Yes, it's that one day in September once again, the one they all sing about (There are actually many AFL songs, but here's the one I'm talking about.). The last Saturday in September; the whole of the AFL season has been building towards this. It's the big one: St Kilda, winner of 22 out of 24 games in the season, with a total losing margin of 7 (as in, if you add all the losing margins, you get 7), plays Geelong, who have played in two (now three) consecutive Grand Finals, being by far the greatest team of seasons 2007 to 2009 (I was going for them, by the way). Anyway. Let's have a look at my day, and in case you hadn't realised, this is going to be a very footy-centred day.
I got up at about 7:30, and after doing chores and such, I did some of my PE assignment (jees, it never ends, does it?). I trawled internet sites looking for stuff, and I did print out a few things. Although I'll need to do some more stuff before Friday, when it's due. So after I did that, I went to play some Battlefield Heroes before the big game. However, it was mostly messing around on a pre-game, trying to work out some of the finer points of rocket jumping and flying and so on (incidentally, I can now fly much better than I could before, as I can actually get the plane off the ground. However, I'm still working out how to land and shoot, which is sorta the point. I mostly use it to get to places.). At around 2:20, though, I realised what time it was, and I went out to watch the AFL Grand Final of 2009 (warning: these next few paragraphs contain very full-on footy. Don't say I didn't warn you.).
The game started off exactly as you would expect in the best game of the season: full-on and intense, with neither side dominating. However, Geelong ended up getting the first goal two minutes in, and 5 minutes later, they got their second. After that, though, the tide of play quickly turned, with the St Kilda backline repelling almost every Cats advance. They could only manage one more goal for the quarter, while the Saints kept marching in (pun intended. Definitely intended. Quite frankly, I think that's hilarious.) to their forward 50, matching Geelong's 3 goals by the end of the quarter, and two behinds to boot (pun also intended.). The quarter time score read 3.2, 20 to 3.0, 18, St Kilda's way.
The second quarter was a weird one, as it brought back memories of the second quarter of last year's Grand Final (seriously, it was like déjà vu all over again.). The ball continued its way to St Kilda's end, although it had trouble working out where the big sticks were. Repeated shots at goal by the Saints ended in behinds from almost every single one, whereas Geelong kept taking the ball and getting the goals. In fact, in the space of 10 minutes or so, the Cats got two goals and the Saints got four behinds. The best part of the play, though, came in the end, when Geelong got two goals in the space of just over a minute (one, on the video replay, was seen to have hit the post, but they paid it as a goal.). However, the Saints didn't like that. They got the ball and added their two goals in two minutes. But it wasn't over, as Cat Darren Milburn (or so says the AFL website. My memory isn't that good.) started arguing with the goal umpire. He gave away a free kick in the goalsquare in the Grand Final, of all things, which ended in a Saints goal. Half-time saw a score of 7.7, 49 to 7.1, 43, with the Cats down by a goal. In the break, I played some BFH. Well, why not?
The third quarter was a fairly low-scoring affair, with there just being two goals a piece for both sides. There was even a period of over 10 minutes when there was no score at all. Not even a point. St Kilda squandered quite a few opportunities, getting three behinds in two minutes. It was a rather slippery ground, as it had been raining on and off for the whole game, really. The stage was set for the fourth quarter, with the Saints up by seven behinds at 9.11, 65 to 9.4, 58.
The last quarter was a really exciting one, as the last quarter of the last game was played in a remarkable fashion. Hawkins from Geelong got a goal less than two minutes in, leaving the Saints only a point up. However, two points to the Cats and three points to the Saints left the game in suspense, as there was an amazing save near the end by Baker of the Saints. Chapman, though, kicked a goal with less than 10 minutes to go putting the Cats in front, and the back line started to get flooded. St Kilda kicked it to open space in their forward 50, for a point, and the ball was kicked long to the flanks. Out came Harry Taylor of Geelong! He marked the ball amongst the pack of players of both sides, and kicked it down the ground, marked by Max Rooke. The siren went in front of goal, and Geelong supporters everywhere cheered, while Saints everywhere slunk. Rooke kicked the ball through for a meaningless goal after the siren, leaving the score reading 9.14, 68 to 12.8, 80. Geelong had won just one quarter throughout the whole game, but it was enough to give them the game. It was one of the greatest games I'd ever seen.
