Wednesday 30 June 2010

More Umps?

Bluddy hell... they want MORE umpires?  Have umpires become like blades on disposable razors?  "Schick Umpire - we give you 14 blades for the ultimate comfort..."

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/field-umpires-were-only-following-instructions-20100629-zj8h.html

Tuesday 29 June 2010

Round 14 Starts THURSDAY night

Thats right.  Don't ask me why.  Anyway, Fev v Fev is THURSDAY night.  Also note that I made a slight change in the Knockout Comp requirements - you get 3 games to choose from, not two.

Good luck with your tipping. 

Monday 28 June 2010

Round 13 v2 - Better Than v1

12 weeks.  Sucked in you dirty mofo. 

Good to see the AFL tribunal having some consistency eh?  Golden Boy Judd gets off after elbowing Pavlich in the face while Johnson gets 4 weeks for the same effort on Baker.  It's just not that hard is it?  And just to accentuate the fact, IT IS IN THE SAME BLUDDY ROUND.  I am comfy with Johnson getting weeks given his record but Juddy shoulda got 2.  Simple.  Absolute disgrace.  Not sure who's fella he's chompin on but it's paying dividends at the tribunal.  

4 from 7.  Those Crows are good eh?   That's like... 8 from 14.  Top 8 material.  Damn they're good!  Imagine if they could kick straight.  The Bombers will be shakin in their boots.  Jobe may even have to learn how to kick.  Meanwhile how bad were the Swans?  LRT? More like TRD.  Absolute turdburger.  TRD is STILL comfortably the worst footballer in the comp.  As Pizerule pointed out at every opportunity during the game, was it a coincidence that whomever the TRD was on happened to be the 'go-to' man for goal?  I think not.  My question is, can any of you think of ANY 100 game player that is worse than the big red TRD?  Thinking... Thinking... Thinking... Nup.  Comments please...?  Here are some others ideas... and here are the worst teams (for each team) from 1990-2003 - fantastic stuff... Calthorpe almost makes 2 teams - thats GOLD! Although Bradshaw making the Brissy worst is an interesting call in hindsight eh?

Anyway, the Pies were way too good for the Swans.  Goodes had a shocka - worst game I've seen him play.  I almost texted him back to let him know (he kept texting me before the season to get me to join).  Badly needing the Bradshaw lad, and the big Irish doofus wouldna gone astray.

Speaking of Brits, how bout them Poms?  Anyone else tear up when they bowed out of the World Cup?  4:1 - of course they will go on about the why's... they will WHINGE... but we will celebrate their failure... bless em.  And it was nice to see the two teams that met in the Final last time meet in the airport this time before the round of 16... suckers.

The Cats eh?  The Sinners eh?  The Sinners keep costing me money and I am over them.  OVER them I tell you.  Hmmm

The Ladder
D MASTER Still reigns supreme!  And that is despite tipping the Swans.  Great effort 3 clear of the rest... 

Side Comp
Lots still in it so narrowing the focus this week in yer battle for $20... you gotta pick from the Crows v Bombers, Tigers v Swans or Hawks v Doggies... if you don't pick from one of these games yer OUT... no excuses...

Round 14
There are some crackers.  Not necessarily one of those is the Blues v Lions.  The only way this won't be a spanking is if Fev puts money on the Lions and kicks 10.  Don't rule it out.  

The Hawkers n Doggies... genuine contest here.  If the Hawks win this then I take it back.  B Hall to lose the plot but still kick 6 - more than enough run n fight by the Dogs and they'll win by 23 points.  Buddy to do nothing cos he spent the week off having a few cones.    Of course the Pies will cream the Eagles, and the Power are absolutely crap - they will get smashed by the Purple Laze.    The great things is that after the Crows beat the Bombers, that would put the Crows above the Paps! Nice!!!!  Well... maybe not on %... we'll see... :)

YES the Cats will rebound and beat the Roos by 84 points, while the Swans should get over the Tigers... surely... and do I even need to mention what the Sinners will do to the Dees?

Monday 21 June 2010

When the going gets tough...

