Macca

Hard to win a final when up to half the team were either MIA or well below par So many non contributors and many of the team were mere spectators for most of the 1st quarter. We looked unmotivated early I'm rarely gutted by a loss but tonight was a game we threw away as the Pies just aren't that good. Sure, their pressure was very good but why did we wilt so easily? When we finally got our act together, it was all too late Our composure and poise was poor, the inside 50 entries atrocious and the forward line was non functional. Simple things like playing in front and gaining separation just don't happen for our forwards. To get the easy goals you've got to do the hard yards Make no mistake, we lost the match way more than the opposition won it A chance opportunity blown And now it gets harder to where we want to end up. Not an impossible mission but far from easy

Maynard took out an unprotected player with malice. A smothering act involves the hands and arms attacking the actual football. To do that to a player kicking the footy takes high risk courage and that's why we rarely see it happen All we saw was Maynard doing everything but use his hands and arms to smother the football. You can't just charge into a player like that as it's unduly rough play He should get at least 4 or 5 weeks but knowing the MRO, he might even get off What he did can't be justified as he didn't go low to smother ... in fact, what he did was go high (nowhere near the footy) and therefore cleaned up Brayshaw at head height

Yes we will and as much as I'd have Grundy as the sub to cover for Max, I'm not sure it will happen But will we be surprised if the Collingwood ruckmen work Max over? We all know that Cox can be a sniper and our MC should be expectating some dirty tactics against Gawn Thus, the insurance that might be needed to cover our only ruckman (a non starting insurance player)

Laurie will be lucky to get on the ground before 3/4 time and it's difficult to impact games in those circumstances And as for being a game-breaker, that doesn't include Grundy either But for insurance, Grundy is easily the best option especially if something happens to Max We've got at least 10 players that can run through the midfield, why do we need 10.25 midfielders? And we've only got 1 ruckman It's important to note that we're not talking about a starting 22 player. The chances are our sub won't be on the ground until the last quarter So using Grundy as insurance is a logical decision, not left field

Despite the rain that might come and despite what we're hearing, Grundy might be the sub as insurance. So if something happens to Max, we're covered It's not like the other 3 emergencies are game breakers or vital to the cause

@Gorgoroth @JV7 @DeeSpencer @Go the Biff @titan_uranus @BDA @Clintosaurus @DemonDave @Dee Zephyr @Dappa Dan

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