Finals Weeks Two-Three: The Wrap Of Brotherly Love

While footy is a team game, the skill and brilliance of individual players goes a long way to ensuring that the stadiums are full (although not in Sydney), and that the AFL remains the number one footballing code in Australia. So it is only fair and right that the players have the opportunity to receive due recognition at the end of every season. There are varying methods through which this can be achieved. All of the newspapers and TV shows have their own awards, distributing cars, hampers and cruises for two to winners in a wide variety of categories. The AFL’s official award has since 1924 been the Brownlow Medal, named after a former Geelong administrator and awarded to the “fairest and best” player. This designation caused some red faces a decade or so ago, when in consecutive years the award was “won” by ineligible players – first in 1996 North’s Corey McKernan shared the winning number of votes with Michael Voss and James Hird to no avail, then in 1997 the Dogs’ Chris Grant won outright but had to watch from home as the medal went to Old Father Time Robert Harvey (then a sprightly young man). And the Brownlow Medal is a very arbitrary award. It can seemingly be won only by midfielders (and blond ones at that). While it is true that a number of truly great players have won Brownlow Medals, such as Dick Reynolds, Michael Voss, James Hird, Robert Harvey, Nathan Buckley and Chris Judd, a number of medals have gone to those who would otherwise have faded deservedly into obscurity (Brad Hardie, Graham Teasdale, Shane Woewodin), or to others who spent far more time pacing nervously in the corridor while the tribunal weighed up how long their latest suspension should be than would seem fitting for someone supposedly the “fairest” player in the competition (Tony Lockett, Robert Dipierdomenico, Tony Liberatore). It is also frequently pointed out by the footy commentariat that many of the genuine greats of the game never won a Brownlow (Ted Whitten, Ron Barassi, Leigh Matthews, Wayne Carey, Gary Ablett Sr etc. etc.).

For all of these reasons, moves have been made in recent years to promote an alternative award as the jewel in the crown: the Leigh Matthews Trophy, or Most Valuable Trophy as voted by the players. On the surface, this sounds great. Any award voted for by a player’s peers must surely have a resonance greater than one voted for by the little men in tangerine/aqua/cerise. However this year’s MVP award process has demonstrated that there is no perfect system; there will always be bugs in the ointment. The 2008 AFL MVP award went to Geelong’s Gary Ablett Jr, his second straight win. No problems there, Junior is undeniably a champion who can do things few others can, and can virtually win a game single-handedly. However the voting process revealed all kinds of anomalies. Unlike the Brownlow Medal, where the votes are cast by the umpires on a round by round basis, the MVP voting is done by the players in two stages; one where the players can vote for their team-mates, and one where they can’t. The list of players is also limited to three per side, therefore meaning that the hapless Demons get the same representation as the all-conquering Cats. It’s a bit like the Australian Senate in that regard, with Melbourne playing Tasmania to Geelong’s New South Wales. What this meant in practice this year was that Geelong couldn’t fit the reigning Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel into its list of three, opting instead for Ablett, Joel Selwood and Cam Ling, the latter fresh from his Olympic pole-vaulting triumph. When it came to the second round of voting, all kinds of interesting statistics emerged. First, hardly any of the Collingwood players bothered to vote. Those who did snubbed Lance Franklin completely, despite (or possibly because) Buddy having carved them up on both occasions the two sides had met. Then there was the brotherly love factor. Sydney’s Jarryd (Jared? Jarred?) McVeigh has had an outstanding season, and lifted his game to a new level. But is he now among the game’s elite? Hell yes, according to the Essendon players, who gave him a ringing electoral seal of endorsement. Purely coincidental that his brother Mark is at Windy Hill, and evidently has a Tammany Hall/ Zimbabwe-style touch with his teammates when it comes to “suggesting” the correct way to vote. As does Brisbane’s Troy Selwood, whose Lions brethren voted en masse for Geelong’s Joel. Joel must be a little disappointed that his other two brothers Adam and Scott, both at West Coast, couldn’t between them manage an Eagles’ bloc to get him across the line. Frosty conversation around the Christmas dinner table at Chez Selwood this year, perhaps. So while the end result of the MVP was not unpopular, perhaps the off-season will provide opportunity for some tinkering of the voting system.

Four matches have been played in the finals series in the two weeks since I last got around to posting, let’s quickly run through them. The first encounter saw the battered Bulldogs regroup to take on the Swans at the MCG, in front of a thankfully larger (although still disappointing) crowd than that at the previous Swans’ final. The match started inauspiciously, if amusingly; with the players lined up and the crowd standing to attention for the national anthem, the distinctive strains of AC/DC’s “Long Way To The Top” blasted forward instead. Some would argue it would make a better anthem anyway. The game itself proved tight in the first half, but the Dogs ran away with it in the second, putting through ten goals to four for an easy 37 point win. A highly satisfying victory for Bulldogs’ coach Rodney Eade, who was previously at the helm of the Swans. Sydney will be pleased that they were able to carry their finals campaign into the second week, but will now have to think hard about how to stay competitive as their playing list ages – the fickle Sydney market will not take kindly to any “rebuilding years”.

