Macca

That Stones doco is outstanding Final installment next Wednesday (Ch9 Oct 5th)

There's zero stress involved as far as I'm concerned. If Kossie wants to go then I'm not sure I'd want to keep him anyway So you do the best deal possible in that scenario. Don't really have favourites unless that player is pure A grade. The rest are tradeable Right now I'd rate Kossie as a notch lower to the best. He has the potential to be an A grader but he might not get to A grade status. That's all up to Kossie

I don't take any notice of trade radio and I wouldn't even know where to find it However, my opinion on a talented uncontracted player or a talented player nearing the end of a contract remains constant. Secure the player or you may lose the player Even Gysberts, Martin & Morton were traded whilst contracted and none of those 3 are in the same conversation as Kossie. Most here were happy to see all 3 players leave Mind you, pick 88 hardly qualifies as a 'trade'!

As much as I'm somewhat confident that Kossie will re-sign, I'm a bit concerned that we haven't secured him past the 2023 season So it's the optimist vs the pessimist in me that arrives as the realist Boring hey?

But a club does have more bargaining power with regards to a trade with a full year on a contract as opposed to a contract that is finished The Luke Jackson example for instance ... many here are saying that we might have to accept unders as we don't necessarily hold a strong hand That may or may not be true However, I'm reckoning that Kossie will re-sign an extended contract. If that doesn't happen, the speculation will heighten So there's a few different outcomes (more than 1 club might want him) and none of those possibilities can be ruled out Have Port said they are not interested? Why the hell not? The bloke can play and who wouldn't want him? Many here have stated that we can't afford to lose Kossie ... so it could be assumed that he is valued highly Do you reckon we've offered Kossie an extention? If not, why not? I understand that we've been busy securing other players but we can do more than 1 deal at the same time

With only 1 year left on his contract the offers for Kossie (via his manager) would be there. Stands to reason. And it might be more than 1 offer That doesn't mean that Kossie has any inclination to leave but the reality is that he only has 1 year left on his contract so the vultures will circle I'd be surprised if the our club hasn't at least offered a 1 or 2 year extension as he is obviously a required player. We're not talking about a fringe player All clubs are always on the lookout for available talent. For instance, we made a play for Cerra but by all reports, we didn't have the trade value to acquire the player And what did Paul Roos say about about a required player only having 1 year left on a contract?

lol 7 road winners too and very nearly another 6 away victories! Go figure Haven't seen any games or highlights yet due to work commitments How on Earth did the Packers win? I didn't have us even getting close

@DeeSpencer@titan_uranus Don't forget your tips Bills, Bengals, Chiefs

It's a good point you make We have to go back to the Smith days to see how we influenced how other teams played during and after that great era The late John Kennedy sr is on record in saying that Hawthorn based their way of playing and recruiting on the great Melbourne team of the 50's (all about the team, great teamwork etc etc) So in turn, aspiring to be better than Geelong after their win yesterday is related to the standards that we have set for ourselves. A reinforcement as such Back in July a Geelong mate of mine mentioned that Chris Scott made big changes to their style of play after the PF loss last season ... finished off with "Thanks!" Again, that was back in July

Geelong have had any number of years much like the year we had this year (a terrific H & A record and then fall short at the pointy end of the season) But I'd like to think that our strike rate will be better than Geelong's if we can get into contention as much as what they have done in their last 10 years or so And there's no reason why we can't get into contention consistently Keep improving the list, get our fitness right, get our game plan back on track and we can win big again I'm quite confident those outcomes will happen. We've got the right managers in place and we've got plenty of talent But nothing happens automatically, success requires a lot of hard work and a good dose of luck Our biggest areas to improve on is our ability to run out games and our forward line functionality (method & talent) Total defence all over the ground was fantastic in 2021 but not very good in 2022 (I believe our pressure rating went from 1st to 17th in one season) So there's a bit to work on In my view we looked battle weary from earlier in the season. Even in that 10 match winning streak we decided to lock down the last quarter's in nearly all those wins (played the boundary line, didn't play on, didn't use the corridor, worked for stoppages to waste time) Specifically in those last quarter's after we'd set up the wins And if you're trying to save your legs early, there might be trouble ahead (and that's how it panned out) Yet we still won 16 games despite having a few issues. Absolute talent can take you a long way *The above are observations based on hindsight. For the most part, a huge percentage of us (85% plus?) still believed we could win big this season right up until the point when we were knocked out of contention And there were still any number of people who had question marks attached to Geelong right up until their PF win (they just got over the line against the Pies in a QF)

