2008 AFL Premiership Winner - Winner
NSW Fixed Odds updated at 17:59:53 14:30 Sat 27 Sep 2008
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
1307 GEELONG 2.50
1308 HAWTHORN 4.00
1316 WESTERN BULLDOGS 6.00
1314 SYDNEY 8.00
1304 COLLINGWOOD 11.00
1301 ADELAIDE 21.00
1302 BRISBANE 21.00
1303 CARLTON 41.00
1309 KANGAROOS 101.00
1313 ST KILDA 101.00
1311 PORT ADELAIDE 126.00
1312 RICHMOND 126.00
1305 ESSENDON 1001.00
1306 FREMANTLE 1001.00
1315 WEST COAST 2001.00

I reckon Sydney are a good shot at it again this year, they play some good tight finals style football week in week out, I dont really think Geelong will do it again either.
Sydney or the Bullys for me.

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2008 AFL Premiership Winner - Winner
NSW Fixed Odds updated at 08:36:47 14:30 Sat 27 Sep 2008
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price
1307 GEELONG 1.90 $
1316 WESTERN BULLDOGS 5.00 $
1308 HAWTHORN 5.50 $
1304 COLLINGWOOD 11.00 $
1314 SYDNEY 13.00 $
1302 BRISBANE 26.00 $
1301 ADELAIDE 34.00 $
1313 ST KILDA 51.00 $
1303 CARLTON 61.00 $
1309 KANGAROOS 126.00 $
1305 ESSENDON 151.00 $
1312 RICHMOND 151.00 $
1311 PORT ADELAIDE 1001.00 $

2008 AFL Premiership Winner - Winner
NSW Fixed Odds updated at 07:01:58 14:30 Sat 27 Sep 2008
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price
1307 GEELONG 1.95 $
1316 WESTERN BULLDOGS 5.00 $
1308 HAWTHORN 5.50 $
1304 COLLINGWOOD 8.50 $
1314 SYDNEY 15.00 $
1313 ST KILDA 31.00 $
1302 BRISBANE 34.00 $
1301 ADELAIDE 51.00 $
1305 ESSENDON 81.00 $
1309 KANGAROOS 81.00 $
1312 RICHMOND 81.00 $
1303 CARLTON 101.00 $
1311 PORT ADELAIDE 2001.00 $

2008 AFL Premiership - Winner
NSW Fixed Odds updated at 07:45:52 14:30 Sat 27 Sep 2008
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
1307 GEELONG 1.28 $
1308 HAWTHORN 3.75 $
1304 COLLINGWOOD 21.00 $
1313 ST KILDA 41.00 $
1314 SYDNEY 41.00 $
1316 WESTERN BULLDOGS 41.00 $

September 19, 2008

THE general consensus was that absolutely everything would have to go right for Western Bulldogs to derail the Geelong juggernaut on Friday night.

They had to match the Cats' intensity. And they had to find a dominant forward.

For a quarter all of that was happening, allowing the Doggies' diehards to dream of an unlikely first grand final appearance since 1961.

Brian Lake and Lindsay Gilbee were marshalling the backline, the midfield was breaking even and talented youngster Shaun Higgins had four scoring shots in the first quarter for a return of 2.2.

Jason Akermanis even wound back the clock to the glory days of 2001-2003 with a flying left-footed snap at top pace - just what Rodney Eade had in mind when he recruited the brash Brownlow medallist from Brisbane two years ago.

Even so, the Cats still managed to kick the last three goals of the term to lead by six points at the first break.

The signs were there that normal service was about to be resumed. Keeping pace with Geelong for a quarter is one thing. Going the whole distance with a side that has now won 42 of its last 44 matches is another matter altogether.

Josh Hunt replaced Darren Milburn on Higgins and shut him down. All Australian trio Joel Corey, Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel wrested the ascendancy in the midfield. And the under-sized Dogs attack became easy pickings for the Cats defence.

