Round 15 - And then there were Four.

How bout them Dockers eh?

Of course it is that time of the year where each failed team bleats about how they are inexperienced and just looking to the future - it is ALL about the kids. But sorry Dockers fan, you only had 2 more players than the Crows with 0-50 games experience (11 v 9). Fact is, all teams that aren't quite up to scratch say they are young and re-building - cept maybe the Swans...

And the Swans were woeful on Saturday. LRT started at full forward. What is going on there? How can he make the top 600 footballers in Australia let alone the full forward for a team that has recently boasted Micky O, B Hall and T Locket? I wouldn't pick him for the Sturt reserves. He makes Ian Perrie look like a dead-set genius (I think his mum wrote his wikipedia entry by the way).

But back to da Yoof. Remember West Coast circa 2006? A Premiership was won, and it was with one of the 'younger' teams in the comp. Now look at em! Spoon-bound hopefully, cos I tipped em for it. And then there's the Paaaah. I remember having a conversation with a rabid Port supporter and ex-player back in April. I asked why did people think the Paaah were better than the Crows circa 2009 - I honestly couldn't see it, and I know I am as unbiased as they come. It's not my fault the Paaaaah are rubbish - I didn't force them to lose a Grand Final by a record margin and bring shame upon all my State. He told me the Crows were too old, the Paaaaah had yoof coming through and too much class, blah blahdy blah... Thanks for coming old man... For the record, here are the # of players from the weekend per team between 0 and 50 games, and the avg number of games per player - who would have thought the Bulldogs had the most experienced line-up in terms of avg games?

• Richmond: 17 (46)
• West Coast: 13 (71)
• Carlton: 12 (58)
• Freo: 11 (64)
• North: 11 (84)
• Brisbane: 10 (76)
• Melbourne: 10 (73)
• Adelaide: 9 (96)
• Essendon: 9 (84)
• Hawthorn: 7 (74)
• Port: 7 (102)
• St Kilda: 7 (93)
• Sydney: 7 (110)
• Collingwood: 6 (100)
• Geelong: 6 (108) ** From round 14 cos Round 15 was a joke...
• Western Bulldogs: 6 (114)

Speaking of rubbish. Those poms eh? They are the equivalent of the Hawks in last years Grand Final - time wasting CLOWNS. Of course the Cats appeared to have their own Ponting moment or 3, with enough shots on goal to sink em, but for some reason they thought North would get the job done. Lets hope the final result in the Ashes doesn't go the same way.

But back to the footy. An absolute pearler of a finish to the Dogs/Pies game on Friday night, with the Pies getting home by a point. I still think the Dogs are the better team, but after the Crows training run provided us with % and 4 points, we now have a very tight run for positions 3-6.

Carlton beat the Tigers with the Fev kicking 9 goals. Who HASN'T beaten the Tigers this year? Fev's goal was rather handy though, I must admit. In what on paper was an upset, Brissy beat a half-baked Cats. People say it didn't prove anything, but to me it proves if you remove 1/2 a team in one week, they will struggle. Meanwhile 16th placed Melbourne showed just why Port are such a good team - leading for most of the game to beat them rather easily. The Paps are rubbish. I say that knowing we are playing them in 2 weeks and yet again they will do so with absolutely nothing left to play for this season except to beat us. Win, Lose or Draw, Pav - I feel confident that the $50 we bet at the beginning of the season is bound out of South Austra-ya.

Of course the Sinners beat the Eagles. Just. And in the final game that apparently shows that the Hawkers are back on track, Hawthorn just managed to get a win over a team that had won four games for the season. On that basis we can expect Melbourne to knock the Sinners off top spot.

So where does that leave us...? The top 2 are set... the next 4 are set (hopefully...) and the battle for 7th and 8th is between 4 teams that will make zero impact on the finals...

The Tippers

This week, Gutterguard has travelled all the way to the East to make sure that I am still solvent and able to pay out at the end of the year, as his beloved 101 and grunter lead the way in the tipping comp. He said that while he doesn't believe 101 can maintain her place at the top of the ladder, he has hedged his bets enough with grunter to at least take out a top ten position there... time will tell. I personally have been surprised that he makes it 'home' at 5pm each night, cooks the Horseboy and Chickie_Babe dinner, takes the pooches for a walk, takes dictation (ie this write-up), and then tucks us into bed at night. I tell you what 101 - you have a keeper. Does he do all this for you?

Also on top of the ladder is 2008 winner, Line in the Sand. Clearly not tipping his Hawkers this year eh?

In the side comp there are 6... the two games are on the side tab... pick well... It's at $20.