Prelim Final Fever

Preliminary Final Fever hits Sydney this week and the Mighty Crows appear to have taken this city by storm!  Forget the Swans - they may be "Sydney's Team" but I went into a couple of Rebel Sports stores this afternoon and money couldn't buy a Crows scarf!  There were hawks guernsey a dime a dozen, swans merchandise as far as the eye can see, and even the odd Pies daytime release badges available, but not one piece of the glorious red, blue and yellow was left.  Apparently there was a massive run on the 2012 Premiers official supporters gear on Saturday morning.  Indeed the media got the cause of Saturdays riots completely wrong - with the promise of crossing cultural barriers, once the last Crowsbeanie was sold there were always going to be problems.  Our saviour the Lord Tex Walker... Mullet be thy name...

So far all the best teams give the opposition a massive lead in the first quarter before romping home in the second half of the game.  That was the case with the Crows n Dockers, that was the case with the Beagles and Pies.  In the end of course for the 5th year running the top 4 at the end of the minor round have gone through to the Preliminary Final.  All that jabbering by the experts and not-so about how the gap between 1st and 7th wasn't as big this year... how the draw skewed everything... how Carlton were actually pretty good despite failing to beat the Suns... and surprise surprise... the top four teams on the ladder are now the best 4 teams in the comp.

Which brings us to the two Prelim Finals and friday nights game does look like being an absolute ball tearer.  The Pies seem to be finding some form again and yes it is at the right time.  They gave away a substantial lead in the first quarter against the Beagles and came back hard.  That said there were a LOT of lucky moments and Embley's grubber when the Coasters let by under a goal in the final quarter is the definition of a game changer.  Under zero pressure, if he cleared the ball that may have been game over... but no... CLOWN.   Embley, you always were over rated.  But not as over rated as the All Australian Captain... Darren Glass.  P-uhlease!  His greatest claim to fame is that he was at West Coast in the mid-2000s and didn't take drugs.  And while Nic-Nat WOULD make any team in the world, he is a one in two proposition - a highlights package with no storyline.  Gerard Healy has an infatuation for him like no other.  It must be annoying for his wife when he's yelling out NICNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT just as he peaks in his once weekly ritual of sado-masochistic lovemaking.

Anyway.  The Pies play the Swans - in their 15th finals series from the last 17.  And the Swans do keep on keeping on.  If Goodesy and Jedda can keep some of that form they showed against the Mighty's, they will be hard to beat.  For mine, the Pies have a lotta high possesion midfielders and with Shaw in the backline not crying at the other players they DO look good.  But unless Cloke is up and about they really lack a weapon.  No X factor as they say on channel 7 too much when talking about some crappy singer you will never hear from again. Hopefully.  They do however have a pretty damn fine record against the Swans... but all records get broken.  Even at ANZ.  Me thinks the Pies relied heavily on the emotion of the death of a player they had dispatched to Alberton the previous year (tough love?), and this week they are on the come down.  Swans by 4 goals.

Then there is the Hawks/Crows.  It sounds like more of Adelaide is going to Melbourne this week than made it to the Dockers game on the weekend.  They were obviously saving their money for the Prelim and Granny.  I will be down there cheering on the Mighty's (although I need to buy another scarf...) and I'm hoping that the Hawks enter the game as lightly as almost every other team has this year.  Hate to say it but the Hawks do look hard to beat.  The Crows will need to be on their A game to be a chance, with Tex nailing everything and Tippers getting more than the scraps that Tex gives him.  Throw in big games by Dangerfield, Thommo, Sloane and the Porps and anything can happen.  For the Crows to win, all these players need to be up and about, and the marks in the forward line need to stick.  Straight kicking wins these games.  The Brown ones have a little known player called Buddy - can play - and the 1 in 2 proposition that is Cyril.  I'm hoping the lil one has a downer.  Crows by a point.

Tipping
Well... that's two weeks in a row that I forgot my tips, and now I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE!  but you guys probably do.  The way the comp is set up, if you get two right, you get 3 points... so it's worth getting them right :)  13 of you did, including the almost unbeatable IH8CROWS - 4 points up.  I guess it will come down to who she picked for the Granny... (has a quick look) hmmm.  11 people still have 6 points up for grabs, 3 are guaranteed 3 points, and only 2 are currently out of the running for any more points... So for all that 'this is the hardest year to pick' rubbish, it just goes to show I have the SMARTEST tipping comp tippers IN THE WORLD!  Go on... you know it's true.  Apart from you Dave.

GO YOU CROWS!