Macca

Yep, exciting isn't it! I reckon many who aren't really fired up for the Olympics soon will be Great to see softball back and the lead off match is a beauty (Aust vs Japan) I'm sure you're all over it, TD, but for the benefit of others, the Softball game is on 7Mate whilst the Matilda's are on the main 7HD channel (see times in the quoted post below) Radio SEN & the ABC are covering the Games in a comprehensive manner as well As for the rest of the schedule and other links see another quoted post further down Other events on the weekend to keep an eye out for (involving the Aussies) ... Swimming heats (Sat & Sun evening) Swimming finals (Sunday morning) Rowing Heats & Semi Finals (Fri, Sat, Sun morning) Cycling Womens Road Race Final (Sun 2pm) Equestrian, Diving, Canoeing, Sailing, Shooting, Surfing and lots more. Maybe 6 other sports with Aussie representation Bring it on!!!!

We play a terrific system these days but there are up to about 10 players in the current team that I wouldn't class as top players. Ok and alright but not top players. However, I wouldn't be making any changes to the team apart from Harmes in and maybe 1 or 2 others Still, we don't have to be great to win big with the current levels of talent across the league (top 4 teams have often previously had up to 16-18 top players in their teams) But as previously stated we do need a great system to offset the depth of top talent but we've seen that terrific team system in operation against all the good teams ... not so much against the teams outside the 8 Therefore, I expect the team to get it done against the doggies this week. If not, questions will be asked

Good points re how the good teams play against us vs the leaser light teams I'd like to add that the lesser light teams have effectively (at least in part) quelled the effectivness of our midfield with regards to clean forward entries and clean disposal in a general sense (by our midfielders) The flow on effect is that the opposition defenders have a much easier time of it which in turn nullifies our defensive pressure in the forward line (by our small forwards) In turn, our midfielders haven't been able to apply the same levels of defensive pressure in our forward line as well (against those teams) So the ball ends up being rebounded easier which in turn puts pressure on our 2 lines of defense So quell our midfield down to a degree and that's how to beat Melbourne. Of course, it's not quite as simple as that because our midfielders can still play quite well in those circumstances despite not dominating But as you indicated, the better teams have stuck to their own game style which we have been very good at shutting down So second time time around these better teams that we defeated should be better prepared for our next encounter with them. But our game style may well still win out. Who knows?

The Swimming finals are on in the mornings - 10am onwards (catering for the US market - money talks) Only the heats in the evening However, the Track & Field finals will be on in the evenings with only a 1 hour time difference to AEST But they've got 4 channels (7, 7Two, 7Mate & 7flix) so it will all fit in somehow Not sure whether 7 are covering any of the footy on the Sunday's ... might be just the footy on Friday & Saturday evenings on FTA during the Olympics (over the next 3 weekends) To be confirmed of course

To be honest, I am expecting the team to take their foot off the pedal from time to time as I don't believe we're good enough to keep up our version of 'total football' every week anyway It's not a perfect world, we're not a perfect team but if we continue to play great footy against our rivals then we can go all the way But to win the big one we have to win at least 3 finals. For a team that isn't star-studded, that's a bit of an ask. But none of our rivals are all that good either so it's all up for grabs After round 19 I'll happily take a top of the ladder position with a perfect W/L record against our rivals

I'd still argue that the '04 team was better than the current team anyway (as a collective in terms of pure talent) What is different is we now play to a system which requires a total team effort (a form of total football which the Bulldogs & then Richmond displayed) But to play like like that every week is energy sapping & extremely challenging especially when it's something completely new. Lets face it, areas like forward line pressure at our club was virtually non existant until this season I'd rather focus on the positives whilst acknowledging the flaws. For some here, they can only see the negatives Anyone stumbling upon this site might think we weren't even in the 8

What really matters is the sum of all the parts, our ladder position and how we fare against the good sides Quite honestly, with tempered and sensible expectations we are punching above our weight (all things considered) Our list isn't all that strong with about a dozen players in the team that could be rated no higher than B. And some are C+ only. But in my eyes you have to be a damn good player to be graded as B+ (Rivers, Brayshaw and 1 or 2 others fall short) We're on top of the ladder, we've beaten all the good teams quite convincingly and there are no other teams to fear. Is there a team out there that we should be overly concerned about? Yes, we definitely have a problem with the lesser lights but that is only a real problem if those sorts of performances happen against the good teams. And on the evidence this season, that isn't happening And there wasn't a person at the start of the season predicting that we'd be on top of the ladder after round 19 with zero losses to any of the good teams

Jamie settling in for the double ton! (If only there was enough time)

