Macca

Most Runs Sheffield Shield 2024/2025

Lost your sense of humour? In the same post I joked about bringing back Zantuck & Grinter (which you edited out))

Spurs beat Man CIty 4-nil at Man City!! Opens the door for Liverpool to now skip ahead in the race for the title But the result was a shock both ways - A huge away win for Spurs and a shocking loss for City

Looks like India are the new/old West Indies. A production line of quality batsmen, World class spin bowlers & dynamic fast bowlers Missing from this Test are Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gil, Jadeja, Ashwin & Mohammed Shami with probably another 40 or 50 high standard cricketers that could play test cricket at a high level Identifying and harnessing talent was always a problem for India, but not any more Oddly enough, the IPL has opened up the pathways for young Indian cricketers. Their batsmen are playing in front of huge crowds against premier bowling - in every match So they'll win this test and unless we can miraculously bounce back and win in Adelaide, the Border/Gavaskar trophy will remain with India i.e. If there is a result in every Test, (win or loss) the Aussies would need to win 3 of the remaining 4 tests to wrest back the trophy Right now, that's a huge ask even though I can still see the Aussies winning a Test or 2 We've been thoroughly outplayed in this Test

Gotta love a snow game! The game could have gone either way and all things considered, the standard was quite good Highlights Pittsburgh @ Cleveland

And now the bowlers are copping a mauling

The most surprised might be Aidan himself. Probably sitting at home and may have even tuned out to the draft Nek minnit Bring him in for the 2 Pies games! The goon squad consisting of Aidan, Teddy Fidge, Mick Reynolds, Zantuck, Hughes & Grinter. And Henry Coles!

Very neat player with excellent kicking skills (a bit like Craig McRae) Gets to contest after contest which makes him a bit of a ball-magnet. Looks an ideal link player from HB to HF I'd expect Lindsay to get some games early and then it's a wait and see. He'll be a player, sooner or later. Like his fellow draftee, Langford, he looks like he's got a head for football Interesting that both he and Clayton Oliver both won the Morrish Medal

Plug-in-and-play is this bloke. Looks ready to go Got a bit of toughness about him with a Steely resolve (Luke Hodge like) Excellent left foot kick and can take a mark (in front and up forward) And he's elusive with the ability to side step opponents. 2 or 3 quick steps then steadies before delivering up field Langford will be a real asset

Mission accomplished in terms of getting hold of 2 x Top 10 picks and then using both picks on Mid/Fwd/Utility/HB/Link players It's impossible to form a definitive view after perusing the highlight packages but both players look hungry for the contest and get to a lot of contests with both being left-footers with very efficient disposal skills Traits that JT looks for It should be remembered that Jason Taylor's track record is excellent when it comes to these types of players so in terms of trust, I'm all in Landing pick #9 was a master-stroke in negotiating and all up, we have drafted 4 × first rounders over the last 2 off-seasons not long after winning a premiership All 4 can play around the midfield with HB, HF & Wing being covered by the 4 as well. All 4 look like versatile players It's a very nice package ... well played the Demons Recruiting Team

We gazumped them for Oliver all those years ago and then prized pick 9 out of them even though they never needed to trade pick 9 Good luck with pick 18 next year, Bombers!

It goes the other way as well Rivers, Gawn & Fritsch in the 30's. McVee a rookie draft pick. T-Mac & ANB in the 50's If the good outweighs the bad by a decent amount, it's an overall win

There's always going to be an underperformer or 2. Or perhaps 4 or 5 on a list. 12-15 years ago we had 20+ underperformers The key is that the best players need to be on song as they can't be replaced easily Best 16 need to be very good (or better) and then the others fill the gaps as role players or decent depth So in taking a glance at the lists of any premiership team, those teams will still have a number of underperformers (who don't play) I'm not concerned about McAdam as he is really only a depth player ... but the health and form of Oliver, Petracca, Fritsch, May, Lever etc could be a concern unless they all get back to their best In other words, if all our very good players are at their best along with our youngsters being developed well, we'll be fine

And now their GM has been sacked! What a mess

Left out Fritsch who can be, and has been a standout player with a well structured forward line. And the service to the forward line is all-important of course