Oh yeah, great film. Top 10 all time For some add-ons ... google 'Harry Lime audio plays' Orson Welles starred in about 70 half hour audio plays based on his Harry Lime character ... available at archive.org They're all very good Anyway, back to Grundy ... Could it be that the end of Max (as Max the main man) is not that far off? And we need a ready made replacement sooner rather than later? He's taken a lot of punishment in the last 5 years and is a bit banged up right now. So no time for another understudy The time is now

Or a Harry Lime scheme in post war Vienna!

Cats have set the standard. Our best from last year would have provided a fierce contest today. But not this year, in the end we weren't good enough to make a PF But we've got to get back to our best to challenge. Or more importantly, achieve a new best. Reinvent As for the Cats and the other decent teams, it could be assumed that they are looking to improve on their best So we have to catch up, then catch up again and then exceed to succeed. Good luck Demons As Selwood said today, GF's are hard to win and he had to wait 15 years in a side that has been very competitive (throughout that hiatus) So it's hard work and you need luck with injuries along with loads of talent (and top level coaching)

Last year we looked really fit and were playing out games full of running. The phrase often used - 'Running on top of the ground' Eapecially in the last 2 games of our year (PF & GF) That was Geelong this year. Today (collectively) they were a metre in front of the Swans all day. And then they outran them constantly Us this year? We looked tired and listless before and after the North game. Full of running we could have beaten North by 20+ goals in that game. We had 74 inside 50 entries that day but couldn't finish. We had the skill & ability but not the legs No legs means 2nd & 3rd efforts dissipate, running hard to position disappears, all over the ground pressure is at a minimum, tackling intent and sticking tackles subsides etc etc So against the best teams, the game plan gets broken down The reasoning (why's & wherefore's) for that has been much debated here however, what our eyes told us is that we often looked and played as if tired (especially in the last quarters of many of the games) Even in the 10 game winning streak in the first half of the season So get the freshness back in the legs and we'll challenge again. We've got loads of talent (which we'll add to) but talent alone isn't enough (as we found out) You've got to have the legs

And that's how it's turned out by the looks of it I'm assuming there's a decent rivalry but have they clashed in big finals before?

Yes, excellent game Penrith could have scored another 12 or so but it's level

That's a great win by the Eels Fabulous game too!

Cowboys/Eels tonight & Panthers/Rabbitohs tomorrow night Couple of classic prelims coming up Would like to see an Eels/Bunnies GF but hopefully we get 2 close PF's

Not sure how the preseason draft works these days but can't he price himself quite high? Say $1.5Million? For one year only? Surely North can't just grab him and then pay him peanuts. And for how long? Or does the AFL have a say? But a deal will be done before it gets to that scenario and it will almost certainly be with Freo. I'm still of the opinion that a very big offer came early (the money) so all the rest of it is working out what he's worth in a trade Others may be convinced that it's all about the go-home factor but I'm reckoning that's the secondary reason Buddy, Ablett & Scully all went for money. Dusty held out and as soon as North offered the big money, the Tigers came to the party with the fat contract. Martin then signed on the dotted line and the rest is history

@Dee Zephyr @Wadda We Sing @JV7 @Gorgoroth 3 big Group 1 races this week at different courses on 3 different days! Good luck to you blokes if you're having a few bets Moir Stakes (Friday) Racenet Form Golden Rose (Saturday) Racenet Form Underwood Stakes (Sunday) Racenet Form

