Cat Nipped - Round 13, 2010 Wrap - 3, 2, 1 Votes.

The much anticipated clash between Geelong and St. Kilda on Friday night was touted by many to be 'a clash of the titans', and whilst the match didn't quite live up to these expectations, the one clash it will long be remembered for is that which involved Stevie Baker and Steve Johnson. In the aftermath, we saw the AFL hand down an unprecedented 12 weeks to Baker and 3 to Johnson; the former of which had his penalty reduced to 9 on appeal today.

In that match we again saw Ablett get a swagger of possesions, but - as has been much the case for the past few weeks - many pundits are very doubtful that he will receive any votes from the umpires. It's starting to become a worrying trend, and one that could perhaps see him come undone in his race towards claiming his second consecutive Brownlow. This train of thought centers around the theory that umpires take a more hardened and critical approach towards the performances of past Brownlow winners in the season following their Brownlow triumph.

Jimmy Bartel is one classic example of this theory. In 2008, Jimmy had a season that many would argue was much better than the previous year, in which he won the Brownlow, and coming into the medal count that year a vast majority of the footballing public were convinced he would go back to back. But as we all know he amazingly only polled 10 votes, despite polling 29 in 2007.

Could the same fate be resigned to Ablett? We'll have to wait and see.

Hawthorn V Essendon:
3. L. Franklin
2. J. Watson
1. J. Winderlich

Carlton V Fremantle:
3. M. Barlow
2. A. Sandilands
1. G. Ibbotson

Brisbane V Richmond:
3. B. Deledio
2. B. Cousins
1. D. Martin

North Melbourne V Port Adelaide:
3. B. Harvey
2. L. Hansen
1. J. Schulz

West Coast V Western Bulldogs:
3. D. Giansiracusa
2. L. Gilbee
1. D. Cross

St. Kilda V Geelong:
3. J. Gwilt
2. J. Selwood
1. L. Hayes

Sydney V Collingwood:
3. L. Ball
2. H. O'Brien
1. D. Thomas

Adelaide V Melbourne:
3. S. Goodwin
2. G. Johncock
1. B. Symes

-----------------------------------------------------------

Leaderboard
17 - L. Hodge
15 - G. Ablett
15 - M. Barlow (+)
14 - C. Judd
13 - J. Bartel
13 - L. Hayes (+)
11 - J. Watson (+)
11 - A. Cooney
11 - B. Goddard
10 - D. Swan
10 - S. Pendlebury
10 - A. Sandilands (+)
10 - B. Harvey (+)
9 - N. Dal Santo
9 - A. Swallow
8 – P. Chapman
8 - B. Moloney
7 - D. Giansiracusa (+)
7 - M. Boyd
7 - T. Boak
7 – D. Mundy
7 - M. Pavlich

Note: (*) Ineligible. (+) Ranking Rise. (-) Ranking Drop.

M.I.A. - Round 12, 2010 Wrap - 3, 2, 1 Votes.

As I reported in round 10, what was thought to be a season where only 3 or 4 players had a realistic chance at the Brownlow, has now blown out to include a number of other players as the likes of Ablett, Judd, and Hayes have dropped off in recent weeks. Whilst none of these players should be written off for a second, their perceived lack of votes from the umpires would suggest the run home to the Brownlow is going to be tight... very tight! And who would have thought, Hodge is currently in the lead according to my leaderboard?! But remember there is still a long way to go until Round 22, and anything can happen in regards to injury/suspension.

The positive to this, however, is that the top priced favorites are dropping in price in the short term and offer plenty of value - take Judd for example: he was at a ridiculous $9 a week ago, and now he is out to an astounding $15! Ahhh, gotta love it when the bookies write off champion players, with much of the season left to play; particularly one who is such a proven vote getter. V.A.L.U.E!

Also, the 'M.I.A.' heading also applies to myself, so just a quick apology to you readers out there for the late posting of the Round 12 votes. Let's just say that working sure does suck ass!

North Melbourne V Carlton
3. L. Thomas
2. S. Thompson
1. E. Betts

Hawthorn V Adelaide
3. L. Hodge
2. C. Rioli
1. S. Mitchell

Essendon V Geelong
3. J. Bartel
2. J. Kelly
1. T. Varcoe

Port Adelaide V Sydney
3. N. Malceski
2. A. Goodes
1. J. Bolton

Richmond V West Coast
3. J. Riewoldt
2. B. Deledio
1. T. Cotchin

Western Bulldogs V Brisbane
3. A. Cooney
2. D. Cross
1. B. Hall

Fremantle V St. Kilda
3. N. Dal Santo
2. B. Goddard
1. M. Barlow

Melbourne V Collingwood
3. B. Moloney
2. D. Swan
1. M. Jamar

-----------------------------------------------------------

Leaderboard:
17 - L. Hodge (+)
15 - G. Ablett (-)
14 - C. Judd
13 - J. Bartel (+)
12 - L. Hayes (-)
12 - M. Barlow (+)
11 - A. Cooney (+)
11 - B. Goddard (+)
10 - D. Swan (+)
10 - S. Pendlebury
9 - N. Dal Santo (+)
9 - J. Watson
9 - A. Swallow
8 – P. Chapman
8 - A. Sandilands
8 - B. Moloney (+)
7 - M. Boyd
7 - T. Boak
7 - B. Harvey
7 – D. Mundy
7 - M. Pavlich

Note: (*) Ineligible. (+) Ranking Rise. (-) Ranking Drop.

