The might of Collingwood ,stopped Geelong' s assault on the flag, last night at the MCG .

In an impressive display of AFL football , the Magpies overpowered the Geelong Cats  .

Geelong , seasoned veterans of two premierships , and successful finals campaigns in recent years, had no answers for the marauding Magpies .

Fans were out , in their football jumpers, jerseys , guernseys, to watch the Game . The Collingwood army, were present with their legion of fans , voicing the low rumble " collingwood ' , through much of the night .

The Saints , take on the Western Bulldogs, in the second preliminary final, tonight at the MCG. Another epic battle , is predicted between these two mighty clubs . Both teams share a spectacular lack of Finals success , and  are set for a feisty competition .

Its Magpies season . Even walking the dog at the local park ,prompted an unprovoked attack from a native magpie .Was he protecting his nest, or did he spot the Saints dog collar, and just decide to stamp his authority?

Time will tell who the ultimate victor is. Love em" or hate em ' , Collingwood to use that afl commentators , hackneyed cliche , are definitely " up and about" .

Magpie Army

The AFL , has scheduled both Preliminary Finals , for night-time @ 7.45pm Friday , and 7.20pm Saturday .

Collingwood for 2010 Premiers?

Collingwood , play Geelong , on Friday night at the MCG .

St Kilda , play the Western Bulldogs,  on Saturday night at the MCG.

Lots of things, about the 2010 Finals Series, seem familiar .

Collingwood, walk the walk and talk the talk,  but are they capable, of winning the Premiership ?

Geelong ,  the reigning Premiers are quietly confident , as they present for another Finals series , and are a good chance for the Flag.

Western Bulldogs , the battlers from the West , are playing an exciting brand  of football , with the luck of Julia Gillard on their side .

The Saints , sentimental favourites of many, are poised to re-write history, and win only their second premiership, in their illustrious history .

Some questions abound .

Have the Pies , peaked too early ?

Will Geelong win , yet again?

Can the Bulldogs , get across the line,  carrying a  number of injuries , to their key players?

Will the Saints , finally hit paydirt?

Whatever the outcome , of this frenetic round of preliminary finals , of two things, you can be certain .

A record numbers of fans , will be out cheering their teams to victory, wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys .

That Molly Meldrum ,has already painted his fence in the red , white and black of the Saints. Is he a jinx?
Sit back , relax and enjoy . We're in for a bumpy ride to watch AFL Football at its finest.

The first AFL , Football Final , was held last night.

Appropriately , the curtain raiser, was a match between the two Grand Finalists , of last year . The two Victorian teams, St Kilda and Geelong , playing on a Friday night at the MCG in front of 63,000 parochial fans.

It was adrenalin fuelled , frenetically paced action from start to finish .

The rematch promised much , and the Game delivered . Blood flowed , umpires were maligned , fans roared , fowards missed set shots on goal, but the gritty Saints, ground out a heart stopping win .It was a brilliant spectacle.St Kilda ,avenging last years devastating loss, doggedly prevailed with a four point win, over the marauding Cats .

Fans , wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys , were at the MCG .What started as a mild , dry night ended in torrential rain , with conditions both on and off the ground , becoming slippery and rain soaked .

High profile Saints fan , Eric Bana , was willing his team to win but so were many of the Saints faithful .

Whilst there are still games to play , many Saints fans ,  left the game with a spring in their step , a smile on their face, and a bit of hope in their heart .

Collingwood , flag favourites , play the skillful Western Bulldogs today at the MCG with a huge crowd expected .

Magpies Vs Doggies today

Julia Gillard , their number one ticket holder will be watching .Is her struggle for power , to be likened to the Bulldogs epicurean struggle , for victory over the Magpies ?

Its fast , its fun , its exciting . Who will be the ultimate victor ?

Finals footy is here at last,  and last nights match was a spectacular forerunner , of whats to come .

Can the Saints relive their 1966 Premiership Dream ?

The last round of AFL matches, saw very mixed results .

A Magpies tattooed army , trounced a seemingly unstoppable , Saints side.

Dual premiership winners, and league leaders,  the Cats, were beaten by out of form Crows .

New glamour side Tigers,  were thwarted by Kangaroos, and Blues stopped by Swans .

Freo prevented Demons moving foward, bottom dwellers Eagles , beat luckless Bombers , Hawks thrashed Lions , and Bulldogs defeated de - stabilised Port Power .

Fans , used to mid season , mixed results were out , in their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys   to watch all the action.

The lead up to the AFL Finals is on , with the race for closely contested spots beginning.

