Macca

Yes, Ch10 seemed like an ideal fit for the Big Bash ... could end up there the way things are going, TD! Ch7 need to make the Tests work though and that shouldn't be too much of an ask ... Ch9 look like they are all-in with the Tennis (they are covering the US Open as well starting just after midnight tonight) Covid wasn't kind to the t20's though. The sport needs a packed house to get the viewers engaged. Being a new sport, the games looked strange played in front of empty stands As for the International draft, a fizzer according to the pundits And the Big Bash is up against the new UAE t20 tournament as well as the new South African league (where all the teams are owned by consortiums from the IPL) The BBL season is going to be right up against it this summer

Meanwhile, Channel 7 are suing CA with regards the Big Bash and the supposed lesser quality of the product (lower ratings as a result) An unprecedented move as I can't ever remember anything of the sort ever happening here in Australia or overseas

Eels all over the Broncos here - looking good A lot to play for with 4th spot at play for the Eels whilst the Broncos can slip out of the 8 with a loss

The Pies play a very attacking style and that style can lead to turnovers and being scored against ... but they are quite good at pressuring opposition midfielders forcing them wide which can lead to inconsequential inside 50 forays for the opposition Often eventuating in an out of bounds 45m - 25m out from goal as compared to their own players on the end of a pass in or around the hot spot in a 1 on 1 (when they venture forward) If there was a stat on dynamic inside 50's I suspect the Pies would be right up there And they wouldn't have an abundance of inconsequential inside 50 forays themselves That's the eye test though so others might disagree

Fremantle drawing that match against the Tigers a few weeks back proved very costly in the end ... 4th spot and a double chance in fact Ironically, if the Blues/Pies game had have finished in a draw the Pies would have dropped to 5th All it might have taken was Durdin to kick the ball to the goal square ... any number of Blues players could have been on the scene to punch the ball through for a point We've all had our moments though and the memories of that last quarter in the '87 Prelim final is a good example (except we had 3 or 4 chances to seal victory that day) Anyway, more proof that a win is a better result than a draw but not forgetting that a draw is a better result than a loss ... ask Carlton 😉

Am I right in saying that all our finals will be at the MCG? Even if we lost to Sydney we wouldn't be playing in Sydney on the Prelim Final weekend Win or lose and we stay at the MCG throughout

Terrible decision ... the worst spot to kick it to under the circumstances. Even if there was a Carlton player in the vicinity the chances are the ball gets punched out of bounds 20 metres from goal Control what you can control and as for the other 50/50 decisions, free kicks and eventualities, a lot of them are out of a teams control

(If) an in-principle agreement has been made between our club and the destination club for LJ's services then a fair bit of wriggle room has to be factored in as well For instance, a month or so ago a number of people here were suggesting that we should take what we can get for LJ ... but now those types have gone quiet and the new thinking is that any sort of trade value heading our way probably won't be enough LJ's stocks are rising by the week and that's good for us. Gawn's excellent game forward on Friday can mean that LJ continues on as the main ruckman and there's no reason that he can't excel as the main man

Max played a very valuable part in last night's win We played him in a proper forward's role and Max competed exceptionally well with a lot of grunt work involved. As well as attaining 26 hitouts (often in the same forward line) Brown looked a bit freed up as a consequence. Led into space created by Gawn (on occasions) Gawn played in the corridor often 50m - 75m out from goal and there was lots of front & centre activity on the back of his endless efforts Our forward line as a whole functioned really well as a result. Many of our shots at goal were from the hot spot area

Playing 2 dominant ruckmen in the same team is what we do And the MC obviously took that path when we drafted LJ in 2019. So the overall structural decision was made 3 years ago. Getting Grundy in to replace LJ (if he goes) just continues the direction we've already taken

Well in the end we won 3 of our last 4 which is an excellent result, all things considered. Pies the only hiccup but we'll have learned a lot from that loss 2 wins on the road against 2 top 4 aspirants as well ... 2 thrashings in fact. Combined scoreline Freo/Brisbane 13.18 vs 30.20. Away from home! We've hit our straps at the right time. And you need a bit of luck to offset the bad luck. Close win against the Blues vs injuries to our key personnel at various times And is that now 12 or 13 wins in a row outside of Victoria? We can win anywhere and we look very comfortable outside of the comfort zone. Not sure it exists in the minds of the players. We are focussed We are a very confident bunch, nothing intimidates us and our teamwork tonight was fantastic Great to watch

The Reigning Premier sends a message!

You'd take that scoreline at the start of the game ... most would have been happy with any sort of win Swans in a fortnight ... at the G or SCG we can beat them

Hungry!!!

Brayshaw dominating ... leading possession winner Another goal from his initial possession

Delete

What about the pressure he's under Those 2 out on the fulls didn't hurt us anyway so where's the damage?

Gawny playing as the lead-up CHF I like it!

In that same year (1972) when they went on their recruiting spree we absolutely slaughtered them at Arden St But get this, I'm catching the train to the ground as a youngster and get off the train a stop earlier than I should have ... a monster walk eventuated but I got to the ground at quarter time and thought nothing of it Until I looked at the scoreboard to see the quarter time scores North Melb 0.2 2 Melbourne 11.7.73 I don't normally carry regrets but I missed that first quarter and I'm still annoyed to this day! I'm sure there's a few here who were there from the start

No I haven't, layz ... youtube? What might not be highlighted was where all the money was coming from to pay for all the A grade talent they acquired? Bankrolled by a few apparently. I won't name names but Uncle Albert? Their wage bill would have at least quadrupled overnight

Swamp out the back? If a fender is spotted, time to panic

There will come a day when a club (with the funds available) will launch into free agency over a 2 year period In theory up to 6 top-notch players can be brought in and with that talent, a club can rise quickly It only seems like yesterday that North took advantage of the 10 year rule (a form of free agency) in 1972 and acquired 3 A Grade players (Wade, Rantall & Davis) As well as agressively stitching up interstate talent such as Blight, Cable, Glendinning and the like Success followed soon after A simple plan executed extremely well The key these days is to not have a salary cap filled to the max with C & D graders. Minimum wage for the floaters (not above award)

I'm as toey as all hell ... the match tonight is like a GF. Win and we set ourselves up nicely. And I don't want to entertain the thought of losing Need alcohol before hitting the rubbity-dub!

All-up, they tanked in 01', 04' & 05' ... and that's just Hawthorn

He did tank in his first year at the Hawks but personally, I don't have a problem with tanking per se Whilst we've got rules and a draft that encourages losing, there will always be tanking