Great To See Ya…But Just Take Your Friends And Piss Off! (Round Seven – Welcome Back!)

Do you think that Juddy would be upset with guys like this booing him?

You know how Chris Judd used to play for the Eagles, right? And now he’s at Carlton…who played in Perth last night? Of course you do…it’s all anybody talked about this week. And the biggest talking point was how the crowd would react when the once beloved Chris Judd ran out in front of the Eagles faithful wearing navy blue for the first time!

So…what was the reaction like when Judd first ran out onto Subiaco? No freakin’ idea! Wanna know why? Because Channel Seven thought it would be a really awesome idea to have the opening credit pump-up music still playing at that exact moment…while Bruce McAvaney talked over it the whole time…AND YOU COULDN”T HEAR A FREAKIN’ THING!!! No, really…great job!

At least Dennis Cometti came up with a decent line when Judd earned an early free kick inside 50 – “To boo or not to boo – that is your answer!” But if you thought the footy broadcasters had a shocker early, they were not as bad as the Eagles – they stunk up the joint in the first half and copped the biggest round of boos from the fans as they left the ground at half time.

Ask me one stupid queston. Just one. Go on…I dare ya!

Amazingly, the Eagles recovered from 53 points down to be just seven point behind midway through the final quarter before Carlton finished them off. It ended a great night for a young Carlton team who have not won many games at all in recent times but now have three wins from their past four starts, including this one in Perth.

But what a nightmare season for West Coast – from premiers in 2006 to flogged by Carlton at home in the space of eighteen months and pretty much no hope of finals after round seven! What the hell happened? And doesn’t this rapid change in fortunes make Juddy look like a football genius!!!

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‘Welcome Back’ Round continues today with four matches:

THE ‘WELCOME BACK ANDREW BEWS’ GAME

Skilled Stadium, Geelong - 2:10pm (local): Geelong v Brisbane (FOX)

• A local boy from North Geelong, Andrew Bews played 200 games for the Cats before moving north to the Brisbane Bears in 1994. Now the Bears were perennial strugglers in those days while the Cats were premiership contenders…
• But what happened when Bews returned to Kardinia Park for the first time in 1994? The Bears won by 25 points!
• It’s also a homecoming of sorts for Warrnambool boy Jono Brown but he is far from a certain starter…but then Gary Ablett is also in some doubt!
• After some close attention from the Fremantle taggers last week, Mark Thompson is hoping that Ablett gets a little more protection…though if he misses the match, you can’t get better protection than that…
• Brisbane will wear the old Fitzroy Lions colours in away games…well, it sure beats that feral koala number the Bears wore back in the day!

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THE ‘WELCOME BACK TONY WOODS’ GAME

MCG, Melbourne - 2:10pm (local): Hawthorn v Collingwood (TEN)

• After starting with Fitzroy, Tony Woods managed 18 games in three seasons at Collingwood before heading to Hawthorn at the end of the 1994 season…and somehow got picked to play for the Hawks 142 times!
• There was no happy homecoming for Woods when Collingwood hosted the Hawks in round 20 of 1995, the Pies squeaking home by 3 points! The Hawks lost seven straight to end that year and finished second last on the ladder.
• Tony Woods is probably more famous now for being a professional handbag to radio personality Fifi Box.
• Lance Franklin might be due for a big game after spraying everything last week but the Pies are not going to obsess over stopping Buddy.
• In fact, the Pies are not worried about any of the Hawk forwards…um, have they not heard about gun rookie Cyril Rioli yet?

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THE ‘WELCOME BACK AARON FIORA’ GAME

Telstra Dome, Melbourne – 7:10pm (local): Richmond v St Kilda (TEN)

• Aaron Fiora was the third pick in the 1999 draft but is more famously known amongst Richmond fans as ‘the guy we took instead of Matthew Pavlich’! He struggled for consistency at Punt Road and by 2005, he was a Saint.
• Fiora certainly enjoyed the first outing against his former club, kicking two goals in St Kilda’s 68-point flogging of the Tigers in round 5. But there will be no repeat tonight as Fiora has not been selected to play.
• The Saints have copped it this week for struggling to kick goals against Port last week. Coach Ross Lyon is far from impressed with the critics, particularly those comparing the Saints with those boring Swans!
• So what is Lyon’s answer? The arthritic hands of Fraser Gehrig! Yes, the G-Train is back and usually loves kicking goals against Richmond – just enjoy the big fella while you can…
• Richmond seem happy with Terry Wallace – and why not! He has the Tigers tackling hard and Matty Richardson is doing great things all over the ground. The Saints will need to watch out for Richo!

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THE ‘WELCOME BACK WAYNE CAREY’ GAME

Whaddaya mean I have a problem with aggression?

AAMI Stadium, Adelaide – 7:10pm (local): Adelaide v North Melbourne (FOX)

• You remember Wayne Carey, right? Football legend who ruled the roost at North Melbourne until he decided that it would be awesome to get it on with his teammate’s wife! It didn’t really work out…
• Carey and the Crows came to Melbourne to take on the Kangaroos in round six of 2003…an unforgettable night of football was the result!
• Adelaide are looking good for another winning season under the obsessively thorough coaching of Neil Craig…all those half-time training sessions must be paying off!
• But the Crows shouldn’t get too carried away – particularly with a couple of key players out against the Roos.
• What will Brent Harvey do this week at the final siren? At least Harvey can have a laugh at his own expense!