Micro Noises 194: 17 ways to a flag
Five new kids on the block
While AFL Round 4 didn't give us many close matches, last weekend's lopsided results provided an incredible five scorelines never before seen in a V/AFL match.
The fun (not for the losing sides, mind you) began at the MCG on Saturday, when Richmond thrashed Brisbane. At one stage the Lions looked like they might be forever stuck on a score of 0.4.4, which would have made us pretty excited, because other than zero, 4 is the only total under 200 never recorded in a V/AFL match. Sadly, Brisbane did manage to find two goals, and finished with a score of 2.5.17, giving the league its first-ever scoreline of 110-17.
Interestingly the Lions, in kicking 2.5.17, brought up the first instance of that score since 1988, and it was the Lions' predecessors — the Brisbane Bears — who kicked it that day, against Hawthorn at Princes Park. Before that, the last time 2.5.17 came up was in 1919 (in a match won by the Lions' other predecessor, Fitzroy), so the only instances of 2.5 being a final score in the last 99 years have both been recorded by teams from Brisbane.
The last appearance of 2.5 at the MCG was way back in the 1905, in yet another match featuring Brisbane's predecessor, the 1905 Grand Final, won by Fitzroy. And just to take the historical connection one step further back, Fitzroy was in fact the first team ever to kick 2.5.17, in the opening round of 1898 against Essendon. And it didn't seem to do them much harm. Though they lost that match by 53 points, they turned the tables on the Dons, defeating them in that year's Grand Final, and then went 'back to back' in 1899. So don't despair just yet, Lions' fans, you might be on the verge of a return to premiership glory.
The first-time scorelines kept coming from there, with 116-30 (North Melbourne v Carlton), 139-59 (West Coast v Gold Coast), 106-84 (Essendon v Port Adelaide) and 115-48 (Hawthorn v Melbourne) all making their V/AFL debuts in Round 4. We were somewhat surprised that 106-84 had not previously be seen, but a check of the records reveals that history has danced around that combination many times — 106-85 has been recorded twice, and 106-83 six times.
A Giant leap towards a premiership
The GWS Giants have been around the mark for a couple of seasons now, but have not been able to take the final steps to a Grand Final and a premiership. But now, we think they may have unlocked the secret to winning a flag. All they had to do was win a match 82-51, and the ultimate success would surely follow. They duly did that on Saturday, with an 11.16.82 to 7.9.51 win over Fremantle, and history suggests that the premiership is now theirs. There have been only two other instances of a team winning 82-51 — Richmond did so in 1921 and they did it again in 1934 — and in both of those seasons, the Tigers went on to win the flag.
The state of the states
SAN(FL)-tastic!
Here at Micro Noises, we love a drawn game of footy, so we were very happy to see Port Adelaide and Woodville West Torrens record the first draw of the SANFL season at Alberton on Saturday. Adelaide's inclement weather on the day made this one particularly interesting, with the Eagles not even scoring a goal until the last quarter. The final score — Port 4.4.28 v Woodville West Torrens 2.16.28 — made it the lowest scoring draw in the SANFL since the 1919 Preliminary Final, in which West Torrens and North Adelaide both finished on 2.3.15.
WAFL weirdness
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A competition in which one team dominates isn't usually seen as a good thing, but it can throw up some statistical weirdness — something that we love. And that has turned out to be the case in the WAFL. After three rounds, a dominant Subiaco has a percentage of 254.55. While quite high, it is not outrageously so in the early stages of a season — but what is very unusual is that every other side in the WAFL has a percentage of under 100! Such an occurrence in a competition comprising nine teams is rare indeed.
Postcode of the week
Adelaide was expected to make short work of Collingwood last Friday night, but the Crows took far too long to their act together, and by half time were behind 3.2 to 8.5. Reflecting their first-half tardiness, 3285 is the postcode of Toolong.
Ridiculous footy anagram of the week
And don't Magpie fans just love singing the club song after a win — especially one against the odds! And one of the main reasons they got to sing it was a five-goal performance from fourth-gamer Jaidyn Stephenson. So it's pretty fitting that PIES FANS LOVE THE SONG just happens to be an anagram of STEPHENSON FIVE GOALS.
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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