Ross Lyon just couldn’t wait to get his hands on the cup…just like Grumpy Grant Thomas in 2004!
St Kilda have put football fans out of their misery by ending the preseason competition with victory in the NAP Cup final. The final siren triggered some highly unemotional scenes amongst the players, who were probably just relieved to not be running around in 30-plus degrees anymore.
But the win was well deserved and despite all the flak the NAP Cup generates, it sure beats having no footy at all. And what a great reward for the thousands of Saints fans who flocked from all over the country to South Australia flicked channels during the ads of Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed to witness this great event in club history…
At least there was a tight finish and also a little controversy when it appeared that the Saints forgot there was a fourth quarter to play. Plus, we had the annual ‘um…what are the rules again?’ moment when nobody; players, umpires or commentators; could figure out if a downfield free-kick constituted a nine-point goal attempt. This is in the fourth quarter of THE FINAL! And the crazy thing is…this time next year, nobody will remember what the rule is supposed to be anyway.
But for now, St Kilda can enjoy their win for a good half an hour or so, put up with the inevitable talk that they can go all the way (it’s an “uncontestable fact”, apparently) and get ready for ‘the real stuff’!
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While the Saints and Crows sweated it out on Saturday night, the remaining clubs rounded out their preseason practice match series at venues all across the country. The highlight was undoubtedly the Great Unveiling at whatever they call Princes Park nowdays and the Carlton faithful celebrated the narrow practice match win with the type of enthusiasm usually reserved for September triumphs or, more recently, late season defeats that ensure priority draft picks.
In other Off-Broadway results:
- Richmond lose big with close to a full side (again) but Terry Wallace is quite happy with how things are going…yeah, that makes sense;
- It wasn’t the best preparation for Melbourne either – defeat, injury and a report;
- The Essendon no.5 dominates but the Bombers still lose…so much for the dawn of a new era at Windy Hill;
- Collingwood defeat Hawthorn in Shepparton…hey, they just might be getting used to this whole travelling thing;
- The Power do it easy against Fremantle…who can’t seem to beat any side not called ‘West Coast’;
- Sydney try really, really hard but couldn’t chalk up a win over the Brisbane Lions.
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Weekend Reading:
- Ben Cousins seen within metres of Mick Malthouse…well, he must be joining Collingwood then! Is it too late to make him captain?
- Ah, yes – it is too late. Scott Burns will fill the role until one of the younger guys (or Ben Cousins, of course) is ready;
- That investigation into the Paul Roos match-fixing claim? Yep, a complete waste of time;
- Some of the guys who had artificial knee ligaments in the eighties don’t like Nick Malceski’s chances of playing this year after his decision to go with the bionic knee…wonder how many astronauts NASA went through before they got it right with Steve Austin?
- Russel Robertson reported for second week in a row…this guy really wants some time off to work on his singing, doesn’t he!
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