Hoops

AFL: Collingwood vs Adelaide final

Only thing they won was free kicks 18 to 13

chomp, chomp....

Yes, and it is still fun when so many take the bait!

I don't really think the entire game was decided by one free kick though and resultant goal though.

XztatiK: "Not much else to do in September for you blokes is there."

Well I'll be watching my team play a preliminary final this week - what about you?

Definition of the word "choke" in the sporting context:

"To fail to perform effectively because of nervous agitation or tension, especially in an athletic contest"

Since when does a 4 to 5 goal lead mean the match is in the bag? It's a good lead but fuck me, if it was the first to a 24 point lead then the game would be pretty damn boring.

Until Adelaide can win these games in finals, it is a tag that they are destined to carry.

All this talk of Craig not being able to coach finals and choking etc is just bullshit. Someone has to lose the game, and I can assure you that if the Pies had lost, all the calls of "Collywobbles" would come out. A loss doesn't automatically mean its a choke, and if you stop and think about it, unless you win a flag every second year that you coach, you are going to have a poor finals record.

Craig has rebuilt that team with out missing the finals and he managed to turn their performance around mid-season which means there will be good things to come from his mob for a few years.

These days I get more of a buzz watching the 36ers than the footy. When I played basketball , I wasn't much of a watcher and prefered watching footy.

But Tippett and the like are interesting. As is zone,press,player rotations and the like.
Collingwood 120 player rotations. Crows 80 in this game.

Gee its fun stirring Crows supporters!

ROTFLMAO!

Actually, the end of the story is the fact the Crows lost!

Also, Pendlebury is likely an All-Australian (we find out tonight), Josh Fraser is the Pie's No.1 ruckman, and Dayne Beams was right up there in the Rising star award. And these 3 players are integral to the Pies midfield success.

On form alone, the Crows should have crushed the Pies.

It's liek the Crows fans have pecked out each other's eyes as they are so blinded.

Agree with SorryCrows - If it was the other way around...

Bottom line is the Crows choked on the big stage yet again.

Let me spell it for you Crows fans...

C

H

O

K

E

CHOKE

If Anthony wasnt going to make it to the contest, it makes Rutten even sillier for holding him.

How is it incorrect? Rutten held his arm with two hands and did nothing to disguise it. The umps may miss stuff at other times in the game but that doesn't mean when they finally call one that they got it wrong.

As far as how the game should be played, I'd have to say that I don't want to see a game where an out of position defender just holds someone to stop him. If he isn't good enough to stop him then thats just too bad for him.

As Walls likes to say and in relation to Rutten, "It was dumb!"

XztatiK - the fact is the Tippett free kicks, like it or not, were paid as free kicks. IMO they were soft in the context of finals footy. My point was to highlight that the Anthony free kick - like it or not - was a free kick - just the same as the Tippett free kicks.

At the end of the day, the umpires were consistent, with their interpretations and call of the game, all game.

And like it or not, the Pies yet again defeated the Crows in a final.

It really doesnt matter what hypotheticals you can throw out there - Rutten held his arm, it was bloody obvious, end of story.

I hate refs deciding games at any stage of the season but this one was a no-brainer and you should be directing your anger towards Rutten and no one else.

Fact is, Crows capitulate to the Pies in a final yet again.

XztatiK - really sounds like a case of sour grapes there mate. Tippett kicked all but one of his goals via free kicks, two of which were really soft in the last quarter, including the one that put the Crows back in front just prior to the Anthony decision.

You could argue the umpires had been consistent all night (for a change).

It was obvious from replays that Anthony's arm was held by both of Rutten's arms at one stage. The umpire was in a perfect position to make the call and was courageous in doing so.

Read this: http://linky.com.au/p50i4

"Adelaide was beyond brave last night, and the finest of lines separated the teams. It amounted to Brett Rutten's sly grab on Jack Anthony's right arm in a marking contest at centre half-forward, 30 minutes into the final quarter and with the Crows leading by a point. Andrew Otten had taken what appeared to be the match-winning mark in a pack that included Rutten and Anthony, a moment that might well have defined a burgeoning career for the highly rated Otten.
But umpire Shane McInerney made the most courageous call of his own career, spotting that Anthony had been impeded. Initially, the crowd appeared stunned, for no one could have seen the infringement off the ball. But television replays indicated that McInerney was right, and Rutten, who had scarcely made a mistake all night, was made to wait the longest few moments of his career. Anthony kicked straight, and Adelaide had run out of time. Not long after the next bounce, the siren told it so."

A free or not why even get into that position where the ump can make that call.. He hardly made an attempt at a spoil or mark and was more intent on holding the guys arm!? Terrible effort and cost them the game in what was a great contest!

Tippett was lucky to get two free kicks in the last quarter, especially the last one he got and goaled from.

Good gripping final quarter of footy.

Adelaide in the end did not deserve to win.

Yes, bring on the Basketball

That last free kick was definitely there, it's a shame that was the only call for the night

Sorry to say it guys but from a neutral perspective, that game was well umpired, including the final free kick against Rutten.

Brilliant game and it's shame that one team had to go home disappointed.

Once the momentum swung, the game was hard to win back.

Too many mistakes by Crows:

* Went out too hard in Q1
* Poor coaching in Q3
* Kicks to Coll players (TO's)

Umpiring one sided as expected
* First 2 "rushed" behinds dobtful
* Coll goal off an out of bounds play
* Considering the holding all game, final free off #25 dodgy


At least the AFL coffers will be full!

Crows out, dream is over