The AFL Thread Proudly Sponsoring Patrick Dangerfield

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Being reported all over that Hayden Ballantyne is requesting a trade to the Eagles ... :lol:
 
Holy shit, I wish that I'd watched that Brisbane game. Where the fuck did that result come from? Great stuff.

Though look at the score progression for the final quarter. It's as if somebody told them they're ruining their case for a priority draft pick and tried to tank. :lol:
 
What a complete embarrassment. We've managed to undo a lot of progress over the past two rounds.
 
Almost a draw in the Giants/Eagles game. :( Scores were level from about the 30 minute mark of the last. Game still going at 38 minutes ...
 
Same, just adds another layer of tension to the race for top 4 spots. The Giants' percentage dropped about 3% too.
 
Makes next Friday night very interesting.

North are the worst team in the 8 after what I saw today, just a shadow of their early season form. I'm still team Footscray, but honestly ANYONE but Hawthorn.

Robbo has retired Dane Swan for us, I think I'm more upset that it's probably 90% likely to be the case.
 
Bloody hell, St. Kilda, couldn't you have kept the margin even somewhat adequate?

Also, gee, Charlie Dixon, 5 year deal and $800k or thereabouts, has only kicked 1 goal in his past 5 matches. Had two gettable set shots at goal and couldn't even manage a score from either of them.
 
North's loss may mean we see a change in the top eight. Dees and Saints can both get in theoretically. North are two games clear but have Sydney in Tassie and then GWS at home. Assuming they lose both, Dees have got Carlton and Geelong (I'd happily lose assuming it doesn't cost us too badly to see them get in) while Saints have Richmond and Brisbane. Saints you can wipe out as their percentage is miles behind North's, but Melbourne... if they managed to knock us off in the last round...
 
Fuck I hate Melbourne. Hope they end up ninth. But geez if North miss out on the finals it will be the most epic North choke in the history of epic North chokes.

I wonder if Bonnie is even still alive after that heartstopping snap by her boy Nicky to win it for West Coast. What an ending!
 
There's almost nothing likeable about them. Awful players, awful uniform, awful nickname, awful song, awful toffs. I preferred it when they were comically shit. They're in my bottom four with Carlton, Collingwood, and Sydney.
 
Oh here we go, another game where there's a brief glimmer of hope Essendon may stammer over the line in front but you know we're going to lose.
 
HOLY SHlT WE WON THE THING! :hyper:

After that failure against Brisbane last month I thought the rest of the season was a total write-off. I really wasn't expecting to hear the team song again this year. But here we are!
 
Fuck Essendon.

Yes.

Man do I want North to miss the eight. That would be some funny shit. But I just don't see it. I absolutely could imagine them dropping their last two. It's very likely they end the season with 48 points and, considering how their season started, that's awful.

But the Dees, great as their last win was, don't strike me as the kind of team that will beat Geelong with the season on the line. It could happen, but I'm not sold. Geelong will be playing for the difference between 3rd and 7th. That's big.

St Kilda, meanwhile, has to put in work to make up that 17% gap. In fact, it's virtually impossible. If North lost their last two games by 50 points each (certainly possible), St Kilda would have to win their last two games by 100 points each to close the gap. It's not happening.
 
Last edited:
Saints are no chance, yes. Melbourne, though. I wouldn't write off. Very, very unlikely but we've dropped some odd games this year. If they play their best they could easily catch us off-guard.

I can't remember a final round that will be so exciting in a long time. As of right now every single spot in the top eight is up for grabs. That's hella cool.

There's almost nothing likeable about them. Awful players, awful uniform, awful nickname, awful song, awful toffs. I preferred it when they were comically shit. They're in my bottom four with Carlton, Collingwood, and Sydney.

They've got a lot of very exciting players, more than most in fact I'd say. Mostly though this shows that you are not Australian. We love an underdog. Therefore we love Melbourne.

But then again St Kilda is one of my least favourite teams.
 