After the game, and after seeing who got the Norm Smith medal, I had dinner and such, and towards the end of the night, I played some more Battlefield Heroes, winning an epic 50-0 game (that's a perfect game, in case you didn't know) with my gunner and John. I played BFH long into the night, finally going to bed at around 11.
To comments now, 1 from Ebony.
*Ebony: Why saddened? Those were great last minutes! And we were talking about something, I suppose... what was everybody else talking about? And it was both an assessment and an exam; it was an exam meant to assess. Both right, I can title how I want.
And that was my day. Mostly watching the footy, and I felt obliged to give my commentary on the game. If you don't like reading about AFL, then you may have found that a bit boring. I actually quite liked writing that. Anyway. Yeah, it's a late post, but it's a weekend. So, there.
Atta way, Cats, atta way,
AB
Showing posts with label finals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finals. Show all posts
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The Big Finals
OK, I know the title isn't snappy or anything. I don't really care. The finals I refer to are, of course, AFL, but specifically, the ones that affect my teams (or rather, the teams I barrack for): EJ's footy team (I do go for them, after all), who played their Grand Final, and the Carlton-Brisbane game. For the sake of some drama, I'll withhold who won which games until I get around to it.
I got up at around 6:15; I'm not sure exactly when I woke up, although I do know I was laying bed for a while, trying to get back to sleep. It didn't exactly work. Dad left before us, and we left at about 8:15. I brought many things, for what I thought would be a long day out at the ground. Specifically, I brought: my iPod, my portable radio, my deck of cards, and 2 books. We got there at about 9:30, give or take, and there was already a game happening: Emu Plains, in Brisbane guernseys, and Rooty Hill, in Port Adelaide guernseys. I decided to go for Rooty Hill, pretty much just because their name was hilarious. Their name was 'Rooty Hill Power,' which just adds to the humour. At 10, when everybody was here, the fateful game started: The Southwest Tigers against the Campbelltown/Wollondilly Swans (the same team they played against 2 weeks ago).
The game started off ominously, at least from our point of view, with the Swans getting a goal in the first 10 or so seconds. However, luckily, the Tigers rose to the challenge pretty quickly, getting their first goal about a minute afterwards. The game was shaping up to be a good one. However, the backlines tightened up, and there was only one more goal kicked for the quarter. One of the Tiger kids, Ben, was also seemingly knocked unconscious near the end of the quarter while trying to stop a Swans goal from the middle of a pack. He came off the ground, of course. The quarter ended at 2.1, 13 to 1.3, 9, with the Tigers in the lead. The second quarter was a big one for EJ's team, with EJ himself getting a goal in this quarter. There were numerous shots at goal for Southwest, but due to defensive pressure by Campbelltown/Wollondilly and some accuracy mishaps (read: they kept missing), they didn't get as much as they probably should have. However, the Tigers did hold the Swans scoreless in this quarter, with the half time score reading 4.5, 29 to 1.3, 9.
Quarter 3 saw a lockdown by the Swans, in an attempt to stop the Tigers scoring and running away with the game. And it worked too, with our team only getting one behind for the whole quarter. although due to Southwest's centre work, the Swans couldn't capitalise. However, they did get one goal for the quarter, which resulted in a massive uproar by the other team's parents. The quarter ended with Southwest being twice the score of the Swans, at 4.6, 30 to 2.3, 15. The last quarter of the last match was then to be played, with only 3 goals in it and the game could have been won by either team. However, the Tigers went in there and played the most important quarter of the season in style, although the accuracy left something to be desired. Billy started to really run, and the whole team fire up. The Swans kicked 7 points for the quarter, but the Tigers kicked over double that, with their highest scoring quarter for the game. The final score read 6.11, 47 to 3.4, 22. The Tigers had won, won the first premiership for the entire club since god knows when. After the game, while they were lining up to get their medals, and I decided to be a smartass, so I just said: 'Coulda done better.' (I wasn't being serious, of course). After talking to people, and after the kids finished their celebrations, we went home.