Geelong skipper Tom Harley even found time to sneak forward - courtesy of a generous 50m penalty - to boot his first goal of 2008 and only the 11th of his stellar 183-game career.

The Dogs could only manage one goal in the second quarter and even that came as something of a surprise in time-on, with Nathan Eagleton landing a trademark snap over his shoulder after the ball spilled free from a stoppage.

That the Cats would start the third term exhibiting the same sort of dominance was no surprise.

That the Bulldogs would then take command for 10 minutes late in the quarter was much more of a shock.

Jarrod Harbrow bobbed up to kick two goals, but misses from Eagleton, Will Minson and Mitch Hahn proved very costly.

The Cats don't give you many chances - and you have to take all of them when the time comes.

The Dogs also held sway for the opening 10 minutes of the final quarter but could not buy a goal with Matthew Boyd and Minson again proving not up to the task.

So there was a certain sense of inevitability when the Cats booted the crucial opening goal of the last term through Max Rooke at the 10-minute mark to give the reigning premiers an unbeatable 23-point lead before going on to win 12.11 (83) to 7.12 (54).

That Brad Johnson should have been awarded a free kick after being charged by Rooke in the build-up to the goal was certain.

But so was the broader truth that the Dogs had had their chances and squandered them, kicking only two goals in the second half.

So for the second year running, the Cats advanced to the grand final with a less than convincing preliminary final victory after falling over the line by five points against Collingwood in 2007.

But it's also worth remembering that a week later they belted Port Adelaide by 119 points in the big one.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson said his team had carried great external expectations into every match they played this season and had continued to handle it well.

"It's been a pretty pressurised year, it really has, the longer it's gone the more pressure people are putting on us," Thompson said.

"The expectation to win, our supporters are expecting to win every game they play, the media, all the other people from all the other clubs and that's a hard thing to carry.

"I think our guys have just handled it terrifically well, we'll just stick our head down this week, go about our business and give ourselves the best shot to play the best footy we can next week."

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade said his team could take a lot of heart from their performance and their win over Sydney last week, despite being disappointed to fall short of a grand final.

"There was a lot of pride and a lot of spirit in their efforts," Eade said.

"A lot of people wrote us off two weeks ago and we showed last week and this week that there's a fair bit of spirit within the group.

"I think this season we've made quantum strides forward, the biggest jump of any team, 13th to third, and I think we've made quantum strides as an organisation both on and off the field."

He was confident the pain of losing tonight would help spur them to work towards taking the next step in 2009.

"Close enough is not good enough and there's no prizes for second, or third as we're going to finish," he said.

"We just need to probably recognise there's (sic) a couple of little holes that we need to work on over the summer.

"I've got no doubt this group will probably stew on that a bit over the summer, like last summer, we'll come back with a focus of taking those extra steps forward."

September 20, 2008

HAWTHORN will enter a dream grand final against Geelong on Saturday in awesome form after smashing St Kilda 18.10 (118) to 9.10 (64) in their preliminary final at the MCG.

The Hawks sent an emphatic statement to the all-conquering Cats with their extremely impressive victory, setting up the premiership decider that has looked likely all season.

It will be the Hawks' first grand final since the glorious era which yielded five flags in nine seasons from 1983 to 1991, and the first grand final meeting between Hawthorn and Geelong since 1989, when they produced one of the all-time classics.

But Saturday night's win was not without cost, with star utility Luke Hodge spending several stints on the bench with a suspected rib injury, after being crunched by Saints big man Justin Koschitzke in a first-quarter marking contest.

Hodge was coughing up blood at the quarter-time break and Hawks doctors tested him with a stethoscope.

But he showed typical courage to return to the ground and continue throwing himself in front of leading St Kilda forwards, indicating there is little doubt he will take his place in the grand final.

Five-goal small forward Mark Williams could attract the scrutiny of the match review panel for making high contact on Saints defender Max Hudghton, when he had his head bent over the ball, late in the game.

