2014 Australian Football League season

[VictoriaGooner]

Why would a guy who is ineligible be able to receive votes for the award? Just curious.

Nat Fyfe was placed ineligible for the Brownlow Medal in April when after accepting a two-match ban (against with Hawthorn and Essendon) for rough conduct. That was his second suspension of the season. He was still receiving votes toward the Brownlow because it is voted on after each match by the field umpires. Because his suspension ended by end of April, he still collected enough votes (25) to get into second place in the voting. Unfortunately, under rules which reflect standards demanded of footballers in 1924 and not 2014, Fyfe cannot win the 2014 Brownlow Medal for he is now considered a player who is "not fair". Fyfe shunned the awards saying he wasn't going to watch the ceremony nor will he be in Australia to hear the result.

There was an article written by Damian Barrett highlighting AFL's necessity to examine the Brownlow rules after this suspension. Well worth a read.

[pluggerplugger1]

Here's a list put together by the USAFL that includes all the viewing parties for the Grand Final in the US.

http://usafl.com/news/20140918/afl-grand-final-night-viewing-parties

[VictoriaGooner]

Also, here's a list of put together by AFANA that includes viewing parties all over North America.

http://www.afana.com/drupal5/category/sportsevent/afl_grand_final/44-705

There are only a few places in Canada with viewing parties: Calgary and Toronto. But the game will be live on TSN2 from 11:00 PM EDT Friday and run to 4:00 AM concluding after the awards ceremony. First bounce is about 12:31 AM EDT

[VictoriaGooner]

Quarter-time from the MCG:

Sydney 2.3 (15) - 5.5 (35) Hawthorn

Franklin had one of the best marks inside the 50 of the first quarter...one handed but failed short on the tight 15m kick. So far the Hawks are having the control of game. Zero transition and no real buildup in that first quarter by the Swans except the opening goal.

[lordsketor]

Buddy is having a miserable Grand Final so far....And Hawthorne is destroying the Bloods too.

[VictoriaGooner]

Buddy is having a miserable Grand Final so far....

It isn't just Buddy having a bad game. The Swans defence are having an atrocious time clearing inside their own 50. They must have given up 3 goals alone in easy turns over. This is making me sick at the moment but there is still lots of time in the game

[VictoriaGooner]

Half-time from the MCG:

Sydney 5.3 (33) - 11.9 (75) Hawthorn

All I can say is wow...Lewis is just supressing Franklin today, no room what so ever. And Hawthorn is just destroying the Swans up the middle. Here I thought this game was going to be a hell of a lot closer...

[VictoriaGooner]

Three-quarter time from the MCG:

Sydney 8.5 (53) - 16.11 (107) Hawthorn

There really isn't to say about this other than the Hawks have been methodical and cutthroat the entire game...

[VictoriaGooner]

Full-time in the Grand Final:

Sydney 11.8 (74) - 21.11 (137) Hawthorn

Congratulations to the Hawks for winning the first back to back AFL Premierships since 2001-2003. Roughead scores 6 goals in a Grand Final, only the fourth player to do that...

Luke Hodge wins the Norm Smith Medal...no other choice in my mind.

Match report

Here are the match highlights if anyone missed it:

[VictoriaGooner]

With the 2014 season officially over, the next big event on the AFL calendar is the 2014 NAB AFL Combine and Draft hosted on the Gold Coast. Only 59 days to go!

Here's a link to the NAB AFL Draft Hub http://www.afl.com.au/draft

As a curtain raiser to the Grand Final itself, clubs had a final chance the talent available from the northern market academies in the NAB AFL All Stars match at the MCG. It is a friendly game between The Allies and NAB AFL Academy (U17 Australian team). The Allies squad is made up of 2014 draft eligible players from the division two state teams; New South Wales-ACT, Queensland, Tasmania and Northern Territory. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-09-26/live-watch-the-nab-afl-all-stars-match-from-the-mcg

[pluggerplugger1]

That link, and every other link to the AFL's website (including their app on my phone) don't work for me. Anyone else having a problem with AFL's site lately?

[VictoriaGooner]

That link, and every other link to the AFL's website (including their app on my phone) don't work for me. Anyone else having a problem with AFL's site lately?

I tried the links through both my phone and computer, with them both working. There is a possibility you are having a browser issue. Maybe try a different browser to see if it works. As for the mobile AFL app, if you are using the Android app, I would recommend uninstalling and reinstall. It happened to me half way through this past season where nothing seemed to load or view properly. Hope that helps Luke

[-kj]

I was at a watch party in Berlin for the GF. After three-quarter time, I decided to head back to the hotel and take a nap. That was brutal. The Hawks deserved their win, no doubt; it just would have been nice if Sydney had bothered to show up as well.

[pluggerplugger1]

Thanks for the advice, Gooner, everything seems to work now.

Now that free agency/trade season is upon us, what does everyone think of recent news??

[VictoriaGooner]

What recent news Luke? There has been lots of combine and draft news now. Clubs are starting to jossle for draft positions and getting their big name young signings.

Here is the draft order for 2014 AFL Draft.

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2014-09-30/full-2014-draft-order.mobileapp

[VictoriaGooner]

Now the AFL off-season is upon us, with that comes the AFL Draft Combine. The AFL has done some daily wrap reporting of both days of the Combine from the Etihad Stadium. For people new to the AFL, this is an inside look into how clubs decided who the best footy players are in Australia. For your viewing pleasure.

Question: what's better to watch, AFL or NFL combines?

Day One

Day Two

[VictoriaGooner]

I know it's a week late but the AFL released the dates of the 2015 AFL Premiership with it starting on April 2 and the Grand Final taking place at the MCG on Saturday, October 3. The reason for the late start for the season is because of both Australia and New Zealand co-hosting the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and many of the club venues are hosting CWC matches.

Round 1 was released as a teaser with tradional rivals Carlton and Richmond kicking off the 2015 Premiership:

Thursday

Carlton v Richmond

Saturday

Melbourne v Gold Coast

Sydney Swans v Essendon

Brisbane Lions v Collingwood

Western Bulldogs v West Coast

Sunday

St Kilda v Greater Western Sydney

Adelaide v North Melbourne

Fremantle v Port Adelaide

Monday

Hawthorn v Geelong

The full schedule gets released tomorrow (October 30)...

Other news is the build up to the the NAB AFL Draft taking place on November 27. With the AFL Draft Combine taking place a weeks ago and the junior/international players showing off their talent, it should be a good draft this year. St. Kilda at the moment has the top draft pick but there is rumors of St. Kilda trading it for some veteran experience.

[VictoriaGooner]

The 2015 Premiership fixtures were released today. It's like Christmas came early this year

The AFL Footy Feed broke down all 18 club's schedules, worth a watch if you want to see how your club is matched up. How did your club do in their fixtures? Swans have a good schedule playing a few Friday night games at the SCG and a nice early run. But Swans play Hawks, Power and Cats twice each...ouch! Lets hope the Grand Final doesn't continue to rub off on Sydney

Part 1 - Adelaide to GWS

Part 2 - Hawthorn to Western Bulldogs