Macca

Suburban Melbourne premiers today (all games played in atrocious conditions) Heidelberg def Bundoora NFNL Noble Park def Rowville EFNL Strathmore def Aberfeldie EDFL Cranbourne def Cheltenham SFNL Altona def Werribee Dist. WRFL Heidelberg & Noble Park have won a lot of flags. Not sure on the Essendon & Western leagues but Cranbourne haven't always been in the Southern league

That was a thing of beauty! 1 point Perfect

Anamoe, Nature Strip & Aft Cabin all duly salute ... got the NS tri (paid well) and had Aft Cabin with Smokin (pl) in a 2-race double Decent day so far! (lean winter though!)

I've had a wide exacta as I'm not at all confident of landing the trifecta!! F4 could pay anything! Just got Pride of Jenni up so a decent start, DZ Anamoe & Nature Strip should both win I've gone for some value with trifecta's with both those feature races Anything that you like today? (mozz factor de-activated)

Time honoured Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes tomorrow Boom horse 'I Wish I Win' is the favourite but needs 2 from the field to scratch to get a run!! With the rain about that might happen Very open race, all the same. One for the exotics

Cats will be fresh next week Been a training run/soft kill

You're in fine form tonight, IRW Entertaining commentary!

Eels through to a prelim after demolishing Canberra ... Cowboys next!

Lions ball movement is treacle slow ... setting up the Cats defence to a nicety Amateur performance yet they beat us Our players will be kicking themselves watching this What's worse is that Geelong aren't playing that well. They've got no opposition. 14 shots to 4

Yes, way different circumstances for Gysberts, Martin & Morton (all in the same year too) but one year left on a contract can work the other way. Not sure we necessarily hold a strong hand but we certainly do not need another year of speculation. Will he, won't he In an ideal world Kossie re-signs asap but if not, do we make the best of the situation and cut out a year of speculation? I tend to think that if Kossie is on the move then it will happen in this trade period. If not, he'll re-sign before the start of next season in my view. But who knows? Opinion was divided on LJ for the most part but by the end of the season there were very few here who believed he was staying Money is a big factor that many want to put aside (or ignore) ... but often it is about the money. Opportunist clubs making tempting offers for players who might want out Look at how so many Victorian clubs have swooped on players wanting out at clubs like GWS & Gold Coast? And we are amongst those clubs (Lever, Langdon (?) May, Hibberd, Melksham etc)

If Port offer Kossie a big enough deal then he and his manager would have to at least consider what's on offer From there, who knows? We might have to come to the party with a decent contract offer and/or entertain the thought of trading him We could do nothing and make him play out his final year of his contract but eventually, we're going to have to pay him a decent amount to keep him It might come down to Kossie accepting unders with us (in relation to being paid overs at Port) Or go for the overs Way different circumstances but Gysberts, Martin & Morton were all traded despite all 3 players having a year left on their contracts So contracts are binding to a point If a player wants out (like LJ) what does a club do? Kossie or his manager haven't made any demands or asked for a trade but you'd imagine that we would have tried to extend his contract. And there's one year left on the existing contract

SNF this week is Chicago @ Green Bay Oldest rivalry in the sport with 203 meetings. Packers hold a slight advantage with 103 wins vs Bears 96 wins (along with 6 ties) MNF has 2 games this week and both could be keenly contested ... Titans @ Bills along with Vikings @ Eagles The two 7Mate games on Monday morning are decent too 3.00am Bucs @ Saints 6.25am Arizona @ Las Vegas Raiders

@Gorgoroth@layzie@Dee Zephyr@Go the Biff@Clintosaurus @JV7@DeeSpencer@Dappa Dan@titan_uranus@DemonDave Week 2 games (and a tough week for finding road winners) 1 Point on offer (plus a bonus point if you are on the money, flying solo)

Following the Demons (this year) reminds me of that Norm McDonald joke In a dream you're relaxing by the pool with Christie Brinkley ... you wake up and then back to sleep and then back to the dream (kinda, sorta) This time around you're playing pool with Dr Christiaan Barnard

You'll never guess what happened! No one gained any points in the tipping comp Clint went close, but no cigar Resume normal transmission I'll post up the week 2 games tomorrow sometime but we've got a good game on Friday ... Chargers @ Chiefs

I'm over it now after a few days of miserable moping!! Lots of other things in life including a myriad of other sports ... the horses, NFL, Baseball playoffs, Cricket, Soccer etc etc For some, footy is their whole life and fair enough too. Everyone's different Looking back, we could search for excuses and reasons but ultimately, we weren't good enough And we live to fight another day ... as always, recruiting is the key. We need to go hard at improving the list with a can't-be-satisfied attitude

