Round 14

This week features several blockbuster clashes with major top-eight implications, including Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, Geelong's revenge mission against Gold Coast, and a fascinating Melbourne-Essendon rematch. 

🎙️ In this episode:

•  Can the Western Bulldogs strengthen their finals credentials against an Adelaide side looking to cement its place in the top tier? 
•  Geelong seeks redemption against Gold Coast after the Suns stunned them earlier in the season. 
•  Melbourne gets a chance to avenge one of the surprise results of 2026 when they face Essendon at the MCG. 
•  Sydney faces a tough road trip to Adelaide Oval against Port Adelaide in a game that could shape both clubs' finals hopes. 
•  GWS returns from the bye looking to continue its strong form, while several clubs fight to keep their September dreams alive. 

We'll break down every game, discuss the biggest selection and injury news, identify the key match-ups that could decide each contest, and give our predictions for another pivotal weekend of AFL football.

Music is from @paperbackfort please give them a listen and a follow!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the game. You're listening to the Pokemon while we're getting ones in the family. I'm Matt and I'm here with my dad Mark and every week I'm dying into old games for you. We'll be turning to the biggest monuments when we game to spot. Waiting on the winds, bottles, and everything in between. Check out thoughts, predictions, and a big game for along the way. Whether you're a diehard supporter, or just a little bit game, you're in the right place. Let's get into the podcast. Well, what a good round of free dad, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_01 0:35

It was a really exciting round, Max, and it was touching to see all their teams pay respect to the great Neil Danaher, the ex-player and coach, eh? His pretty amazing legacy that he leaves behind with a big freeze. Wasn't it good seeing those 12 sliders go down the slide on Queen's Vertha?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Nathan Jones, Sam Mac, Sam Weston, um Amy Sharp. Amy Shark.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Dana Thomas.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

I mentioned him. Nathan Jones. Um Mark Howard.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Mark Howie.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Andy Lee.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Andy Lee.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Um Cooper Woods, Cooper Woods. Winter Olympics champion.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Some good ones, wasn't there?

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Yeah, some really good ones. And to add the big game, they ran out of beanies.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Oh no, I think they sold out of all the big three's beanies.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

They did.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Great result.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Yeah, very good. Stories and sirens. Well we break down the week that was, diving into the biggest moments, the wins and the losses. Standout performances and all the things we noticed from the games just gone.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Okay, Max, I feel a bit of numerology that we see on the bounce coming on after that last round of football. Did you know that the first time in history that there were six games in a round of footy, that the margin was in single digits?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

And did you know, another stat for you, round 13 was the strongest positive correlation between a match's final margin and the distance between the ground and the CBD of that state's capital city? So for example, Burrswood to Crown. It's about six Ks. About five Ks. And how much did the Eagles lose by?

unknown 2:31

Six.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Six points. Stockers won by 122. How far is Bunbury? 124. How far is Bunbury to Perth?

SPEAKER_00 2:41

125.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Whoa! The numbers just roll on. Adelaide, one point. How far is Adelaide Oval from the city?

SPEAKER_00 2:49

A K.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Okay, see? Exciting round of football.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

We also had some more numerology, but this is from ages ago. I forgot to mention it in the in the last few podcasts. Jamie Elliott got injured on hit with four minutes and 33 seconds to go. This is for Scott Pendleby. Gold number 10. 4 plus 3 plus 3. 10!

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

He got drafted. And and pla and dra and played his debut in round ten. He played he's kicked 262 gold, two plus six plus two, ten. There's one more. Um and he broke Brent Harvey's record, okay, Boomer, that Boomer sent ten years ago.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Well, numerology at its finest.

unknown 3:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Okay, first game that would take a look at was Adelaide versus Jelan, where the crows got up by a point.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

I know.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Close game. Jordan Dawson, really solid late to help get the crows over the line. Dan Curtin had an excellent game.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Dan Curtin, the old West Coast Junior Footy Club team player as well.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

That's one of my fa that's my favourite player from Adelaide, and that's why.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