@Gorgoroth@layzie@Dee Zephyr@Go the Biff@Clintosaurus @JV7@DeeSpencer@Dappa Dan@titan_uranus@DemonDave @BDA Some good games this week - especially the evening matches & the late Sunday games Tipping a bit easier this week but be aware of a trap game or 2 2 points up for grabs this week plus a bonus point on offer if you go it alone

Bucs win well at the Saints (held them to 10 points) ... Tampa look the team to beat in the NFC Jags shut out the Colts! Clint can tell us what happened as I've only seen brief highlights Rams win against a fast finishing Atlanta Former Ram, Jared Goff threw 4 TD's to get Detroit up over the Washington Commanders! 49ers get it done against the Seahawks. The NFC West could be a 3 horse race although the Rams still favs Bills look the team to beat in the AFC although KC will be thereabouts Giants win again but the Eagles loom large in the NFC East. Dallas win an important game with the QB (Cooper Rush) having a big game. Cowboys aren't out of it Miami win a barnburner at the Ravens. Dolphins are 2 & 0 and only 6 of the 32 teams are undefeated after week 2 As for the tipping comp ... we are all still in the barriers!!

Bills smash the Titans and the Eagles dominate the Vikings (Where's Dappa?) Packers win but we've got holes to fill. Jones was good but he needs to shine against a team like Tampa (good luck!) Dillon ok as well so the running game looks better a year on Run defence still wobbly (allowed 180 yards) Pass defence better but we're at the Bucs next Sunday (late game) Brady vs Rodgers Don't know what to make of the Bears. Their D just allowed too many yards but the passing game wasn't there. Still, Fields can get better with more games under his belt

The medal has very rarely been awarded to a key forward or a key back Templeton, Quinlan, Collis, Howell, Glendinning & Lockett the only ones in the last 60+ years. And not one representative from those ranks in the last 35 years But key forwards and key backs are often the most important players. Steven May is arguably our most important player but zero votes in the Brownlow this year It's time they changed the voting system & criteria. Backmen & forwards need to have a chance of winning the award. Not zero chance B & F's often go the same way. In a poor team the best finish for Gary Hardeman was 3rd. Not just a top player, Hardeman was pure A grade in my view With the coaches votes, backmen & forwards are often overlooked too. So it's not an umpire issue. They manage to sort out who the best midfielder is much like most of the awards do We had forwards regularly kick over 100 goals (57 times) a season for a good amount of time (40 years or so) but Lockett is the only FF to win a Brownlow (Templeton & Quinlan won their Brownlow's playing at CHF) How did Bob Pratt not win the Brownlow when he kicked 150 goals in an 18 game season back in 1934? 138 goals in the H & A games (that's close on 8 goals a game - on muddy grounds) He received 13 votes Did he back-chat too much?

Hindsight is 20/20 We can now see where we went wrong but at 10 & 0 there weren't many (if any) detractors Even when we lost a few (after that unbeaten run) the inbetween wins saw the hope & faith return. One minute we're back on track and next minute ... It was only at the very end when the penny dropped As for our issues, they've all been pointed out but that is only happening after the revision. i.e. Once all the details are exposed So looking ahead, our issues aren't too hard to overcome (or are they?) A less taxing game plan (working for stoppages around the boundary line is energy sapping) Bombing the ball to the left forward pocket only as a last choice (not first choice) We need better forwards and a few ruckman (Jackson leaving leaves us with Gawn only) An injection of pace through the middle and half back is needed too Our disposal skills needs a real do-over. Is that Williams area? Midfielders kicking into the forward line need to kick with precision (that's all of the midfielders) Need a new forward line coach but if Stafford stays, he needs to do a hell of a lot better We need to get our fitness right but a more direct approach to goal actually saves the legs (not the opposite) More science required from our kick ins (after a behind is scored) All over the ground pressure? Did we not go from 1st to 17th ... that might be our biggest issue right there Forward line pressure ... back to the bad old days (virtually non existent as it was prior to 2021)