31
March
2008
Round One saw blowout victories and humiliating victories.
Carlton was especially disappointing against Richmond. Chris Judd had a terribly debut as captain, with the Tigers putting in a great performance. Very lucky win for the Tigers, and easy too.
CAR 11.13 (79) RIC 17.7 (109)
Geelong showed their skills that one them last years premiership have gone no where, with an emphatic victory over the Power. Despite having the four points in hand, the Cats did fade causing coach Mark Thompson to take each player aside, and forcing them to explain their reason for the fade. Perfection is still what they are striving for.
GEE 15.15 (105) PA 14.12 (96)
Collingwood came out on top with a hard fought contest, that saw Fremantle stay close all day. Even with the victory, injuries have left a bitter taste. Sean Rusling has done his shoulder for the third time and puts his season and carrer in doubt.
COL 16.15 (111) FRE 13.7 (85)
West Coast put in a team performance, while Brisbane put in the Jonathon Brown Show. The big man down forward tried to keep them in the game all day, but was overwhelmed in the end. West Coast will be looking for a season with consistency. The Lions are looking down the barrel of a tough season.
WCE 14.8 (92) BL 11.10 (76)
Games between Sydney and St Kilda are always tough scrappy affairs, but this match took that exact phrase to a new level - right down. It’s very to judge St Kilda’s style on such a game, with Sydneys shut down tactics rubbing off on the Saints. This could well be the last nail for the game plan that one them the 2005 Premiership.
STK 6.15 (51) SYD 6.13 (49)
As expected, this one between Footscray and Adelaide was close all day. Yet surprisingly free-flowing, the Crows scouting for fast-legs showed. With plays never before associated with the boys of the South state. Brad brought it home in his 300th, with the rest of the team supporting him superbly.
WBD 19.12 (126) ADE 18.15 (123)
The Late game at the ‘G between Hawthorn and Melbourne, couldn’t of been any later for the Dees. In there 150th year, such a performance hopefully isn’t an indication for future performances.104 point loss to Hawthorn, enough said.
HAW 23.16 (154) MEL 6.14 (50)
Easter Monday was a day for the see-saw. North got out to a quick lead in the first, and you could already hear the sounds of bombers calling for Knights’ head. All was aliviated though, as the Dons reeled it back in, and then dished it out. A drubbing is what it turned into, while Scott Lucas’ leg was left in this same condition, half a season gone right there.
KAN 9.13 (67) ESS 19.8 (122)
They are the Results for Round One. Looking forward to Round Two
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31
March
2008
And were away, the Sherrins have been shined and pumped at the MCG. The balls have had the reverse done to them at Football Park, the real heart of the game SA tries to claim as its own.
Thursday Night Football is all the buzz for the first week, before it gets old and stale.. fast like almost every other new initiative. Everything, aside from the 150 Year celebrations, a chance for us all to fully appreciate the huge heritage and surreal spirit that always is associated with Australia’s great game, a game of our own. It gives us the chance to watch 150 years of inventions that are suspiciously not ours, all narrated by a man with a curious Kiwi accent. But, it can get tiring when it’s stretched out, so the AFL has decided that a one minute package is more than enough to encompass 150 years. What’s even more ingenious than all of this though, is the fact that we can celebrate 150 years, only 12 years after our centenary season. Such skill and ability from the boys at AFL House is really deserving of another 30-seconder or two.
Onto the games at hand in round one. We see Judd Christ superstar lead out a not so star studded Carlton outfit onto the MCG. It’s very hard to say such a thing though, as the Richmond team they take on is no-where near a quality team either. Having said this, it’s what you get when you said out last and second last by themselves to kick off what should be a fantastic 150th season. At the end of the day, if you leave Judd out of the Lygon st slickers they have no one, so I am going to have leave my tip in the hands of Richmond, do with it what they will.