OOOF!  We wuz wobbed!  Unbelievable.  Poor ole Harry.  The worst part of all was that 6 minutes later and he would have been off injured - at least we would have been able to sub in for him.  DAMN YOU ITALIAN BASTARDO REF!!

Speaking of people I hate, I got to thinking about annoying AFL players.

S Milne? *tick* There is only one time I have ever agreed with Mickey Maltmouse, and I think we all know what I am talking about.  And are we surprised at the revelations today...? No. Not in the least.  Annoying.  Dirty.  Gobby.

D Bewick? *tick* This is personal.  He only EVER kicked goals against the Crows.  He did nothing against any other team.  B'stard.

T Liberatore? *tick*  Remember that pinchy pinchy? Dirty Dirty Dog. Grew his fingernails just so he could go the scratch.  He was without a doubt one of the filthier players later in his career.  How the hell he won a Brownlow is beyond me.  Best and Fairest??? They should have taken it off him retrospectively.  HATED the lil bastard and happy we stopped him twice in the Prelims.

D Brereton? *tick* Line in the Sand eh?  Good one... reported 17 times.  Actually to be fair I enjoyed watching him play.  But jeez he was a dirty bugger.  Need a reminder?



D Fletcher? *tick* Inspector Gadget.  Serial tripper.  Overrated. Always plays on the third best forward and runs off him.  If he can't catch him he throws out the hand to trip.  Clown.

S Hodges? *tick*  Played for the Crows but weak as piss as a result of his Port Adelaide heritage.  Teared up at every opportunity.  Never has one man been pushed under a ball with such ease on so many occasions.  Kicked 15 million goals in the SANFL but failed on the big stage.  Hodges was the AFL's version of Graham Hick.

D Brogan? *tick*  Port Power ruckman that assaulted a surgeon in 2005, and punched an opposition fan in the face at an airport - an act recently copied by a Seattle policeman to great effect.  That aside, just his face annoys me.  Soft unit with the brain of a flea, specialises in taking on easy targets.

OK come on... which players annoy you?  Go to the comments and give it...

I didn't do so well in the tips this half round... indeed I think I have... 2 from 5.  Excellent.  The Bombers put in a great effort to lose to Buddy. Another 50/50 game, another occasion for Daaaaave to pick the opposition.  I still can't believe yer playing off 24 Dave... its... just... not... right.  Brisbane continued their decline, losing to the Tigers.  Fev's 200th was a game to forget as the other Riewoldt continued reasonable form (3 goals) to lead the Coleman.  I am sensing some anger from young Beccles... she's already calling for his head. She's a harsh unit WildJohny - does she get that from you?

Freo beat Carlton.  I flicked across from the Brissy game for a moment to see some of the game and Freo are just uninspiring to watch at the moment.  I hate that white guernsey.  All white guernseys should be banned.  Kruezer is out for a while so if you had him in yer dream team sucked in.  Finally an injury that wasn't in my team.  The Dockers are on the way down.  Fact.  And yes I am saying that after the win.  But it's just reality and all those Purple Hazers know it to be true.

The Paps continued their run of outs.  Williams to be sacked before the end of the year by Dean Laidley.  The Kangas won just to piss me off.  Yes, it is all personal.  Mind you if my tipping the Paps causes them to lose every week then I'm happy to toss the point away.  Dean Brogan was probably annoying.  And finally the Doggies smashed the Eagles.  Which proves nothing.

The Ladder
5 out of 8 games played - does anyone like this split round thing?  Did anyone turn on the telly Saturday arvo and flick across the channels looking for a game?  What's wrong with a Saturday arvo game?  Answer me THAT.  4/5 was the best it got this week but leading the way in the tips is still the D Master - 4 clear of the rest.  In the side comp... well it continues...

Round 13.2
3 games left and not bad ones.  Lets see... it's the Grand Final replay - Geelong v the Sinners.  Hard to go past the Cats really - they are playing some great footy AGAIN and all those naysayers from the beginning of the year are back on the bandwagon.  Up in Sydney the Pies play the Swans.  The Pies have the wood on the Swans in recent years - especially at Homebush.  But the Pies are NOT playing well... tough pick but the Pies will be faves.  And finally the Crows will smash the Dees as they continue their rapid rise to the top.

