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 ?

Beat the Friday the 13th blues, by attending tonight’s  blockbuster at the MCG ,between Essendon and Collingwood.

Traditional rivals , Esssendon is playing with nothing to lose , as it takes a tilt at the finals ,whilst Collingwood are in top spot , and look strong contenders ,to take out the 2010 premiership flag.

Four Saturday Games , two in Melbourne , at the MCG and Etihad Stadium ,and two interstate , one in WA , and one in SA ensure a wide coverage for fans .

The round concludes with three Sunday games , one at each of the Melbourne venues , and one in Brisbane .

All games of the 20 th round of matches , will provide fans attending or watching in their football jumpers ,jerseys, guernseys , with a feast of entertainment .

will Collingwood win ?

A crowd of almost 82,000 , went to the MCG last Saturday afternoon , to watch , the Collingwood versus St Kilda Game .

It was a massive crowd,  for a typical , home and away clash of the Season. Fans love Saturday Afternoon Footy. They go in their football jumpers, jerseys, guernseys , to enjoy the Game.

The AFL , could schedule more Games, for a Saturday afternoon in Melbourne ,at either of the stadiums .

Collingwood Magpies , who have the most financial members in the AFL ,possibly comprised up to 50,000 fans.

The rest , whether Saints fans,  or just lovers of AFL football, voted with their feet . Hopefully the AFL , will take notice .

Interstate Games are hard for fans to get to !

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

Melbourne , the home of AFL football, is experiencing it’s coldest winter for many years . A recent June day, was the coldest for two years , with temperatures only reaching 7 degrees Celsius, at midday.

Devoted fans, wearing their football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys, will still come out to watch their teams play, despite the extreme weather conditions .

The AFL, scheduled three of the last round of matches , to be played at Etihad Stadium . Its got a closable roof , bright lights , comfortable seats , and ensures fans are warm , dry , can see and are comfy on these cold ,wet , winter nights .

The MCG , despite having a much larger crowd capacity , and having recently undergone a costly renovation, is less comfortable .

Fans , and teams of the modern AFL game , require a certain standard of comfort .

Interestingly, the  Brisbane Lions lost,  to the  Carlton Blues , at Etihad Stadium, in Thursday night’s Clash .

Can the Lions , hailing form sunny temperate Brisbane , blame their loss on the weather ?

Too cold for Lions ?

The AFL,  have scheduled a football match , for this Thursday night .

The Carlton Blues , play the Brisbane Lions , in  Etihad Stadium ,  at 7.10pm .

Local popular side  Carlton , play rival interstate side , Brisbane.

Another clever marketing innovation , by the AFL , to get fans at games , mid week?

Will fans turn out on thursday night, in their  , jumpers , jerseys , guernseys , to watch the Game?

Interestingly , of the 8 games in this round  , 3 home games are to be played at Etihad Stadium , compared to only 2 , to be played at the MCG.

Lions on a Thursday ?

The Saints , beat the Cats ,  in AFL , Friday Night Football , at the MCG .

St Kilda Saints , number one ticket holder , Eric Bana , was in the crowd.

He was wearing a Saints scarf , to show his support .

It appeared to be a non official , unlicensed product . In short , a cheap knock off.

With his multi – millionaire status , you would think the successful,  Australian actor , could afford the real thing.

Fair enough , members scarfs are a dime a dozen , with vintage one’s being highly collectable , and coveted , making them  hard to get.

Whilst we don’t expect him to don the Saints jumper , jersey , guernsey , we at least expect him to shell out, for an authentic scarf .

Perhaps an erstwhile trader , will send him one in the mail ?

Limited shopping opportunities in LA , or lack of time and resources , don’t excuse it , as a scarf is easily , purchasable on line.

Come on Eric , get real !

Real Saints Jumper

The split round of AFL matches,  for Round 13 , continues this weekend .

Saints and Cats , play tonight at the MCG , under lights , in front of a huge crowd.

Swans and Magpies,  play in Sydney , on Saturday night , at ANZ Stadium .

The Demons,  play the Crows , in Adelaide , on Sunday afternoon.

All games will be televised .

Port are having a rest

With only one Game to be played in Melbourne,  this weekend , many fans will be reduced , to wearing their football jumpers , jerseys, guernseys , whilst watching footy , on TV .

Disgruntled fans, will be keen to attend next weekend’s,  full round of matches .

This split round , is it a rest for the AFL players , or a clever marketing move by the AFL hierarchy.?

Demons play in Clash Jumper

A crowd of 70,000 AFL fans, are tipped to attend the St Kilda Saints versus Geelong Cats , Game on Friday night , the 25 th June , at the MCG .

It is being touted as , the Grand Final Re- Match , and both teams are determined to win .

The Saints,  in their only Game,  for the home and away season , against the Cats, want to remove the memory of the Grand Final loss. They hope to restore some belief to fans , and achieve self pride.

The Cats , hopefuls for the 2010 flag , thus  making it back to back premierships,  will play hard , fast and skilled footy . They want to squash St Kilda’s,  hopes for  a revenge victory .

Its tipped to be a ripper contest , with both teams hopefully playing superlative football .

Vocal supporters, will be there,  in their AFL,  jumpers , jerseys , guernseys .

Who will win ?

Will it be the rejuvenated Saints , desperate for a victory ?

Can the battle seasoned Geelong Side , beat St Kilda again  ?

There can only be one winner ! Let the Games begin .

On second thought, a draw occurred recently , between the Demons and the Magpies.

Will this unthinkable result happen, between these two mighty teams ?

Can the Saints win ?

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