Finals fever means one thing for footy crazy Melbourne, and indeed any footy fan across the country, a sea of scarves and flags for those fortunate enough to see their team make it.
And this weekend is set to provide some mouth watering encounters, starting with last night’s big clash between arch-rivals Hawthorn and Geelong.
Both sides played off less than a month ago in a classic Hawks versus Cats encounter, with the winner of last night of course earning the right to a week off. But neither is out of the race, having qualified for that illustrious double chance, and may yet face off again come Grand Final day.
Saturday afternoon Sydney hosts Fremantle, in the second (despite being the ‘first’) qualifying match and tonight North Melbourne will take on Essendon in the first of two elimination finals.
Fremantle and Sydney have clashed only once this year, with the Swans rejoicing to the tune of 17 points in round five. That win kick-started Sydney’s 12 game winning streak. Sydney is undoubtedly the favourite with the bookies here, with not only playing at their second home ground, ANZ Stadium, but the Swans are also set to welcome back power forward Lance Franklin, whilst Fremantle lost backman Michael Johnson for the rest of the season with a back injury. Their last five encounters have been split down the middle, with the Swans winning two, the Dockers winning two and a draw.
At the MCG Saturday night North Melbourne will host Essendon, despite the fact that both clubs play the majority of their Melbourne home games at Etihad Stadium. Essendon won their sole encounter this year, in their opening game of the season, by a 39 point margin. On paper this game seems to be the most evenly matched. Six points separated both clubs after the home-and-away season, and Essendon comes into this one having finished its season with a draw against Carlton, whilst North Melbourne trumped Melbourne to the tune of 30 points last week. North Melbourne (just) takes the chocolates from their last five encounters, winning three of them.
The last game of the weekend, and this one must be cautiously approached because a sea of yellow-and-black is set to overtake Melbourne this weekend, with the Tiger army emphatically making its way to a second consecutive finals series – on the back of nine consecutive wins. In the last five encounters between Port Adelaide and Richmond, Richmond has mustered up three wins, Port Adelaide one and they have drawn once. This game is being played on Port Adelaide’s turf, and it has made Adelaide Oval a bit of a cauldron this year. The Power lost a close one last week to Fremantle, meaning it missed its opportunity at the double chance, whilst Richmond had a very famous victory against one of the premiership favourites Sydney, in Sydney. On form, one might expect Richmond to come away with this one, having already beaten Port Adelaide in their only encounter this year. But a fast paced Port Adelaide, with a killer instinct is no force to be reckoned with, and once it gets its run on, it is almost impossible to stop.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has urged his players to seize their opportunities, having lost to Carlton in its only final last year, despite being favourite in that game.
“You’ve got to give yourself a chance to become a premiership player and there’s eight sides that give themselves that opportunity – we’re one of them,” Hardwick said.
“Granted we’re in eighth spot but I think it might be a fair assumption to say this might be one of the best finals we see.
“Our guys are playing a sustainable brand of footy that we think is capable of winning big games.”
Source: afl.com.au