Macca

Packers will be lucky to win 7 games as well. Transition year but we'll need to change the overall offensive structure with Rodgers gone

@layzie @Gorgoroth @JV7 @DeeSpencer @Go the Biff @titan_uranus @BDA @Dr. Gonzo @Clintosaurus @DemonDave @Dee Zephyr @Dappa Dan @cowboy_from_hell @pantaloons @Strafford Season starts next week! Tipping comp should be a goer again with no need to change any of the rules ... remembering that a bonus point is always on offer if you are the only successful tipster in any given week Weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, & 13 all worth 2 points Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 & 14 all worth 1 point Week 15 - 2 points Week 16 - 2 points Week 17 - 2 points Week 18 - 3 points Reigning champ is 'DeeSpencer' whilst the overall leader (combining both comps) is 'Go the Biff' For those new to this thread to gain points all you need to do is pick 3 road winner from 3 picks in any given week (easy peasy!!) ... so join in anytime as there's no cut-off point

That came up quick! Season starts next Thursday evening (Lions @ Chiefs) Tipping comp is on again too ... I'll post up the games and points system over the next few days

And no better example of your evaluation is our defence. The best in the league on a year to year basis and collectively, chock full of talent Yet not one of our defence gets an AA guernsey? So May, Lever, Rivers, Salem, McVee, Bowie & Turner (with Brayshaw helping out) go about their business with a minimum of fuss and they're not noticed? I'm damn sure the opposition & opposition coaches notice them Defence wins Championships

It's a nice position to be in to go either/or ... land Reid (if it doesn't cost too much) or get hold of pick 4 and use picks 4 & 5 to either land 2 excellent prospects or trade the picks for genuine talent (as we've done in the past) Sometimes we've earmarked and acquired talent (away from the draft) and other times we've acquired experienced talent later on during the trade period So either/or has worked and will continue working as Taylor is the best in the business

Yes Taylor has definitely got the midas touch ... he's an absolutely beauty I can see the club staying in contention for years to come due to his recruiting skills alone

Nice mark and goal Fritta ... a confidence builder!!

There is no point (no pun intended) The tech is garbage and will never get any better inless they spend the $$$$

Fingers crossed there are no injuries or concussions (or reports, so we need to be careful on the bumping too) It's all about the QF now and this is a practice match (which is a handy position to be in)

Where there is smoke, there's fire, and West Coast need multiple decent players, not just one potential gun They (Eagles) might be interested in proven talent with any of their picks as well ... much like what we did when using numerous 1st & 2nd round picks over the years for established talent (May, Lever, Langdon, Brown, Melksham, Hibberd, Grundy & Hunter) ... as well as those traded for players who have come and gone The Eagles need to stop the bleeding and they need to win games so they need players who can play now (much like when we needed the same) So GNF is probably on the money ... an in-principle agreement for pick #1 is probably on the table The question is, how much we're prepared to give up for pick #1? If Reid turns out to be an out and out star player, paying overs is no big deal at all So #5 and 2 late first rounders should be enough but the deal could be quite complex and we might have to deal with another club first to satisfy the Eagles But it shouldn't be forgotten that we can't put all our eggs in one basket up forward with just JVR, Petty and maybe Jefferson So we'll need another KPF as well you'd imagine ... and May isn't getting any younger either so Petty might be a better fit at FB (down the track) So if we're in the market for an established KPF, (or at least a KPF who has real potential) that's going to cost us as well In Taylor we trust

Whatever happened to Rusty or Bluey?

Last round of the season so (in theory at least) it's easier to find winners in the AFL Getting on the teams with a high incentive to win along with backing against those sorts of teams with no incentive to win For instance, tonight the Bombers are $1.90 at the line (30 points) ... their incentive is to bounce back from a shocking defeat whilst the Pies have already secured a home QF Other likely winners (in my view) are Gold Coast, Bulldogs, Port Adelaide (go to whoa) And GWS will possibly have to win to make the 8 Stay away games are maybe Syd/Melb & Bris/St.Kilda

All time best would have to have Norm Smith at the helm The Red Fox was a proper ginger

Notable Premier League Match-Ups for the Weekend Sat 5.00am Chelsea vs Luton Sat 9.30pm Bournemouth vs Spurs Sat Midnight Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest Sat Midnight Arsenal vs Fulham Sat 2.30am Brighton vs West Ham Sun 11.00pm Sheffield Utd vs Man City Mon 1.30am Newcastle vs Liverpool

With the mooted medium sized forward line we should be taking the preferred option of our players lowering their eyes and hitting up targets to our medium forwards Our forwards leading their backmen out of the hot spot with others leading into that area for better goal scoring opportunities With the long bomb to the pocket becoming way less of an option and less of a decent percentage play Of course, the above is easier said than done but if we're going medium, more of a necessity The game against Sydney is effectively one where we can practice such methods

From that angle the ball either looks like it has clipped the post or ... because of the spinning motion of the hooked kick, it has hooked further just as it passes the post Much like a draw shot in golf (properly played) where the golf ball goes dead straight (or out to right) for x-amount of yardage then suddenly hooks to the left at the end of its trajectory (for a right handed golfer) And with bodies jostling everywhere forcing the umpire to be moved out of position, I'm surprised that more aren't taking the umpires point of view

The 2 weeks off between the QF & PF is beneficial but with better training methods and fitness programs these days probably less so than say 15 years ago But recovering from niggles and just being able to freshen up is an advantage In our case, winning the QF would be a great result as we've had a few stumbles But we're running out games well and look quite fit so losing the QF won't be a disaster (as long as we can bounce back and win the SF and therefore, get back on track) Our best can beat any team so if we bring our best in the QF, we'll win

The occasional run on the ball doesn't equal being a midfielder (certainly not in totality) He was dynamic against the Crows

There are numerous ways we could use Kozzie ... on the ball occasionally and as a player who can deliver inside 50 are 2 examples As a small forward only, a player can go cold and get lost ... so we need to get him warmed up and into the play like we did against the Crows

To get rid of diving the Serie A soccer league started retrospectively ousting the divers (3 match bans) ... cleaned things up straight away

So should we sack every umpire who makes an error that leads to a score? How about that free kick against Clarrie against the Blues? Did he handpass the ball? Within a short space of time we'd have no umpires left

The plot thickens Turns out that goal umpires might get marked down if they go to the Arc too often So in order to keep your position you could easily take the (perceived) safer option .. maybe more so if you're out of position But again, being caught out of position is not the fault of the goal umpire So the footy public got their pound of flesh & their sacrificial lamb but the overall shoddy problem still exists

I reckon the Pies & Port win but St Kilda is the wild-card. But there again, the Lions will be going flat-out to secure a home QF Still and all, we might be faced with the dilemma of win and we play Port away or lose and we play against the Maggies at the MCG But I'm the same, not too concerned with going to Port in a QF but would rather the Pies on our home ground (in a QF)

4th will probably happen for us, layz, but I can see the Saints maybe beating the Lions and if we're fair dinkum, we should beat the Swans The Saints are playing for a home final and if they lose, they might have to fly interstate for an EF Port should beat Richmond But if the above occurs, the Lions would almost certainly slip to 4th and we'd end up in 3rd spot (on percentage) Pies can win or lose and still finish on top (if Brisbane lose) There's still a bit to play out especially if the news coming out of the club that we're going flat-out against the Swans is true (I wonder?) The one thing in our favour is that by the time our game comes around, we'll know all the permutations