Monday 14 June 2010

Round 12: Crappy Crappy Crappy

The Horseboy is Back!

Yep I return from the land called Saffa in one piece and I praise the almighty.  All those stories you hear are 100% true.  Every person I met that had spent more than a month there (locals and visitors) had been mugged or worse at least once.  Apparently "you just need to be sensible".  Sounds like sound advice but you have to realise "sensible" means not going out.  It's like going to a Pies game 24x7 although to be fair the beer is a lot cheaper than at the MCG.

On the upside, the Saffas that aren't mugging you are quite friendly.  And even the ones that are rifling through you jacket when you turn your back for 2 minutes are quite friendly and apologise afterwards.  Maybe he was looking for some change for the 8-ball table?

Anyway, I am back and just in time to see some of the crappiest crappiest football played by a team.  I have never seen such crap in my life.  Defence?  None.  They sliced us up.  Attack?  Forward the ball would go only to have missed opportunity after missed opportunity.  That we stayed within two goals for so long just shows how crap the opposition were before they blew us away in the last 30.

Now you see... I have written two reviews with the one paragraph cos the Socceroos were very ordinary and the Crows equally inept.  The only real difference is that the Germans are actually reasonable opposition while I still don't rate the Hopeless Hawks.  Sure they ended up smacking the Crows by 47 points, but the fact that we were missing easy goals and turning over the ball with greater regularity than the Socceroos, and STILL the Hawks were only up by 10 points several times in the last quarter....?  Well that says the Hawks are crap.    Yes they've won a few in a row, but that is the draw.  They haven't beaten anyone of note.  So Ando and Line in the Sand... lull yerselves if you like but yer kidding yerselves if you think any different.  My money is on Franklin being caught for drugs on his third strike in Round 21.  Tippett must be on something too cos those missed goals were an absolute JOKE.  And as for that Mexican ref...

How bout the Riewoldt lad?  Ten goals.  Still looks like he needs to go through puberty.  Hard to rate him but ten goals in a crap team... well hard NOT to rate him I guess.  That's the first ten goal haul since 2007 by anyone and he now leads the Coleman.  Amazing effort and the Tigers got their second win on the board, smashing the Beagles by 49 points.

Great to see the Paps go down like a sack on home turf.  Sad to see so many injuries.  Can you sense my tears?  Lets see... Salopek, Ebert, Chutney Cornes, Trengrove, Harlett and Surjan all possibly out injured.  Welcome to my world.  The Swans did it easy really.  Goodesy kicked 3.  And there I reckon I have found the solution to the Socceroos problems... snatch an AFL player.  Goodesy can do pretty much anything.  Imagine him in the box.  He kicks goals off the ground half the time anyway.  And he can't be worse at soccer than Hunt and Folau will probably be at AFL.  Come on Pim!  Be honest with yerself... we've got NOTHIN!  Harry is about as injury-prone as Riewoldt crossed with Hirdy.  Get on the job.

Carlton continued their season of who cares.  This time against a team about which no one cares.  The Kangas do what they do best.  Display mediocrity by winning the odd game when you don't tip them. Seriously who cares about North Melbourne?  Their 4 supporters turn up to about half the games they play.  They should just fold and be done with it.  Brayshaw shts me for what he did to them - promising to get them out of a coma but keeping them on life support and feeding through an AFL sponsored straw is a joke.  He is to Eddie McGuire what Jar Jar Binks was to Chewbacca.

In a ripper of a game the Pies n Dees drew.  If bad kicking is bad footy, the Pies were total crap - ten more scoring shots and dzzzzt... unbelievable.  Still with the Cats pumping the Bombers and the Doggies absolutely slappin the Lions around, we did have some order restored.  But what has happened to the Dockers in my absence?  Have they gone down the gurgler?  A cuppla losses... well we'll see.  The Sinners are coasting along it seems, dreaming of the return of Riewoldt the Lesser, and with Milney firing up they still look good.  Goddard continues to be as solid as he is ugly.