They've got a lot of very exciting players, more than most in fact I'd say. Mostly though this shows that you are not Australian. We love an underdog. Therefore we love Melbourne.

But then again St Kilda is one of my least favourite teams.

Now this is just wrong! You should know by now how much of a sucker I am for an underdog. Hawthorn are nominally one of my top four teams but I keep finding myself barracking for almost anybody else when they get a sniff. Hell, I didn't even really like the Doggies much for years until their underdog status sucked me in. But Melbourne have done the reverse. The more I see of them the more I want to see them fail.
 
From my understanding, the Richmond love stems partially from the economic background of the area. The Tigers (and the Bulldogs, though I'm not sure if it's accurate or not to equate the economy of Richmond and Footscray in 2016) have a blue collar fanbase and that breeds underdog stories.

The Dees? I dunno. Whatever. I have no feelings towards them whatsoever.
 
Hahahahaha. So Richmond.

Got plenty of Tigers mates whinging about the umps costing them. We had the rub of the green and they were awful in the last five minutes - Lloyd taken high and Riewoldt held in their inside 50 in the space of five seconds and then Harry Taylor gets a free and goals down the other end - but you are not robbed when you lead by 35 fucking points at 3/4 time.

From my understanding, the Richmond love stems partially from the economic background of the area. The Tigers (and the Bulldogs, though I'm not sure if it's accurate or not to equate the economy of Richmond and Footscray in 2016) have a blue collar fanbase and that breeds underdog stories.

The Dees? I dunno. Whatever. I have no feelings towards them whatsoever.

:eyebrow: Bit of an odd statement. Richmond is a reasonably affluent suburb. Footscray is certainly more blue collar. But neither of these things matter really; socioeconomics has no influence whatsoever in the AFL. The Richmond love stems from the fact they've been perennial underachievers having played in like five finals since their last flag in 1980 and that their supporters are very passionate, owing to the many, many false dawns. They also have the best song in the league. Similar to the Bulldogs. It has absolutely zip to do with the economics of the suburbs themselves. Maybe decades ago but the sport is homogenous today.
 
:eyebrow: Bit of an odd statement. Richmond is a reasonably affluent suburb. Footscray is certainly more blue collar. But neither of these things matter really; socioeconomics has no influence whatsoever in the AFL. The Richmond love stems from the fact they've been perennial underachievers having played in like five finals since their last flag in 1980 and that their supporters are very passionate, owing to the many, many false dawns. They also have the best song in the league. Similar to the Bulldogs. It has absolutely zip to do with the economics of the suburbs themselves. Maybe decades ago but the sport is homogenous today.

Just going by things I've read over the years since I started following the sport, some of which are probably outdated at this point. There's been a lot of gentrification in the period since these clubs were founded so their "traditional" fanbase has undeniably been homogenized.

Socioeconomics are a big part of what makes a team likable/hatable in the US at any rate; universally, your Oklahoma Cities, Clevelands or Pittsburghs will draw less ire than a New York or Los Angeles from a neutral observer. Besides the underdog factor, you naturally root for less affluent regions because they have so little else going on outside of sport.
 
Last edited:
Yeah I get that, and reading older sources or about the history in general would certainly lead one to that conclusion. Just isn't the way it is anymore, I don't think.

That makes total sense for the US - that's partly why I was gunning for the Cavs over Golden State - but the AFL/Australia is just so small in comparison. I mean there's 10 Victorian clubs and nine of them are, via suburb, within a 15km radius. On top of that, none of them represent their suburbs anymore and they play at only two grounds, both of which are essentially smack bang in the heart of the city. It would be like Chicago having nine NBA teams, not just one. Geelong I think is the only remaining AFL club with a true monopoly on its area. That's very different in American sports... if I'm not wrong nearly all clubs represent their area, have a monopoly on their cities in one sport.

My point is in AFL likeability/hateability for clubs goes almost solely on success. People hate Hawthorn because they've been so good, not because of the suburb's socioeconomics.
 
Back
Top Bottom