Grand Finalists / Wooden Spooners

Your picks are coming in thick n fast - not a lot of surprises... go have a look on the Grand Final/Spooner Picks tab...


And if you haven't got them in yet, start thinking and get sending....

7th - Sinners

If there is one team most likely to drop out of the 8 from my list, I am starting to think it is the Sinners.  They haven't done much to impress pre-season - and I say that despite them performing better that the Bluebaggers.  They just appear to  be on a bit of a spiral down - a bit like the Lions were in the mid-2000's, but without the Premierships to show for it.

Riewoldt is to the Saints what Goodesy is to the Swans but with bigger tear ducts and in slightly greater decay.  Goddard is a damn fine player which is just as well cos he's pretty damn ugly, but like Nicky, he does have a bit to prove in 2012.  Throw in Lenny Hayes, Del Santo and Montagna and you have a reason to think they should be in the 8, but it definitely won't be Top 4.  A new coach won't fix it.

8th - Sydney

The Swans have made the 8 in 8 out of the last 9 seasons.  Thats not a bad effort eh?  They'll make it 9 from 10 in 2012 despite still retaining LRT on the list.  Is that the biggest injustice of the 21st Century AFL?  Let's put this into context. Robert Harvey will never have a Premiership Medallion, but LRT has one. Leon Davis was All Australian in 2011 and is now not on any AFL list, while LRT is STILL playing for the Swans. WTF???

The main concern for the Swans is a major reliance on Goodesy.  He's the most important player for the Swans to the point where without him performing they pretty much won't win.  Fortunately it looks like he is on fire, and with Bolton, Jack, Mummy and Reid along with a pretty decent batch coming on, the Swans should be in the 8 - but without Goodes they will drop like a stone.

Jimmy Stynes

http://www.news.com.au/national/jim-stynes-loses-brave-cancer-battle/story-e6frfkvr-1226304802043

RIP.

9th - Kangaroos

Mmmmm I just finished a lovely Kangaroo fillet marinated in mirin, port, chilli and cracked pepper, beautifully cooked medium rare.  What does this have to do with North Melbourne?  SFA.  But it does taste good.

The Roos have less supporters than EVERYONE.  They should not have been allowed to continue on once they said no to the move north... then south... further north... then to NZ... then to India... then to Ballarat.  Brayshaw should be paying for their upkeep out of his own pocket.  It's not that the Shinboners are crap - far from it - they are a very solid middle of the road kinda team.  But who cares?  Not you.  They'll win enough games to knock on the door with Petrie, Harvey, Swallow, and an over rated Wells, but Top 8?  I don't think so.

NAB Cup, Round 1 & Finals Picks

Ahhh yes the NAB Cup has been won by THE BEST TEAM ON THE PLANET!  The MIGHTY MIGHTY'S!  It's an easy game innit?  While the Crows performed to expectations, the pre-season has not been so kind to the Blues.  0 from 5 may see some re-evaluation in the tipping... who was gonna pick em for the flag???

K, what you need to do now?

1. Put your tips in for round 1 - which this week only has to be the Tinies v Swans
2. Send me your TWO GRAND FINAL PICKS and your WOODEN SPOONER PICK (I will give you until the start of the second part of Round 1)
3. Time to get some cash in folks...

Side Competition - The Longest Streak Comp
Tis called the Winning Streak comp. You need to sign up for the 'Longest Streak Comp'. This has nothing to do with Bernie Vince.

Each week click on the 'streak' tab in your tipping, and choose between 0 and 9 teams that you think are dead certainties to win. Every tip that is correct adds one to your streak. If you get it wrong then your streak is over and it starts again.

At the end of the season the Top 3 will get some $ to be determined depending on numbers entered overall.

10th - Western Bulldogs

The Bulldogs.  Who cares?  I've only met one dogs supporter and I've already forgotten their name.  The only thing the dogs are good for are (a) letting out, and (b) beating in Prelim Finals on yer way to back-to-backs.

Now I know what you are all asking... what the hell does this picture have to do with the Western Bulldogs?  Well I'll tell you... it's their coach.  I know... I know...  I don't know who he is either.  I think he is the guy hidden away on their advert for 'the Western Front'... I thought he was just some dude lookin on in the background but no...this is their coach.  

Apparently B Hall isn't with them anymore but B Lake is up for a biggun - he better, cos he is in my SuperCoach team (sorry Brian).

SHE BOUGHT A JEEP.

No seriously, she bought a jeep.

And his mum bought a jeep.  The question is... is it her son... or have TWO women bought a jeep.  I'm looking forward to seeing them both together... in THE SAME JEEP.

The Dogs, Roos, Freo and Bombers will all be around the spot - battling it out for what in previous years was known as Richmondth.  Throw a blanket over em, cos percentage will be the separater.  Just don't buy a Jeep.

Jurrah.

