Macca

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)

And if Stafford plays as well as he did against the Bucs, that will be a big concern for the 49ers A QB rating of 121 on the road at Tampa is a real achievement. But he definitely passed the eye-test anyway The last drive of 5 plays and 63 yards was crunch-time excellent Interesting that there were a number of pundits predicting that the Rams would win the SB after the acquisition of Stafford (who, lets face it, basically carried Detroit on his shoulders)

Born to play finals is Viney #BeastMode

I'm in the same boat next Monday ... gotta front up next Monday as it's either me that gets it done or it doesn't get done! Ugh But I'll get to watch the Chiefs/Bengals game in its entirety so there's some saving grace Got a strong feeling that the Rams/49ers game will be 'One for the Ages' I'll be tuning in via radio all the same ... trying to avoid scores is now just too much hard work!

Until we gazumped them with one of the best examples of trading up in the draft ever seen Reckon the Hawks trading up to get Lewis at 7 (alongside Roughie & Buddy at the top end) rivals what we did Josh Mahoney hey? Left a terrific legacy with just that one acquisition (C Oliver) But we could assume that the whole football dept. wanted Clarrie (especially Jason Taylor)

Don't sell yourself short, WCW You know your footy There are clear reasons why we won the flag last season ... clangers were irrelevant We took risks backed up by superior talent ... but with inferior talent those risks could have really cost us Biggest factor - fantastic overall recruitment over an 8 or 9 year period (in my view) Dating all the way back to when we recruited Viney & Hogan (who was virtually swapped for May)

So here's a question for you blokes If you watched the Chiefs/Bills game what is your explanation for all the free scoring (with the receivers in the clear in the last few minutes) Tired defences? Poor defence? X's & O's to finish with the advantage ( freed up receivers) Poor coaching re the defence Great coaching re the offense Any another reason or some or all of the above As exciting as it all was I was scratching my head with regards to the freed up receivers Where's the defence!!

And the thrust of my argument centres around clean clearances out of the middle (stoppage situations included - in the midfield) If we are the best in that area ( from an overall perspective) we definitely need our forwards presenting for an easy score to eventuate So we can't afford to lose that advantage e.g. From a centre bounce down Gawn taps to Viney who handballs to Oliver or Petracca who delivers the ball to a leading forward (in the corridor) A score results Rinse & repeat

As I said, I can't recall seeing the incident but again, one of our biggest issues from 2006 onwards (apart of 2018 & 2021) was our lforwards not presenting well enough Now, it does take skill to win the front position (and a lot of courage) so it is easier said than done. Playing in front is a talent

A good example of the 'hanger' in the forward line being an antiquated practice is Jeremy Howe 20 or 30 years ago he could have been a 80+ a year goalkicker ... but not these days. Defenders are too smart and with the crowded forward lines & zoning means the high flyer from behind is virtually obsolete The percentage play is to get to the front position ... marking becomes easier, the front and centre little blokes have more of a chance with a spilled bsll and as previously mentioned, the free kick comes into play

Ok, what about the often 100 - 200+ hit up passes we see in most games where the player in front takes an easy mark? The uncontested mark (which gains ground) Forwards do that as well (or at least they attempt to do it) Playing in front doesn't get talked about a lot but believe me, every coach at any level will place a heavy emphasis on this basic of the sport Ask anyone who has ever played or coached for a good length of time Tell you what I'm going to do ... In certain games this year I'm going to note down what actually happens with our inside 50 forward forays. A detailed analysis (when I've got time) ... others might want to do the same exercise and we can compare notes The results might surprise people but I've already got a good idea what the results might be

Yeah, I'm talking about playing the game in a basic sense ... not every incident is the same and playing from behind can sometimes be advantageous. Luck plays a part and sometimes defenders can be outpositioned if they are in front But in a general sense, the player playing in front nearly always has an advantage as long as the ball is out in front of him or delivered correctly

So with the 2nd incident (which I can't recall) could the scenario have been different if Fritsch has taken the front position and then Gawn (thinking on his feet) then protects the marking attempt by Fritsch? The antiquated thinking that playing in front has been described as is people getting it wrong The coaches want their players playing in front (as they always have) and the 'Hanger' has become antiquated

And then there's the advantage the forward can have with regards to free kicks (playing in front) Arms chopped, push in the back, high contact etc etc Awfully difficult to win a free kick playing from behind. Not a good percentage play And if a defender is allowed the front position they can kill the play (or the forward foray) They can double fist or punch the ball away towards the boundary line or simply mark the ball A good forward knows how to feed the front & centre blokes too. If he can't mark it, his hands can dictate where the ball might end up. But that's reserved for the class forward Playing from behind, all that is a much harder assignment. Clangers will eventuate but again, who's fault?

Another way to look at it is if the forward is behind the defender the player delivering the ball has a much more difficult assignment to find his man ... he'd need to deliver with pinpoint accuracy (over the top) Plus, he may not even be able to see the target properly apart from an occasional waving hand (if the forward is caught out playing from behind) At ground level, spacial awareness and the timing of the length of the kick is a lot harder than it looks Where as if the kicker just kicks it out in front of a leading player or to a player playing in front, it's a much easier kick. Or kick it into space for a player to run on to it Footy hasn't changed that much where the basics still don't need to be adhered to. And if all 5 or 6 forwards continually play in front that would be a midfielders dream Inside 50 conversion is highly dependant on hitting up targets time after time. Lose possession and it's a scoring opportunity missed I haven't checked but I'm imagining that our inside 50 conversion rate during the finals must have been very good T-Mac & Brown were very good at presenting during the finals and the 3 little fellas played a big part too And Fritsch played the 3rd forwards role to a nicety. Often floating in from the side or putting his body on the line playing in front. Gawn & LJ the same A lot to like from a forward line that isn't exactly star-studded *I'm assuming you and most others know most of the above but others mightn't

The Autumn carnival is almost upon us ... at Caulfield this Wednesday we get to see the 2 Blue Diamond Preview's as well as a couple of listed races. All the races carry Saturday-like prizemoney Also on Wednesday the Australia Day Cup will be held at Warwick Farm

And at the other end of the scale we don't have a (visible) stat on what I like to call dynamic possessions An example of that is Salem ... his kicking to position sets up a lot more forward forays as compared to his kicking to position in previous years (not taking as many safer options) ... no risk, no reward Oliver, Petracca, May & Bowey are others that stand out in the dynamic possession area. Harmes when at his best is handy too. Others such as Viney, Langdon & Brayshaw can be quite creative with their disposals Oliver stands out as the best in that area ... he has incredible vision (Petracca is catching him though!)