This week,

Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

Round 3 Recaps and Highlights

We are back again for another exciting week of AFL Footy!

For some reason, the AFL loves their Australian Thursday night matchups, which sucks for us because that is actually late Wednesday night in North America.

This time, it double-sucked for me because my Geelong Cats were traveling to Adelaide to take on the Crows. I couldn’t stay up to watch (or wake up early, as the case would have been), so I had to look up the score when I woke up Friday morning and either be bummed or pleasantly surprised.

Pleasantly surprised it was as I discovered that the Cats continued their hot streak to start the season undefeated by holding off a fourth quarter Crows rally to win on the road. Here are the highlights:

The following night (in both Australia and North America), the winless Melbourne Demons hosted the winless Essendon Bombers to see who could take the first steps towards turning their season around.

The goals were flying as both teams traded streaks of goals. The Bombers soared ahead in the first only for the Demons to come back in the second to take the lead into the third. After Half Time, though, it was all Bombers as they took the lead back and held it until the end.

Here are the highlights:

On proper Friday Night, the Carlton Blues hosted the Sydney Swans, which was troublesome because the Swans have lately played better on the road.

The pattern continued as the Swans took a Quarter Time lead and never looked back. The Blues tried to make a game of it in the fourth, but the Swans countered almost every Carlton goal. Here are the highlights:

Later that night, the GWS Giants hosted the injury-depleted and rule-confused Richmond Tigers.

The Tigers hung close to the Giants for a little over a quarter, but eventually the Giants took over the game and the scoreboard. The resulting big win boosted the Giants into the Top Four based on percentage. Here are the highlights:

The first of the Late Late North American Friday night games had the Port Adelaide Power traveling to Queensland to take on the red-hot and suddenly not-bad Brisbane Lions in a battle of unbeaten teams.

This turned out to be the Match of The Round as the teams went at each other all night. While the Lions led throughout the first three quarters, the Power took the lead in the fourth and looked to steal the game.

However, the Lions would not give up that easily and fought back to take the lead and the game in the final moments. This Lions team simply does not give up and that is a VERY good sign for their finals aspirations.

Here are the highlights:

The second late late night game gave us a Grand Final rematch as the Collingwood Magpies hosted the West Coast Eagles at the MCG. This was their chance to avenge last year’s loss and things looked good for them in the first as the Pies stormed out to an early lead.

The veteran Eagles, however, chipped away at the lead in the second and took it going into Half Time. The game was fairly even from that point forwards, which, unfortunately for the Pies, meant the Eagles held on to their lead and won the game, again.

Here are the highlights:

North American Saturday night brought three more games, the first of which I managed to watch for at least the first half. The surprising Gold Coast Suns were visiting the unbeaten Western Bulldogs and the outcome would decide which of the two teams were for real and which was an impostor.

Colour me surprised that it was a close game throughout. I know I’ve been dismissive of the Suns and this year predicted for them to win the Wooden Spoon. The Suns, though, play well and fast and tough and were leading the Doggies late in the game.

It all came down to the last two minutes:

In all sports, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Here are the full-game highlights:

Later that night, the Hawthorn Hawks hosted the North Melbourne Kangaroos at the MCG. Both teams haven’t exactly set the AFL on fire so far this season and the Roos were looking for their first win.

As has been the case lately, the Hawks started slowly and the Roos took advantage in building a 25 point lead in the first. The Hawks did wake up in the second quarter and methodically chipped away at the lead and took over the game. In the end, the Roos are still looking for their first victory.

Here are the highlights:

The last game of the Round had the Fremantle Dockers hosting the St. Kilda Saints at Optus Stadium in Perth. Traditionally, this means a sizable home-field advantage and, usually, a big win.

This was not the case. The Saints fell behind, but did manage to put a scare into the Dockers in the final two minutes:

It was too little too late. Here are the full-game highlights:

It’s early in the season, but some of the unfamiliar faces at the top of the ladder are sticking around. It is nice to see both the Lions and Dockers so high up. The Suns and Saints are only one game behind and are not too far off on percentage.

