AFL Round 6 – Sal’s Preview: Time to stop wining!

Greetings All,

 

This week’s edition comes from the wine country of Heathcote in central Victoria and is dedicated to the area and oenology.

 

Punt Road ($1.51) vs Hanging Rock ($2.94)

 

To me the Tigers of Punt Road don’t rate compared to the vineyard of the Yarra Valley, but they are functioning pretty well without the all the ingredients.  On form they will be too good for the Demons who are hanging by a thread to any hope of a successful season.

 

Wynns Cab/Shiraz/Merlot ($2.64) vs Gaffneys ($1.60)

 

The best thing with a red sash is the famous wine from the Coonawarra, however the footy team with those colours is going pretty well at the moment.  They will have to be very good to beat the Pies who have found their game and look very good.  Not quite as good as the local pies at Heathcote – get into a Gaffney’s Beef and Shiraz pie.  A sure winner, not as sure about Collingwood but picking them.

 

Fortified Wines ($1.30) vs The Mobs ($3.90)

 

Ports are not allowed on the wine lists here any longer but some fortifieds that match the quality of what the Power are dishing up.  Meanwhile around the town mobs of Kangaroos are everywhere in search of food lacking in the bush due to the drought; not dissimilar to the blue and white Roos fossicking for some semblance of nourishment.  Adelaide Oval is a tough place to find that nourishment and expect Port to roll on.

 

Zinfandel ($2.88) vs Prosecco ($1.52)

 

A new world footy team up on the Gold Coast introduced with some success but still trying to find its niche, comes up against an old classic going through an exciting renaissance at the hands of a wise craftsman.  The bubbly Brisbane should be able to fizz again while Gold Coast continue their hunt for relevance in a tough marketplace.

 

Heathcote ($1.91) vs Charddy Sippers ($2.08)

 

 

Heathcote Saints at the other end of proceedings compared to St Kilda who host the Crows back on song with a sound win over Gold Coast.  It was the perfect game to celebrate Eddie Betts’ 300^th as he put on another vintage performance.  Not sure beating up on Gold Coast is really good form, but not sure that beating up on Melbourne is either.  Concerned about the loss of Geary for the Saints, however if they can maintain the rage they can prevail.

 

Wild Duck Creek ($2.78) vs Holgate Brewery ($1.56)

 

Sydney need a bit of wild duck attitude to get their season back on track, they have a couple of classics in the lineup but just struggles at the bottom end.  Meanwhile, like Holgate, the Giants are challenging the top end.  Plenty of quality among the offerings, occasionally the head brewer doesn’t appreciate what he has at his disposal and it can turn a bit sour.  Form is hard to trust this year but the Giants’ is better and they should get back on track.

 

Jasper Hill ($1.51) vs Mount Towrong ($2.90)

 

Like Jasper Hill wines Nat Fyfe is not always available but when he is it is very special as he proved last week as the inspiration of a great win over the Giants.  They host the Bulldogs whose coach was too wrong against the Blues last week.  Schache was horribly out of touch but had an opportunity against the shaky Blues defense,  Aaron Naughton is a very good defender who can pinch hit forward, Caleb Daniel is a ripper but keeps on being the last man defending against big opponents.  His players did plenty wrong too!  David Mundy 300 games, Nat Fyfe – the Dogs midfield will really need to step – reckon the Dockers to win this one.

 

Chardonnay ($1.37) vs Munari ($3.60)

 

There was plenty of dust covered classics at Munari Wines, just not sure if one of the bottles was a 1968 vintage from when winemaker Adrian’s brother Dennis played in a Blues Premiership.  Dennis played a couple more years at the Blues and finished up at North Melbourne, who Adrian supports.  This year’s vintage of the Blues might be a pointer to future classics with a significant turnaround from the coach and players last week.  They face the master vintner, who has had plenty of classics in his past, however he’s had to experiment with his formula to keep up with market trends.  He returns to a favoured location this week where he usually turns out a good drop and one that the Blues have never tasted before.  Hawks to prevail.

 

Condie Estate ($1.49) vs Stella Bella ($3.00)

 

Richie Condie is a man with the Cats in his blood being related to the first Brownlow medalist Cargi Greeves.  He is now into other medals for his Condie Estate wines of which the Max Shiraz was a beauty, the Sangiovese and Viogner also making the chance visit most worthwhile.  Are his Cats destined for Premiership Medallions?  Despite a rare hiccup at home they do appear a team most likely – we do have about 2000m to go in the Melbourne Cup!  Like the Stella Bella Shiraz the Eagles were the best in the West last year, they wore those premiership medals.  They are the team at the girth of the Cats, also a couple of hiccups but have shown that their best form is gold medal material.  Great test at Kardinia Park where the Cats will want to assert their ascendancy, suspect they will but the Eagles are certainly capable of producing a vintage performance.

 

Friar Time

 

The Ammos are back after the Easter hiatus with seniors taking on the D3 premiers Glen Eira at Packer Reserve, should be a very good contest with Glen Eira an unknown commodity after playing only one game for the season thus far.  The Girls take on Power House at Friar Park to get back on the board, the Under 23s play host to Fitzroy and Under 19s scheduled to take on Old McKinnon/Glen Eira also at home.

 

Go Blues, Go Friars

 

Cheers, Sal

 

If you wanted to check out Sal’s previous tips, CLICK HERE:

 

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