Dave’s Football Blog

Hey, if I can get interested in Association football, you can get interested in Australian football. The AFL is more fun than getting whipped with a car antenna…

West Coast Eagles 101, Fremantle Dockers 70. Here’s why I like the Eagles, in spite of that whole “drug culture” thing — they move the football like no other team. They racked up 185 handballs to the Fremantle’s 91, and that helped them win their first western derby since August of 2005. Big Dean Cox was back in the ruck, and 22-year-old Steven Armstrong led all scorers with 3 goals. West Coast is the only 3-0 team in the AFL after three rounds, while Fremantle falls to 0-3.

Of course, the other reason I stick with the Eagles is that the hijinks that surround them make for great blog fodder, too. How can you not love a club that has to defend paying for its star player’s rehab and apologize after another player cursed into a mic during a post-game medal presentation? These guys are rock’n'roll badasses in all the best and worst ways. I half expect Ben Cousins to walk out of rehab with Amy Winehouse on his arm. (By the way, does anybody know where Cousins is hanging out these days? I did a Google search for “Malibu Rehab Centers,” and it turned up about 800 clinics…)

Sydney Swans 96, Brisbane Lions 69. Down 10 at the end of the third quarter, the Swans laid the smack down on the Lions, outscoring them 48-1 in the final frame. Yes, you read that correctly: 48 to 1. Barry Hall’s knee held up okay. He scored 4 goals and 4 behinds and had a team-leading 12 marks, while Michael O’Loughlin, playing in his 250th AFL game, had two of his three goals in the 4th quarter to lead the comeback. Looks like it’s back to the drawing board for Brisbane.

Carlton Blues 125, Essendon Bombers 122. Sing along, everybody…

The Blues were down by 48 points in this one, but Brendan Fevola and his 8, count ‘em, 8 goals brought Carlton back in the second half for the win. It was Carlton’s biggest comeback win in its 111-year history.

The Blues play the Eagles at Subiaco Oval next week. That’s the game I want to see. Anybody down under want to make a torrent of that one for me? Anyone?

Collingwood Magpies 115, Richmond Tigers 90. After a tough loss to the Eagles last week, Collingwood rebounded with a comeback win over winless Richmond. The ‘Pies were down 22 at the half, but came back to tie it at the end of the 3rd quarter and pulled ahead in the 4th, thanks in part to Part Medhurst’s 4 goals and Anthony Rocca’s 3 goals. Rocca makes Ray Guy look like Stephen Hawking. Huge leg.

St. Kilda Saints 116, Western Bulldogs 66. Also recovering from a Round 2 loss? St. Kilda, who did to the Bulldogs what Brisbane did to them last week. The ‘Dogs were down 39-14 at the end of the first quarter, and they never recovered. Nick Riewoldt returned from a pre-season hamstring injury to lead the Saints with 4 goals and 2 behinds.

Adelaide Crows 87, Port Adelaide Power 63. Of course, it would be a murder of Crows who shut down the Power. They probably snapped a line near a substation and blew out a transformer or something…

All the Round 3 scores and current standings are available from the AFL web site and, of course, Wikipedia. Oh, and you footy fans out there might want to help this longtime rugby league fan pick an AFL team to support. The Saints fans aren’t making their case very well:

Over the course of the year you may have supporters fighting over which club you should support. As a Saints supporter I’d say don’t choose us. Get out while you can. I love everything about the club including our colourful history but you’ll have to get used to a lot of disappointment.

I bet people would have said the same thing about the New Orleans Saints two years ago…