Oi! Whats happening over there? When is the draft, and whats happening in the international rules.

I am too lazy to search.

^Sorry Subby my ney hasn`t been working so I haven`t been on UM for awhile.
The Aussie side crushed the Irish again at the Testra Dome in front of around 45,000 fans and becuase in the Irish version of the game there is little physical contact and aggression they are all bruised, battered and whinging that the Aussies went over the top even when they were just as bad.
Bloody Johnston got a red card for grabbing an Irish player around the neck and tried to throw a few punches as well for good measure.lol.

Sydney, I've been supportinng them for 7 years, about time we got a premiership.

^Well at least before this Sydney fans could claim South Melbourne premiership wins. St.kilda fans can only claim a solitary flag just under 40 years ago...................."sob"..............

Well... anything happening on the rumour mill down there? The draft is this week I believe....

*here is the offical AFL thread*

Just wondering, what is the AFL? Australian Football? Rugby?

Australian Rule Football it is....

Rugby i believe is NRL or ARL....

^The rugby is definately the NRL and is dominated by New South wales and Queensland teams while the AFl is dominated by Victorian teams although not in the premierships stakes of late.

At least the AFL has become an Australian league with teams from just about every area of Australia. The only states or territories who are represented arethose who could not properly support them. Although Tasmania may disagree there.

Actually Rugby is Union, and is quite the international shindig. Rugby League, or footy as the fans like to say is NRL.

Anyhow, Aztec, it could be worse. My football (NRL) team, the North Sydney Bears, hadn't won a competition since 1939. Then they got kicked out of the competition during the Super League War and are cracking their teeth in the 1st Division comp at the moment. Talk about long time between drinks

I do enjoy watching Rugby Union especially International matches although of late watching Australia hasn`t been the most enjoyable.

Ahem, back on the toppic at hand lol

So... how are things shaping up, with the pre-season starting next week and the verge of the new season ahead...I can gather there would be some excitement....

My excitement would be that finally Collingwood will have a reasonably fit team, and the possibilities of a forward line consiting of : Tarrant, Rocca, T.Cloke, Caracella, Didak, Davis, Rusling (when he returns) and the possibilities of Buckly and Burns interchanging up there.... Our forward line is looking quite exciting.

^Well a week from today we will find out just how good Collingwood is when you play a semi-strong St.Kilda team. Most of our team will play but I definately know that Grant Thomas wants to rest the clarke brothers, Kosi and a few others.

Harvey, Thompson, Powell and Peckett and probably playing their last season this year are on fire. In the Intra-club match Harvey had over 30 possesion with Thomo just a few less. While the other two played some of their best footy. Reiwoldt also seems to have re-learnt how to kick goals after booting a few in the match, one from outside the 50 which he hasn`t been very good at for quite awhile now.

If we dont have too many injuries this year we will be hard to stop.

Gah... Sydney. That's who *I* go for.

I hate going to the games though.. what a waste of a day.

Id think it was a waste of a day if I went for Sydney too.....

....However, when you go to the football in melbourne.... and get the atmosphere of 50+ thousand people, or even a full MCG.... then the day is most certainly worth it.

Course it helps if you go with others who enjoy the game...

Sydney get the crowds too. I'm not big on live sports at all (though I would have really liked to see the Uruguay/Australia world cup qualifier). Everyone tells me to go to an AFL match, that it's an awesome experience, but I never get around to it

Regards, PA

Im basing that on the fact Sydney's home ground holds a maximum of 45,000 (with the new telstra stadium used when one of the big teams comes to sydney, as it holds 80,000)

Anzac day is almost impossible to get tickets to most years, as they are bought before the season begins... as its such a big event in melbourne.

Im not really picking on sydney's crowds, as they are a lot bigger then the rugby teams up there seem to get...

That's only because we have only one AFL team up here. How many Rugby League/Union teams are there? The fans have to split themselves up for the other codes.

But I'm not picking on anyone either.

Regards, PA

True, anyhow... lets not start talking about rugby in an AFL thread.... lol

Well there is grave concerns concerning the availability of the MCG for the ANZAC day match as disputes with the building companies and unions may force it elsewhere. It would be quite a rush anyway to get the MCG back to an proper AFl ground in time anyway so if there are any strikes it will have to be moved.

Good to see Collingwood winning a game for a change

^Indeed it was quite entertaining once St.Kilda actually decided to bloody well try, although Collingwood did also step it up a notch as well and were able to match the Saints when it really mattered.

Well at least now we don't have to travel over to Subiaco to play the winner of West Coast and Fremantle so I`m not complaining and I seriously doubt the players are either. As we do have to play the Eagles over there in Round 1.

Your team still travels next week, though i gather they will be resting their senior players. Sounded like a good game (listened on webcast). Look forward to the pies getting Clement, Burns, Buckley and Wakelin back into that side.. to see how they function for real....

^Indeed. The pre-season would have far more credibility if teams didn`t rest most of their best players. Then again making it to the Grand Final at the end of the premiership season is what every player and coach strives for and if that means not winning the pre-season then thats a sacrifice many are willing to make.
It would have been interetsing to see both teams with full-strength sides but we will now have to wait until Round 14 at Telstra Dome.

Well, i was quite surprised Collingwood stayed so close, given the fact it was so hot in the west..and we were without Anthony Rocca.....

Im looking forward to seeing this season come along, hurry up next few weeks damn it! lol

^Indeed the Saints who had to fly over and play a mostly full strength Eagles side in 40c heat with 13 senior players out managed to only get beaten by roughly 8 points. Surprise packet Montagna just keeps on improving and is really showing that he could be a consistent top 22 player.

