AFL round 18 ‘expert’ tips
His name is KHunt.
It’s ‘Tank’ week
AS debate rages over whether or not the clubs down the bottom are deliberately trying NOT t0 win that 5th game - in order to pick up a second 1st. round draft pick - spare a thought for those of us in close tipping contests. How do we do know who to pick? And why should you care? Anyway, it’s good to see that the new Gold Coast team haven’t woken up to the fact that they’re in the AFL not the NRL and have gone out and signed up some meat-head rugby player as their ‘star recruit’. This is shaping as shades of the Brisbane Bears 1987 all over again, who thought it was about attracting ‘glamour boys’ like Warwick Capper instead of building a real team. Bring on 2011, it should be fun.
Baldrick’s away but he dropped his tips in before he left, so here’s what the ‘experts’ have to say about ‘Tank’ week:
Ray says:
Nth Melbourne v Carlton : The wheels have fallen off at Princes Park and they’ve hit the panic button. Too late.
Bulldogs v Fremantle : No contest.
Geelong v Adelaide : This WILL be a contest and Geelong are no certainties. But it’s down at Kitty Park.
Sydney v St Kilda : It’s not inconceivable that Sydney could win this and if they do it won’t mean a lot. But you just couldn’t pick against the Saints at the moment.
Collingwood v Brisbane : What’s Baldrick talking about? A free point? I’m picking Brisbane too. Why? Dunno, they’ve just got a good record against the Pies.
Melbourne v Richmond : This could be a strange game as both sides do their best to lose it. In the end though, Melbourne are not capable of beating anyone.
Pt Adelaide v Hawthorn : I’m almost tempted to pick Port because of their record over Hawthorn and Hawthorn’s lousy record in Sth Australia. The winner of this will probably make the finals, while the loser won’t, so there’s a lot at stake. But Port are not motivated and know they can’t go anywhere this year whereas Hawthorn still think they’re a chance. Well, that’s my logic and I’m sticking to it.
West Coast v Essendon : Some people are saying the Eagles don’t want to win another game this year but this Essendon side is so depleted they won’t be able to avoid beating them.
Is he tanking on the tips?
And Baldrick says:
In what will * might be construed to be cockiness, I hereby submit my tips for the next round a good two days early. I need to go (somewhere*) until Saturday and I know I’ll forget to do the tips if I leave it to Thursday.
North Melbourne v CARLTON
Of course I should pick the Shinboners because a true legend, 5,000 gamer in Simpson is retiring. Carlton are crap but can they play that dismally two weeks in a row and after all they only lost to the scum after they in turn got a shellacking by the Hawks the previous week who in turn went down to……… This could on the other hand be a scoreless draw.
FOOTSCRAY v Fremantle
Not a happy lot at Footiscray, losing key players. Really rate that Higgins, a real excitement machine despite the fact that he is white. Dogs surely still got enough bark to hold off a Dockers side who are ecstatic in winning one in a row. Doggies to reaffirm 3rd best team status.
GEELONG v Adelaide
There is a real risk of the Cats being flat after that massive come-back last week against the nemesis andAdelaide takes advantage of it. Home ground advantage should see the Pivotonians fall across the line. That boy Sellwood can play though can’t he?
Sydney v ST.KILDA
Easy. Everyone at the Saints to kick at least 3 each. Schneider to play a blinder against his old club. I’m a poet and I don’t know it.
BRISBANE v Collingwood
Coz I want them to, no other reason. What a boring lead-up was this decision to bring the muppet Buckley in on a succession plan. Yawn. There’s a free point for you Raymond.
RICHMOND v Melbourne
Confidence will get the Tiges home in this one. They do actually have some talent in this squad and when they decide to play like AFL footballers they can win and against a pretty ordinary Dees outfit will take home the 4 points and make another run for mediocrity in the middle of the table.
Port Adelaide v HAWTHORN
I keep saying the Hawks will make the finals and are the side no-one wants to play once they get there. They took Geelong too much for granted last week and they shouldn’t have lost. But they did so stuff em !!! Won’t make the same mistake twice and especially not against these bogans. With a bit of luck the vanquished will kidnap Kennett and keep him over there. Wouldn’t he look good in moccies?
West Coast v ESSENDON
Can’t see how the home team will win despite Lloyd not being there. Will allow a more open forward line for the speedy, pesky Bombers to exploit an ageing West Coast defence. Rox to be kept in suspenders til midnight in Tassie when this game will finish in the West. Bombers by 1 point.
* = Edited (to protect the innocent)
Promoting 'Beautiful Bright'.
Click 
“Rox to be kept in suspenders til midnight in Tassie when this game will finish in the West. ”
How unkind. I’m tipping the Bombers because I hate the Weagles. Lloyd hasn’t done much this year, Lucas has been hopeless, but I’m still hoping.
It’s just Baldrick and his fantasies, Rox.
West Coast are hard to beat over there but the big question is, “will they be trying?” If it’s close in the last quarter you might see Worsfold pull his best players off again, like he did last week against Freo.
