It's A Grand Old Flag: [FFX]

[OffCutters]

Crap those faces look really good, nice write-up as well about the scouting, keep it up.

 

[blake]

I didn't exactly make the faces, there is a program called Facegen (it's used to generate regen faces in the Football Manager series) and I sort of stole some output from there. I just added them in, because a chunk of text is rather boring to read without something to break it up.

 

[Dez]

That really is superb, superb stuff mate.

Keep it up.

 

[blake]

Thursday 10 April, 2009​

Melbourne picked up an exciting win over Port Adelaide on the weekend whilst the ladder failed to take any shape at all, with all the teams seeming nearly even. After just three rounds, no side has managed three wins and it looks like it could be a very competitive season. Melbourne will be happy sitting on equal first with two wins and one loss, whilst Port Adelaide are sitting rock bottom, becoming the only side to fail to record a win in the three matches. Geelong and St. Kilda, who both remained winless after two rounds, recorded wins over 1st and 2nd place respectively to even up the ladder. What an exciting round it was!

Round 3 - Match Reports

Geelong 18.17.125 def Collingwood 8.7.55
Crowd: 41,300

A career-high tally of 7 goals from Shannon Byrnes catapulted Geelong off the bottom end of the table with a thumping 70 point victory over Collingwood. Byrnes was the stand-out in his side's victory, kicking a casual 7.1 and picking up 28 disposals in a brilliant effort. Previously Byrnes' form had been very up and down, but after this superb game he will be hoping it can stay up. Jimmy Bartel was also excellent for Geelong, amassing a staggering 45 disposals to push him to #2 in the AFL for disposals this season, whilst Corey Enright also picked up a career-best 38 possessions, beating his previous best of 37. For the Magpies, nobody really stood out in their team as they were defeated convincingly. Heath Shaw picked up a solid 30 possessions, buut the rest of his team was dismal and for a team that was sitting on first position up to this round, it was a weak effort.

St. Kilda 13.7.85 def West Coast 9.9.63
Crowd: 25,623

The Saints fought their way off rock bottom with a gritty win over West Coast. The Saints fought hard around the ground and their win was badly needed. Whilst just one person in their team kicked more than two goals, they all contributed fairly evenly, as Dempster, Montagna, Goddard, Riewoldt and Baker all amassed between 27 and 32 possessions. For the Eagles, Quinten Lynch was their leading goal-kicker with 5, whilst Dean Cox was brilliant in the ruck, winning 9 more hitouts on his own than the entire St. Kilda team, and picking up no less than 32 disposals with 16 marks. However, these positives weren't enough as the Eagles couldn't resist the Saints who looked in much better form this week. Despite their loss, West Coast actually moved up a position to the top of the table, beating Collingwood on percentage in an extremely strange round.

Brisbane 12.17.89 def Sydney 8.19.67
Crowd: 25,349

In a match where just one player had more than 26 possessions from either side, it was the Lions coming out on top, beating a resilient Sydney. It was poor conditions for football - a massive gale throwing the accuracy of both teams. Sydney kicked a shocking 8.19 whilst Brisbane's 12.17 was only just better, but in the end it was still the Lions who were the victors. Jonathan Brown led his team with a 5 goal haul, whilst Ryan O'Keefe won man of the match honours after a superb effort of 30 disposals and 3.2, alongside his 6 clearances from the centre. Youngster Albert Proud had a very promising game for the Lions, winning 25 touches and a staggering 12 rebound 50s for his side, proving to be a great link out of the backline. Proud will be almost certain now to keep his spot, and he is a bright sign for Brisbane's future.

Carlton 13.13.91 def Essendon 9.10.64
Crowd: 82,788

A massive crowd of over 82,000 flocked to the MCG to see newly-formed rivals Essendon and Carlton battle it out. Previously there had been some great matches between these two sides in the last few years - often the match decided by a single goal; but this time it was the Blues who got the better and sent Essendon packing. It was none other than young star and a reject of the Demons, Chris Johnson, that led the way for Carlton, with 36 disposals playing off the back flank for his team. Bailey defended his choice to delist Johnson at the end of last season, claiming that he wasn't part of their future plans and that Melbourne had plenty better. Brendan Fevola was inaccurate and sprayed 3.5, but thankfully Ryan Houlihan had his kicking boots on to boot 4 straight. For the Bombers, Lloyd was impressive to move into the top 3 goalkickers for this season after booting 4.2, whilst former Cat Brent Prismall picked up 28 possessions and kicked a nice goal himself - but it wasn't enough for the Bombers, with Carlton coming out 27 point victors.