The Side Comp
In my absence the comp did of course go off in Round 9 - you get $30 each.  Please email me to get the cash. And with the draw, it has gone off again - another $30 this time going to Ruby2shoes.  It will restart again this week and you can choose from any game.


The Ladder
Well out on top - well and truly - is the D Master!  He is a lazy 14 points ahead of his father Pize Rule... thats gotta hurt.  I hope he paid the $30 and not the PR man.

Also thanks Beccsta - no bonus point YET for the Bazza picks... and yes, people have selected right through to the finals...

Round 13 - Split Round
Indeed it is... and it starts with a very hard to pick Hawks v Bombers.  Toss the coin for these two contenders (for positions 8 - 11).  Dave will yet again pick the Hawks cos he still has no scruples.  I haven't spoken to him for 3 weeks but I know it to be true.  I don't care if you won two rounds of golf on the trot.  I'll back the Bombers after seeing the Hawks struggle over the Mighties.

The Blues will get an easy win over the flailing Dockers, while the Lions at home over the Tigers are NOT a certainty.  Again, an indictment on the Lions, not a positive for the Tiges.  No (fit) Browny, no Lions.  Who would have thought THAT was the case when you have Fev up front as well?  Amazing.

Finally, the Kangas should win over the Power, so I'll tip the Power, and the Doggies will destroy the Eagles.  If the Tigers can beat em, the Doggies will leave no trace they even existed.

Friday 11 June 2010

Barry Hall & The Horseboy Returneth

First up, a big Thank You Mr Nips for filling in in my absence!  Looks like he kept the ball rolling in a big way - much appreciated.

As you know, I vowed not to return from South Africa until the Crows had another win on the board.  At the time of my departure it looked a safe bet that I was therefore going to see every first round game of the World Cup and possibly have enough time to start training for Comrades 2011.  Unfortunately for me, the Crows did it before the World Cup started and I got nothing.  Unbelievable.

To urgent matters... During my absence I believe Mr Hall incurred some wrath.  I can see a query on the oztips website from Once Great about what was the boiling point for yer boner.  The requirement was the following:

"The round Barry Hall will receive his first points-incurring GUILTY at the tribunal."


My question is... did he incur points?  Sorry... I'm trying to find some info on the net and I get nothing but pics of B Hall hitting people.  Seriously can someone put the result of the B Hall incident in the comments for me (along with the round?).



In the meantime... Well you know how it is... ya come back from a break and all of a sudden there are new tools to help prettify yer blog!  I've had a fiddle... then I had another go at changing the blog layout... I tried beer as a background, I tried lil patterns, I tried big patterns, but as with most things, I think the simpler the better.  All comments welcome.

Now if yer really bored you can watch me as I struggled through 89.28 km on Comrades - I am the non-black dude.  Actually don't be too afraid - they didn't film me for the full distance:

I will summarise.  Tough.  But not as tough as watching the Crowsboys handpass into trouble.

On with the footy...

Monday 7 June 2010

Round 11 - Results

Saints toyed with the Tigers on Friday night. Riewoldt kicked 6 in another impressive display for the Yellow and Black. Milne (cant faark'n stand him) had a night out for the Sinners with 5. Goddard was outstanding. Expect he collected the 3 Bronwlow votes.

The Blues did what we all expected. The weather kept em both honest, but the Dees are still a couple of years away from significant inroads. Gysberts looks handy. Played just the 2 games - worthy of Supercoach addition at $129K. Averaging 25 touches (and 90 plus Supercoach points).

The Crows gave Edwards the right send off. Good win for the Crows over Freo (pardon the pun). Not sure what that says about either side. Michael Barlow had 30 odd touches and kicked 3 goals for the Dockers. Hard to think he was running around for the VFL last year.

The Roos had just enough petrol tickets to hold off the Lions. Only a point the difference in the end - with a wobbly old kick from the boundary from Greenwood to give the Roos a much needed win. Tips the Lions out of the 8.

The Cats were made to earn the win over West Coast. Nic Nat did some freaky stuff. One passage had him kicking to himself, gathering and slotting it on the run from 40 metres. Love the big Fijian. Trouble was the Cats have got their tails up at the minute. A couple of passages of play through the middle and bang, bang, bang (3 goals). No Ling, Ottens, Corey, Hawkins, Scarlett. Geezus (...and they still won).

