Americans Watching The Footy

It's time to give it everything you've got, because your backs are against the wall, and at the end of the day, it's all about who wants it more. *gags* Okay, had to play into the title there. Amazingly, with three rounds to play, there's only one dead rubber, and it's a rivalry at that. Highlights of the R22 fixture include two key rematches at the G, a surprisingly recurrent...

It's a soundbyte-heavy, but efficient round recap! We completely called how Friday night would shake down, only to be shocked by happenings into Saturday afternoon. Ethan can breathe a slight sigh of relief after his Cats got the job done at home. That game and Sunday's affairs helped prime us for even more drama in the final three rounds, with a three-club race for P2 and a jumbled pack b...

Ethan's in Georgia and is feeling the effects of some particularly spicy Ethiopian food, so hopefully that heat translates into this preview and this round of footy! Friday night has some extra desperation after both the Dogs and Tigers fell last week, but our eyes are firmly on late Saturday, between the Cats taking on the Power and Sydney Derby XXVI. GWS fans: please prove Benjamin wrong and...

RIP everybody’s tips! After Round 19 gave us the expected results in roundabout ways, nearly all of our preconceptions were thrown to the wind over the course of this past weekend. Four of the top five went down, and rivalry games delivered some of the biggest surprises of all. 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:05 COL v CAR 0:15:50 GEE v FRE 0:27:21 WB v GWS 0:37:13 GC v BRI 0:45:48 ESS v SYD 0:56:44 ADE v PA 1:...

We're calling Round 20 the Rematch Round, because 8 of 9 fixtures are rematches from earlier this season — and the odd one out was a double-up in 2022! The Saturday overlaps are two-screen material. Maybe the most important game the AFL has played in Ballarat will take place in the afternoon, before Showdown 54 and a likely eliminator at Marvel are dual nighttime headliners. Look back at the i...

As we dive into 2023’s craziest round yet, we expose an industry secret regarding a record which must not be broken. Of course, we also give all the headline results and players their due. Two substitutes — one of them a debutant — proved crucial in tight wins at the G, and the black and white battle in Adelaide transpired in the only way it possibly could. Sections 0:00:00 Intro / Regional Cups 0...

We recorded well ahead of list announcements, so let's see how close we got in those assessments. This preview has a bigger share of match strategy than most, which makes the talk of the fixtures involving finals contenders all the more compelling. Friday Night Footy may literally be a tall task for Essendon's backs, while all eyes will be on the top two in Adelaide on Saturday night. Etha...

What spreads? Well, how about a fake quote that rocked all of footy and Australia? Or use of some of our niche terminology? Or our campaigning for one first-year coach to be properly recognized for his brilliance? Round 18 was the most narrative-heavy round yet, so despite only a couple nail-biters and one other close finish, the first seven games may have given us enough material for two weeks. S...

We're definitely in the home stretch now, but we're as shocked as ever by some weeknight light decisions and where the lines are as we record ahead of Round 18. In between discussions of Japanese commercials and getting this podcast banned, we find things that get us more excited about games that will likely not get as much attention from the broader footy world this week — take, for examp...

No, Stuart Dew isn't dead — that's just how the Suns Photoshopped that post. His dismissal is another twist in a round that had plenty of them, from Richmond grinding out a win late to St Kilda's triple injury woes and Carlton's beatdown of the Dockers out west. We somehow have even more questions exiting this round than we did entering it. Sections 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:51 RIC v SYD...

Ethan's in North Dakota of all places as we take on another preview! Round 17 begins with Buddy's last H&A game at the 'G, before the Bulldogs and Collingwood play Friday in a real prove-it game for the host. Saturday is highlighted by a likely slow but meaningful Saints–Dees clash with a father-son debut (one of two for the round), but we're most excited for Sunday. For one, Z...

In the return to nine-game weeks, Round 16 had just about everything — margins big and small, surprise results and close games, and even after-the-siren heroics. Ethan slept through another siren goal, but he was wide awake for the second draw of the season. Meanwhile, Benjamin can be happy about his Eagles for a bit… but he's still soured by the final quarter of the round. Sections 0:00:00 In...