The Saturday night fixture of week two saw the Saints take on the Magpies, and my Collingwood brother-in-law and I decided that the Ainslie Football Club might be a venue offering an appropriate atmosphere. Ainslie was certainly not lacking in sporting atmosphere; screens left right and centre offered a smorgasbord selection of AFL, rugby league, rugby union and even English Premier League soccer (complete with a table of drunken English football hooligans). But our attention, and that of many others, was firmly fixed on the Pies and Saints. It’s fair to say that amongst supporters of other clubs, Collingwood does not rank highly as a “second team”. Indeed, they’re commonly known as “the filth” by many. Even I would normally be loathe to be associated with the black and white, but as my brother-in-law hails from the more socially acceptable “Sinn Fein” membership wing of the club, rather than the great unwashed and unreconstructed outer, I was able to put negative feelings aside (mainly dating from 1990) and come along. However the overwhelming majority of neutrals both at Ainslie and elsewhere were firmly hoping to see the Magpies get trounced. And everyone bar my brother-in-law went home happy as Collingwood put in a shocker to go down by 34 points, season over for the Carringbush. The final margin didn’t really reflect the skill gulf between the sides, but had St Kilda kicked less accurately (17 goals 4 behinds) or Collingwood more so (9 goals 18) it might have all panned out differently. It wasn’t to be, though, Saints skipper Nick Riewoldt was unstoppable up forward while the Magpies didn’t have any clear route to goal. Towards the end the cameras flashed up shots of the Collingwood cheer squad leader “Joffa” looking totally despondent, followed by Magpie El Supremo Eddie McGuire looking similarly glum. This was greeted with a huge roar of applause from the pro-Saint gallery at Ainslie, as were shots of banished Pies Alan Didak and Heath Shaw sitting in the crowd in their suits. But the most miserable looking Magpies of all were two kids aged about six who were sitting with Eddie McGuire – evidently they’d won a competition of some kind with a prize of attending a final with the Collingwood President. If only they’d won it the previous week! For Pies fans it was a case of what might have been, if only Shaw and Didak had stuck to lemonade back in July. They’ll dine out over summer on being the only team to beat Geelong during the home and away season, but what a frustrating way to end the year.

And so to the Preliminary Finals, just four teams left with everything to play for. This time last year Geelong very nearly slipped up against Collingwood, and their fans were once again biting their nails as the Western Bulldogs took it right up to them. The Dogs dominated large stretches of play but their inability to convert opportunities into goals ultimately cost it dearly. The Cats never really dominated the match, but their finals experience really showed as they were able to soak up relentless Bulldog pressure before sweeping the ball to the other end and inevitably scoring another major. The eventual margin of 29 points was probably about right. Geelong advance to the Grand Final to defend their title, all over though for 2008 for the Doggies. The Bulldogs will rue their inaccurate kicking, but perhaps their major problem was that 2008 was simply not a great year to be a contender – in any other season the Dogs would have been a genuine chance, but this year they were clearly not in the top two. The Bullies are now the unwanted holders of the title both for longest premiership drought (since 1954) and longest wait to appear in a Grand Final (since 1961, although it should be noted that the Fremantle Dockers are yet to appear in a Grand Final and almost certainly never will.) So 2008 will join 1998, 1997, 1992 and 1985 in the Bulldog pantheon of lost preliminary final years.

And so to the penultimate match of 2008, the preliminary final between Hawthorn and St Kilda. The last time these two sides met it was the Saints who prevailed, coming back after being well behind at half time. And they were once more well behind at half time in this match, but there were to be no repeats of their earlier heroics. Although Buddy Franklin had a rare shocker after his blitzkrieg performance in week one of the finals, the Hawks had an army of battlers willing to step up in his stead. The forgotten man of the Hawks’ forward line, “The Other” Mark Williams, booted five, while Franklin’s straight man Jarryd (Jared? Jarred?) Roughead got four. Spiritual leader Luke Hodge was inspirational, remaining on the ground after having his ribs crunched and spitting blood in a manner reminiscent of Hawks legends Dipper and Dermie in the ’89 Grand Final. And Chance Bateman’s wild beribboned locks may make him look like a hybrid of Boy George from Culture Club circa 1984 and the Paddlepop Lion, but he can play. Just as well.
With the final result not in doubt after half time, the Saints’ attention turned to the fact that game 383 was going to be it for Old Father Time Robert Harvey. With his departure an era has finally ended – Harvey was the last remaining VFL player and the last left from the 1980s. An amazing achievement of longevity, tarnished only by the lack of premiership success. At least Harvey did get to play in a Grand Final back in ’97, the year he won the first of his back to back Brownlow Medals. But in recent years the Saints’ record in Preliminary Finals has rivalled that of the Bulldogs, with this year’s loss going alongside those of 2004 and 2005. 1966 must seem a very long time ago to the red, white and black brigade.

And so, after 25 weeks and who knows how many games, the 2008 season has come down to one fixture, and it’s the one we wanted. The reigning champs, Geelong, versus the worthy challengers, Hawthorn. Last time these two sides met in a Grand Final it was a modern day classic. Can they do it again? Let’s hope so. See you back here after the Grand Final for a comprehensive Wrap of the big day, plus a bit on the Brownlow if I get around to it. My tip- Geelong by 6 points, Buddy for Norm Smith.