导出博客文章Although the top eight is not 100 percent finalised -- hopefully the Saints can
sneak in, while Port Adelaide are also still an outside chance -- it does appear
as though the current top eight have their destiny in their own hands and will
feature in September.Looking ahead to the finals, Ive been doing some thinking
as to which individual players are most important to their clubs premiership
hopes.As someone who has played in a lot of finals, you need so much to go right
to win them - over a four-week stretch, you need everything going your way,
especially the ability to keep your most important players on the park.It would
be easy to assume teams striving for a flag simply cant afford to lose their
best player, which is true for some sides, but for others theres a lot of things
to consider - team structure, depth in certain positions, even the emotional
aspect how well a player leads the group.Out of the below list, Id suggest only
Lance Franklin and Patrick Dangerfield are their clubs best players; the rest
though are who I believe to be the most important to their premiership
hopes.Looking at my list, it becomes apparent how many key position players and
ruckmen feature. Thats not a knock on the star midfielders who feature so
strongly in all finals-bound outfits, but finals tend to be a bit of a different
game - theres more pressure, more kicking long to contests, so your key talls
need to be at their best.And Im not biased, because Im playing through the
midfield this year! But theres no doubt most finals-bound clubs have three or
four really strong midfielders, so they can cover that part of the ground a bit
better, compared to losing a No. 1 ruckman or key position player.THE RACE FOR
THE PREMIERSHIP - WHICH PLAYERS CAN THESE CLUBS LEAST AFFORD TO LOSE?HAWTHORN
You could make a case for seven or eight Hawks here, and thats why theyve been
such a great team over a sustained period, but for me the player I think they
could least afford to lose is Jack Gunston. With Jarryd Roughead unfortunately
not around this year, a lot of people had question marks over whether Gunston
could be that No.1 go-to tall because hes not a traditional key forward.
However, hes assumed that mantle this year, and in previous finals campaigns has
performed well on the big stage. Hawthorn are so versatile in every other area
of the ground but if they lost him, theyd be down to inexperienced duo James
Sicily and Tim OBrien as their key forwards. Gunston isnt Hawthorns best player,
but hes their most important.GWS Again, hes not in their best five or so
players, but Shane Mumford is crucial to the Giants audacious premiership push.
Theyre still a young group, and big Mummy is one of only a handful of guys with
finals experience and the way his teammates talk about him, you can tell he
allows them to play with more confidence. He provides a hard edge and physical
maturity and hell make a lot of those players in their first finals campaign
walk taller. Hes a bit of an old-school enforcer, which doesnt really exist any
more but hes as close to the modern version as you can get. Aside from his
physicality, hes also a premier ruckman, and if theres one area the Giants lack
a bit of depth is through the ruck - if they lost a key midfielder, theyve got
that many more quality options to chose from, but Mummy is clearly so crucial as
their No. 1 ruckman.SYDNEY The Swans boast an enormous amount of depth through
the midfield with the likes of Josh Kennedy, Tom Mitchell, Dan Hannebery, Luke
Parker and Kieren Jack - they bat really deep through there so they can cover
the loss of any of them if required. Up forward, theyve got one of the most
electric players in the league, who is also their most important - Lance
Franklin. Hes flying under the radar a bit this year -- he hasnt kicked massive
bags of goals -- but this is one of his most consistent years, shown by the fact
hes only one off the lead in the Coleman Medal race. Buddy provides the
X-factor, the flare, and gets the crowd involved. I believe hes Sydneys best
player. Prior to the weekend, he was the only Swan whos kicked more than 20
goals [59] - Isaac Heeney is now on 21 after booting four against Freo. So much
rests on Franklins shoulders - the Swans have a huge reliance on him. If he goes
down, Sydneys hopes may do the same.GEELONG Again, cant be too complicated here
- Dangerfield is crucial to Geelongs flag hopes. The glamour boy of the
competition is one of the leagues best players, and also Geelongs most
important. His influence has been overwhelming this year. A lot of Geelongs
resurgence in 2016 has been on the back of his efforts. His combination of
inside and outside is as good as weve seen, and he can hit the scoreboard, break
the lines, has a penetrating kick, and is so damaging. The likes of Joel
Selwood, Cam Guthrie and the other Cats midfielders have benefitted enormously
from Dangerfields arrival from Adelaide - theres been a huge flow-on effect for
them. Dangerfield can also go forward and be a major threat in the 50; hes
kicked 20 goals this year which gives Geelong an extra layer of
versatility.ADELAIDE Daniel Talia is the man here. Adelaides forward line is
obviously exceptional - theyve got four 30+ goal kickers this season, while
their midfield is strong enough. However, their backline is young -- theyve got
some good rebounders through Rory Laird and Brodie Smith -- but the one who
rarely gets beaten as a shutdown key defender is Talia. Having a key defender
who you can trust to beat the oppositions best key tall is invaluable,
especially in finals. Talia just never seems to get beaten. Against Geelong a
couple of weeks ago, Talia was injured late and Tom Hawkins then took the game
by the scruff of its neck, so it shows how important he is.WEST COAST This one
is more of a player they need back, rather than a player they cant afford to
lose - Nic Naitanui. Theres been a lot of commentary about their current form
but thats coincided with Naitanui being injured for the middle part of the
season - he hasnt been seen since Round 12 and its really hurt them
structurally. A lot of West Coasts famous defensive web, which isnt functioning
as well this year, is built on field position - winning clearances, getting the
ball into the forward line and setting up defensively from there. They really
need Nic Nat back so they can start dominating clearances again - without him, I
dont think they can compete for the flag. When hes on song, their midfielders
can be so proactive because they know theyll get first use. Hes just such a
massive weapon for them.WESTERN BULLDOGS Jake Stringer hasnt had a great year,
but with Jack Redpath out injured and Tom Boyd still finding his way as a key
forward at AFL level, hes the man who the Bulldogs must keep fit through the
finals. Stringer isnt a traditional key forward, hes not a huge contested
marker, but hes got that X-factor that can win a final off his own boot. His
season got off to a flyer but hes been quieter in recent months, but you just
know hell explode at some point. The Bulldogs are such a brilliant defensive
team but they need to find a way to kick winning scores, and Stringer gives them
that chance. He could be the difference between winning a final and losing
one.NORTH MELBOURNE Their drop-off in form before their two recent wins
coincided with Todd Goldstein losing a bit of form. Hes rediscovered a bit of
that and the Kangaroos really need him up and going. Up forward they have
multiple options, theyve got real strength through the midfield and down back
but Goldstein needs to provide them with first use, and he can also spread
forward and kick goals. At the start of the year, when they were flying, it was
a battle between him and Max Gawn for All Australian ruckman, before for
whatever reasons Goldsteins output dropped a touch. He looks to be getting back
to his best and if he has a huge month through September, it gives the Roos a
sniff.
