There is a lot to like about AFL Football at the moment . Two fantastic contests are promised for this weekend . The first preliminary Final , is to be played tonight , between the Magpies and Hawks

Judd in his baby blue jumper ?

. It should pack a capacity crowd into the MCG , to witness a fiercely fought game . Both these Melbourne based clubs have a proud history , and will fight for a place in the Grand Final . Its a feast of Friday night Footy , at its finest .

The Saturday afternoon Game at the MCG , sees the Cats , battle the Western invaders , the Eagles . Another skillful contest is expected , as both sides play an exciting mix of physical , contested footy , and both harbour a desperation to play off for the ultimate prize , a place in the Grand Final .

wce retro

Monday night will see a large group of AFL Footballers , WAGS , Coaches and  staff gather . All watch many AFL  players , who are judged by the umpires , to be the  best and fairest in the competition , compete for the Brownlow Medal . A media circus at Crown Casino , usually surrounds the event , with Carlton Captain , Chris Judd , widely tipped to win his third Brownlow medal . A feat only achieved by a handful of AFL players.

The action , both on and off the field promises much , and fans will be observing , wearing their  football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys .

Both the Eagles and the Blues have blue in their team colours . Who will wear blue jumpers on Saturday nights , twilight , AFL Semi Final Game , in WA ?

white carlton jumper

away wce jumper

The Blues travelling interstate , will surely favour their traditional style , navy blue with white logo football jumper , jersey , guernsey .

The host team , the West Coast Eagles , have a home style jumper of dark blue , yellow and white . Will they wear this ? or be forced to adopt a white style  , clash football jumper ?

The question arises , who will wear what coloured footy jumper on  saturday  night ?

wce home

Carlton blue jumper

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.

Geelong Cats, rebounding from defeat , at the hands of the Saints, put an end to the Purple Haze , on Friday night. The westerners , ( Freo ) riding into town, fell at the hands of the easterners, at the shrine of AFL football , the MCG , in front of many imported fans .

Similiarily , the dogged Swans,  were ground down by the relentless Doggies, on saturday night at the " G .

Retro Footscray

Julia , and 40,000 barking doggies fans,  cheered their battle scarred warriors to victory .

Both the interstaters , were seen off by the Vics with a sniff of victory for  a local Flag , they have set tilt at the Holy Grail of the AFL , the 2010 Premiership Cup .

66' revisited for Saints ?

The big Cats take on the might of the Magpies,  on Friday night .

In a sense of deja vu " , the Saints battle it out with the Bulldogs , on Saturday night , at the MCG.

Both Games, promise much .

The AFL,  is delighted with this Finals Series,  which has provided much for fans , all wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys,  willing their team to victory.

Geelong and Collingwood , worthy combatants in a do or die Final .

St Kilda and Western Bulldogs ( aka Footscray ), both teams plaqued with a lack of Finals success , are sentimental favourites in many hearts .

Who will succeed? There won't be a man left standing , nor a dry eye in the house,  on the conclusion of both games.

May the best teams win !

Can Collingwood win the ultimate prize ?

Must be Spring . The AFL Football Finals are on .

Last weekend was the start of the 2010 AFL Finals Series.

It was superlative entertainment , of the highest level .

This weekend promises further excitement, with the scheduled round of matches .

Quite apart from the physical , mental and verbal jousts , of the on field action, fans have been treated to sledging , between rival coaches , on and off the field.

Its raw , action packed , and emotive stuff that is not for the faint hearted . Many Saints fans can attest to this after last friday nights cliffhanger . Patrons were overheard being asked in a Balaclava coffee shop ( heart of St Kilda territory ) on Saturday morning " hows the ticker " ? The game was so close many sainters were in danger of having a heart attack before the final siren !

The old adage " Winners are grinners and losers can suit themselves " is most relevant .

Local fans , who have endured a long cold , wet Melbourne winter , floods , and election uncertainty , are poised to wrench every moment of enjoyment, from this final series.

Supporters everywhere , wearing their football jumpers, jersey's , guernsey's , say " bring it on " .

Are Collingwood Flag Favourites ?

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 ?

Its Mad Monday .

No mad Monday for Collingwood

Traditionally , the day when all AFL Football Teams, who haven't made the Finals , celebrate the end of the Season.

Around the country , AFL football players , in all leagues , will relax, and enjoy the temporary break , from training and playing .

Spotted in Port Melbourne, a group of Irish travellers , young men with beards, in dresses . When one attempted to hop , uninvited , on the back of a scooter , he was asked who he played for ? The rapid response was,  Celtic ! Truly, adding an international flavour , to Melbourne's ,Mad Monday.

Amateur teams celebrate

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

AFL Football Teams , are assessing their chances of playing in the Finals at the end of the season.

There are four clear certainties on top of the AFL premiership ladder, who are assured of a place in the Finals .

Of the other 12 teams, there are some who have no chance of playing, due to poor form during the year . Some teams , who still have a chance to play, will wage a desperate battle to win all games, to ensure they get a place .

Fans , ever hopeful that their team will make it through to the finals ,are out to support them by attending Games in their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys.

Can Melbourne make it to the Finals?

Its finally arrived, Finals time. That great battle that teams prepare for all season.An arena for players to display their great aerobic capacity and superlative skills. Fans either rejoice or commiserate at this time of year. All are either going, watching or barracking and all are wearing their teams colours regardless of who's playing . Win , lose or draw the gargantuan struggle has begun. Its Spring and that last saturday in september the G will be full and a feeling of general hysteria will pervade melbourne town. Some are confident some are scared but all are hoping their team will get over the line at 4.40pm sat 26 sept. .Arresting is the scene depicted in the Sacred Heart Op Shop Windsor of the Saints colours posed beside religious icons .It indicates that those south of the river will call on divine intervention to break the 43yr drought for their much loved team. It would be truly a miracle if the Saints can replicate that miraculous 1 point victory of 66 and come marching home to St Kilda with the premiership cup . Needs must and when the going gets tough the tough get going and a little prayer could only help a team named the Saints who have a history of being sinners .The Doggies too have been a long time between drinks and the West will come alive if they snatch it and return the cup to the Scraysters who have waited 55yrs to taste the ultimate victory.
If it is a Grand Final between these two sentimental favourites the roof will come down on the final siren at the G .
Let the Games begin.

the doggies