AFL

Fixture: hits 'n' misses

Rohan Connolly There's a bit of something for everyone in the AFL fixture for 2014, and we're not just talking about the marketing and football departments of the 18 clubs.

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AFL

Test for Blues, Tigers get off lightly

Rohan Connolly Carlton was the beneficiary of Essendon's stunning expulsion from the 2013 finals series, but the Blues have paid something of a price two months down the track for their good fortune.

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AFL

Cut and bruised after a long fall from grace

Rohan Connolly Most players delisted in clubs' annual end-of-season list purges don't raise too many eyebrows.

AFL

'Lame' response on game

Emma Quayle and Rohan Connolly The timing of the AFL's ''captain's pick'' game would prompt Heath Shaw to ''kindly decline'' any offer to play in it.

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AFL

Don't kill the goose that laid the golden egg

Rohan Connolly It doesn't seem that long ago to some of us that league football was a game played exclusively on Saturday afternoons.

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AFL

Lifetimes of memories and legends depart Windy Hill

Rohan Connolly The Bombers are gone, but it's still sacred ground to fans

AFL

Freo, no offence but ...

Rohan Connolly Defence wins premierships has become a favourite mantra of modern-day football. But it's a simplistic cliche that tells only half the story.

AFL

Hawks redeemed, but as a spectacle it wasn't pleasant

Rohan Connolly Redemption always tastes sweet, and particularly so on the grand final stage.

Cool Hawks find path to completion

Rohan Connolly In all the gushing about Fremantle's incredible levels of defensive pressure during the week, people might have been forgetting something.

AFL

Cool Hawks find path to completion

Rohan Connolly In all the gushing about Fremantle's incredible levels of defensive pressure during the week, people might have been forgetting something.

AFL

Five of the best

Rohan Connolly This year we witnessed one of the best defensive games modern grand finals have seen.

GRAND FINAL 2013

Redemption a powerful force as Hawthorn charges to premiership No.11

Rohan Connolly Hawthorn won the contested possession. It won the clearances. It won the tackle count. Unlike last year, when it also dominated most of the key statistical indicators but couldn't convert that edge...

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AFL

Whipped into shape

Rohan Connolly Hawthorn is one club that knows how to turn grand final disappointment into glory the following year.

AFL

Shades of the Baby Bombers for Hawthorn

Rohan Connolly Hawthorn and Essendon don't have a lot in common save a healthy on-field enmity for one another, but there are a few old Bombers who this week might have identified with at least half the Hawks...

AFL

MCG? What home-ground advantage?

Rohan Connolly Freo has plenty of hurdles to jump, but playing at the 'G may not be one of them.

AFL

Haze has voice, but will it crumble in fight for chocolates?

Rohan Connolly There's always been something genuine about Fremantle's support.

AFL

Anyone's guess. Perfect.

Rohan Connolly Is it Hawthorn or Fremantle that goes into the premiership decider in better nick?

AFL

All set for the big showdown

Rohan Connolly With either team a sentimental favourite, the hard-nosed pick is the potent Hawthorn.

AFL

Freo's coming of age a reason to celebrate

Rohan Connolly Football has grown up a bit since the AFL first dealt with a team outside Victoria.

Kurt appraisal: Swans harder to pin down with big man on the sidelines

Rohan Connolly Perceptions in football can change markedly in the space of just a couple of games.