And the big talking point now, one of the big talking points was Tex Walker. Got a week for that little push. Yeah, no good. So Adelaide are hanging in there in the finals and Geelong. Well, you know, they had they could have won that game, but they just missed it took didn't take their chances later.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Then we had Bulldogs Hawks at DG. Hawks led by 27 at halftime, but then Bulldogs bring it down and won by a goal.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Good game. Hawthorne, bad kicking in that second half.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Wrong numerology. It wasn't it's not six kilometres away from the city.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

MCG. Roughly, roughly.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Roughly. Because like I remember we stayed in the city once.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Well, so it's about six case. Anyway, back to the game. Hawthorne didn't kick straight, won goal 11 in that second half.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Terrible.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

And Western Bulldogs really found a way to win, which is a great game. The Bond was clever in that last quarter.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

He was very clever.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

And it was good to see that Western Bulldogs player back from injury. Cody Waitman got through the game unscathed as well, which is good to see.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Then we look at the big Frio Dockers, the biggest winning margin in Frio's history. Winning by 124 points. I heard on the radio Jordan Clark was talking. On their whiteboard down in Bunbury, they had We want to play 120 minutes of football.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Really?

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Yep. You know what Justin Longmule said?

SPEAKER_00 5:51

What?

SPEAKER_01 5:51

You played 119 and a half. Because the last little 30 seconds of the game, they let North Melbourne get a clearance. True. So they nearly played the full 120 minutes, and looks what happens when they play 120 minutes. They win by 124 points. True. But in saying that, North Melbourne were terrible. So Alistair Clarkson came out and said that was a really bad performance. There was no pressure. Really embarrassing. Can they bounce back this week?

SPEAKER_00 6:20

I think they can. Whoever they're versing is.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

The Eagles, so you don't really want them to bounce back too hard.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Oh yeah. I want them to. Well, it is at home in our Eagles beloved stadium Optus.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

We'll talk about that game later.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Alright, then we've got Brisbane versus Gold Coast. Big brother versus little brother. Brisbane just put away Gold Coast comfortably. Lockie Neal was the star. Like the teams. Brisbane's a big brother, Gold Coast is a little brother. Big brother bullied the little brother. Yeah. Logan Morris kicked fire seven goals. Seven goals. Big games. And Lockie Neal was outstanding in the midfield. But another question, Mark on Gold Coast, they just can't play well against the top team.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Big brother Box had has hit little brother in the head with a boxing.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Locked him out. Correct.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Locked him out. Boom. Then we had Port Adelaide versus West Coast. It was only a goal of difference. Eagles had so many chances to win.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Jakey Watermelon couldn't kick straight. Missed a couple of sitters in the last quarter as well, didn't he?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

That was the w he's he's had the yips.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

The yips, that's what they call it, the kicking yips.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

And if any of these people watch the bounce, he was one of the Amy Klingers. It's very annoying.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Well he dropped that mark right in the goal screen. Hadn't by himself. You know what happens there? What? He was thinking about kicking the goal before he even got the ball.

unknown 7:55

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

You gotta think about he was trying to think. Well, in his head he played it out in his head, so he thought I'd better grab this and kick it. But he forgot the grabbing it part first. Hopefully he kicks a bit straighter this week.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Yeah. But it it but it was very windy, so.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

And then we got the Swans vs. St. Kilda. Really good game. So last week St Kilda didn't score a goal for the first half of football. And then they still got beaten by 40 odd points against um Hawks. But this week they really gave it to the Swans. They were in front nearly all day. Swans were in front, I think, for th four minutes for the whole day. Four minutes at the start of the game. Was it? I don't think it was that long, then it was 18.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

18.5, and then because they got the lead in the last 15 seconds, it was 18.20.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

Oh, there you go. Liam Ryan kicked five goals, Isaac Heaney was good for Swans. But yeah, a really good, really good game of football, that one.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Yeah. Then we had Carlton versus Essendon at the G. A crowd more than six seventy-six thousand attended.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Close game, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Yeah. Good to see Carlton win again. Essendon, they've had a good fight. They've only won one game this year, but I think they could win. Another close one.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Well they played well, and the big talking point out of this game was Harry Mackay winding down the clock. He was pretending to have a shot when he was 60 metres out. So he ran the clock down 30 40 seconds. And that was when it was only two minutes left, and he wasted 40 seconds pretending to have a shot. He didn't have a shot.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Yeah. Then we had the big freeze match, Melbourne versus Collingwood. Melbourne got overline by eight points.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

