Macca

Gawn kicks it to the pocket Oy-vey

We've had a dream run tonight with the umpires tonight

Handpass to a teammate surrounded by opposition players It's like the days of old

ANB bobs up Needed that

Great effort Petracca

We are falling to pieces Need something

Kick to the top of the goal square ... goal It ain't rocket science

So why are we kicking to the pockets when we've got this mob on their knees We should be 8-10 goals in front

Amazing what happens when playing the corridor ... Mark & goal to Fritsch We are dominating the game yet we are indirect when going forward

Magic!!

ANB is everywhere! Melks!!

Well done Kossie ... Triple tackle!

@Dee Zephyr@Gorgoroth@JV7 What do we all like in the Makybe Diva Stakes tomorrow? Thunderstruck is very short odds and it's best wins but ... I'm giving Western Empire another chance (8.50 with a boost) Good race, all the same with 6 winning chances out of the 8 runners. And they can all get into the finish

That's a great way to start the season ... a big victory at the Superbowl winning Rams Gorgoroth (here on this thread) will be none too happy and we'll get the summary at what happened soon enough! Allen is a gun player but he made a name for himself big time last year so no surprise there

The KB fixture/game

The obvious observation is that the MC have gone with last years premiership team to back it up this season Hunt for Bowey and Melksham for T-Mac are the only 2 changes from last year's premiership line-up but if T-Mac was fit, he'd be in the team at the probable expense of Melksham. The team has the same line-up that played in the Collingwood game (save for Harmes in for Jordon) So that was our finals team back then (over a month ago) Selection all year has been conservative but it must be pointed out that we won 16 H&A games and finished 2nd with the above policy So if it doesn't ultimately work, we'll then see change but that won't happen until next season. If it does work, the team and the MC will be rightfully lauded As for the now, if we beat Brisbane another unchanged team will probably result (save for an injury or 2) I expect the team to beat the Lions and after a win, the mood changes and we'll believe that we can beat the Cats (we, as in all those involved at the club)

The alternates to playing Gawn forward either aren't good enough or aren't ready. So it's Gawn. If Gawn plays more in the ruck, we'd have to go in with one key forward (Brown) and/or Jackson will have to play forward (and that's a big ask) They might pick Van Rooyen but to my way of thinking, that selection would be half a season too late and we'd be expecting a lot of the lad. He isn't a future Dermie (Brereton debuted in a final) but if he did somehow turned out to be that good a player, it's wishful thinking right now anyway. The stuff of dreams As for T-Mac, even he conceded that he could run around ok but the rest of it was going to be a test No change unless Petracca is out. Van Rooyen might get a call up but it's a big ask expecting the lad to shine in his first game (a final to boot) And if Petracca is available we might be better suited with him having a role in the forward line (thus, alleviating the onus on Gawn) I'm all for taking risks but those risks need to be calculated risks

Russell Wilson renews acquaintances with his former teammates in week 1!! MNF no less There are some other good match-ups in week 1 As in most years there are sure to be 4 or 5 teams that will improve and probably just as many who will fall away Packers @ Minnesota, KC @ Arizona, Tampa @ Dallas (SNF) are 3 games to look out for As well as Friday's match ... Bills @ Rams In the early Sunday timeslot, the 49ers @ Chicago is another interesting game

@DemonDave @Dappa Dan @Gorgoroth @Dee Zephyr @JV7 @layzie @Go the Biff@Clintosaurus@DeeSpencer Week 1 of the tipping comp kicks off with 2 points up for grabs (plus a bonus point if you are the only successful tipster for the week) Good luck!

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 😏