Round 1 Preview: Eagles Gear Up for 'Manly' Dogs

As I sit her typing the Tigers have just been beaten by the Blues on a Thursday night in March. That means one thing...it's Round 1!

I know it 'officially' started last week, but that was hardly football in the sense that one of the alleged team can't really play 'football' (yet). Anyway, if we don't play it never really counts to me anyway. Round 11, for example, will be like a black hole of football for my memory. Sure, stuff will happen and I'll slavishly monitor my SC/DT teams as they slowly devour themselves, but their will be no meaning to any of it. No passion, no emotion; no fear.

And fear, my friends, is what distinguishes us fans from the casual followers.

However, I'm not feeling very fearful for the opener. When I don't know the name of your coach and can't be bothered to search for it, it means I don't care. It's not personal; it's just that I think you're mediocre. I must re-emphasise the point, however, that I have no notion of how the Dogs played in the pre-season. My sense of them is all based on just a general feeling...call it female intuition....erm but the male equivalent.

But the point is, it doesn't particularly matter if they have improved. It's all about us. They don't have a great team with immense talent. In fact, my general impression from their team selection is that their pretty much the same team they were last year. Consequently, I'm confident that if we play like we did last season we will prevail with (nigh)ease.

I know we haven't had an ideal preseason in terms of injuries. A forward line that was already lacking depth in the small(er) forward role is now rather decimated. Lecras will be sorely missed. Nicoski's latest setback is also cause for concern. But the misfortune of some provides opportunities for others. Hill gets his debut for the club this week against his old side. Meanwhile, Hams gets the nod in front of Weedon. I would have preferred Weedon but the club seems to have faith in 'Porky'. Some may say misplaced faith. But I'm willing to give him a few games before relegating him to the 'Masten category'. Few make their way back from that classification, with E-Mac being the one notable exception.

In other team news, Old Man Embley, Mr Glass and JJK are all good to go. The Butler, unfortunately, has been named an emergency. Overall, it's a very solid line-up that should be more than capable of handling the Dogs. No matter how 'manly' they are under new Coach ?.

We have a very interesting season ahead with many possible storylines. A break out year for Nic-Nat? Masten finds consistency? A top 4 finish? A Premiership? None of the above? All will be revealed. But for now we face the Dogs and we should enjoy the first game of the year.

The Eagles are back. REJOICE!!!

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Other News...
- Apparently, Matt Rosa plans to stay an Eagle. He was playing well last year prior to his injury, so if he stays great.

Pre-Season Recap: Eagles Lose Irrelevant Game; Very Relevant Player

Well, I had planned on writing a pre-game post but this is all I could manage:

Yes, the Eagles have made the faux-Grand Final on the basis of a quadratic equation. Or simple arithmetic. Whatever the case, it's nice that we defeated StKilda and the rest but it's a meaningless game. As long as no important players get injured then a win would be fine. But really it's all about Round 1 in a couple of weeks time. The preseason has rarely been an accurate predictor of actual success throughout the regular season. I mean, didn't Carlton win a 'night' premiership 4 or 5 years ago? We all know they'll never win the real thing. But besides my general apathy, Go Eagles!!!

Unfortunately, we did lose an important player (and the game but whatever). Mark Nicoski suffered a hamstring injury which initially looked like a 3-4 thing but then turned into a ? thing. As in, return date unknown until post-surgery. These things happen, but it's really unfortunate when they happen in a meaningless game. I know it was meaningless from the fact that Josh Hill kicked 6 behinds. I mean...he wasn't actually trying to kick goals was he? That would be embarassing.

I wasn't always a big Nicoski fan, in fact I'm still not. Last year I tweeted at him and he didn't respond!!! But he was a very useful forward last year. His loss is accentuated by the Lecras injury which has left us very short. Step up Hill, Weedon and Hams (gulp).

I do, however, have confidence that we can transcend these losses and still be a real force this season. Our team isn't built on individual brilliance; it's the system. And the system isn't broken. The system may find it harder to operate without these guys but other players must step-up. We play the Dogs in a week and a half. I don't know much about the Dogs, but I expect us to win handily. Because you can't beat the system.