We got home at around 2, and after I'd gotten lunch and what-not, I went into my room, so that I could blog about Friday. When that was completed, at around 4:30 (I procrastinate a lot, remember), I figured that I needed a break, so I got on Battlefield Heroes. However, I also wanted to see what was going on with the Cats-Dogs game, and I didn't want to leave my room. But then, inspiration struck: my portable radio (I would use my actual radio, but it only picks up FM signals). So I went out to Battlefield Heroes, while listening to the score. The Cats won, and I didn't do so bad myself. Then, at around 6:30, we all went out to Club Italia for premiership celebrations.
When we got there, there weren't many people there, and luckily I had brought my deck of cards. So I played a few hands of blackjack with EJ, and then I decided I'd show him what 31 was. So we played that a bit, and later when we went in to the special occasion room, he offered a game of President & Asshole. I refused, and offered to play 13 instead, which is similar to President & Asshole, but better (proof). Cleveland and Michael from Friday were there, and Cleveland said that he knew how to play. So we started to play that. A few rounds in, I realised that the Carlton-Brisbane game had started, so I took out my portable radio and listened to that. Later, after endless pestering by EJ, and also Cleveland to a degree, Michael started to play, after picking up the majority of rules of the game watching us. Later, after dinner, while the game was playing over the radio, EJ's coach, Alan, came over to listen, and also ended up playing, with the help of Cleveland. And started kicking ass. In the end, though, the game started to break down, and we all went to do our different things. I mostly listened to the game. Carlton were up by 30 points 2 minutes into the last quarter, and it seemed that we were bound to win. But the Lions roared back (pun intended), and kicked 6 goals, and shutting the Blues down. We lost by 7 points, and when the siren sounded, I collapsed back. Black and Bradshaw, after both being ruled out on Friday arvo and being last-minute inclusions for Brisbane, were their two best players, with Black being big in the centre, and Bradshaw kicking five goals. Goddamn. That's awful. Next year, though, we'll be big. So for the rest of the night, I read and listened to Tom Lehrer on my iPod. We got home around 11:30. So obviously I didn't get to post.
To comments, just the 1, but the first for what seems like a long time:
*Mango: Oy vey. I can't be stuffed figuring it out, you gave this to me in Maths. I'm sure it's simple, but I really, really don't care.
And that was my day. Sorry about the late post, but now that you've read this post, and when you read the next post, you'll understand. I'll try to get my schedule back on track as soon as I possibly can; believe me, I'm working on it. But I'm not promising anything.
Great work, EJ's team; There's always next year, Carlton,
AB
I got up at around 6:15; I'm not sure exactly when I woke up, although I do know I was laying bed for a while, trying to get back to sleep. It didn't exactly work. Dad left before us, and we left at about 8:15. I brought many things, for what I thought would be a long day out at the ground. Specifically, I brought: my iPod, my portable radio, my deck of cards, and 2 books. We got there at about 9:30, give or take, and there was already a game happening: Emu Plains, in Brisbane guernseys, and Rooty Hill, in Port Adelaide guernseys. I decided to go for Rooty Hill, pretty much just because their name was hilarious. Their name was 'Rooty Hill Power,' which just adds to the humour. At 10, when everybody was here, the fateful game started: The Southwest Tigers against the Campbelltown/Wollondilly Swans (the same team they played against 2 weeks ago).
The game started off ominously, at least from our point of view, with the Swans getting a goal in the first 10 or so seconds. However, luckily, the Tigers rose to the challenge pretty quickly, getting their first goal about a minute afterwards. The game was shaping up to be a good one. However, the backlines tightened up, and there was only one more goal kicked for the quarter. One of the Tiger kids, Ben, was also seemingly knocked unconscious near the end of the quarter while trying to stop a Swans goal from the middle of a pack. He came off the ground, of course. The quarter ended at 2.1, 13 to 1.3, 9, with the Tigers in the lead. The second quarter was a big one for EJ's team, with EJ himself getting a goal in this quarter. There were numerous shots at goal for Southwest, but due to defensive pressure by Campbelltown/Wollondilly and some accuracy mishaps (read: they kept missing), they didn't get as much as they probably should have. However, the Tigers did hold the Swans scoreless in this quarter, with the half time score reading 4.5, 29 to 1.3, 9.
