AFL Season Discussion 2018

bruschi

Not the busiest of forums, but we may as well have the thread opened for the new season!

Richmond open their defence of the Premiership with a win against a gutsy Carlton side. Can they go back to back? I really dont think so, but they'll be in finals anyway. Is it time for GWS to make their claim for the title? Or can the superstar midfield in Geelong propel them to the top again?

Tigerandahalf

Cheers for opening this.

Is there highlights of each round posted to youtube?

It would be my best way of staying up to date.

Super Rugby put up highlights of each game and it is quick and easy to get a 10/15 minute summary of each round.

MANUTD99

Fair play to BT Sports. Into my 3rd game already. Magpies/ Hawks

Bombers/Crows game was a belter.

Hard for me to measure where Port Adelaide are . Good win it seems against the Dockers. Not sure if Fremantle are one of the whipping boys this year though.

MANUTD99

What Irish lads do we have this year ? Zac Tuohy, Pearce Hanley are the only 2 that spring to mind.

Tigerandahalf

MANUTD99 wrote: »

What Irish lads do we have this year ? Zac Tuohy, Pearce Hanley are the only 2 that spring to mind.

There seems to be a few other lads capable of making a breakthrough this year. I think Ciaran Byrne played for Carlton against Richmomd Thursday night. He was out injured for a bit.

Mark O'Connor from Kerry is with Geelong and is on the verge of the match day squad.

Getting to see the highlights is my best bet. I have BT sports so will try to catch the odd game at the weekend.

jackbhoy

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

There seems to be a few other lads capable of making a breakthrough this year. I think Ciaran Byrne played for Carlton against Richmomd Thursday night. He was out injured for a bit.

Mark O'Connor from Kerry is with Geelong and is on the verge of the match day squad.

Getting to see the highlights is my best bet. I have BT sports so will try to catch the odd game at the weekend.

This season is most Irish starters in teams that I can remember. Along with lads above McKenna is in Bombers best 22 and Glass is pretty close with Hawks as well. There are 2-3 other lads not far off getting a game.

MANUTD99

If I reading correctly, Martin Clarke has been given a job by the AFL in the recruitment camps set up in Ireland.

Great shame it didnt work out for him. I was in Austraila when he was with the Magpies. His GAA career didn't last too long either when he came home. I think he picked up a ilness or something which forced him to retire.

MANUTD99

If you get a chance have a look at the very end of the Melbourne/Geelong game. The kicker will not forget that one for a while!!!

Skip to around the 6 min mark

Totally Tropical

Melbourne have improved a lot in recent years.Hopefully they'll be playing finals footy this year.On another note, it's sad to see a club with so much history and tradition, like Carlton in such a sad and sorry state.Getting rid of Brett Ratten and replacing him with Mick Malthouse was a big mistake imo.As for Collingwood.Giving Nathan Buckley another two year extension to his contract.That was a weird one.He has taken them seriously backwards.

bruschi

Great game in Perth today. Eagles dominated the tigers thru 3 quarters and smashed them on the scoreboard. Take away the tigers second quarter revival and they didn't get going at all. Whether or not the eagles can sustain this run to the finals is another thing, but they are playing great stuff right now

eagle eye

You can never rule Geelong out. The Irish Cats and the Aussie Cats just always seem to find a way. Goal after the buzzer moments ago to beat Melbourne.

jackbhoy

eagle eye wrote: »

You can never rule Geelong out. The Irish Cats and the Aussie Cats just always seem to find a way. Goal after the buzzer moments ago to beat Melbourne.

Great win and cracking game but Melbourne absolutely bottled that one.

Melbourne will go one of two ways now; do like Richmond and take all these tough losses and turn them to a mental strength, or become St. Kilda. With their list they should be the former.

bruschi

jackbhoy wrote: »

Great win and cracking game but Melbourne absolutely bottled that one.

Melbourne will go one of two ways now; do like Richmond and take all these tough losses and turn them to a mental strength, or become St. Kilda. With their list they should be the former.

Melbourne very nearly choked again this weekend. Eddie Betts, of all people, missed an absolute sitter to put just 2 between them with less than a minute left. Melbourne went up and scored a goal to seal it, but had they lost that one, it would have been hard to see them do anything the rest of the season. As it is, they are still a dangerous side capable of producing the goods. Mentally weak though.

