Micro Noises 106: W is for 'win'
WWWWWWWinning ways
There must be something in the air in footy's traditional 'big three' states this year. And while we don't exactly know what it is that's in the air, we reckon it might start with W. In the AFL, the Western Bulldogs have had a season successful beyond almost everyone's wildest dreams. And while the Dogs won't win the flag, West Coast are a big chance to do so.
Meanwhile in South Australia, the SANFL Grand Final will be between not two teams beginning with W, but three! Well, to be specific, one team that begins with W - West Adelaide - and another team that begins with W that used to be two teams that begin with W - Woodville-West Torrens. In Perth there's another W team vying for a flag - West Perth, who will take on Subiaco in Saturday's WAFL Grand Final. And back in Victoria, Williamstown will be attempting to become yet another W team to when a premiership when they meet Box Hill this Sunday in the VFL Grand Final.
If the cards fall the right way, West could be best in all three states, even in Victoria, where Williamstown is a western suburb of Melbourne.
In defence of a Fremantle flag
Could this year be the one that Fremantle finally wins a flag? An obscure set of numbers (and obscure sets of numbers are certainly our favourites!) suggests it could well be. A quick glance at this year's AFL ladder at the end of the home and way season shows that the top five sides, while having wildly varying totals in their 'points for' column', all finished in a very tight bunch when it came to 'points against'. A massive 595 points separated Hawthorn and Fremantle when it came to points scored in the home and away rounds, but there were only 16 points between them in the next column, 'points against'.
In fact, only 30 points separated the entire top five sides, with Hawthorn having 1548 scored against them, Sydney 1578 and Fremantle, West Coast and Richmond totals in between. Not since 1904 have we seen such a closely bunched set of against totals amongst the top five sides. In that season, (where each team played five fewer games), 25 points separated the top five, Collingwood having 741 kicked against them and the Swans 766, with Fitzroy, Carlton and Essendon in between.
And the team that won the premiership that year was Fitzroy, the only one in the League at that stage to begin with the letter F, and one which had made the finals in the three previous years (including one Grand Final) but fell short of a flag each time. Sound familiar? It all bodes well for the Dockers to break their premiership drought.
On the other hand...
A Hawthorn v North Melbourne Grand Final might seem like a bit of a long shot at this point, with the Eagles heavily favoured to beat the Roos tomorrow night, but history says it's on the cards, if North's win over Sydney is anything to go by. The Kangaroos beat Sydney 77-51 on Saturday night and the last time the VFL/AFL saw that final score was late in 1978 when North defeated Essendon. And 1978, of course, was the last time Hawthorn and North Melbourne met in the Grand Final.
61 years ago today
The AFL's longest premiership drought will enter its 62nd year after today. While Melbourne and St Kilda supporters lament periods of one year either side of five decades without a premiership celebration, Doggies' fans have got an extra decade of despair on both of those groups. However, based on their 2015 season, in which a very young team showed great signs, perhaps an end to that drought is in sight. In the meantime, Bulldogs' lovers, you can be proud that your club has a unique record that none of the others (apart from Gold Coast and GWS) can claim. Footscray was ahead at the main break when it won the 1954 Grand Final against Melbourne and also in front at the same stage in the 1961 decider, which it eventually lost to Hawthorn. That makes the Bulldogs the only side to have been in front at half time of every Grand Final they have played in.
With a unique record like that, who needs premierships?
And speaking of today...
It's September 25th, and what better date could there be to look at the score 25.9 than 25/9? As it turns out 25.9.159 had a 'glory' period that lasted 15 seasons. Between 1987 and 2001, it was registered as a final score 10 times by nine different clubs. Amazingly, though, it was never recorded before that period and hasn't been seen since.
Perhaps even more amazingly, the last time it was registered, it was a losing score! North Melbourne was the unlucky loser on that occasion in round 16 of 2001, when Essendon staged the biggest comeback in VFL/AFL history to snatch victory from the Kangaroos. North led by 69 points, 15.1.91 to 3.4.22 in the early part of the second term that day, but the Dons stormed back be within 21 points at half time and went on to win by 12 points, 27.9.171 to 25.9.159.
Making a point - twice
There were incredible scenes at North Port Oval last Saturday, when Williamstown defeated Box Hill in extra time of the VFL Development League (reserves) Grand Final. Scores were level at the final siren before the Seagulls scored a golden point to take out the premiership. A Grand Final requiring extra time is a rare enough thing of itself but what made last Saturday's scenario even more amazing was that when the same two sides faced off in the Grand Final at the same venue two years earlier, scores were also level at full time, and Williamstown also won the flag with a golden point in extra time. For anyone wondering what the point of all those long, hard training sessions through a cold winter is, the Seagulls' development squad have the answer - twice!
Postcode of the week
After week one of the finals, questions were being asked by many about Hawthorn's chances of winning a third flag in a row. The Hawks had been soundly beaten by the Eagles and many wondered if they had the hunger to regroup for an assault on another premiership. Come last Friday and it didn't take long for Hawthorn to answer those questions emphatically and give Hawthorn fans renewed hope. Accordingly, the Hawks scored 4, 2, 1 and 2 points in each of the four quarters of Friday's match against Adelaide, and 4212 is the postcode of Hope Island.
Year of the week
The Adelaide Crows might not have realised it, but their loss to Hawthorn last Friday night formed part of a convolutedly cryptic tribute to their own first season in the AFL. The Crows 'points against' total in the home away season was 1821, while their 'points for' total in the finals was 170. If you add those two figures together, you get 1991, the Crows' inaugural AFL year.
Ridiculous footy anagram of the week
As mentioned above the Western Bulldogs didn't get past the first week of the finals but they still have lots to celebrate in season 2015, not least the fact that Bob Murphy, Jake Stringer and Easton Wood were all rewarded for fine seasons with a place in the All Australian team, with Murphy as captain. Those three dared to dream and run and were deserved winners of All Australian honours. How appropriate, then, that MURPHY, WOOD AND STRINGER are an anagram of DOGS DREAM, RUN, WIN TROPHY.
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.
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