This week…
We are getting close to the end of the second shitload of games in a row:
Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!
We have another game tonight, so we can’t dilly dally!
Here are the results and highlights from Round Sixteen:
Saturday, September 5, 2020
North Melbourne Kangaroos 42 v Port Adelaide Power 78 at Metricon Stadium
The Power cruised to a victory over the Roos and are now virtually guaranteed a Top Two spot.
St. Kilda Saints 80 v Hawthorn Hawks 66 at Metricon Stadium
The Saints overcame an early Hawks lead to stay in the Eight for another week.
Geelong Cats 108 v Essendon Bombers 42 at The Gabba
It was so much fun watching this game live on Saturday night!
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Western Bulldogs 49 v West Coast Eagles 47 at Metricon Stadium
I went to sleep with the Eagles comfortably ahead. WTF?
Monday, September 7, 2020
Melbourne Demons 33 v Fremantle Dockers 47 at Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns
The Demons are just a bad team with no killer instinct. I don’t know why anyone would root for them.
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Adelaide Crows 59 v GWS Giants 47 at Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Crows have won two in a row and somehow the Giants are still in the Eight.
Carlton Blues 57 v Sydney Swans 52 at Metricon Stadium
The Blues were down big in the first half yet came back to make it tight in the last two minutes:
Here are the full game highlights:
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Brisbane Lions 88 v Gold Coast Suns 43 at The Gabba
The Lions took care of business, retook 2nd place, and put the Suns out of finals.
Round 16 Byes: Collingwood Magpies and Richmond Tigers
***
Let’s take a look at the ladder, shall we?
| P | TEAM | W | L | T | PTS | % |
| 1 | Port Adelaide Power | 12 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 131.4 |
| 2 | Brisbane Lions | 12 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 122.1 |
| 3 | Geelong Cats | 11 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 145.1 |
| 4 | Richmond Tigers | 10 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 123.6 |
| 5 | West Coast Eagles | 10 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 115.1 |
| 6 | St. Kilda Saints | 9 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 113.9 |
| 7 | Collingwood Magpies | 8 | 6 | 1 | 34 | 110.1 |
| 8 | GWS Giants | 8 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 101.2 |
| 9 | Western Bulldogs | 8 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 100.3 |
| 10 | Melbourne Demons | 7 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 106.1 |
| 11 | Carlton Blues | 7 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 97.0 |
| 12 | Essendon Bombers | 6 | 8 | 1 | 26 | 82.9 |
| 13 | Fremantle Dockers | 6 | 9 | 0 | 24 | 88.7 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Suns | 5 | 9 | 1 | 22 | 96.7 |
| 15 | Sydney Swans | 5 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 84.1 |
| 16 | Hawthorn Hawks | 4 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 80.7 |
| 17 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | 3 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 74.6 |
| 18 | Adelaide Crows | 2 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 62.7 |
Here is the Balls GraphTM:
[gview file=”https://www.doorfliesopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AFL-Ladder-2020R16.pdf”]
***
Footy Tipping Contest
Here is where we are after Round Sixteen:
| P | TIPPER | Round Tips |
Round Margin |
Total Tips | Total Margin |
| 1 | SonOfSpam | 5 | 7 | 95 | 389 |
| 2 | Dolph Ucker | 5 | 20 | 95 | 430 |
| 3 | BFC | 5 | 8 | 94 | 319 |
| 4 | Litre_cola | 6 | 9 | 90 | 361 |
| 5 | 4 | 24 | 87 | 514 | |
| 6 | BALLS | 3 | 36 | 86 | 443 |
| 7 | Sunrisesunrise | 5 | 39 | 86 | 569 |
| 8 | BC Dick | 6 | 36 | 85 | 416 |
| 9 | Yeah Right | 6 | 14 | 83 | 419 |
| 10 | WhyEaglesWhy | 5 | 25 | 78 | 400 |
| 11 | Game Time Decision | 4 | 1 | 76 | 471 |
| 12 | Maestro | 2 | 36 | 72 | 396 |
| 13 | Sharkbait | 2 | 36 | 56 | 606 |
| 14 | Reverend Mayhem | 2 | 36 | 54 | 392 |
So, funny thing. You know how I’m always the one to tell you to put the footy tips in? Guess who has two thumbs, is embarrased, and forgot to put four tips in this Round? A hearty well done to Yeah Right, BC Dick, and Litre_cola who all got top scores this week! It’s still a super-tight contest and anyone can win!
Games start again tonight so, as always,
DON’T FORGET TO PUT THE FOOTY TIPS IN!