Kangaroos 10.8.68 def Hawthorn 8.12.60
Crowd: 30,654

After two inspirational efforts from skipper Boomer Harvey and small forward Lindsay Thomas, somehow the Kangaroos managed to pull off a great win, coming from behind late in the match to defeat Hawthorn, who faded dismally as the match went on. Lindsay Thomas was excellent and monumental in the victory, kicking three-last quarter goals to finish with 5 straight as the Kangaroos won in a thriller. Brent Harvey also lifted in the last quarter, picking up a staggering 14 disposals in the final term and supplying his team with three inside 50s. Hawthorn were terribly unlucky to lose, and it seemed that they had the match at three quarter time after leading by 24 points, with Lance Franklin kicking 4.2. However, it was a great fightback from the Roos and the Hawks chance to become the only team to go 3-0 this season was ruined. Simon Taylor was dominant in the ruck, winning 40 hitouts alone (to the Kangaroos 26), and Shane Crawford fought hard, winning 31 possessions and snapping a goal in the third quarter. Still, it was the Kangaroos recording the 4 points, and despite their position on the ladder of 15, they are still effectively just one win away from first place.

Fremantle 12.8.80 def by Adelaide 13.15.93
Crowd: 23,166

Fremantle became just the second home-team to lose this week (with the Demons-Power game the exception) after they couldn't finish their comeback to defeat the Crows. Ryan Crowley was excellent with 36 disposals and 2 goals in a best on ground performance, but Fremantle just couldn't come back enough to defeat Adelaide, as the Crows defence proved themselves worthy in a fine display. Fremantle trailed by 31 points at three quarter time, and they almost came back to defeat the Crows, with a 5 goal last quarter, but in the end Adelaide managed to kick a late goal to seal the result. The Birdman was in top form in front of the big sticks, kicking 5, whilst Nathan Bock was monumental in the last quarter in the backline, shutting down Fremantle's attack with 28 disposals and 10 rebound 50s for the match. The crowd of 23,166, which contained probably 23,000 Fremantle fans, were left to head home disappointed after their team failed to win the match.

Western Bulldogs 13.19.97 def Richmond 8.11.59
Crowd: 17,626

A sensational effort from Robert Murphy got the Bulldogs home comfortably over a lacklustre Richmond, with Murphy dominating play everywhere. Murphy had an unbelievable 37 kicks for the match with a total of 44 disposals, and he delivered the football no less than 14 times inside the Bulldogs forward 50, whilst kicking 4.6 himself. Whilst his accuracy was poor, that will hardly be noticed after his devoted efforts for the football. On a good day, Murphy could've had 8 goals, but he will definitely take these stats as they are. Veteran Brad Johnson was also excellent, with 4 goals and 23 possessions. The exact opposite applied for Richmond, however, as their lack-lustre team failed to provide any entertainment to the small crowd. Perhaps the one bright sign was youngster Daniel Connors, who after having a good game last week backed his efforts up with 25 touches and 2 goals. After Daniel Connors however, nobody else really impressed, and there remains some doubt over Mark Coughlan, who played just 6 minutes on the field and didn't touch the footy.

 

[OffCutters]

Good win by the Saints against the Eagles, we needed the win badly. Big crowd for the Carlton and Essendon game aye? 82,000, i`m not surprised.

 

[blake]

Thursday 10 April, 2009​

We now prepare for round 4 of the AFL, as the season slowly starts to progress. We have a very even ladder and this should be a great round. Melbourne are up against the fierce Tigers, who are also 2-1, and it should be a great contest.

Brisbane vs Collingwood (G)
Brisbane: $2.70
Collingwood: $1.40

Hawthorn vs Port Adelaide (AU)
Hawthorn: $1.60
Port Adelaide: $2.10

Sydney vs Carlton (SCG)
Sydney: $1.40
Carlton: $2.70

Adelaide vs Geelong (AAMI)
Adelaide: $3.30
Geelong: $1.30

St. Kilda vs Fremantle (ES)
St. Kilda: $1.70
Fremantle: $2.00

Kangaroos vs Essendon (ES)
Kangaroos: $3.30
Essendon: $1.30

Richmond vs Melbourne (MCG)
Richmond: $1.30
Melbourne: $3.30

West Coast vs Western Bulldogs (S)
West Coast: $1.60
Bulldogs: $2.10
​

As you can see there, Melbourne are shocking odds at $3.30 going up against the hot Tigers, but it might not be a suicidal bet with the Demons in good form going into this round, after beating a strong Power team at AAMI last week. Richmond are looking like a very competitive team this year with the inclusion of some fresh, young players, but Melbourne are relying on youth so far and it has worked superbly for them. Let's take a look at the lineups now for this upcoming Sunday afternoon game at the MCG.

