AFL

Bombers will return to Wangaratta

Rohan Connolly It will be take two for Essendon when the Bombers play Richmond in the second round of next year’s NAB Cup in Wangaratta in early March.

Balance of trade

Rohan Connolly Players have moved from club to club for as long as football has been played.

Congestion's simple solution

Rohan Connolly The last time ''congestion'' was this big a football buzzword was just on 40 years ago.

Comments 56

Sydney's triumph a classic among classics

Rohan Connolly We've certainly been spoilt for grand final thrillers over the past decade or so.

The Connolly Report

Hawks search for answers

Rohan Connolly You can analyse, theorise and pore over all the science you like in football, but sometimes the explanations are nothing more complex than some missed chances.

Hawks' window still open, Swans true heavyweights

Rohan Connolly Rohan Connolly wraps up the final weekend of the AFL season for 2012.

AFL

Gutsiest win was a true epic

Rohan Connolly Has there been a better grand final? Arguably not. Has there been a gutsier win than Sydney's 10-point triumph over a warm favourite? While we're still smitten in the afterglow of an absolute epic,...

Comments 154

Rohan Connolly

From little things, big things grow

Rohan Connolly Since the early 1960s, Hawthorn have gone from a laughing stock to a powerhouse.

AFL

A team to stake your life on

Rohan Connolly Choosing a team of top grand final performers since 1989 is no easy task.

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Live blog: Time for the big one

Rohan Connolly There were echoes of Geelong's massive preliminary final fright against Collingwood five years ago in Hawthorn's near disaster against a gallant Adelaide at the same stage of the season on Saturday...

Comments 43

Rohan Connolly

The scare Hawks had to have

Rohan Connolly Hawthorn has the fundamentals in place to win the flag.

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Don't sell this heavyweight short

Rohan Connolly When Sydney steps on to the grand final stage on Saturday, it still won't be seen as anything like an AFL heavyweight. But perhaps now it should.

Comments 3

Football

Time to collide

Rohan Connolly While it won't be a blowout, Hawthorn's superior skills and potent attack should deliver the flag.

Hawks find salvation in deadly duo

Rohan Connolly Deja vu can never have felt as chilling for any Hawthorn supporter than during the final quarter last night. It was happening again.

Rohan Connolly

Can Crows defy odds?

Rohan Connolly Whatever happens in today's Hawthorn-Adelaide preliminary final, it's a game that has already created history of sorts.

Live blog: Preliminary discussions

Rohan Connolly Two weekends ago, some long-standing finals football maxims looked set to be seriously challenged. They weren't.

Comments 54

Sorry Jack, but three aces trumped you

Rohan Connolly It goes without saying that you can't please everyone when picking an All-Australian team, but generally you'll find reasonable consensus about at least 75 per cent of those selected.

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It's club rivalry that really matters

Rohan Connolly Two preliminary finals pitting a Victorian team against a side from over the border. Even a few years ago, that might have had the locals manning the barricades.

Rohan Connolly

Rest key to Sydney's hopes

Rohan Connolly The Swans could be buoyed by preliminary finals history.