Is This The Direction The NAB Cup Should Take?
There has been plenty of talk about the NAB Cup this year and whether or not it is necassary and given the amount of ACL injuries we have seen during this years’ pre season games you can understand why some AFL Coaches, in particular Dean Laidley, are questioning the length of the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge series. I personally think the NAB Cup may be a waste of time given that Clubs are not really interested in playing their stars in fear of them injuring themselves for the start of the season proper, therefore the hunger to win games is not paramount.
On the other side of the equation. We have Mark Williams coach of Port Adelaide Power who in an interview for The Advertiser has said that he think the competition is “fantastic”. He has also taken a bit of a dig at other clubs saying “At our club, as our young guys would know, anyone who is ready and willing, we’ll play them during the season but a lot of clubs only play them this time of the year.” which I read as that he thinks that other clubs are not willing to give the young players on their list as much opportunity as the he does. Read more
2008 AFL NAB Cup Semi Final Game 2
Hawthorn vs Adelaide
Adelaide have been going along quite nicely and look to be ahead of most in their preparations for the 2008 AFL Season. Neil Craig looks to have changed his game style and they are now playing a free flowing style of game which is certainly a lot better to watch. The new look Adelaide midfield also looks good and with my man James Porplyzia relishing the opportunity of spending some more time in the middle and racking up the touches. Simon Goodwin and Andrew McLeod are comfortable down forward and as we saw last week McLeod is simply brilliant in creating opportunities in the forward 50. The word out of Adelaide is that they will be more intense this week and are looking to exert some more pressure on the opposition. Something that Craig said he was impressed with from the Dockers last week. Another good test for the young ruckman this week and also for Brad Moran who is tipped to play on Hawthorn Superstar Buddy Franklin. Nathan Bassett, The Bird Man Brett Burton and Rob Shirley look set to return for the Crows but Bassett may mind himself playing forward instead of back as Craig looks to find more avenues to goal. I have been impressed with the Crows game style and skill level in the first too hit outs and I am sure they will be out to grab a Grand Final berth. Read more
Why Why Why Denis?
I almost choked on my Weetbix this morning when I was scouring my RSS Feeds and the headline “Refreshed and ready to coach an AFL side again at 60″ appeared and Denis Pagan’s picture inserted. Why does he want to go through it all over again? Well once a coach always a coach I guess and Denis sees himself as a career coach. You would have thought his experiences and Carlton, who sacked him with 6 rounds to go in the season, and he admitted that he was probably a “dead man walking” for the last 2 years, were enough to turn him off, apparently not. He described his time at Carlton as “a nightmare a minute”. There is some inspiration right there on why you would want to do it again!
He seems to have begun his campaign to return to the coaching gig and is warning the AFL that the Y Generation of coaches that have bee touted as candidates for the new teams, mainly Michael Voss, would be a huge risk “Gee, I’ll tell you what, you’d want to make sure you put an experienced coach in those two positions,”, just trying to throw himself up there in the eyes of the AFL I think and make sure they know he is still around.
I reckon a Y Generation (as he put it) would be great, new face, new ideas, different game styles. Provided they had some experienced support around them. It would be great to see a Michael Voss or a Nathan Buckley take on the challenge, just not Jason Akermanis. Get some fresh faces in there I say. Denis my advise to you stick to your new business venture at Teams at Their Best.
What do you think, Is Denis past it and do we need to see some fresh faces in the coaches box?
2008 AFL NAB Cup Semi Final Preview
Essendon vs St Kilda
The Bombers have been playing some impressive footy during the first 2 games of the NAB Cup against the Brisbane Lions and last week against the Western Bulldogs but can they continue their 
momentum? The Bomber youngsters have been brilliant and are the reason the Bombers are where they are at the moment. They will have to again stand up against a powerful St Kilda lineup as Matthew Lloyd (hamstring), Adam McPhee, Dustin Fletcher, Andrew Lovett and Jason Winderlich are still not available to play. What has impressed me the most about the Bombers is their speed and inclination to put pressure on the opposition causing that important “percieved pressure” and making them think that they are about to get tackled and therefore rushing their possession.
Bombers Young Midfield
Houli, Dyson, McVeigh, Davey, Reimers have been fantastic rotating through the middle for the Bombers but the first 2 will be rested this week and others will need step up against the quality of Dal Santo, Montagna, Clarke, Hayes and the like. Brent Stanton has also been included this week for his first outing in the Number 5 Jumper and should add some more dash and skill through the middle, and maybe a Monfries, Hocking or Reimers will be given more time in the guts. The free flowing game plan of Matthew Knights is very exiting to watch but they need to be careful not to overuse the handball like we saw with Port Adelaide in the opening round. The Bombers have been doing this very well and not hand balling for the sake of hand balling but linking up and running forward with advantageous handball instead. Gardiner and King have both been named for the Saints so it will be a good test for David Hille and Jason Laycock. Reiwoldt has also been named and it will be great to see the youngsters in Ryder or even Demspey line up on him to see where they are at. Read more
4 Players to Watch in the NAB Cup Semi Final’s
1. Jason Porplyzia (Adelaide)
I am officially on this guys bandwagon !. He has been has had the dreaded word “potential” written all over him since arriving at 
the Crows and it looks as if this year might just be his breakthrough year. He has started like a house on fire and already has his fans. Club legend Andrew Jarman has already labelled him as favourite for the Club Best and Fairest (i know we are still in February, but he is fairly outspoken). And according to the Crows website someone has backed him in for the Brownlow. Porplyzia is looking the goods though and he is spending more time in the midfield now with Simon Goodwin and Andrew McLeod up forward and is relishing the opportunity. He has great skills and just knows where to go to get the footy. Watch him this week, especially against the quality mid fielders of the Hawks.
2. Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)
Another indigenous little fella showing that he has got some flair and speed to burn. He was impressive last week, especially in the first half and looks to a player that may not get a ton of the footy but will be a flashy type player until he works on his fitness to be able to run through the midfield. As with the likes of Jetta and Davey from the Bombers he has the uncanny knack of sneaking up on players from behind with his electrifying pace and making the tackle. But if he doesn’t make the tackle the pressure or percieved pressure he can create can cause some dangerous turnovers for the opposition. This is something we are seeing a lot of during the NAB Cup. If he can bob up for a couple of goals in the process then Alistair Clarkson will be more than happy. Read more
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That’s a Wrap - NAB Cup Round 2
Essendon vs Western Bulldogs
Well Round 2 of the 2008 NAB Cup saw some better footy being played and the Bombers kicked it off on Friday Night with an impressive display 
against the Doggies. Their pace and willingness to use that pace to tackle, harrass and chase from behind was the highlight. For Bomber fans it will be easy to get carried away with that performance but you only need to remember back to Carlton’s impressive performances in the NAB Cup compared to the season proper to realise it is only early days. The Bombers have certainly found the pace they were looking for and Ricky Dyson looks set for big things in 2008 racking up 30 touches. Bachar Houli looked great and his silky skills were evidant again. Laycock was good in the ruck giving David Hille a bit more time in the forward half and he looked like he could be a good option as a tall leading forward. The Bombers quick movement and their use of advantageous handballs was good to watch, but can they continue that against the Saints Next Week? Matthew Knights might have put a few of his knockers to rest with what looks to be a very exciting game style which the players have faith in and a following his instructions to the letter. Read more
NAB Cup Semi Final / NAB Challenge Draw
2008 NAB Cup Semi Final Draw
Friday February 29
Essendon v St Kilda at Telstra Dome, 7.40pm (AEDT)
Saturday March 1
Adelaide v Hawthorn at AAMI Stadium, 6.40pm (ACST)
NAB Challenge
Friday February 29
Sydney v Richmond at Narrandera (AEDT). 7pm.
West Coast v Carlton at Alice Springs, 7pm (ACST)
Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at Bendigo (AEDT) 7pm
Brisbane Lions v Geelong at Carrara, 7.40pm (AEST)
Saturday March 1
Fremantle v Kangaroos at Subiaco, 6.40pm (WST)
Collingwood v Port Adelaide at MC Labour Park, 2pm (AEDT)
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We Are Not Scared Of Them !
They are the words of NRL Boss David Gallop. The battle lines have officially been drawn.The NRL are about to tackle the AFL head on in the race in competition expansion. It seems everyone is going to be in on the game including the Hyundai A-League. “Frankly, it’s time to take the AFL’s threats with a grain of salt”, Gallop said and the NRL not only will battle the AFL on the Gold Coast, they are planning to infiltrate Perth. Here are the other areas where they are planning to expand: Central Coast, Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Wellington and an area West of Brisbane.
The NRL are certainly trying to match fire with fire describing the AFL’s push into New South Wales as “ARROGANT” and attacking the AFL’s Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick’s comments when he said the NRL have been “lucky” with the success of the Gold Coast Titans. With the A-League set to introduce a team as early as next year the AFL will then be the third of the footballing codes up there behind the A-League and the NRL. As Dave from Dave’s Football Blog correctly pointed out in a comment on another post, the A-League play in different seasons but I just wonder about the Sponsorship and Membership opportunities which may cause some issues. I have heard on many occations on talk back radio that people and families that buy AFL Club memberships just can’t afford to fork out the cash for membership for Melbourne Victory as well. And if the A-League and NRL have teams there before the AFL, which looks like happening the people of South East Queensland may have already jumped on board with these teams meaning the AFL team that is located there may have more of an uphill battle than would already be the case.
For me, and for many other people, Australian Rules Football is the best game in the world but the public in different parts of Australia have different views and that will be an issue for the AFL.
The battle to be the Best and Biggest footballing code in Australia continues but who will raise their hands in triumph? Will the heavy weights in the AFL with more money and resources than the others win the battle? Time will tell.
2008 NAB CUP Round 2 Preview - Game 4
Adelaide v Fremantle - AAMI Stadium, 4.40pm
Well Adelaide were the pick of the sides along with Geelong in Round 1 of the NAB Cup. They look a bit more advanced in their progress than other 
clubs and displayed a good skill level which was a rare sight. Admitadly the Pies were not ready to play in Dubai but nevertheless the Crows looked the goods. With their midfield of James Porplysia, Chris Knights, and Scott Thompson looking fantastic and getting plenty of the ball it enable Neil Craig to restructure his forward line, which is now without Scott Welsh, and we saw Skipper Simon Goodwin and Andrew McLeod spending a lot more time there and let me tell you they both looked quite comfortable as leading forwards. Many had thought that when Rhett Biglands went down that they would be in trouble in the ruck department but it looks as if the youngsters in Kurt Tippett and Ivan Maric may just be able to fill the void. It will be interesting to see if their young bodies can continue the battering as the year progresses. The other one to impress in Round 1 was James Seller, he was very good in the Crows Forward line and lead strongly and looks to have a good set of hands. He will be keen to back up that performance with another good one. Read more