Power Rankings Week 12 Highlights Chiefs @ Bills Highlights Ravens @ Steelers

Lions, Vikes, Chiefs

Things are tightening up in the tipping comp. Moves aplenty and many are within striking distance of the lead *Subject to a proof read* Leaderboard (This Week's Awarded Points in Brackets) 23 - Go the Biff (3), Dr.Gonzo (1) 22 - layzie (3) 21 - Clintosaurus (0) 20 - DemonDave (1), JV7 (3) 19 - titan_uranus (3), Gorgoroth (3) 17 - BDA (1), DeeSpencer (3) 14 - ElDiablo14 (3), Macca 14 (0) 9 - Dee Zephyr (0) p.s. This year's points tally looks more like a Brownlow Tally! 3 Votes ... P Cripps

@DeeSpencer @Clintosaurus @titan_uranus @ElDiablo14 @Gorgoroth @Go the Biff @Dee Zephyr @DemonDave @Dr. Gonzo @JV7 @BDA @Dappa Dan @layzie Leaderboard Tipping Comp to follow in the next post In the meantime ... n.b. The games listed for next week are correct but they've got the month wrong! (Should be Nov not Dec)

There's always free agency as well and sooner or later more free agents will become available year to year. The key is to get in the ears of the free agents early (as what happens in overseas sports where free agency is a factor) Also, we can replenish draft picks for any of our players who want out for better opportunities elsewhere. Successful teams often have that luxury So, with the right planning and good recruiting, it's entirely possible to keep adding real talent to the list ... every season I've always held the belief that a club needs about 16 very good players to contend. A team can win big with 12-14 but 16 is the magic number for my liking So right now, if the list were all fit, at their best and raring to go, I reckon we sit at about 13 May, Lever, Gawn, Windsor, Rivers, Petracca, Kozzie, JVR, Oliver, Viney, Langdon, Salem & Petty (13) Tholstrup, Pick #5 & Pick #9 gets us up to 16 And then there's role players such as Melk, T-Mac, Bowey, McVee, Chandler, Turner, etc etc Add 2-3 very good players every year and you stay in the hunt Everything else is dependant on the talent levels contained in the list, coaching included, IMV

Under JT, we've had a history of working our way up the draft to seemingly snag certain players (Jackson, Oliver, Kozzie?, Tholstrup etc) And the point of difference pick in this year's draft ... Tauru But do we pass over a highly regarded mid at pick #5 for Tauru? Maybe, maybe not! Or perhaps zeroing in on acquiring Pick #9 was for a specific reason with a specific player involved With all the talk, I can't see Tauru slipping to pick 9 but the other clubs could well be faced with passing on a decent mid in order to acquire Tauru. Except, Tauru could end up at Richmond or St Kilda as both those clubs have 2 picks before our 2nd pick. But again, there will still be a few decent mids available from pick 6 onwards There's a whole host of fascinating outcomes but Langford seems to be the favoured pick for us at #5 So, we could lock Langford away at pick #5 and then it's fingers crossed for our 2nd pick?

So if Tauru is rated by most of the clubs as the Unicorn, there's a good chance he'll be drafted before our first pick (#5) Of course, the clubs can still swap/trade picks on draft day so Tauru could end up at a host of different clubs A tall, talented, athletic & versatile player who can play back, forward or maybe even in the middle would appeal to any club He was originally linked to North as they seem to have a number of developing mids. And they've got pick #2

49ers should have put that game away but Geno Smith gets it done with that final run To make the playoffs, any of the 4 NFC West teams is probably going to have to win that division ... a wild-card spot is a stretch

Must have a look at Ted Lasso! *Spoiler Alert* As for the The Penguin, the logo in the sky at the end was just brilliant So there will be more, but what that more is and how long away the spin-off might be, is anyone's guess And how good was Cristin Milioti as Sofia! Played her part to perfection She didn't quite steal the show as Colin Farrell was just mesmerising as the Penguin I'm giving it 4.5 Stars

Yes, it's one thing having our own opinions but the MC & JT may well be happy with a mid and a position player with the 2 picks In the 12 years with us, Taylor's track record is fantastic with draftees, so if there is a left-field pick, I'm quite happy to back JT in But if it is 2 mids, we will need Turner and/or Jefferson to come on. Injury-free, Petty is an excellent target and JVR should keep getting better