Redemption is the new buzzword in the AFL. Collingwood found it. Western Bulldogs found it. And so did Essendon. Which team will be next? We explore this fascinating new concept, while reviewing Round 4, which proves we can kick and handball at the same time. The AFL Grand Final will be played at the MCG until 2057: cue the complaints from interstate teams for the next forty years. Bigotry seems to be acceptable in Rugby Union. Would it be OK in the AFL? Not a chance. We explore Israel Folau’s comments that 'gays will go to hell', and maybe he and Rugby Union should make the trip down there and repent. Is Carlton coach Brendan Bolton under the pump? We think he should be. Anzac Day is coming up and we preview the Collingwood and Essendon clash, the Adelaide and Sydney clash, the Q-clash, and follow up with a former Clasher, Joe Strummer, teaming up with Johnny Cash for our song of the week: Redemption Song.

AFL Protected Zone

Redemption Is The New Black White Blue And Red In The AFL. #35

We've waited a long time for this, but we finally have a Man Bites Dog story for the AFL: An Essendon player bit a Western Bulldogs player. An act of love, frustration or just plain old hunger on the field? We explore. We review another excellent Round 3, and look at all the big issues of the day: Deliberate out of bounds; umpire reviews; and how do players miss a goal from the goal square? It's unacceptable at the professional AFL level, so why do they do it? What's happening at St Kilda? And Essendon? We also preview the big matches from Round 4, and provide our Song Of The Week: Marianne Faithfull with Why D'ya Do It?

Man Bites Dog In The AFL. #34

Remember the AFL power forwards of the 1980s and 1990s? Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ablett, Peter Sumich. Those were the days. But are these days coming back? We think the forward gorilla is returning and we explore why this is happening. How can we avoid serious injuries to players? Something needs to be done. What's happening at the Western Bulldogs kennel? Not. Happy. Luke. We review Round 2 and decide that this 2018 season is going to be even better than 2017, which was (except for the finals) one of the best. We also preview Round 3 and all the big things that you can expect to see. It will be one of the best. Predicted. Guaranteed. And our song of the week, Power to The People.

The Return Of The AFL Power Forwards. #33

It's hard to believe that the 2018 AFL season is about to start and what a time to get back to warm beers and cold pies at the football. An action-packed episode where we announce who will win the 2018 AFL Premiership – sure, it's a bit too early but we'd rather be the quick than the dead. We preview the first round of this new season and give our big tips, and our forecast for the AFLW Grand Final between Western Bulldogs and Brisbane. Will it be the year of the Dogs once or twice? Fresh from the cultural vandalism perpetrated by the AFL in re-recording all the team songs, we dig deep into the archive for our song of the week, an AFL rap song from 1988.

The AFL Season Opener And A Brand New Era. #31

It's 2018 and the AFL year has started with a big bang! We assess the merits of AFLX, AFLW and AFL: who has moved, new coaches, who will drop out and who will step up in 2018. We look at lo-brow, high-brow and every brow in between. And a surge towards out song of the week, Who's In and Who's Out.

The AFL 2018 Season: Who's In And Who's Out. #30

There's nothing more to say except... it's Tigertime in the AFL! Richmond are the 2017 Premiers and we dissect each quarter of the AFL Grand Final, the national anthem and where Adelaide lost the game. We think they put too much emphasis on their stare-down and not enough in the big show-down. And we celebrate Dusty’s best year ever, with a different type of Dusty.

AFL Tigertime And The Vanquished Crows. #29

The magic moment we've all been waiting for: The 2017 AFL Grand Final. But first, we review the Preliminary Finals, assess the Trent Cotchin bump on Dylan Shiel, the clash of the clash jumpers and the Brownlow Martin. Who will win the last day in September? Richelaide or Ademond? It will be a winner for the romantics, but it's not quite Tigertime and the Adelaide Crows will be the 2017 Premiers. But what would we know, we've only correctly tipped three from eight finals games so far. We'll know at 5.10pm on Saturday whether we are right or not.

AFL Grand Final A Tale For The Romantics. #28

The finals series has not been up to standard and we launch a scathing attack on the most one-side finals series ever. What can the AFL do? Begrudgingly, we review the second week of the finals and offer some suggestions for how to improve the cause. At 7.49 on Friday night, Sydney were premiership favourites, Geelong also rans. But at 10.30, Sydney were thrown out of the finals and everyone is saying they're a team with huge problems. Is a week in football too long for the human memory? We also preview the big Preliminary Finals: Adelaide v Geelong, Richmond v Greater Western Sydney. And our techno song of the week… you've got to use or lose it.

Finals Blowouts And Boredom At The AFL. #27

The AFL Protected Zone is presented weekly by Eddy Jay and Lintang Enam and we explore everything and the universe about the great game of AFL (that's the Australian Football League, the game that's played in heaven and hell, and everywhere inbetween).A sub-cultural and different view on the very serious sport of Australian Rules football. Sociology, politics, hair styles, culture, music, colours, design. And, of course, football.

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