A lot has happened from my point of view. From the lows of the cats losing to the Bombers and Eagles in successive weeks and had to sit through a humiliating loss to Beno’s Swannies at the Pineapple Hotel just 2 weeks from the finals. On the extreme upside I witnessed a flickering football on Matty P’s plasma TV go through a Geelong goal 22 times to Collingwood’s 8 in the last round of the home and away series. I was so happy with that win. So many people put it off to be a nothing game but it was the win we needed to have and I honestly think if we didn’t win that game the way we did we may not have won the premiership this year.

So from that demolition of Pies all us boys flew down to Melbourne for the first week of the finals and saw 4 finals in 3 days, all in Melbourne. First time it has happened for a long time. Hawks/Cats was first up and it was unbelievable. The 3-5 goal burst (sorry my memory is a bit blank here) in the 3rd quarter was incredible. The other games were pretty good. Best finals intensity was definitely the Pies/Eagles clash. Lots of congestion, intense tackling. It was a pure finals game.

After that to sit through a comfortable open prelim was just what the doctor ordered. I had made a pact with myself this year that if the Cats made the Grand Final – I’m going. It didn’t matter what it would cost me I’m going. At the very least I would fly down to Melbourne for the week.So at 3-quarter time or about 5min into the 4th quarter with the game in the bag I booked my flights and accom to Melbourne. No grand final ticket as of yet…

Sunday came around and I was tossing up between gambling on a cats member that had succeeded with the GF ticket ballot that was not going to attend (I’m an interstate member, I can’t enter the GF ballot) or put some pretty pennies down and get one of those ridiculously expensive corporate packages. I think I was still a bit drunk at the time after celebrating hard the night before  (the cats are in ANOTHER grand final!) I was feeling great and was very happy. I just bit the bullet and bought one of those corporate  packages. I didn’t want to gamble. I wanted to fucking be there and after deciding not to go in 2009 I didn’t want to make that mistake again.

So I make the call to AFL ticketing offices and ask if they’ve got any tickets available. The lady on the phone, surprisingly didn’t sound as if she’d been getting calls like mine all day, said that I’d have to order my ticket and package online – there was no way of knowing what seat I would get. I told the lady on the phone if they had any premium seats left as online it seemed they were sold out. She said they did due to some cancellations and I just had to wait 10 seconds, refresh the page and it would show up. Again, I didn’t want to gamble on my seat. I figured if I was paying $1400+ already on the standard corporate package I may as well pay $300 more and guarantee myself about the best seat in the house. So I splurged and probably paid the most or equal amount of anyone that was at the G for my ticket. But it was totally and utterly worth it.

Sorry, this is turning out to be a bit of a Grand Final story. I’ll cut it short. The actual Grand Final story will come eventually. Went to the footy show, grand final parade, grand final function (GF eve), grand final – obviously. You can see Grand Final week videos and photos I took from the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/user/footyhighvideos#p/u

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29433163@N05/

I really wish I went in 2009. I’ve thought about it a lot and I still rank that grand final higher than 07 and 11. I think because in 2007 it was over early and we were clear favourites (apparently, I can’t really remember at the time). I know I was at 2011 but I was quietly confident we’d win, so to win wasn’t as big a surprise as 2009 was. 2008 hurt me so much – just ask Matty P and Beno. To beat the Saints who were in red hot form, they had NO excuses whatsoever on the day. They were favourites (I’m pretty sure) and to win in a close one was incredible. 2011 I was there and it was incredible. It all sort of built up though. I went into the year not really knowing what would happen but slowly near the end of the season we started gaining the momentum and it seemed the pies were on the decline. Especially after that round 24 game that no-one seems to rate but I really think it was significant. Not the margin so much as it seemed obvious they shut up shop after half time but they just didn’t seem to be able to beat us, just like in round 8. That prelim final from last year was a long distant memory after that round 24 game. I knew that the ‘prelim 2010′ wasn’t going to happen to us again, not this year and if we were going to face them at any stage in the finals that it was going to be a tight game and at the very worst we’d only go down by a couple of goals, not feel like we’re getting hammered by 10+ goals like in 2010. Chris Scott built Geelong to beat the Pies in 2011 and it worked perfectly, facing them in the Grand Final.

It’s hard to say really all the premierships have their pros and cons. 2007 was the first in 44 years or so, 2009 was our redemption and 2011 well they called us too old too slow, we were just too good on the day.

