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AFL Grand Final 2006 Preview

Tomorrow’s AFL Grand Final is sure to go down to the wire. With both Sydney and West Coast in red hot form and all guns firing, its going to come down to the second tier players to see who will be crowned Premiers in 2006. Last year it was Lewis Roberts-Thompson and Leo Barry for Sydney, who will it be this year?

Obviously the key to Sydney is Barry Hall, as with no Barry Hall there is no Sydney. The tough job of shutting down the big power forward will go to the All Australian Full Back, Darren Glass. Clearly Glass is going to have a tough day at the office as Hall has a massive worth ethic through his aerobic endurance and is also one of the best power forwards in the game. What might give Glass some encouragement is that Hall has said in the past that he believes “Glass is the hardest opponent he has played on.”

The midfield will be an interesting battle with Eagles oozing class while Sydney have a hard working lot who get the job done most weeks. In my eyes the only way to shut down Judd is to let him go head to head with the two time Brownlow medallist, Adam Goodes has been the only midfielder in the past who has consistently been able to curb Judd’s influence on the game. Goodes isn’t a traditional tagger who has just got a defensive mindset, rather he has the ability to play as an attacking midfielder as well as doing a defensive job on a player when the opposition has the ball.

Goodes athleticism means he will be able to match Judd for not only endurance but also speed and in the air. With Goodes providing an attacking option for the Swans, it will also give Judd something else to think about and not allow him to play his free flowing attacking role which he normally does. Matching Goodes up with Judd means that the Swans number one tagger can take either Cousins or Kerr. I believe that captain Brett Kirk might get a job on either one of these two.

Last year, West Coast fell down as they had no big options up forward. To win a premiership you need at least two big forwards. (To test out my theory check all the past winners and you will see what I mean.) This year the Eagles have the man mountain in Quinten Lynch. He will most probably get Leo Barry with rising star, Lewis Robert-Thompson going to Ashley Hansen. Lynch is the one man who can win the flag for the Eagles off his own boot. Barry will be no match for him and is a very over-rated player who has become captain of his side due to one spectacular mark, (I’m sure you know which one I am talking about).

The last 4 encounters between these two sides have been decided by a cumulative 11 points, so this one is sure to go down to the wire. In the end I believe that West Coast just have too many stars and will be deserved winners at 4.30pm tomorrow.

Tags: The Match Referee

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