Let’s take a look at the ladder, shall we?

P	TEAM	W	L	T	PTS	%
1	Geelong Cats	3	0	0	12	159.7
2	Brisbane Lions	3	0	0	12	134.5
3	Fremantle Dockers	2	1	0	8	145.2
4	GWS Giants	2	1	0	8	131.4
5	Western Bulldogs	2	1	0	8	113.8
6	West Coast Eagles	2	1	0	8	113.0
7	Hawthorn Hawks	2	1	0	8	112.5
8	Port Adelaide Power	2	1	0	8	110.4
9	Gold Coast Suns	2	1	0	8	103.3
10	St. Kilda Saints	2	1	0	8	103.2
11	Collingwood Magpies	1	2	0	4	106.4
12	Sydney Swans	1	2	0	4	90.2
13	Adelaide Crows	1	2	0	4	87.9
14	Richmond Tigers	1	2	0	4	79.9
15	Essendon Bombers	1	2	0	4	78.3
16	Carlton Blues	0	3	0	0	75.5
17	North Melbourne Kangaroos	0	3	0	0	64.8
18	Melbourne Demons	0	3	0	0	63.8

Here is the Balls Graph:

[gview file=”https://www.doorfliesopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/AFL-Ladder-2019R3.pdf”]

It’s always good to have your team at the top of the ladder, but it’s still early. A lot of things can and will happen. On the other side of the ladder, it’s difficult to tell which of the bottom three teams is worse.

***

Footy Tipping Contest

Here is where we are after Round Three:

P	TIPPER	Round Tips	Round Margin	Total Tips	Total Margin
1	Blax	6	1	15	34
2	Litre_cola	6	22	15	69 (NICE!)
3	BC Dick	6	26	15	93
4	Yeah Right	5	18	15	95
5	BALLS	6	20	14	81
6	Game Time Decision	5	1	13	60
7		5	14	12	82
8	SonOfSpam	5	29	12	89
9	BFC	3	40	12	125
10	WhyEaglesWhy	4	29	11	75
11	Sharkbait	3	51	11	115
12	Dolph Ucker	4	10	9	66

The #1 position didn’t last long for Yeah Right as he dropped to 4th and the competition caught up with him. Only 4 tips separate first from next to last, which is a really good thing!

The new leader is Blax and I guess this means that AFL is officially the sport of new dads everywhere as it’s the only thing on in the middle of the night when the baby wants to get fed, cleaned, etc. Nicely done, sir!

We have more than 10 entries, so I WILL be offering a prize this year! If anyone wants to join in, click the link below and sign up!

https://mobile.footytips.com.au/competitions/?competitionId=401652

It’s free to join and it’s the ESPN Australia website, so it’s secure. Join in the fun!

DONT FORGET TO PUT THE FOOTY TIPS IN!

***

AFL Round 4

Here is the schedule for this week (all times Pacific):

Thursday, April 11, 2019

2:20 AM (Late Wednesday Night) – Sydney Swans v Melbourne Demons at the SCG

The Swans host the winless Demons which can only mean one thing: An embarrasing home loss.

Friday, April 12, 2019

2:50 AM (Late Thursday Night) – Collingwood Magpies v Western Bulldogs at the MCG

Both teams lost this week and will be looking to get back on track. I think the Pies are the better team, but they have to prove it on the field.

8:45 PM – Geelong Cats v GWS Giants at GMHBA Stadium

The BALLS Cats get the BFC Giants in a SoCal derby of sorts. It should be a good game and fun to watch.

9:10 PM – Essendon Bombers v Brisbane Lions at the MCG

The Lions will try to maintain their unbeaten run against the lowly Bombers who won for the first time this past weekend.

11:35 PM – Port Adelaide Power v Richmond Tigers at Adelaide Oval

The Tigers are in shambles and must go to Adelaide where the Power play extremely well. They may be without Dustin Martin, too, through suspension.