Round 4: Richmond Tigers vs Melbourne Demons

F Daniel Connors - Troy Simmonds - Kayne Pettifer
B Daniel Bell - Colin Garland - James Frawley

HF Joel Bowden - Matthew Richardson - Trent Cotchin
HB Jack Grimes - Matthew Warnock - Matthew Whelan

C Shane Tuck - Brett Deledio - Nathan Foley
C Colin Sylvia - Cameron Bruce - James McDonald

HB Will Thursfield - Jay Schulz - Richard Tambling
HF Brad Green - Matthew Bate - Jack Watts

B Jayden Post - Graham Polak - Chris Newman
F Clint Bartram - Liam Jurrah - Aaron Davey

R Adam Pattison - Kane Johnson - Nathan Brown
R Mark Jamar - Nathan Jones - Brock McLean

Interchange: Ben Cousins - Jordan McMahon - Mitch Morton - Mark Coughlan
Interchange: Brent Moloney - Cale Morton - Russell Robertson - Ricky Petterd

Richmond
In: No changes
Out: No changes

Melbourne
In: Liam Jurrah, Jack Grimes, Daniel Bell
Out: Paul Johnson (dropped), Kyle Cheney (dropped), Jared Rivers (general soreness - 2 weeks)

The exciting Liam Jurrah has returned to the side with fans eagerly anticipating the effect that he will have on the side, whilst Kyle Cheney was dropped after a dismal game in place of another young star, Jack Grimes. Jared Rivers also pulled up sore in training, and although there were initial fears, it was revealed just to be general soreness. Rivers will miss at most two weeks from his injury. In his place comes Daniel Bell, who had a superb week in the reserves and his form has paid off, with the Demons calling him up for the game.

 

[Covvy]

Jurrah and Grimes are two very good in's.

 

[OffCutters]

Nice, the Wizard at FF against Polak, gonna be tough. Cant wait to see him have a go at AFL level. And good odds for us against Freo, should win this one to get back on track. Nice Presentation btw

 

[blake]

Yep, looking forward to seeing how the Walpiri Wizard goes. Or, the Jurrahcane. Pretty good effort to have only played a few games and already have a handful of nicknames.

 

[Roofrom50]

Yep, looking forward to seeing how the Walpiri Wizard goes. Or, the Jurrahcane. Pretty good effort to have only played a few games and already have a handful of nicknames.

What about cougar. That's gold.

 

[blake]

Liam Jurrah is...

I don't like the cougar as a nickname though, makes it sound like he's into older women or something.

 

[OffCutters]

I actually like the Jurrahcane more, but meh, its his choice He`s a legend to have 3 nicknames after 3-4 game He`s averaging about 1 nickname per game.

 

[Roofrom50]

I actually like the Jurrahcane more, but meh, its his choice He`s a legend to have 3 nicknames after 3-4 game He`s averaging about 1 nickname per game.

And the way he is going, he'll end up with 250-300 nicknames by the end of his career.

 

[blake]

Saturday 12 April, 2009​

In the leadup to Melbourne's clash with the Tigers tomorrow at the MCG, Jack Grimes has fronted media announcing that he is thrilled to be back in the side and he thinks Melbourne have a very good chance of winning, despite Richmond having a very impressive start to the season after knocking off two good teams in the first two rounds.

Grimes was taken with pick 14 in the 2007 national draft and his talent has finally started to show through. He has been working extremely hard in training and when it was revealed that he would be playing on Sunday he was over the moon.

"It's a huge opportunity for me to get my AFL career going and I am going to grasp it with both hands," he announced at a press conference earlier today.
"Ever since I was a young boy, all I wanted to do was play AFL, and I'm extremely grateful for Melbourne for giving me that chance. I can't wait to get out there.. I am a nervous wreck right now. I'm just hoping for the best though.

Grimes played his debut last year in the final round, and he has been called up on to the back flank to strut his stuff. There is no pressure on him to perform as it is just his second game, but he will definitely have a point to prove.

When questioned why Grimes had been included in the squad, Blake announced "We are trying to move forward, and I want some youngsters to gain some experience here. I think Jack has been training superbly and he has earned his shot in the big league now. He is definitely a part of our future and I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes."

Jack Grimes portrait

Grimes at training​

 

[Roofrom50]

Good to see you Jack being picked for the Senior side. He is a good quality player who will only just get better.