Hmm, much as I would like to see Melbourne heads deflated I actually wouldn't mind seeing them get off to a flyer, pump up their heads even more and then a mediocre second half of the H&A season leaving them in maybe 6th or 7th - win a final and lose the Semi. That looks to be more fun but maybe I'm just twisting the knife. The trouble is Melbourne are very good, did address their issues from a few years ago, have a good age profile and really do go into this season as well deserved favourites. Plus, their history is of winning flags in bunches (excepting maybe 1900 when every team was in the finals). We'll see.
I picked Melbourne in a close one tonight. I reckon Footscray would have been working on how to prevent that run on Melbourne got in the Grand Final, but I still don't see where Footscray have plugged their gaps in defence and how they will combat the dominance of Gawn.
Will be interesting to see the new Holding the Ball interpretation. It sounded logical enough in an article the other day, but we'll see how it goes and if the AFL can resist the urge to change the interpretation a few times during the season. They need to make a call and stick to it. I expect to see a fair few 50m penalties as the AFL try and enforce the new umpire abuse rule, again, they need to make the call and enforce it every single time or the fans will have every reason to get frustrated. If they want behaviour change, enforce it early and don't back off.
DS
