Micro Noises 101: Back to basics
Football 101
In our 101st edition of Micro Noises, we thought it would be good to get back to basics. So, here are the basics of 101 in footy since 1897:
* SCORES: 101 has been a final score 312 times in 14,750 VFL/AFL matches, 180 times as 15.11, 113 times as 14.17, 10 times as 16.5 and nine times as 13.23. In round 15, 1995, Essendon and Richmond drew 15.11.101 apiece.
* MARGINS: 14 matches have ended with a margin of 101 points, with Collingwood and Geelong having won by 101 three times each.
* GAMES: 16 players have ended their careers on 101 games. The first to do so was Dave Ryan, who played two games for Geelong and then another 99 for Collingwood before finishing in 1912. The most recent was Fremantle's Steven Dodd, who played his last AFL match in 2010. Graham 'Polly' Farmer also notably played 101 VFL games.
* GOALS: 10 players kicked exactly 101 goals in their time in the VFL. South Melbourne's Bill Gunn took 104 games to reach the total while Geoff Raines took 254 matches at four clubs to get there.
History 101
We love our history at Micro Noises and a little bit of footy history was created when Brisbane thrashed Carlton on Saturday night. The Lions won by 64 points, making it three consecutive rounds in which we have had a 64-point margin. The Blues lost by the same margin to North Melbourne two weeks earlier and in between, in round 20, the Western Bulldogs won by that margin against Port Adelaide.
Earlier in the year, the Lions themselves were on the end of a 64-point flogging, going down to the Suns at Carrara in round five. Brisbane is the first team to win and lose by 64 points in the same season since Footscray achieved the feat in 1993. The Dogs beat St Kilda and lost to Collingwood by that margin in that year.
Omens 101
Four 64-point margins in 2015 makes it the first time since 1994 we have had so many. In that year, Geelong, Hawthorn (twice), Essendon, Carlton and North Melbourne all had wins by that margin but none of them went on to win the flag. West Coast took the honours, defeating one of the '64-pointers' - Geelong - in the Grand Final.
That all augurs will for the Eagles of 2015, who currently sit second on the ladder. If history is to repeat, expect West Coast to take out this year's premiership, defeating the Western Bulldogs or North Melbourne in the process. Unless of course another team wins by 64 points between now and the finals.
The Marginal Medal
Three times in three weeks and four for the season hasn't been quite enough for 64 points to threaten for the lead in the Marginal Medal but several other margins have made a move in recent weeks. In round 20, 24 points, 36 points and 37 points were all margins for the fifth time this year, bringing them to within two of the most common margin of 2015, 9 points. 9 points had come up seven times but hasn't been seen since round 15, while second-placed 10 points, which has been recorded six times this year, hasn't been spotted since round 14.
It's all pointing to a grandstand finish in which the Marginal Medal is likely to be won by the narrowest of... margins.
The Bill Collins Medal - "Now we get it!"
Perhaps news of the Bill Collins Medal has finally reached the AFL clubs. In an unprecedented (at least in 2015) display of accuracy, four of the goal kicking efforts in round 20 were good enough to make it into the top 13 performances of the year. Richmond's 22.6 (accuracy 78.57%) was the equal-fourth most accurate score of the year, while Adelaide's 27.9 (75.00%) was the eighth. Also getting in on the act were Hawthorn with 19.7 (73.08, 12th) and the Western Bulldogs with 24.9 (72.73, 13th).
Nevertheless, it's the Giants who still have a firm hold of the 2015 Bill Collins Medal, their 11.2 against the Western Bulldogs in round nine, still the most accurate display (84.62%) of the year.
Year of the week
Port Adelaide got over the line against GWS last Saturday but even its most loyal of fans would likely admit that it's been a dud season for the Power. And the team itself almost seems to have acknowledged that fact on the weekend. The Power have 1684 in their 'points for' column and allowed the Giants to score 90 against them, taking their 'points against' total for the season to 1684 also. And, as we all know, 1684 was the year of death of the famous English metallurgist, Dud Dudley.
Postcode of the week
Hawthorn has won two flags in a row and is a red-hot favourite to take a premiership hat trick. But have they done enough to earn the title of 'GOAT' (Greatest Of All Time)? We're not quite convinced but there are some signs that the Hawks are heading in that direction. Their behinds total at the end of each quarter against Geelong on Saturday night was 2, 4, 7 and 7. And as any postal nerd would know, 2477 is the postcode of GOAT Island.
ZIP code of the week
Carlton's 64-point loss on Saturday night saw the Blues hit rock bottom - literally, with Brisbane climbing off the bottom of the ladder and leaving Carlton its place. It was rather appropriate, then, that the final score was 67-131, because 67131 just happens to be the US ZIP code of Rock.
Ridiculous footy anagrams of the week
It's been a sad week for the Essendon Football Club, with favourite son James Hird finishing up as coach. Perhaps it was always going to come to this, especially when we consider that HIRD AT ESSENDON is an anagram of DISHEARTEN DONS.
Particularly sad to watch was Jobe Watson's appearance on Footy Classified on the day of Hird's termination. The son of Hird's former teammate, Tim Watson, candidly revealed the sadness this situation has left inside him. Mind you, while watching the interview, we couldn't help having a little light-hearted thought about the state of affairs, noting that JAMES HIRD THE ESSENDON COACH is an anagram of SHH! INJECTED A COMRADE'S SON.
×
Left ▼
But every cloud has a silver lining, and in the wake of Hird's unfortunate exit, assistant MATTHEW EGAN gets his chance to shine as a coach. We're expecting big tactical changes at Essendon under him, especially given that he's an anagram of THAT NEW GAME.
And in more good footy news, the Western Bulldogs, who are flying high despite - or perhaps because of - blooding a host of new debutants this year. In round 21, they will unveil another, with the long blond locks of Roarke Smith (left) to be seen for the first time at AFL level against the Eagles on Sunday. And looking at that 'do', we couldn't help but notice that ROARKE SMITH IS A BULLDOG is an anagram of LIKABLE* STUD GROOMS HAIR.
Micro Noises is Andrew Gigacz's regular, quirky look at all things footy. The name Micro Noises is an anagram of Enrico Misso, who played one game for St Kilda in 1985. He remains the only Enrico and the only Misso to have played footy at the highest level.
Footnotes
* Yes, that's the US spelling of 'likeable'. We're invoking anagrammatic poetic licence here.
Comments
This article does not contain any comments.
Login to leave a comment.