Straight set exits has actually happened 34 times since 1967 so it's quite common ... a bit less so in the 21st century but nevertheless, it's more common that imagined By the way, I was shocked (upon doing the brief research required) as I might have thought it was more of a rarity as well (straight set exits) Go to the 'What a waste of a season' thread (about half way through page 6) for a detailed breakdown Last 4 ... Hawks 2016, Hawks 2018, Lions 2019, Lions 2021 n.b. there were also a few inglorious 1 game exits for teams who finished 3rd or 4th in the final 6 era

The money deal for Jackson at either WA clubs could well be a big factor e.g. 7 years @ X amount vs 5 years @ X amount could be the play And the total amount of $$$$'s could be different as well. $$$$'s per year being another factor So any trade might have to be dependant on how much money will be coming LJ's way If one team drops out we might know the reason why And the bidding war could be short lived

Well we're not playing for a sheep station but the answer isn't yes! haha On Sportscenter this arvo Tim Hasselbeck was talking about Dallas getting another QB in for the short term (as an immediate starter) A particular player who was familiar with their set plays Dak could be out for 2 or 3 weeks minimum and it's his throwing hand with that broken thumb (I believe) Don't know a lot about Fields but all that sounds ok anyway. I'd wish you good luck but we're divisional rivals! And the rivalry is fierce The Divisional system especially in the NFL is fantastic. 8 different leagues within 2 conferences works a treat As for Lovie Smith, not surprised he got another chance. They like giving 2nd & 3rd chances in American sports and he did win 3 divisional titles at the Bears

Tend to agree but draftees can't get draftee money for 4 years. Especially if they are a player like say, Nick Daicos It's a free market in terms of players being able to get the best contract they can get (from their 3rd year onwards) So some real flexibility with pay scales would need to be factored in, otherwise the PA would never agree to 4 years minimum

Out in straight sets has happened more than one might imagine Since 1967 it's happened 34 times including a double whammy in 6 seasons Misery loves company and all that! The big surprise is Carlton - 8 times out in straight sets in this snapshot of time 1967 Blues (played in the 1968 GF) 1969 Pies (played in the 1970 GF) 1972 Pies 1973 Pies (the quick treble) 1975 Blues 1976 Blues (back to back) 1977 Hawks (won the flag in 1976 & 1978) 1979 North (played in the 1978 GF) 1980 Blues & Cats (Blues won the Flag in 1979 & 1981) 1983 Fitzroy & North 1984 Blues 1986 Swans 1987 Swans (back to back) 1988 Pies & Blues (Blues won the Flag in 1987) 1989 Essendon (played in the 1990 GF) 1994 North & Blues (Blues won the 1995 Flag) 1995 Eagles (won the 1994 Flag) 1996 Blues (that's 7 straight-set exits over a 22 period ... plus '67 to make it 8) (Won the 1995 Flag) 1997 Cats & Eagles 1999 Bulldogs 2001 Port 2007 Eagles (won the 2006 GF) 2014 Cats & Freo (Freo played in the 2013 GF) 2015 Swans (played in the 2014 & 2016 GF) 2016 Hawks (Won the 2015 Flag) 2018 Hawks 2019 Brisbane 2021 Brisbane Footnote: The last, and possibly only time we went out in straight sets was in 1961

Early takeaways ... Brady is as good as ever (he's never lost to the Cowboys) Tampa are a very good team especially with TB12 at the helm Mahomes stunning at Arizona (5 x TD's & no Int) KC are back The Bears might be alright. As too, the Vikings who look ready to make a run to the playoffs 49ers might be in the bracket as the Cowboys & Packers in the NFC. Rams slow out of the blocks as well. Early doors though and it's only week 1 Ravens & Chargers start well and get it done. Miami as well with a good win over the Pats Eagles, Commanders, Browns & Saints made hard work of it but a win is a win Patriots struggled but the Bills look the team to beat even at this early stage And the highly favoured Colts couldn't get it done at Houston

Looks like you are the only one still alive, Clint Broncos get up and you pick up 2 points with an added bonus point for going solo Good luck!

As are the Packers The Vikings are way better and the Bears could be very competitive as well Devante Adams is already being missed (big time) and the other WR's aren't much chop (running game average as well) Could be a long season for the both of us, Betters!!

I'm still trying to catch up ... listening in to all the games tomorrow and then 5-6 hours of Sportscenter afterwards should fill my brain with lots of info Monday for me is NFL day with a bit of work thrown in when time permits!! (I do work Saturday's though) There's big raps on the Colts & Cowboys but if Tampa start off well, the talk will be about Brady. The Bucs are 2nd favourites to win the SB (behind the Bills) Then it's KC, Packers (?), Chargers, Rams, 49ers, Denver, Ravens & Dallas