Totally Tropical

bruschi wrote: »

Melbourne very nearly choked again this weekend. Eddie Betts, of all people, missed an absolute sitter to put just 2 between them with less than a minute left. Melbourne went up and scored a goal to seal it, but had they lost that one, it would have been hard to see them do anything the rest of the season. As it is, they are still a dangerous side capable of producing the goods. Mentally weak though.

They did show bottle to beat the West Coast Eagles in Perth last week!Melbourne have made serious progress since the 2012/2013 era.When they were the laughing stock of the competition.It's great to see them in the finals for the first time since 2006.Although they probably should have finished in the top 4.Winning it by going through an elimination semi and prelim final is a tough ask.But the Western Bulldogs did pull it off in 2016.

jackbhoy

P1ssed with Richmond getting Thursday night game, 1.5 days off work for me.

Don't like Thursday night games in general but if you are going to do it pick teams that are not interstate travelling and will have smallest crowd i.e. Syd v GWS. AFL pandered to fact Sydney AFL fans are fickle "event" attenders and wouldn't turn up Thursday or Sunday, and they know they will get 95k at Richmond game regardless.

No idea how it will go, Tiges have been best all year but finals always throws up a surprise. Hard to believe we have never played Hawks in finals before. It might not be pretty but should be a cracking game...

bruschi

jackbhoy wrote: »

P1ssed with Richmond getting Thursday night game, 1.5 days off work for me.

Don't like Thursday night games in general but if you are going to do it pick teams that are not interstate travelling and will have smallest crowd i.e. Syd v GWS. AFL pandered to fact Sydney AFL fans are fickle "event" attenders and wouldn't turn up Thursday or Sunday, and they know they will get 95k at Richmond game regardless.

No idea how it will go, Tiges have been best all year but finals always throws up a surprise. Hard to believe we have never played Hawks in finals before. It might not be pretty but should be a cracking game...

First time in history that the big 4 Melbourne clubs, Richmond, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Melbourne have been in the same finals series. considering it used to be the VFL and they were mainstays, you'd have thought they would have been in it at the same time.

Tigers are favourites and realistically should win out. Eagles have been decimated by 2 huge injuries and a suspension, arguably their top 3 players all out. Talks that Kennedy will be back, but he cant be back at 100% efficiency after so long out. With Gaff gone and Natanui out a while back, they actually did exceptionally well to finish top 2 and its hugely disappointing to go into finals with home ground advantage but knowing the teams is much weaker than it could be. They'd give it a right crack if a fully fit Kennedy and Naitanui and a non suspended Gaff were there.

GWS are even more decimated with injuries and will go out with a whimper. Hawthorn did very well in what was a mini rebuilding phase for them. They could spring a shock, but I cant see them winning. Sydney are too hot and cold and no consistency. Similar to Geelong. Able to beat any team on their day, but their days are too infrequent. Melbourne are still weak enough in my opinion and despite making finals, have under achieved really with the talent at their disposal. Gawn had a serious year, but they failed to capitalise enough on his dominance and their midfield is not clinical enough. Only leaves Collingwood, who despite finishing third are slipping in under the radar a bit. I wouldnt be shocked to see them turn over the Eagles, have a home final and then make the granny.

Still though, hard to look past Richmond. Fully fit squad and winning their games. Geelong and Bulldogs showed they are vulnerable though and both should have beaten Richmond with easily convertible last second kicks. That may have been the kick in the hole Richmond need not to be complacent, so good to get it in a win and in the regular season.

Enjoy the finals jackbhoy! would love to be there going to one!

Tigerandahalf

A couple of more Irish lads have come home recently. Another guy Connellan is going home to Westmeath according to a headline in the42.ie. That should help Westmeath with Heslin already home.

The Flynn guy with Kildare has had a good impact with them since he returned.

It makes you appreciate how well Zac Tuohy has done to carve out the career he has done. You do wonder if county teams at home are losing out on potentially their star player for a generation and their ability to carry their county to honours.

Speaking of players coming home is Tommy Walshe still playing club football in Tralee? It is sad how his career has gone the way it has. He was a serious talent for Kerry. AFL is a tough sport for the body. Not many sports out there that demand as much of the athlete.

bruschi

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

A couple of more Irish lads have come home recently. Another guy Connellan is going home to Westmeath according to a headline in the42.ie. That should help Westmeath with Heslin already home.

The Flynn guy with Kildare has had a good impact with them since he returned.

