What do you class a quality side as? Adelaide is a quality side... and we played horribly, yet they only just got away at the end....



St Kilda just got over Richmond..... and Brisbane (the rebuilding brisbane) so lets compare apples and apples shall we

Subtemperate, I find it funny that someone in Scotland could follow AFL so closely, are you really an Aussie or not? I have not read the whole thread as it would have taken me a while, so I do not know if you have mentioned this before.

I'm a melbourne boy, born and bred.... Moved to scotland at the end of last year... And AFL is my favourite sport, so I always remain informed... even if it means rising up at 5:00am to listen to the webcast of my team playing lol

Bah, we beat brisbane by 37 points. Admittedly it should have been more but we decided to just rest our big guns in the final quarter and that allowed Brisbane to peg a couple of goals back. And Richmond well they had just come off massive thrashing and went at it with everything they had while we still had a number of players out injured and numerous players still recovering from injuries who were out on the field............

We both have two wins from three and our only losses have been to West Coast up there for us and Adelaide for you. And in Both we managed to stay damn close and nearly pull off some big upsets.

Tis still early days though!

Well, I just managed to watch "on the couch" and it was interesting to hear that they believe Collingwood should finish in the eight, if they remain fit..... Robert Walls thinks they, when at 100%, are in the top 5 teams in the comp

Im looking forward to seeing collingwood inprove.... Rocca, Fraser and co aren't match fit yet.... and with Scott Burns getting through his match with williamstown quite well, I gather he will be back this week. All we need now is Rhys Shaw back and playing like he did before last years injury, and Sean Rusling to come back and put another string to our forward line...and we will beset.

..If we can get it all going at once for a change lol

good for you mate, talk later.

Well at the moment he would be roughly correct, I would put you sixth at the moment behind in order of form so far Bulldogs, West Coast, Geelong, Adelaide, St.Kilda and then Collingwood. I am aware that Geelong did just get thrashed but for the pre-season and first two rounds they dominated. The Bulldogs may struggle though this week up against Geelong as they have suffered quite a few injuries and basically have no big men left leaving them sorely lacking in the ruck. Geelong will also be out to redeem themselves.

We have our boogy team this week in Port Adelaide which me have been unable to defeat in quite a few years now!

This is collingwoods biggest anzac day match for a while, with Hird getting on... and Lloyd out.... really Collingwood should win. We are in good form and all.... and hopefully we get to go 3-1.

^Indeed. The impact of Lloyd missing not only this game but the rest of the season wil be something the Essendon players will struggle to recover from very quickly. With Collingwood riding on a high after last week's performance you should clean them up rather nicely.

Harvs has been cleared to play this week and with Ball and Kosi returning its time to get some revenge for the pst 5 years against the Power.

Hird out for the season That's a blow for Essendon.

No hird isnt (unless i missed something), its lloyd who is out for the season.... Lloyd is about as big of a loss as Essendon could possibly have...

...And good to see Brisbane proving my thoughts of them right by losing to richmond... lol

SOrry, my mistake. I read the name above wrong. i don't know where I got Hird from. I meant Lloyd

Either are a big loss, but Lloyd even more so. too bad - he was a on a roll with his goal kicking (from what I've seen of him so far, at least).

Yes indeed, no arguement here. He is probably the best full forward around, when fully fit.

Nice to see Melbourne scrape a win

Perhaps. It was back and forth, right to the death.

I was dismayed with the quality of refereeing. The commenatator's were slamming the refs throughout the game, and then at the end said they did a fantastic job with a tough match.

I for one thought the refs sucked.. Bad decisions, both ways. At least I can't accuse the refs of swaying the result either way, since both sides got crappy decisions

Regards, PA

Umpiring an AFL match has to be the hardest officiating in sport. Your damned if you award frees, your damned if you don't.

I for one don't forget that most commentators say "lets see the replay" before jumping on the decision. Umpires dont get that luxery. The camera lies sometimes too... we can't forget that.... Sometimes one angle makes things look different then another.... So not always do we see the full situation...

