Macca

Fantastic 2nd half from Josh Allen ... overall has thrown for 370 yards with 2 TD's, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble and has run for 69 yards 1:17 left and Miami have got the ball back. PI so Miami on the Bills 40 yard line (14-21 so they need a TD) Interception!! Bills win the division

Another costly dropped catch by Miami ... punted it away 4 in a row now Bills can put the game away with this drive (leading 21-14 with 5:28 left in the game)

Been a good game and Josh Allen is must viewing (mostly good with the odd, costly, unexpected error) Miami's defence has been very good in the red zone. Leading 14-7 at the end of the 3rd quarter, I reckon they win Edit: er ... special teams comes to the rescue! Bills draw level! A wild game a week out from wild-card weekend

Amazing finish and of course if the Eagles had not have fallen in a hole, the leaderboard would have had a completely different look Those who tipped away from the Eagles were on the money. The Jags losing put a few out as well A whole year of upset losses and this week was no different

Leaderboard Tipping Comp 8 - Dr.Gonzo 7 - DemonDave, Gorgoroth 5 - BDA 4 - Clintosaurus, Macca*, Dee Zephyr 3 - DeeSpencer*, Go the Biff, layzie** 2 - JV7 1 - titan_uranus *Bonus point awarded ** layzie awaiting a Bills win to gain 3 points

The Bills do have something to play for because if they win, they win their division! 2 days ago there was a chance they were going to miss the playoffs altogether

Arizona miss the field goal! Seattle win! (and Dallas as well) @Dr. Gonzo wins the tipping comp!!

Next week Packers @ Dallas Rams @ Detroit

Arizona within field goal range with 20 seconds left!

Seattle hit the front @Dr. Gonzo now in the box seat! (in the tipping comp)

Meanwhile, in the tipping comp, unless the Eagles somehow come back and win, there are 3 participants (layz, Gorg, Gonzo) still in the running to gain points this week (3 plus a possible bonus point) layz needs the Bills & Cowboys to win, Gorg the Cowboys only and Gonzo the Seahawks & Dallas Bills no longer have anything to play for and the Seattle trail by 7 with 4 minutes left. Dallas should win Gorg could win the comp outright if results fall his way!

Eagles have put the cue in the rack ... Hurts sitting out the 2nd half apparently (already trail 0-24)

@DeeSpencer @Gorgoroth Don't forget your tips!

Dallas, Eagles, Jags

Goodson drops it for the Colts Has he dropped their season? Nice hoof to finish things from former Demons listed player Cameron Johnston Houston win!

Been a good game That missed point after could be costly for Houston

Mine is just a gut-feeling just working off the highlights reel. Seems to create time for himself with nice elusive skills Of course, the AFL is a completely different beast so unless a player is a quick-thinker, they can struggle. Tholstrup seems to have enough speed in his legs but time will tell

As for the moves the club could make ... Definitely more midfield minutes for Kozzie JVR to play CHF (when required) and to be used as a constant moving target I can see Tholstrup forcing his way into the team and staying there. Looks to me to have x-factor and that's what we need Rivers with some midfield minutes With a full compliment of midfielders, Brayshaw to be used as a defensive midfielder Sparrow to be more of a linchpin midfielder To be more of a corridor-centric team, Hunter & Langdon to be (periodically) used on opposite wings to normal We need to also find out whether Fullarton can hold down a spot as a forward/ruck. In racing terms he's lightly raced but ruckman are a different breed and he might be able to play a vital role Don't know enough about Jefferson but the contract extension is a pointer Petracca to continue playing as a mid/forward McAdam or Billings to play a role as HFF's (not sure there's room for both) More corridor football as we need to back ourselves in on that style of footy Backline ... business as usual

Koltyn Tholstrup

Losing all those forwards last year to injury reminded me of 2007 when we lost Neitz & Robertson. Couldn't win games without them so what did we do? Sacked the coach And even further back to the mid 90's when our forwards were succumbing to injuries en-masse. Sacked another coach as a result So now we've got many here questioning Goodwin because of something that is outside of his control (numerous injuries to key personnel up forward) Sure, question Goodwin on certain tactics but injuries? Doesn't make sense

That highlights the lack of quality amongst our forwards ... most of our entries came straight back out If Petty, Melksham & co had have been available, our forward line would have functioned better and we would have in all likelyhood won the game The amount of entries is also dependant on the quality of the personnel up forward and our forward line that night could best be described as C- We've had similar quality forward lines (C-) from 2007 through to 2015 with similar results. The amount of entries is just a number and often just a reflection on the strength of the respective midfields and/or clearances won There were many times when we matched the i50's with the opposition during the Bailey & Neeld years ... we still got smashed Equally, one could argue that the opposition were extremely efficient with their low number of f50 entries. Again, a reflection on the quality of their forwards in comparison to our forwards The following week against the Blues we matched them for i50's but the same issue was there, a lack of quality forwards. Therefore, we lost So, to win any game of football you need (in general terms) a decent forward line. To win a final you need a better than decent forward line and to win 3 finals in order to win the GF, your forward line needs to be at least, very good Our forward line during the 2023 finals series was not up to par (due to a multitude of injuries to our forwards)

All the best KF's were/are strong on the lead but as you said, the game has changed and it's much harder for forwards to lead into space (but not impossible) Quick ball movement further afield and quick f50 entries is the key And that's what the Pies do. They catch out teams on the counter so it often looks like they've got an open forward line with their f50 entries They are quick and it's nearly every time. Thus, their forwards have got space to lead into What we do has been much discussed and we have to change We do a lot right though with a tremendous zone defence and we have real talent in our backline. The midfield is fine as well with plenty of talent It's just our ball movement which is not corridor-centric which leads to slow inside f50 entries So we need to be quick from HB, stoppages or centre-breaks and we should back ourselves to use the corridor ... turn it over and we've got the stellar defence as back-up Footnote: Pound for pound we've got a better list of players than Collingwood but their system takes them a long way. They play high-risk football knowing that mistakes & clangers are going to happen, no matter which way they play And the best way for us to pay them back for the act of thuggery is to beat them on the scoreboard (although we could send out a goon as well - Ice Hockey style!!)

Barassi (the horse) is well worth following after it's very impressive win today 2nd start wins $147k up at the Gold Coast for the connections, smashed the clock and won by 4.5 lengths with Craig Williams on board Sired by I Am Invincible

Well he'll need to be stellar in the contests if leading up isn't his go. There's not that many successful KPF's that aren't good on the lead But JVR is still very young and is on a learning curve With the flooded forward lines we see these days, there's not that many 1 on 1's to kick to. Kicking long to a key forward these days more often than not results in a kick to a pack situation Besides which, in an ideal world you'd like to see our midfielders hit the lead-up targets in the forward line You'd reckon that leading into space would be a bread & butter move for a forward. I understand that the space isn't always available but you've still got to play the percentages e.g. 1 mark per 30 minute quarter (around the hot spot) results in 4 shots at goal from virtually straight in front. And a KPF doesn't always have to mark on the lead ... he can win a free kick and then there's the front & square smalls You're right rjay, they need to be working on it with JVR

It's like the leading patterns from the forwards ... all important, but do our forwards know how to go about it? Also, the ability to create separation. It's notable that ex-backmen with regards to a 'fit' T-Mac and Petty are able to create separation in a natural way Brown at his best is very good on the lead. JVR is still learning, and who knows with Jefferson So, the connection between the mids and forwards is a complex one. Any number of variables are factors It's going to be interesting to see what McQualter's actual role will be and how much autonomy he is afforded