Round 17- Back to Normal

 The bye rounds are behind us, and we're back to a full nine-game weekend as the race to September begins in earnest. In this episode, we preview every Round 17 clash, discuss the biggest selection news, and identify the teams under the most pressure heading into the second half of the 2026 AFL season. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Runs in the family. I'm Max and I'm here with my dad Mark, and every week we're diving into all things footy. We'll be chatting through the biggest moments from the games just gone, breaking down the wins, the losses, and everything in between. Plus, we'll look ahead to the weekend's matchups, share our thoughts, predictions, and a bit of banter along the way. Whether you're a diehard supporter or just like a good game, you're in the right place. Let's get into the podcast. Wow, what a weekend. Now the fixtures are all back to normal, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Finally, no more bye rounds. Back to full nine games of footy. Which is exciting.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

And not long to go. We've got some interesting stats to you, Max.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Ooh, well yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

The Dockers have now won 14 games in a row.

unknown 0:51

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Wait, yeah, correct.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

14 games in a row?

unknown 0:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

There's only been one AFL team in history that hasn't made the grand final after winning 14 games in a row.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Let me guess what I miss how we think. I'm gonna guess Essendon.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Correct. Oh in 1981, I think it was.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Was James Heard their coach?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Not at the time, not James Heard's a bit young to be their coach. You know what this stat means?

unknown 1:21

What?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

The Dockers are gonna make the grand final.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Not necessarily.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Well, you think the stats don't lie?

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Yeah, true, but they might not still.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

The pressure's on.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Now let's get into Stories and Sirens. Where we look at the week that was, diving into the biggest moments. Last game on Thursday night was Brisbane Sydney. The winner was the Lions in that game.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

One dominantly, didn't they, Max?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

One dominantly. Really good game, Brisbane. Dad, I did tip Sydney. Put my words back, I I was wrong. They played really well, Brisbane. They're bouncing back, they they could be in the bit they're probably in the becoming good at the time is right.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

Second half of the year starting to move the ball better. Can they make it a three-peat?

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Let's hope Dockets just lose their games and Brisbane just win.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Alright, next game is Hawthorne GWS. A game where GWS tried really hard all game, they but they just couldn't they got blown away early and couldn't get that margin back. But Hawthorne continue to play well, midfield continues to dominate. Will Day starting to play really consistent footy. The team's looking good.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Nick Watson played very well.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

The wizard, little hamstring injury for the wizard.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Oh really?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

He's not playing this week. No. Nothing bad. A few magic potions, and it'll be right up to go for the weekend.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Then we had Carlton versus the Eagles. The winner was Carlton back then. Carlton, they did play well.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Eagles didn't play that well, but Carlton were we're good. 6'6 in a row for the Blues.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

We didn't have a good forward line.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

We didn't have a good going forward, couldn't we?

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Does mean the forward line?

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Just tried something different. This didn't work.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Didn't work. No.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Then we've got Collingwood versus Richmond. Uh Collingwood pushed it, kicked away, made light work at Richmond that game.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yeah. Not the most exciting. Not the most exciting, but Isaac won.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Isaac would have been happy.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Then Fremantle versus the Suns. The winner was Fremantle. That was their 14th win of this season.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Another dominant display.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

They only let Gold Coast kick a couple of goals, like 21, three goals.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Three goals and 11 behind.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

For a game of football, three goals isn't a good result for the Gold Coast Suns.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

No.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Remembering last time they played at Optus, Gold Coast beat them in the final.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Yeah, that wasn't grant though.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

That wasn't a grant, but the form the form's definitely changed.

unknown 4:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

And then we've got North Melbourne versus Essendon. North got the win this week. Again, not that exciting, but North stay in touch for the wild card position.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Then we had the showdown, Poor Dadelaide versus Adelaide. Poor Adelaide, they actually played pretty well. Even though they won, that was a really good game for them.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

I played really well. Adelaide didn't come to play at all. They were pretty disappointing.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

They were like, they were like. So if you have one chip versus a hundred chips, they were the one chip.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Yeah, they just weren't great. I team that's competing for a top six spot. You would have thought I would have had a better effort.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

I thought I would have won by like footy points.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

That was pretty late, though. Now we've got footy forecast where we look up at the games ahead. First game is Geelong Brisbane. A possible grand final preview. I don't think it's gonna be possible for this grand final.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Could be. Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

It is.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

It is, I don't know. Mid the good midfield battle between the two teams.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

It'll be an interesting game to watch.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Some really good teams in this game. Can Brisbane win at GMHPA Stadium?

