This Is Just A Tribute! (Hall Of Fame Match)

The greatest match in the world? No – this is a tribute..whooaahh!!!

It’s taken one hundred and fifty years for this weekend to arrive – well, so we are being told. Continually. The best players from Victoria will once again wear the big V as they tackle the best players from…everywhere else in the Hall of Fame game this Saturday night.

The importance and/or relevance of this game has been debated ad nauseum all week. A football necessity that needs to be kept alive or a contrived exhibition that lacks real passion? Whatever your take, it will be well worth checking out and it appears that a decent crowd will get along to the ‘G!

Back when State of Origin footy really meant something…

But the question is…will we see another event like this again? State of origin footy will never return to the heights of the pre-national competition era but after a long hiatus, can it survive as part of the modern day football calendar? Many players appear to be fully behind it but this match is being billed as a one-off…will the desire to play be as strong if it became an annual event again?

We have no doubt the players will be going all-out to win and the game itself will be quite a spectacle…but all it would take is one serious injury to a marquee name (e.g. Buddy Franklin’s shoulder) and the future of representative football will be thrown into chaos!

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Anyway, here is a quick rundown on what’s happened in the lead-up to tomorrow night’s festivities:

• Jonathan Brown is fit to lead the Victorians…and Leigh Matthews couldn’t be more thrilled!
• But Gary Ablett Jr misses out due to injury…we suspect that Mark Thompson is secretly jumping for joy;
• Kevin Sheedy has been channelling the great Teddy Whitten as he plays the Flavor Flav/hype-man role for the AFL…

Stick it right up ‘em…yeah boooyyyy!!!

• Dream Team coach Mark Williams is doing his share of ’smack talk’ as well!
• The AFL have decided that Adam Goodes is a Victorian…which came as a lovely surprise!
• Buddy Franklin is available…he is also right to play for the Dream Team!
• Somebody had to explain this whole State of Origin concept to Tadhg Kennelly;
• Channel Ten will have cameras rolling from every orifice just for our viewing pleasure!

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Here is a weeks worth of non-tribute match footy news:

• Jesaulenko…you bloody legend!
• So, has Wayne Carey actually been charged with a crime yet? It appears so…
• One third of the season is described as ‘the first trimester‘ in this article…can’t wait for September when the water breaks!
• This week’s Rising Star…Wonaeamirri!
• It’s ok, the Bombers didn’t really need that five grand…or a couple of fit, experienced players!
• Massive betting plunge on Matty Richardson for the Brownlow…it couldn’t happen, could it?