With both Hawthorn and Collingwood playing on the Saturday in round 21, my pridiction is that it will be the Friday night game as it looks like it could be very interesting in the run into the finals as well as the best game on paper. In the same vein and even as good as the Tigers have been playing, you would imagine that the Sunday twilight could easily be Richmond v Port Adelaide as neither will be in the 8. The other Sunday games could be tricky. Geelong v West Coast possibly with Geelong likely to finish top and get the Sunday game week 1.

Any way, should know shortly. What do you think it should be?

UPDATE

Well, colour me wrong. Here is the fixture:

Friday August 27
Fremantle v Carlton at Subiaco Oval, 6.40pm (Channel 7)

Saturday August 28
Geelong Cats v West Coast at Skilled Stadium, 1.10pm (Fox Sports)
Hawthorn v Collingwood at the MCG, 2.10pm (Network Ten)
Adelaide Crows v St Kilda at AAMI Stadium, 3.40pm (Fox Sports)
Western Bulldogs v Essendon at Etihad Stadium, 7.10pm (Network Ten)
Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans at the Gabba 7.10pm (Fox Sports)

Sunday August 29
Richmond v Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium, 2.10pm (Channel 7)
Melbourne v North Melbourne at the MCG, 4.40pm (Fox Sports)

So the Dockers will play the Blues on Friday night and the AFL, after the success of Saturday Afternoon football at the G with the Hawks v Cats this week, will look for a sell out when they have the Hawks at Home to the Pies! Richmond v Port and Dees vs Roos will play on Sunday with the AFL Obviously expecting the Roos to struggle to make the finals.

What do you think?

Its round 22 and there is positions in the 4, home finals and the 8th spot still up for grabs. And tonight, some would argue (not I) that the future of the Bump and the game is on  the line at the appeals board where Buddy Franklin and the Hawks take there case. Strickly speaking Buddy did hit Cousins in the head and so is guilty but I have a feeling that the Hawks will try to get a problem with the Tribunal hearing so they can have the appeals board rule on the bump itself. If they can’t find a technical issue with the Tribunal case, I don’t think the appeals board can rule if it was a good rule or not.

Any way. Teams as the come to hand:

Port Adelaide
B: Hamish Hartlett, Alipate Carlile, Jacob Surjan
HB: Nathan Krakouer, Chad Cornes, Troy Chaplin
C: Shaun Burgoyne, Domenic Cassisi, Travis Boak
HF: Robbie Gray, Warren Tredrea, Danyle Pearce
F: Matthew Thomas, Dean Brogan, Justin Westhoff
Foll: Brendon Lade, Kane Cornes, Peter Burgoyne
I/C: Matthew Broadbent, Jason Davenport, Nick Salter, Paul Stewart
Emg: Brett Ebert, David Rodan, Matthew Lobbe

In: Broadbent, P. Burgoyne, Davenport, Gray, J. Westhoff
Out: Brett Ebert, Tom Logan, Daniel Motlop (ankle), David Rodan, Toby Thurstans (calf)

North Melbourne
B: Josh Gibson, Scott Thompson, Levi Greenwood
HB: Ed Lower, Nathan Grima, Alan Obst
C: Liam Anthony, Michael Firrito, Scott McMahon
HF: Leigh Adams, Lachie Hansen, Brent Harvey
F: Josh Smith, Drew Petrie, Matt Campbell
Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Cruize Garlett, Brady Rawlings
I/C: Andrew Swallow, Lindsay Thomas, Todd Goldstein, Aaron Edwards
Emg: Sam Power, Daniel Pratt, Sam Wright

In: Lindsay Thomas
Out: Shannon Watt (retired)

Collingwood
B: Harry O’Brien, Simon Prestigiacomo, Leigh Brown
HB: Heath Shaw, Nick Maxwell, Tarkyn Lockyer
C: Alan Didak, Dayne Beams, Scott Pendlebury
HF: Brad Dick, Travis Cloke, Ben Johnson
F: Josh Fraser, Jack Anthony, Dale Thomas
Foll: Cameron Wood, Dane Swan, Leon Davis
I/C (from): Alan Toovey, Steele Sidebottom, Tyson Goldsack, John McCarthy, Paul Medhurst, Shane O’Bree, Sharrod Wellingham

