Drawing every last drop from the AFL season

IT’S official. It has begun. Panic has set in. And more often than not, it’s always around this time of year that it hits you. If you’re a Richmond fan, you’ve probably been looking forward to it for some months now. Obviously, I’m talking about ‘cricket season’. Two words that can only mean one thing – THE FOOTY IS ABOUT TO FINISH!

Semi-finals weekend in the AFL usually equates to a ho hum affair with the two losers from the top four making amends for being complete rubbish the week before and towelling up the winners from the eliminations, still stoked to be getting a bit of media. Well, if ever there was to be a season that this theory was to be thwarted, this was it. Adelaide were first up and the folk in South Australia looked like they had overdone the Dagwood dogs at the Royal Adelaide show, because bugger all people bothered to show up. Port’s tarpaulins nearly got one last gig for the year, however enough Freo fans made the journey to bump up the crowd to a tick above 30,000.

The Crows were under immense pressure to not go out in straight sets and it showed early as the Dockers kicked away to a five-goal lead. The Crows were spiralling out of September and needed something special. Enter ‘the Mullet’. Taylor ‘Tex’ Walker had his magical mudflap enchanted once more by a Persian witchdoctor (selling his soul to Ifrit in the process) and went on to become not only the match winner with five goals but officially won ‘bogan of the year’. The Dockers looked a tired mob by the end, however they were just happy it was time to get out of Adelaide.

The other WA hope, the West Coast Eagles, were looking to finally get a win at the G. But that would be no easy task with Collingwood in the way. If the West Coast fans had held the ‘most feral’ mantle for a while this year, it was swiftly taken from them with interest to the rightful owners – as the black-and-white army booed, flailed and exasperated every last drop of venom available to anything that did or didn’t go their way (which even included the Pie boy forgetting the sauce). Sheer brutality was on display by the end and luckily for the Melbourne CBD’s sake the Pies found a way. The Eagles were gallant, but just lacked the killer instinct when required, something the home crowd would’ve had plenty of had they lost. And with that, just three games remain in 2012. Hawks v Crows. Swans v Magpies. And then the GF. Only three more games til cricket comes again… Now that’s a truly frightening prospect.

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