2012 AFL (Aussie Rules Football)

[Hanni]

I'll be cheering for Sydney as well I feel like Collingwood are the Canucks of AFL to my Geelong team.

[krazycanuck]

I've been following the AFL pretty hard this season, Found myself with an affinity for Essendon. Despite their mediocrity.

Originally Posted by Hanni

I'll be cheering for Sydney as well I feel like Collingwood are the Canucks of AFL to my Geelong team.

Yes, Collingwood are absolutely the Canucks of the AFL! Even just seeing their fans in the crowd makes me mad. They seem whiny, much like the Canucks fans do. I wouldn't mind seeing the Swans win in the grand final, mostly because they have a Canadian (Mike Pyke) on their roster.

Here's the oddest rule I've found about the AFL. If in the grand final, they have a tie they don't play overtime. They play another game! Imagine if in the Grey Cup or the Superbowl, they just end the game after regulation and play again a week later.

[Magnum PEI]

caught a bit of the Grand Final last night. Sydney ended up winning, even though the 5 minutes or so I watched they looked discombobulated and Hawthorn was in complete control.

Just my opinion but AFL> NFL> Rugby
Also, female umpires. This needs to happen in the CFL. Even if its just for field goals.

[getbak]

Yeah, once you get a handle on the basic rules (of which, there aren't many), it's a pretty entertaining game.


Victoria's Mike Pyke became the first Canadian to be on a Grand Final winning team.

[Jimmy Stang]

I finally managed to watch the Grand Final over the weekend. I had recorded it and it obviously wasn't hard to stay away from the score here in Canada (as long as I avoided this thread).

It was an entertaining final, for sure. Both teams flip flopped the lead back and forth a few times, and just when you thought that one team was going to run away with it, the other clawed back.

I was pulling for Sydney, so it was fun to be on the winning side, even if it was for fairly simple reasons. But I find it more enjoyable when you can focus a little more attention on a team by picking them as "my team".

[Hanni]

Bump.

The 2013 fixture starts sometime in the middle of the night Mountain Time tonight I believe (this weekend regardless).

http://www.afana.com/drupal5/tvsched Always has the schedule, nothing listed yet and TSN's listings don't have any games on them this weekend , as usual the TSN coverage will be terrible. I really wish Sportsnet World would pick this up.


Go Cats!

[Jimmy Stang]

I have been checking the TSN schedule periodically, but so far I haven't found anything to suggest that there will be any games on this weekend.

The best that I have been able to find is next Sunday, March 31st on TSN2 10:00pm. Hawthorn vs. Geelong. This is a Monday late-afternoon game in Australia, which is an odd time. I can only presume that Easter Monday is more of a holiday there than it is here in Canada.

[Red Slinger]

For those of us on the west coast there's a big game to start the season: Eagles vs. Dockers. Eagles appear to be one of the top teams this year although they have quite a few injuries at the moment.

[KOgear]

Kinda off topic, but I'll be in Melbourne in a couple weeks. Was planning on going to see the Richmond v Collingwood game at MCG. As someone going by themselves and probably only watching half the game do you think it would be worth it? Have to catch a plane to sydney at night.

Are Richmond and Collingwood good teams?
How hard is it to get tickets?

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by KOgear

Kinda off topic, but I'll be in Melbourne in a couple weeks. Was planning on going to see the Richmond v Collingwood game at MCG. As someone going by themselves and probably only watching half the game do you think it would be worth it? Have to catch a plane to sydney at night.

Are Richmond and Collingwood good teams?
How hard is it to get tickets?

Richmond was one of the top teams last year and appear to be pretty good this year too. Collingwood is always competitive. That would probably be a really good game to see especially at the MCG. Not sure about the tickets though.

[KOgear]

Thanks, I'll definitely try to go. Every person from melbourne I've met always say it's the best sport haha, and youtubed some videos which looks interesting.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by KOgear

Thanks, I'll definitely try to go. Every person from melbourne I've met always say it's the best sport haha, and youtubed some videos which looks interesting.

I would definitely give it a whirl if you can. One of my regrets was not planning my New Zealand / Australia jaunt a few years ago well enough to catch a Swans game. I did see the Canterbury Crusaders play in Christchurch (Super League Rugby), but it was a sloppy match. AFL would have been a lot of fun.

If you've got time before you leave, try and record a match or two. You won't learn every rule (hell, I have been casually watching for a few years now and still don't know what it going on sometimes), but it will give you a good primer before seeing it live.

There's a match this Sunday at 10pm, and next Saturday at 11pm on TSN2.