The Swans held out the Bombers to win by 8 points. Hille cost me a win in the Supercoach this week. A massive 9 points from the ruckman! Hear he has a hamstring injury that will keep him out for 2 - 3 weeks. Swans led by Jude Bolton. 11 clearances to the fella. That's guts.

The Hawks did enough against Port. Burgoyne the new lucky charm for the Hawks. He's played 4 games for the Hawks for 4 wins. Mind you - its been ugly, but they are chocolates none the less. Port look knackered.

In the MOTR - the Pies limped across the line against the Dogs. I recall saying something about percentage in the 3rd quarter. Seconds later Umpire Ray Chamberlain awarded consecutive 50's. Ahhh faark me Ray - just kick it for him I may have said!!! Had the head in the hands at the 23 min mark of the last quarter when the Dogs kicked 6 unanswered goals!

Luckily the siren came, followed by the song! Great to see the Igniter back in the team. His 3 goals along with Pendles 35 odd possessions (Robert Rose medalist if you dont mind) worthy of mention. DT had another impressive game. Medhurst didnt get a sniff and Fraser looks like he's aged dacades in the last 3yrs. Hopefully both better for the 120 mins. Lethal Lee Brown looked good. Even spread for the Pies!

Quite a few 50-50 games next week. Hawks v Crows, Tigers v Eagles, Freo v Saints. Good luck

Go Pies.

The Nipster

Round 11 - Halfway Review (Top 8)

Round 11 Review

Brings us to the half way mark. Probably as good a time as ever to undertake a review of the top 8.

Cats
I had em towards the bottom of the top 4. Definitely a quality team, but not sure another year on whether they would lose a bit. No way predicted they'd unearth the j-Pod and have Lonegan doing so well across half back. A few injuries may bring em back a peg?

Pies
Always looked top 4 with the recruits of Jolly and Ball. Super team that is super even. Daisy having a big year - but lapses in the Pies intensity is a worry. Will play in a Prelim in 2010 - fingers crossed for more.

Saints
Reiwoldt is a massive torpedo for the Sinners. No more critical player in that team. Impressive to be sitting 3rd. The loss of Reiwoldt has exposed Kosi. Disappointing thus far.

Freo
The Purple Haze are the bolters in 2010. Barlow is a gem and many of the lesser lights are having ripper seasons. Shouldn't be totally unexpected for any team with Pavlich and Sandilands to be sitting in the top 4.

Blues
Have some impressive scalps this year. Judd is a superstar. Setanta O is rubbish. Murphy, Gibbs and Kruzer all good players. Big surprise to be up this far on the ladder.

Dogs
Way too low for mine. I have em as one of my Grand Final teams. Their best footy would have them all over the Cats. Trouble is they've got some injuries and the second level players aint in the class of Boyd, Cooney and Cross. Need a few games from their skipper in the second half of the season.

Swannies
Must say the Swannies always give it a crack. Goodes is elite. Malceski is back to near best form and I love to see the "ginge" on display. Enter the Ro-han. Got him in the SuperCoach. Lock the Swannies into the 8.

Hawks
I'm not alone when I say that the Hawks surely were expected to be top 4. Injuries, suspensions and Roughie kicking with what appears to be a dead-leg. Burgoyne yet to ignite - but with the Hawks back in the 8 - you'd think they'll be hard to knock out.

The Rest
The Crows and the Lions are the most notable ommissions from the top 8 if you wish to ask.

The Lions have two superstar forwards in Brown and Fev. Expected big scores. Both have sore groins - but when fit capable of kicking 8+ each.

Crows played like a top 4 side last week. Lets see whether it was flash in the pan type stuff. Cant understand why Tyson Edwards pulled the pin to be honest. Appears to have thrown the baby out with the bathwater upon hearing he may have a run around in the 2's?

The Nipster

Sunday 6 June 2010

News From Saffa

My lord... it even made news in SaffaLand! The Crows won!!! 