In: McCarthy, Sidebottom, Goldsack
Out: -

Western Bulldogs
B: Jarrod Harbrow, Brian Lake, Ryan Hargrave
HB: Sam Reid, Dale Morris, Lindsay Gilbee
C: Josh Hill, Matthew Boyd, Daniel Cross
HF: Brad Johnson, Mitch Hahn, Robert Murphy
F: Jason Akermanis, Will Minson, Shaun Higgins
Foll: Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Liam Picken
I/C (from): Dylan Addison, Tim Callan, Nathan Eagleton, Andrejs Everitt, Daniel Giansiracusa, Callan Ward, Scott Welsh

In: Callan, Cross, Everitt
Out: -

Adelaide
B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Andy Otten
HB: Brad Symes, Scott Stevens, Michael Doughty
C: Andrew McLeod, Simon Goodwin, David Mackay
HF: Chris Knights, Trent Hentschel, Nathan van Berlo
F: Jason Porplyzia, Kurt Tippett, Brett Burton
Foll: Ivan Maric, Scott Thompson, Bernie Vince
I/C: Brent Reilly, Tyson Edwards, James Sellar, Patrick Dangerfield
Emg: Jon Griffin, Phil Davis, Richard Douglas

In: Burton, Dangerfield
Out: Robert Shirley (hamstring), Richard Douglas

Geelong
B: Darren Milburn, Matthew Scarlett, Corey Enright
HB: Tom Harley, Harry Taylor, Andrew Mackie
C: Joel Corey, Cameron Ling, Simon Hogan
HF: Jimmy Bartel, Cameron Mooney, Max Rooke
F: Mathew Stokes, Tom Hawkins, Shannon Byrnes
Foll: Mark Blake, Gary Ablett, Joel Selwood
I/C: Brad Ottens, Ryan Gamble, James Kelly, David Wojcinski
Emg: Tom Gillies, David Johnson, Shane Mumford

In: Ottens, Kelly, Harley, Hogan
Out: Shane Mumford, Tom Gillies, David Johnson, Paul Chapman (hamstring)

Essendon
B: Nathan Lovett-Murray, Tayte Pears, Jarrod Atkinson
HB: Henry Slattery, Dustin Fletcher, Adam McPhee
C: Andrew Lovett, Ricky Dyson, Mark Mcveigh
HF: Jason Winderlich, Michael Hurley, Angus Monfries
F: Matthew Lloyd, Jay Neagle, Andrew Welsh
Foll: Patrick Ryder, Brent Stanton, Jobe Watson
I/C: Cale Hooker, Sam Lonergan, Brent Prismall, Heath Hocking
Emg: Michael Quinn, Tom Bellchambers, Leroy Jetta

In: Lloyd, Ryder, Hocking, Lonergan
Out: Alwyn Davey (shoulder), Tom Bellchambers, Leroy Jetta, Michael Quinn

Brisbane Lions
B: Ashley McGrath, Jason Roe, James Hawksley
HB: Joel Patfull, Josh Drummond, Joel Macdonald
C: Jared Brennan, Simon Black, Daniel Rich
HF: Michael Rischitelli, Jonathan Brown, James Polkinghorne
F: Sam Sheldon, Lachlan Henderson, Luke Power
Foll: Mitch Clark, Cheynee Stiller, Justin Sherman
I/C: Scott Harding, Matt Austin, Travis Johnstone, Jack Redden
Emg: Tim Notting, Tom Rockliff, Bradd Dalziell

In: Henderson, Roe
Out: Daniel Bradshaw (quad), Daniel Merrett (hamstring)