Leave it to the resident Eagles member to come up with that description for his club. Benjamin will be underwhelmed by the round's final game, but we'll have plenty of fun footy ahead of that with the return to a full slate! Brisbane and Richmond's last two meeting have been phenomenal, and Grand Final rematch part II ought to be better than the first time around in R6. Saturday is headlined by Co...

The bye rounds ended with a bang, with Geelong's inspiring Thursday night comeback and the hype / controversial Pies–Crows rematch on Sunday proving to be highlights. However, the big story of Round 15 has nothing to do with any of those teams. It doesn't even have to do with a club putting up 200! …well, it kinda does — it has to do with the side that conceded 200. Benjamin called that hi...

It's the last of our bye week progress reports! Carlton, GWS, North, Port, Richmond, and the Western Bulldogs are idle this weekend. Between them, we have a number of big headlines, the longest active winning and losing streaks, and plenty of discussion around the middle of the ladder.

The last bye round is here, and Ethan's got his fingers crossed that a returning premiership Cat will bring good results with him. The setting of Friday Night Footy makes it a more intriguing matchup, and while the same can be said about Sunday night, the Pies–Crow game earlier that day will have a tough time living up to their earlier meeting. Plus, our first footy matchup returns, Benjamin l...

Don't let the authorities twist your minds so easily — there is only one McKay, Richmond are in the finals race, and Round 14 was one of the best rounds of the season. The one blowout was an unexpected one, and while there weren't any down-to-the-wire games, enough of them retained live interest until the end. Hear our praises of young Lions and GIANTS, old-guard Tigers, and more in this r...

Adelaide, Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, Melbourne, and West Coast have Round 14 off, so we go into each of their seasons thus far in this progress report. From known top-four threats to risers, to intrigue in the bottom three, these six clubs have each had their share of the spotlight three months into the season — and we're glad to say that we've been right about more things than not a...

For just a six-game slate, Round 14 is heavy on the talking points. Key ins for Geelong spice up the Thursday nighter, and selection quandaries abound for Friday and Saturday. If games are hard to tip as of now, list uncertainty probably has a lot to do with it! How do the Dockers maximize Luke Jackson's potential, especially if an All-Australian defender returns to face them? What ineffective...

Round 13 began with a tough watch on Thursday, but it got much better on Friday and continued strongly until the end. "Olive Garden Saturday" delivered a surprise first course and a ten-goal entree, and it ended out west with some late drama. Sunday and Monday saw statement wins, but each had a distinct character to them — in particular, the Sunday nighter was a thrashing, while the King...

When you're listening, you're family… or something like that. Round 13 should get off to a sizzling start with weekday action, and the high-profile ending ought to deliver. In the middle, though, is where Ethan takes a restaurant metaphor and extends it to never-before-seen levels. Also featured: an incredible venue streak, Eric Andre, and the mighty sun. Sections 0:00:00 Intro 0:03:33 SYD...

The Cats and Suns have byes Round 13, so we take stock of their up-and-down seasons thus far. Then, in the second half of the episode, we share our love for the aesthetics of sport by taking a closer look at this year's Sir Doug Nicholls Round jumpers, where avian designs reign supreme! Sections 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:40 GC 0:10:50 GEE 0:25:49 SDNR Jumper Rankings

Two fewer games, but the same amount of discussion! Round 12 was a slow burner to start, but it took off beginning Saturday night. Ethan's happy for obvious Geelong-related reasons, while Benjamin got to gobble up the Darwin nightcap. Sunday's two games didn't disappoint either, with modern rivalries coming to the forefront and the perceived lesser teams showing well. We also take some...

CCP censors were swift to drop the ax on this round preview. You can still listen most other places, though, so enjoy our lenses into the seven-game slate. Carlton enter Friday Nighty Footy very banged up, while Saturday night likely features the two best matchups of the round at the same time. Watch for tensions as key players face off against their old clubs for the first time both Saturday and...

It's mid-season, it's bye season… it's progress report season! As we did last year, we'll take one episode during each of these bye weeks to give our thoughts on each of the clubs who are resting for the round. This week, those four sides are Brisbane, Fremantle, St Kilda, and Sydney. We break them down in random order, so dive in and see when your club comes up.