Sports
round up archive
Thursday
September 7th 2006
AFL
The AFL finals series kicks off this week. All four
of the top spots on the ladder have been taken by
non-Victorian teams which will make it difficult for
the Victorian teams in the bottom half of the ladder
to win the premiership this season.
The first match this weekend will see the Saints play
the Demons on Friday night. Both of these teams have
been in the top four this season with the Demons loss
last week against the Crows losing them their top
four spot.
Fremantle have made a spectacular late season charge
to take third spot on the ladder. They will travel
to Adelaide this Saturday to play the Crows.
In a replay of last years final and qualifying final
Sydney will travel to Perth to play the Eagles. The
Swans lost the corresponding game last season. Will
they be able to win it this year? In the last game
of the round either the Bulldogs or Collingwoods season
will end. While Collingwood do not posses the pace
of the Dogs, they will have the edge in height and
experience.
NRL
Newcastle will host the Sea Eagles in the first game
of the NRL Finals. This game will be a rematch of
the controversial round 23 clash that saw Andrew Johns
suspended for 2 weeks. Newcastle have been in great
form since that match while Manly have dropped just
the one match against the Storm.
The
Broncos are looking the goods this season and are
in great touch. They will host the Dragons who have
had quite an easy late season run. The current form
of the Broncos may prove too much for the Dragons
this weekend.
The
Raiders have been the surprise packets of the season
with veteran Jason Smith outplaying more highly fancied
opponents. They will play a Dogs outfit that has been
hit by late season injuries to key players. The addition
of Mason will please the Dogs, though there could
be an upset if they are not on their game.
The
fairytale run by the Eels was ended by the Broncos
in round 25 and since then there is speculation that
they can't lift again for the finals. This will be
tested this week and against minor premiers Melbourne.
Tri
Nations Rugby
South Africa takes on Australia at Ellis Park in Johannesburg
on Saturday night in the final match of the 2006 Tri-Nations.
The Wallabies have won their two previous encounters
against the South Africans this tournament in Brisbane
and Sydney. The Queensland match was a thumping 49
- 0, but Sydney was a different story with the Springboks
only just going down 20 - 18. The question everyone
is asking is, can this Australian team be the first
to beat the Springboks in Johannesburg in over 40
years? Find out this Saturday night.
Thursday
September 14th 2006
AFL
After being the form team of the second half of the
AFL season the Dockers stumbled in their first match
of the finals series losing to Adelaide last week.
They will host the Demons this week, who staged a
great come from behind win against the Saints to reach
this knock-out final. The Dockers have the home ground
advantage - this year they have dropped just the game
at Subiaco this season. Regardless, the Demons are
confident and are adopting the Swans approach by leaving
for the West four days before game day.
On
Saturday night the Eagles will host the Bulldogs at
Subiaco Oval. The Eagles went down to the Swans in
a thrilling one point loss last week. For many the
match between the Swans and the Eagles was the game
of the season, but for the Eagles fans that consolation
amounted to little. They have the chance to make amends
this week against the Dogs. The Dogs are one of the
few teams that can match the pace of the Eagles mid-field
and after their great win over the Pies last week
they are on a high. The Dogs have beaten the Eagles
at Subiaco this year so they know what it takes to
beat the powerful Eagles.
NRL
On Friday night the second week of the NRL finals
kicks off with the Dragons playing the Sea Eagles
at Aussie Stadium. The Dragons were very impressive
in their 20-4 victory over the Broncos, while Manly
also looked good for parts of the match in their loss
to the Knights. There will be a great competition
between the forwards in this match, with both sets
more than capable of getting the ball over the advantage
line. Gasnier will be sorely missed from the Dragons
backline.
The Knights beat the Sea Eagles last week in another
controversial match that has cost Knights hooker Danny
Buderus dearly. He has been suspended for six weeks,
which rules him out for the rest of the season. Buderus
is an integral part of the Knights team and his absence
will be very difficult for the Knights to cover. The
Broncos have struggled at finals time in recent years
and the jinx looks to be continuing this year with
another loss last week. They have a great chance to
bounce back against a Knights outfit that will be
distracted by the suspension of Buderus. One of the
exciting match-ups of this game will be the contest
between Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer. Both of them
have been among the best players of the code for a
number of years and their performances could keep
their teams hopes alive in 2006.