There was just more on the line in 2009, more to lose if we had have lost that game than if we lost to the Pies in 2011.

Having said that, I start to look at bigger and better things now. There’s been lots of comparisons with Cats and Lions being the greatest teams of the modern game and people asking which was better? Historically 3 in a row will always look better looking back on it. But I’d want to be living through the way the cats have done it. Obviously I’m biased but we’re not done with yet, we’ve had a better win/loss ratio than the lions. Our ride has been so up and down. Again, this is why I rate 2009 so much that loss to the Hawks was the worst, to bounce back and win a premiership the year after felt so good. I honestly would have content with the Cats not winning another premiership for 10+ years but now they’ve gone out of their way, surprised us all, even supporters of the Cats and won another one in 2011. As I said before I’m looking for bigger and better things now and would love to be compared if not eclipse that of the hawks from the 80s and to win back to back premierships in my lifetime would be awesome. I’m looking forward to 2012 with much more ambition than I did in 2011.

The Cats have shown me that no matter what anyone says or what the current trend says that if you make a few slight adjustments, manage your players well, have the right people working at your club that already has a great culture than anything is possible. Losing Yablett and Bomber was the best thing that happened to the club. I said it when Bomber decided to leave that him leaving now was the best thing that could happen to Geelong than him sticking around to complete his contract when his heart wasn’t in it. I just didn’t expect a premiership right away. I thought maybe a year or 2 down the road.

I keep writing but I’m not going to edit this mega post. The main reason I started writing was to review my goals I made from earlier this year and start drafting out some goals for this year.

So what were my goals for 2011?

• Attend the first week of the finals in Melbourne – Did it, 4 games in 3 days. Cats blitz in the 3rd quarter was unbelievable.
• See a blockbuster Cats game – I saw my team win the Grand Final AT THE MCG! Can’t top that.
• Get a Geelong membership – Got an interstate membership
• Post on Footy High once a week (at least) – failed. I got off to a good start though.
• Pick a clever dream team and have good reasons why for each player chosen – I did that and wrote a post about it. I came close but Matty P once again is too good lucky
• Reach $150 in the $100 Challenge – total fail. Will have to be smarter next year. Too many exotic bets and not enough big bets on sure things.
• Complete Tipping Comp – did this. I won the tipping comp out of us boys. Actually tipped every week and reminded the boys to tip. No excuses. I’m the fucking back to back tipping champ!
• Get a full dream team this year – We had a full league this year! No strangers. Next year though we might look to make our league a bit more challenging.
• Write a TON of prediction posts – I think I wrote quite a few? More than last year I’m guessing.
• If Cats make a Preliminary Final or even Grand Final I’M GOING! – I didn’t go to a prelim but I had my reasons. I went to the Grand Final though! YOU BEAUTY!

So a bit of a draft on some of my footy goals for next year?

Go to Geelong for a game, in Geelong – maybe the unfurling of the flag. Will go standing room. The game I went to in 2006 I think it was when Stokes came of age was unreal once we got in the standing room. Pity we were sitting in the Fred Flanagan room for the first 3 quarters.

I also really regret now not going to Geelong on Sunday after Grand Final day. Although I probably wouldn’t have seen much at the park where all the Cats guys went on stage, being around Geelong and going to the pubs would have been pretty awesome.

When in Geelong visit Billy and Ling’s pubs, stay the night in Geelong. Visit the Beach. I really haven’t done much stuff in Geelong

Go to a new city – Perth or Adelaide or somewhere else (canberra, NT but I doubt we’d play there). Obviously only if Geelong are playing there but no doubt we’ll play someone there.

Maybe buy an AFL membership (maybe). I need to toss up if it’s worth it and how much it is. It all rides on what the fixture looks like for next year. I am counting down the days till fixture day (9 days to go!). I’m seriously as excited about the fixture coming out as I am about week 1 of the finals. I just want to be able to plan what weeks I go to the footy and see if Geelong have a good draw or not. Will be very interesting to see which teams play Gold Coast and GWS twice next year also. Will the AFL put the money making games away (ie cats vs gold coast twice) or will they make it fair? Very keen on the draw for 2012!

