AFL - Round 14

Let's start with some choice quotes from last week's tips shall we?

...there's an element of basic foolhardiness in tipping the Dockers but it worked last week so I'll be giving it another go.

...I think [the Kangaroos are] unable to mount a convincing case that they can beat the Hawks tomorrow.

...No Johnstone, no Sherman for Brisbane tomorrow night.  Get your money on Adelaide while you can.

[Re: Port v Richmond] ...This is the sort of game that Richmond are likely to win but I'm sticking with the home team this time.  Tigers would be worth a punt if you're a gambler though.

Having said that, despite my worst week of tips this season with three out of eight I'm still leading one comp and in equal third in another.  Weird.  It's a split round for the next couple of weeks with six games this weekend and the remaining two the following, so no doubt all the clubs will appreciate a little bit of time off.  Let's have a look at what's on:

Hawthorn v West Coast:  North Melbourne ably demonstrated some of the Hawk's defensive weaknesses in their win last weekend, but you just can't see the Eagles repeating the trick.  And this news about Michael Voss being approached by the Eagles is a bit weird too, noting that his column today in The Age considers the side.

Richmond v Carlton:  Very good win by the Tigers last weekend against a pretty useless Port side so they'll have a bit of confidence coming into this game against the Blues.  Chris Judd took a bit of a knock in the loss against Essendon and I don't think he'll play.  Bookies are picking the Tigers and I think I'll get on board.  Not least because Richmond also have the most singable club song as well.  "We come from Ti-ger-land.."

Kangaroos v St Kilda:  North Melbourne would naturally prefer to hang onto their top eight spot against a Saints team just two points below them in ninth spot.  Danger game for the Roos with Dal Santo, Milne and Koschitzke also returning for St Kilda, but their style of play is too negative to be able to beat North Melbourne at the unfamiliar surrounds of Carrara Stadium.

Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide:  Port, recognising that the season's gone (and I believe that the Port Adelaide CEO John James resigned this morning too), has started blooding new players, and they may as well make it an AFL initiation to remember against the hard-tackling Bulldogs.  I heard that the Collingwood v Bulldogs game last Sunday evening was a ripper and the Sons of the West shoudn't have any problems here.

Melbourne v Brisbane:  Interesting talk in Canberra at the moment about how the Demons are keen to play here a few more times basically because the government subsidies make it more profitable than playing in Melbourne.  Of course while they're here it's all about "developing the code" etc etc etc, but they wouldn't want to underestimate this market.  Anyway, this match is a bit of a no-brainer, isn't it?  Lions by lots.

Fremantle v Essendon:  Probably the hardest match of the round to pick.  Freo have dropped Jeff Farmer for disciplinary reasons while the Bombers have lost the promising Jason Winderlich to injury for the rest of the season.  Essendon will be feeling good about themselves after beating up Carlton last week but their recent record at Subiaco's pretty poor.  Another half-hearted Dockers tip from me for this week.

So that's it until a brief preview of the Adelaide v Geelong and Sydney v Collingwood matches next weekend, enjoy your footy.