AFL... without the agenda
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I don’t think anyone is ever really satisfied with the way the All-Australian team plays out. It’s a bit like the old adage that you can’t please all of the people, all of the time. 2026 is no different. And whilst it is easy to focus only on the things the selectors got wrong (and we will), it is also prudent to give credit for the things they got right. With that in mind, let’s have a look at…
Disco’s Musings End of the Home and Away In this week’s bumper edition, we have a Billboard look at the eight teams who said goodbye to 2026, and what songs they will have playing on the jukebox at their Mad Monday celebrations. On Wednesday, with a lot of help from my 118-year-old Dead Nana, we will announce the winner of the Mirrorball, in the Casey’s Over 30’s Mirrorball Award, the only award…
Well, Round 24 is in the books and eight of the teams’ seasons are done and dusted. Sad, but true. Before we farewell them, let’s jump into the best nine performances of the weekend, with HB’s Back to the Nine. MATT ROWELL There were three players who topped 40 disposals in this game, but the real difference-maker had just 28. Matt Rowell was all over the Saints at stoppages, and they simply had…
And here we are, the end of the 2026 regular season, and the Bird of Prey Cup has given us a game where the Eagles were really just playing for pride, with a win or a loss not making much of a difference to their position. Hawthorn, however, were still technically in the running for third spot, provided they could make up the four-and-a-half percentage point difference to Brisbane, which would…
I want to start this review by talking about character. All week, the character, or the “values” and “culture” of the Sydney Swans have been questioned. On the back of allegations levelled at five players, the Sydney Swans organisation has been put through the ringer. Former players and assistant coaches, along with many from outside the inner circle of being involved with the club, have thrown…
One of only two games this round that has tolled the mortuary bell on both clubs seasons, today’s clash between Essendon and Port Adelaide under the roof at Marvel stadium carried little weight for the neutral supporter but would have held significant interest for keen eyed Essendon supporters, knowing that pick one was on the table if they found themselves on the wrong side of the scorecard come…
A nine-goal first quarter blast set the table for the Crows to storm into September with momentum… but the Giants weren’t content to step aside and allow them free passage. In a highly entertaining contest, Izak Rankine once again stamped his authority on the contest to drive Adelaide home. In Tex Walker’s last home-and-away game, the old fella put on a clinic, finishing with six goals in a…
Round 24 Geelong v Richmond Disco Monagle Just Enjoy Geelong 20:13:133 toyed with Richmond 11:10:76 For a few of the Cats legends, this may well be their last game on their sacred, pill-shaped oval, in front of their ever loyal and admiring throng. But as nostalgic and romantic as it might be, it should not be forgotten the Cats are also playing for their starting grid in the first week of the…
Round 24 Melbourne v Western Bulldogs Disco Monagle Losers and Winners Melbourne 12:15:87 defeated by 16:12:109 A Very Unlike Bulldogs Win Many times this year, the Bulldogs have jumped their opponents in the first quarter, only to be reeled back in, but not against the Dees, in a game that had massive ramifications for both teams. The Doggies stretched the lead to near on five goals on a number…
Blues power past Dockers, should Freo be panicking? Fremantle fans have had their share of trauma over the years. Time and again they’ve had their hopes raised, they’ve dared to dream of glory, and each and every time they’ve had their hearts broken. Remember Tom Sheridan letting a home Preliminary Final all but literally fall through his fingers in 2015? What about last year’s Elimination Final…
How do you want to look at this game? Do you want to look at this contest as a hit out between one team that was desperate to win and secure a game against the Sydney Swans over Freo in the Qualifying Final? Do you want to look at it as a Collingwood team going through the motions in a game that meant nothing to where they end up playing in their wildcard game? Or do you want to dispense […] The…
From the outside looking in, this was the deadest of dead rubber games. In a standalone Thursday night fixture, it held little wonder for the casual AFL supporters. However, there is a beauty to watching a game between two teams with nothing to lose, and apparently, nothing to gain either. The Saints were farewelling Dougal Howard, playing his 100th game for the club (a wise investment by the…
ROUND TWENTY-FOUR We have reached the final round of the AFL season and there’s not much at stake. I mean, sure, the final positions for finalists can be determined, but we know our top 10 and one of the leading Premiership contenders is now in freefall. Be forewarned: while I am the Mongrel Punt’s resident oracle for all things AFL, I hold no liability for your bad betting and using my…
Over the past couple of seasons, we’ve seen some records fall in the AFL. Scott Pendlebury has become the most prolific ball-winner in the history of the game, and last season, Tom Atkins compiled the most tackles ever recorded in a single AFL season. But as much as we hear about these records, scant attention is paid to those who have excelled in finals. You know… where it counts most. As a…
This is an ambitious exercise, but it’s not like I don’t have the time to do it, right? I mean, I have a family, a job, a business, a couch… all require my attention, but the team of the AFL era… it calls to me like a siren’s song. Let’s hope the results don’t see me crash into the rocks and sink, never to be seen again, although I’m sure some would celebrate. So, rather than just dole out 23 […]…
Sam Swadling’s Round 23 Rising Star nomination may have been earned through one outstanding performance, but his emergence means far more to Collingwood than an individual honour. The 19-year-old has provided Magpies supporters with an exciting glimpse of what the club’s next generation could look like. Swadling received the AFL Rising Star nomination after producing a career-best performance in…
Disco’s Musings Round 23 In this week’s bumper edition, we discuss the final home and away round and possible ramifications, followed by a close study of the Giants, and then whatever fluff enters my mind, and of course, with a little help from my 118 years old (dec) Nana, we will be casting the Round 23 votes in the fight for the Caseys Nightclub Over 30’s Mirrorball Keyring – the only award…
With a week to go in the Home and Away season of 2026, the field has narrowed to just four possible winners in our 2026 Defensive Player of the Year Award. But before I get into that, how good is it to see the AFL Coaches Association pull their finger out and do what the AFL have neglected to do for the past… forever, and institute an award recognising the best defender of the season. If only…
For the second last time in the 2026 Home and Away season, HB picks his best nine performances of the round. Here is Round 23’s Back to the Nine. SHAI BOLTON This was a tough one, as there were several on the Dockers team that could have had their hand raised, but Bolton… every time he found the footy, he took the game on, and that makes the opposition a little wary of him. Sure, he wasted the…
For all intents and purposes this is a review that’s two reviews. There’s the game we expected, which played out in the first quarter, and there was the remaining three quarters. The Swans win the first quarter by 37 and the game by 36, and it doesn’t take an Einstein to work out what that means. The Bombers won quarters two through four! By a point! It’s really hard to write a sentence that…
A draw conjures up plenty of emotions. If you’ve ever played in one, you’d know the hollow feeling that comes after giving the game everything you had for two hours, only to end up back where you started, level-pegging. The AFL has seen fit to ensure that we no longer get draws in finals. Extra time was added over 30 years ago to prevent the finals series becoming a logistical nightmare for the…
Round 23.2 Greater Western Sydney v West Coast Eagles Disco Monagle Very Little to Play For Introduction Mathematically, if everything went the Giants’ way over the last two rounds they may well still struggle to slip into tenth place on the ladder, and after reviewing the Giants last week, they may have well put the cue in the rack already. The Giants season is all but dead and they know it. It…
