Macca

Don't forget your tips you blokes! Season start has snuck up on us but we do it all again beginning Friday ... Bills @ Rams @DeeSpencer@Go the Biff@JV7@layzie@Gorgoroth@Dee Zephyr@BDA@Clintosaurus@titan_uranus@DemonDave @Dappa Dan The reigning champion is 'Go the BIff' Same points system as in previous years so with 3 road winners correctly tipped (from 3 tips), points are gained! With one added on exception ... A bonus point can be gained if you are the only successful tipster in any given week. This is to encourage some left-field tipping and also serves as a way of catching the leaders (or streeting the field!) Points on offer this season Weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16 & 17 offer 2 points for the weekly winners Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 & 14 - 1 point only Week 18 - 3 points So 2 big points on offer for week 1 😏 I'll post up the games soon enough but you'll find the schedule on the ESPN app New participants are welcome to join in ... it's as simple as just naming 3 road teams. But gaining points isn't an easy task as we've all found out over the years!

Or Boo Radley

Are Freo tanking? 😏 n.b. The word on the street is that they need some quality draft picks to pay for a big name recruit (just a rumour)

A win against Brisbane at the MCG next Friday and then a PF against the Pies is not a daunting prospect Geelong are a better team than Collingwood but a win isn't guaranteed If the Pies are within striking distance at 3/4 time they can win as they are a very good 4th quarter team.

We had numerous players down on their best last night and very few winners. Yet, we weren't out of the match until late in the last quarter. And we missed some shots late in the game which might have made the scores even closer By contrast, when we play well we might have 16+ players who either win their position or play to their best Therefore, the whole team needs to be at their best (or close to it) in order for the team to excel and win well Sounds quite simple but that's the logical explanation. Now, if we didn't have an upside like that it would be easy to draw the curtains Petracca being a possible out is a concern but we can at least beat the Lions without him And once a team reaches a PF, anything is possible. There are no invincible teams this season and that includes Geelong. The Cats still have to get it done in September. The Swans on the other hand are a very well drilled team who are hard to beat. But they are beatable, nevertheless. All the finalists are beatable

One win changes everything So beat Brisbane and the mood changes completely (for the supporters at least) But for the players & coaching staff the loss last night will serve as a lesson. It's a wake up call They will have all woken up today with a new resolve. Part of that being that there can't be any more losses. And the players will not have to be told that their disposal under pressure last night was not up to scratch. Right across the board in all areas of the ground we were below par We can only get better so we go out and beat Brisbane and we are back on track. What lies ahead after that are teams that are not unbeatable And pointing the finger at any one individual or another is not the answer either. At club level, the talk will be about every player and the whole team (all at once) Our destiny is entirely in our own hands. Bring our best and we can win and then keep winning

With that scenario that would mean an 8 day break before the PF (if we can get over the Lions) But the reality is that the Cats should beat the Pies by 4 or 5 goals But you never know!

So if by chance the Pies win, will they get the Friday night PF? Or does the highest placed QF winner get the Friday night PF? (that would be Sydney if the Pies win tomorrow)

So if we can beat the Lions how fresh will our legs be against the fresh legs of the Pies or Cats? One thing that can help us is the bye weekend before the finals And can only playing fortnightly (pre finals bye & QF win through to a PF) during the finals effect a team's ability to be switched on and not become a tad rusty? Probably not so much for the latter argument but the bye before the finals can mean that a team isn't leg weary going into a prelim (as what as often previously occured) And does anyone truly believe that we can't beat the Lions? The Swans would have absolutely smashed Brisbane tonight with their all-over defence (they also beat us the same way but they didn't smash us) Sure, it's disappointing to lose but there's no point dwelling on a loss Heads up and get on with it should be the message to the players from the MC

And it's interesting that if we'd won tonight we would have probably been playing Collingwood or Geelong in a prelim anyway (unless the Dogs or Freo win 2 finals) So the same outcome except we don't get the week off because we now can only reach a PF with a win next week against the Lions The bottom line is we need to play a lot better (and that's quite possible) Our players just need a mindset of making amends. No good stewing over what went wrong And we won't be playing Sydney again unless both us and them reach the GF

Write the game off ... just a bad night. Sydney were just too good and they taught us a lesson But we've got the double chance so all is not lost. We live to fight another day We'll go with the same line-up I believe and I'm confident we'll beat Brisbane Do that and we are in a PF

Hungry!!!

