Macca

Win 2 from 4 and we could get passed on percentage or on premiership points ... a 30/70 chance of that happened But it's more likely that we'll finish top 4 with a 2 from 4 result (70/30) ... the biggest concern might be Sydney's percentage surpassing ours if they finish level on wins (with us) Win 3 from 4 and we're assured of a top 4 spot and would likely finish 2nd (maybe 3rd) Win all 4 and we finish 2nd (maybe 1st) Win only 1 from 4 and a top 4 spot almost certainly won't be attained

The other bit that has to be taken into account is that in the same game (earlier) he had tried to milk high contact and wasn't awarded free kicks So he has burnt his bridges and if we put ourselves into the shoes of the umpires, they were almost certainly going to be expecting more of the same (milking high contact) JCB & kev martin also made very good points about the leaning (i.e one shoulder dips low towards the tackler) All very clever and it all happens in an instant but the contortionists are being found out There will be some teething issues but hopefully, this blight on the sport will be a thing of yesterday Interesting that there wasn't a lot of staging in the Demons/Bulldogs game (in terms of what we would have previously seen) ... those who won the ball quickly disposed of the ball Less congestion, a more open and free flowing game and lots of attacking footy resulted. Maybe just a coincidence but the Pies/Bombers game was quite similar

Well, on the decision, we disagree And we are allowed to disagree ... no big deal but one things for sure, we probably agree that the frivolous high contact free kicks have to be a thing of the past

If players stand tall in the tackle they won't end up in a wheelchair

And if the umps are in payback mode so be it ... they are not robots

Yeah, I didn't mean to do that (clumsy editing)

Ginnivan has lowered his body at the precise moment he gets tackled. Hips lowered and knees bent ... 25 cm's is all it takes as the tackler is trying to pin the arms Besides all that he has conned and fooled the umpires so they won't be doing him any favours. Effectively he has embarrassed them and now an umpire has been individually embarrassed Weightman didn't get a free kick for a good month after all his cheating ... just desserts

The tacklers arms are waist high in reality ... Ginnivan has lowered his body by a foot or more that's why the tacklers arms look higher If Ginnivan hadn't lowered his body the tacklers arms would be waste high in relation to Ginnivan How about I book an appointment for 'you' at the local optometrist?

He's a known cheat so has forfeited his benefit of the doubt To get rid of all the cheating there has to be some collateral damage That's how it works ... zero tolerance to the duckers and we've got a better sport And the game becomes easier to umpire

The tacklers arms and hands are waist high only so he's not targeting the head is he? Ginnivan's body lowers in anticipation of where the tacklers arms are going to be

The way I see it he's already lowered his body as the contact is coming (look at his knees) ... and the leaning of the head comes soon after What he isn't doing is standing tall in the tackle Plus, he isn't going to get the benefit of the doubt because he's a known cheat So he's probably received 20 or 30 lucky free kicks in his short career so can we have all them back

And the AFL have created a bigger issue for themselves by letting the little cheat off the hook Stand by for inconsistent rulings on high contact frees, left right and centre

Ginnivan could have stood tall in the tackle (as players used to do) but his first thought was to initiate lowering of his centre of gravity in order to milk the high contact To me it looked like any Selwood indiscretion with a few suble differences He's a cheat and that's all there is to it ... no more benefit of the doubt either He's like the little boy who cried wolf Again, go back and have another look

Watch it again and watch Ginnevan's knees and watch his hips ... and take note of how he leans his head against the tackler As previously stated ... only about 25cm - 30cm of lowering is required to milk high contact And the umpire was on to it A great decision

The AFL admitting the so-called error (Ginnevan high contact) is just bowing to public pressure in my view Another typically weak way of dealing with the cheating that has been going on for decades now To counteract against the new ruling players might want to free both arms above their head, take the tackle in the midriff and then release the ball with an effective handpass ... Geoff Raines was a specialist at doing the above ... Robbie Flower as well (on occasions)

Spot on, JCB He quickly lowered his centre of gravity by about 25cm - 30cm as well as leaning his head into the tackler ... 100% the correct decision Most tackles are around the elbow area (pin the arms) which is about 25cm lower than the neck area The lingering high contact? All Ginnevan's doing ... he plays for frees and is a cheat The bleating is just typical ... any excuse to blame the umpires. It's quite pathetic

