Jolldo87
New Member
AFL Round 22
I've started this thread early this week because it's round 22, the week before the finals. Mathematically 12 teams can make the finals but Essendon would have to win by so much that they are not even worth considering.
Friday nights game is the biggest in terms of deciding the teams that make the eight. If Adelaide beat Collingwood they have secured their spot in the top 8 and with the fact no other teams can drop out, this would mean that the teams that made the eight would be decided and the order would be the only thing that changed. However if Collingwood win the race for the 8 is wide open with any of Brisbane, St.Kilda and Fremantle requiring a win to get in. However this is further complicated for Fremantle and Brisbane who will not only have to rely on Adelaide losing but also have to rely on St.Kilda losing against Richmond which is not a likely scenario.
Within the 8 Geelong have secured top spot. Sydney will come 7th or 8th and will almost certainly play their first final in Melbourne. Port Adelaide and West Coast are in the box seat for top 4 positions. They are a game clear over Hawthorn, Kangaroos and Collingwood. However is West Coast or Port loose they could be overtaken by Hawthorn because of Hawthorn's big percentage. The Kangaroos can possibly sneak into the 4 and Collingwood a rank outsiders of doing this but it is stil mathematically possible for them. They would need Hawthorn and Kangaroos to both loose and then they would need to win their game.
The battles for Top 8 positions isn't where all the attention is focused on. The battle for the number 1 draft pick is one that is stupid and makes no sense. The ridiculous thing is that in the last game of the Home and Away season Melbourne play Carlton and a win for either side is no good. If Carlton win they will only get 1 draft pick in the top 20 instead of 3 and will not get the no.1 pick which they will get if they loose. On the other hand Melbourne winning would mean they would end up getting a lower first round draft pick and they would also loose there priority pick at the end of Round 1 of the draft and they would not be in contention for the priority pick next year. Richmond also don't want to win as this would mean they wouldn't get as higher pick as they would for losing. This weekend the best outcome for 3 teams is losing and the AFL really needs to address this situation because it is absolutely ridiculous that two sides are going to play each other with no one wanting to win the match.
The fixtures for the round are as follows:
Friday, August 31
Collingwood v Adelaide (Telstra Dome) 7:40pm
Saturday, September 1
Richmond v St. Kilda (MCG) 2:10pm
West Coast v Essendon (Subiaco) 4:10pm
Brisbane Lions v Geelong (Gabba) 7:10pm
Port Adelaide v Fremantle (AAMI) 7:40pm
Sunday, September 2
Sydney v Hawthorn (SCG) 1:10pm
Western Bulldogs v Kangaroos (Telstra Dome) 2:10pm
Melbourne v Carlton (MCG) (Sun Twilight) 5:10pm
I've started this thread early this week because it's round 22, the week before the finals. Mathematically 12 teams can make the finals but Essendon would have to win by so much that they are not even worth considering.
Friday nights game is the biggest in terms of deciding the teams that make the eight. If Adelaide beat Collingwood they have secured their spot in the top 8 and with the fact no other teams can drop out, this would mean that the teams that made the eight would be decided and the order would be the only thing that changed. However if Collingwood win the race for the 8 is wide open with any of Brisbane, St.Kilda and Fremantle requiring a win to get in. However this is further complicated for Fremantle and Brisbane who will not only have to rely on Adelaide losing but also have to rely on St.Kilda losing against Richmond which is not a likely scenario.
Within the 8 Geelong have secured top spot. Sydney will come 7th or 8th and will almost certainly play their first final in Melbourne. Port Adelaide and West Coast are in the box seat for top 4 positions. They are a game clear over Hawthorn, Kangaroos and Collingwood. However is West Coast or Port loose they could be overtaken by Hawthorn because of Hawthorn's big percentage. The Kangaroos can possibly sneak into the 4 and Collingwood a rank outsiders of doing this but it is stil mathematically possible for them. They would need Hawthorn and Kangaroos to both loose and then they would need to win their game.
The battles for Top 8 positions isn't where all the attention is focused on. The battle for the number 1 draft pick is one that is stupid and makes no sense. The ridiculous thing is that in the last game of the Home and Away season Melbourne play Carlton and a win for either side is no good. If Carlton win they will only get 1 draft pick in the top 20 instead of 3 and will not get the no.1 pick which they will get if they loose. On the other hand Melbourne winning would mean they would end up getting a lower first round draft pick and they would also loose there priority pick at the end of Round 1 of the draft and they would not be in contention for the priority pick next year. Richmond also don't want to win as this would mean they wouldn't get as higher pick as they would for losing. This weekend the best outcome for 3 teams is losing and the AFL really needs to address this situation because it is absolutely ridiculous that two sides are going to play each other with no one wanting to win the match.
The fixtures for the round are as follows:
Friday, August 31
Collingwood v Adelaide (Telstra Dome) 7:40pm
Saturday, September 1
Richmond v St. Kilda (MCG) 2:10pm
West Coast v Essendon (Subiaco) 4:10pm
Brisbane Lions v Geelong (Gabba) 7:10pm
Port Adelaide v Fremantle (AAMI) 7:40pm
Sunday, September 2
Sydney v Hawthorn (SCG) 1:10pm
Western Bulldogs v Kangaroos (Telstra Dome) 2:10pm
Melbourne v Carlton (MCG) (Sun Twilight) 5:10pm
