Thanks again to the Tiger fans from Australia who have taken time to write! It's been great fun and I love hearing from you! That said, kick back and have some fun with me as we go through Round 4 of Aussie Rules Football!!
Just a reminder -- I'm no footy expert! The ideas expressed are accurate to the best of my wee, limited and infantile knowledge! Feel free to write me to set me straight if you disagree with anything I've said!
Look at it! Laugh about it! Revel in it! We're in the top 4, my friends! CELEBRATE!!
Please excuse my enthusiasm! This hasn't happened often since I've been following the Tigers and YES! I'm excited!! Being in the top 8 is exciting but making the top 4 is downright pleasurable!
| Rank | Team | G | W | T | L | Points For | Points Against | % | Total |
| 1 | Brisbane | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 394 | 327 | 120.49 | 14 |
| 2 | Adelaide | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 445 | 337 | 132.05 | 12 |
| 3 | Collingwood | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 398 | 321 | 123.99 | 12 |
| 4 | Richmond | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 378 | 310 | 121.94 | 12 |
G=Games | W=Wins | T=Ties | L=Losses
I got to listen to most of the game live via the Internet! It was SO awesome! The game was played on Easter Monday in Australia, which is of course a holiday there. No such luck for us in the States. I picked up the game at 11:15 pm with a 6:30 am wake-up call looming in the near future.
IMAGINE my surprise when the Tiges kicked one goal, two, three, then four in something like 10 real-time minutes! I was ecstatic!! The announcers were saying things like "inspirational play" and "Richmond has supremacy"; they even described the Tigers as being on a "goal scoring spree"! They went on and on about Cameron's "deadly left foot". At quarter time we were ahead by 21 points. There was no way I was turning off the computer to go to bed. NO WAY!! I was glued to my monitor!
The second half slowed just a tad as the announcers started talking about "scragginess" and noticably more mistakes on both sides of the ball. I have no idea what they were going on about because we'd kicked 12.2.74. Our accuracy was almost as good as it gets! At half time we were up by 20 points and while my endurance was fading, my confidence was strong. I debated going to bed as it was well after midnight but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!
The third quarter started with a bang! We kicked three goals in about 6 minutes giving us a 36 point lead. The commentary had turned to our favor again, all but saying the mighty Tigers had the game wrapped up. To hear that early in the 3rd quarter is so much fun! The amazing thing to me is that so many players were in on the action. The goal kicking was spread around and kudos for great play were going to Cameron, Rodan, Bowden, Chaffey, Houlihan, Coughlan and Blumfield (despite his injury early in the game.)
As the game wore on I was soooooooooo tired and I thought about going to bed but just then the Saints kicked a goal to narrow the margin to 30, and I just wasn't sure that was enough of a point spread to declare victory! Long about 1:00 am I knew I couldn't stay up any longer. On a weekend, no problem. On a work night, despite my Yellow & Black blood, I knew I had to get to bed. When we kicked a behind to make it 15.3.93 to 9.8.62, I turned off the computer and headed upstairs. Had do do it quickly before another wave of weakness rushed over me!
I will confess to waking up bright and early just long enough to turn on the computer for a quick peek to see if our boys hung in there! I was puzzled at the narrow margin of victory but I crawled back into bed smiling anyway!
What a great game! What a fun way to spend the late night/early morning hours of a day! I LOVE FOOTY!!! I'm so proud of our Tigers!
We have our work cut out for us next week with Hawthorn, but I have faith in our Tigers! I can't wait for the game!
Hi Becky,
I know the feeling about staying up later than one should for sporting events. Being on this side of the earth I often have to wait up to see cricket, tennis, etc...
The last quarter was fairly tight really. I'm not sure if we relaxed a little, tired or they got better, but they had me worried for a little while there.
The confidence of the Tiges doesn't worry me, I think it's great. It's just that the Hawks had a good win, they're getting a couple back and we're only getting 5 days rest. Danny has the right idea giving them a light week on the track, it will depend on how badly we want it. I think since week one our commitment and desperation has been great and I hope this will get us over the line.
Chris.