Star forward Lance Franklin, who was well held by Hudghton, also sent a minor scare through the Hawks camp when he briefly left the ground with a hand injury late in the first term, but seemed untroubled later.

Those concerns aside, things could not have gone better for the Hawks.

After leading by 13 points at the first change, they exploded in the second term, dominating all over the ground to win the quarter 7.1 to 1.3 and set up a 47-point half-time lead.

It was clear it was going to be the Hawks' night when Jarryd Roughead and Shane Crawford goaled from sensational snaps a minute apart to end the term.

When the sides last met, in round 16, the Saints came from 28 points down at half-time to win by five goals.

But any glimmer of hope another comeback might be on the cards was snuffed out in the space of six minutes in the second half.

Franklin kicked his only goal of the match in the opening minute, with Roughead and Cyril Rioli goaling soon after to extend the buffer to an unreachable 66 points.

The Hawks were served superbly by hard-nosed midfielders skipper Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Brad Sewell, who gave their side complete control in the packs.

Running players Brent Guerra, Clinton Young, Grant Birchall and Crawford took full advantage, while in attack Williams' heroics overshadowed key forwards Franklin and Roughead (four goals).

Midfielder Chance Bateman closed down Nick Dal Santo, while Trent Croad and late inclusion Stephen Gilham blanketed Saints key forwards Nick Riewoldt and Koschitzke.

Riewoldt kicked three goals in a five-minute burst late in the third term, when the contest was effectively over, but otherwise failed to have an impact.

The Hawks' win means 34-year-old veteran and former Brownlow medallist Crawford will play his first grand final in his 305th game, after joining the club just as their golden era ended.

But the Saints' much-loved 37-year-old veteran Robert Harvey bowed out on a flat note, without a premiership among his club record 383 games.

The Hawks formed a guard of honour for Harvey as he left an AFL field for the last time, chaired off by Hudghton and Lenny Hayes to an enormous ovation.

His retirement left Hudghton, who is yet to declare whether he will play on next year as the only remaining member of St Kilda's last grand final side, in 1997.

It was the Saints' third preliminary finals loss in five years, but unlike the heartbreakers of 2004 against Port Adelaide and 2005 against Sydney, they were never in the hunt this time.

Hodge was adamant after the match his injury was nothing that would place him in doubt for the grand final.

"It was just a normal knock, everyone gets them in games, so nothing to worry about ... you're making a bigger deal than what it was," he said.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson added that it would take handcuffs to prevent Hodge from playing against the Cats.

Clarkson said his side's effort was full of spirit and character and demonstrated they were worthy of meeting Geelong in the decider.

"It's been a great effort by the whole football club, not just the playing group but the coaching group and administration to get ourselves into a position where we can be in a grand final," he said.

"The next challenge obviously is to give ourselves every chance of winning it.

"We demonstrated with our attack on the footy and our use of the footy that we're a very worthy grand finalist this year and we intend to go as hard as we possibly can next week."

He said his finals-inexperienced squad would relish the week ahead.

"Our confidence going into the game will be sky high on the back of two really good finals performances," Clarkson said.

"What we can bring, despite the fact we haven't got the experience ... is a tremendous enthusiasm and excitement because none of us have been in this position before, I imagine it will be for most blokes the most exciting week of their lives."

Saints coach Ross Lyon said the club would not allow itself to ignore the lessons from the huge defeat.

"We certainly didn't bring any honour to each individual, our fans and our club tonight, particularly in the first half," he said.

"It won't be swept under the carpet, we've got to add talent, we've got to add systems, we've got to add work ethic and we're in the business of getting better, we've got to bridge the gap.

"Clearly all year there's been a gap to the top three, we thought we'd bridged it closer than what we delivered tonight and we'll keep working and anyone that doesn't work, isn't mentally strong, we'll weed out."

Lyon said Hudghton had given a strong indication he would play on next year but was still to make a final decision.