Macca

We are built from the backline but we've had all sorts of woes back there Backline players not being available is the big issue but that effects the other biggie ... stability & cohesion in the backline and our ability to transition out of the backline in a cohesive way. It's often been slap-dash out of the backline this season and especially in the last 3 matches In turn, that puts pressure on all the links through to the forward line (and our forward line isn't star-studded so it needs dominance elsewhere to function well in my view) Our all over the ground pressure and defensive aspects has dropped away though ... this may have a fair bit to do with loading (hoping) but it's fair to say our standards in that area have dropped away too much Rivers is out of form and therefore out of favour but if he was up and running we'd then be able to slot Brayshaw back onto a wing A back 7 of May, Petty, Salem, Lever, Bowey, Rivers and Hunt/Hibberd all playing well and working well together is the key ... once that breaks down our weakest link (the forward line) suffers the most Delivery from the midfield to the forward line would improve immeasurably if those midfielders weren't under so much pressure with their disposals So our midfield to forward line connection woes is the clear visible issue but if our backline was reigning supreme, that connection issue to the forward line would not be anywhere near as pronounced But we can't let the forwards off the hook either ... their movement is too slow and we play from behind way too much up forward. And our crumbers aren't coming to the rescue either One year on our crumbers haven't advanced with regards to hitting the scoreboard. That's an issue as defensive pressure by our smalls up forward is not enough And we need our bigs (and mediums like Fritsch) up forward working a lot harder to create space & separation If that happens we'll then need our midfielders to lower their eyes and hit some targets But it all starts from the backline ... that's our real strength when we are up and running

Re the worst crowds since 1996 ... A lot of the games were played at the same time back in 1996 (average 3 or 4 games at 2pm Saturday's and 2 or 3 games at 2pm on Sunday's) So attending more than one game back then was difficult (as opposed to these days - MCC members & AFL members can attend multiple games) We might have to go a lot further back than 1996 to find the real answer as to the worst season for crowd numbers My guess is that these days the neutrals have dropped off in terms of attending the games. And in my view it's the over 45's who are dropping off in terms of attending (for various reasons as previously stated by many here) The worry for the AFL is if there is a flow-on affect with TV numbers. They'd have to be concerned from a business standpoint

Yeah, you are probably right, old dee Rugby League do it better with their FTA scheduling. They still get blow-outs but the games seem to nearly always be the right sort of fit. They often play at smaller venues (with full houses) which transfers well to TV And the AFL not having the 3pm game today at all (again) gives a free pass to the NRL. Not everyone has cable or Kayo

You're right about that, Civ It's a matter of getting the match-ups right on the right days (and at the right venues) for the FTA games But if they go back to a locked in, 23 round fixture, the mismatches are bound to happen. 6 weeks out and there are no real excuses It's like the AFL are happy to take the large dollars on offer but at the same time not being overly concerned with the match-ups

The AFL are beholden to the broadcast rights cash ... and that amounts to 1000's of millions of dollars But at least they (the AFL) have recognised that they have a crowd numbers issue And Thursday night footy is a major factor in amongst the other discussion points So if the fixture (Thursday night footy) is going to be a made-for-TV event to be played on a regular basis, the game would probably work better under the roof at Docklands or played around Australia chasing the warmer weather The game on TV needs a crowd at the game to create a good atmosphere so playing the game at the MCG in wintry conditions is almost certainly not the way to do it A number of the Interstate teams are more than competitive (Freo, Lions, Port, Syd) so matching those teams up against the bigger Melbourne teams on a Thursday evening shouldn't be too difficult to organise ... played at venues outside of Victoria By contrast, Friday night games or games played on the weekend don't offer up the same issues As an example, this Thursday's upcoming game would work better if the game was played in Brisbane. Do that and there would be no real chatter about the expected crowd numbers, the talk would be about the actual game

All clubs have roughly the same proportion of fair weather supporters ... all the rest of it is finger pointing & chest beating. Related to bragging rights But I'd say our club has a higher proportion of membership in relation to actual supporter numbers. So in my view, we have a lot of members who aren't particularly interested in going to the games. Older types who don't like the cold, can't stand all the noise, prefer to walk up on the day, don't like the ticketing system, don't like night games, don't like public transport and are covid-shy We'll get bigger crowds once we have a lot more younger members ... and that might take years to achieve Despite all that, our numbers stack up quite well against the other clubs Come finals time, we'll get bigger numbers but so will all the other clubs (I'm assuming we will participate in the finals!)

This team reminds me of the '74 Socceroos ... and back in the day only 16 teams qualified for the World Cup. England not qualifying back then was another big story (did Poland deny them their spot?) We surprised a lot of people back then much like this current team has as well Unknowns became names that we won't forget ... remember watching 2 games live (against East & West Germany) Rooney, Warren, Abonyi, Alston, Schaefer, Reilly, Wilson, Mackay, Buljevic & Richards are names that I can remember ... great days!

