Macca

Until we gazumped them with one of the best examples of trading up in the draft ever seen Reckon the Hawks trading up to get Lewis at 7 (alongside Roughie & Buddy at the top end) rivals what we did Josh Mahoney hey? Left a terrific legacy with just that one acquisition (C Oliver) But we could assume that the whole football dept. wanted Clarrie (especially Jason Taylor)

Don't sell yourself short, WCW You know your footy There are clear reasons why we won the flag last season ... clangers were irrelevant We took risks backed up by superior talent ... but with inferior talent those risks could have really cost us Biggest factor - fantastic overall recruitment over an 8 or 9 year period (in my view) Dating all the way back to when we recruited Viney & Hogan (who was virtually swapped for May)

So here's a question for you blokes If you watched the Chiefs/Bills game what is your explanation for all the free scoring (with the receivers in the clear in the last few minutes) Tired defences? Poor defence? X's & O's to finish with the advantage ( freed up receivers) Poor coaching re the defence Great coaching re the offense Any another reason or some or all of the above As exciting as it all was I was scratching my head with regards to the freed up receivers Where's the defence!!

And the thrust of my argument centres around clean clearances out of the middle (stoppage situations included - in the midfield) If we are the best in that area ( from an overall perspective) we definitely need our forwards presenting for an easy score to eventuate So we can't afford to lose that advantage e.g. From a centre bounce down Gawn taps to Viney who handballs to Oliver or Petracca who delivers the ball to a leading forward (in the corridor) A score results Rinse & repeat

As I said, I can't recall seeing the incident but again, one of our biggest issues from 2006 onwards (apart of 2018 & 2021) was our lforwards not presenting well enough Now, it does take skill to win the front position (and a lot of courage) so it is easier said than done. Playing in front is a talent

A good example of the 'hanger' in the forward line being an antiquated practice is Jeremy Howe 20 or 30 years ago he could have been a 80+ a year goalkicker ... but not these days. Defenders are too smart and with the crowded forward lines & zoning means the high flyer from behind is virtually obsolete The percentage play is to get to the front position ... marking becomes easier, the front and centre little blokes have more of a chance with a spilled bsll and as previously mentioned, the free kick comes into play

Ok, what about the often 100 - 200+ hit up passes we see in most games where the player in front takes an easy mark? The uncontested mark (which gains ground) Forwards do that as well (or at least they attempt to do it) Playing in front doesn't get talked about a lot but believe me, every coach at any level will place a heavy emphasis on this basic of the sport Ask anyone who has ever played or coached for a good length of time Tell you what I'm going to do ... In certain games this year I'm going to note down what actually happens with our inside 50 forward forays. A detailed analysis (when I've got time) ... others might want to do the same exercise and we can compare notes The results might surprise people but I've already got a good idea what the results might be

Yeah, I'm talking about playing the game in a basic sense ... not every incident is the same and playing from behind can sometimes be advantageous. Luck plays a part and sometimes defenders can be outpositioned if they are in front But in a general sense, the player playing in front nearly always has an advantage as long as the ball is out in front of him or delivered correctly

So with the 2nd incident (which I can't recall) could the scenario have been different if Fritsch has taken the front position and then Gawn (thinking on his feet) then protects the marking attempt by Fritsch? The antiquated thinking that playing in front has been described as is people getting it wrong The coaches want their players playing in front (as they always have) and the 'Hanger' has become antiquated

And then there's the advantage the forward can have with regards to free kicks (playing in front) Arms chopped, push in the back, high contact etc etc Awfully difficult to win a free kick playing from behind. Not a good percentage play And if a defender is allowed the front position they can kill the play (or the forward foray) They can double fist or punch the ball away towards the boundary line or simply mark the ball A good forward knows how to feed the front & centre blokes too. If he can't mark it, his hands can dictate where the ball might end up. But that's reserved for the class forward Playing from behind, all that is a much harder assignment. Clangers will eventuate but again, who's fault?

