Macca

Sure does Back in '06 we might have reached the S/F's if we had have somehow got past Italy in the round of 16 Ukraine were next up in the Q/F's but then Germany & France were after that! The issue looking ahead (in terms of qualification) is that the Asian countries are getting better each time Iran, the Saudi's, South Korea & Japan are all quite strong and other nations like China & Iraq can be expected to get better So again, just qualifying for the World Cup is a real achievement in my eyes Fast forward to right now ... our last 2 games are against Japan (home) and then Saudi Arabia (away) But the Saudi's might have already qualified before that last game A big ask but if we defeat Japan by at least 2 goals we're in with a chance of automatic qualification. Japan beat Australia 2-1 in the earlier match-up (stand corrected but overall placings are decided by head-to-head results and then it goes to goal difference) Points Table (all teams have played 8 games) Saudi Arabia 19 (GD +5) Japan 18 (GD +6) Australia 15 (GD +9) Oman 8 China 5 Vietnam 3 n.b. Our next game is in Sydney ... Thursday 24th March vs Japan The last match at Saudi Arabia is to be played in the early hours of the 30th March (AEDT)

Automatic qualification seems a stretch but we might still be able to qualify via the 3rd place playoff scenario ... but if we're in that scenario and then win that playoff we will then have to defeat the 5th best qualified team out of South America (probably either Uruguay, Peru, Chile or Colombia) And that's a tall order Our likely 3rd place playoff opponent (if it falls that way) will be one of 3 underperforming teams (UAE, Lebanon or iraq) I reckon we sit about where we sat last time ... we're not that good a team both in terms of quality & depth but we're still in with a chance anyway What we do know is that we have definitely qualified at least 3rd in our group so it's not quite over yet I'm a realist so my expectation of the Australian team is a hope that we can qualify for the World Cup (in any given 4 year cycle) Do that, and that's a high achievement (in my view) Anything above that is a total bonus. We are not a strong soccer nation and I highly doubt that we will ever be In terms of adult participation, we are miles off at least 30-40 nations. We seem to have good infrastructure & pathways and great fighting spirit so there's all that We were a terrific side in '06 though ... really punched above our weight then. Kewell, Viduka & Cahill were very good More of an aberration era though We often struggle to qualify for World Cups for good reason ... talent

Well done on making the SB, Gorg ... as you forecast, you stopped their run and left it up to Garoppolo to beat you. All the best in the big one but those Bengals just keep getting it done and they've got excellent fight-back qualities (during games) Rams are 4 point favourites which I see as line-ball. Fumbles, interceptions & errors can always be a big factor in this sport Blocked punts, missed field goals, the works. A 7 point play can eventuate from nowhere Should be a good game but I'm not sure many were predicting this SB match up even a few weeks ago. That's the sport hey!

Recently viewed 4 mini series Safe (8.0) The Five (7.5) The Stranger (7.5) Behind her Eyes (7.5) All British productions and all are in the Mystery/Thriller genre

Yep, 2 games decided by fundamental errors (at least, in part) KC should have taken the 3 points (with 5 seconds left in the first half) And Tartt just had to catch that sitter ... and he could have run the ball back for gained yardage as well (but you've got to catch it first!)

Telling shots in the big moments? Grand slam experience kicked in too Nadal seemed to get his 2nd wind when Medvedev starting scoffing down the pickle juice! He certainly changed things up by moving Medvedev all over the court with disguised cross court shots & drop shots Medvedev starting doing the same but it worked better for Nadal The rest is history ... great match!

Rams win in a thriller! Rams vs Bengals in the Superbowl! Leaderboard Tipping Comp 18 - Gorgoroth 16 - Clintosaurus 15 - Go the Biff 14 - JV7, layzie, Dee Zephyr, DemonDave, Macca 6 - titan_uranus

Bengals win!! Chiefs will rue their chances in not attempting a 3 point field goal close on half time. An 11 point lead at half time instead of a 14 points lead was telling Live Leaderboard Tipping Comp 15 - Gorgoroth, Go the Biff 14 - layzie, DemonDave, Dee Zephyr 13 - Clintosaurus 11 - JV7 8 - Macca 6 - titan_uranus

Rafael Nadal - 21 Today!! Next up is the French Open which Rafa has won 13 times already ... so he can get to at least 22 slams or more He's still got the legs and he's certainly still got the shots What an absolute champion!

You'd have to say that he got out on his own terms and at the top of his game I'm a tad surprised that he is retiring but he is 44 years old. Maybe the body said enough (or the mind) 7 x Super Bowl Champion! What a career!