Hawthorn
B: Campbell Brown, Stephen Gilham, Grant Birchall
HB: Luke Hodge, Ryan Schoenmakers, Shane Savage
C: Beau Muston, Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis
HF: Ben McGlynn, Beau Dowler, Chance Batema
F: Cyril Rioli, Lance Franklin*, Michael Osborne
Foll: Max Bailey, Brad Sewell, Liam Shiels
I/C: Garry Moss, Josh Kennedy, Riley Milne, Brent Renouf
Emg: Matt Suckling, Simon Taylor, Travis Tuck

In: Moss
Out: Travis Tuck

Melbourne
B: Clint Bartram, James Frawley, Nathan Jones
HB: Kyle Cheney, Jared Rivers, Cale Morton
C: Paul Wheatley, Lynden Dunn, James McDonald
HF: Aaron Davey, Russell Robertson, Colin Sylvia
F: Neville Jetta, Liam Jurrah, Brad Miller
Foll: Jake Spencer, Brent Moloney, Brock McLean
I/C (from): Jamie Bennell, Mark Jamar, Jordie McKenzie, Matthew Whelan, Tom McNamara, Shane Valenti, Stefan Martin

In: Bartram, Jones, Wheatley, Dunn, Miller, Bennell
Out: Ricky Petterd (adductor), Matthew Bate (chest/lung), Paul Johnson

Fremantle
B: Greg Broughton, Chris Tarrant, Marcus Drum
HB: Roger Hayden, Luke McPharlin, Paul Duffield
C: Garrick Ibbotson, Paul Hasleby, Chris Mayne
HF: Stephen Hill, Antoni Grover, Hayden Ballantyne
F: Des Headland, Matthew Pavlich, Nick Suban
Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Steven Dodd, David Mundy
I/C: Matthew de Boer, Clancee Pearce, Kepler Bradley, Byron Schammer
Emg: Zac Clarke, Scott Thornton, Jay van Berlo

No change

Sydney Swans
B: Heath Grundy, Leo Barry, Lewis Roberts-Thomson
HB: Rhyce Shaw, Craig Bolton, Paul Bevan
C: Nick Smith, Jared Crouch, Martin Mattner
HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Adam Goodes, Kieren Jack
F: Jesse White, Michael O’Loughlin, Jarrad McVeigh
Foll: Darren Jolly, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton
I/C: Luke Ablett, Dan Hannebery, Matt O’Dwyer, Kristin Thornton
Emg: Ed Barlow, Nick Malceski, Patrick Veszpremi

In: Ablett, McVeigh, Thornton
Out: Jarred Moore (ribs), Ed Barlow, Mike Pyke

West Coast
B: Matt Spangher, Darren Glass, Adam Selwood
HB: Sam Butler, Eric Mackenzie, Shannon Hurn
C: Matt Rosa, Matt Priddis, Tim Houlihan
HF: Chad Fletcher, Josh Kennedy, Scott Selwood
F: Andrew Embley, Quinten Lynch, Mark LeCras
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Tom Swift, Brad Ebert
I/C: Pat McGinnity, Ben McKinley, Brent Staker, David Wirrpanda
Emg: Ashley Hansen, Jamie McNamara, Will Schofield

In: Fletcher, Mackenzie, McGinnity
Out: Ryan Davis (jaw), Beau Wilkes, Callum Wilson

Richmond
B: Kel Moore, Jarrod Silvester, Dean Polo
HB: Alex Rance, Luke McGuane, Jordan McMahon
C: Shane Edwards, Brett Deledio, Adam Thomson
HF: Nathan Brown, Jack Riewoldt, Richard Tambling
F: Matthew White, Mitch Morton, Ben Cousins
Foll: Troy Simmonds, Daniel Jackson, Shane Tuck
I/C: Graham Polak, Mark Coughlan, Robin Nahas, Angus Graham
Emg: Jayden Post, Ty Vickery, Andrew Raines

In: Coughlan, Silvester
Out: Chris Newman (knee), Will Thursfield (shoulder)

