THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

Ladies and gentleman, the 2019 Brownlow Medallist is Nat Fyfe. Of course, this is only news to you if you live under a rock, or you are from his hometown of Lake Grace, a four-hour drive from Perth toward the middle of absolutely nowhere.

Nat Fyfe now has twice as many Brownlow’s as Lake Grace has Woolworths’.

Before that happened, Richmond came back from a 20-point deficit to run out 19-point victors over Geelong in a typically classic AFL prelim final.

Not to be outdone, Collingwood and GWS fought out one of the best games of footy in history which saw Pie heart break over and over again as they came back from 33-points down early in the fourth quarter.

AFL Preliminary Final week is the best week on the sporting calendar and 2019 did not disappoint. Do not miss out on the $120k Draftstars Grand Final pool.

The second week of NRL finals did not quite match the billing, but week three is just around the corner and it is truly anyone’s guess as to who will face off in the premiership decider.

The Storm blew Parra off of the park 32 to nothing. Have they also blown away the cobwebs, or whatever afflicted them against the Raiders in week one? They will need to if they hope to overcome a Roosters side hitting their straps at the exact right time.

The night before, the Rabbitohs/Sea Eagles game provided a little more friction. Just five minutes after the half, Manly took the lead through Moses Suli, the Rabbitohs evened it up after a penalty goal before Manly again took the reins. But that was where the scoring ended for Manly as the Rabbitohs ran away with an exciting eight-point victory.

So it is. Four sides remain. Who is your tip?

It was a huge weekend in Australian sport, but Antonio Brown still managed to make the headlines, again. Barely a week after signing with the Patriots, he was cut following multiple allegation against him. Then he retired, maybe? Anyone speak AB?

It did not seem to unsettle the Patriot ship though. They have not allowed a defensive touchdown through three weeks and still look unbeatable. Joining them at 3-0 are the Bills, Cowboys, Packers, 49ers, Rams and the Saints after they topped the Ravens in a young QB shootout.

AFL FINALS WEEK FOUR

Despite Geelong’s early dominance, it really seemed like Richmond were just winding up. After the main break that typical Richmond magic just kept happening. When they get going it seems like the ball has become entranced, like it’s under a Tiger spell. Tom Lynch kept them in the game in the first half, then exploded in the second half to be the match winner for his side.

He booted five huge goals, hauled in 10 marks, and was completely unstoppable. He also earnt 108 DS points for his efforts.

Bachar Houli and Dion Prestia continued their standout form to score 128 and 123 DS points respectively as well as combining for 60 touches. They are almost automatic selections for the Grand Final, such is the purple patches they find themselves in.

In what will probably be his last game for the club, Tim Kelly went down swinging for the Cats. He played one of the best games of the year as he dragged Geelong to their first half lead and then kept them in the contest. His 31 touch, three goal, 150 DS point game was a vintage prelim performance.

After their heart shattering 2018 Grand Final loss, you would be forgiven for backing the Pies in to be so hungry they would not accept anything short of a Grand Final victory in 2019. But the Giants have hints of the Doggies of 2016 and the ball seems to be bouncing their way.

Backs to the wall, GWS have continued to prove their resilience.

This was never more present than on Saturday afternoon at the G when their remaining co-captain went down with a match ending injury early in the game.

The Pies almost got there in the end, but they fell agonisingly short.

Brodie Grundy could have done no more to reverse Magpie fortunes as he dominated Shane Mumford at every juncture. He racked up a massive 164 DS points from his 25 touches and whopping 73 hit-outs.

The Giants were giants. Zac Williams and Nick Haynes walked the tallest of all of them. Williams moved into the midfield in the absence of Toby Greene and dominated with a game-breaking 25 touches, goal and 116 DS points.

Nick Haynes really did win the match for GWS. He is a star and reiterated the mistake All-Australian selectors made in not picking him. 30 touches, nine marks, countless thwarted attacks and 118 DS points are something Richmond will need to find a way to avoid.

Who wins the Grand Final? The charmed Tigers or the enchanted Giants?

NFL WEEK THREE

The Patriots need no more publicity. Neither does Daniel Jones, but he is going to get it anyway.

After finally usurping Eli Manning as the Giants starting QB, Jones has already been plastered over billboards in Times Square. His debut was breath taking. His numbers were huge, 23/36, 336 yards, four total TDs and 34.2 DS points, but more importantly he led the Giants to an unlikely victory over Tampa.

Gardner Minshew is a name to get around this year. Jacksonville might not be good, hell, they might be if Gardner gets going, but Minshew is fun. And he can throw. His numbers were just alright against the Titans (204 yards, two TDs) but he will get better and he is a natural QB.

Russell Wilson exploded in week three to almost single handedly dragged the Seahawks to an unlikely victory over New Orleans.

Trailing 27-7 at three quarter time, Wilson went for it in the last to put 20 more points on the sheet. Unfortunately, the defence allowed six Saints points and Wilson fell short. DS recognised his contributions though, and his selectors definitely appreciated them. He threw for 406 yards and two scores while running for 51 yards and two more scores. All up, he scored 41.3 DS points.

But it was a week for the receivers.

Keenan Allen exploded for 43.6 DS points from 13 catches, 183 yards and two TDs.

Mike Evans went even better with 45 DS points, most of which came in the first half, after hauling in eight catches for 190 yards and three scores.

And Tyler Lockett, Cooper Kupp and Taylor Gabriel all notched up 30+ DS scores and combined for six scores.

Written by Brin Duggan

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