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Might be wet too in Melbourne.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

I think it is wet.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

And then we've got Sydney versus Bulldogs. Another cracking game to look forward to, I think this one. Can Sydney bounce back from last week's disappointing loss? Can the Bulldogs find a way to get over a top team?

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Should be a good cracking game.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Yeah, it's gonna be a real exciting game, that one. And we've got West Coast and Adelaide. Adelaide wants some good games. Like their form's been not great.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Well they well, they've been actually okay apart from last week. They had a shocking game last week, so they want to bounce back.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

And West Coast is searching for consistency.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Well, yeah, you would have thought they should have won two out of the last five games, but we haven't won any of them yet. We looked a bit flat, so interesting to see who can come away with a win.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Adelaide got some big forwards that the Eagles have to contend with. Yeah, like Jacks Walker, Wiley Thilthorpe, Foggerty.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

They're good.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

And they're big.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

They're tall, yeah. Yeah. Big boys.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

And then we've got Hawthorne versus Melbourne. Playing down in Cold Tasmania. Cold Tasman. As I say, the Wizards, the Wizards not playing that game. And I don't think Gunston will play either. But can Melbourne find some form again to get some momentum after the bye?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

I don't know, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

But Hawks need to keep winning as well.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

I need to think about it before my tips. Then we have Essendon versus St Kilda. This is actually I don't know. Is it gonna be a good game? Maybe. Depends what Essendon's show.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Yeah, Essendon need to try and do something. They're not gonna they can't they're not playing finals. Can St Kilda you know try and cement themselves in the top ten?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

I think they might just get tense.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Yeah, don't know. It's one of these games, it's not that exciting, and it'll be disappointing if St Kilda don't win. More so Essendon are winning.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

You know, Golko's versus Collingwood. This is a really important game for the rest of the season.

unknown 7:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Can Golgos really need to win? And Collingwood would need to just find a way to win to stay in touch with that top ten as well. But Golco's form at the moment, they've lost the last five games.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

True.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Not playing good footy at all. So we really just be can transition football and yeah, it'll be a good game to watch.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Yeah. Now we've got GWS Fremantle. This game is always a good game. No matter what year it is, it's normally good. GWS, it's at their home ground. Is it Corby or um NG?

SPEAKER_01 8:36

NG.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

NG. Their normal stadium. I don't know, this could actually be a good game.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Again, GWS need to find some form.

unknown 8:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

If they want to stay in touch with Freeman or just want to continue to play well, to lock in that top one top position.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

The more games they win in a row, the more pressures on the dockers to get to the grand final. How do you think they'll go with the pressure?

SPEAKER_00 9:01

I think, because I've heard dad, and now I've started saying this around school, and I've heard dad saying it to mum and stuff. Um I think the best time for the dockers to lose is they call all the way up to the trophy game, and they lose.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

You're not supposed to tell your friends what I say like that.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Nah. Nah, it's good, it's good.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Alright, then we've got Port Adelaide versus North Melbourne. A game where not much to play for. North Melbourne just to win to stay in touch with that top ten. And Port Adelaide just to keep playing some good footy like they did last week. So again, it could be a close game for the gig for the round.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Then we've got Richmond Carlton. Not much of an exciting match.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Well, Carlton, can they make it seven in a row?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

That would be crazy.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Continue on their merry way of potentially scrapping into the finals.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

That'd be crazy if they get finals coming from like six things.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Coming from a new coach.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Yeah, new coach.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

And finishing in the finals would be great.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Get out, Fossi.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Alright, Max, let's do our tips. Geelong versus Brisbane.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

I think I'm gonna go for Brisbane.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

I'll go Brisbane too. Sydney Bulldogs.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

I'm gonna go for the Swanies.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

I'll go Bulldogs. West Coast versus Adelaide.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Always have to go for the underdogs Eagles.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

I'll go Adelaide.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Dad.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Hawthorne versus Melbourne.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

I'll give the Hawks.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

I'll go Hawks as well. Richmond versus Carlton.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

I'm gonna go Carlton.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

I'll go Carlton as well. Esland versus St. Kilda. I'll go Saints. Gold Coast versus Collingwood.

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Isaac, you'd like to hear this? Gold Coast.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Oh there we go, Collingwood. GWS Free Manal.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Frio, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

I'll go Frio. Port versus North Melbourne.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

I think I'm gonna go north.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

I'll go Port.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Goodbye.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

We might have a week off next week because you're away on holiday. So if you don't catch us next week, we'll see you the week after.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah.