AFL Rd. 1.

[TazaD]

Re: AFL Rd. 1. Yeah...funny, had no real idea myself...until instincts took over... ******* BOCK...****, ****, ****....

[BURNTUA CRISP]

Re: AFL Rd. 1. North Melbourne - 5 of their best 22 missing and team strength of 83%. - Main task will be to close down Stanton and Watson from getting too much footy. Definitely have the stoppers do do this. - Have not lost to Essendon since 2001. Essendon - 6 of their best 22 missing and team strength of 79%. - Interesting to see who Fletcher plays on because Thompson has given him some fearful hidings over the years. - Knights has gambled on speed to upset North and will be reliant on Lucas and Lloyd to score 10 goals between them. It's hard to ignore North's 2007 accomplishments and to see them being stretched too much by Essendon. Their hardness is the midfield will be too difficult to counter. Predictor - North by 3 goals. Tip - North Suggested Bet - North Win. Looking back, great to see the Dogs being carried over the line by Brad Johnson. He must be the second greatest Bulldog behind E.J and still plenty of football left in him. Overall, a great game of football and the Crows certainly look as though they are in good shape. I'm glad I didn't waste one second of my life watching St.Kilda vs. Sydney. The less said the better. West Coast have perfected 'heart attack' football. Keeping the ball live through handball under pressure certainly keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats. The Eagles still look formidable, but it looks difficult to sustain over 4 quarters. The Lions fought back well on the back of Brown, but he didn't get much help, particularly early on. MelbourneFC have started 2008 in the worst possible way and the coach has to take the blame. The players looked confused and whatever gameplan they had, it failed miserably. They have a week to turn it around and need to be competitive against the Dogs or their season will spin out of control. Go Kangas!

[Ashtee]

Re: AFL Rd. 1. Don't forget there was guy who went like he was the 300 gamer, and if not for him the dogs would have been put away by mid third term - Josh Hill. In order of best value IMO. Gibson and Thomas are clearly over true odds and the other three are worth a play also. Market at Sportsbet.

Kangaroos v Essendon	Josh Gibson	Archer - Hird Medal	W	61.00
Kangaroos v Essendon	Lindsay Thomas	Archer - Hird Medal	W	101.00
Kangaroos v Essendon	Andrew Swallow	Archer - Hird Medal	W	51.00
Kangaroos v Essendon	Aaron Edwards	Archer - Hird Medal	W	34.00
Kangaroos v Essendon	Mal Michael	Archer - Hird Medal	W	67.00

[TazaD]

Re: AFL Rd. 1. Well, my loss was closer than your loss! (Remind me again why none of us took Hawthorn...or at least went against Melbourne?!) That market would have been nice in running Ash...Thomas was about a 2.50 fav at one point early! Bit tough to round up too much without all the numbers...but Dogs scored every 1.81 entries...More abut the Dogs, or signs of Crows D? (Actually, watching the game I thought it's the best our forward line has functioned for a long while. Murphy lively at CHF, some good long penetrating kicks in to targets...Of course Johnson won't do that every week...oh wait on, he does! :D) West Coast had 212 handballs!! 426 possies for just 22 shots. eek! Only a shot every 2.36 entries...good signs for the Brisbane D, esp. on the road. Freo's forward line looked terrible, but it was more the delivery in that hurt. Backline sucked tho, 1.58 for the Pies... ...looking for the Hawks to kick a monster score on them next week. (I saw 2.40 quoted in the paper today!! Surely not...) Hawks...a shot every 1.38! lol. Poor D's. Poor D's D even! Combination of good Hawthorn efficiency and a crap melbourne back half. Looking for the Dogs to score even bigger! (1.40 for them is a joke too) I hate Round 2!! Pretty sure I tipped a big fat ZERO last year!! How much form can you take from one week??!! To over-react, or not react at all... ...Look to be some tough games too, with really, the Dogs and Saints only clear winners...and Geelong I guess... I'm glad I didn't waste one second of my life watching St.Kilda vs. Sydney. The less said the better. I didn't mind it. Really brought out the skill needed...miss a target and suddenly you're chasing tail. imo, bothh the Carlton and Freo games were worse to watch, even tho they had more scoring. Besides, plenty of shots in the Swannies game...just not great kicking! 1-1 for the week...let's start again next week, huh. ;)

[Ashtee]

Re: AFL Rd. 1. Yeah, agree. The Saints/Sydney game was quality IMO - even though I did channel flick between the two. The crap Freo threw up is the games I don't like. Soccer people like to tell you "but it's the world game" and "it takes more skill to score", even though most goals are scored from deflections and defenders stuffing up while mostly they can't hit the side of a barn from five metres. We're lucky having a sport where like AFL where in the Saints game if you didn't produce quality you didn't score. Often a good idea to reverse all form in round-2. Melb, Kangaroos, Freo, Carlton, all certs. :unsure