Go to a Prelim if the Cats make it - I didn’t go this year as I was hanging out for a Grand Final if we made it. They say prelim week is the purest supporter week in football so I’d really like to experience. If Cats aren’t in it but the games seem good and I’m into the teams that are in it, I’d still consider going and maybe staying the week and living up Grand Final week in Melbourne again but not go to the game (unless I can for $300 or less). Go to fed square and watch.

Buy a good cats collar shirt that fits - Hopefully they change the logo or maybe I can find an old GFC logo collar shirt. I’m really not a fan of the current Cats logo.

Take more photos/videos – I took heaps on Grand Final week but I didn’t take much the other Melbourne trips. I’ll put more effort in.

I worked out that I’ve roughly spent $5000+ on football related things in 2011. That includes memberships, tickets to games, merch, flights, accom, some spending money if I’m away on a footy trip etc, drinks, online betting etc. Note that I blew $700+ on betting against the cats and spent $1700+ on my grand final ticket alone. 6 flights, 10+ nights accom + spending money, total of 16 attended AFL games, it doesn’t seem all that bad.

I’m not going to make any Footyhigh.com goals. Apart from enable Winchy to post here I don’t want it to feel like a chore to post here. I won’t badger Matt and Beno to write here if they don’t want to. Just if you feel like talking footy like I am tonight, post here. We’re just mates that enjoy footy. I just like the aspect of having something to look back on. See the silly bets we make, see the photos/videos memories of the footy years gone past. I know I’ll probably look back on this post or especially my Grand Final 2011 post if I ever make it in a few years time.

More competitive Dream Team League. Sorry Philby, you’ve been demoted down a league. I think we’re going to implement a new policy for next year. You need to at least spend 10minutes on your dream team each week or you’re out. If you’re not going to pick a captain for the year and don’t really know who players are then you’re not worth being in our league. We need more competition!

Final one. Pick a new sporting bet site for the $100 challenge in 2012. The current one we use. Sportingbet.com.au is a bit limited it seems on what other sites offer. So we’ll see what else is out there in the off-season and give another site a go and let you know. There’s nothing wrong with sportingbet.com.au . In fact they got themselves a mobile site during the year which was ever so helpful when we were at a pub or game.

Saturday came around and as much as I like to watch all the games on the weekend there was one game in particular that I was very keen on watching and that was the Saturday night clash between the Swans and Cats.  Now to give you some background the Swans have not won against the cats since that classic 05 encounter and between all the boys I love to dish it out when my teams gets one up over theirs and since that great day in 05 I have yet to experience the joy of letting Sarge know that the cats lost to the Swans.

Going into the match I was pretty confident that the Swans would win so I started talking it up pretty early as well as putting a wager on the game for a couple of drinks.  How wrong I was!!!!!  The Swans went down to the Cats by 27 points in a very wet game at the SCG, I ‘am very confident that the Swans will get back up and put a few more wins on the board but on this day the Cats were just better suited playing in the wet.

The aftermath of the game as you can imagine Sarge and Matty P all having a laugh while I sat their looking into the night sky wondering if this had actually happened and was I just having a bad dream but the reality was the Swans lost and after a few more frothies I was on my way home and getting ready for some more footy on Sunday with all the boys heading to the Suns Vs Demons game at the GABBA.

After a sluggish start to the morning I made the big trip up from the Gold Coast to Brisbane with alot of very confident and cocky Demon supporters and while it was a no brainer that they would walk away with the four points I was in the firing line from them as well, as a pretty passionate Swans supporter I was covered in head to toe in the great colours of the red and the white.  While the last time the Swans played the Dees was a draw in round one the clash before that we got belted big time and it’s a match I would rather forget as all the boys made the trip down to Melbourne for a footy weekend and that happen to be one of the games we saw and it’s a day that the boys never make me forget.

To add more misery to my weekend the boys all brought their Demons gear just to rub it in even more but I withstood all of it and took it like a man and we were entertained with a very one sided game with the Demons wining by around 90 points and to finish the end of the weekend we wrapped it up with a few frothies at the chalk hotel.  Hopefully the next time the Swans play the cats we get one up on them and Sarge watchout when that happens!!!!

• Pies 40+ $1.60
• Game points over 190 $1.90
• Pies over 27 points half time $2
• Pies over 37 half time $2.65
• Pies first quarter $1.18
• Pies first points $1.62
• Pies first behind as first points $3.30
• First goalscorer Dale Thomas $17
• Pies First to 15 points $1.22
• Pies/Pies half time/full time $1.18
• Most Goals – Riewoldt and Swan tied with 4 each paying $3.25 and $19. So you would get half. $1.625 and $9.50. Let’s just assume you picked Swan as it’s paying more so $9.50.