Another way to look at it is if the forward is behind the defender the player delivering the ball has a much more difficult assignment to find his man ... he'd need to deliver with pinpoint accuracy (over the top) Plus, he may not even be able to see the target properly apart from an occasional waving hand (if the forward is caught out playing from behind) At ground level, spacial awareness and the timing of the length of the kick is a lot harder than it looks Where as if the kicker just kicks it out in front of a leading player or to a player playing in front, it's a much easier kick. Or kick it into space for a player to run on to it Footy hasn't changed that much where the basics still don't need to be adhered to. And if all 5 or 6 forwards continually play in front that would be a midfielders dream Inside 50 conversion is highly dependant on hitting up targets time after time. Lose possession and it's a scoring opportunity missed I haven't checked but I'm imagining that our inside 50 conversion rate during the finals must have been very good T-Mac & Brown were very good at presenting during the finals and the 3 little fellas played a big part too And Fritsch played the 3rd forwards role to a nicety. Often floating in from the side or putting his body on the line playing in front. Gawn & LJ the same A lot to like from a forward line that isn't exactly star-studded *I'm assuming you and most others know most of the above but others mightn't

The Autumn carnival is almost upon us ... at Caulfield this Wednesday we get to see the 2 Blue Diamond Preview's as well as a couple of listed races. All the races carry Saturday-like prizemoney Also on Wednesday the Australia Day Cup will be held at Warwick Farm

And at the other end of the scale we don't have a (visible) stat on what I like to call dynamic possessions An example of that is Salem ... his kicking to position sets up a lot more forward forays as compared to his kicking to position in previous years (not taking as many safer options) ... no risk, no reward Oliver, Petracca, May & Bowey are others that stand out in the dynamic possession area. Harmes when at his best is handy too. Others such as Viney, Langdon & Brayshaw can be quite creative with their disposals Oliver stands out as the best in that area ... he has incredible vision (Petracca is catching him though!)

And moves have been made aplenty in the post season tipping comp Leaderboard Tipping Comp 15 - Go the Biff, Gorgoroth 14 - DemonDave 13 - Clintosaurus 11 - JV7, Dee Zephyr 8 - layzie, Macca 6 - titan_uranus Anyone game enough to pick the Bengals? haha A total of 12 points up for grabs next week!

Yep ... the games have been fantastic Chiefs win after being on their 25 yard line with 13 seconds remaining trailing by 3 points Incredible! So next week its ... Bengals @ KC (7.00am Monday AEDT) 49ers @ Rams (10.40am Monday AEDT)

We're going to overtime!!!

Are we going to overtime? 48 yard field goal attempt

Barnburner! Bills score again ... Josh Allen is a genius! 13 seconds for the Chiefs to score ... 2 plays only? A field goal ties it up

Now KC take the lead! Allen has a minute but the Bills trail by 4pts (29-33) So they've got to get to the end zone

Bills score in miraculous fashion. Wow! Josh Allen has been fantastic! So now KC have got less than 2 minutes to save the day ... Bills 29 KC 26

Agreed Decibel factor at KC through the roof loud ... the 12th man!! Play calling on that last Bills possession null & void!

Yep, in crunch time yesterday the 49ers run came to the fore ... but your run defence is much better than what we saw from the Packers & Cowboys (against the Niners) And the 49ers won't be leaning on Jimmy to win them the game ... short cut-out throws can be expected. Jimmy, if managed well, can be effective The 49ers run defence and pass defence is your biggest concern. They are quite good, Gorg

Live Leaderboard Tipping Comp 15 - Gorgoroth 13 - Go the Biff 11 - Dee Zephyr 10 - DemonDave 9 - Clintosaurus 8 - layzie 7 - JV7 6 - titan_uranus*, Macca* *titan and myself are both choking, or tanking, or something

It's not my thread. Dappa Dan kicked things off This thread survives because we're all careful with what we say about the other teams Let's face it, it's like Blues, Demons, Pies, Bombers, Tigers & Hawk fans all in the one conversation without it getting heated You would have been best served arguing your point out. But again, the choker jibe invites trouble

There's often a very fine line between winning and losing In the end, you got lucky but you very nearly blew it But hey, winners are grinners Gorg and you won the game. 49ers next week will be very interesting Can they handle your defence and can you handle their defence? We could see some turnovers on offense for both teams. That's been the pattern this weekend and we may get more of the same