Mazer Rackham

I don't have time to de-garble this. Do the maths yourself and see.

If North lose by a point their percentage barely moves at all.

No, it's about percentage. North currently on 107.6. To match that we would need right now 50 more points in our "for" column. To get to 107.6 tomorrow we need this kind of outcome: If Carlton score 60 points we need to score 115. If Carlton score 80 points we need to score 136. If Carlton score 100 points we need to score 158. If Carlton score 120 we need to get ready for Mad Monday.

Yes. If we beat Geelong in a close one our percentage could go DOWN. Need to take our chance tomorrow and give CFC an absolute belting.

Just happy with the 4 points.

This is reading like a MFC game day thread! North are going to win, I can feel it in my bones! Oh, why do Sydney always lose these ones! Good entertainment.

Oh no ... please tell me Serbia don't play Aussie Rules!

In olden times it used to happen quite often. It's like hearing an old song you haven't heard for decades ... "oh yes ... I remember how this one goes!"

Only thing I can recall is where was running into an open goal and missed it. Maybe that was selfish coz he could have offloaded it? But if he'd kicked it, all would be forgiven. I reckon it's got nothing to do with selfish acts, etc, and more to do with Pedo not being the future. The coaches want to find out more about what is our best lineup and they're not going to be distracted by the sudden possibility of making the 8. They've done it all year and it's working. Weed's first game against the reigned champs on top of the ladder! Why change now and retreat into our shells? If they'd stuck to a rigid idea of our "best 22" all year we'd still be playing Dunn and Garland and wouldn't have uncovered Hunt OMac or Frost.

Fair enough but it's impossible to get excited by competitive walking. On the slo mo replays it is obvious they are all lifting both feet. Some egregiously, some subtly, but they all do it. It doesn't have a decent rationale for existing (competitive walking??? what next, competitive yoga?), and no one follows the supposed rules anyway. It should go into the basket of fake sports such as trampolining, anything where you need to wear makeup, and synchronised everything.

They make a tidy packet each game and with the government funded upgrade they will get to make even more. It's a deal Etihad tenants must weep about.

In spite of the prize on offer, the selectors have stuck to their guns and have done what they have done all season. Give blokes a go to see what they've got. We've had some very nice surprises. Who would have predicted Hunt, Frost, OMac as mainstays in defence? Also to see who's worth persisting with. Or not. Also this round to see what a Hogan/Weed forward setup looks like. (Pretty good is my guess.)

"Who's first pick in your beach volleyball team?"

All right, I can't resist. Talking the roughest figures here. Let's say we have a 2/3 chance to beat Carlton. And a 1/3 chance to beat Geel. Sydney a 2/3 chance to beat North and GWS 50/50. Then it's 4/54 chance or 7.5% If you want to give GWS a 2/3 chance to win then it's 8/81 or 10% Slim all the way round but you've got to be in it to win it. Someone wins Tattslotto nearly every week. (I should find that person and copy their numbers.) Just for comparison, 4 heads in a row in a coin toss is 6%

We got him for his dash, which he showed plenty of at CFC. At MFC, mostly he's used that to dash into packs of oppo players. Even his good games, he has looked decidedly shaky.

Not quite ... they could make him goalie in the social club soccer team ... he'd be impassable.

There was bloke in the off season who moved to Richmond and rumours were going around that he wouldn't play a game for them. That he would strike trouble of various kinds ... such as mysterious illnesses. Sure enough he got a foot injury preseason and was out for weeks. Then he unfortunately got "family issues" and they put him out to pasture for the season. To make sure he got himself totally right. Wonder if our Harry might have struck a similar spot of bother.

Of course. But from another club's point of view, do you want your finals campaign derailed by a pretender on a momentum bender who have worked up a full head of steam and spend the lot beating you (and who are then unceremoniously bundled out the next week)? You want to play North who are wounded and bleeding and build up your own finals momentum.

Mafia mobs and bikie gangs don't merge. They work out lines of demarcation. The only thing the IOC and FIFA have to offer each other are tips on various scams the other might not have thought of yet.

I did. I checked out the North area of bigfooty. They don't seem to have a dedicated fan site eg 'Land, Nicks, Punt Road End, Blue View etc. Bigfooty is all they've got! Their main concern at the mo seems to be what the media think of them. Digs at their old list ("but what about all our under 23s!"), media have it in for them (but doesn't every club think that?). Claims and counter claims about deserving/not deserving to make finals. [Side note: who cares? It's not like the AFL is a scrupulously disinterested competition with every semblance of unfairness ironed out. It's a rigged draw, chooklotto tribunal, nodding to TV, etc. You're either playing well enough within the constraints of the above, plus a bit of lady luck, to make the finals, or not. "Deserve" doesn't really come into it. It's like arguing whether masterchef competitors "deserve" to be in the top 10. They've worked the game show well enough to be in the top 10. No "deserve".] As to the mighty MFC, they are rightly more concerned about themselves than us. But do worry about this round in particular because of percentage. If ever there was going to be a closing of the gap it will be with us playing CFC and them playing SFC esp with Buddy in crazy good form. Then it's really game on. But twangs of nervousness do sound out. One of them thought it good that GFC play us in the arvo, as if they win, that turns the NMFC night game into a "dead rubber". You'd hope the NMFC players don't think like that!

Exactly! First week, destroy Carlton for a percentage boost. Second week, put Geelong to the sword on their own turf. Question is, who do we bring in for WCE in Perth? It's a big ground.

Ready or not it will be a good thing for the boys to play finals. Even if it's a tidy beating with our finals campaign over by half time in the elim. It gives them a taste of what they're fighting for. Better preparation for next year.

Have you considered that Hibberd might just be a good bloke and that he's been fitted up on absolutely no evidence by a foreign court that doesn't understand AFL? Those boys have done nothing wrong and look at how much they've suffered already and it will be a celebration of something or other when they return to the game. Welcome to the future.

How romantic! I bet your missus is always coming up with excuses to go to the footy after that.

Hey, I lost 3 x $100 near a primary school. Tell me the name of the school and I'll confirm if it's right.