Quarter 3 saw a lockdown by the Swans, in an attempt to stop the Tigers scoring and running away with the game. And it worked too, with our team only getting one behind for the whole quarter. although due to Southwest's centre work, the Swans couldn't capitalise. However, they did get one goal for the quarter, which resulted in a massive uproar by the other team's parents. The quarter ended with Southwest being twice the score of the Swans, at 4.6, 30 to 2.3, 15. The last quarter of the last match was then to be played, with only 3 goals in it and the game could have been won by either team. However, the Tigers went in there and played the most important quarter of the season in style, although the accuracy left something to be desired. Billy started to really run, and the whole team fire up. The Swans kicked 7 points for the quarter, but the Tigers kicked over double that, with their highest scoring quarter for the game. The final score read 6.11, 47 to 3.4, 22. The Tigers had won, won the first premiership for the entire club since god knows when. After the game, while they were lining up to get their medals, and I decided to be a smartass, so I just said: 'Coulda done better.' (I wasn't being serious, of course). After talking to people, and after the kids finished their celebrations, we went home.
We got home at around 2, and after I'd gotten lunch and what-not, I went into my room, so that I could blog about Friday. When that was completed, at around 4:30 (I procrastinate a lot, remember), I figured that I needed a break, so I got on Battlefield Heroes. However, I also wanted to see what was going on with the Cats-Dogs game, and I didn't want to leave my room. But then, inspiration struck: my portable radio (I would use my actual radio, but it only picks up FM signals). So I went out to Battlefield Heroes, while listening to the score. The Cats won, and I didn't do so bad myself. Then, at around 6:30, we all went out to Club Italia for premiership celebrations.
When we got there, there weren't many people there, and luckily I had brought my deck of cards. So I played a few hands of blackjack with EJ, and then I decided I'd show him what 31 was. So we played that a bit, and later when we went in to the special occasion room, he offered a game of President & Asshole. I refused, and offered to play 13 instead, which is similar to President & Asshole, but better (proof). Cleveland and Michael from Friday were there, and Cleveland said that he knew how to play. So we started to play that. A few rounds in, I realised that the Carlton-Brisbane game had started, so I took out my portable radio and listened to that. Later, after endless pestering by EJ, and also Cleveland to a degree, Michael started to play, after picking up the majority of rules of the game watching us. Later, after dinner, while the game was playing over the radio, EJ's coach, Alan, came over to listen, and also ended up playing, with the help of Cleveland. And started kicking ass. In the end, though, the game started to break down, and we all went to do our different things. I mostly listened to the game. Carlton were up by 30 points 2 minutes into the last quarter, and it seemed that we were bound to win. But the Lions roared back (pun intended), and kicked 6 goals, and shutting the Blues down. We lost by 7 points, and when the siren sounded, I collapsed back. Black and Bradshaw, after both being ruled out on Friday arvo and being last-minute inclusions for Brisbane, were their two best players, with Black being big in the centre, and Bradshaw kicking five goals. Goddamn. That's awful. Next year, though, we'll be big. So for the rest of the night, I read and listened to Tom Lehrer on my iPod. We got home around 11:30. So obviously I didn't get to post.
To comments, just the 1, but the first for what seems like a long time:
*Mango: Oy vey. I can't be stuffed figuring it out, you gave this to me in Maths. I'm sure it's simple, but I really, really don't care.
And that was my day. Sorry about the late post, but now that you've read this post, and when you read the next post, you'll understand. I'll try to get my schedule back on track as soon as I possibly can; believe me, I'm working on it. But I'm not promising anything.
Great work, EJ's team; There's always next year, Carlton,
AB
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