Across the border and here we have the Grand Final replay. The game that everyone has been waiting for, will the simply superb Geelong take the Port Adelaide Power to the Air-conditioning shop again and drain them bare? These are all questions that can be posed, but the funny thing is that ‘Choco’ Williams will be able to come out and say they improved, unless they lose by more than the 119-point margin of last year of course. Looking at both teams on paper, it would point towards yet another victory to the boys of Geelong. The Cats had it all over the Power in every position last year, and will do it again. Cats all the way.
Collingwood and Fremantle are two teams that always pose sharp questions to critics. Both are capable of knocking down quality opposition, yet both are plagued by that old bug they call inconsistency. Both have quality forwards in Rocca and Pavlich respectively, this the part of the field where a break even can be called. But wonder outside 50, and the differences strike you hard. Speedsters are a plenty in the Collingwood midfield, while Fremantle lacks anything even near the word in there aging followers. Down back though, positions are reversed with Fremantle’s defense settling into yet another year with the same consistent defense. Looking overhead at this it looks very even, but then the recent form column shows a different story. Collingwood in this Saturday afternoon MCG match.
Football in the West kicks off with this Saturday night fixture. West Coast and the Brisbane Lions look worlds apart, and no questions asked there is a big difference. But when the players charge out at 7.40 the scores will be nill-all, and don’t worry the big man Lynch is going to have to work hard for his goals, while the J man Brown will do it well against Glass down the other end. Forwards aside, this game will be decided in the Rucks, with Cox one of the best in the League and All-Australian coming against the much lesser knowns of Brisbane. My Money is with the Coasters all the way in this one.
The Saints and the Swans will come out onto the Dome with many hopes in mind. Not to play stop-start footy, try and play free-flowing - well if you are thinking this you are deffently a Saint. Even with the Saints talent rich Forward line and Mid-field, they always seem to get dragged down to the level that is the Sydney Swans style of play. Always close affairs this will be no exception. Saints in a nailbiter.
Sunday is alive with football at the Dome, with Footscray and Adelaide starting up the juices for another year. The Doggies have everything to play for, with favourite son of the west Brad Johnson still alive and smiling in his 300th game. The Dogs also have everything to play with, one of the best rebounding defenses in the leg, up and coming ruck sensation as well as Brad dominating the Forward line. All this in mind though, the Crows can never be discounted, spending the off-season and then pre-season finding and or creating rejuvinated young, fast legs. The Bulldogs will do it for Brad, but if the Crows midfield can find its mojo the game will be close.
Melbourne begin their 150th year, at the home of football with a date with the Hawks. The Dees are going to have to find a way to curb the prodigious talent of the Hawthorn Football Club, if they are any chance to keep this one close, let alone the season. All positives have to go the way of the Hawks, while every piece of improvement is still required in the Demons paddock. Buddy Franklin looks set for another big year, along with most of the youngsters in this outfit. Melbourne need to get on top early, and sustain it all day. I don’t believe they can though, so the Hawks in this one.
Easter Monday is what happens at the Dome, with North Melbourne and Essendon winding open there seasons with a cracker. Dean Laidley’s men are sure to show a bit of the class that got them to 4th on the ladder last year. While the the Bombers will be looking to improve on an incredibly lacklustre 07 that saw two great of the club, Kevin Sheedy and James Hird depart. These teams will match up nicely, but not nicely enough for Laidley. Knights will pick up a win his first proper match.
Thats the preview for Round One, hope all your teams have a victory.
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9
March
2008
Welcome to ASP, Overnight we see the Melbourne Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the Grand Final Series over the Sydney Kings, Melbourne won a gripping shootout, that almost saw the Kings hold on with 9 seconds remaining on the clock, every King though they’d claimed it but they all forgot to remind feisty young Tiger - Sean Lampley who knocked down the three. Melbourne down Sydney 89 to 87. Coming into the fourth game of the series in Melbourne, it could finally decide who claims the ring and trophy for NBL Champions. Will history repeat itself? When the Tigers overcame the table-topping Kings in a superb Grand-Finals Series, two years ago?
