Four birds in a cage without a cat. How’s that for a preliminary final scene of this season’s AFL competition? Hawks are up against the Crows, and the Magpies take on the Swans. Two Melbourne/Victorian birds will be hovering against interstate opponents respectively. No doubt the seagulls would make sure it will be an all-birds affair tonight and tomorrow.

Alas, few in my circle are interested in the AFL. Soon after we came here in 2004, it became clear how big the AFL is. It is like for everyone you know who takes an interest in the English football scene, you’d have hundreds talking only AFL stuff. So I decided to pick a team to follow. We live out east, and I’d been to Waverley Park a couple of times and coupled with their history through the 80s and early 90s when I vaguely heard about them while enjoying the NRL in Sydney, I decided Hawthorn Football Club would be my team. 4 years later in 2008 we won our first flag since our move to Melbourne. 2012 could see a second.

Hence, my closer interest. I have been trying to get a barbie going for this and next weekend but there’re already a couple of things lined up for both tonight and tomorrow so I’m just hoping we can do it next Sat, on Grand Final day, and hope that the Crows get sent flying back to Adelaide. Hopefully it would be a Hawks v Swans grand final. Go Hawks!

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• 57,000 tickets sold to Swans, NRL final (news.theage.com.au)
• AFL ahead of NRL in Sydney ticket sales (news.smh.com.au)
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