Macca

Play well in a qualifying final with the team winning ... means so much more. The appraisals in the OP bear witness That player becomes a difference-maker and with it, a confident, extroverted winner Get enough of those types and you win - big! We went in as the superior team and we played up to expectations. In a qualifying final! (back in the day, the 2nd semi was the equivalent - sorta/kinda) It's been a while but we are primed & ready. Stage fright was 2018

What we now know about Brayshaw is that he is the ultimate team player He's a natural onballer/link player/released player who is needed to shore up a wing in a defensive role. And he does it without any fanfare But tonight was different ... suddenly his wing became an avenue of attack and Gus was front and centre. Kudos We had many good players tonight but a few who have previously copped flak shone through ... notably ANB, Viney & Gus. Rivers was back to his better form as well. Looked assured all night

Yep, and not unexpected either Big occasion player as he possesses an important quality - Class. In his element tonight His deft touches, knock ons & release possessions were immense. High IQ player. His wing was often the attacking aspect tonight I had him as one of our best players tonight along with Max, ANB, Clarry, Viney, Petracca & Salem Gawn was B.O.G ... the man is an absolute warrior. What a player & leader!!

We are men on a mission! Focused, frantic, frenetic, fabulous, fan-bloody-tastic!!! Where's the single-malt!!

Gus Brayshaw ... defensive wingman extraordinaire! Been good tonight

Excellent result Gorg I got the exacta twice and a big percentage of the trifecta ... needed Inspirational Girl to get into the finish for a bigger pay day Beau got the 1400m alright and hit the line like a good horse. So 1200m up to 1400m. The mile might be a tad too far but I wouldn't rule that distance out

Yep, the big boy is a star of the turf. Behemoth too good and Prebble rode it like it was the best horse in the race. Prebble picks ip $30k with a sling ... Jamie looks on forlornly!! That's racing! Beau was very brave with Tofane 3rd in a truly run race. The first 3 - all class

Ha ha! Ended up taking a wide exacta in the Memsie Stakes ... could pay ok with the right combo Good luck to all today!

Thinking about it all, the transgression seems out of character for Jamie Kah Quietly spoken, level headed, grounded and a real sensible type Then again, they probably just got on the drink and we all know where that can lead!

Jamie will bounce back as will the others ... everyone needs a wake-up call every now and again

Yes, the Victorian stewards handed down the penalty this morning. The 4 were already in isolation for 2 weeks as well as being fined $5k+ by the Government Still, Ollie & JMac served hefty suspensions for gambling related offences so big penalties come with the territory sometimes

The 4 aforementioned jockeys out for the entire Spring! Not surprising given how the stewards normally operate. A tad harsh but it was a blatant disregard of the rules with a lot at stake Prebble onto Behemoth & John Allen will ride Ayrton. And just to highlight what Jamie is missing out on ... 5% of the winnings (Jockey's share) in the Memsie St is worth $30k. Plus the 'sling'. And that's just 1 race! Ouch!

Grand achievement by Clarry! A ball magnet and super creative And he received at least 6 coaches votes in 12 games ... that can convert to being in the best 3 players on the ground on each of those 12 games 3 x 10, 3 x 9, 1 x 8, 3 x 7 & 2 x 6 If the umps see things in a similar way he will go close to winning the Brownlow The other thing in his favour is that we won 17.5 games and he dominated in 2 of the 4 losses as well as in the draw against the Hawks 27+ Brownlow votes is my prediction and that should be enough to win

Agreed re the big boy! But who gets on for the ride? Beau hasn't won beyond 1200m save for a BM64 win at Sandown over 1300m Tofane has stellar G1 form and Inspirational Girl rounds out my top 3 with her excellent G1 form

Certainly is ... racing.com are covering the story and all 4 jockeys (Jamie, Melham, Ethan Brown & Celine Gaudray) are out for the mandatory 14 days on the advice of the Chief Health Officer Another month on top of that and heavy fines? Could be more judging by the reaction of Giles Thompson. Not a happy camper! Whoever gets to ride Behemoth & Ayrton just got lucky!!

Fifty Stars rarely runs a bad race and has still got a bit of speed & kick. Streets has to go in. More so both those 2 for the multiples Colette likes it soft and J Cummings has bypassed the Winx Stakes for this race (may not get the conditions to suit though) Streets & Red Can Man should vie for the lead according to the speed maps. Both are very honest types

I'm having an exotic bet in the race anyway ... exacta or F4 so Lightsaber is in! Will do our double as it has to come up sooner or later!! 20-1 or thereabouts gives out a handy collect What do you like in the Memsie, Gorg? Behemoth & Tofane pick themselves but Inspirational Girl won the Railway in good time in the Perth carnival. Fifty Stars my roughie

Best Bet Sat Caulfield R4 No.1 Artorius (W) $3.50

Agreed, and how many individual acts influence a game of footy? Kicks, handballs, marks, contested marks (forward line?) punching clear, spoils, spoils to create a boundary throw in, tap outs, tap outs to advantage, positioning of the onballers at stoppages & centre bounce downs, tagging, knock-ons, individuals running to flood, formation needs, bumps, running to create midfield stoppages, running to press forward, 2-way running, double teaming, blocking, pressure acts, 1%ers, shepherding, shots at goal etc etc etc However, actual talent levels are needed with all those examples. Fitness, selfless acts and teamwork are huge factors as well So the footy acts number in the thousands. That's where games of footy are won & lost And without a great degree of talent along with top level coaching, a team can't hope to win big anyway

More than a sneaky chance He's been consistently very good all season playing in the one position. Rarely wastes a possession and racks them up to boot He'll be taking Brownlow votes off Petracca & Oliver too. All 3 of their christian names begin with C so the forced delay will be in play on Brownlow night C ....................... Spargo

I especially liked Faulty's comment re the old codgers & tech devices! About 9 or 10 years ago here on this site we had a poster who talked about attending both GF's in 1948. 'Very Old Demon' was his name from memory He also shared a some great memories with us about Smithy & Barass A quick search and one can find his posts. He'd be in his late 80's now so I hope he's still kickin'

This is a true story I was 5 years old at the time and I reckon I knew way more about footy then than I do now. A pure fanatic at a young age. Obsessed with the game Anyway, when the final siren went in that '64 GF I was devastated. The premiership was wrenched away from me in the final moments. I couldn't believe it as I felt sure that my team was going to win! The following year I was given a complete Demons outfit for my 6th birthday and once again, I was devastated! How could my own family do this to me!* This team had just beaten my team in last years GF! A week after my 6th birthday the Demons won and I was a demon for life. Didn't take long to switch. 2 weeks later we beat the Pies and I was joyous A few weeks after that the club sacked Norm Smith but I was way too young to understand the impact of it all *There was no way that I was going to be allowed to be a Pies supporter in my family (big family, nearly all Fitzroy supporters and they hated Collingwood with a passion)

Should have stuck to my exacta plan!! Got a couple of collects late to save the day but will be following Mo'unga alright. Memsie this week which should be a beauty

Yeah it's obvious but not a given. Nothing is written in stone and that was my point In my view there's not a lot between most of the teams within the 8. Any team that brings their best can win But I don't like it that Port can get home field/home crowds during the finals where as (apart from Brisbane once) the other teams need to travel to neutral venues as the home team There are integrity issues but we're talking about the AFL here

For us to avoid a final @Port, we'll need the Cats to win next week But if we win next week against the Lions the above won't matter Of course, if the GF ends up being played in Adelaide, Port could have the home crowd/home field (if they make it that far) With Covid and with it, triggered lockdowns, I wouldn't be ruling out any venues for any of the finals