IT'S A BIG WEEK IN FOOTY...

I'm not talking about anything remotely 'newsy' or controversial this week, cos right now it's all about PunchDrunk, glory, winning and cash.
To anyone who's been keeping their powder dry, I suggest you get it out and shake it all about this week, cos you've pretty-much run out of time to win this thing.
While technically maybe any of 10 Drunks could pull it off in a week with maybe as many as 6 games in some kind of doubt, you'd reckon the serious chances would be closer to the top 3, maybe 5. Maybe 2. Maybe 1.
Maybe.

It's a huge week especially for our leader Andy 'Logger' Lloyd. He's the front-runner everyone's got the hounds out for, he's in the DreamTeam Grand Final and he's an Essendon supporter so his heart will be all a-flutter. 

There's also still a lot of interest in the top 8 too. We're not done there yet.

Good luck to all hopefuls.

The Jackpot's up to $40 to finish the home & away season. And on that note, it's pay-up time for those (most) who haven't paid. (I haven't asked up til now other than for the pre-paid finals deal). I'll send bank and payment details through separately.

DREAMTEAM GRAND FINAL: WhatEverItTakes VERSUS JoelCoreyEnright

 After a season of to-ing and fro-ing, one thing is certain, we'll have a new League of Drunks Champion next year, with both previous champions being beaten out of it this round.

Sammy's always been thereabouts, without lifting the imaginary silverware, and Andy in his second (I'm pretty sure) season was runner-up last year, can he go one better this season?

Judging on the past few weeks, there's zero separating these two. Good luck both chaps.

In the bottom half we have Coxy's Catfish up against Ando's Hams. Coxy took out 9th last year, can he be a good Tiger and do it again this year?

Hiroshima mon amour...

Things haven't improved and you just sense the screw is turning, the spring tightening, ready to burst in a BIG way.
It wouldn't surprise to see both main brinks-men, Hird and Demetriou, removed and gooorn sooner rather than later. Hird sooner and the Fat Collector sometime after the dust settles. Maybe end of next season. Please.

Hey, we have to some new-dawn to look forward to, a ray of light to cheer us in the midst of this stench and putrefaction.

And so let's look away from the car-crash momentarily.


Is it just me? Probably. It usually is. But pretend this article isn't about my team because it's actually about something pretty close to conflict of interest and I've been banging on about this to anyone who'll listen (pretty much no-one) for over a year now.

What's wrong with this picture? No I don't mean the cropping, it's a critically loaded article on afl.com.au stating the the AFL shouldn't give the Dees a priority pick. Just more sneering stuff about the Demons, this time from the League towards one of its own stake-holders, now dressed up as an opinion piece direct from the League's own propaganda unit about what the League should do.

Does that seem wrong? Or at least odd? It's exactly the issue I've always had with the AFL being a major media contributor in reporting about, well, the AFL. Spin cycle outa-control.

For what it's worth, I don't entirely disagree with some of the sentiments in the piece, I don't want the Dees to get the Priority Pick either, and, in amongst the plain nastiness of the article, Barrett kind of touches on the reason why. Not his crap that that they don't 'deserve' one (it's for shit teams... what we're just the wrong flavour shit?) it's just that if they get one, they'll once again expect it will bring a messiah, rather than everyone having to work their own arses off to sort themselves out by themselves, for themselves.


A momentous day last sunday, I took the Demon-child to his first game.
Excited? Hell-yeah. 2 and a half and he already knows the words to a song he may never sing, already knows the number of his favourite player, despite the likelihood someone else will be sporting the '4' next year and Watts will be playing without the red to go with his blue.

Hugely excited. Mind you he did think the Dees played at Luna Park, a la Family Day, but rapidly readjusted his joy upon entering the hallowed Ground. "I'm at the G! I'm at the G!" Applauded and Go Dees'd loudly whenever anyone kicked a goal (by anyone, of course I mean Freo who were kicking the goals).

Pre-game, pre-reality. Before we didn't sing the song.

A fine day out. Do I feel guilty? Hell yeah. Supporting the Dees is character building. And, anyone who's been to the footy with me will know this is not always a good thing.


ENOUGH SELF-INDULGENCE, LET'S INDULGE IN YOU FOR  SMALL MOMENT:

Firstly Rob took out the jackpot last week. I think that's $60 to him, but will rewind the tape to be sure. Back to $20 again now.

Ladies and Gentlemen there are 2 ROUNDS LEFT. Do we have a winner already?
Andy 'Logger' Lloyd may or may not have much of a footy team left in a couple of weeks, but will he be rolling slow-motion, Underbelly-style in $1,000 of unmarked bills? Or can the fast-finishing Jim 'Richo' Richardson catch him on the line? Can Lee, the early-season leader get his head in front in a bobbing finish? Or will Cath surprise and usurp Leah as the first female Drunk Champion?

Why am I asking you? You don't know.

Logger also has the lowest margin score too of the 'likelies', except Leah, so anyone else will need to beat him by at least one at this stage.
And don't forget the lesser glory of just making the 8. It's feasible anyone as far down as 16 or 17 could make the finals, or even top 4 for that matter. Hell I'm sitting about 28th and I haven't given up yet.

THIS JUST IN: 

Guilt by association, I assure you.
Thank god I left the seedy side of town for this leafy neckathewoods.

DREAMTEAM

Preliminaries this week and getting so exciting you can almost smell it.
JCEs knocked Rob's Dons out last week, and the Champs made long-time ladder leaders Demonskis went out in straight sets.