***
I’ve been providing, for your advanced Tipping reference, the schedule for the next few rounds (All times Pacific). Here then are the game schedules for the rest of the year:
Round Seventeen
Thursday, September 10, 2020
2:10 AM – St. Kilda Saints v West Coast Eagles at The Gabba (FS2, TSN5)
Friday, September 11, 2020
2:50 AM – Geelong Cats v Richmond Tigers at Metricon Stadium (ESPN2)
8:45 PM – North Melbourne Kangaroos v Fremantle Dockers at Metricon Stadium (FS2)
11:35 PM – Port Adelaide Power v Essendon Bombers at Adelaide Oval (FS1)
Saturday, September 12, 2020
2:40 AM – GWS Giants v Melbourne Demons at The Gabba (ESPN3)
8:05 PM – Carlton Blues v Adelaide Crows at Metricon Stadium
10:35 PM – Hawthorn Hawks v Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval (ESPN3)
Sunday, September 13, 2020
1:10 AM – Sydney Swans v Bribane Lions at Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns (FS2)
Monday, September 14, 2020
2:10 AM – Collingwood Magpies v Gold Coast Suns at The Gabba (FS2)
Round Eighteen
Thursday, September 17, 2020
2:10 AM – North Melbourne Kangaroos v West Coast Eagles at Metricon Stadium
Friday, September 18, 2020
2:50 AM – St. Kilda Saints v GWS Giants at The Gabba
9:10 PM – Essendon Bombers v Melbourne Demons at Metricon Stadium
Saturday, September 19, 2020
12:10 AM – Adelaide Crows v Richmond Tigers at Adelaide Oval
2:10 AM – Brisbane Lions v Carlton Blues at The Gabba
8:05 PM – Hawthorn Hawks v Gold Coast Suns at Adelaide Oval
10:35 PM – Sydney Swans v Geelong Cats at Metricon Stadium
Sunday, September 20, 2020
1:10 AM – Fremantle Dockers v Western Bulldogs at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns
Monday, September 21, 2020
2:15 AM – Collingwood Magpies v Port Adelaide Power at The Gabba
***
Without further ado, it’s
Balls’ Sechs
1- The Cats’ gigantic victory over the Bombers gave them a big percentage boost over the entire competition, meaning they have the tiebreaker over everyone. This week’s Richmond game will tell us a lot about both teams’ chances to win the Premiership this year.
2- West Coast was missing quite a few stars, but it seemed that wasn’t a problem early in their game against Western. However, the Doggies were able to get the game on their terms and slowly but surely were able to take control. A huge win for their finals aspirations!
3- The Giants are the definition of backing into the finals right now. And yet they are talented enough to win the whole thing if they can get their shit together.
4- The Lions did what they needed to do and maintained their Top Two spot. With The Gabba being picked as the Grand Final venue, they could have home field advantage throughout finals.
5- The list of teams no longer eligible for finals continues to grow. Joining North Melbourne, Adelaide, Hawthorn, Sydney, and Fremantle are Essendon and Gold Coast.
6- Round 17 starts tonight, so make sure to put your footy tips in! I promise I won’t forget this time.
***
That’s all for this week.
As discussed last week, Fox Sports has the rights to the AFL in the United States while TSN has the rights in Canada and the AFL is pressuring them to have more games available on the FS1, FS2, and TSN networks. Now is the perfect chance for you to see what all the fun is about!
Not only that, but ESPN has jumped back into the AFL pool! They’ll be broadcasting one game per week live on an ESPN network and streaming another live on ESPN3.
You can find the latest broadcast information on the Australian Football Association of North America website here.
Here is your Round 16 live broadcast schedule with North American broadcast partner:
Round Seventeen
Thursday, September 10, 2020
2:10 AM – St. Kilda Saints v West Coast Eagles at The Gabba (FS2, TSN5)
Friday, September 11, 2020
2:50 AM – Geelong Cats v Richmond Tigers at Metricon Stadium (ESPN2)
8:45 PM – North Melbourne Kangaroos v Fremantle Dockers at Metricon Stadium (FS2)
11:35 PM – Port Adelaide Power v Essendon Bombers at Adelaide Oval (FS1)
Saturday, September 12, 2020
2:40 AM – GWS Giants v Melbourne Demons at The Gabba (ESPN3)
8:05 PM – Carlton Blues v Adelaide Crows at Metricon Stadium
10:35 PM – Hawthorn Hawks v Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval (ESPN3)
Sunday, September 13, 2020
1:10 AM – Sydney Swans v Bribane Lions at Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns (FS2)
Monday, September 14, 2020
2:10 AM – Collingwood Magpies v Gold Coast Suns at The Gabba (FS2)
***
The AFL Beat will be back to its normal schedule for the next two weeks:
AFL Beat Round 17: Tuesday, September 15
AFL Beat Round 18: Tuesday, September 22
See you next time!
GWS played like dogshit. I think I could do better in the ruck lately. But injuries are going to be the difference. If Kelly and Davis and co can get healthy, they make a run. If not, no chance.
Sigh.
Netflix Rec:
If you’re into all The Marvel/DC shit, ya gotta check out a Spanish joint by the name of ‘Unknown Origins’ that plays around with the aesthetic of superhero comic books and takes it seriously at various times. That’s why the tone of the movie is so uneven. Give ‘er a go.
“Needs More Clitoris!”
-Georgia O’Keefe
“I’m sorry, WAAAT?”
-Mr. Balls
After a dominate first quarter, the Eagles looked completely unable to get the ball out of their territory for most of the rest of the game. You could really see how much they missed Nic Nat. Kennedy was off after coming back from his concussion. If he would’ve just hit one more goal instead of being off for a bunch of behinds, the Eagles still would’ve pulled it off despite looking pretty bad.
The Chargers leave town and this guy starts talking nonsense.
As part of the “What Fresh Hell is This?” theme of 2020, the sky here in the the Bay Area this morning was about the color of Trump’s hair. My saintly neighbors down the block did not levitate towards Jeebus in sky, so presumably this is not yet the Rapture. Still, I’m going download both the Purple Air app and a copy of the Book of Revelations to my phone in order to cover all my bases.
For example . . .
In Colorado we got snow (fuck fall apparently) and it cleaned the air, it pretty much looked like that in the mountains on Monday. Now branches are broken and gardens are done. Multiple states burning? It’s fine.
“I was only supposed to eat a tenth of those mushrooms?”
Go Crows.
I was the only one to pick them in the 2 pools I am in. Fucking Carlton fucked me
This joke was mandatory.