Apparently there's no truth to the rumours that the Dees are going to give him the chop.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/embattled-melbourne-demons-forward-liam-jurrah-says-hes-determined-to-keep-his-afl-dream-alive/story-e6frf3e3-1226296443767

11th - Freeeeee-oooooooo

2011 finished with some controversy for the Purple ones as Harvey was sacked on the grounds that he always looked like he had been slighted and was about to cry.  So in comes Ross Lyon, hoping to bring some stodgy defence to the West and now really... I have no idea where they'll get to. Home ground advantage should be worth something but i can't see them being more than annoyance value to the top 8 - I mean lets be honest, the Paps beat them.

I will NEVER BE BUYING A F**KING JEEP! MICHAEL! YOU CAN STICK THAT JEEP UP YOUR AR$E!

Oh... whoops.. back to the footy.  The Purple Haze.  Bring back the anchor.  The real questions for the Haze are how long can they keep sandilands going, and will Pavlich lift.  Both seemed to get smacked by injuries a bit last year... if they can get back on track, they may challenge for the bottom of the 8... else no show.

12th - The Bombouts

Hmmm looks like Bellchambers is trying to do to Stanton what he had been doing to the Bombers forward movements for years.  The Bombouts are in line for 9 wins according to my scientific calculations, and that simply won't be good enough.  They do have one player I wouldn't mind - Heppell - but beyond that, they can keep em.  The worrying part for the Bombers (un)faithful is not that they rely on Watson, but that they are currently running some kind of school raffle to raise money for a new shed.  Whatever happened to the Mighty Bombers?  The only thing missing is the girlguide cookies.  Actually whatever happened to girlguide cookies?  They were delicious :)

Hmm and now I think of it... not only were they delicious... but they were harder than a majority of the Bombers players (cept for maybe Bellchambers when tackling Stanton).

13th - Melbourne

Oops.  At the time of writing there seems to be a bit going on with a certain Liam Jurrah!  Sound a bit ominous... That aside, the Dees win a few, but the emphasis is on that word - "few".  New coach and a few new assistant coaches with N Craig coming in.  A lotta conjecture over J Watts - should he play forward, should he play back, is he any good, is he completely over rated and going to be slightly worse than koshitsme?

As with most teams the Dees do have a couple of young players coming on (not Watts), but I don't see them improving beyond any other teams.

14th - Paps

The Paps are on the way UP in 2012.  That's saying not much cos 2011 was beyond bad for them.  Even I was getting embarrassed for them.  The Paps only seem to grow testies when they line up against the Crows - it's time to move beyond that you buncha ladies - there are 16 other teams in the comp, not just the Crows.

The removal of Ole Man Cornes and Diana Brogan will help things.  The addition of Brad Ebert will be a major plus in the midfield, and Butcher looks a likely lad, but until they finally decide to get a full time coach to take over from Matty Primus you can keep writing off the seasons.

15th - Brisbane

Much like big JB, the Lions are gonna be in a world of pain this year.  2011 saw them gain a bit of respect with some solid losses, but they were losses, and I can't see where the improvement is gonna come from.  With Mitch Clarke gone and Browny on his last cheekbone, they will be marginally better than the Tigers and Suns, but not by much.  It's gonna be a long season north of the border.

16th - The Suns

The Suns will definitely get a few more runs on the board this year with the development of their juniors, Ablett continuing to rack up the SuperCoach points, Bock using his wife-beating skills in the forward lines, Zac Smith growing another 6 inches taller, and Brennan learning to use two hands.

Unfortunately they still have Josh '8 years ago I was trade bait' Fraser on their list.  Only percentage will keep them above the Tiggers but thats good enough.  Roll on 2013 for the Sunnies.

17th - Tiggers

The Tiggers will be slightly more powerful than this lil teddy bear.  But not much.  I tried to find some wins for them and beyond the Giants, Suns and the standard win over the Bombers, I'm struggling.  In past years you could pencil them in for some early wins just to allow us all the pleasure of seeing their supporters get their hopes up and then crushed like a Roo on the Hay Plains.  But this year they won't even get those.

18th - GWS

The hardest part of the 2012 Season will NOT be picking who is going to finish bottom.  The Giants will struggle to win a game.  Where the Suns had some VERY good established players - Ablett, Bock, Brennan - and still finished at the bottom, the Giants have.... Scully, Davis and Palmer... oh and errr... Cornes... Brogan... McDonald...

While I would love to find the Giants a win this year, I can't.  Pretty Simple.  If the odds on a GWS win get less than $15 all year check the weather forecast and see if they're playing the Bombers.

Tough Gig!

How hard is it working out the top 8 this year?  While the top position is a lock-in, working out who will play off against the Crows to be just another trivia question is a tough gig.  To that end I have gone through the entire season taking into account the likely weather patterns, injuries resulting from Horseboy's SuperCoach selections, mid-season banter on whether Goddard et al move to GWS, and the general lack of ticker that embody the spirit of teams such as the Dees, Tiggers n Bombouts.  So over the next couple of weeks I will divulge the tips that will bring you The Ultimate Success in this years tipping comp...

Bring It On!