However they do get things wrong, but hey...as you said... as long as they are consistant I dont think it matters lol

The bloody defence let St.Kilda down poorly last night and even with the best efforts of our forward line who were missing the G-Train we went down by 4 points. Only Hudgton can be proud of his efforts down back last night.

Grant Thomas has really ripped into the players and I`m expecting them to come out roaring next week against Fremantle.

So would I....

...Good to see we got over the line against the dons. In three games 3 seperate forwards have fired to win us the game.... that in itself has to be a little scary for opposition teams....

^........well, no not really..........

Kosi is again injured and will miss at least another 2 weeks. The poor guy seems to be after the record for most injuries by a single player. Gehrig may still miss and Harvey will have to be used sparingly. Just like last year, our form was patchy and we suffered a couple of major injuries early on, lets hope we pull through again, we bloody deserve a break when it comes to injuries at least.

YOU deserve a break from injuries?

Good to see the saints steal a dubious draw... Whilst collingwood anhiliated Port.... well... in the second half lol

5 goals to rocca, 4 to tarrant... 4 to bucks.... Not scared yet?

^You say steal, I say Fremantle were lucky to hang on to the draw. We kicked 4 goals and 7 behinds in the last quarter, if we had actually kicked straight in that final term things would have been very different indeed.

In relation to injuries, Ackland, Brooks and Gwillt all sustained injuries in our resereves side while Hamill had to be rested from the match in Tasmania with Kosi still out and now Hudgton injuring his hand late in the match.

I wouldn`t say I`m scared at the prospect of facing Collingwood just yet but I am indeed impressed although I`m still waiting for you to annihilate a "good" team.....

lol port just beat you didnt it?



I say steal, you were BEHIND when the siren went. Now...call me silly...but regardless of the fact you kicked badly, that means you should have lost....

.... Anyhow, collingwood will hopefully continue beating these bad teams, whilst St Kilda draws and loses to them

The match does not end until the umpires makes the appropriate signal above his head and blows his whistle. That is the rule and thats why Fremantle's protest was thrown out.
People can accuse us of stealing the match but in the end if anyone is to blame its those who calibrated the volume of the siren. If it cannot be heard due to the fans cheering then the umpire cannot signal the end of the match and play must continue.

lol Fremantle players were celebrating after hearing the siren...So it can't have been too silent....

Im not disagring with the fact that it ends with the umpires signal.... However... If this was the saints... in a prelim... and the opposing team had kicked a goal with that last kick to boot you out, and to get into a grand final... don't tell me youd say "oh well, even though regulation time is out, Its fair enough"

...And this has happened once before at least... probably more... either way its not st kildas problem.... Fremantle should never have let you get back to level anyway if they were any good...

Well when the siren supposedly went off only one fremantle player had any reaction at all, all the fans and umpires did not hear it. The fremantle players only began their short-lived celebrations after Baker kicked a behind as they believed it was after the siren.




Indeed, Grant Thomas stated that this was the worst he had seen St.kilda play since he began coaching them, we had no major ruckman, two major players out and yet we still managed to get a draw.

Wow... to think only last year collingwood lacked Fraaser/Rocca/Richards/Buckley and more and beat league leaders west coast...

Honestly I have no problem with it at all...although I think st Kilda should consider themselves lucky that the siren was not loud enough.... Either way, Fremantle are NOT premiership material...so... lets not get carried away about a 2 point cost to them please over there in WA...lol

Bah, its tradition for the top side to lose to one of the cellar-dwellers.....

Well the AFL is still yet to confirm the draw as the official result and has sent the issue to the AFL commission which will sit and decide upon the final result on wednesday. But now it appears that during the last quarter eight seconds went missing from the clock as well so there is now even more controversy.

If I were a St Kilda player, or on the staff of the StkFC, I'd graciously hand the win to Fremantle. It'd be..... honourable. Better than taking it to the tribunal or whatever.

