It has certainly been an eventful week in all of the football codes played in Australia.  Soccer fans are having their fill of their game and with delusional fervor thought that the Socceroos could actually beat Brazil.  A rugby league player is being investigated for punching cricketer Michael Clarke in the gob.  Rugby union became a farce with the Poms having no props and therefore we witnessed uncontested scrums and then we get to our great game of Australian rules.

6 of the 8 games in round 12 have been completed and although there has been a number of upsets, all games have been won by a minimum 6 goals.  The closest game was premiership hopeful Melbourne beating bottom of the ladder Essendon by 36 points.  Geelong belted the Mental's by 66 points.  Will the trend continue in the final two games of the round?  Who knows!

Okay, crystal ball gazing time and what a better way to start looking than to look at your commentators view before the season and now.  We are all allowed to change our minds aren't we?

The climax of the season is the Grand Final and our first two questions were, Who is going to win the Premiership and who would be runner up?  Digger had Geelong playing St. Kilda in the big one with the pussies being triumphant.  Geelong is currently in 11^th position with a 5-7 win loss ratio and the Saints are in 7^th possy with a 6-6 record.  The Geelong team has been very disappointing and maybe back on track and next weeks game against the Ravens will show if they have a chance.  The Saints had their best win of the season against Sydney two weeks ago but were taken to the cleaners by the Ravens last week.  Will these teams feature in the big one on the "one day in September"?  No!  The G.F. will be the battle of the big birds, the Ravens and the Weagles with the Weagles taking home the prize.

Who will win the wooden spoon?  Well Digger is not changing his mind here and is sticking with the Carlton Blues.

Who will win the Coleman Medal for the season's greatest goal scorer?  Digger went with Warren Tredrea of the Powerless at the start of the year but injury and a belated start rule him out.  The key to my new selection is getting him on the paddock each week and he is Jonathan Brown of the Lions.  Currently in fourth place with 35 goals.

Coleman Medal

Brendan Fevola (Carlton) - 43 goals

Barry Hall (Sydney) - 41 goals and a game in hand

Brad Johnson (Western Bulldogs) - 36 goals

Jonathan Brown (Brisbane) - 35 goals

Anthony Rocca (Collingwood) - 35 goals and a game in hand

Mark Williams (Hawthorn) - 33 goals

Digger had young Tiger cub Bret Deledio as the winner of the Brownlow Medal for 2006.  Well I have changed my mind again and am now going with St. Kilda mid-fielder Nick Dal Santo to take Charlie home in September.

With the Power winning their last few Digger is relenting and seeing Mr. Smug getting sacked during the season.  All coaches will escape the knife until the season ends.

Here is the updated Crystal Ball for three of our experts.  The other will follow next week

Digger

Flea

Pearlman

Take the Brownlow trifecta with the after Rd. 11 selections.

LETTER OF THE WEEK

Dear Digger,

How did the first part of the "Welcome to the AFL" round go last week?

Yours truly,

Blatt Sethler, Dortmund

Dear Blatt,

Well, the caterers from the Telstra Dome (read rink) have reported that the sales of instant noodles hit there yearly peak and I spotted a couple of hairy men (could have been women) munching on souvlakis at Aurora Stadium in Tasmania on Sunday.  The question will be answered more comprehensively after this weeks game at Telstra Stadium in Sydney when we see how many Lebs turn up to cheer on the Swans.  Did you know that the AFL Record has a supplement for Rd. 12 explaining the basics of the game in 17 languages.  Maybe they could give the umpires one in English.  Meanwhile, Commandant Andrew is in Germany for the phoodball World Cup.

Cheers,

Digger

The AFL Women's National Championships are being held at the moment.  Best players for the Northern Territory team have been Bray, Eaton, Brown.

Friday night sees the Kangaroos play Carlton at the Telstra Rink.  Dean "Junkyard Dog" Laidley takes on his former coach Dennis Pagan in this match, the two having tasted premiership success with North Melbourne in 1996.  10 years is a lifetime in footy and both coaches are now struggling with their charges.  However, Carlton almost pulled off the upset of the century two weeks ago against the Weagles while the Kangaroos have been very disappointing.  If the ‘roos can contain Fevola who is the Carlton standout forward, they maybe in with a chance.  A cold and wet one awaits these two protagonists and Digger sees a slim win to the ‘roos.

Telstra are certainly getting their monies worth this weekend with the Sydney Swans hosting Collingwood at the Stadium on Saturday night.  Both teams suffered defeats in Rd. 11 and will be keen to bounce back.  Rumor has it that Barry Hall is suffering an injury but Swans officials insist he will play.  Former Collingwood and current Sydney player Paul Williams has announced he is hangin' the boots up at the end of the season and this maybe the extra motivation that the Swans need to overcome the much improved ‘pies.

Last week, The Ravens thrashed the Saints and after Port Adelaide kicked the combined arses of the Weagles, the Ravens head the league ladder.  Considering that Sydney, Collingwood, Carlton and the Kangaroos all have a game in hand, below is Diggers preseason end of season competition ladder and where the teams are placed now.

                                                Current Position           

1^st - Geelong                            (11^th)

2^nd - St. Kilda                          (7^th)

3^rd - West Coast                       (2^nd)

4^th - Adelaide                           (1^st)

5^th - Kangaroos                       (14^th)

6^th - Western Bulldogs  (4^th)

7^th - Fremantle             (9^th)

8^th - Sydney                             (6^th)

9^th - Melbourne                        (5^th)

10^th - Richmond                       (10^th)

11^th - Brisbane             (13^th)

12^th - Port Adelaide                  (8^th)

13^th - Collingwood                   (3rd)

14^th - Essendon                        (16^th)

15^th - Hawthorn                       (12^th)

16^th - Carlton                           (15^th)

Until next week with a full round of matches,

Digger

diggerafl@yahoo.com.au