It Begins!
Round 1 is done and dusted and footy proved to be well worth the wait, with the exception of Blues vs. Tiges (Seriously AFL, no one wants to see this shit, hide it away on Sunday afternoon sometime in the middle of the season, and kick things off with a grand final rematch!).
Other than that piece of poo, it was great to have footy back, particularly watching my boys roll the Weagles in the last quarter on Saturday. If there was any doubt Brownvola couldn’t work together pre-season, that surely that was extinguished. Not only did Browny kick 5, but Fev got 3.7… ten shots at goal is a super effort, and once he figures out where the Gabba sticks are, he will dominate. Another highlight for the Lions was Brennan’s game. Two years ago this guy made the leap from inconsistent, flashy freak to class midfielder. He still does the crazy one handed pick ups, early leaps and occasional miracle goal, but now he does the meat and potatoes stuff too – tackles like a machine and extracts the ball from the middle as good as anyone. This year people are going to wake up and realise how good he is. More on this later.
The Dogs Pies game on Sunday was an absolute epic. Pies have thrown down the gauntlet to the big three this year, convincingly beating a Dogs side that most footy fanatics reckon will go close to the flag this year. And the fact that the Saints and Cats were not so convincing against less than elite sides suggests that the top four will be hotly contested this year. Throw an improving Hawks and Lions into to race and you know it’s gonna be intense.
Living the Dream
Forget about this petty real football business, Dream Team also kicked off this week, and while there are no head to head match ups, it’s good to get a look at where all our starting squads are at. Surprisingly, Sarge and his heroes lead the league, ahead of me by just 40 points. Obviously been taking my team selection advice. Beno’s dwindling a little. Not looking so hot for him, hanging back in 8th spot in our league of mates, parents and various AFL legends like Browny and Harley (Barry Hall is also in the league). While I did convince him to get Riewoldt into his team, despite his objections, he obviously hasn’t listened hard enough to the rest of my tips and his starting squad is not so hot. You’ll have to trade hard before round 4 to get the Gangstaz up to scratch, Beno.
$100 Betting Challenge
After what I’ve seen in round 1 I’ve decided to make two bets for the challenge. The first is a simple two game multi.
$6 on the Swans to beat the Crows/The Cats to beat the Hawks @ 3.65.
Sydney are underdogs against the Crows which suprises me. I didn’t see their game on Saturday night, but they ran the Saints right to the wire, which is no mean feat. As much as it pains me to say it Sydney aren’t too bad, and while I don’t think they will challenge for the eight, they will surprise teams throughout the year. I do think Adelaide are a better side, but they have been murdered by injuries at this early stage of the year, and they may have a few ins this week, it’s not enough to convince me they’ll turn around from a 9 goal loss to the Dockers.
The Cats started things a bit shaky, but in the last quarter on Friday, looked back at their dominant best. The Hawks are impossible to gauge at this point, because they just had a practice match on Saturday. I think they will improve on last year, but they aren’t as good as the cats.
The other bet’s a little more out of leftfield, and something of a slow burner:
$2 each way on Jared Brennan for the Brownlow @ $51.
I know this is a longshot, but as you can guess from my earlier ramblings, I rate the dude. I used to be a huge critic, but since 08, Brennan has been huge for us. He has the fitness to run all day in the middle, and because we’ve been bummed by injuries, he’s had to play in the ruck and he’s done a decent job for a guy who looks about as suited to rucking as Beno is suited to modelling. This year he’s freed up to play on the floor, and he’ll dominate the clearances. Come round 8 all the media folk will be talking about what a hell of a season he’s having. But you’ll all say you heard it hear first from Matty P.
High five for footy, babies!
