Best to worse: your club's draw
The AFL fixture is important, but our tried and trusted ranking formula also shows a tough draw needn't be a killer blow to teams' hopes in 2017.
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.
The AFL fixture is important, but our tried and trusted ranking formula also shows a tough draw needn't be a killer blow to teams' hopes in 2017.
A famous win unites Bulldogs old and new; pain for a losing Swan; controversy follows call; farewell to all-time great of commentary.
Make no mistake. Luke Beveridge has just pulled off one of the great coaching performances. In fact, I believe it may have been the single greatest coaching performance of all time.
Western Bulldogs breaking of a 62-year premiership drought is like some sort of fantasy. But how they won it should enter football folklore as well.
Sydney's consistent competitiveness at the pointy end of the season argues a convincing case they’ve been the most successful club in the AFL for 20 years now.
Of all the great players to grace the stage in AFL finals over the past 50 years, one man stands clear.
Fairfax experts have picked their greatest AFL finals heroes of the past 50 years. Gary Ayres was so good in finals they named an award after him.
Geelong's preliminary final loss to Sydney was hugely disappointing, but shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow a season of positives.
While many Doggies fans who've been watching their team 50-odd years and never got to see them at the "big dance" miss out, there's still a spot for those with enough money and the lust to be seen at "an event".
Saturday's grand final will be Sydney's third in the past five seasons and their fifth in the past 12 seasons, surpassing Geelong's four grand finals over the same period, and equal with Hawthorn.
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