Carlton
B: Aaron Joseph, Bret Thornton, Paul Bower
HB: Jordan Russell, Chris Johnson, Simon Wiggins
C: Kade Simpson, Bryce Gibbs, Marc Murphy
HF: Ryan Houlihan, Andrew Walker, Andrew Carrazzo
F: Setanta O’hAilpin, Brendan Fevola, Chris Yarran
Foll: Matthew Kreuzer, Chris Judd, Nick Stevens
I/C: Dennis Armfield, Steven Browne, Shaun Hampson, Heath Scotland
Emg: Adam Bentick, Brad Fisher, Sam Jacobs

In: Armfield, Browne, Hampson, Johnson, Yarran
Out: Eddie Betts (club susp), Cameron Cloke (club susp), Jeff Garlett (club susp), Joe Anderson, Richard Hadley (arm)

ST KILDA
B: Raphael Clarke, Zac Dawson, Steven Baker
HB: Sam Fisher, Jason Blake, Sam Gilbert
C: Brendon Goddard, Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo
HF: Andrew McQualter, Justin Koschitzke, Clint Jones
F: Stephen Milne, Nick Riewoldt, Jason Gram
Foll: Steven King, Leigh Montagna, Adam Schneider
Int (from): Luke Ball, Sean Dempster, Robert Eddy, Jarryn Geary, Ben McEvoy, Farren Ray, Jack Steven

In: L.Ball, R.Eddy, J.Geary, L.Hayes, B.McEvoy, J.Steven
Out:   D.Armitage, J.Gwilt, M.Gardiner (inj)

Gary Ablett.

Final figures are:

Gary Ablett            92
Buddy Franklin      87
Matthew Pavlich   81
Brent Harvey          75
Jimmy Bartel          74

Hi Guys,

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On this weeks Show I look at:

• Final 8 make up going into Round 22
• The results of testing for illicit drugs
• The new machinations of the policy
• My thoughts on the new policy
• What people are saying and why most of it is crap!

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Fremantle v Collingwood
Subiaco, 6.40pm

FREMANTLE
B: Scott Thornton, Michael Johnson, David Mundy
HB: Marcus Drum, Luke McPharlin, Roger Hayden
C: Paul Duffield, Ryan Crowley, Des Headland
HF: Byron Schammer, Kepler Bradley, Jeff Farmer
F: Adam Campbell, Ryan Murphy, Mark Johnson
Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Josh Carr, Andrew Browne
Int; Garrick Ibottson, Chris Mayne, Rhys Palmer, Clayton Hinkley,
Emg: Steven Dodd, Brett Peake, Ryley Dunn

In: Hinkley, Browne
Out: Dodd, Peake

COLLINGWOOD
B: Simon Prestigiacomo, Nathan Brown, Tyson Goldsack
HB: Martin Clarke, Nick Maxwell, Harry O’Brien
C: Tarkyn Lockyer, Rhyce Shaw, Shannon Cox
HF: Scott Pendlebury, Travis Cloke, Leon Davis
F: Chris Dawes, Paul Medhurst, Jack Anthony
Foll: Josh Fraser, Dane Swan, Shane O’Bree
Int: John McCarthy, Danny Stanley, Chris Bryan, Ryan Cook,
Emg: Jaxson Barham, Brent Macaffer, Chris Egan

In: Brown, Prestigiacomo, Shaw, Stanley
Out: Scott Burns (calf), Alan Toovey (foot), Shane Wakelin (groin), Sharrod Wellingham (groin)

Saturday August 30

North Melbourne v Port Adelaide
MCG, 1.10pm

NORTH MELBOURNE
B: Josh Gibson, Drew Petrie, Michael Firrito
HB: Daniel Pratt, Lachlan Hansen, Gavin Urquhart
C: Leigh Harding, Adam Simpson, Daniel Wells
HF: Brent Harvey, Corey Jones, Shannon Grant
F: Aaron Edwards, David Hale, Matt Campbell
Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Daniel Harris, Brady Rawlings
Int: Sam Power, Lindsay Thomas, Shannon Watt, Scott McMahon
Emg: Ed Lower, Jess Sinclair, Todd Goldstein