11. Dead Heat Rules

11.1 A Dead Heat occurs where two or more participants in an event tie for first and second place.
In the event of two selections having a Dead Heat, the customer’s stake is split with half the stake applied to the winning selection and the other half lost. With more than two selections, the stake is split proportionately.

http://www.sportingbet.com/t/info/rules/rules.aspx

• Pies to lead at end of each quarter $1.20
• Total match goals 34 or more $5.50
• Total match points 221 points or more $4.50
• Pies over 15 points $1.12
• Pies over 24 points $1.22
• Pies over 39 points $1.60
• Total Match points odd $1.95
• Pies score first points and win $1.77
• Pies over 60 points $2.20
• Pies over 60 points (10 goal hiding) $2.20
• Winning margin Pies over 60 points $2.20
• Most disposals group A – Deledio and Swan tied. Deledio has better odds @ $10 so you’d win $5
• Most disposals group B – Didak, Jackson and Newman tie at 26. Newman better odds at $10 so you’d win $3.33
• First Goalscorer/Winning margin Thomas/Pies over 60 $38
• Riewoldt more goals than behinds $1.41
• King more goals than behinds $1.75
• Nahas didn’t score so money back $1
• Brown more goals than behinds $1.57
• Cloke more behinds than goals $2
• Beams more goals than behinds $1.81
• Swan more goals than behinds $1.77
• Didak more goals than behinds $1.41
• Riewoldt last goalscorer $9

If you placed $1 single bet on each of these you would have walked away with $137.29 this (includes initial $1 wagered on each bet)

Total of 34 bets so a profit of $103.29 if you bet 100%! Obviously you could have multi’d a few of them but you can’t multi them all.

I didn’t go so well personally. My results:

• Won my Riewoldt more goals than behinds $1.41
• Got partial money for Didak and Swan for most disposals (as it was a dead heat/tie) $2.33 and $1
• Pies first points and win match $1.77
• Pies first to 15 points $1.22
• Collingwood behind first score $3.30
• Collingwood first points $1.62

I staked $22 on the game and ended up with $12.65. Thought I had beams for last goalscorer in the bag until Didak and Riewoldt kicked the last 2 within the last 50 seconds. Check out the other bets I made for the Tigers/Pies game.

How did you go with your bets?! Any punts for the rest of the week?

I’ve made my own bets for the game. Not for each type of bet but for a majority of them. Here are my bets:

I’m thinking Didak is going to have a blinder game tonight. Swan most disposals as always. I see Collingwood kicking around 20 goals to Richmonds 7. Though I sort of contradict myself as I think the margin will be around 55 points. I can also see the two twin towers in Dawes and Cloke kicking a few goals early. A small midfielder for the pies will kick the last goal. Blair or Sidebottom. Interesting that Didak isn’t named on the first goal scoring list, that’s why I went with the ‘any other unlisted collingwood player’ for first goal.

Here is the complete list of bets you can make for theo Richmond VS Collingwood match up:

1. Footyhigh League
   This is our websites main league and this involves all of us from the site as well as some friends and this year is going to be very competitive with alot of decent scores posted so far.
2. Longy’s League
   All the Footyhigh boys are in this league, just another league with friends so far it has been mixed with scores but hopefully it ends up being a competitive league.
3. Knock Off Maxy5
   This is one of Nick Maxwell’s leagues where out of the 5 leagues the grand final winners will win prizes, the highest grand final points scorer will get grand final tickets for this year while the other grand final winners will get 4 tickets to any round one game in 2012. Follow the progress of my team Beno’s Ganstaz at Nick Maxwell’s Dream Team league No 5.
4. Beat Swatta’s Swags
   I’m in this league with fellow Footyhigh panellist Sarge.  This league includes Wayne Schwass from foxsports and overall the league is very impressive so far with some very high scores.

Recap of Round Two: Score 2044

This week I made a big decision to make Leigh Montagna my captain instead of sticking with my safe option of Dane Swan and I paid for it big time with the difference if I would have had Swan captain 150 points.  I went with Leigh Montagna purely for the fact that the saints were playing the tigers and his past stats against the tigers have been very good, from now I’ll be sticking with Swan as captain.

