TripleM

Instant Expert, Round 8 - 2009 Hamish McLachlan 18 May, 2009 - 1:07 PM

1. Greatest Rivalry In Sport

No, it's not Ali vs. Frazier or Borg vs. McEnroe - it has to be Sydney vs. West Coast by a torpedo punt.

Their matches have been decided by a straight kick or less in an astonishing eight of the last 10 games they have played. And the two occasions in which the margin has been by more than a goal, made the headlines anyway.

West Coast smashed Sydney by a whopping 12 points at the house of pain in Round 16, 2007 when Ben Cousins returned for his first game of the season. And who will ever forget Barry 'Lights Out' Hall sending Staker to sleep as Sydney won by 62 points last year?

The legend of Sydney vs. West Coast encounters will only grow in time, especially if there are a few more blow out margins in Grand Finals over the next few years.

2. Poor Old Terry

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse for Terry Wallace and the Tigers in 2009, they lose a heartbreaker to Port with 30 seconds to go. The Tigers could be four wins and four losses and sitting in the Top 8 right now.

They led the almighty Geelong at the Cattery in the last quarter with 'LBJ' on fire, they had Sydney on toast in the last quarter before Mattner came from Row 4 in the Hill stand to tackle Riewoldt to stop a certain goal, led Brisbane by 5 goals at quarter time and then ol' Tredders wound back the clock with a lazy seven goals to put the final nail in Terry's coffin.

The Tiger supporters must be sick of Monday mornings at work in the tea room, but there is upside with Coughlin, Cotchin and Nahas on fire.

Nahas sounds like he should be on a Mexican menu, but his goal in the last quarter has to be goal of the year so far. Harry Houdini was even seen behind the goals applauding the Nahas goal.

3. Saints And Cats Keep On Rolling

As mentioned in previous weeks, there's nothing more certain in life than death, taxes and the Saints and Cats winning each week.

It's getting so predictable and boring at the Cattery that the masses are starting to turn on 'Little Baby Jesus'. They are throwing rocks at 'LBJ' for wearing tracky dacks to the President's lunch and deciding to go home instead of watching the game at the ground.

I may be biased - and in love - but it's not like he wore his ugg boots to the lunch. And really, who else was excited to see Geelong win by 10 goals again? Oh sorry, I'm wrong as Dean Laidley mentioned after the game that he was excited with his team.

The Saints won the hard way last night, which may be a good thing for them en route to September. After kicking clear by five goals early, the Saints may have thought it was Monday Night Footy all over again. But the Bombers showed that speed does kill.

Now all we need is a mid-season draft so Harves can make a comeback to play off the bench - we all know he's still fit enough.

4. Hawks Are Back In The Suburbs

The Hawks aren't officially 'Back In Town', but they have slipped back into the Top 8, with the Cats and Saints keeping more than a casual eye on their progress.

In a year where two Victorian sides will probably finish in the Top 2, the Hawks can slip into third or fourth and still get a 'home' final.

The win on Friday night against the Dockers was full of G & D (guts and determination), and with games against Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney to come, the Hawks might time their run to September with some sort of backline in place.

You can ask any St. Kilda or Geelong supporter and there's no way they would want to meet Hawthorn in the first week of the finals.

You can always tell how a club sings the song after a win and there's plenty of life and spirit left in the Hawks season yet.

5. 'Aker': The Money Man

Who would you want kicking a goal for you if your life depended on it? Many would say Fevalenko, John Anthony or Lloydy but hands down or handstand down, I would take Aker any day of the week. The way he drills a running goal on either foot is, dare I say it, "delicious".

We all get frustrated watching players miss easy shots every week and don't get me started about players kicking the ball way too hard when they're 5 metres out from goal on an angle (a la Sandilands Friday night).

Aker plays his 300th game this Friday night against 'LBJ' and co. and there's one thing for sure - Aker loves the big stage, so expect the 'Money Man' to touch up the hair and beard for the big occasion.

Also, expect the grand daddy of all handstands from Aker if the Doggies get revenge for their Preliminary Final loss.

How did your mob go in Round 8? Vent your spleen below!

Also From Triple M Footy

JB's Man Crush

Hamish might have a thing for 'LBJ', but Jimmy's got a crush on a different Cat.

Brownlow medallist on fire

(2)

• Jess says

  I'm loving the Saints - Cats kicking goals week after week and winning. It never gets boring for me!

  Posted Thursday 21 May, 2009 10:18 AM
• Brad says

  As a Cats fan I would like to congratulate Jason Akermanis on his 300Th Game, as a so called CHAMPION of the game. I hope out of those 299 previous games, he wasn’t the dirty Skunk looking freak he is deliberately injuring his opponent (David Johnson) in order for him to lead out and mark the Ball completely uncontested. I hope the match review panel has a closer look at what you done Akka. True Champions of the game i.e. Brad Johnson, Garry Ablett etc don’t need the dirty tactics you showed last night. You are no longer the role model fit for the future of the game so maybe it is your time to hang up your boots!

  Posted Saturday 23 May, 2009 12:01 PM

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