It makes you appreciate how well Zac Tuohy has done to carve out the career he has done. You do wonder if county teams at home are losing out on potentially their star player for a generation and their ability to carry their county to honours.

Speaking of players coming home is Tommy Walshe still playing club football in Tralee? It is sad how his career has gone the way it has. He was a serious talent for Kerry. AFL is a tough sport for the body. Not many sports out there that demand as much of the athlete.

It's impossible to know. Tuohy was a wing back for Laois and not really on many people radars as the next best thing on that Laois team. Conor Meredith (who was with North Melbourne for a spell) Donie Kingston and John O Loughlin were all arguably brighter potential stars from that Laois side. If you were to pick out of that group of players who went over at that time, most would have had the skinny small looking Tuohy as the most likely to be first home. The fact he has become a major player and current record holder for consecutive games is testament to his drive and ability.

A lot of people say that the AFL ruined lads or that they have lost players to it. Plenty of players never fulfil their underage potential for a huge number of reasons. Many who have gone over and come back and not been huge stars may well have not been good enough in the first place. But for the most part, any player who went over and is now back is playing for their county.

The only ones that I can think of off hand who have come home and not been on county sides are obviously Tommy Walsh and then you have Jamie O Reilly (Down), Sean Hurely (Kildare) are the only ones I can think of who have not been able to sustain intercounty games since returning.

The vast majority have, and have been pivotal for their sides. Begley, Quinn, Heslin, Kilkenny (albeit only out for a few months), Flynn, Brophy, Cribbin (all 3 with Kildare), Mooney, Hanley (now making strides with Mayo) and many more who gave it a shot, didnt work out, and are home again.

Fair play to them for giving it a go. Not many get the opportunity and you never know if you'll be a Tuohy, Kennelly or even Stynes, or will you be a McKeever, Sheehan or Walsh. Go out, give it a go for a couple of years and come back the better for it in most cases.

Tigerandahalf

Tuohy has obviously a great drive and work ethic. I agree it is difficult to gauge a player at minor level (even moreso now with u17 level).

I read an article in the Indo recently about Kyle Coney the Tyrone player who had a spell with Sydney. He was a star minor for them but admitted his attitude and work ethic were not upto scratch. He was highly rated down under by their coaches but he never returned after his xmas break. He is now 28 and can't make the Tyrone panel. Drinking and a fondness for the nightlife are the graveyard of many lads.

It will be interesting to see how Clifford does for Kerry. He was clearly physically well ahead of his minor colleagues but now at senior level he has to progress again. A lad is nearly better off not being a star player at youth level as it is hard to keep the focus.

I do think with the afl you have to have a great engine unless you are in the fullback/full forward role where they tend to do less roaming and it is more of explosive bursts for the ball.

Kennelly was a once off too but clearly a great athlete. I hadn't realised that he had soccer trials with Blackburn Rovers but returned after a few months.

jackbhoy

Looking at all the Irish lads who have been successful I would say success for them is 90% above the shoulders. The two things that stand out for me about guys like Tuohy and McKenna of current crop is they seem to 1) have real self-belief and confidence and 2) "got" the AFL game style and quickly adapted to all the nuances of positioning etc. Of course it goes with saying they were already good athletes and Tuohy in particular has a fantastic kick.

Aussies in general are competitive and not of the self-deprecating nature of most young Irish guys. This is magnified many fold in AFL club land. If you go into that environment with any hint of self-doubt it can wreck good young players. Just look at all the top 20 draft picks over last 20 years who dropped off the face of earth despite huge natural talent and gun underage reputations.

On the second point. From Tuohy, McKenna etc very first games you could see, despite the odd clanger, they were reading the game pretty well, as well as Aussies who had been playing since they could walk in many cases. Skills can be worked on and these guys improved a huge amount through the years but if you don't "get" the game after a couple of years on the books and playing VFL etc then it's very hard to come back from. I think Walsh fell into the latter bucket. If you watch Tuohy on media talking about game, he is a good analyst and reader of the game as well.

That's my 2 cents as a hurler on the ditch but what I would say is, any young 18/19 year old who comes so far from home, goes into that environment without all the support structures of family and friends Aussies have and manages to last, let alone play even one senior game deserves huge respect. When you see Melbourne guys sooking up because they have to play in Adelaide and want to come home it really brings home what Irish lads challenge is like. Most of these Aussie guys are an hours flight from home, visit Melbourne pretty much every second weekend etc and they still cant't hack it.

bruschi

thats a fair point about not being a star at underage being better for you. Henry Shefflin was a very average underage hurler who has become one of the greatest ever. Joe Canning has been under immense pressure since he was 15 to win an All Ireland for Galway, he was the great white hope for them all the way through. He delivered, but many more like him have failed under that weight of expectation. In fairness to Clifford this year, he has adapted well and had a very good year. Great player.