Results just in, point squarely at a Victoria - New South Wales Pura Cup Final. The Victorian Bushrangers put in a superb effort, that saw them easily account for a seriously under-manned Queensland outfit. Victoria got all six points, winning outright. They surpassed Queenslands second-innings score in just twenty overs.
While over in the Southern state, the NSW Blues were just far and away too good from the SA Redbacks. On the back of first-innings batting performances from Domenic Thornley, who collected a tidy 169, Brad Haddin, producer of a very fine 119. Nervous Nineties were obviously in the air as Brett Casson fell aganisingly short, nicking one through to the Keeper on 99. The Blues went on to record a win with an Innings to spare and plenty of runs.
Despite the VICs top performance in Melbourne, the match for Pura cup victors is set to be decided on the spinner friendly stylings of the SCG. After NSW’s more than emphatic win. At last count the scoreboard only seperated the two teams with 0.4 of a percent.
Hope you enjoy the week in sport, this is ASP
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9
March
2008
Welcome to ASP, starting this week there will be only a weekly podcast of ‘The Week in Sport’. All other breaking news and highlights will be a blog. What a big week in sport it’s been, three of the most popular codes in the country are winding up and finding the silver-winners of there competitions.
The NBL will wrap in about a week’s time when the best of five series between the Melbourne Tigers and Sydney Kings finds a winner. The third match of this grand-final series is to be held in Sydney tonight. The series currently stand at one-a-piece with each winning there respective home ground finals to date.
In cricket, the Indians have finally taken up the offer of taking there bat and ball and heading off home, they’ve also picked up another piece of luggage for their troubles, a huge silver thing that holds remarkable resemblance to a hammer. In all seriousness though, the Indians finally showed they have what it takes to consistently and resoundingly beat Australia on two separate occasions, even if this did mainly lie around the incredible back bone that is one Sachin Tendular. Scores of 119 and 91 in the finals made up for what was without argument a disappointing one-day series that was a let down from the Sachin of Old, and the Sachin that got the greatest of them all, Sir Donald George Bradman drawing comparisons. That we saw in full flight during the test series.
From one positive to another, the Indians may still have the eldest statesmen of them all in the one-day side, but they also have a huge league of fire-branding young fast-bowlers, as well as big-hitting batsman, all in the ilk of a certain Roy Symonds. All led by one of the brightest up and coming stars in world cricket MS Dhoni. The summer may have seemed odd to some, with side-comment the like of which hasn’t been seen in this country, but I suppose it all comes with the rolling circus that is Indian Cricket. The summer has to split 1-1 in, all monkeys aside between the Supremos that still is Australia, and the King-Force that will always be India.
After all that, we move onto the much smaller issue that is the AFL’s pre-season. Adelaide and St Kilda fought hard for the NAB Cup and the offer of a 7-figure sum if they also win the real season, in 40plus heat. On what was one of the hottest recorded nights in Adelaide’s illustrious Meteorological history, it also incidentally turned into one of the best for the Saints as well. Winning with a gutsy 69, they outdid the Crows who fell agonisingly short with a solid 64, at the half-filled AAMI Stadium last night. Gram was best for the Saints, picking up the Michael Tuck medal for best on ground in the same storm that also netted him a super-goal and 33 touches. That’s enough of the complimentary ego-stroking that always goes with the pre-season, enough of that, and more of the real stuff, which starts on the 20th with a double header starting in Adelaide with a Grand-Final rematch between the Port Adelaide Power and the Geelong Cats, can the cats show they are still 20-goals in front of the competition, either way Ports coach will still be able to say it was and improvement. Thursday night Football continues in Melbourne when Carlton takes on Melbourne at the home of football and numerous other sports, the MCG.
Also, in looking forward to next weekend’s big week of Formula 1 racing. All eyes will be on young gun Lewis Hamilton, with every expectation in the land on him cleaning up the first round of the 2008 season, now minus troublesome team mate Fernando Alonso, crawling back to his good old Renault after a disappointing season behind the wheel of the silver bullet. Hope your looking forward to the next week in sport just as much as ASP is.
Enjoy
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