Wilkommen bei den Schatten » team that last seas

After 23 rounds of footy -- and a controversial pre-finals bye -- what are the key issues facing the AFL ahead of this years finals series?1. Have Hawthorn been foxing?Its possible, actually. In 2014 and 2015, when the Hawks won the second and third of their hat-trick of flags, they did not finish on top of the ladder, running second in 2014 and third last year.There is a lot of the 2001-2003 Brisbane Lions about the way they have done it, rolling along and making sure that they are top four, and then launching to a new level in September. Most importantly, they know how to get it done at crunch time.On the best guide to how you are playing footy, they are a poorly sixth in scoring and seventh in defence this year - well off the pace.But there is no epidemic of injuries, albeit Jarryd Roughead is a big loss. And we all know that with a bit of history on the line in matching Collingwoods remarkable four flags on end from 1927-1930, they have the motivation.2. Who is the most important single player this week?This comes from left-field, but Phil Davis, co-captain of Greater Western Sydney, has claims to be the man. That is because he will have the job of playing on Lance Franklin in the qualifying final against Sydney on Saturday, and the result of their individual duel could be a tipping point.The Swans great strength is in the midfield; it is the start of their method. But Franklin does the finishing. He loves big games, and he is in form.Davis is a fine player, and he has played well on Franklin before. As match-ups go, Leon Cameron will be happy with it. But an on-song Franklin can help win the match and set up a flag for the Swans, and everyone knows it, not least Davis. He might sleep restlessly on Friday.3. Can a flag be won from fifth position?If anyone can, Adelaide can. The Crows won 16 games in the regular season, enough to go top-four in any other year.First-year coach Don Pyke introduced a devil-may-care game plan which amounts to running at the forward presses that are so popular nowadays, and scything through so Adelaide kicks more easy, over-the-back goals than anyone, jogging into the goalsquare.It is brave coaching and it has shown others the way forward. Adelaide is by far the No. 1 scoring team in the competition, averaging close to 17 goals with their bunch of options headed by Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins and Co. So to beat the Crows, the opposition know they need to score quite heavily.Its a hard road for Pykes team. A win over North Melbourne on Saturday night means the Crows confront GWS or Sydney then Geelong or Hawthorn, all on the road. But dont forget, this is a very good footy team, better than we would usually expect of a side finishing fifth.4. Why are we playing on Thursday night?Outside of the broadcasters, it is hard to see who wins out of the first Thursday night final between West Coast and the Bulldogs in Perth. Aside from anything else it leaves this Sunday wide open, which does not make sense.The AFL can bin this idea along with last weekends nonsensical pre-finals bye that was so unpopular.5. Why do the same teams always end up on top?Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney have won nine of the past 11 premierships and all three have a chance again. It makes a nonsense of the idea, popular five years ago, of having to bottom out for draft picks. It also calls into question the idea, much-trumpeted, of a premiership window.Ultimately they are just great clubs who do it better by nurturing their own. Draft selection order is the most overhyped idea in footy and, in terms of importance, runs a distant second to development, teaching and leadership of the players you actually get into your club, and to astute, sensible trading to find readymade players for specific jobs.Those are by far the most important ways of rising up the ladder. All three of those clubs have worked this out on their own. Vapormax 97 Canada .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Nike Air Max 1 Just Do It Canada .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/nike-just-do-it-shoes-canada/air-max-plus.html . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Vapormax Clearance Sale . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Vapormax Run Utility Canada . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois team that takes the court in early November will look a lot different than the one that limped to a 15-19 record last season.Illini fans accustomed to no real point guard and few options at center will see a change at both positions, thanks in part to the return of sixth-year guard Tracy Abrams and center Mike Thorne Jr.In fact, assuming nothing changes by the Nov. 11 opener against Southeast Missouri, Illinois will have every player on its roster healthy for the first time in two years.None is more welcome than Abrams.The 6-2 point guard from Chicago turned 24 in February, is closing in on his third degree and believes he can be both the leader his team needs and a contributor at a position where last season Illinois sometimes lacked even one legitimate option.Abrams says now he never doubted he would make it back, and does not want to talk about what happened last season, including the arrests of teammates Leron Black, Jaylon Tate and Kendrick Nunn. Charges against Tate were dropped while Black pleaded guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault and Nunn to misdemeanor domestic battery. Nunn was kicked off the team while Black and Tate are back.Thats important because we cant go back into time and try to change those things, he said. Its a different team. Its a different year.Beyond what Abrams can do at point guard, Illini coach John Groce sees him as a steadying presence.Where hes come from ... hes like having an old man out there, Groce said.Some of the key things to look for as Illinois starts its season:AT THE POINTIn his junior season, Abrams started all 35 games and scored 10.7 points a game and averaged 3.2 assists . Illinois will also have Tate, a senior who started 15 times last season but isnt a scorer, and freshman TeJon Lucas, who scored 20.5 points a game and averaged 7.dddddddddddd8 assists as a high school senior in Milwaukee.BIG MENThornes return from a knee injury that cost him most of last season gives Illinois two legitimate centers, along with improving senior Maverick Morgan . Groce is counting on both for a team that last season lived on outside shooting and was near the back of the Big Ten in rebounding. Illinois will also hope the 6-7, 220-pound Black can contribute here, too.We better see a difference rebounding, Groce said. We should be a little more potent inside scoring.HILLS FINALEHaving those big men will also let Malcolm Hill spend more time on the wing his senior season. The 6-6 Hill led Illinois last season with 18.1 points a game, but he played everything from point guard to post. Hill insists that wasnt a problem.I was doing a lot, but not too much for me to handle, he said.TOURNEY TALKWhile his players mostly stick to a dont look too far ahead line when asked about the possibility of a return to the NCAA Tournament after three straight seasons away, Groce isnt shy about calling a trip back a goal.We want it to be an expectation, that thats what we do every year, he said.BOTTOM LINEGroce may need his team to get back to the tournament.After last season, he found himself sitting at a news conference listening to his new boss, athletic director Josh Whitman, tell reporters that the coach would keep his job in spite of the series of arrests. But Whitman has made a lot of the slogan We will win since he took over at his alma mater in February, and Groce, in his fifth season, has just the one trip to the NCAA Tournament so far.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP ' ' '