My GC players coming into the team I didn’t have that much of a selection issue but I put in Swallow and Matera to cover the two bye players I had while I left Harris on the bench and while I got to attend the Suns Vs Blues game at the GABBA we all know the Suns got belted but through some periods of the game there were some good plays by the suns and Harris played a major part in those plays so he will be a definite starter for me next week.

Results

YOUR RESULTS – ALL LEAGUES

Although I went with the risk of going with a different captain and not paying off I still managed an ok score and still managed four wins which I was pretty pumped about.  So far I’m 2/2 in all leagues with the highlight of last week knocking off both footyhigh panellists Sarge and Matty p not only did I win I belted them and this was my first Dreamteam victory against them both, I have a bit of advice for you both “watch how the master does it” I’m planning on WINNING every league this year.

Round 3 Preview

This is going to be the toughest round so far  as I’m facing the trend setters so far in leagues 2,3 and 4 but I’m pretty confident and will walk away with 4 wins again it’s going to be tough but I look forward to telling you all about my victories next week.

• What grinds my gears part 3: excuses for messages sent that don’t get the response they were after…. Friend stole my phone etc..
• What grinds my gears: part2: people who don’t give thankyou waves on the roads.
• WGMG.p8: guys self portraits of themselves with their tops off in their profile pictures, not cool unless your batting for other team

Anyway. Round 2 has just passed and it’s time to get my vent on and rant and rave about what grinds MY gears from Round 2 of the AFL season in 2011.

1. #WGMG – Gold Coast Comparisons To Other New Team Debutantes

Everyone kept talking throughout the week about how some of the other debut teams had a win, but no-one takes into consideration at how young and immature the Gold Coast bodies are. The team that was out running (that’s about all it looked like) along side Carlton the other night had 10 players LESS than 21 years of age.

Let’s have a look at the other teams that have debuted in the last couple of decades and see how many players debuted sometime during the whole FIRST year (not just their first game) that were under 21.

• Adelaide – 3 (Win first game)
• Brisbane Bears – 3 (Win first game)
• Fremantle – 10 (out of 41 players that debuted that year, and note they lost their first game)
• Port Adelaide – 10 (out of 34 players that debuted that year, note they lost their first game)
• West Coast – 4 (Win)

So there seems a case that mature bodies certainly do help. For those that thought they were going to have the measure against the Blues.. what are you thinking?! It’s going to be a long season for Gold Coast and their supporters but tough it out, there are some good signs there and you’ll be a force in a couple of years.

Also note they’ve come into what I would say is one of the toughest year where apart from maybe the Cats and Saints each team is expecting a significant improvement from their list and hoping to rise up the ladder, more than years before. And there’s no way you’re going to see Cats and Saints dropping lower than Gold Coast. Sorry GC, spoon for you

2. #WGMG - Hawthorn All Of A Sudden FLAG CONTENDERS

No!! We fell for this last year. We all saw them smash the Dees round 1 2010 and we thought they were back after an injury riddled 2009. We gave them that excuse and thought, ok we’ll let 2009 slide, they’ve just come out and belted the Dees, all their guns seem in good shape.. they’re back!! NO! After they belted the Dees they then LOST their next 6 games. Yes they lost their next SIX GAMES!

You’re all foolish to go jumping on their bandwagon yet again right now.Wait till the hawks string together a month of wins against some serious opposition then maybe, just maybe we can call them a legitimate TOP 4 chance. But flag chance? They’ve got a lot to prove first.

3. #WGMG – Sandilands Cleans Out Steve Johnson

They ran into each other! If you look at the vision, the bump hurt Sandilands just as much at Steve Johnson. Sandilands went down as well, and Steve Johnson got up before Sandilands did. It just looked bad cos Sandilands is a freeking tree! But obviously, if you look at the vision closely, Steve Johnson is the toughest man alive.

4. #WGMG – The Pronunciation of Podsiadly

It’s Pods-ee-ADD-lee NOT not Pods-ee-ARRD-lee, Dwayne Russel!! (And a lot of other commentators)

http://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/podsiadly

5. #WGMG – I Just Can’t Take A PUNT!

My $100 AFL Betting Challenge is going woeful. Laid down what I thought were a handful of very reasonable bets on the weekend but still a few points off the margin. I’ll get a win eventually.