Also a good point too about travelling out there and making it without the support of family/friends etc. I do find it odd alright about the players there who cant move from Melbourne to Brisbane/Perth etc when half of the games are in Melbourne anyway.

bruschi

A lot of Irish lads involved in this years finals, wonder if its the most ever? Conor Nash played yesterday for Hawthorn, Tuohy and Mark O Connor playing today for Geelong.

Totally Tropical

eagle eye wrote: »

You can never rule Geelong out. The Irish Cats and the Aussie Cats just always seem to find a way. Goal after the buzzer moments ago to beat Melbourne.

I think we can rule the cats outs now.:P Melbourne get their revenge, by knocking the cats out of the finals.Hawthorn are up next for Melbourne.That will be another tough one.But then again, the Hawks didn't look that great against Richmond.

bruschi

So two absolute hammerings, one a major upset not only in result, but the margin that Collingwood won by was impressive. The Demons today were pathetic. No goal in the first half and I've never seen as many handball turnovers when not under pressure.

Interesting final nonetheless. Eagles with 2 wins already over Pies, one in Perth, one in MCG. But all that goes out the window on grand final day. Despite West Coast missing top players in Gaff and Naitanui, I still think they can win this one. Collingwood looked impressive, but it's one thing to do that once, have they shot their load in taking out Richmond? Will be huge pressure and media focus this week, with the Eagles having nice isolation out of Melbourne.

Collingwood favourites, but I'm letting the heart rule here and call it Eagles by ten.

Tigerandahalf

There seems to be great crowds at the Melbourne derby games - upwards of 90,000.
What way have attendances been during the season especially for the newer teams like GWS, Suns, etc.?

bruschi

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

There seems to be great crowds at the Melbourne derby games - upwards of 90,000.
What way have attendances been during the season especially for the newer teams like GWS, Suns, etc.?

Both with pretty poor averages and lowest by far of the teams. Doesn't help that the AFL have one off games in regional and different grounds for novelty factors. GWS probably averaged around 10,000 or so which, considering they were a flag favourite, is pretty poor.

Tigerandahalf

bruschi wrote: »

Both with pretty poor averages and lowest by far of the teams. Doesn't help that the AFL have one off games in regional and different grounds for novelty factors. GWS probably averaged around 10,000 or so which, considering they were a flag favourite, is pretty poor.

They are competing with league there though. 10,000 isn't bad. You can build around that.

Any sign of a club being launched in Tasmania? The Hawks would normally play a couple of games there.

Totally Tropical

It's been a good season for Melbourne.They had two good wins against Geelong and Hawthorn, but the Eagles were just too strong.I think Melbourne have shown that they are a decent side, but still have a bit of work to do before becoming full on flag winning contenders.Anyway well done to the Eagles, and hopefully they will beat Collingwood in the grand final.:D

jackbhoy

bruschi wrote: »

So two absolute hammerings, one a major upset not only in result, but the margin that Collingwood won by was impressive. The Demons today were pathetic. No goal in the first half and I've never seen as many handball turnovers when not under pressure.

Interesting final nonetheless. Eagles with 2 wins already over Pies, one in Perth, one in MCG. But all that goes out the window on grand final day. Despite West Coast missing top players in Gaff and Naitanui, I still think they can win this one. Collingwood looked impressive, but it's one thing to do that once, have they shot their load in taking out Richmond? Will be huge pressure and media focus this week, with the Eagles having nice isolation out of Melbourne.

Collingwood favourites, but I'm letting the heart rule here and call it Eagles by ten.

Jeez we were trounced by Collingwood. I didn't feel it on Friday night but in a way I'd rather lose like that. No excuses, no "if only", just hammered by much better team on the night. Back to back premierships don't come easy and real pity (for us) that we threw away a golden opportunity.

Really hard to tell who takes it now. It hasn't been a great finals series so hopefully we'll get a good close GF.

bruschi

jackbhoy wrote: »

Jeez we were trounced by Collingwood. I didn't feel it on Friday night but in a way I'd rather lose like that. No excuses, no "if only", just hammered by much better team on the night. Back to back premierships don't come easy and real pity (for us) that we threw away a golden opportunity.

