Grand Final Fever!!

Only a few days until the biggest games of the year and it seems that both codes the cream has risen to the top, with the best two teams making it through to the big one.

Geelong v Port Adelaide

Geelong for me, they've been out and out the best team all year and seem to know how to win even when not at the best, and I think that maybe Port played their GF last week in that massive blow out against the Kangaroos!

If your having a punt, I think that Geelong to win by between 1-39 points is paying about $2.10, although if you looking for the upset the same points margin for a Port win is about $3.70

Best on ground: Gary Ablett jnr

Storm v Manly

Again the Storm know how to win when their A game is not on, and they just have to many big game players and game breakers. And here is my tip, if Steve Matai plays in the centres for Manly, watch the Storm run decoy runners at him to bring him up and out of the defensive line, creating a hole for the outside runners.

As for the punt aspect, Storm by 1-12.5 paying $3.10 (the bookies actually have them shorter to win by 13+) and Manly a juicy $4 for the same margin!

I'll be on the Storm!!

Best on ground: Cameron Smith

I mentioned that both Geelong and the Storm know how to win when not on the game, there is this saying at the moment regarding golf. If all the golfers show up and have their A game on, Tiger Woods is the best, but who is the second best??

Tiger is second best even if he has to play his B game, same goes for these two teams me thinks!!!

James Hird

Okay so we all know that James Hird is an AFL legend, and that he's retiring, but this particular article about him is so stupid i thought it must be brought to attention!!!

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/a-champion-with-amazing-grace-bows-out/2007/08/25/1187462588281.html

I just can't wait for the next installment which will illustrate the striking similarities between trying to play Shane Warne and how you solve the Rubics Cube!!!

Finals series

The regular season has been run and won in both NRL and AFL, with two standout sides taking their respective minor premierships, the Melb Storm (NRL) and Geelong (AFL) blitzed there opponents to easily finish in the top spots.

Now although both codes use a top eight finals series, they use different methods;

NRL play out like this, 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6, 4 v 5. This give the top four teams a supposed advantage of hosting a home semi, but what it exposes is the possibility of both teams 3 and 4 being knocked out, as the teams that lose with the lowest ranking are knocked out, so if all the lower ranked teams win their games it can happen, although it never has, but still.......

AFL play out 1 v 4, 2 v 3 winners go through to major semi and losers play the winners of 5 v 8, 6 v 7. Its a fairer style of knock out because all top four are guaranteed two games.

But what really counts is you have to win and that is what it's all about, regardless of the system in place and complaining about it is useless, it's like the team that doesn't make the finals although they've beaten teams higher up but didn't win enough regular season games, to bad!!

For this weekend i believe that Brisbane and Souths will be knocked out of the NRL and I'm suggesting two upsets in the AFL with Hawthorn and Collingwood getting knocked out!!

Time will tell.