OK, it didn't make the news, but bless'em... GO YOU CROWS!  And we are only 2 games out of the 8!  And... more... injuries... Come back Tyson - all is forgiven.

On the other side, both our girls teams lost - Team Sammy lost to some bloody Italian - she probably took a dive. And we lost to the bloody yanks. hmmm.  Lucky I'm coming home soon...

In the meantime, thankyou Mr Nips... keep up the good work ;)

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Is He Folau?

Izzy Falou is set to earn $6M over 4 years as the face of the GWS. That's their whole marketing budget. Having watched him play for the Melbourne Storm, no doubt he's a big fella that can run fast.

Gotta give it to Sheeds, he is the king of spin. Expect sponsors to be all over the GWS.

Nips

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Round 10 - Grinners

Round 10 had its hits and misses.

On Friday night, the Bombers took the tackling to the Dogs. They looked pretty quick and applied too much pressure to the kennel. Bazza still snagged 5 in a lone hand up forward. Too many skill errors cost the Dogs, as did leaving their run a bit late. Big come back in the last quarter - but just couldn't make up the difference. Bombers get a couple in a row and look like a chance for 8th spot.

At AAMI it was all yellow and black as the rains fell. They smacked that Paps. Absolutely hammered em. Lowest ever score for the Power. Tiggs just played the better wet weather footy. Probably brought the difference in skill levels back to neutral and lets face it...when you haven't won for 13 games you'd hope the selected 22 would have a decent crack! Happened to notice about dozen in the inner circle singing the song. That's a few popped cherries.

The Pies wilted sadly on the Gabba. Few selection issues for mine. Jack Anthony looks shot and to be fair to the Lions they played the better footy. Pies led for 90% of the game. Lions took the four points. A few expletives (ok I was filthy) - but it don't change the result people. Aaaargh!

Hawks toughed it out against the Swannies. Got over em by 3 points with quite a few of the bloods missing. They are a quality team. Goodes and co. never far from the contest. Buddy again in the headlines. Has accepted a week ban - for cleaning up another little bloke. He's gotta learn to pick on blokes his own size.

The Cats look impressive. Any catch Pods' latest 5 goals down at the Cattery? The bloke had it on a stick. Nearly kicked a banana from 45 metres out, took a 1 handed grab and slotted pretty much everything that came his way. How the heck can a bloke that good not make it until now? I've got the 2002 Pies team photo at the office......and there he is! He's alongside Tarrant, Rocca, Molloy, Scotty Cummings, Didak and Nick Davis. What about the Pods Pies? Eight years on - he's the form forward of the comp! Hindsight eh?

The Blues did a number on the Eagles. Bryce Gibbs racked up a lazy 45 possessions. Apparently Woosha was happy to let him play loose man in defence. He racked up 196 Supercoach points. No wonder the Blues won. Judd and co. looking also likely to be around the 8 come September. Setanata O continues to impress. Luck of the Irish?

The Purple Haze pumped the Roos. No Barlow either. Hamstring soreness apparently. That also has Supercoach repercussions. He's been another revelation this season (along with J-Pod). Pav kicked a few and racked up plenty. Kepler Bradley had a blinder (6 goals). The Dockers seem to have found a bit of depth in 2010. Expect them to be 4 top this year. Pav is among the best going around. He's destined to play in a Grand Final before he's done.

So from what most thought was a pretty easy week - on came the upsets which no doubt played havoc with everyone's tips. Good luck for week 11 people. For mine, I like the Sinners, Blues, Dockers, Roos, Cats, Swans, Hawks and Pies. Big game for the Dogs and Pies. Thats MOTR in my view. I'll be there!

The Nipster (Go Pies).

Saffa Comrades (Ultra) Marathon

Word has it that Luke completed the "ultimate human race" (89kms) in a little over 8hrs (..and 4mins). Handy effort averaging in the 5 minute kms for most of the run.

Not sure where to from here for the Horseboy. Hawaiian Ironman perhaps? Trouble with that option is he's gotta do the swim leg. Would expect with that lithe (somewhat pale and freckle sodden) physique - he ain't getting the job done in the water.

Congrats on the efforts LP!

Nips