'Whoaah, we're halfway there!' Round 11, 2010 Wrap - 3, 2, 1 Votes.

Well there we have it folks, we're at the halfway point of the season - and damn has it gone quick! It feels like it was only last week when I was frantically counting down the days until season kickoff; geez, before we know it we'll all be counting down the minutes until the Brownlow Count gets underway! Scary!

Round 11 threw up some surprises, and gave a lot of punters quite a scare with a handful of prime Brownlow candidates reported; namely Sandilands, and Hayes. Personally, I nearly shat myself as I only just placed a small each-way bet on Hayes earlier last week, so I was understandably very nervous as to the outcome of his tribunal hearing. Thankfully both got off - Hayes with a reprimand, and Sandilands cleared - and are still eligible to win the Brownlow medal if they are fortunate enough to do so.

In other news, it looks as though the pack are slowly catching up to Ablett, Judd, and Hayes according to my voting tally. It looks to be very tight at the top, so there could possibly be some value in the 'Round 11 Brownlow Leader' market, but I haven't looked into it yet so it remains to be seen.

Richmond V St. Kilda
3. B. Goddard
2. S. Milne
1. J. Riewoldt

Carlton V Melbourne
3. R. Houlihan
2. A. Walker
1. C. Judd

Adelaide V Fremantle
3. T. Edwards
2. S. Thompson
1. M. Barlow

North Melbourne V Brisbane
3. B. Harvey
2. T. Johnstone
1. A. Swallow

West Coast V Geelong
3. P. Chapman
2. J. Bartel
1. B. Waters

Sydney V Essendon
3. J. Bolton
2. J. McVeigh
1. S. Mumford

Hawthorn V Port Adelaide
3. L. Hodge
2. B. Sewell
1. T. Boak

Collingwood V Western Bulldogs
3. S. Pendlebury
2. D. Thomas
1. M. Boyd

-----------------------------------------------------------

Leaderboard
15 - G. Ablett
14 - C. Judd
14 - L. Hodge (+)
12 - L. Hayes
11 - M. Barlow (+)
10 - S. Pendlebury (+)
10 - J. Bartel (+)
9 - B. Goddard (+)
9 - J. Watson
9 - A. Swallow (+)
8 – P. Chapman (+)
8 - A. Cooney
8 - A. Sandilands
8 - D. Swan
7 - M. Boyd (+)
7 - T. Boak (+)
7 - B. Harvey (+)
7 – D. Mundy
7 - M. Pavlich
7 - R. O'Keefe
7 - J. Brennan*

Note: (*) Ineligible. (+) Ranking Rise. (-) Ranking Drop.

'All Quiet on The Northern Front' Round 10, 2010 Wrap - 3, 2, 1 Votes.

There wasn't too much to report during this round... and nothing more for Aker to report either. But with no real standout performances from any of the top end players, it was a somewhat quiet round. Granted, Ablett, Judd and Hayes each received a single vote according to my tally, but none of them performed anywhere close to how they were expected to given each of them played against poultry opposition teams (Melbourne, West Coast, and Adelaide respectively).

If this indicates anything, it's that perhaps it might just end up being quite close between the top 3 or 4 players in terms of the number of votes that separate the players. I for one, still don't buy it, but am starting to believe that Hayes has now joined the likes of Judd and Ablett to become a realistic chance of taking out the Charlie.

If it's value you're after in regards to these three players, after some investigation i've found the best odds offered for Judd are $9 for the win, $3 a place (TAB Sportsbet), with Hayes' best value at $26/$6.50 (Sportsbet). For Ablett, on the other hand, the best you're going to get on him is $3.50 for the win outright, but for me he's far too short at this stage to offer any value.

Essendon V Western Bulldogs
3. L. Jetta
2. J. Watson
1. B. Stanton

Geelong V Melbourne
3. J. Podsiadly
2. T. Hawkins
1. G. Ablett

Port Adelaide V Richmond
3. S. Tuck
2. T. Cotchin
1. D. Martin

Brisbane V Collingwood
3. L. Power
2. D. Rich
1. S. Black

St. Kilda V Adelaide
3. L. Montagna
2. N. Dal Santo
1. L. Hayes

Hawthorn V Sydney
3. D. Hannebery
2. J. Lewis
1. S. Mitchell

Carlton V West Coast
3. B. Gibbs
2. M. Murphy
1. C. Judd

Fremantle V North Melbourne
3. D. Mundy
2. K. Bradley
1. N. Fyfe

-----------------------------------------------------------

Leaderboard
15 - G. Ablett
13 - C. Judd
12 - L. Hayes (+)
11 - L. Hodge
10 - M. Barlow
9 - J. Watson (+)
8 - A. Cooney
8 - J. Bartel
8 - A. Sandilands
8 - D. Swan
8 - A. Swallow
7 – D. Mundy (+)
7 - M. Pavlich
7 - S. Pendlebury
7 - J. Brennan*
7 - R. O'Keefe
6 - M. Murphy (+)
6 - D. Hannebery (+)
6 - N. Dal Santo (+)
6 - L. Montagna (+)
6 - B. Goddard
6 - M. Boyd
6 - M. Priddis
6 - J. Brown
6 - T. Boak

Note: (*) Ineligible. (+) Ranking Rise. (-) Ranking Drop.