Micro Noises 70: Of medals and flags
Matt Priddis - not first but first
Congratulations to West Coast's Matt Priddis, the 2014 Brownlow Medallist. He is not the first "dark horse" to win the coveted award but he perhaps the most unexpected winner since Melbourne's Shane Woewodin in 2000. Which is not to say that he isn't a worthy winner. Indeed the general consensus is that his Brownlow Medal is fitting reward for one of the hardest workers in the game. To celebrate his victory, here's a list of some of Priddis's "not first but first" achievements:
➡︎ Technically he's NOT the first Matthew to the Medal, as Herbie Matthews was a winner in 1940 but he IS the first with a first name of Matthew.
➡︎ He's NOT the first winner to have a surname beginning with P but he IS the first since John Platten in 1987.
➡︎ He's NOT the first player to win the Medal with a total of 26 votes - Haydn Bunton (1931), Dinny Ryan (1936), Bill Hutchinson (1953), Robert Harvey (1997) and Adam Goodes (2006) all won with that total - but he IS the first to have that total made up of four "3 votes", five "2 votes" and four "1 votes". The others' combinations were Bunton 6-3-2, Ryan (unknown), Hutchison (8-1-3), Harvey (7-2-1) and Goodes (7-2-1).
➡︎ He's NOT the first recipient of the award to be a West Coast Eagle with a seven-letter surname ending in "s" but he IS the first since Ben Cousins in 2005.
➡︎ He's NOT the first winner to have a first name containing "tt" but he IS the first since Scott Wynd in 1992.
➡︎ He's NOT the first winner to have a surname with a second letter of "r" but he IS the first since Keith Greig in 1973-4.
➡︎ He's NOT the first winner to have a surname with a third letter of "i" but he IS the first since Bernie Quinlan in 1981.
➡︎ He's NOT the first winner to have a surname with fifth and sixth letters of "di" but he IS the first since Ross Glendinning in 1983.
➡︎ He's NOT the first winner to have the initials "MP" - actually, wait a minute, he IS! Congratulations on your historic Brownlow win, Matt Priddis!
Score Wars - 94 Powers to the lead on back of Port loss
Port Adelaide's exit from the 2014 season was about as heartbreaking as they come, losing by under a goal in last Saturday's Preliminary Final, with the ball deep in the Power's forward line. But even in their loss the Power left a little win. Their final score of 13.16 gave this season the 11th occurrence of a score of 94, giving it the outright lead over 76, 79 and 81, which have come up 10 times this year, and 69, 87, 91 and 98, all of which have come up nine times. Only a drawn Grand Final can save 69, 87, 91 and 98, but 76, 79 and 81 are a huge chance of catching 94 and making it a tie in Score Wars 2014.
So what are the contenders' chances?
94 has come up three times in past Grand Finals, with St Kilda being the last to register it in its 1997 loss to Adelaide. It was also a winning score for Hawthorn against Footscray in 1961 and for Carlton against Fitzroy in 1906.
76 has been a final score in a Grand Final only twice - the same Grand Final! In 1977 Collingwood kicked 10.16.76 to North's 9.22.76.
79 is a four-time Grand Final representative, although it hasn't been seen since Richmond kicked it as a losing score in 1942. It was registered as a winning score by Collingwood in 1929, Geelong in 1925 and Fitzroy in 1922.
81 made a recent appearance as Hawthorn's losing score against Sydney in 2012 - perhaps an omen there. It was also Collingwood's losing score in 2011, Hawthorn's losing score in 1984 and Essendon's losing score in 1943. 81 has only been a winning Grand Final score once, for Geelong in 1951.
The Marginal Medal - Port gives 3 a shot a glory
Even in losing, Port was a team that kept on giving. Their loss gave us the eighth three-point game of the season, making 3 the second-most common margin of the season so far, equal with 7 and one behind leader 8, which has been a margin nine times in 2014. What does history tell us about those margins in Grand Finals?
8 has incredibly never been a Grand Final margin. It might need to be if 8 is to be the sole title holder of the 2014 Marginal Medal.
7 has been a Grand Final margin just once, as a winning one for Hawthorn over St Kilda in 1971.
3 has also made just one appearance as a margin in a Grand Final, in 1968 when Carlton pipped Essendon in a low-scoring match marred by blustery cross-winds. The Blues won 7.14.56 to 8.5.53.
Anagrammatical postcode of the week
Was there a hidden message from Sydney to the hierarchy of Richmond in its win over North Melbourne last Friday night? Were the Swans trying to tell the Tigers to sell off their coach? We can't be certain of course but it is undeniable that Sydney scored 5, 5, 7 and 5 behinds in each of its four quarters against North, and that 5575 is the postcode of Hardwicke Bay, which of course is an anagram of Hardwick - eBay.
Ridiculous Brownlow anagram
While the focus of Matt Priddis's Brownlow Medal win clearly should have been his fine season of football, many on Twitter couldn't help but make comments about the West Coast Eagle's prominent hair style. Perhaps those blonde curly locks could be coaxed into a star career of their own, especially considering that EAGLE MATTHEW PRIDDIS is an anagram of "WIG DEAL?" "HAIR'S TEMPTED!"
Ridiculous Grand Final entertainment anagram
Getting the pre-match Grand Final entertainment right has always been a fraught exercise for the AFL. If only the League had known before signing up MEATLOAF in 2011 that he is an anagram of FAT LAME-O, perhaps they could have passed him over as a choice. This year, the AFL is hoping to get it right with its choice of Ed Sheeran and Tom Jones. Of course we hope the show goes well, but we can't help but think that the late Hawthorn coach Allan Jeans would have found this sort of entertainment - even Sir Tom Jones himself - all a bit too modern and boring. So it's probably no surprise then, that ED SHEERAN AND SIR TOM JONES are an anagram of "MODERN SHITE" (A. JEANS SNORED).
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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