With the KHunt thing, I actually think this is a stunning marketing coup by the Gold Coast. What it has done is made the Rugby League diehards less dismissive about the presence and the growth of AFL in what is still developing territory. This has the potential get some interest in the code out side of what is currently a mostly ex-pat supporter base. As Browny said on the footy show the other night, it is the fourth time that AFL has made it to front page of the Courier mail – the three previous occasions were grand final victories.
It is also a more significant signing in comparison to Capper in the bad news Bears days. KH is no hack struggling for a game in the NRL, he has attained some of the highest achievements possible in his current code, including premierships, state representation, as well as representing his country. And he is still young. Capper came to Brisbane from within the VFL structure and as such was an unknown to the league followers in Queensland, and therefore there was little marketing impact. Back in those days, a similar scale of signing would have been if Wally Lewis had have come across to the AFL.
The gold coast has a reputation of being a sporting graveyard, so hopefully this might give the new club a bit of a boost for ‘market share’ and future success. I don’t believe it is the death knell of the NRL, or the opening of the flood gates like some commentators would have us believe, but a couple of other high profile NRL players raised the possibility of considering a code switch.
As an ex-pat Victorian living in Queensland, I hope this works – even if it’s just enough for him to get a few games. If the transition converts to interest, and ultimately ratings, then we might actually start getting some (near) live Friday night games up here.
I don’t doubt that there are initial marketing benefits of the signing, Mike, and that it might bring them a few new members. But my guess is it’ll boost membership by only about 2 – 3,000. Can you honestly see it doing more than that?
I just wonder if what we’re going to see is another side that is more about style than substance.
I think they’ve got a real uphill battle to succeed on the Gold Coast and this looks more like a stunt that could be short lived. Especially if he doesn’t cut it as a player, which I very much doubt he will.
Hang in there Cats!
No, go Crows! Even though I tipped Geelong.
Ha.
Yeah, they won another close one. Two weeks in a row. They’re struggling though.
Can they beat the Blues next week?
Well Carlton were lucky to win last night against lowly North, who kicked 9 behinds in the last quarter. They truly deserved to lose that but North let them off the hook (and stuffed up my tipping ‘coup’). Geelong are clearly struggling to find top form but the short answer is “YES”, Carlton are a team of boys.
(Sorry, I mucked that up – fixed now)
I’m back from Mt.Evelyn. Cats doubled winning score from last week, never in doubt (again)
And I forgot to add we won by twice as much as St.Kilda did over Sydney
Well, Congratul – cough, splutter, Cong – cough floot peerp -….
No relly, conGRATulations Ray. A fine win over the Swanners, in the midst of the full Syddy furnace. Well done.
Saints for Prems. Any other result would be a travesty.
Baldrick, like Bertus said, that was one hell of a tough game up there in Sydney tonight.
The Swans really lifted and played what was probably their best game of the year. The Saints got well on top in the 3rd but missed a few opportunities to really put it away. Then Steven King’s arm was literally ripped off and that threw us out as Kosi had to go into the ruck (after HE had given Riewoldt concussion earlier in the game). Don’t forget we didn’t have Gardiner or Gilbert playing.
I’m not making excuses and I’m not taking anything away from Sydney who were terrific but it was, in the end, a very gutsy win.
It’s hard to compare it to the match at Kitty Park, although maybe compare Geelong’s two point margin to the 57 point belting St Kilda gave Adelaide just two weeks ago.
Btw, it was still a great win by Geelong after Adelaide came storming home to take the lead. Saints have Hawthorn in Tassie next week and THAT is really going to be hard.
Hard? You’ve got no idea what hard is. We’ve got Carlton next week.
Carlton ran out of legs against North and only ‘fell in’ because North couldn’t kick straight in the last quarter – 9 behinds! Given the way Geelong has been playing lately I’d suggest they’ll probably let Carlton get 12 goals ahead at 3/4 time and just steamroll them in the last. Another 1 point victory?
I was being just a tad tongue in cheek but methinks your lot don’t mind one point victories and settle for them more than us. You could sneak Barry Breen on in the dying seconds against Hawthorn.
I have it on good authority that Tasmanian Darrel Baldock will be named on the bench and will come on in the 2nd half and win the game off his own boot, just like he did against Hawthorn in the last round of 1966 to get us into the finals and onwards to the flag. He’s only about 70 years old and could still run rings around the likes of Hodge.
…oh bugger. It’s hard being a supporter.
Yellow and Black
That was the weirdest game out, Orville. Melbourne’s coach did everything to lose it – put 3 players in their tracksuits at 3/4 time, played the forwards down back & vice-versa – yet the players obviously didn’t want to lose and found themselves in front at the final siren.
Good effort by your McMahon to kick that goal from 50 after the siren though, and give Richmond the win they didn’t want to have!
Ya know…if Hawthorn and the Bombers do the right thing and lose their remaining matches, and Richmond win their’s…. we’d finish 9th.
*Thanks to the ladder predictor thinggy at the afl site*
Curses!
Told ya, Rox. West Coast are very hard to beat over there and Essendon were just too slow and missing key players. Bad luck for the Bombers who might now miss out on the 8. But how the hell are Pt Adelaide there?
Flotsam.
I’m finding it hard to write a ‘Round Up’ of the weekend’s games. So bizarre.