POST LACKS HOME GROUND ADVANTAGE

1. Is Paul Roos The Best Ever coach? I can't think of one who has so consistently gotten the best out of such a mediocre list. By mediocre, I mean, where are the jets? Hall and Goodes, sure. Ay-Mon Buchanan, Brett Kirk and Jude Bolton are tigers. Ryan O'Keefe has a rock solid pair of Dukes, Brian! Craig Bolton is a glove. Tadger has pace. (And a shitey, shitey, shite accent.) Mick O'Loughlin has plenty of natural talent, but if the S'Syddey Pinks had been beaten in last year's grand final he would have been strung up beside Luke Ablett to have the soles of their feet beaten purple with SCG fence palings. Ablett can play, though. That Roos has turned these Pinks into a genuine, regular contender is nothing short of miraculous. (Just how much influence has Rodney Eade had on their development?)

2. Compare The Pinks with Wet Toast. The Toast have a superb backline, possibly the best on-ball brigade in the history of the game, and really only lack a class crumbing forward. It was also mildly surprising they didn't go hard after Virus Fevola at the end of last year. Wonder, too, how they'd go with Roos in charge instead of Woosher. You'd have to think they'd be unbackable favourites this Saturday. Of course, they don't, and they won't.

3. Who'll win this week? Well, it sticks in my craw that Barry Hall was allowed to play in last year's decider. Do the AFL and the judiciary take us for idiots? Sorry, do they take us for enormous idiots? Forget that his punch to the guts of McGuire was in or out of play; that should never have entered the equation. More pertinent was why the punch wasn't deemed intentional. Reckless? Negligent? Bull. Shit. Karma, luck, fate, destiny, whatever goes around comes around, call it what you like, says the Swans deserve to lose. I hope they do. Trouble is, I also hope West Coast lose, and by more. Who doesn't love a good choke story?

(Balls to The Cycle! It's a monotonous refrain from the mouths of shills. Not "we're taking it one week at a time" nor "injuries give us a chance to blood youngsters" but "West Coast being strong is just part of the cycle". Rubbish. Melbourne have been shit to average for years, so too Aint Kilda, Gee Long and The Scray. In the late eighties and early nineties West Coast got gifted a premiership side, made the finals every year until 1999, missed for two years, TWO YEARS!, had the player of the generation fall into their lap, and are straight back into contention. If that's a cycle, it's the wonky-wheel sort they use at the circus. The upside, mind, is that because WC are such a strong outfit who have only won two flags, I get to label them a bunch of underacheivers.)

4. The verdict. For Monday, at least. If Daniel Kerr hadn't been hurt early in last year's GF, I reckon WC would have won. They certainly would have if Hall had been outed, like he should. This year Kerr and the rest of the on-ball brigade are firing, although Chad Fletcher is struggling, and Hansen and Lynch are playing well. From the side that lost to the Pinks in week one of these finals, they get back Hansen, Embley and ... umm ... whatsisface. From the side that lost last year's grand final, they have a reasonably functional forward line. I think, at the moment, West Coast will win comfortably. With or without Wirrpanda. Who knows, The Panda looks great on song, but would WC be better off without him? Afterall, he doesn't appear to like it hard, unlike the Pinks, who love it tough. But who do I want to win? Go Storm!

PS: Rubbish!

Comments

[boynton]

Oh well, it's lucky for us that you've been so innacurate with your form on tipping the Swans so far, Tony (and co.)

[Tony.T]

Well, let's hope for the sake of those of us that don't want WC to win that my mozzing works a treat.

[DJ]

Bitter, bitter boy.

[Tony.T]

Victoria bitter!

[girtbysea]

Wouldn't you think the "best ever coach" would have his players do a bit of family planning so that they don't have to miss the grand final to attend the birth of a kid? No sex from November til March should just about do the trick 100%. If he could pull that off (snigger snigger) then he probably would be the best ever coach. But he'd still have to change his name to Yabby Roos.

[Pedro the Ignorant]

I could never stand Williams as a footballer, he irritated me as a commentator, and he just gave me the total shits by promising to mount a legal challenge to get another Brownlow. A true sportsman.

Go Weagles.

[Tony.T]

Girt: That was an ultra beat-up in yesterday's Hun. Just play, Jolly, and shut up.

Pedro: Was Williams even a commentator? I can't imagine he would add anything more than the occasional monosyllable. And he only seems to know people's last name. Not, mind you, that either of those would disqualify him out of hand.

[os]

The sun on the grass is summery warm.
The Juddster in the midfield runs free.
Now gather together to greet the storm.
Tomorrow belongs to me.

The branch of the linden is leafy and Green,
The West gives its gold to the "G".
But somewhere a glory awaits unseen.
Tomorrow belongs to me.

The babe in his cradle is closing his eyes
The blossom embraces the bee.
But soon, says a whisper; "Arise, arise,
Tomorrow belongs to me"

Oh Westerncoast, Westerncoast, unleash the powers
Your fans have waited to see.
The morning will come when the flag is ours.
Tomorrow belongs to me!

[Tony.T]

How appropriate. West Coast Eagles = very gay.

[os]

sticks and stones ...

[Tony.T]

Don't worry, I'd throw them, too, if I had them. With a Messages-On-Hold glove.

[carneagles]

Tone, the trouble with any cycle, and especially the Cycle, is that it's only as good as its rider. It's always entertaining to read Hawks fans frantically pumping Luke Hodge's tyres to make up for the fact that they passed over Judd.