Nathan Jones hinted on radio today that we could be in the loading phase So if it is true then that explains a lot. I'm hoping that is the reason but we still have some game plan issues and we still need to fix our forward line woes and our speed & delivery into the forward line As others have mentioned, we need to take the game on more with quicker movement going forward and we need to make greater use of the corridor We've looked a bit tired & listless (to varying degrees) from the North game onwards (mainly in the 2nd half) Up until then we've looked good in nearly every 3rd quarter and then closed the games down in the last quarter's We'll soon find out about our ability to come out strong in the 2nd half of games as next up is Brisbane. Better to be tested right now The dilemma the selectors have got is do we persist with 2 key forwards along with Fritsch & a resting ruck in the forward line or do we play a decent medium sized player forward instead of Mitch Brown (who plays like a medium sized player anyway but doesn't get the ball enough) We have to persevere with Ben Brown as even though he's not in great form, the alternates are worse (or unproven)

Apparently we play France first up so let's hope the French come out a bit tardy ... some of the bigger nations can start slowly in these big tournaments so it's good we're playing the French first up But it's a tall order to hope to win against France and even a draw would be a mighty effort. But you never know with soccer Still, as big underdogs we've already achieved in my opinion. In the whole scheme of things, compared to most other nations, soccer is a small sport in this country. And our population isn't big either Rugby league, Aussie Rules & to a lesser extent, cricket, gain most of the talented sportspeople

Fantastic result to make the World Cup finals once again. This team of largely unknowns have excelled expectations So we are in a group consisting of France, Denmark, Tunisia and ourselves ... might be able to eke out a win and maybe a draw and that in itself would be a major achievement. Advancing past the group stage is a tall order but you never know Against all odds we've qualified so any wins or draws from here on in is a complete bonus in my view

F4 in the Straddy paid $25k! And apart from the up & coming 'Isotope' (which had drawn well and was only carrying 52.5kgs) the other 3 had won at G1 level Anyway, there is a huge meeting at Belmont Park (New York) later on tonight ... 8 x G1 races with some high quality fields I fancy most of the favoured horses so a few small outlay multi's might bring a decent return ... got a handy double up (G3 & G1) last night in the warm up meeting at Belmont Park Ideal lead into Royal Ascot starting Tuesday So all the overseas form, odds & tips can be found at www.racingpost.com

Good on ya! I missed the exacta as I only had AB in for 2nd in an exacta ... ugh! Scored 4 winners at Morphettville today though, so it's been a reasonable day

The Alligator wins!! Hope you got on it

Are we sure they didn't know what was in the injections? Jobe Watson freely admitted on 'On the Couch' (at the time) that most of the players agreed to, and were given over 100 injections to the stomach area No questions from any of them? No records?

Got Eleven Evelen included in a wide exacta! The exacta is my default bet if I'm flummoxed, DZ! Same deal for Alligator, Gorg (exacta) But the lightweights might feature ... any of Brooklyn, Isotope & Vilani could get into the finish Good luck today punters, if you're having a flutter!

We'll get our mojo back soon enough, mono I'm reckoning Monday

Voss was quite animated at 3/4 time ... something you don't always see these days I reckon all the coaches can go old school occasionally. Meetings and game plans are ultra important but the players still need to be switched on and motivated

To their credit the Bombers fought it out but the game was over at half time They defended better across the ground but could only score 2 goals after half time ... they leak too many goals. Voss wasn't happy with the Blues at 3/4 time but they shut the game down quite well in the last Our best beats Carlton by 5 or 6 goals from what I witnessed tonight

Bombers really are an average outfit ... defensively they are nowhere near AFL level Their average score against is 97 points which means they have to score 14 or 15 goals just to break even. The Blues could have finished them off in that 3rd quarter It's no longer an attack based game so I'm not sure the Bombers coaching staff are up to speed By contrast our average score against is 62 points, Freo is also sitting at 62 points with the Saints averaging 70 points against

@Mr Steve @Gorgoroth @Dee Zephyr Time-honoured Stradbroke on tomorrow - wide open race and the exotics could pay anything ... punting that way could be a lot easier than finding the winner! (If luck is on your side) And then we've Royal Ascot beginning next Tuesday evening with 3 Aussie horses competing Tuesday 14th June - King's Stand St. 1000m (Nature Strip) Saturday 18th June - Jubilee Stakes 1200m (Nature Strip, Home Affairs & Artorius) All days covered on the racing channel (or racing.com)

Ha ha! Just goes to show how people can start believing an obvious untruth (or a myth) ... folklore then somehow becomes the truth Upon hearing what was said (about the snow) I felt the question was asked in a serious way too ... not to get a reaction. Goodwin to his credit just ignored the question as if the journo had asked another type of question So said journo has probably thought long and hard about the question as they all knew the Goodwin presser was being held today But it is true that the filth fans are mostly unemployed and don't have any teeth, isn't it?

Putting aside TV numbers etc Right now the issues surround crowd numbers ... and the AFL have admitted they have got a problem Now they need to do something about it ... logistics, parking, cost of tickets, prices of food & beverages, covid/flu, weather, blaring music, seating arrangements and then there is the game itself (umpiring, congestion, too many stoppages etc) which can all be addressed (although I'm not sure we can do much more re covid & the flu) I wish the AFL well because I want to see the crowd numbers at big numbers again

Well my sample size of 20-30 people who I regularly talk footy with are often staying away for the reasons stated previously and the same people are watching way less neutral games. It's fair to say that the sample size involves people over the age of 40, 50 or 60 The interest is still very high but the sport is not as good to watch on TV as other sports. And in general, the over 40's are watching a different version of the sport than the version they were brought up on They still like footy but I'm not sure they love it The TV numbers during covid were great but that was when we were locked up and couldn't go to the games What about your mates & acquaintances? What are their habits re footy, old dee? n.b. I also reckon that the TV numbers could be maintained or increased

The Rugby league model doesn't involve 'falling' crowds though, old dee

Yes, he's always been the AFL's version of Bill Belichick! Who, by the way, could be considered the best ever coach (in a league where parity is a striving point - the NFL) So I really like Goodwin's deadpan approach ... but I understand it's not for the majority