In: Campbell, Edwards
Out: Sinclair, Scott Thompson (omitted)

PORT ADELAIDE
B: Toby Thurstans, Alipate Carlile, Nick Lower
HB: Jacob Surjan, Damon White, Peter Burgoyne
C: Domenic Cassisi, Kane Cornes, Travis Boak
HF: Tom Logan, Matthew Westhoff, Danyle Pearce
F: Justin Westhoff, Daniel Motlop, Brett Ebert
Foll: Dean Brogan, Shaun Burgoyne, David Rodan
Int: Brendon Lade, Marlon Motlop, Paul Stewart, Robert Gray
Emg: Greg Bentley, Mitch Farmer, Nathan Lonie

In: Gray
Out: Troy Chaplin (knee)

Geelong v West Coast
Skilled Stadium, 2.10pm

GEELONG
B: Tom Harley, Matthew Scarlett, Josh Hunt
HB: Corey Enright, Andrew Mackie, Darren Milburn
C: Cameron Ling, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey
HF: Steve Johnson, Cameron Mooney, Ryan Gamble
F: Paul Chapman, Tom Lonergan, Travis Varcoe
Foll: Brad Ottens, Gary Ablett, Joel Selwood
Int: Mark Blake, Brent Prismall, Mathew Stokes, Harry Taylor
Emg: Shannon Byrnes, Tom Hawkins, David Wojcinski

In: Stokes, Gamble
Out: Max Rooke (suspended), Shannon Byrnes

WEST COAST
B: Mark Nicoski, Darren Glass, Eric Mackenzie
HB: Adam Selwood, Beau Wilkes, Andrew Embley
C: Sam Butler, Matt Priddis, Jamie McNamara
HF: Steven Armstrong, Ashley Hansen, Ryan Davis
F: Mark LeCras, Quinten Lynch, Ben McKinley
R: Dean Cox, Chad Fletcher, Tyson Stenglein
Int: Will Schofield, Mark Seaby, Scott Selwood, Matt Spangher
Emg: Tim Houlihan, Tony Notte, James Thomson

In: LeCras, Schofield
Out: Notte, Braun

Adelaide v Western Bulldogs
AAMI Stadium, 3.40pm

ADELAIDE
B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Nathan Bassett
HB: Andrew McLeod, Nathan Bock, Michael Doughty
C: Brad Symes, Simon Goodwin, David Mackay
HF: Nathan van Berlo, Nick Gill, Bernie Vince
F: Jason Porplyzia, Kurt Tippett, Richard Douglas
Foll: Ivan Maric, Scott Thompson, Tyson Edwards
Int: Kris Massie, Robert Shirley, Chris Knights, Scott Stevens
Emg: Brad Moran, Bryce Campbell, Brent Reilly

In: Porplyzia, Tippett, Vince
Out: Patrick Dangerfield, Moran, Reilly (omitted)

WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Lindsay Gilbee, Brian Lake, Tim Callan
HB: Matthew Boyd, Ryan Hargrave, Dale Morris
C: Nathan Eagleton, Daniel Cross, Josh Hill
HF: Robert Murphy, Mitch Hahn, Brad Johnson
F: Jason Akermanis, Will Minson, Scott Welsh
Foll: Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen
Int: Daniel Giansiracusa, Jarrod Harbrow, Shaun Higgins, Sam Reid
Emg: Farren Ray, Wayde Skipper, Cameron Wight

In: Gilbee, Reid
Out: Everitt, Ward

New: Sam Reid (Zillmere. Taken with pick 35 in 2007 draft)

Carlton v Hawthorn
Telstra Dome, 7.10pm

CARLTON
B: Joe Anderson, Jarrad Waite, Bret Thornton
HB: Andrew Carrazzo, Paul Bower, Shaun Grigg
C: Nick Stevens, Bryce Gibbs, Heath Scotland
HF: Andrew Walker, Brad Fisher, Kade Simpson
F: Ryan Houlihan, Brendan Fevola, Matthew Kreuzer
Foll: Cameron Cloke, Marc Murphy, Chris Judd
Int: Dennis Armfield, Adam Bentick, Shaun Hampson, Jordan Russell
Emg: Mark Austin, Darren Pfeiffer, Simon Wiggins