And now for the Mens Final Hoping for a Rafa win so he can claim the record for most slams* won At the moment, Federer, Nadal & Djokovic have all won 20 grand slam tournaments each. 60 between them! *It can be argued that Rod Laver & Ken Rosewell would have won a stack more slams if the pro tournaments were counted in the 60's or if they were allowed to play in the traditional events (professional players weren't allowed to play at Wimbledon, the French & US opens for a decent period of time so they played on the (arguably) more competitive pro circuit)

So the Cats were in trouble as well It seemed that the Blues, Dons & Hawks were the only clubs keeping their heads above water back in those days All 3 of those teams were of course winning all the premierships in the 80's Best thing that ever happened was the formation of the Commission and then the intriduction of the draft & the salary cap (and therefore, the abolition of transfer fees) Although the merger talk (or takeover talk) continued on into the 90's

I highly doubt that is was signed, sealed and delivered but there were a few rumours about at the time Mind you, there were rumours flying about everywhere as a lot of the clubs were carrying a lot of debt ... Saints paid their players 7 cents in the dollar to remain viable and Richmond had their save our skins campaign which saved them Footscray & Fitzroy were broke (and nearly merged in '89) and South had to move North to survive. The Pies were in financial strife in the mid 80's as well after their transfer war with Richmond The VFL (AFL) Commission was formed in 1985 and not long after that, the draft started up as well as the salary cap. There was a fair bit going on

Ash Barty!! Superstar!!

Cinci 22 Chiefs 32 49ers 26 Rams 29

And the Leaderboard in the Tipping Comp

Re the tipping comp For each of the 2 games this weekend 3 points awarded for the win & 3 points for the correct margin (1-6, 7-12, 13+) So 12 points up for grabs Mon 7.00am Bengals @ Chiefs Mon 10.30am 49ers @ Rams

Ash Barty is into the final after a dominant display in the S/F! (defeating Madison Keys) And we haven't had a female champion in decades (Christine O'Neill 1978) And FYI, Mark 'Eddo' Edmondson) is the last Australian male to win the Aussie open ... against John Newcombe (Newk)

Yes, patience, grasshopper! (Although, I don't believe he was ever that out of form anyway) Jack missed 10 games through injury in 2021, but working on pro-rata and his average amount of votes in the B&F, he'd have finished around about top 5 if he'd played every game And in a premiership year where he's up against Gawn, Petracca, Oliver, Salem, May, Lever & Langdon etc, that's a fine result

A must-win for the Socceroos tomorrow night (Thursday 7.30pm Ch10 Bold) Versus Vietnam at AAMI Stadium ... win and automatic qualification is still in play. Lose or draw and we're in trouble!

Agreed but again, as a 'general' rule, the best percentage play when we're talking about clean clearances out of the middle is for the kicker to kick the ball out in front of a leading forward. And that can be for any of the forwards. Even Spargo & Kozzie And I'm referencing clean clearances because that should be our forte given the talent we have in the midfield But I too can give other examples where not having the front position can be advantageous You've got to mix it up but if we were to attain 12+ scores in a basic, simple way, that's a coaches dream And doing things in a simple way ( with superior talent of course) can blow the other team out of the water We Demon supporters should know, we've seen it done to our team on numerous occasions So now it's our turn to dish it out As previously stated, the inside 50 count is just too vague a stat without much more analysis. So if I've got the time, I will attempt to break it all down in certain the games (inside 50 analysis) I've already worked out a way to do the exercise in shorthand!

Not sure ... he's had breaks from this place before if I recall correctly And if it wasn't for these other threads I would have had some time away myself!! But now that we've broken through with the premiership ..............

Ash Barty into the S/F's of the Aussie Open ... but not up against the 4 seed (Krejsikova) as she was beaten today by a non seeded Madison Keys So Ash has a got a real chance to win not just because she's a great player, but because the draw has left the seeded players 2 through to 6 out of the tournament Go Ash!!

Watching the Woodstock doco right now (SBS Viceland) Very good too Available SBS On Demand no doubt (unless it isn't!)

Well I haven't really watched many neutral games this season but Stafford played very well yesterday ... better than my expectations But whilst he's got a receiver like Kupp (who can create terrific separation) Stafford just needs to through the ball to him. And his accuracy is very good in that scenario Which means that the 49ers need to be able to deal with Kupp. Let him loose and Stafford will find him (in my view)