Macca

With the big increases in the salary cap in the forthcoming years (on the back of the record Broadcast rights deal reported today) we could be in a position to back-end a new lucrative contract for LJ A 5 year deal would take Luke through to being a RFA. If he does re-sign, it may not just be for the 2 years that has been mooted Instead of the $12Million salary cap that we see now, up to $16.3Million could be the available figure from 2025 onwards As for LJ's form, 2 of his best games this year have been against the Lions. So if he excels this coming Friday, the mood could easily swing around to LJ being an absolutely required player As they say in the classics, a week is a long time in footy

If Petracca moving about freely is an issue we could just play him out of the goal square Brisbane don't flood back like a lot of other teams (unless they change their tactics against us this time around) In our 2 previous encounters against them this season our forward line has not been crowded and as a result, our forward line has functioned very well both times So Petracca playing deep forward (up to a flank) would be a dangerous proposition for them. And a potential match-winner for us We've got enough quality in the midfield to cover for Christian (that might be a different story if we advance to an encounter against the Cats)

Well the new deal sees an increase in broadcast rights revenue of approximately 36% per year from 2025 through to 2031 (7 years added on to the 2 years left on the current deal) $473Million up to $643Million (per year) That's quite a hefty increase ($170Million per year) A windfall some would say ($4.5Billion ÷ 7 years = approximately $643Million per year) Not sure it works exactly the same way in terms of increases but if a clubs dividend is $12Million per year now, a 36% increase would push that figure up to about $16.3Million per year. But the dividends may not increase by 36% ... could be less but it could be more Same deal for the salary cap if using the same sorts of numbers ($12Million to $16.3Million if it's a 36% increase) Remembering that the players must share in a certain percentage of total revenues As DJ mentions below, the AFL hands out the dividends to the clubs but the clubs pay the players salaries. And the money distributed is quite a complex arrangement Obviously, the AFL has a stream of other incomes so the club dividends & salary cap amounts would be based on the overall revenue (whatever that is) And the salary cap might be set up for yearly increases

Boom 3yo Colt 'I am Caviar' started as $1.28 favourite today at Moe and ran 5th! Deserves another chance as the breeding is a head turner ... I am Invincible & Black Caviar! Moody was saying that I am Caviar will be a City class horse but maybe not Stakes class. Time will tell

These things happen The Hammers will 100% be on the other side of a dodgy decision soon enough It all evens itself out in the long run, layz Mind you, re the footy, even though Sydney were the better team, 2 of those 50m penalties were super-dodgy!!

A few points to come out of Saturday's racing Eduardo (9yo) is just a Marvel winning the Concorde in fine style. The other 1000m sprint (McEwan St) held at the Valley was also won well by the rejuvenated Rothfire The experts thought the 1000m might have been a bit short but Rothfire is back in business Zaaki won the Tramway easing down and Mr Brightside looks a Cox Plate chance after winning the Feehan well And Aysar surprised all by winning the Chautuaqua Stakes. The horse has talent but it's form is all over the place!! An apt race to win, all things considered 😏

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!