First one for the last five years, Melbourne were able to win.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Yeah. I when I said I was going to say that because I pickett one in the Carlton Essendon match, but he won the Neil Danaher Trophy in Melbourne Collingwood, because he played very well. Um Brady Maya.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

For the best play on the field this year. For going forward for the big freeze game. Someone reels the Neil Danaher trophy.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Yeah. Well, he did play very well because higher pickett. But sadly, Bertie Maychek playing against his old club has suffered a neck injury.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Fractured neck needed surgery on his neck.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Surgery on his neck. He will not be playing this week.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

I've not been playing for a while. Round 14, there's another week of the bye rounds. There's only seven games being played this week. First game is Western Bulldogs versus Adelaide at Marvel. Top eight clash. Adelaide coming off a strong win. They have got a couple of injuries, but the Bulldogs are playing good footy again, even though the Bond's got a bit of a sore knee. But this could be a real cracker, and either team could really cement themselves in the top eight.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Yeah. Then we had Geelong Gold Coast at GMHBA. Geelong under pressure. And Gold Coast have a question mark on them.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Gold Coast can't beat a top team, and Geelong have lost a couple in a row now.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Geelong are losing to the bottom teams, and Gold Coast can't beat the top team.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

It would be another close contest, but going to play in Geelong is always a hard game of footy.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

Then we've got Melbourne versus Essendon. This could be another close one given how Essendon played last week. Melbourne, they played well to beat Collingwood. Essendon really pushed Carleton late. So it'll be a really exciting game, I think, this one.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yeah, very exciting. Then we had North Melbourne versus West Coast at Optus. This is a home game for North. Home. It's not actually home. It's meant to be our home.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

They're home on a piece of paper.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Home on a piece of paper. Correct. North are coming off a 1-2-4-point win.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Loss. 124 point loss, North Melbourne.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Yeah, loss, I mean. But they need to bounce back Eagles from losing to Port. This is the most local interest as a Perth Footy fan this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Yeah, well, two teams that need to bounce back and get a win.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

Yeah. Way more exciting than the Dockers.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

It is more exciting than the Dockers game this week, Max, because Dockers have a buyer, so any game will be better than the buyer.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

And then we've got Port Adelaide versus Sydney and Adelaide. Sydney are coming off one of those games that they could have that they just stole against St Kilda. Port Adelaide looked like a s they could start to string a couple of wins together and potentially finish 10th or higher. So we inter and again, not the close game.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Yeah. Then we have Richmond versus Brisbane. I believe these two teams have met already. But now Richmond have bought Ninja Stadium down in Hobart, I'm guessing.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

I think it might be, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Well, that's a pretty incredible one. Finally found form in a Q in the Q clash, Brisbane. Richmond need to rebuild their season.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Coming off a bye. Again, Brisbane should just be able to get this one away quite comfortably.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Yeah. How many how many goals can Logan Morris score?

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Well be interesting. He might be able to beat his record of seven.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

He could even beat Jessica Cameron.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Eleven.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

And then we got St Kilda versus GWS at Marvel. Both teams looking to really again put themselves in the finals pitcher. Really hard to get a sense on whose team's in better form. GW Russ had a bye last week. So again, one of those games that could go either way and it could be an exciting, fast-flowing game.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Yeah, very exciting. Right, Dad, time for the tips. Bulldogs or Adelaide?

SPEAKER_01 14:18

I'm gonna go Bulldogs.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

I'm gonna go to Dogs as well. Geelong or Gold Coast?

SPEAKER_01 14:24

I'll go Geelong.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

I'll go Geelong as well. Melbourne or Essendon?

SPEAKER_01 14:29

I'll go Melbourne.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

I'll go Melbourne as well. North or West Coast?

SPEAKER_01 14:34

I'm gonna go West Coast.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

I'm gonna go to the Eagles as well. Port versus Sydney.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

I'll go Sydney here.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

I'll go Sydney as well. Richmond versus Brisbane.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

I'll go Brisbane.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

I'll go Brisbane as well.

unknown 14:50

St.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

versus the Giants.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

I'm gonna go Saints.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

I'm gonna go wherever Tilda. I I went Saints. Okay guys, that's it for today.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Bye.