Soccer
There are two big matches in the EPL this week with
Chelsea hosting Liverpool and Man Utd taking on Arsenal.
Chelsea has started the EPL as favourites to take
out the League once again this year and after four
matches played, they are sitting in fourth dropping
just the one match. They take on Liverpool who have
struggled so far winning just the one match. Man Utd
have started the season in red hot form winning all
of their matches and scoring 11 goals so far. They
will host the Gunners who have not been impressive
to date, drawing two matches and losing one.
Golf
In the HSBC World Match Play Championship which starts
tonight Tiger Woods is a bit more than an even money
favourite to take out the Championship. Number one
seed and last years winner New Zealander Michael Campbell
is not highly fancied to defend his crown, being quoted
at 21.00 in the betting. Australian Adam Scott has
proven himself a capable player this year and is the
highest ranked Aussie in the betting at 13.00.
Thursday
September 21st 2006
AFL
West Australian AFL fans should be happy that both
of their teams have made it this far in the season.
Both teams will face hard tests this weekend with
the reward being a place in the 2006 Grand final.
This has been the best result for the Dockers since
their inclusion into the competition. After the Dockers
loss to Adelaide in the qualifying final, their late
season run looked to have come to an end. In a sign
of the changes that have taken place at Fremantle
this season, they were able to bounce back and run
over the top of the Demons last weekend. After the
Swans great win over the Eagles in the qualifying
round, they have had the week off in preparation for
this match. The Swans haven't had the greatest record
at home this season though were able to notch up the
win over the Dockers at the SCG during their horror
run at home.
The match between Adelaide and West Coast on Saturday
night will be a cracker. Both of these teams have
been a dominant force in the competition for a couple
of seasons. Adelaide secured their place in the preliminary
final by beating Fremantle at home, while the Eagles
had to fight their way through the semi finals after
their loss to the Swans. Last week the Eagles made
amends for their loss to Sydney with a comprehensive
display over the young Western Bulldogs outfit. The
Eagles will be playing for the chance of a second
consecutive grand final appearance. For the Crows,
this will be their first opportunity for a grand final
match since their premiership win in 1998.
NRL
On Friday night Brisbane will have the opportunity
to play in their first grand final since their win
in 2000. Canterbury last tasted grand final success
in their win over the Roosters in 2004. This season,
the Broncos have had their most successful campaign
in recent years. Their win last week showed the skill
and desperation that is needed at finals time. The
Knights had no answer to the size of the Broncos pack
who were able to make metres at will and provide the
space for the Broncos backs. This week will be a different
story as the Dogs also boast a big and aggressive
pack that will be more than happy to go toe-to-toe
with the likes of Webcke and Civoniceva. Darren Lockyer
was able to run rampant against Newcastle and more
of the same can be expected if the Dogs give the Broncos
five-eighth room to move.
In
a replay of the 1999 grand final, minor premiers Melbourne
Storm will take on the might of the St George Illawarra
Dragons this Saturday night. The Storm had the luxury
of the week off to get set for this match. They were
not that impressive in their win over the Eels in
the first week of the finals with the usually unstoppable
back line failing to fire. For the Dragons their last
start against the Sea Eagles will have given them
plenty of confidence. They managed to keep the Sea
Eagles scoreless through strong defence. In a worrying
sign for the Storm, the Dragons backline was impressive
against Manly even without Mark Gasnier in the side.
It will be a good match up all round the park with
both teams possessing solid forwards, classy centres
and quick outside backs. The big difference between
the teams is the kicking game of Trent Barrett. If
his boot is on fire he could propel the Dragons into
their first grand final since 1999.
Golf
The 2006 Ryder Cup starts this Friday. The US team
will start as underdogs even with the inclusion of
World beater Tiger Woods. The European team includes
Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie and Luke Donald.
Sports
round-up archive index
Home|FAQs|Disclaimer|Contact
us
©2010 Ozmium
Pty Ltd. All rights reserved