Only three weeks now to go before round 1!

Well we are into round 2 now.... Good to see Collingwood...above St Kilda.... lol

And the premiers are 0-2
That's ok, Sydney are always slow starters. They'll come good midway through the year. Predicted finish: 5th (maybe 4th)

Just call up andrew demetriou and tell him to criticise the sydney game plan again. Youll win another flag lol

Just watch how long it lasts Subby!

We are making a concerted effort not too 'peek' to early this season and as we still have players recovering and returning from injuries we are way below our best.



Well they were 2-4 after the first 6 rounds last year so hopefully for all you Sydney supporters this is just their customary slow-start.

lol. Im happy beating hawthorn, as my ex is a hawthorn supporter and I love hanging it over her head.

AS for us, who knows what we can do. Rocca provedon the weekend he can still completely dominate... lets hope he continues doing so for the rest of the season.

And Dale Thomas has to be the best draft pick collingwood has had since josh fraser and Alan Didak...

haha, I remember that. A little unfair I thought at the time, but it did the trick, I guess. Maybe I'll send in some hate mail, tell Paul Roos he sucks at his job and they should replace him immediately

...Do collingwood play sydney soon? lol

Id like to thank hawthorn for giving Rocca the most goals he has ever got in a single game.

Not Demetriou, but it's started:

Garry Lyon: They Look like they had large heads going into this game
Dennis COmetti: SO soft
Dwayne Russell: Well it's a tough call they've got 19 of their premiership 22 out there so you would think that they would have performed a lot better than this.
COmetti: I just get the feeling looking at a few of them too and i need to be careful of what i say here...... a few of them have changed body shape slightly.
Lyon: Oh we'll expand on that later dennis
Cometti: I think expand is the operative word

2 weeks into the comp, and the naysayer's are already starting Oh well, time will tell

lol I think the problem with that this time...Is that Paul Roos came out saying much the same thing, alling his team selfish.....

So iits not Sydney vs the rest, as the coach of Sydney agrees

For any Saints fans out there it looks like Kosi will agin be rested for the match against the Lions on Thursday night but ball will return and hopefully a couple of others. There is still hope as Kosi has been training as hard as the others for a few weeks now but the coaching staff believe that for Kosi caution should be exercised before anything else.

Once he returns the rest of the competition better watch out!

You said that about Fergus Watts when you drafterd him

And if Kosi can have more then 2 matches in a row without being injured, you'll be lucky lol

^Well that doesn`t really matter at the moment as the mighty saints are up by 10 goals against the Lions in the final quarter with both Ball and Kosi out.

Pffft thats just the lions in melbourne...

Call me when you win a prelim final

^Now thats just mean Subby!

You would think this would have to be the year for the might saints wouldn`t you?! I mean making two preliminary finals in a row and being beaten by the eventual premier shows you are on the right track. Tis also been exactly 40 years since our one and only premeirship so they bloody well better step and deliever! lol!

Need I remind you Collingwood made two grand finals in a row, only to be beaten by one of the best teams of all time twice.... And then they fell away

Sometimes things just aren't all that nice...lol

^Bah once Kosi and Ball return the mighty saints will charge away from the pack and with their impressive collection of premiership titles will be adding to it this year Subby............................"sigh"........I can dream cant I?!?!

lol we all do Aztec...we all do...

^ Indeed we do!

After the first two rounds Geelong had shot up to premiership
favouritism but today after a 52 points thrashing by Hawthorn they have been brought back down to earth, much to my own pleasure.

Since collingwood beat Hawthorn last week, I think they should be premiership favourites....

^Well Carlton nearly beat Sydney last night. Sydney who had lost both matches so far came out blazing and got a nice 30+ lead but after half-time they certainly looked like a shell of their former selves. If Fevola hadn`t missed that goal in the final quarter when there was only 7 points in it, it could have been a very different outcome.

Sydney were lucky that there wasn`t a bloody riot afterwards though, they spent just about the entire last quarter chopping backwards and forwards. They are the masters of ugly football as one of the commentators put it. The crowd of 36,000+ agreed as well as at the end of the match when the siren went the whole stadium erupted in booing.

Well Subby Collingwood has triumphed over the Kanga's! Collingwood 23.15.(153) def. Kangaroos 11.10.(76)
It turned into quite a thrashing and now you are above us on the ladder by perecentage. The world has gone mad!

Feel our wrath!!!!!

...Now for the bombers...

^Well I was just looking at the draw and going on your current form, you have a good chance to win the next 3. In Round 7 though you have to play West Coast over in Subiaco and I wouldn`t be putting any money on any team to win over there apart from the eagles at the moment. Although the competition is very close currently and there have been many an upsets with more to come I do believe!


Just so you know Subby, poor Fergus Watts has just broken his leg while playing for the Casey Scorpions in the VFL and will be out for at least 12 weeks! So very sad!

Well.... I don't like seeing any player out long term with such an injury, so that is sad indeed. But...i don't think you'll miss him yet, he needs time to develop....

Yeah we have a reasonable run...and the way our forward line is slowly beginning to function, we will be a rough matchup for any backline.....

Now if Scott Burns could just get back into the team....

The coaching panel agree with you there on Watts Subby. They give him every opportunity in the pre-season matches as well as Round 1 against the Eagles but he just couldn`t cut it yet. He seems to thrive in the VFL with the scorpions though. Here`s hoping he's back soon!

Your forward line is indeed doing well, six goals apiece to both Rocca and Tarrant is testment to that. Will be interesting to see how you go up against a quality side though.