So what’s grinding your gears this week after Round 2? Umpires? Your Team? The Sub Rule?

Give us the lowdown on What Grinds Your Gears in the comments below or vent them on twitter using the hashtag #WGMG

So here goes the AFL POWER 17 for Round 1 2011

1. Collingwood – I actually thought Port did quite well against the Pies. To demolish a side by 75 points in what looked like a pretty good contest is scary prospect put forward by last years premiers.
2. Essendon – NAB Cup form was no hoax, Essendon showed the football world they’re the real deal demolishing what most expect to be a top 4 team in the Bulldogs by 55 points. Can they keep up the momentum?
3. Adelaide – To come back from 30 points down near half time to win by 20 is a huge achievement over the Hawks that many expect to be a premiership contender.
4. Geelong – The underdogs showed true grit to overcome Saints footy to get them over the line in the dying seconds. Showed the footy world they can still compete with the supposed top 4.
5. West Coast – A few men down near the end to get over the line is a great start for a team that many had placed in the bottom 4.
6. Carlton – A win many expected them to have. Goal-less in the 3rd term but a strong finish gets them over the line against a more spirited Richmond outfit.
7. Fremantle – Pace got them over the line as the competitive Lions were outrun by injuries and a few questionable umpiring decisions going their way.
8. Melbourne – A great fight back to secure a draw. I think they’d be more happy about taking the 2 points than Sydney.
9. Sydney – Sydney had the game won but shut out Goodes in the last half. Sydney then became no Goodes.
10. Brisbane Lions – Were brave. Injuries and questionable umpiring decisions struck hard. They really should have won. I don’t expect them to just drop away as many predict. They have some exciting kids coming through.
11. Richmond – The most spirited performance for the opening game by the Tiges in the last few years. Disappointing to let their momentum and lead slip dramatically in the last term but the Tigers spirit is there. Am expecting a much closer encounter against the Saints tonight than many are predicting.
12. Port Adelaide – Scoreboard aside they were very competitive against the reigning premiers. Let slip in the last 40min of the match but signs aren’t bad at all down at Port.
13. St Kilda – Another ‘Saints Footy’ display was on show on Friday night. They need a better structure pushing up forward, continually targeting Riewoldt against the Cats never works.
14. North Melbourne – They’d be disappointed not to get over the line when West Coast were a few men down after having a slight lead heading into the final term.
15. Hawthorn – Should be bitterly disappointed not to take home the 4 points after seemingly having the game under control being 30 points up near half time. Do we rate Hawks too highly? Hypothetically if they didn’t win the Grand Final in 2008 would we be expecting them to win all these games? Disappointment after disappointment.
16. Western Bulldogs – All the talk this week is about the Bombers. On the other end of the spectrum it’s the Doggies being belted by a team not many would have in the top 8 this year. They need to have a real hard look at themselves and produce a massive game this week against the Lions for all to see if they’re genuine contenders this year or not.
17. Gold Coast Suns – Haven’t made a name for themselves yet. This is their big week.

Think I’ve placed teams in the wrong spot? How would you rate the 17 sides after round 1? Leave your comment below!

Perhaps I’m being a little melodramatic, but the events that took place the evening  of March 26 at the Gabba were truly a disaster for the Brisbane Lions. We had a rough off-season – we had to sack two players for disciplinary reasons, our best and fairest winner and two other senior players walked out on the club, and the whole time our coach, our players and our whole club were getting bashed by all the goobers in the football media and most opinionated punters agreed with them.

But for Lions supporters there was always hope – Losing Fev was a blessing and Proud, Brennan and Sherman were inconsistent hacks who would never reach the potential the footy public seemed to think they had. A 2011 season in which Adcock, Maguire, Merrett, Drummond and Patfull didn’t miss extended periods would see our defence back to our 2009 best and in the three Rs (Rich, Redden and Rockliff) we have three of the most talented and underrated young midfielders in the business, and we still have Black and Power to guide them.

There was plenty of positive talk whispered between Lions fans under all the trash-talk from elsewhere, but it all came with one proviso: we NEED Browny. He was the one to kick the goals, straighten us up and steer the ship. When his nose got inverted into his head and his face was buried in the Gabba turf, you could hear 20,000 Lions supporters collectively yell ‘aw f—!’