[krazycanuck]

TSN2's schedule of games they're playing this year:

Monday, April 1 – Round 1
• Hawthorn Hawks vs. Geelong Cats at 12 a.m. ET
Sunday, April 7 – Round 2
• Collingwood FC vs. Carlton FC at 1 a.m. ET
Sunday, April 14 – Round 3
• Collingwood FC vs. Hawthorne Hawks at 1 a.m. ET
Friday, April 19 – Round 4
• Sydney Swans vs. Geelong Cats at 5:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 27 – Round 5
• Carlton FC vs. Adelaide Crows at 2:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, May 4 – Round 6
• Adelaide Crows vs. Hawthorne Hawks at 2:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, May 11 – Round 7
• Hawthorne Hawks vs. Sydney Swans at 5:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, May 18 – Round 8
• Collingwood FC vs. Geelong Cats at 5:30 a.m. ET
Friday, May 24 – Round 9
• Collingwood FC vs. Sydney Swans at 5:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, June 1 – Round 10
• Sydney Swans vs. Essendon FC at 2:30 a.m. ET
Sunday, June 9 – Round 11
• St. Kilda Saints vs. West Coast Eagles at 2:30 a.m. ET
Friday, June 14 – Round 12
• Carlton FC vs. Hawthorne Hawks at 5:30 a.m. ET
Friday, June 21 – Round 13
• Hawthorne Hawks vs. West Coast Eagles at 5:30 a.m. ET
Friday, June 28 – Round 14
• Sydney Swans vs. Carlton FC at 5:30 a.m. ET
Friday, July 5 – Round 15
• Carlton FC vs. Collingwood FC at 5:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, July 14 – Round 16
• Collingwood FC vs. Adelaide Crows at 5:30 a.m. ET
Friday, July 21 – Round 17
• West Coast Eagles vs. Sydney Swans at 2:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, July 27 – Round 18
• Geelong Cats vs. St. Kilda Saints at 5:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, August 3 – Round 19
• Carlton FC vs. Fremantle FC at 5:30 a.m. ET
Friday, August 10 – Round 20
• Sydney Swans vs. Collingwood FC at 5:30 a.m.
Friday, August 16 – Round 21
• Hawthorne Hawks vs. Collingwood FC at 5:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, August 24 – Round 22
• Geelong Cats vs. Sydney Swans at 2:30 a.m. ET

*Schedule subject to change


22 rounds, and 9 of the televised matches feature Collingwood. I hate that team so much. But, if you're going to play 9 Collingwood matches, how do you not play the Anzac day game? It's basically the equivalent of the labour day classic in the CFL, if not bigger. I appreciate that TSN at least plays some of these matches, but as another poster mentioned earlier I hope Sportsnet World picks up some more. I'd subscribe to that channel just for 2 or 3 extra games a week.


Go Bombers!

[goodyear]

I lived in Adelaide a couple of years ago and every now and then, I like to check in on the AFL...especially Port Adelaide, who's 5-0 this season after another massive come from behind win...down 41 vs WCE in the 3rd Q and piled on the points in the 4th to squeeze out a win.

[Jimmy Stang]

Quick bump of this thread as the playoffs are starting tomorrow!

All times local MT:

Friday, 0730, Hawthorn vs. Sydney, Qualifying (on a 4-hour tape delay, TSN2)
Friday, 2200, Geelong vs. Fremantle, Qualifying (live, TSN2)
Saturday, 0330, Collingwood vs. Port Adelaide, Elimination (live, TSN2)
Saturday, 2300, Richmond vs. Carlton, Elimination (no TV info yet)

I'm not sure about that Richmond/Carlton game yet - I'll keep checking. And I'm also not sure if the cable box guides will update soon enough, so be careful when setting your PVR.

I must say, TSN has really stepped up with the AFL this season. There are usually two games every week, which is actually more than I can personally handle as I have a backlog of recordings that I have yet to work through. I have given up and now I'm just watching the Sydney matches so I am caught up for the playoffs - the rest I'll keep on there for random viewing over the winter.

And for reference, this is how the playoffs work with the "qualifying" and "elimination" games:

[Hanni]

This is great, I hadn't seen any TV info yet and was getting worried that TSN was going to let me down after they did a better than usual job all season. It was nice to see more than 1 game a week for a change. I may even send TSN a quick email thanking them for increased coverage, it sure makes a lot more sense to play some AFL games overnight instead of 5 hours of Sportscenter on loop.

I would just like to say Geelong is on a 4 game winning streak and walloped Sydney in the second last game, finishing 2nd.

Go Cats!

[Resolute 14]

It makes more sense from a fans' standpoint, but replays of Sportscentre are undoubtedly cheaper and more profitable given the expected viewership of the time frame.

I'll be PVRing the two matches tonight and watching midweek, so I'm going to hit and run this thread, but... what are your thoughts on the Essendon nonsense? I've only followed it from a distance, but I have to imagine that a team being kicked out of the playoffs one week before their start has to be close to unprecedented in major professional sports. Never mind the fines, suspensions and loss of draft picks. I don't understand very well how that will all effect the team since I don't follow the sport too closely, but for a drug scandal, probably not unwarranted. What is the full story there, anyway? Was the team basically forcing players to take supplements that are banned?

[GirlySports]

yay i can watch the 2200 match! geelong fremantle

[GirlySports]

this should be fun, who's watching with me

[transplant99]

Go Geelong!!

Just cause i like to say....Geelong!!