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In other news, the death of Jim Stynes makes this a very sad day. From all that I can gather he was an amazing player especially for a guy that didn't learn the game until 18 (244 consecutive games, Brownlow) but even a better person. He was such a positive force who could teach a lot of modern stars lessons on how to approach life.

R.I.P Jimmy.

Back by Unpopular Demand: 12 Predictions for 2012: Part 3

I'm glad this is over. I really should have gone with 5. But no...

9. Eagles Fans won't see much Dick and Cox (Together)

This is rather bold by the standards of my previous predictions. I hope it's wrong, because all wonderful genitalia word-play possibilities aside, Dick's a great player when fit. Unfortunately 'when fit' for Dick has pretty much been close to never. Even if he does recover fully from his most recent ailment (knee I believe), it will be a long road back to top flight. He'll play WAFL then have to force his way into what will hopefully be a good team. But then again if he's healthy I'm certain he'll play because Dick can fill a huge hole for us. The big gaping hole...which is the small forward role. The fact that he didn't play in our first 2 preseason games doesn't give me much hope.

10. Mark Lecras will be Sorely Missed

Lecras has kicked 58, 63 and 43 goals in the last 3 seasons. Who can replace that production; Hams, Dick, Hill, Nicoski? The fact is that he's the best medium forward in the competition. He often draws a key defender allowing guys like JJK and Darling to do their thing. He's simply irreplaceable. Viva Lecras!

11.. 2012 will not be the Year of the Juddas

Oh, Juddas. Although this prediction is not strictly about the Eagles...it so is. I may have written that I'm 'over' Judd's departure but that may have been an untruth. I don't hate him or anything, I just think he should be back where he belongs...in Azkaban. Seriously though, the Blues won't win the premiership this year nor next. When they eventually do (or hopefully don't) the Eagles will have already reached the precipice and Robert Walls won't be able to hide behind his beard anymore. In summary, no premiership medallion in 2012 for Judd.

11. We will Defeat the Dockers Twice (at least)

The thing about the Dockers is...well they aint nothing special. No, I'm not judging that on one preseason game (however hilariously poor they were). I'm judging it on a history of mediocrity from their performances on the field to their jumper and their new jumper and their song and their new song and their coaches and their players. They are in a general 'blah'. Still that blah has usually stepped it up against us. It's what often happens when a crap side treats a derby like a grand final. That time, though, is well past. We are a very strong team with a solid game plan. We shall triumph and if we don't I still will claim we're winners...because We are the Eagles and they are the dockers. Enough said.


Finally done. Yay.

Preseason Week 2 Recap: Eagles Win!... (Or So I'm Told)

Yes, there seems to be a general consensus around the football media that the Eagles did indeed prevail against Port last weekend. I don't think it was televised, so as far as I'm concerned it never really happened and doesn't properly count. Although, it is preseason and thus that can be said of all games. Except those in which we crush Fremantle. Like a couple of weeks ago. That counts and then some. Especially when the Dockers can't even move the ball 50 metres or so do such 'minor' things as...score.

Anyway, the stats suggest that Kerr, Masten (hmmm), Cox and Priddis were fairly prolific. Erm...I have nothing much else to add. Cox and Kerr played what appears to be significant time which is interesting. I'm not sure whether that's interesting in a positive or negative way just yet. I shall let you know in a few months.

Nic Naitanui, on the other hand, had a pressing engagement and thus couldn't participate. Or he chucked a sickie so he could participate in the NBA All-Star Dunking Comp...or something slightly less cool.
At least it was televised:

Not bad, but I'd prefer he didn't partake in such antics. Anything can happen! ANYTHING!

Thankfully, Naitanui has his hair to protect him. His wondrous, beautiful hair. Am I the only one that would like to touch it? In a totally non homo-erotic way I assure you. Well, mostly non homo-erotic.

So apparently, Nic's dunk was divisive. To be honest though, I would prefer he didn't. Because I'm selfish and I want him to play for us for the next say 10 years. But, some people should 'chillax'. 

Finally, we might make the Grand Final of the illustrious NAB Cup! I don't know how or why or whatever but I read it somewhere. So there.

Stay tuned for the final part of my '12 Predictions for 2012'. It is going to be epic.