Macca

Close to 20-1 for the double Good racing tonight ... the Valley races are always interesting to watch Tend to follow on pace runners as that's often where there is a bit of bias

My best is Friday evening, Gorg Moonee Valley R4 No.5 Larkspur Run (Win) $4.00

Tommy Mac is playing a vital role for the team as well. Forget the stats, Goodwin would just want more of the same Playing in front on nearly every occasion and attracting a 2nd defender and sometimes even a 3rd defender, he's bringing the ball to ground for our small blokes ... so he's doing his job admirably. A lot of bullocking work is often not noticed The rest of it is up to our small forwards. And the marks will eventually fall Tom's way ... perseverance and a strong work ethic is rewarded in time

3 big Group 1's (kicking off Friday night) with the highly competitive Moir Stakes Anamoe & Zaaki look morals in the Golden Rose & Underwood Stakes but upsets can happen ... and $2.50 for the double doesn't appeal (unless used as a banker in a multi)

@Gorgoroth @Dappa Dan @DeeSpencer @JV7 @Dee Zephyr @Go the Biff @titan_uranus @Clintosaurus @DemonDave Leaderboard in the Tipping Comp 2 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, JV7, Dee Zephyr 0 - The Usual Suspects This week & next week we play for 1 point only The Thursday night game is interesting in terms of how good the Panthers might be & whether Houston can be a factor this year. SNF is a goodin' whilst MNF is a classic match up in BigD

Yeah the Packers are up against it this year but we might still win the division unless the Bears & Vikings can get on a roll. 9 & 8 might get it done As you said, the D is a worry. We'll be able to score but the 49ers game could tell the story I certainly won't be including GB as a road winner this week!

There are a few good matchups SNF Packers @ 49ers is a big game

Leaderboard in the Tipping Comp 2 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, JV7, Dee Zephyr 0 - The Usual Suspects

The 2013 off season was another turning point ... we added 3 long term good players in Harmes, Hunt & Salem as well as 2 veteran players in Vince & Cross (who were more than handy) And Tyson was good for 4 years before his best form deserted him Add 3 good players every year and a club will nearly always be in contention

Good call DS Yep Half right picket For the record, Salem picked up 25+ possessions on no fewer than 14 occasions this season. 1 Brownlow vote

Fair enough Col, I now vaguely recall the events of the day but it was the number of players (13 or so) that threw me So 3 or 4 of the high profile players wanting out makes a lot more sense ... of course, a higher number can be a consequence as a result of the misgivings of the 3 or 4 high profile players. Players take sides or become influenced The issue back then was expectations and what the draft could deliver in a more immediate sense Those expectations were more tempered with the arrival of Roos. For instance, we left Salem alone for Roos to do the developing. We trusted Roos as opposed to looking for the player to be some sort of saviour Oliver was the same ... we only realised how good he was until he was good (apart from a few who stuck their neck's out - again, sample size too small)

He also gets it wrong a lot Spargo & Viney have been the targets this year and he's had to concede because both have played so well of late. And it wasn't mild criticism either ... calling for them to be delisted and/or traded out OK, he got Oscar right but PF will admit that he's as hit and miss as the draft turns out to be

Fact is that the numbering system known as the draft is not accurate, never was, never will be. The proof is in all the results That doesn't mean that it's not a very good guide and it also doesn't mean that reasonable accuracy levels can't sometimes be met But the draft isn't foolproof and can't be relied upon the way people think it should be relied upon. It's a wait and see situation Are you sure this happened? Got any documentation or links to back that claim up? I'm happy to concede if you're right ... I just don't remember him saying that and to be honest, he had the axe out as I recall Back on Toumpas ... I went through all the posts and threads on the bloke and not one person here (or elsewhere) was castigating him until way after he'd played a number of games. 2014 was when things warmed up. 1 or 2 might have gone hard early but that's too small a sample size anyway. At best, they're guessing So it's a myth that he was being criticised from the word go By the way, he only played in 4 games under Neeld and 3 of those games were the first 3 games of the 2013 season ... losses of 13 goals (Port) 25 goals (Essendon) and 14 goals (Eagles) Hardly the fault of an 18yo kid At the time I blamed the senior players & Neeld and called for a cleanout at the club And that's what happened

And again, it's not Toumpas' fault He didn't ask to be drafted so high or to be drafted by us. Just a young bloke trying to live out his dream My attitude has always been is that you win some, you lose some The wheel turns eventually, as it has with us We won't be the last club to have close to zero luck with the draft. The thing to remember is that bad luck doesn't last forever Keep battling away, never give up and your luck will turn But top level appointments need to be made ... the AFL installing PJ was the game changer

#freekickbulldogs? Not against Port last week ... at one stage Port led the free kick count 19-8 yet trailed by 10-12 goals I wouldn't be concerned about the umpires and I'm sure Goodwin & his FD aren't concerned either They will, however, be stressing the need to play in front at all times because the numbers say that 7 or 8 of every 10 free kicks will be awarded to the ball player Play the percentages with skill and you win In the 2 finals, we've played in front with an almost manic desire and we've been rewarded We've been switched on from the word go