To make matters worse we lost Staker as well. The one guy we could point to and say ‘See! Vossy’s not a complete nutbag! He can make a good trade!’ Feels bad man. After the rubbish we’ve been through this off-season, we really needed a win. To lose it in those circumstances was devastating. I haven’t seen a crowd that disappointed since the 2004 Grand Final.

It wasn’t all bad though. It was a gutsy effort for an inexperienced team to fight as hard as they did despite the injuries and kids like Bewick and Beams showed some goods. I also heard that when Browny headbutted the Earth, the whole planet shifted a fraction further away from the Sun, effectively solving that whole global warming thing. So thanks for that, Browny, and up yours Carbon Tax!

Backline

Goddard – He’s a DT lock in anyones team. If you don’t have him you have some sort of crystal ball. IE You’re a freak!

Gibbs – Yet another DT lock. Dual Position Player (DPP). Legend. If you’re a clever ducky you would have had him as your vice captain and used the dream team partial lock out loop hole.

Deledio – Deledio is in the top 25 paid players in the AFL for real. He’s priced in DT as a $371k DPP back/mid. He has a rubbish game on the weekend yet still managed 74 odd points. He’s primed for a big year, as are the Tiges.

Broughton – I’ll admit a lot of research didn’t go into him and maybe I’m paying the price for a lower than average score this week. He was a cheap defender that I know a lot of people were getting so I was a sheep with this pick.

Grimes – Cheap as chips defender for the value he will implement into Sarge’s Heroes this year. Started on the right foot at 100+ score this weekend.

Lower – You don’t get promoted off the rookie list and not play. He played and played a blinder. Near 100 one of the best defender rookies if not the best out there.

Duigan – mature age rookie gun. Didn’t blow the house down with 51 but you’d think he’ll play a few more games. A handy bench player.

Coad, Stanley, Toy – These guys I feel are the most promising GC defenders to have at basement prices. Some may feel it’s the wrong move having 3xGC on the bench but as long as everyone is playing on field, why does it matter? Save a lot of money and build up to a big team come finals time.

Midfield

Montagna – He’s full of run, flair and he seems young. Gets a lot of kicks and can kick goals. I chose him over people like Boyd, Selwood etc as I think he kicks it a lot more and kicks more goals than them.

Bartel – A tackling machine and doesn’t attract a hard tag. Can kick a goal and is a magnificent mark.

K.Cornes – The most consistent midfielder going around. A score of 96 this weekend he didn’t disappoint. If he gets this every week I’ll take it.

Foley – I think he’s crucial for the Tigers this year after coming off injury. He had the worst game this weekend but I think if I keep my patience he’ll come good. If he has a bad game next week I may be looking for a downgrade to someone like Curnow who got over 100+ his first game.

Krakouer – Every man and his dog will have him. Mistake that he’s in my midfield? Only time will tell. A lovely 96 to open his account with AND he was subbed late in the game.

Bewick – Another mature age rookie. Not the most convincing game (to hold his spot) but feel he played some smart footy. Scored ok and will be a worthy bench player if he keeps his spot in the team, and given lions injuries I’m sure he will.

Swallow – DT lock as pick no1 in the draft. People say he’s the new Selwood, if that’s the case he could be a DT keeper by the end.

Conca – A late pick given the team announcements on Wednesday night. He came in for Harris who has a supposed injury cloud.

Heppell – I struggled justifying keeping Heppell in. I didn’t have a good feeling. I’m glad he got an 80 today but Essendon just dominated today. I can’t see this happening every week so I’m still not 100% convinced but he stays for now.

Rucks

Ryder – 50k less than Sandilands and got a respectable score today. Was on track for higher but didn’t quite get there. Happy to have the money in the bank but given that Essendon have the bye Grand Final week it could bite me on the ass. Having said that, predicting that I’ll make Grand Final week of DT is probably big headed of me so I like having 50k to play with while still generating good scores from Ryder. I’m not 100% convinced he’ll maintain good scores though so I hope he keeps it up.

Cox – Best preseason of his life just about. Cheap as chips for the quality you get. Tonights game just proved that.

Tippet – Only have him as my DPP link with Petrie.

Keeffe – Keep hearing a lot of good things about him. Disappointed he didn’t play on the weekend and maybe could have picked a better bench ruck but for 92k who else would I pick?