This week the main interest revolves around the Cheesies v JCEs game, 2nd and 3rd highest scorers for the year. Both Cats fans as it happens. Jim finished second, but Sammy has scored more points.
The other game you'd expect Logger to sweep the Chimps aside fairly easily, but of course it depends who's players decide to score points this week. Maybe, for example, Dustbin Martin may score more than the 28 he pulled out after a full day's toil last week.

It's largely a battle of the Tigers fans in the bottom half. Fitting as they'll basically be fighting for 9th spot.
Total Tiger clash as Brenna and Coxy do battle. Brennas weren't far off the top 8 and may be able to grab that cherished 9th.
Dirk's bringing his tiger-foot lucky charm into battle with office mate and small cat supporter Ando, who's also finding a bit of form. I'm tipping the Big Cat.

WELCOME TO THE BEGINNING OF THE END...

Can I get anyone who's taken any joy out of this season to go and stand over there to the right of the room...

Hmm, just as I thought. Tigers supporters.

Personally I think we're looking at the ugly beginning of the end of what was the most superbly beautiful game. Well, the game can still beautiful if allowed to be played at its best. The competition, the league, the administration, the reporting is, however, fucked.

Essendon can go and shove their own self-interested arrogance up their hairy spotty arses. As long as they can negotiate that to their and the League's satisfaction of course. Who the fuck do these people think they are? Are you seriously telling me they've been conducting scientific experiments into how best to performance-enhance, but haven't been keeping track of who's had what? Are you telling me improved recovery doesn't count as performance enhancement?

I'm fully acquainted with Essendon arrogance. I understand they think they follow a different rule book, but what are Essendon fans telling themselves? They haven't done anything untoward? Or they should (of course) be allowed to do the untoward? I really don't understand. I do know this, if they manage to bully their way way into getting away with it, kiss the League good riddance.

At least we can rest easy their enhancements mean they're unlikely have any father/son selections in 18 years time.

Hirdy's TV mates and the Essendon media-mafia make me want to spew-up with their softly sympathetic attitude. But equally Caro Wilson, who's brought an increasingly nasty and particularly personal, judgemental and scorned perspective to footy can shove it too. She certainly understands the zeitgeist brought by social-media, people with a cock-eyed perspective shouting into an on-line vacuum. Black or white angry out-pouring where opposing views can be too easily ignored due to a lack of good old face-to-face.

Andrew 'Denial' Demetriou can take his Papal Bullshit back to Vegas or wherever the hell he's been. And for just good measure Jack 'Lazyboy' Watts can realise that 'it hasn't happened yet' largely because he hasn't made it happen, and we'd swap him for someone, anyone, useful at the drop of a hat.

Gotta go now, but can't wait for this horrid season to put to bed without any supper.

Oh yeah, here's this. No really big changes yet:

Firstly apologies to the bottom half, but I only have time fot the top half this week.
Where are we at? Top 2 won last week. Lloydy's boys had enough in the tank to take on and beat the Don Peptides. Geez that's a pretty loaded sentence for the past couple of years of AFL controversy.

Fellow leader Cheesies put the Demonskis in their place. These 2 can have a holiday in Byron or wherever the hell they feel like it this week.

The Champs had their 3rd win by 1 point (over 2 leagues) this year. to knock out the Rockies. Lucky? I dunno we were 'supposed' to win each of those games by between 150 and 200 points. My question: how do players who have averages of between 95 and 110 conspire to all score 58 week after week?

The JCEs finally got rid of the interlopers Terrif Trio.

Now: Dons against JCEs  and the all-demon clash of Demonskis v Champanzees. Who'll win? Depends who turns up. Or doesn't.

- Disgruntled of Hawksburn.

Round 18 is dead, long live Round 19.

I'm still suffering from NZ jetlag so haven't had time to absorb all the Drug madness this week. You'd have to say that Dean Robinson chap threw himself to the wolves. You just know all those blokes judging him post interview were Jimmy's mates, never was gonna get a fair appraisal from them was he.
I gotta say I met and had a chat with Mr Hird myself on a couple of accasions (he and his kids share a leafy park with me and the Demon child) to my eternal horror I came away really quite liking him. Seriously I hope I never meet Tony Abbott, just in case. Yeah, Hirdy's not a bad bloke but doesn't mean he's not guilty as sin.

I didn't have time to make the Tassy face dartboard as I was planning. Bastard got the world's biggest jackpot last week. That's $280 smackers coming his way. Assuming he's paid up of course...

And we have a new leader since we last spoke. Logger finally took advantage of Leah's truancy over the previous couple of weeks. Heaps of time for her or a few others to get back up there.

DREAMTEAM

This is the beginning of a whole new level of excitement for some, and the end for others (unless you consider going for the bottom half premiership not the end).

The big question this week, is "Can Brenna, or Kenny drag themselves into the 8?" That comes down to whether Brenna can knock off Sean's Catfish, and whether the 70's can beat the Chimps (I hope not cos we're playing off in 2 leagues this week, both with final 8 implications). But also they'll need Ians Well Heylow Boys to doff the terrific trio, which look s a little unlikely.

Can the Chimps or RockyMountainHigh make the top 4? Only if they each win by a heap and Dirk's Panzer burn Rob's drug induced Dons. So pretty much NO.

Finally, who will take out the minor premiership? Logger's Whatev's just have to beat Demonski, who's charmed run must almost be due to expire. Jim needs his Cheesies to beat the Rockies, AND by a fair bit AND Logger to get up. I'm backing Logger.