WARNING - close matches are a health hazard

[AlfAndrews]

There should be a law against matches being that close.

That finish reduced to me to a blubbering mess. I thought the Adelaide match was edge-of-the-seat stuff, but that was ridiculous.

These are just scattered thoughts in the immediate aftermath. I'm not even sure if it really happened.

I'm not sure about that Schwass shot at goal late in the match. That goal umpire looked like a bit of a drip anyway. I think it might have been touched on the line but I suppose we'll see it from a dozen different angles over the next couple of days.

Quite apart from that incident I would have to say ... please don't throw things at me ... Sydney was probably robbed.
I think the 50 metre penalty plays far too big a part in the modern game. It used to be a 15 metre penalty, which was ridiculously short. Then a few years ago they changed it from 15 metres to 50 metres. In the S.A.N.F.L. at about the same time they introduced a 25 or 30 metre penalty. That was a better idea. A sort of compromise. The trouble with the 50 metre penalty is that it gives the umpires too much control over the outcome of the game. I subscribe to the old fashioned idea that the less impact the umpires can have on a game the better. I actually get a very hollow feeling when we get a goal from a 50 metre penalty. And, of course, I get absolutely ropeable if the other team gets one. The trouble with umpires is that they can easily ruin a good game of footy.

I'm very proud of the way Collingwood fought that game out to the bitter end tonight. And quite apart from my view that Sydney was robbed, I think Collingwood would have been very unlucky to have lost also. But if we'd lost we would have had our own wastefulness to blame. What about Bucks and Willo late in the game!!

Anthony Rocca has made a hero of himself again. That was a fantastic goal at the end. Last year he would have most certainly missed that.
Adkins - did you see some of the things he did? This kid is the silk department.
Tarrant is having an amazing season. And to think he nearly shot through.

Josh Fraser needs a stint in the VFL to regain confidence. He was benched just in the nick of time.
Sav should be kept in the side next week. He could kick a bag of goals in the controlled environment of Colonoscopy Stadium.

I got very emotional after the game tonight. I feel very strange, actually. I don't really feel as though we won. It feels more like that empty feeling you get after a draw. Maybe that's because, deep down inside, I feel that a draw would have been a fitting result to a classic match.


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**floreat pica**

[I@n S]

I can't talk at the moment. I had the song after the win playing in my Sound system and i was singing to it about 20 times of the 20 times I must have played it.
!!!!!!GO THE HOT PIES!!!!!

[foxy]

frankly i feel a LOT more fulfilled having seen us win tonight's game, compared to the carlton thrashing. last year we would've just lost to the swans in the same circumstances, but tonight we actually pulled through. bloody amazing. i reckon tonight's win is a helluva lot more important than last week's win. sure, last week was brilliant, but to win away like that is superb. i can't even remember ever watching us play interstate on tv and actually WINNING. that's something new for me.

[ytry4]

What I liked about the team last night, and throughout the season for that matter, was their composure and poise when facing extreme pressure from the opposition. Several times the players were besieged but did not panic and held on to the ball a little longer to spot a team mate out wide (eg, Adkins in defensive 50 borked 2 swans and kicked it to the centre straight to a team mate). The team is prepared to hold on to the ball and do not rush their disposals (O'bree was being tackled and was slung to the ground but did not immediately handball but just waited until he was turned around so he could handball to a team mate).

But a great courageous win by Collingwood!

GO PIES!!!

[michy]

MY GOD, Rupert I hope ur head get's better and congrats on a fantastic match rups.

When the shwass kick looked like a goal I started to cry I was so close to smashing the TV but when our Godess Antonio Rocca Kicked that fantastic goal I went [snip].

Well done pies on a great win .Rups get better soon.

Luv always
michy
GO RUPS
49 TILL I DIE
GO PIES

[Mr_Plow]

c'mon Alf you can't be serious that you thought Sydney were robbed and a draw would've been better.

Our guys were great and if it weren't for those missed shots by Williams and even Bucks we would have won by about 4 goals.

Great job by Tarrant, he had a lot of pressure on him with Sav being quite and Michael and Brown out of the side.

The young guys were good but lets face it, it was our 3 stars Bucks, Burns and Williams that won it for us last night.

And Alf is right on Josh Fraser, he and Ben Johnson must be dropped for next week.

[Newelly]

yeah regardless alf
the scoreline says we had 5 more scoring shots than sydney and we had more of the footy and yet the free kick count was 26-24 in favour of sydney.in the end the right team won. the schwass kick looked either touched on the line or hit the post they asked the boundary umpire and the field umpire so i guess between them they should of got it right.

[AlfAndrews]

Yeah, okay guys. I have to admit that I was in a pretty weird head-space when I wrote my original post on this thread.

I found that match very emotionally draining and it was hard to believe that we had actually won.

In the cold light of day a win is a hell of a lot better than a draw. And if we got the better of the umpiring then I guess it makes up for Round 22 in 1998 when we were robbed. So I'll just take the points and stop grizzling.

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**floreat pica**

[peps_12]

DID we get the better of the umpiring??

You'll have to excuse me, I was watching the game without sound in a pub while away for the weekend. So I'm not sure what happened. What was Licuria pinged for on the boundary in the third term, resulting in a Sydney goal, followed by a Sydney head of steam that ended with us being 12 down rather than 18 up?? We hardly touched the ball until we got two late goals to level before three qtr time. WHAT HAPPENED?