpire's whistle is clearly audible before Ling kicks it and he blows it repeatedly as the ball goes through the goal. Mooney is heard on the mic saying "you lost us the game" to the umpire. No, Cam , you lost the game by giving away a free kick, you useless cunt - and why didn't you speak up when you were given a goal that you know came off a defender, you cheating, useless cunt?

Fremantle finished above Hawthorn on the ladder and had home advantage this afternoon. Strangely enough, it never occurred to me they would win but they did, and fairly comfortably, after Hawthorn kicked 1.11 in the first half.

Normally, I would be happy with this but it makes the semi finals less interesting. Geelong v Hawthorn could have been a classic; Geelong v Fremantle will be one-sided.

Collingwood are through to the Preliminary Final after smashing the Western Bulldogs by 62 points.

They still have huge problems with their kicking, though, scoring 17.22 - they have kicked more behinds than goals in the majority of their games this season.

Judging by the attendances at the 2 qualifying finals, the AFL's underhand price increase tactics have backfired. Ticket prices were only marginally higher than last year but what the AFL have done is upgraded huge sections of the ground from standard to premium so there are now thousands more expensive seats.

The aggregate attendance last year was 158k and this year 130k even though the same 4 teams were involved. The weather would also have been a factor as was the pathetic turnout of Western Bulldogs supporters last night obviously convinced they had no chance.

The semi final attendances could be very poor because, incredibly, semi final tickets are more expensive than qualifying finals even though these are the second chance games for the qualifying final losers. If Sydney win this afternoon it will be even worse.

Yesterday's finals were disappointing but this afternoon we got a classic. With 30 seconds to go, Carlton kicked a point when a goal would have taken the game into extra time.

Semi Finals

Geelong v Fremantle (MCG, Friday, 7.45. Winners play Collingwood)

Western Bulldogs v Sydney (MCG, Saturday, 7.20. Winners play St Kilda)

The AFL have announced that the 17 team 2011 season will be 24 weeks plus finals long. Each club will still play 22 games but 2 byes will be built in. There will be 19 rounds of 8 games and 5 rounds of 7. Despite the concerns of Racing Victoria and Cricket Victoria, the 2011 grand final will be in the first week of October.

No decision has been made yet on how the 18 club season will work in 2012 – the players union is strongly against extra games.