Macca

Each-Way Best (Saturday) Randwick R7 No.10 Savatiano 8.00/2.40 Drawn ideally to get into a good position just off the speed. Then it's up to Hugh Bowman

There's a lot that we don't and will probably never know GV Apparently there were law suits taken out against UEFA & FIFA to stop them from banning players on the same day that the story broke ... if that's true then the announcement was probably planned to the day But it was a shambles right from the start ... quite amateurish all things considered. For instance, the group could have appeased the fans somehow. If anything, the announcement alienated fans. Out of touch? But reading about the levels of debt that Real Madrid, Juventus and a couple of others are carrying, it might have just been a desperate move and a shot in the dark

There's also a bit of talk around that the whole concept (Super League) was leaked prematurely ... but not purposely Thus the shoddy PR & marketing.

The big clubs will continue to push for a more lucrative deal with regards to the Champions League. Re participation and more $$$$'s But it's hard to see 'guaranteed' involvement ... maybe some sort of compromised arrangement could be forthcoming down the track

The back down might put paid to any future leagues of this type. Germany has a 51% rule which restricts the ownership doing as it pleases (which partly explains why Bayern & Dortmund weren't part of the breakaway group) Other countries might now follow suit with the 51% rule. Google will help explain that rule further. Not a foolproof measure but it wouldn't hurt But as stated in earlier posts, I had doubts that it would go ahead anyway. Fan power wins out At least the Arsenal management had the good grace to apologise but the clubs involved have lost some goodwill Anyway, that was a whirlwind few days!

Good points DJ They've created a monster with all these billionaire owners And just on that, if the super league is a going concern, get ready for more billionaires buying up more clubs and then wanting to enter the fray When there are huge profits to be made, they might start queueing up!

The realities of life tells me the rich get richer and not much can be done to stop it It's not a defeatist attitude either ... it's like death & taxes. But inevitable outcomes based on extreme amounts of money can't be ignored. Or fought against most of the time Football/Soccer will balance itself out if the league goes ahead. The game won't be destroyed and the fans are already being screwed over anyway so that part of it won't change. Watch them get on board to support their own team ... it will happen These billionaire owners will get what they want (more money) by cutting themselves off from the lesser lights. Business decisions such as these are made every day of the week To be honest I don't really have a vested interest nor does this sort of stuff get me outraged. My interest in sport extends to be able to watch the best versus the best so a super league delivers that interest. But not with a lot of passion!

Although the greed already exists anyway Col ... for years we've been noting the spending spree along with the gouging of pricing for attendees (as well as a need to have pay TV to watch etc etc) The big clubs with their rich ownership have been practising this sort of behavior for decades The new league (if it goes ahead) is just an extension of greedy practises Soccer allows it's own clubs to be owned by greedy rich billionaires and then is outraged by greedy rich billionaires acting like greedy rich billionaires! Stands to reason that a super league was inevitable ... and a little club like Leipzig with its well connected ownership (Redbull) will want a seat at the table By the way, I'm more so siding with the practicalities of inevitable outcomes not the billionaire owners ... I'm quite surprised that this sort of league hasn't happened earlier. It was first mooted over 2 decades ago. Not convinced it will get off the ground though as it may just be an ambit claim But we're seeing capitalism with a capital C at work!

Big news hey DJ! Looks like the people behind the idea are all-in but the backlash already has been full-on Threats of reprisals and bans dominate the news. But a number of other sports have their own version of a 'Super League' so what this new group is proposing isn't really groundbreaking - although that's the perception (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, NRL & AFL are good examples) Interesting that the head honchos of the proposed new league are the current presidents of Real Madrid & Juventus But Soccer/Football is entrenched with its own leagues, European Cups, Champions League, World Cups etc etc so this league would be a huge intrusion. And $Billions of dollars are at stake so the fight will be dirty. In fact, there's talk that the new league with it's 15 teams (with 5 other invited/qualified teams) could generate $5.6Billion to start things off. 2 groups of 10 clubs is the rumoured structure Banking giant JP Morgan will be financing the new league with the $5.6Billion+ The Financial Review has a comprehensive article on the whole proceedings Copy & Paste ... European Super League Explained: teams, formats, winners and losers

I trust the team to be able to win against most of the other teams ... but the Tigers, Port, Eagles & Doggies are still ahead of us right now from a technical viewpoint (proven big time talent) That can change of course but until it does I don't expect the team to be able to win against the elite teams. Not yet anyway ... compete well, yes. That is expected. We can beat Sydney & Brisbane But if we catch any of those other 4 aforementioned teams on an off day (whilst bringing our best) then we can win. But all things being equal, winning against the best teams remains a goal In a nutshell we're good enough to win 14+ games and I'm confident that will happen. 16 or 17 wins (or more) and a guaranteed top 4 spot is a tad unrealistic. Not impossible but we'll need a few big scalps to get to those lofty levels Richmond will be a big big test and they'll be wanting to put us back in our box. We've seen snippets of a steely resolve but that mindset needs to run at close to 100% ... game by game for the whole season Teams on their way up can often hit a wall and if that happens to us we'll need to redress quickly. Again, there's enough talent on the list to make quick readjustments. The overall coaching is much better too And the doubts about our forward line have been dispelled. Suddenly, we have to find a way to fit them all in