^Fremantle claim that in the same position they would do so, yet I highly doubt that. As a team they are hardly a power-house and will struggle to make an impact when it matters, any points to them are crucial. That is why they are so adamant they deserve the 4 points. If they had trully deserved then St.Kilda should have never been able to get within one point and then level it.

St.Kilda is totally justified in retaining the 2 points, the rules are clear and its in our favour, if however the commission find that Fremantle should recieve the 4 points then I wouldn`t be surprised if St.kilda launches a protest.

PA if you were indeed a player of official of St.Kilda I very much doubt you would be willing to give those two points back. St.Kilda is competing in a competition and every point is crucial. With the draw we are 1 and a half games behind the 5 teams above us but with a loss we fall down to eight and are even further behind. It would be illogical to give up the points regardless of the morality surrounding the issue.

^I can understand the importance to the club of premiership points. As a supporter though, I have other concerns. If it were the swans in the same situation, they'd probably try and keep the points too, but as a supporter, I'd respect them more if they did the right thing

I believe just about every side in the league would fight to keep those two points. As a supporter I am obviously biased but I as well as the majority of St.Kilda fans were very happy when Baker missed his second shot at goal. If he had kicked a goal from that free-kick then there would have been chaos and it would have trully been unfair to the dockers.

If we look at this incident from an entirely moral perspective then Fremantle should get the full four points but from a footy perspective the draw should stand. The rules are clear and unless the umpire raises his hands to signal the end of the match, the match continues. It was human error at its finest on Sunday but taking the points away from St.Kilda would just be cruel and would undermine the rules that all players, officials and teams are meant to abide by.

I think its important to note that there is history... where a game result has been overturned in the past...when it was decided that the umpire awarded a mark to a player... and it was after the final siren. The result was reversed. This may have happened a long time ago (1900) but Fremantle can draw on a precedent....

Though I should point out the team that complained that time and got it overturned... was St Kilda.... Kinda a sweet irony, if the same things happen to them lol

^Bah, dont tell everyone Subby, Fremantle may not know about it....

So far though their major argument is that the only reason the umpire didn`t end the match was because he did not hear the siren and therfor the match was over, it was just not acknowledged by the umpire. No reference to that incident back in 1900 Subby, so hopefully they dont know about it.............."sigh" I know that they would know but still, I can hope!

Anyways Hayes has been suspended for one match for attempted striking, Hudgton was fined $2,400 and Gehrig was cleared of any wrong doing. Farmer for the Dockers was also suspended for 2 matches.

I see hayes got off... no surprise there really lol

I think that whatever happens with that issue, both sides should agree to leave it be afterwards. If fremantle are awarded the points... Saints should be gracious.... If fremantle dont get it...they should shut up and move on....

Fremantle only care, because they never improve enough to stay in the eight lol

The tribunal dismissed his case in literally 30 seconds.

Subby as you pointed out Fremantle have a precedent to call upon but so do St.Kilda. In 1967 down at Morrabbin, the umpires failed to hear the "bell" and Carlton managed to quickly kick a goal, resulting in them winning and us missing out on the finals that year by a single match.

The problem though with awarding the four points to Fremantle is the precendent that will then set, we could see teams protesting over just about anything that influenced the outcome of a game if it was close.

I dont think so..... Given the AFL has awarded Fremantle the match..... I think its fair enough, you can argue that its a bad idea, but i see no problem with it. Its the second time in 106 years a match has been reversed like this....so lets not jump the gun.....

Dont make it like the ability to complain to the afl commission has not been there.... It always has been.... its just teams hardly ever do it over such things....

Well now thats sorted out, we can now watch as Fremantle fail to make the eight again.

St.kilda now only have 2 wins from five matches, are two full games and percentage behind 5 teams and now have the Bulldogs and Geelong over the next two rounds. Our season is currently not looking good. If this doesn`t fire us up, the nothing will and I personally don't see the Saints beating the Dogs, but you never know.

The dogs were hopeless against Adelaide.... So you gotta look at how they played, and try to attack the same way. Collingwood have carlton...so...we SHOULD beat them...