Forwards

Franklin – He’s a DT lock pretty much. Had a great preseason. Didn’t go well against the crows – the only game I didn’t really get a look at this weekend. Hopefully bounces back next week I’m sure he will.

Sylvia – DPP was maybe the main reason I went for him in the end. I liked Stevie J but I’m glad I didn’t touch him. I’m still nervous about Sylvia so hopefully he can remain consistent.

Goodes – F$%K YOU! He was on about 70 at half time and managed 74 by games end. This is why Melbourne came back, they managed to shut out Goodes. This worries me greatly. The great debate over whether to have Goodes or Pavlich in your team, well the answer may be none of them. They both fail to deliver a monster score too often.

Riewodlt – He’s a DT lock. My only concern about him, well 2 now is A – his minor injury he got during the game and B – the way St Kilda play doesn’t allow him to get a plethora of goals. Everyone will have him for his price but he didn’t score well on the weekend. Let’s just hope that’s because Harry Taylor is a superstar.

Yarran – My DT hate right now. I didn’t want to pick mid priced players but I read too much into it, people were picking him and I’ve seen footage of him playing when he first started last year or year before dominating from half back getting a lot of possessions. He just didn’t do this on Thursday night. If he has another poor game he’s done and dusted in the Sarge’s Heroes team (or awaits a downgrade later in the year)

Tapscott – Most people should have him. A monster of a lad with a deadly kick. Was great today in the game against Sydney.

Richardson – Yet another mature age rookie. Had a reasonable game tonight. Will play mainly as a bench player.

Petrie – He’s a guy that will play 20+ games for the year. At 200k you can’t go past him. Yes he’ll mis rounds 1 and 3 but get over that hurdle you save yourself a trade and have your 7th placed forward and backup ruckman when one of your rucks has a bye. I think this is a smart move given the deep benches this year but time will tell.

Matera – One of the GC prime basement price picks. Probably the best forward prospect for the price.

Darling – Huge boy was in everything tonight. Think he’s got a lot of footy in him.

That’s my Dream Team selections as my starting team. Noticeable absentees would be Swan and Harris. I plan to get them at a later stage, definitely Swan anyway. Some guys I tossed and turned about but didn’t end up getting were Higgins (over Foley) Dale Thomas (over K. Cornes) Pendlebury (over Bartel) Knights (over Yarran) Palmer (over Higgins/Foley) Pavlich (over Goodes/Sylvia) Sandilands (over Ryder) and probably a few more but I can’t find my other notepad where I wrote notes.

Overall I’m ok with what I have. I have $185k left i the bank so I’ve got a lot to work with. This year I think we’re going to see higher scores than ever given the amount of rookie priced players that will potentially play a lot of games.

How is your Dream Team shaping up for 2011?

In just a bit over 24 hours season 2011 will be underway but before the first bounce I’m sure everyone will be making those last minute changes to dreamteam (I know I will), putting in their tips and getting the beers ready for a weekend of footy but I’d thought I would take some time out to give you my thoughts on how season 2011 will pan out and look back at the end of the footy season and see how all the predictions go, so here is my prediction:

The Final Ladder

1. Pies

2. Saints

3. Cats

4. Hawks

5. Swans

6. Dogs

7. Blues

8. Dockers

9. Bombers

10. Demons

11. Suns

12. Crows

13. Roos

14. Lions

15. Eagles

16. Port

17. Tigers

Brownlow: Dane Swan

Coleman: Lance Franklin

Rising Star: Gary Rohan

AA Captain: Luke Hodge

Norm Smith: Dale Thomas

Bradshaw Games/Goals: 16/Over 50

Dale Thomas Top 10 for Brownlow: I’ll say yes

First of all I’m going to address my tip for Bradshaw on how many games he will play and how many goals he will score as I’m sure the boys will give me a hard time about this but while he won’t play the first round it’s just going to be a week by week thing to see how he pulls up but I’m sure once he gets a few games under his belt his knee will be able to handle the workload.

Alot of people have the Gold Coast Suns coming 17^th but I think the chances of that happening are very unlikely, I believe while they will not come last they will not make the top eight at the same time.  I think that they will string a few wins together this year and I have placed them to come 11^th this year but over the next few years I think they will become an extremely good team.

For the other boys 2011 predictions check out the following:

• Sarge’s Ultimate Prediction Post for 2011
• Matty P’s 2011 Crystal Ball