The value/each-way tip can garner more interest ... mainly because there are a number of ways of including the pick in all sorts of different bets For instance, I also had Sword of Mercy in a place multi with Beau Rossa (win) along with 'Good and Proper' & 'Finance Tycoon' ... ironically it was Beau Rossa where I missed. Not to worry though, that's racing! And if a value tip runs a place only one can get money back with certain betting agencies A couple of weeks ago I couldn't find a value tip so went with 'Agreeable' (it won) but to get a return it's win only as the place dividend was too low ... including a shortie like that in an exotic bet doesn't add a lot of value either But I had a more than decent day yesterday so no complaints

Yeah we can bring the best bet up again in the Spring although I'm still all in with regards to the Brisbane & Adelaide carnivals (as well as the overseas Group racing) The racing never stops as far as I'm concerned (with a high interest in the Group racing ... for instance, Eduardo & Nature Strip are both running in the Doomben 10,000) But the overseas racing in our off-season is fantastic. And the Racing channel & Sky often cover the big races I've got the racing right up there with the MFC, the Aussies in Test cricket & the NFL

I loaded up on the $6 in the end! Gotta love those bonus bets when they deliver the goods Got Sword of Mercy going in the double so fingers crossed Beau Rossa unlucky ... from the audio coverage it got out late and that was costly. In front before and after the line?

But didn't you know? What we say directly effects the club!!!! They hang on our every word Hawks (Win) Tigers (A possible win but the odds aren't great) North (Win) Sydney (Win and we announce ourselves) 4 weeks at a time!

Good luck with that Gorg Randwick now a Good4 with only a light amount of rain forecast (0 - 1mm) I've got our 2 (Hungry Heart & Sword of Mercy) in a double & Beau Rossa & Steinem (Morp R7) in another double. The latter 2 should just win!

I got on last night ... again, the odds are quite enticing for what I regard as being a very good sprinter Sword of Mercy was only a length off winning an Oakleigh Plate

The big issue is if the track is worse than a Soft5 or if it rains on the day But as previously stated I'm using bonus bets so the risk is diminished (somewhat!)

Hungry Heart is a true stayer with a terrific finishing burst ... over the odds in my view The others either may not get the distance or are unproven in Australia Scroll up to the replay of the Vinery Stud Stakes and let me know what you think Gorg I will be most surprised if it doesn't get into the finish although the horse does like good conditions and there is a bit of rain forecast I've taken the early odds with some bonus bets

Best Bet Saturday Randwick R5 No.3 Hungry Heart 5.50/1.80

Replays of the Group 1 races from the last 2 weekends

True I reckon Goodwin gave Oliver 4 with Scott giving Langdon 3 But I could be totally wrong H!

If I was the opposition coach Langdon would have been a real annoyance He kept driving the team forward all day (26 possessions) as well as standing out with the run & carry I'm most surprised that Langdon didn't get votes from both coaches. Not sure the umpires would have missed him though Langdon stood out all day

The Port/Tigers game was the benchmark game in terms of finals-type pressure, speed of the game & ball movement and intensity The other teams we can beat if we bring our best (Eagles had an off day but the Swans & Bulldogs are teams that we can beat) As we've seen, most, if not all the teams can have an off day. But we need to bring our best even against the lesser-lights

Not having a go at you adonski but what is the team average with regards to DE My guess is that it hovers around 70% but I stand corrected ... and an efficient disposal can be a 1 metre handpass to a player about to be tackled. Great So a 15 metre kick backwards to a player standing on his own (in the meantime the other mob floods back) is deemed as efficient yet a long kick from a centre break to a 1 on 1 deep in the forward line is deemed as inefficient if a team doesn't retain possession of the ball (yet the ball may end up remaining deep forward with the defence under siege) By the way if a player does kick long to a 1 on 1 in the forward line resulting in 50/50 results, that ends up being a shot on goal half the time. I'll take that result The DE stat is a crock of ****t and people here need to stop using this stat as their go-to evaluation of a players worth. It's nonsense Clangers are different of course ... it's no good handing the ball back to the opposition. But 1 clanger can turn into an exaggeration and often does for those with an agenda Your eyes will tell you the true story and Hunt is now using the ball quite well Langdon is also using the ball very well and he may well have attracted Brownlow votes (there's often a bolter and he's the sort of player that umpires will notice)

Like a number of others, Fritsch is putting his body on the line constantly. Occasionally playing on from a mark seems to suit his style too (no time to over-think a shot for goal) He's been our best forward for quite a while now and his kicking for goal has been good in the past 2 games (7 goals 2 behinds) And as someone mentioned, he could be even more dangerous with a fit & firing Ben Brown in the team. His marking skills makes him the ideal 3rd forward in a good team Brown, T-Mac with Fritsch as the 3rd tall will trouble a number of defences ... cameo's from LJ & Gawn up forward and suddenly our forward line can function well ongoing (not forgetting Kozzie, Spargo & ANB nipping about)