Dream becomes nightmare for some as Big V pull clear

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Dream becomes nightmare for some as Big V pull clear

Authored by: Troy Thompson
on Thursday, May 15 2008 @ 12:15 pm ACST

All that I spoke to here in Melbourne considered that it was "a good game" and most spoke with enthusiasm about it. A bit easier for us to swallow here in Victoria (with genuine representation) than Croweaters like yourself Brett. Even heard one commentator lamenting that his Geelong supporting son (who i think was about 10) said it was "the best game he had ever seen" (even though he saw all Geelong games last year). Perhaps he was starstruck, which i guess is the general idea.

Here is a link from The Times Online site where a newcomer to the game reviews Eurosport 2's coverage as well as the game itself - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/giles_smith/article3934656.ece

Dream becomes nightmare for some as Big V pull clear

Authored by: Brett Northey
on Thursday, May 15 2008 @ 09:23 pm ACST

I wondered whether it would be better received in Melbourne, but most of the Victorian media lamented it as lacking something too. It was interesting to see them raise most of the points I did in my article Saturday night, so it can't just be a Croweater view.

However the players continue to talk it up as a great experience. There's no doubt some put their bodies on the line at times, but it seemed like they were more excited by the week leading up to the match, getting to rub shoulders with their fellow stars. But someone like Brett Burton, who played pretty well and talked up the anti-Vic sentiment and said it was a wonderful game, did concede that when it came to the crunch Victoria had more to play for.

It was interesting to hear Chad Cornes, who was sorely missed with a broken finger, speaking on the KG and Cornes radio show in Adelaide. He's the kind of tough nut that the Dream Team probably lacked. He said his brother Kane loved it, and Chad would've played if fit, and says he would rate playing for SA up there with AFL finals as something to wish for. But when asked what he thought of the Tribute game, admitted to turning it off at half time as it didn't really hold any interest.

I think everyone agrees it needs to be state versus state, and that it's virtually impossible to organise that, and certainly not annually. The best chance seems to be for some kind of carnival held every 4 years or so. As the AFL matures the players will continue to be scattered further around the country, so clubs like Adelaide will have less representatives in any one team, so may be less likely to be against the event.

One suggestion I thought had merit was the idea of states being ranked, and the nearest ranked teams playing each other. So to move up the ladder you have to beat the team above you.

Year 1

A: 2 v 3
B: 4 v 5
C: 6 v 7

then the next year the winner of A plays 1 for the titles of champions and runners-up, while the loser of A plays the winner of B for 3rd and 4th, and the loser of B plays the winner of C for 5th and 6th. Thus there are 3 games in year 1 and 3 in year 2. Years 3 and 4 are left free to not overdo the concept, then repeat, or find another method.

If we start with Vic ranked 1, SA and WA as 2 and 3 (in either order), then the winner of SA and WA rightfully get a crack at the Big V, while the loser has to defend their top 3 spot by playing the winner of game B, say NSW/ACT or Tassie or Qld or NT.

I don't know, that's kind of on the fly, so it may be full of holes, like every other theory put forward.

But back to your post, tell me Troy, from the view of a Victorian, did you think both teams went hard at it at the level of a big AFL match? And was the standard any higher than a normal AFL match, other than the quicker movement due to sides not really flooding?

---
Brett Northey - Co-founder and Chief Editor of WFN

Dream becomes nightmare for some as Big V pull clear

Authored by: Troy Thompson
on Friday, May 16 2008 @ 07:19 am ACST

The game was allowed to be generally open and flowing both tactically and somewhat due to selection (Ling and Sewell two that could have been in the Victorian side otherwise I think). The first half definitely took time to build, but I thought the second half was much more competitive and the last quarter played seriously by both sides. I don't think you could ever expect it to reach SOO hights, but it wasn't SOO. Most people I think hope that SOO can be brought back despite those who can stop that from happening working against it.

---
Brett Northey - Co-founder and Chief Editor of WFN

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