Meanwhile, after a disastrous start to the season, the Hammers have picked up 4 points in their last 2 games And how about Erling Haaland? Scored 6 goals over a 4 day stretch (2 hat tricks) ... as if Man City weren't strong enough already!!

He's probably got well over 100 choices ... once anyone has managed at Premier level the opportunities elsewhere are immense Plus, he managed to bring Bournemouth into the top echelon. Being a worldwide sport played everywhere, he's basically got a managers job for life (somewhere) Money-wise, he's got no issues either

Win or lose tonight we'll be playing the Pies or Cats in a PF (if we make the PF) ... unless either the Dogs or Freo can win 2 finals We can end up playing the Swans in a GF regardless of tonight's result

There's a couple of stakes races at Wyong tomorrow. Mona Lisa Stakes 1350m (R6) & the Wyong Gold Cup 2100m (R7) Both look like trifecta races or maybe F4 (Exacta?) Probably 5 or 6 genuine winning chances in both races A nice precursor for Saturday

Might have been an old school case of the team being posted on a notice board! If your names not there you're kicking the dew off the grass in the ressies

The club should be commended with the way it has handled the possible exit of LJ. We've acted like pro's all the way through and there has not been an element of distraction And Jackson the same. In recent weeks he has taken on more responsibility on the field and if he is on the move, it doesn't show So much so that he is going to be hard to replace if he does go. I'm hoping for a stalemate with regards to a trade. Which may lead to him re-signing with us I don't see a problem with us overvaluing LJ. The possible deal looks like it's more so with Freo but if it is West Coast as an alternate, they've got pick 2 in the ND (plus some extra's)

@Dee Zephyr@Gorgoroth@JV7@Mr Steve 9 Stakes races to be run on Saturday (Moonee Valley & Randwick) The time honoured Feehan Stakes at the Valley should attract a top field whilst up in Sydney the Chelmsford & the Concorde will be keenly contested Footy finals, Spring Carnival, NFL and the Baseball playoffs are about to begin. Great time of the year especially with the Demons involved at the pointy end!

Peter Bell he is not always unreasonable ... just drives a hard bargain. As we should do with Freo re Jackson As for negotiating with Bell, in the end, we came out way in front with the Langdon deal ... effectively he came for a 2nd round pick. Last 2 years in the conversation for AA honours And the Hogan deal turned up trumps which delivered us May & Sparrow via picks 6 & 22

Just last year Hibberd was out after r22 (dropped? Injured?) then missed r23 and the QF Recalled for the PF when Smith was injured

The chances are an injury could well appear and T-Mac could be near the top of emergencies or close to next in line (because of his versatility) Not forgetting that we have had a number of players who have missed out on selection because of a late injury (not publicised) or for Covid reasons And in an ideal world the MC might like him in the team (above the depth players) If we can make it to the GF Tom could find himself in the team by default

The other big factor is the money that may be on offer ... an extra $250k - $400k per year over a decent length of time is more than a little tempting. Along with the chance to return home? My guess is that at the very least, strong talks have been made between the various parties involved. With the stumbling block being the trade value. A stalemate looms

Well we don't know, AF and we are speculating but I'm not going to believe that all this talk has been merely heresay Remembering that LJ hasn't re-signed and that's a big pointer. If he wants to go home (and play for Freo) the terms of a trade will probably have been discussed Clubs work way in advance of the here and now these days. For instance, Scully was heading to GWS long before the details emerged. Perhaps more than a year out ... and that was 10 years ago. We have openly interviewed Grundy. More change However, an in-principle agreement is a moveable thing. Say for instance Jackson finishes off the season in stellar fashion? The trade varies? And it can go the other way too especially if an injury occurs

I reckon it's fairly obvious that we will replace LJ with another bona-fide starting 18 ruckman if LJ is traded Why else would we quite openly interview Grundy? And I see the 3 years difference in age between Gawn & Grundy as a positive. We get Grundy for 5 or 6 years and after 3 years of having Grundy as a ruckman we replace Gawn with another bona-fide ruckman or an understudy Another smooth change over much like the smooth change over between Jackson & Grundy (if LJ leaves) Of course something can always go wrong but any type of recruiting has an element of risk Against all that is has been our general recruiting in the last decade - first rate We are in very good hands and if ever there was a time to trust, it's now