How many forwards all-up across the league? 100+? So we occupy positions 1, 2 & 9 in the worst stakes. Not good but not entirely surprising Fritsch, Weideman, Brown & Melksham just don't lay enough tackles, certainly on a consistent basis - the eyes have that one Before we finally started applying defensive pressure on a regular basis in 2021, defensive pressure in our forward line was a major weakness for many years Perhaps we've reverted to kind but dead last? For the reigning premier? I wonder where Neal-Bullen, Spargo & Kossie sit on the list?

Could be that Freo got in first with a big offer and there is an in principle agreement on the table because of the offer (via his manager of course) Money talks with these sorts of things so it may be that the offer ties in nicely with the go home factor (not the other way around) Therefore, West Coast may not even be a factor at all But I'm only speculating as I know about as much as the next person (3/5ths of stuff all)

I seem to remember that in early 2019 (the year that Jackson was drafted) there was all this talk that both Freo & West Coast were going to draft this new 'Wunderkind' player that was this tall ruckman/utility/midfielder (Jackson) Of course we gazumped both WA clubs by trading up to pick 3 in the draft to secure Jackson ... in that same draft Freo had picks 7, 8 & 9 so maybe they've had their eye on getting him back since that time (the one that got away)

You may be right about the amount but 10 years ago Scully got 6 million over 6 years with $2Million in his first year (a signing on bonus?) My opinion is that Jackson has got a big offer on the table (who knows how much?) and it's more a matter of closing the deal (between the clubs) I may be wrong but there's a lot of smoke so the fire can't be far away Remembering that we got what we wanted from Freo in the Hogan deal (pick 6 & 22 turned into May & Sparrow) so the relationship is established with that club (at least somewhat) Langdon was secured from Freo for a swap of 2nd round picks and we gave them a future 2nd rounder ... the deal was done with a minimum of fuss as I recall What's your opinion? Is Jackson going or staying?

So what do reckon the offer might be? (if indeed, he is getting an offer elsewhere)

He's still only 20 years old and if the $10.5Million offer over 8 years is real, he'll know he's going to get that sort of money as it's then only about getting a deal done And those offering the money have almost certainly told him that a deal will be done - somehow So, at 20 years old, with that sort of money forthcoming, how is it not a distraction? It would be for a RFA who has been in the system for 8 years I believe you are right, rjay, because if anyone at the age of 20 had 10 x 1st Division Tattslotto prizes on the way and guaranteed, one would be like a cat on a hot tin roof He won't want to get injured either but he doesn't appear to be avoiding contests Trouble is, he's not getting to enough contests At his best he has a very good (not quite manic) attack on the ball. We're not seeing that apart from in the Lions game We can all be persuaded by big money and I know how I'd be if I had that sort of money coming my way

It's not as good as 3 wins if Freo finish half a game behind a rival in a vital spot in the 8 Before the weekend's games Freo were 4th and now they are 5th If one is only looking at Freo & Demons in isolation then half a win is all that separates both teams ... but it is about all the other teams vying for spots as well

Not that I believe that the following scenario will happen, but I'm quite prepared for a run at the big prize from an Elimination final onwards (too many things need to happen for us to miss the finals altogether) We'd be the real danger in the race if the above was to occur So once you get your head around the worst case scenario position, an optimistic view from that position isn't too bad at all Realistically I see 1-3 wins from our last 4 games ... so it probably won't be 0-4 or 4-0. We are not playing that poorly to not win any of the last 4 nor are we playing well enough to win all 4 If we make it hard for ourselves by not securing the double chance, so be it. Everything is a challenge anyway so we might just have a more diificult challenge ... a team still needs to win 3 finals to win the flag

No, but I might take a look, layz Just watched the 1st episode of 'The Old Man' starring Jeff Bridges & John Lithgow and I'm hooked already ... Action/Mystery/Thriller The 2nd series of 'Only Murders in the Building' is out ... it's a lot of fun esp if one likes Steve Martin & Marty Short