Saturday, April 13, 2019

2:25 AM – North Melbourne Kangaroos v Adelaide Crows at Marvel Stadium

The lowly Roos battle the struggling Crows at home in what is a Must Win game for them. Can they pull it out?

3:10 AM – West Coast Eagles v Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium

The Perth Derby takes center stage on Australian Saturday Night. Definitely the Match of The Round.

9:40 PM – Gold Coast Suns v Carlton Blues at Metricon Stadium

The Suns look to continue their hot start against the winless Blues at home. If they collapse after this start, it will be really embarrasing.

10:20 PM – St. Kilda Saints v Hawthorn Hawks at Marvel Stadium

The Saints get another tough game after having to travel to Perth. The Hawks are young, but improving every game.

***

The New Rules

I apologize as I previously failed to inform you of the new rules put into place for this season. In my defence, I didn’t think any of them really would be that noticeable or drastic. If anything, they were meant to speed the game up and make it more appealing, which is a good thing.

However, there is one rule in particular that has become difficult for certain teams to adjust to and has caused some headaches. Therefore, I’ll explain the changes made this year.

The AFL implemented nine rule changes for the 2019 Home and Away season. As I mentioned above, the rules were meant to ease the congestion in the game and make it more free-flowing. Here are the nine rule changes:

• Traditional playing positions at centre bounces – Clubs must have six players inside both 50m arcs, with one player inside the goalsquare. Four midfield players must start inside the centre square with the two wingmen stationed along the wing. (Also known as the 6-6-6 Rule. Please see the gif at the top of the post for a visual.)
• Kick-ins – At kick-ins, a player will no longer need to kick to himself to play on from the goalsquare. Following a behind, the man on the mark will be brought out to 10m from the top of the goalsquare, rather than the existing five metres.
• Marks and free kicks in defence – When defenders mark or receive a free kick within nine metres of their own goal, the man on the mark will be brought in line with the top of the goalsquare.
• Runner and water carriers – Team runners may only enter the playing surface after a goal has been kicked and must exit before play restarts. Water carriers are not permitted to enter the playing surface during live play.
• Umpire contact – Players will be prohibited from setting up behind the umpire at centre bounces.
• 50 M Penalties – The player with the ball 1) Must be allowed to advance the mark by 50m without the infringing player delaying the game and 2) Will be able to play on while the 50m penalty is being measured out.
• Kicking for goal after the siren – A player who has been awarded a mark or free kick once play has ended will now be able to kick across their body using a snap or check-side kick BUT must kick the ball directly in line with the man on the mark and the goal.
• Marking Contests – The ‘hands in the back’ rule interpretation has been repealed so a player can now place his hands on the back of his opponent to protect his position in a marking contest PROVIDED he does not push his opponent in the back.
• Ruck contests: Prior opportunity – A ruckman who takes direct possession of the ball from a bounce, throw-up or boundary throw-in will no longer be regarded as having had prior opportunity. Where there is uncertainty over who is the designated ruckman, the ruckman for each team will still be required to nominate to the field umpire.

The first one has been the tricky one as certain teams, most notably Richmond, had been used to employing different formations based on game play and tactical decisions. Failure to abide by the rule has resulted in 50 meter penalties that have resulted in goals that have changed momentum and essentially decided games.

Now, everyone knew the rule going in, so it’s not like it’s been a secret. Clubs should have been able to adjust and prepare for this change. However, some clubs have adjusted better than others and this particular rule change has indeed influenced the outcome of more than one game this year.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out during the rest of the season. You would think that clubs and players would eventually get it, but I guess it’s difficult if you’ve been taught and trained to do something a certain way and now you have to do it another way. Stay tuned.

***

That’s all for this week! We are down to only two unbeaten teams and 3 winless teams, which means the competition is nice and tight. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how much the pack separates or stays together. See you next week!

(48/69)