BARRY CROCKER
I would have preferred Sydney to win, or rather, I would have preferred West Coast to lose. But Barry Hall playing an absolute shocker was a satisfactory portion of what goes around comes around.
SOAR POINT
The Eagles winning by a point has put paid to "the closest margin since 1966." Now we can look forward to getting sick of "the closest margin since 2006."
SITUATION NORMY: ALL FUCKED UP
It's not a new thing for the Norm Smith Medal voting to be a surprise, in fact, it's almost a tradition. Wayne Harmes won the first in 1979, but Wayne Johnston was clearly the best player that day. Now Andrew Embley has joined the list of surprise winners. Not one of my West Coast friends picked him, neither did I, yet the papers have him as the overwhelming winner. Balls! He was pretty good but he didn't make the AGB top five:
5. Kerr
4. Cox
3. Glass
2. Kirk
1. Judd
WHOLE LOTTA CHOKING GOING ON
Sydney had a shocking first quarter, bumbling, erring, umming and being spanked all over the ground. But astonishingly, if it wasn't for the yips, they would have been in front at quarter time. That really tells you something about the way The Pinks go about their business - they are extraordinarily hard to beat in tight games. If they hadn't been so strikingly off-key, they would have won the game. In fact, once they started their surge in the last quarter you would have sworn they were home. It's a testament to West Coast ability that they were probably the only side in the comp capable of holding Sydney out in that situation. Just.
UN SYNC
The pre-game entertainment was ... why bother.
As if it was the drought-breaker since the Boston Redsox in 2004, Straya winning the Merica's Cup or Narrogin Towns winning the flag in 1986, a newsreader last week breathlessly announced "If Sydney win this Saturday they will be the first team to win two in a row since 2003."
Posted by: Tony.T | 01 October 2006 at 19:02
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks Kerr got robbed for the Norm.
Posted by: Scott Wickstein | 02 October 2006 at 14:37
Pre-game entertainment is shite. Play the magoos grannie, mime one verse of AAF and let it rip.
Posted by: slatts | 02 October 2006 at 18:32
I picked Embley for the Norm, but if Sydney had have won then Kirk would have been favourite. I find it hard to believe your top 5 were all West Coast in a game decided by 1 point.
Posted by: Yobbo | 02 October 2006 at 23:40
You better have another look at my five, Yob.
Posted by: Tony.T | 03 October 2006 at 06:21
First time in a while that they gave the Normy to the winning side in a 'close' Granny... usually they give it to the best losing player as a consolation- see Buckley, N. and Judd, C. for examples.
Posted by: Scott Wickstein | 03 October 2006 at 10:04
I'll grant Ablett deserved the Normy, but not Maurice Rioli, Buckley or Judd.
Posted by: Tony.T | 03 October 2006 at 10:38
By the way, better add Goodes to the list of Brownlow winners who went on to lose the Grand Final. Although that is balanced out by Dipper who I forgot won the Brownlow when Hawthorn won the flag in 1986.
Posted by: Tony.T | 03 October 2006 at 12:26