MONDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER

AFL WITH AIDO 2.0

And then there were four… Preliminary finals here we come!

We are here because Melbourne easily disposed of Hawthorn on Friday night. For all of about 10 minutes in the final quarter, the Dees had the measure of the Hawks. Now they’re one win away from their first grand final appearance since 2000.

And in the other semi-final, on Saturday night Collingwood had a 10 point win against GWS. The Magpies controlled enough of the first and last quarters to finish GWS’s season. Toby Greene hardly featured and Jeremy Howe took this screamer.

Now for the grand final deciders Friday night of Richmond v Collingwood at the G and then Saturday afternoon of West Coast v Melbourne over in the west.

NRL WITH GIBBO

How good is the NRL? Two games and both decided by a point. Friday night saw the Sharks just hold off the Panthers. Fair to say the Panthers were not at their best and gave the Sharks too big a start. Like they’ve done all season though, the Panthers came back. The score was 20 all in the final minutes when a field goal sealed it for the Sharks. ScoMo gets a win.

Saturday night saw the two best clubs in the NRL history come together. Rabbitohs v Dragons and again it didn’t disappoint. I thought the Dragons had the game in the bag, but three terrific field goals from Adam Reynolds sealed it for the Rabbitohs. Edge of your seat stuff for sure.

Until next week…

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FRIDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER

AFL WITH AIDO 2.0

We are set for two cracking games of footy this weekend. Both semi-finals will be played at the G.

– Tonight Hawthorn takes on Melbourne. I’m daring to dream, should the Richmond bus somehow miss the turnoff to the grand final, that Melbourne may win their first premiership since 1964. They were strong and composed against Geelong last weekend and their strength in the centre should see them win by at least four goals.

– On Saturday night Collingwood hosts GWS. While the Magpies had their chances against West Coast last week, my feeling is that a flying Toby Greene will lift GWS to a win, but it will be close. I’m picking GWS from a kick on the final siren.

Richmond, having easily discarded of Hawthorn last week, have the Big Mo with them and the flag is theirs to lose. They and West Coast are having a rest this weekend ahead of hosting their respective preliminary finals next weekend against this weekend’s winners.

NRL WITH GIBBO

What a couple of great matchups we have this weekend.

– Tonight tune into the Cronulla Sharks v Penrith Panthers match for the battle of The Shire (ScoMo land) v the Westies. The bookies have the Sharks the favourites, but I’m not convinced. Without Josh Dugan and Wade Graham it is going to be a tough ask.

– It will be Saturday night that has me on tenterhooks. The three main men in my life take on each other – it’ll be my husband and son versus my boss. The Rabbitohs will be looking to bounce back after just being beaten by the Melbourne Storm last weekend. The St George Dragons, well I’m not convinced they can repeat the performance of last weekend. Again the bookies have the Rabbitohs as the favourites and they could be very tight contests. I’m looking for a big game from Greg Inglis and Sam Burgess to get the Rabbitohs over the line.

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MONDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER

AFL WITH AIDO 2.0

What an awesome weekend of footy.

– The flag is now Richmond’s to lose. The minor premiers, having easily discarded of Hawthorn and undefeated at the G this year, have the Big Mo with them.

-If, however, the Richmond bus does somehow miss the turnoff to the Grand Final, I’m daring to dream that the Dees (Melbourne) might win their first premiership since 1964given their strong form against Geelong on Friday night.

– Full credit to GWS for their humiliation of Sydney on Saturday. The most enjoyable part of that game was seeing how quickly the SCG emptied early in the final quarter. Sydney fans are so fickle!

– And if you didn’t catch the Eagles Magpies showdown you missed one of the best games of footy this year in the second quarter the lead changed 8 times.

Richmond and West Coast will have a rest weekend now, while we are set for two cracker semifinals, both at the G Hawthorn v Melbourne on Friday night, and Collingwood v GWS on Saturday night.

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– Friday’s preliminary final between the Melbourne Storm and the Rabbitohs certainly lived up to the hype. Storm managed a one-point win. I’m confident the Rabbitohs will fight back this weekend. Sam Burgess won’t play that badly two weeks in a row.

– The Panthers were way too good for the NZ Warriors who’ve headed back to Auckland to think about next year.

– ScoMo couldn’t get his Sharks over the line against an impressive Roosters. They’ll get another chance against the Panthers next weekend.

– The Broncos v Dragons yesterday was a bruising affair to start with. But the Dragons silenced the crowd with a huge first-half lead. This was the upset of the matches. Bye bye Broncos.

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FRIDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER

AFL WITH AIDO 2.0

– Tonight’s elimination final pits the Dees (in their first finals appearance in over a decade) against the Cats. My heart says Melbourne, head says Geelong.

– Tomorrow afternoon, Sydney v GWS in the second elimination final, which you’d think will favour the Swans.

– And then Saturday night, West Coast hosts Collingwood. If Josh Kennedy returns, I’m backing the Eagles but let’s see how Optus Stadium handles Joffa and the Magpie army.

-A clinical Richmond team easily saw off Hawthorn last night at a wet MCG last night. Their 31 point win now has them one more win away from another grand final.

Your AFL finals viewing and listening guide can be found here.

NRL WITH GIBBO

Finals kick off tonight and to be honest they’re anyone’s to win. Even my AFL Squiz tipper (what’s his name?) would have to admit it’s an amazing competition. After 25 rounds we’ve ended up with four teams equal on points at the top of the table, and four teams equal just two points behind!

– My heart is saying the South Sydney Rabbitohs to win (happy husband = happy wife). But if I’m using my brain I think a fully fit Melbourne Storm will be very hard to beat. So I’m picking the Storm on Friday night.

– The Penrith Panthers have been inconsistent all year so I’m backing the NZ Warriors on Saturday arvo.

– I can’t split the Cronulla Sharks v Sydney Roosters, again my heart says the Sharks on Saturday night.

– I never go for Queensland so I will back the St George Dragons and hope they can come up with an upset over the Broncos on Sunday arvo.

But the big matches I will be watching will be the first-ever Women’s NRL matches being played this weekend.Skill  – plenty of it.Toughness – plenty of it. Tune in and watch the Roosters v Warriors on Saturday and Broncos v Dragons on Sunday.