Despondent Lions

Julia Gillard ,the PM , is a keen Western Bulldogs supporter .

She has called a federal election , for Saturday the 21 st August .

The home and away matches, of the AFL Season, end on 28 August .

AFL Finals Football follows .

Is it just coincidence , or did Gillard not want the election to clash with the Finals ?

Fans will be at all games in their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys to support their teams throughout their finals campaigns.

Will the Crows make the FInals?

On a cold , wet , wintry night at the MCG , the Bulldogs were denied victory by the Hawks.

In a hotly contested Game , the Hawks , triumphed over the Dogs , by three points .

Even new PM,  Julia Gillard's support,  couldn't  help the Western Bulldogs to victory .

Perhaps they need to fly her in for every game , to give them a morale boosting presence.

The Western Bulldogs , gallant in defeat , couldn't halt the marauding Hawthorn Hawks , who have now won 7 matches in a row.

Fans turned out in their jumpers , jerseys , guernseys to watch the match .
It was AFL football at its best , as the two closely matched rivals , fought for ascendancy .

The Hawks , were lucky to prevail , and come out winners , at the match's conclusion.

Hawks 7 in a row

Julia Gillard, is Australia's newest Prime Minister .

Julia , a 48 year old,red haired, unmarried ,Welsh born woman , from Melbourne's working class,  western suburbs , is a  keen,  Western Bulldogs supporter.

This , is a history making decision , in Australia's political landscape .

Will ,the AFL team , the Western Bulldogs , ( aka Footscray to diehard fans ) win the Flag , breaking a 55 year drought ?

Anything is possible .

Stranger things have happened .

Just ask their number one fan .!

Is Julia the Western Bulldogs No 1 Fan!

Shaun Higgins , a rising Bulldog star , rolled his ankle on Etihad stadium's surface on Sunday afternoon .

AFL team the Western Bulldogs , one of five tenants of the ground will lodge their third complaint with the Stadium management. They believe Higgins was injured  because of the soft surface of the Ground .
The AFL Players' Association is investigating the circumstances of Higgins' injury.

A Collingwood player from Sunday,s Game , Dale Thomas ,described the surface as tacky and shifting in spots.
The Bulldogs will send an official written complaint for the AFL.

Ultimately, the Dogs are seeking action as well as an explanation.

Nick Riewoldt , Saints skipper , hurt himself earlier in the year amid claims of an unstable surface at Etihad Stadium

Fans want to wear their jumper , jersey , guernsey to the Game and see their team and its stars play well.

What action will be taken ?

Will Lions fall at Etihad ?

The pressure to succeed and the unpredictability of the modern AFL game was never more evident than in last weekends round of matches .

The Cats thrashed the Lions at the Gabba', Western Bulldogs beat in form team Sydney and the Saints suffered their third loss in a row to a speedy , youthful Bombers side .

The Richmond Tigers looked poised to breakthrough with their first win of the 2010 season only to have it snatched away by their Hawthorn opponents in the dying moments of the game.

A  youthful Melbourne Demons team were no match for a rejuvenated West Coast Eagles who beat them soundly at the MCG.

Interstate results saw Carlton hold off Port Power at AAMI stadium and the Collingwood Magpies beat vastly improved Fremantle Dockers at Subiaco.

Many fans, tipsters and media commentators would have expected different results to those posted in this round of matches .

Fans were out everywhere in their jumpers , jerseys , guernseys to cheer their team on and to will them to succeed.

Nic Naitanui's Jumper

AFL Clubs do not always wear their traditional colours .

Sometimes they might wear a different coloured jumper to mark a special occasion.

Some might do it just for the money.

Several years ago Carlton Blues wore a yellow jumper to launch the new M & M ( mars lolly)amid much fanfare and as a unique advertising ploy.

It generated a lot of interest and gave the club revenue. Those jumpers , jerseys , guernseys are highly sought today by fans and collectors alike.

Spotted recently at Goschs Paddock in inner Melbourne were Collingwood Magpies training in a light blue football jumper jersey guernsey .

The Brisbane Lions have been known to wear red . ( Perhaps as a reaction to seeing red at some of Fevola's antics!)

Sighted last week at a major sporting goods oultet were St Kilda Saints jumpers jerseys guernseys in lime green and fluoro pink .The tag said training jumper .

Perhaps teams will adopt these specially coloured jumpers again .

Tonights match at the MCG between Western Bulldogs and Melbourne Demons is a pink fundraiser for breast cancer research .

Next year will we see Barry Hall in pink !

Traditional Western Bulldogs Jumper