After a dramatic late finish to the European Australian Rules football championship at DCU last Saturday, where Ireland retained the trophy with a last-gasp goal against Great Britain, attention turns back to domestic affairs, with the final two rounds of the national league running over consecutive weekends. The six teams play each other home and away from April to August, with the top four teams qualifying for the play-offs. After eight rounds of matches, two spots are still up for grabs. The Belfast Redbacks and Leeside Lions (based in Cork) have already claimed two of the four spots, and have all but clinched home advantage for the semi-finals, but still have to play each other in the final round of fixtures with the honour of finishing top of the regular table at stake. Third and fourth-placed South Dublin Swans and Galway Magpies could seal the final two play-off positions this weekend, should results go their way, with the sides facing each other in round ten to determine ladder ranking and their opponents in the semi-finals. Fifth-placed North Leinster Giants (based in NUI Maynooth) are not yet out of the running for a play-off spot, though it would require several results in both rounds nine and ten to go their way, as well as a huge swing in points difference, to deny one of the teams above them.
After Round 8 P W D L PF PA PD Pts
Belfast Redbacks.................. 8 6 0 2 628 297 331 26
Leeside Lions........................ 8 6 0 2 635 306 329 26
South Dublin Swans.............. 8 4 0 4 545 453 92 20
Galway Magpies................... 8 4 0 4 505 552 -47 20
North Leinster Giants............ 8 3 0 5 322 652 -330 17
Dublin Demons..................... 8 1 0 7 338 713 -375 11
4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss, 0 for a default.
Fixtures and scenarios for round 9: Saturday 17 August (all matches start at 13:30)
Belfast Redbacks v Dublin Demons
Galway Magpies v Leeside Lions
North Leinster Giants v South Dublin Swans
Belfast will seal a top two finish, and a home semi-final, if they defeat OR draw with Dublin Demons. A draw would place Belfast on 28 table points, with a minimum of 1 point in their final match giving them at least 29. The maximum that either South Dublin or Galway can get is 28.
Leeside will seal a top two finish, and a home semi-final, if they defeat OR draw with Galway. A draw would place Leeside on 28 table points, with a minimum of 1 point in their final match giving them at least 29. Under this scenario, the maximum points South Dublin could get is 28, the maximum Galway could get would be 26.
South Dublin will qualify for the play-offs if they defeat North Leinster. A win would place South Dublin on 24, with a minimum of 1 point in their final match giving them at least 25. With a defeat in round nine, the maximum number of points North Leinster could have would be 22.
Galway will qualify for the play-offs if they defeat Leeside OR if they draw AND South Dublin defeat North Leinster. A win would place Galway on 24, with a minimum of 1 point in their final match giving them at least 25. A draw would place Galway on 22, with a minimum of 1 point in their final match giving them at least 23. Should North Leinster lose in round nine, the maximum number of points they could have would be 22.
North Leinster will be eliminated if they lose to South Dublin AND Galway defeat or draw with Leeside.
Fixtures- Round 10: Saturday 24 August (all matches start at 13:30)
Dublin Demons v North Leinster Giants
Leeside Lions v Belfast Redbacks
South Dublin Swans v Galway Magpies
The semi-finals will see the top-ranked team play at home against the fourth-placed side, with the second-placed team at home against the team in third place. The two semi-final winners will play in the Grand Final in early September.
For anyone not in the loop, the fact I'm writing a blog post on Australian Rules football in Ireland is probably a rather unexpected turn. I've really gotten into the sport in the last few months, joining my local team, the Galway Magpies, in May and playing a few matches for them before breaking my left scaphoid (it's in the wrist, and apparently is the bone that breaks in 60% of wrist fractures, according to the good medical team in University Hospital, Galway) in the away fixture in Belfast last month. I'm out for the rest of the season, but I'm looking forward to getting back into it next spring. In the meantime, and abandoning any attempt at neutrality, best of luck to the Magpies for the remaining home and away fixtures and, hopefully, a successful run in the play-offs. GO 'PIES!
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| On the upside, it makes for a great conversation starter in pubs. |
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