View From Shepparton: Lions with a home final? Wish I still lived in Queensland

Brisbane get a home final, how good is that?

I never dreamed at the beginning of the year that they would achieve that. In my heart rather than my mind I thought that they might finish eighth but I wasn’t really a believer. What better test than to beat an emotionally charged Sydney in Sydney?

I know that it all happened because I heard it on the wireless. Even when they were 39 points up I wasn’t relaxed, we all know what happened the previous week and Sydney certainly fought back. Ash McGrath kicked those goals when really needed. I hope that Black isn’t too injured to play next week. Wish that I still lived in Queensland, wish that I was at the Gabba next Saturday night.

Adelaide should be pretty rapt as well; apart from Brisbane they could be the real dark horse, though not as dark as before Saturday. To clean up Carlton in Melbourne was a great result for them. They have such an exciting forward line now, they could be hard to stop.

Their method of play was one reason why barrackers come to the game. Brett Burton’s mark was the epitome of what makes our game far and away the best code. I think though that Carlton will still be taken lightly at Brisbane’s peril. Get Judd and Fevola firing for a start and they could be be real trouble. We have our stars though as well, Clark, Rich, Brown, Brennan and the Shermanator for example. I digress, the Adelaide game proved yet again that Porplyzia, Tippett (who will end up at the Gold Coast for sure), McLeod and Vince are all champions as well.

Geelong and St Kilda had good wins ultimately. Hard to play with all that much passion when your place in the pecking order is done and dusted. St Kilda did look shaky at the MCG though. That succession of home matches at Etihad might yet be their undoing. Get too used to the perfect conditions there. In making that comment I assume that the surface is not treacherous these days like it has been in the past.

Port Adelaide should never lose at home, simple as that. They have totally gone off the boil. I reckon that they rushed the re-signing of Mark Williams. I should give credit though to North Melbourne for an away win. Don’t think that either team will do much next year.

I have been previously totally opposed to the bump going out of the game but have changed my mind after the Essendon-Hawthorn game for two reasons: that a player was put in hospital and a game changed because of his forced removal from the field; and — here I am indebted to a listener on Jon Faine’s show this morning — why lay a bump when a tackle at worst slows a player down and at best results in a holding the ball decision against the player being tackled? As the listener pointed out the object of the game is to keep the ball moving and a bump hardly if ever achieves stopping that, particularly now that the game is so fast.

So whilst I have the utmost respect for Lloydie, he will deserve what he gets, not because in my view of any deliberate intent, but that through his being careless a bloke was taken out of the game. I was almost barracking for Hawthorn after that but glad that I didn’t after those after-match comments, even though just for once it was refreshing that they weren’t sanitised outpourings. Adelaide should finish them off but I wouldn’t count on it;  Essendon is a very quick side and this could be a problem for the Crows.

I totally expected Collingwood to win easily against the Bulldogs, how wrong I was (and why  the **** wasn’t it on the free to air)! Must have been a great game, and once again as has happened a couple of times recently they came from behind to win. You wouldn’t begrudge them going further either. I think that Collingwood would really prefer to meet St Kilda on the MCG where as mentioned previously the Saints only played there for the first time this year yesterday.

The West Coast showed what might have been Richmond and regrettably what will be.

Two final points: what a fantastic build up to a major round, that final goal of the Brad Johnson could not have been better scripted and I note (again) the brilliant accuracy of the Bulldogs (Sydney Rugby League variety) Hazem El Masri, who scored 8 goals from 8  attempts  yesterday.