Daryl Taber addresses the crowd after becoming the first Swans President to win an international match. The match was against the Jakarta Bintangs in Hanoi, March 2006.

“WARNING! DON’T FLIRT WITH YOUR FORM.” D. Taber, 2 Sept 2011.

Former President of the then Hanoi Swans, Daryl Taber, returns to the Swannies Blog for the 2011 AFL Finals with his hard hitting and often controversial “Taber Talk”.

What a way to close out the home and away season! We begin with a Friday night blockbuster between the top two teams, Collingwood and Geelong. Even though the minor premiership is secure, Coach Malthouse has stated previously it is dangerous to flirt with form, particularly around Spring. And there’s more up for grabs this weekend. Can StKilda defeat Carlton to secure a home final? At the other end of the ladder can Port Adelaide avoid the wooden spoon?  For me, the most intriguing aspect of round 24 will be how clubs manage their players  in the  ‘warmup’ before the following week’s ‘pressure-cooker’ finals action.

Take the Magpies v Cats Friday night game for instance. These two could very well meet in the Grand Final.  Is getting ‘one-up’ now a huge psychological advantage or is it better to keep something up the sleeve? Perhaps rest a star or two? Collingwood lost a game late last year and still went on to be premiers, just!  Some coaches won’t play all their cards this weekend whereas players that do take the field will find it extremely difficult to play any other way than ‘flatout’. The Cats were thrashed in stoppages last week and defensively they were below par. They need to rebuild confidence but have some very sore lads that could do with a spell. The Magpies are also looking to stabilise. Collectively, Shaw, Toovey, Maxwell, Didak, Wellingham and Dawes have missed over 30 games since Mid July. Add Thomas to this group now that he has been suspended for two games and it must be unsettling. The year the Swans won their last flag they hardly made a change to their team in the last ten weeks.

The Saints have plenty to gain from a win this week against the Blues. A victory at the MCG will allow St Kilda to maintain sixth spot and secure a home final the following week against the Swans. They will be doing everything they can to avoid the trip to Sydney. The Blues will run out fresher than the Saints after their bye and will want to regain touch in ‘finals-like’ atmosphere. And speaking of the bye, how will Essendon manage their ‘rest’ this week before they renew their rivalry with the Blues in an Elimination Final? Do they really need the bye now after a morale boosting come from behind win, albeit against lowly Port Adelaide?

Mathematically the Hawks could possibly beat Gold Coast by enough to steal 2nd position on the ladder. Or will the Hawks also take the opportunity to rest a few of their stars with ‘soreness’.  The Hawks are coming home strongly and will know exactly what they need to score after the Friday night game should the Cats lose. If the Hawks go all out and achieve this, the main prize is pride only as they would still meet the Cats in the same final, at the same venue the following week. There’s always a few players still to secure their positions. Let’s see so who will do everything possible this weekend to ensure they are a part of the 2011 finals series.

A quick look at other games and perhaps Tigers supporters can expect a win against the Kangas so they can typically finish within a claw of the top eight. Port could avoid the wooden spoon by beating Melbourne and West Coast and Sydney should enjoy the tune-up to be gained by defeating Adelaide and the Lions respectively. Almost forgot to mention that I heard a rumour the Dogs asked the AFL to play Freo in Perth this week . They have already packed for their end-of-season trip and wanted to play their final game in Fremantle during their stopover. My tip here is not to get in a shout with Big Bad Barry Hall after his final game!

So how will this weekend play out?  Watch carefully how coaching panels manage their troops. We’ll get some early insights into team strategies after selections, then look out for players that get the green and red sub vests and those that may get more or less work than usual.

Enjoy this weeks entree!

Taber’s Straw Poll

He’s still a tad overweight but Brendan Fevola kicked 10 goals against a lot of his old Carlton mates last weekend. It’s got the town talking of a new contract, perhaps at Melbourne or Fremantle. So tell us what you think!

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