Sony
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Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according
to the B.C. court services.
John
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probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the
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. Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high
26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los
Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point
lead.
Steve
Grogan Youth Jersey . The International Olympic Committee released the
official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had
passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries --
are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway;
and Stockholm.
Rob
Gronkowski Womens Jersey . Rinne played two periods in his first game
since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second
period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. TORONTO -- Albert
Pujols followed up a milestone homer by joining a select group of run
producers.Pujols reached the 100-RBI mark for the 13th time, the fifth player in
history to achieve the feat, Mike Trout had three hits and matched his
season-high with four RBI, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays
6-3 on Thursday night.Albert and Mike had a great series putting up some runs
for us and a bunch of RBI, Angels right-hander Jered Weaver said. That was
awesome.Trout went 7 for 12 with five RBI in the series, as the Angels took two
of three. Pujols went 6 for 12 with four RBI.Theyre both locked in, Blue Jays
manager John Gibbons said. Ones going to the Hall of Fame, one eventually
probably will. Theyre swinging it good.Weaver pitched 5 2/3 innings to snap a
three-start losing streak as the Angels won consecutive games for the first time
since Aug. 2/3 and prevented J.A. Happ from becoming the first 18-game winner in
the majors.After winning 11 straight decisions, Happ (17-4) suffered his first
lost since June 10 at Detroit. He allowed four runs and six hits in five
innings.One day after his 584th home run moved him past Mark McGwire into sole
possession of 10th place on the all-time list, Pujols joined Jimmie Foxx, Lou
Gehrig, Alex Rodriguez and Babe Ruth as the only players to collect 100 or more
RBI in 13 seasons.Im just very blessed to have the opportunity to accomplish
that, said Pujols, adding that he had received a congratulatory text from
McGwire, his teammate with St. Louis in 2001.Pujols leads baseball with 40 RBI
since the All-Star break.Hes hit the ball hard all year, Angels manager Mike
Scioscia said. Early in the year, not a lot to show for it.Josh Donaldson
homered for the Blue Jays, who missed an opportunity to open a one-game lead
over Boston in the AL East. The Red Sox lost 2-1 at Tampa Bay earlier Thursday.
Toronto has lost four of six.Theres no doubt weve cooled off, Gibbons said.
Thats due to change, it always does. Theres not a lot of seasoon left but were
due.dddddddddddd.Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista was activated off the 15-day
disabled list and started at DH, batting leadoff. He finished 1 for 4 with two
RBI. He had a sacrifice fly in the second and an RBI double in the ninth.Los
Angeles trailed 2-0 on Donaldsons fifth-inning homer, his 29th. Trout tied it
with a two-run single in the sixth and Pujols followed with a go-ahead single.Up
with the bases loaded for the second straight at-bat, Trout hit a two-run single
off Joaquin Benoit in the seventh.(Trout) is as good as there is and hes hitting
the ball hard, Scioscia said. He came up in the right spots tonight and got
hits.Weaver (9-11) allowed two runs, one earned, and five hits.TOUGH ON
TORONTOWeaver is 11-2 in 14 career starts against Toronto, including 4-0 in five
starts against the Blue Jays since 2013. Hes 5-1 in six career outings at Rogers
Centre.HOMER PRONEWeaver has allowed 31 home runs this season, tied with James
Shields for second-most in baseball. Clevelands Josh Tomlin has given up
32.TRAINERS ROOMAngels: 3B Yunel Escobar (concussion) has not resumed physical
activity and wont be activated when eligible Saturday, Scioscia said. Escobar
fouled a ball off his face while attempting to bunt last Friday.Blue Jays: 2B
Devon Travis (sore right ring finger) missed his third straight game but hopes
to return Friday. ... OF Michael Saunders (hamstring) was unavailable. ... INF
Ryan Goins was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for Bautista.UP
NEXTAngels: RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-11, 5.22) starts Friday as Los Angeles returns
home for a three-game series with the Tigers. Nolasco is 0-2 with a 4.32 ERA in
three starts against Detroit this season.Blue Jays: LHP Francisco Liriano (6-12,
5.21) starts the opener of a three-game series against Minnesota on Friday. Hes
2-1 with a 5.66 ERA in four career starts against the Twins.
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