No change

HAWTHORN
B: Campbell Brown, Stephen Gilham, Brent Guerra
HB: Rick Ladson, Trent Croad, Grant Birchall
C: Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Clinton Young
HF: Michael Osborne, Lance Franklin, Chance Bateman
F: Mark Williams, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli
Foll: Robert Campbell, Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell
Int: Stuart Dew, Thomas Murphy, Brent Renouf, Cameron Stokes
Emg: Beau Dowler, Xavier Ellis, Jarryd Morton

In: Campbell, Hodge
Out: Shane Crawford (rested), Simon Taylor (general soreness)

Sydney Swans v Brisbane Lions
SCG, 7.10pm

SYDNEY SWANS
B: Leo Barry, Craig Boltn , Martin Mattner
HB: Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Ted Richards, Tadhg Kennelly
C: Jared Crouch, Jarrad McVeigh, Craig Bird
HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Heath Grundy, Jarrad Moore
F: Amon Buchanan, Barry Hall, Paul Bevan
Foll: Peter Everitt, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton
Int: Luke Ablett, Kieren Jack, Darren Jolly, Nick Malceski
Emg: Ryan Brabazon, Luke Brennan, Patrick Veszpremi

In: Ablett, Malceski
Out: Goodes (groin), Veszpremi

BRISBANE LIONS
B: Joel Macdonald, Daniel Merrett, Joel Patfull
HB: Justin Sherman, Jason Roe, Troy Selwood
C: Bradd Dalziell, Simon Black, Jed Adcock
HF: Michael Rischitelli, Jonathan Brown, Tom Collier
F: Scott Harding, Daniel Bradshaw, Anthony Corrie
Foll: Jamie Charman, Luke Power, Jared Brennan
Int: Pearce Hanley, Albert Proud, Lachlan Henderson, Scott Clouston, ,
Emg: Rhan Hooper, Wayde Mills, James Hawksley

In: Troy Selwood, Henderson, Clouston, Collier, Proud, Harding
Out: Ashley McGrath (quad), Matthew Moody (groin), Robert Copeland, Hawksley, Travis Johnstone, Hooper (omitted)

Sunday August 31

Melbourne v Richmond
MCG, 2.10pm

MELBOURNE
B: Matthew Whelan, Nathan Carroll, Daniel Bell
HB: James Frawley, Matthew Warnock, Colin Garland
C: Cameron Bruce, James McDonald, Brad Green
HF: Ricky Petterd, Brad Miller, Simon Buckley
F: Addam Maric, Colin Sylvia, Adem Yze
Foll: Jeff White, Clint Bartram, Nathan Jones
Int (from): Jack Grimes, Ben Holland, Stefan Martin, Cale Morton, Matthew Newton, Paul Wheatley, Shane Valenti

In: Frawley, Grimes, Maric, Petterd, Valenti, Holland, Carroll
Out: Mark Jamar, Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn, Austin Wonaeamirri (hamstring)

New: Jack Grimes (Northern Knights. Taken with pick 14 in 2007 draft)

RICHMOND
B: Chris Newman, Will Thursfield, Kelvin Moore
HB: Jay Schulz, Luke McGuane, Jordan McMahon
C: Matthew Richardson, Shane Tuck, Brett Deledio
HF: Matt White, Joel Bowden, Richard Tambling
F: Shane Edwards, Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin
Foll: Troy Simmonds, Kane Johnson, Nathan Foley
Int (from): Greg Tivendale, Mitch Morton, Dean Polo, Adam Pattison, Alex Rance, Daniel Jackson, Daniel Connors

In: Tivendale, Pattison, Polo, Rance
Out: Tristan Cartledge

New: Alex Rance (Swan Districts. Taken with pick 18 in 2007 draft.)

Essendon v St Kilda
Telstra Dome, 4.40pm

ESSENDON
B: Henry Slattery , Nathan Lovett-Murray , Mark McVeigh
HB: Jay Nash , Patrick Ryder, Damien Peverill
C: Ricky Dyson, Jobe Watson , Andrew Lovett
HF: Jason Johnson, Matthew Lloyd, Angus Monfries
F: Sam Lonergan, Mal Michael, Adam Ramanauskas
Foll: Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking, Brent Stanton
Int: Jarrod Atkinson, Danny Chartres, Cale Hooker, Leroy Jetta, Rhys Magin, Kyle Reimers, John Williams

Int: Atkinson, Chartres, Jetta, Reimers, Williams
Out: Adam McPhee (ankle), Andrew Welsh (hamstring)

New: Danny Chartres (rookie list), John Williams (Morningside. Taken with pick 5 in 2007 draft)

ST KILDA
B: Sean Dempster, Sam Fisher, Jason Gram
HB: Brendon Goddard, Max Hudghton, Jason Blake
C: Sam Gilbert, Nick Dal Santo, Lenny Hayes
HF: Robert Harvey, Nick Riewoldt, Robert Eddy
F: Clint Jones, Justin Koschitzke, Adam Schneider
Foll: Steven King, Shane Birss, Leigh Montagna
Int: Stephen Milne, James Gwilt, Charlie Gardiner, David Armitage, Aaron Fiora, Raphael Clarke, Jarryd Allen

In: Fiora, Allen, Armitage
Out: -

There really is two behaviours that fans and the media talk about as being tanking and it is a matter of separating the two behaviours to work out what level you have to get too before each person talking on this subject considers it to be tanking. So lets move onto the two forms:

List Management Tanking

The first method I like to call List Management Tanking or LMT. This is method that most people talk about as being tanking and in some ways can be argued that it leads to the next method. So LMT is the practice of manipulating your list to best have it ready for future seasons without worrying about the effect it has on the current game/season. Things done in this mode of tanking include:

1. Not playing injured players – Players play injured every week in the AFL. Many players would tell you they never play at 100% but when you can’t make the finals, lots of teams stop risking there players with injury to a great extent and often move to point 2 earlier
2. Send players for Surgery and Clean-ups earlier – In today’s footy nothing is as important as getting a good preseason under your belt. You can see the difference in teams when they have a good preseason compared to not. Have a look at Geelong of 2006 compared to 2007. During 2006 it was argued that there preseason training was off (for a few reasons) but they got it right 2007 and with few players different, they went from 10th to Premiers. A team that is argued to have used this technique was North Melbourne of 2006 who sent guys for surgery early and came out firing in 2007 with those guys ready in round 1
3. Not playing old players that aren’t going to be in the sides next Flag tilt - You have a 32 year old. They still are in you best 22 now but will they be in 2 or 3 years time when your kids are ready to start challenging the leagues best? No. So why play them now? You don’t, you bansh them to your seconds side where they can give there experience to the kids there. If they don’t like this, they could retire which in some ways can be better as it takes the media off your back asking why your not playing Joe Blogs even though he is best on ground every week! The Hawks did this in around 2005 with Nick Holland. Nick took a lot of flack for his play in his final years, but injuries killed his career. He fought on manfully in the VFL but his card had been stamped not to play for the Hawks again, and he didn’t. Be making this decision, you open the way for point 4.
4. PLAY THE KIDS – Do I need to say more? To quote Whitney Houston “Teach the children and let them lead the way”. There is no better teacher then experience and there is no better experience in the AFL then playing in the AFL. When your season is shot and your older players are either off getting cleaned up or been given the ass, you have to play someone and the kids are the ones that get the gig, ready or not! You throw them to the wolves and let them see where they need to get too. Everyone says that there is a huge step up between the VFL/QFL/WAFL/SANFL/Sydney’s reserves where ever that is, so why not have them see that for a few games at the end of the season to see how hard they need to work to be ready for the next year. No need for an example here, it just makes sense!
5. Playing out of position - Okay, yes Sheeds made a living out of it, but sometimes in the cool days near the end of winter when the only decisions you and your side have for September is Hawaii or Los Vegas, its time to see if your full back would actually be able to kick you a bag in your forward line or can my back pocket be the next Kane Cornes/Cameron Ling just hiding away there in our backline? As Darryl Sommers said in that famous NT ad “You never, never know if you never, ever give it a go!” (okay, I butchered the end a little). You have nothing to lose (except the game). At worst he will learn about another position, at beat you find you have a player that can fill that whole we thought we had!

