World Footy News

For all the speculation and theories on form and match ups, at the end of the second round of the 2009 AFL finals all six matches so far have been won by the team that placed higher at the end of the minor round.

The Preliminary finals are now set as follows:

Friday September 18
First Preliminary Final
St Kilda v Western Bulldogs at the MCG, 7.45pm

Saturday September 19
Second Preliminary Final
Geelong v Collingwood at the MCG, 7.30pm

On Friday night the Brisbane Lions were gallant in defeat against the Western Bulldogs, but it was clearly a mismatch between a top four side and one still finding its feet on the big stage. The Lions' big forwards in Brown and Bradshaw looked dangerous but bad kicking saw the visitors well down at quarter time.

The Bulldogs' running skilful game looked in trouble at various stages as very strong swirling winds gripped the MCG and the game was overall a struggle early, but the locals seemed to deal with it better as the game wore on. Jason Akermanis, up against his old side, was uncharacteristically unsure in his ball handling, but veteran Nathan Eagleton ran hard all night and was rewarded with three goals, with Mitch Hahn booting four. In the end the Dogs did what they had to and scored a very comfortable 51 point win.

Although coach Michael Voss was keen to ensure his players weren't satisfied by making the finals but being knocked out in the second round, the fact remains the Lions made major advances in 2009 and had a successful season.

The Western Bulldogs must now prepare for the year's dominant club, St Kilda. Despite the solid win over Brisbane, the Saints, with the week off and a good finals win over Collingwood under their belt, must surely go in very warm favourites.

On Saturday night it was 4th placed Collingwood versus 5th placed Adelaide, but the Crows' scoring frenzy in recent weeks saw them favourites with the bookies. The game unfolded that way early, with Adelaide smashing the Pies and taking a 29 point lead into quarter time and it could have been more. But it was in the second quarter that Adelaide threw the game away. They were in complete control but the ghosts of their loss to Collingwood in round 19 seemed to play a cruel trick. After that loss coach Neil Craig bemoaned how shallow Adelaide's entries inside 50m had been - they had enough to win the game but many of them didn't go long. A desire to change that seemingly took control in the semi-final. Despite dominating possession, an incredible approximately 100 more than Collingwood late in the second quarter, Adelaide deliberately bombed the ball long rather than pass to what had been a powerful forward line. Time after time the Pies' stacked defence repelled with huge packs flying for the ball and Collingwood's extra numbers at ground level made the clearances all theirs.

Predictably and befitting a top four team, Collingwood slowly began to get more of the ball. For all Adelaide's dominance they scored only one goal in the quarter and at half time the Pies, remarkably, has a small sniff, just 26 points down. The stage was set for a comeback, and the black and white army was soon in full voice as the home town team surged to the lead, playing a much more daring running brand of football. In the final quarter it was neck and neck as Adelaide stabilised the game. The lead swapped back and forth with heroics and stuff ups from both sides. The talk had been whether an extra two day break would advantage the Crows, but with Knights on the bench injured and having gambled for much of the year by playing an extra ruckman, it was Adelaide that seemed to lack the legs. It was left to Jack Anthony to win the game for Collingwood. From long range he sent the Magpies' fans into ecstasy. Adelaide took the ball forward but the siren sounded on a 5 point loss.

It continues a poor finals record for Adelaide this decade and ironically some of their worst users of the ball when Collingwood was on the verge of being put away were the battle hardened veterans, whereas some of the young brigade played stand out matches, which might leave some very tough decisions to be made on the futures of the Crows' players in their mid-30s.

For the Pies, the big question is whether they can recover in time to mount a serious challenge to Geelong who enjoyed the week off. Any Geelong players watching Saturday night's match will know one thing - Collingwood will keep coming back.