Really hard to tell who takes it now. It hasn't been a great finals series so hopefully we'll get a good close GF.

yeah the only good game in the finals was ironically the previous match up of Collingwood and West Coast, so at least there is that to hope for again on Saturday. I think West Coast will shut down Mason Cox an awful lot easier than what Richmond did. McGovern, Barrass and Hurn wont let him catch so many handy marks 30 from goal. And on the other side, I dont think Collingwood match up well with Darling and Kennedy and then having all the smalls in Rioli, Ryan, Le Cras and Cripps around them.

So where the battle can be won for Collingwood is in the middle. Its a serious set up they have and absolutely vital for them to win that to have a chance. Pendlebury, Treloar, Sidebottom and as important as them all, Grundy,need to be on top form to stop the Eagles getting the ball regularly into their forward line. They have enough in that midfield to beat the Eagles, but failure there and I cant see where Collingwood gets help at either other end to compensate for that.

bruschi

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

They are competing with league there though. 10,000 isn't bad. You can build around that.

Any sign of a club being launched in Tasmania? The Hawks would normally play a couple of games there.

Yeah league is king in Sydney, similar to Queensland too sure which is why the Lions and Suns are struggling even more so these days.

I cant see any expansion team setting up now in Tasmania. Realistically, one of GWS or Gold Coast should have been the ones to set up in Tasmania.

eagle eye

Great final. So tight all through, great comeback from West Coast. The big guys on both sides performed in this one. Eagles never lead in the last quarter until right at the end.

bruschi

Go Eagles! What a win. Looked ominous after ten minutes and 5 goals down, but they kept their nerve and stayed true to their style of play and never panicked. Started to get a hold of the ball and playing it around and settled into the game. Superb game. Great result!

Happyhouse22

Anyone here following the latest season of AFL?


Quarters are back at 20mins and it seems to have helped scoring rates which were. Super low last season.

Very few Irish involved thi season it seems, I think Mark O’Connor might have been the only Irish player involved last weekend. McKenna and Hanley who were regulars last season have retired, Tuhoy must have been injured and players like O’Riardan at Sydney and Nash at Hawthorn didn’t see game time either,

As I recall there were quite a few young guys signed up at the end of 2018, but apart from Mark Keane’s solitary appearance none have them have made much of an impact - obviously hard with VFL not going ahead last year.

jackbhoy

The Australia and Aussie Rules boards have been a bit of ghost town for a while now, even pre-covid.

You are right on the Irish lads. Think last was a record for number of Irish on lists but been a few dropping off this year. Think the Tuohy and O'Connor will be the only 2 regulars. Nash might get a game here and there. Nash was well regarded in Hawthorn/Box Hill team over last couple of years but seems to have plateaued a bit last season.

With the reduced soft caps and staff numbers in AFL now I suspect the recruiting of Irish players will drop off for the next few years.

Happyhouse22

jackbhoy wrote: »

The Australia and Aussie Rules boards have been a bit of ghost town for a while now, even pre-covid.

You are right on the Irish lads. Think last was a record for number of Irish on lists but been a few dropping off this year. Think the Tuohy and O'Connor will be the only 2 regulars. Nash might get a game here and there. Nash was well regarded in Hawthorn/Box Hill team over last couple of years but seems to have plateaued a bit last season.

With the reduced soft caps and staff numbers in AFL now I suspect the recruiting of Irish players will drop off for the next few years.

Well thanks for the reply anyway!

I always like to see the Irish guys doing well so a bit disappointing to see the drop off, O’Riordan is one who seemed to be doing well but has disappeared. James Madden would have been a highly regarded player at home but no sign of him with Brisbane. Hopefully their second team joins the VFL will help his exposure,

Loving watching Gold Coast these days- really impressed with their band of youngsters - will be interesting to see if they can keep them altogether.

Shark7

Good few Irish involved nowadays

Shark7

Good few Irish involved nowadays

pappyodaniel

Anyone watch the Fremantle v West Coast? 😂

https://twitter.com/SportTG4/status/1479804547753250818?t=t-OvKCyu4QomE_kPmHqghw&s=19

eagle eye

Lance Franklin joins the 1000 goals club, he's the sixth to do it. He's been a great one for a long, long time now.