And the best thing about Judd dropping into our lap - well, besides the fact that he can play a bit, natch - is that we dodged the bullet that was Graham Polak.

Got my ticket today. Sure, it's in row ZZW of the 12th tier, and I'll be travelling there and back in what basically amounts to a livestock ship with wings, but I'll be there, baby.

[carneagles]

And Wirra might not be a close-checking player - to coin a massive understatement - but his skills are amazing. His ability to run to the ball at full tilt and retrieve it without breaking stride is just awesome. Having him on the HBF just makes us a better defensive side.

And if we're in the suin' mood, can we sue Diesel for claiming a goal off Tony Evans' boot in 1996? His trickery cost us third place and a home game in the second week of the finals.

[Tony.T]

I love the fact the Hawks and the Aints passed on Judd (and, for that matter, the Dockers who traded away Pick One), but I would have preferred it if Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon or Richmond were the ones who did the overlooking.

Hodge and Ball are pretty good, but they ain't Judd. And as for Trent Croad? Well, that worked out for Freo, didn't it?

Hawthorn and St Kilda fans bleeding over Judd is one thing. Freo are used to fucking up player aquisitions. But Blues, Bommers, Tiger and Pie fans wailing about it would take public teeth gnashing to a whole nother level. Schadenfreude could not get more freude-er.

[Tony.T]

I just think Sydney like to be up against Wirra because they enjoy shutting down sweepers. It's their thing.

[carneagles]

The Dockers got Croad in a job-lot with McPharlin, who can play. So it wasn't the dead loss it might otherwise appear.

[Tony.T]

I hate McPharlin. Just sayin'.

[Tony.T]

Ok then. I'm off to a Brownlow function. Nothing to do with noted film historian Kevin, but footy administrator Chas. I aim to be photographed in a fetching faded jean-jacket, as I sashay down the a Beer Stained Carpet.

[The (WHMECDM) President]

If Diesel has a case for an extra Brownlow then so does Chris Grant in 1998 and Corey McKernan for 1996.

Let sleeping dogs lie Williams, this is bullshit.

Eagles to win, Judd to win another Norm Smith medal and me to be so drunk by the end of the game I won't even realise any of the above predictions have come true.

PS: The Bulldogs must have been shagging "The Cycle" God's sister because they have surely been screwed in return. The Saints must have been keeping watch at the bedroom door.

[Yobbo]

We got Croad and McPharlin for pick 1, and later traded Croad for pick 10 with whom we selected Ryley Dunn, and enabled us to use pick 12 for Ryan Murphy and 19 for David Mundy.

All in all we did pretty bloody well out of that trade.

Considering:

A:) We needed Talls very badly at that stage

and

B:) Judd wasn't the standout player of the draft in any case

I think it was an excellent result for us. In all probability we would have used pick 1 on Graham Polak if we didn't trade it for Croad, which WOULD have been a disaster.

And Croad was by no means terrible. Our coach, on the other hand...

[Bruce]

My prediction on the All-Australian coach will come true. Woosha is likely to be lifted up by that amazing mid-field to a position that should be held by his opponent. Coach of the year? My Arse!

[Scott Wickstein]

Malcolm Blight did some wonderful things with a very average list. Course the Crows had some stars in the late 90s but we also had the likes of Shane Ellen, Matt Robran, Peter Vardy and Chad Rintoul in those Premiership winning sides.

[SB]

Well written piece Tony. Most sport is boring, but you have made this most boring of sports sound interesting. Go the Swines.

[Tony.T]

Prez: It is a story that should be lucky enough to run half a day, let alone into the next. At least John Wayne Harms puts it in the right perspective.

Yobbus: Two words: Chris Judd.

Bruce: Surely not. Connolly will get it, won't he?

Wicky: The Crows were amazingly lucky in both 97 and 98. Still, Blighty is no goose, despite commentatoring to the contrary. Not TBCOAT, though.

SB: Thanks. And just think, there's six months of cricket coming up.

[Bruce]

No Tone. All-Australian Coach==Premiership Coach. Since 1999 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Australian>according to wikipedia

Woosha has been out-coached 30% of the time in the H&A season and 100% of the time when he lines up against Roosy.

Adam should just change his name to "The".

[Tony.T]

Shows how much notice I take of Coach of the Year.

The Schneider?

[Yobbo]

Tony, as I was already said, the fact that Judd was taken 3rd suggests that Freo weren't likely to take him anyway.

I don't remember West Coast coming out and saying they think they pulled a fast one on the rest of the AFL by snagging him 3rd either. The prevailing opinion was that Hodge and Ball would go 1 and 2.

The whole Chris Judd story is just an another example of West Coast succeeding through pure luck, except now its because their number 3 draft pick turns out to be the best player ever to pull on boots rather than having the first 10 picks at a WA Teal Cup squad that produced 6 250 game champions.

[Tony.T]

Yob, mine is merely a statement that I would prefer Judd to any of or all of the players you mention. The hows or whys don't particularly interest me. But for the record, "the player of the generation fall into their lap" means I reckon it was luck, too.

[Yobbo]

I know Tony, I'm just pointing out that you can't really describe Freo's performance in that draft as a "fuck up", because after West Coast (who got Judd) we probably did the next best out of it.

[Tony.T]

Not a fuck up, just another colourful chapter in their infamous recruiting history.

[Yobbo]

I think we've recruited better than most, starting from 2001 onwards. Obviously it was a complete fucking shambles before then.

[Yobbo]

It's just a pity we haven't managed to recruit a coach yet.