The crowds at the footy has (in part) led to this latest lockdown So be careful what you wish for ... the chances are that the virus might be spread at the games up in QLD and then what? Up until now the border between QLD & NSW has been open Victoria has a chance to get on top of the virus because of the much stricter lockdown conditions NSW on the other hand has very little hope unless they have more stringent lockdown conditions. If they don't get tough up there the disease will be out of control And then the rest of the country will be on a knife's edge. Gladys needs to get much tougher on the movement of people

For good reason too You've started a separate thread where you can spread all your angst about the Olympics

And of course hundreds of soccer players and officials in Europe have been testing positive but those games went on unabated I could give you a stack of other examples including the latest lockdown in Melbourne being attributed to crowds at the footy (at least in part) Where's the angst there? Crickets One tennis player testing positive is not a story if the big picture is taken into account It's like the Olympics is being made the scapegoat for Covid. It's quite laughable really Shut down the footy if people want the Olympics shut down. Every sport in fact should go No more sport until Covid is eradicated! (I'm joking)

The Medusa touch (good movie too!)

Games now being relocated to QLD but ... The disease could spread to QLD from NSW as their border is still open and Covid finds a way to travel anyway The AFL are trying to outrun Covid but they'll need a good dose of luck

Back to exactas this Saturday so I'll include your pick as 1 of 2 winners in a 2/5 exacta A lot of the races are open betting affairs in Syd, Melb & Adel so the exotics can pay ok when that happens And Gator has your choice to win as well

Best Bet Saturday Flemington R6 #2 Dice Roll $4 (Win/Multi)

Yes, the fickle finger of fate

8 new cases in Victoria ... hot spots includes the MCC reserve at the MCG (Carlton vs Geelong)

Olympics Official Site (Schedule) ... Once into the site, click on any date for the full rundown Roy & HG Daily Podcast (begins July 23rd)

Here's a handy/easy-to-navigate website catering to the Socceroos campaign Ultimate Guide Socceroos FIFA World Cup Qualifying Qatar 2022 Final Group Stage And here are the all-important dates for the Aussies (the times are approximate only based on all the games being played in the evenings) Around 20 points should get it done but last time we got to 19 points along with Saudi Arabia but finished 3rd (Japan finished on 20 points) We then had to defeat Syria on aggregate (Home & Away) who finished 3rd in their group. Finally we then had to defeat Honduras on aggregate (Home & Away) Couple of tough games to finish with so we'll need to get our points up early Thurs Sept 2nd vs China 7.30pm Tues Sept 7th @ Vietnam 10.30pm Thurs Oct 7th vs Oman 7.30pm Tues Oct 12th @ Japan 9.30pm Thurs Nov 11th vs Saudi Arabia 7.30pm Tues Nov 16th @ China 10.30pm Thurs Jan 27th vs Vietnam 7.30pm Wed Feb 1st @ Oman 1.30am Thurs March 24th vs Japan 7.30pm Wed March 29th @ Saudi Arabia 2.30am

Should have closed the border earlier but the governments wait until the proverbial hits the fan Mind you, the truckies probably get exemptions so Covid finds a way in somehow And the truckie in question may not have been showing any signs of the infection and then tested positive later on

Happy to see the Italians win but I've never liked penalty shoot-outs and probably never will By all accounts Italy were the better team anyway but I favour the 'Golden Goal' in extra time with reduced numbers every 5 minutes ... play the actual sport to decide the outcome Don't like the penalty shoot-out in other sports such as Ice Hockey as well. Next goal wins and keep reducing the numbers to heighten the chances of scoring Oddly enough, I don't mind the 'draw' in footy (except for finals)

Agreed The whole country with the various states (collectively) had a big enough sample size for NSW to then act quickly with their outbreak They go into hard lockdown 2 or 3 days earlier and we might have had a different result right now (in NSW) They will kicking themselves now as they could be months away from shedding the dreaded disease By the way, I'm not favouring either side of politics as we here in Victoria had a 20+ week lockdown due to the slapstick way we handled the quarantine hotels. Looking back now it was pure amateur hour

They'll find a way for the Sydney teams to hub in Victoria & keep playing. They have to otherwise the season will be derailed But my fear is the disease getting out of control in NSW. The footy could end up being of secondary concern if the delta varient escapes into the other States As someone else here commented, NSW could end up being isolated like an island State

It's 'Cambage' But this is a thread about the wonderful achievement of Ash Barty isn't it?

The families of the 2 Sydney teams will almost certainly only have until midnight today and after that permits and14 days isolation/quarantine? The AFL have often been ahead of the stringent government rulings (of late) so a plan might be in place already Could be at least a few more weeks (months?) with the high Covid numbers up there so the Swans & Giants will be staying put in Victoria for now