There might be more (and if there are, leave them in the comments below) but these are the main ones that come under the debate of is this tanking or is this List Management and the debate will rage for ever. What there is little room for debate is that whether you get a priority pick or the first pick in the draft, all these techniques will improve your side with little penalties to your side, so if your not doing this, your not really looking after your side! The latest team to be labelled to be tanking in this method is the West Coast Eagles. In Round 12 of the 2008 season, the Eagles held back Chad Fletch, Michael Braun and Daniel Kerr was a late omission. Kerr was interviewed on the night and claimed he wanted to play but the club decided that it was safer for him not to play. Also on the night Dean Cox was rested for an amount of time and at points that didn’t make a lot of sense for most watching the game (especially those with him in their Supercoach or Dream Team). So are West Coast tanking? That’s up to you to decide! If you believe List Management is tanking (LMT), then yes the Eagles are tanking. If you don’t consider this tanking, you need to look at the next form of tanking to see if they meet that criteria.

Throwing Games Tanking

Thorwing Games Tanking (TGT) is as its name suggests sabotaging your team and telling them not to win. This is normally in relation to teams that have won very few games and are still

in line for a Priority Pick as long as they don’t win enough games. This (to me) is a very serious practice to be accused of and it normally only comes in the last few rounds after you have been using LMT techniques for a number of weeks already. In this form of tanking you are looking for players to be making mistakes that they just shouldn’t be making (even in a side that is obviously having a shite year) or players that are suddenly taken from the ground when they are getting on top of their opponent.

The classic accusation (not by me I must add but others) of this was from 2007 when Carlton from last year that needed to have 16 or less points in order to get the prized first pick in the draft as well as pick 3 which they eventually used to take Matthew Kruzer and traded pick 3 (and Josh Kennedy) to get arguably the best player in the league, Chris Judd. They had (if you believe they tanked) successfully stayed under the 18 points that would see these picks slip away coming into round 22 vs the bottom 3 Melbourne that was in just as bad, if not worth condition. The talk in the media was that this would be the worst game ever. Fevola, the Blues number 1 forward had been off to surgery weeks ago, and in fact left the field in a game in a situation that brought speculation that he was yank from a game in strange situation. In the game, there wasn’t exactly a great deal to show tanking. There was talk that Travis Johnson (who ended with 42 disposals) wasn’t tagged and if you look at the scores, the Blues had about the same number of scoring shots but kicked much less accurately (they had 18 behinds vs 13 to the Dees). But who knows? Tony Liberatore, then an assistant coach at the Blues, came out and suggested that they tanked but gave no evidence that it was anything more then LMT.

The thing about TGT is that firstly its hard to prove and secondly, if it is proven, you would be up the shitter as you would be guilty of Match Fixing that is an extremely serious offense and if it is proven, your side would be up the creek for a long time, much like Carlton was after recent Salary cap breaches. I don’t think Carlton used TGT last year. They definitely used LMT but why wouldn’t they? They had a lot of kids and needed to see who could play and who couldn’t. I seem to remember Freo being accused of this around 2000 but again it was never proven.

So now I have defiend the two forms of tanking. If you have more ideas or comments on my definitions, let me know below. Now that we have defined tanking, what do you call tanking? If you ever come up with, “a way to stop tanking”, make sure you define what you call tanking so that people can see if your method fixes it. Thats the next thing I will look at in this tanking series. What you have too look at when trying to stop tanking and what you can’t do.