Collingwood are into a Grand Final, will they chock and get the Colli-wobbles again? Seriously it is good to see at least one club taking this competition seriously after Carlton, Hawthorn, Richmond and Adelaide make a mockery of the NAB comp by resting stars. How can players be tired after 2/3 weeks of football?

Other big news which has not got much attention from the majority of the AFL world is that West Coast were beaten by the umpires Fremantle after getting a wrong call on the rushed behind rule. Surely a third wrong call and a team loosing a match will see this rule scrapped.

John Anthony kicked 7 goals while Essendons' Lloyd & Locus failed with only two between them

Collingwood defeated Essendon by 43 points

While its only a pre season competition there are some good signs for the Magpies as their list looks fit, ready to play and no obvious holes in their line up will ensure that barring injuries they will be a threat this year.

Only Medhurst & Rocca could slip into their current side which will only add more depth and variety in their attack.

Only two Essendon Bombers had over 20 possessions in Stanton and Houli which would worry Knights. Jetta and Davey showed pace but their forward line just did not seem to function, I doubt Locus & Llyod both failing to impact can be in the same line up.

Geelong defeated Carlton  by 17 points

Carlton surprised many by resting 8 odd top players and copped a lot and after only loosing by 3 goals maybe a Judd, a Fev etc could have saved them a trip to Bunbury (3 hours south of Perth) and ensured the AFL got a cash cow game with a Collingwood and Carlton Grand Final. This game would put heaps of confidence into the young Blues side.

While Geelong did it easy, I am sure a 3 goal win against such an inexperienced side would not make coach Thompson too happy. While missing regular forwards of Mooney and Gamble the forward line questions still looked unanswered with Lonergan and Hawkins only kicking 3 between them.

Regional Challenge Matches Round Up

Melbourne defeated Brisbane by 37 points

Melbourne will be extremely happy with their Pre Season form so far with two narrow losses and an impressive win over Brisbane who did have a near strength side. Voss would be a bit worried imo and I am sure some tipsters would be re adjusting their ladder predictions.

St Kilda defeated Richmond by 52 points

Polak returning is some good news for Tigers fans but what will excite the Saints supporters is that Goddard (4 goals), Koschitzke (3 goals) and Milne (2 goals) kicked goals and not including captain Riewoldt. I would like to see Goddard play midfield but he also looks dangerous forward.

Port Power defeated North Melbourne by 37 points

Port look dangerous with a multi pronged forward line of Ebert, Westhoff, Motlop & Pearce. Davenport and Krakouer continued their pre season improvement. Kangaroos Hale kicked 5 but again they had way to many passengers.

Adelaide defeated Hawthorn by 67 points

This was a given due to Hawthorn having bad injury luck and fielding a VFL side. Adelaide will take any win at this stage and the continuing goal kicking form of Hentschel & Walker will also please Craig.

Poor Scott Selwood is in this weeks spot light for all the wrong ways.

Fremantle defeated West Coast by 5 points

Bad umpiring aside Fremantle were amazing to come back after being 25 points down. Eagles again exposed the zone with long kicking by Hurn, Lynch and Wirra but went to asleep for 8 minutes and lost the game.

Sydney defeated Western Bulldogs by 27 points

Bulldogs have yet to win a game, while still a top four chance, they do need to win games. Hall looked fresh and exciting with a 4 goal effort.

This Weeks Talking Points

Again I have listed some talking points from the weekends games, please add your views and also any other talking points in the comments section below.

1. Are Llyods & Locus’ days almost over? Will one of them be asked to finish at the end of the year? Both Llyod and Locus looked over awed and a sign of the times was that they were not preferred as the main forward targets.
2. Are Collingwood and Port Power going to be teams to watch? I think yes, both have showed plenty and I think Collingwood will be the real threat this year.
3. Does the AFL need to step in with the NAB competition as 90% of the clubs are treating it as a non event with every club resting their stars. Yes just scrap the whole competition. Bring in an extra 2 rounds and keep the other 2 weeks as practice matches. It wont happen as the AFL is too stupid and are too worried about their cash cow money they get from NAB and other sponsors.
4. Will we see this rushed behind rule scrapped after 3 wrong calls in three rounds and a game being decided by a wrong call? We should as all 3 were rubbish calls. The AFL releases a video explaining that spoils in a marking contest is no free kick and then in front of 24, 000 fans an umpire makes a wrong decision.
5. Will 2008 cellar dwellers Freo, West Coast and Melbourne improve to make the comp even more even? All 3 sides have showed enough to win a few more games than last year (less than 10 between them) but I doubt they could slip into the top 8.
6. Should Carlton have to travel to Bunbury (3 hours south of Perth, WA) after going so far into the NAB Competition? It is a bit harsh but maybe its just desserts for resting their stars against Geelong on Sat night.

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