And sanity prevails. Fremantle win, though it won't do them much good. Cheer up Aztec, Saints'll still be there at the end of season (probably), it's only round 6 now. I don't think the "precedent" will affect the league too much, but only time will tell.

Meanwhile in other news - the once mighty Brisbane Lions are looking among the favourite's...... this time for the wooden spoon

Yeah, and isn't that a great sight

If only we could get Port Adelaide down there as well... lol

St.Kilda although with advice that they would have basically a 90% chance of over-turning the decision in the Supreme Court have decided to not take any action. They have done the right thing and now we can all move on to our major battles this weekend.

Kosi and Hamill are both returning for the Saints, while Ricks a young and very tall bloke has been named as an emergency. It will be interesting to see if he is given a go this year as he could be a good ruck-man and the saints most definately need one of those.

That does not make them right If I remember correctly carlton took legal action that meant someone who was suspended in the prelim final got to play in the grad final that year... (Hamill from memory)... It was wrong, but unfortunately legally they had an avenue...

Good to see the saints beat the doggies, though it should be said that Kosi once again didn't last through the entire match... lol

Nor does it make it right for Eddie to come out and comment that Collingwood would seriously contemplate taking the AFL to court to get the 1980 night premiership

Well although the hip and shoulder hit on Kosi was completly legal it was really quite uncalled for. He was a fair distance from the Bulldog player with the ball and he ceratinly isn`t the fastest player around so he wasn`t about to catch him. And it has now been confirmed that he has a fractured skull and could miss up to 4-6 weeks. The head-clash was accidental but as a completly biased St.Kilda fan I felt the hit was unneccessary...

Of course you do, though I would point out the hit must have been legal... if they clashed heads that would indicate the actual hit hit him beow the shoulder..... THough anyone getting such an injury is just... shocking....

Kosi could be out for 12 weeks now.... Im starting to think that the football gods do not like him....

^lol, it looks like they have bloody cursed him and hate him with a passion. He has missed 41 regular season matches over the last four years which is just under half of what is played over in four seasons. Of course he has also missed most of the finals and pre-season as well.

Well Collingwood are up by 10 goals with less than a quarter to go and are looking good, to bad it's only Carlton they are thrashing.....

lol you can only beat who you face....

...Unlike St Kilda who lose to fremantle

Since Collingwood now sit on top of the ladder (apparently) Ill ask you to direct your insults to me, when you get a bit more competitive and catch us up

^Now now Subby are you not aware of St.kilda's strategy to not peak early and take it slowly slipping under everyones radar and then finally pouncing when its not expected.

Good to see that you've had to play all these side interstate as well........oh, wait you haven`t yet had to play a single match outside Melbourne. Your first trip interstate is to Subiaco next week to play the Eagles......surely you should win being on top of the ladder....

That will be a funny comment if we win

We havent played interstate? So... Unfortunately for us we can afford NOT to sell our home games

Anyhow we have West Coast, Sydney, Geelong, Bulldogs and Melbourne over the next 5 weeks MMM said....so... We should see if we are competitive after that..... lol

^Well if you win I was just speaking the truth and highlighting my obvious football knowledge and if you lose it was just a joke,

Geelong cant afford to lose to us this friday night and will definately come out firing, there season could be in serious trouble if they do lose. We must use their lack of confidence against them as they always seem to step up against us now. It should be a tight contest, cant wait!

Yeah that one should be a good game.

Collingwood vs west coast Id think collingwood would win... if it wasnt in WA.... So....I doubt we will, our record there even when we made 2 grand finals wasnt good...

^Down here looking at your recent form I may have tipped you,but as its over there and as the Eagles have just lost their local derby by roughly a goal they will be fired up and ready to take it to you.

Mooney has been offered a one-week suspension for his latest antics and due to his poor tribunal record he cannot have it reduced but saying that if they appeal it can`t be increased to two weeks due to the classification of the impact, body region and place in relation to where the ball was. Hopefully the suspension sticks as it will greatly help our cause against the Cats.