Rohan Connolly

Rohan Connolly

Rohan Connolly, a senior football writer for The Age and radio broadcaster with sports radio station 1116 SEN, has been covering the game since 1983. A multi-AFL Media Association award-winner known for his passion and love of the game, he analyses the AFL for the newspaper and contributes a blog and weekly video, "Footy Fix", for The Age's football website, Real Footy.

AFL fixture 2016: Our formula finds the real winners and losers

Rohan Connolly How does the 2016 AFL fixture stack up for all clubs when put under the forensic microscope of The Age's tried and true fixture ranking formula?

AFL grand final 2015: Older heads keep doing it for Hawthorn in grand final heat

Old stagers: Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell hold up the premiership cup

Rohan Connolly Hawthorn is the oldest premiership side in league football history.

AFL grand final 2015: Hawthorn beat West Coast to win three premierships in a row

Cyril Rioli was one of the Hawks' best.

Rohan Connolly Hawthorn have run over the top of West Coast to win the grand final by 46 points, sealing their third grand final win in as many years.

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AFL grand final 2015: The moment the Eagles took flight

Jamie Cripps and Josh Kennedy celebrate another goal in last year's round 19 win over Adelaide, a turning point in West Coast's rise from also-ran to grand finalist.

Rohan Connolly West Coast's rise has been one of the stories of the 2015 season. But the turning point for Adam Simpson's Eagles came in a seemingly inconsequential match against Adelaide late last season.

Best grand finals, No.1: Tough, tight, terrific, the 1989 grand final had it all

Defining image: Dermott Brereton and Steve Hocking grapple in the 1989 grand final

Rohan Connolly Just where do you start with the 1989 grand final? So much incident. So many stories. So hectic and high scoring. Such a dramatic finish.

Best grand finals, No.2: Malceski's moment of magic seals epic 2012 win for Swans

Nick Malceski.

Rohan Connolly After all but 50 seconds of 207 matches, the entire 2012 AFL season hinged on one ball-up, deep in Sydney's forward-pocket.

AFL grand final 2015: The best grand final moments of all time

Nick Malceski and the Swans celebrate the sealer.

Rohan Connolly Any game of football can turn or be decided on a single moment, a goal, a mark, a smother, a tackle.

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Brownlow Medal 2015: Nat Fyfe the full football package

Ticks all the boxes: Nat Fyfe  would impress even the crustiest Brownlow Medal cynic.

Rohan Connolly Brownlow Medal winners are marked pretty harshly these days.

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AFL finals 2015: Umpiring did not cost any team a place in grand final

Hawthorn's Isaac Smith somehow drew an off-the-ball free kick when he ran into Hayden Ballantyne at jogging pace.

Rohan Connolly Umpiring didn't cost either Fremantle or North Melbourne their preliminary finals.

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AFL finals 2015: Hawthorn well placed to create history

Luke Hodge wants one more cup for his collection.

Rohan Connolly Three flags in a row would be a huge achievement for Hawthorn. And as rare as has been such a feat, the Hawks are better-placed to pull it off than the most recent team to do so.

AFL grand final 2015: Hawthorn favoured to win a third consecutive flag

Hawthorn midfielder Sam Mitchell is one who relishes big occasions.

Rohan Connolly Saturday's grand final will be Hawthorn's fourth in a row, a feat only accomplished by Brisbane (2001-04) in the AFL era.

AFL finals 2015: Fremantle loss to Hawthorn will take heavy toll on Ross Lyon's coaching reputation

Big moment: Ross Lyon and Fremantle face a tough test.

Rohan Connolly There's plenty in the football world eagerly awaiting the result of Friday night's preliminary final for reasons other than seeing just which team will be playing off on grand final day.

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AFL finals 2015: The greatest preliminary finals of all time

Tim McGrath celebrates the after-the-siren goal by Gary Ablett while North Melbourne's Wayne Carey looks on.

Rohan Connolly Some of football's greatest games have come in the matches which decide who will play off for the premiership. Here's our top 10 preliminary finals of all time.

AFL All-Australian Team 2015: Bulldogs and Eagles reap the rewards of improvement

Time to shine? Jake Stringer of the Bulldogs.

Rohan Connolly Football fortunes can change quickly. Which is why a couple of clubs whose performance in 2015 was a surprise provide plenty of potential selections in the 2015 All-Australian team.

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AFL finals 2015: Sydney Swans will keep on keeping on

John Longmire's side was perhaps only a few sprayed shots at goal away from another against-the-odds preliminary final win.

Rohan Connolly It's tempting to start spouting ‘‘end of an era'' talk about Sydney.

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AFL finals 2015: Preparation debate rests on preliminary finals

Brent Harvey.

Rohan Connolly Fremantle and North Melbourne created much debate with their wholesale resting of players for the final home and away round.

Adam Goodes retires: Swan's legacy will be felt for decades

Adam Goodes may not have sought to become a hero for our time, but he is one.

Rohan Connolly The name Adam Goodes has come to represent many important things over the last few years, a symbol of indigenous pride, and of a people who refuse to be marginalised or patronised any...

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AFL finals 2015: Massive challenge for Kangaroos, Eagles favoured to make grand final

Chris Masten (left) should be back for the preliminary final against North Melbourne on Saturday.

Rohan Connolly Saturday's preliminary final will pit a team that finished only two points off top spot on the ladder against one that finished the regular season eighth.

AFL finals 2015: Fremantle will be rested, but Hawthorn should prevail

Rohan Connolly

Rohan Connolly It's not often, if ever, you'd find a team which finished on top of the ladder, has had a week off and is hosting a preliminary final go into that game an underdog.

AFL finals 2015: The longest road can still end in glory

The road to the 2006 flag: QF loss to Sydney (84-85), SF win over Bulldogs (113-39), PF win over Adelaide (85-75)
GF win over Sydney (85-84)

Rohan Connolly History hasn't been kind to teams that miss a week off during an AFL finals series. But there's still plenty of hope for those sides contesting this week's semi-finals.