Macca

Rams did it well with Stafford Aaron Rodgers benched? Jeepers! Could be a long season and we're in week 1

#freekickport

Hard to guage either Preliminary final as neither the Cats or Port bothered to turn up. In the end, a practice run for both teams with a fortnight's rest upcoming (that might help the Doggies more than us) I'd rather judge our team & the Doggies on their respective best in big games throughout the year We win out in the ruck (Gawn) so in theory, we can at least match them at the stoppages (with hopefully a win in that area) But our all over the ground defence, pressure acts and zoning is better than what they do as well (at least to the eye) ... our forward line defensive pressure is a standout feature as well. Not by a huge margin but if we bring our best, we are advantaged in those key areas Midfield, defence & forward lines are line-ball Demons by 30 points

Incentivise is the real deal! G1 success after all that stellar QLD form Moody & Prebble are back in business! p.s I was on the horse this time!

And none of them won! The Madusa touch at work again

We've got an extra game in the NFL! Caught me out Means we've got an extra week in the tipping comp ... so rather than change anything it might be best to just add another 3 points to be up for grabs in week 18 Gives us a big finish (2, 2, 3 & 3 points) and keeps the interest up, right to the finish (especially for those lagging behind) Listened in to today's game only ... anyone watch live and thoughts?

Best Bet Saturday (Flemington) R6 #1 Instant Celebrity 4.40/1.75

49ers, Packers, Vikings

Super Bowl LV Mic'd Up! Tampa Bay/Kansas City

@Gorgoroth @Dappa Dan @DeeSpencer @JV7 @Dee Zephyr @Go the Biff @titan_uranus @layzie @Clintosaurus @DemonDave The lines are up and the first game is on Friday! (Dallas @ Tampa 10.20am) ... decent precursor to the big game on Friday evening. Go Demons! MNF is Baltimore @ Las Vegas (in the new Allegiant Stadium) whilst SNF is an interesting match-up (Bears @ Rams) Other standout encounters include Steelers @ Bills, Packers @ Saints, Browns @ Chiefs & Seattle @ Colts

Apart from the open betting race that the Makybe Diva Stakes is, there are some real shorties running around @ HQ on Saturday But they might all win ... Ingratiating, Artorius & Ayrton are all odds-on in their respective races!

Probably! So whichever way it's adjudicated, there are issues It's just that kind of sport ... unique in so many ways. One grey area creates another grey area My thinking has always been to be 5 goals better than the rest and if that is so, the law of averages will see the cards fall our way Otherwise it's Que Sera Sera However, we may not be 5 goals better than the rest like we were in the Smith days but this year is our best chance since those days (all things considered)

The $11 for Incentivise didn't last long (albeit all-in betting) ... into $5 now after being $8 a couple of hours ago

The player in question wasn't named What's the issue?

Good info, well explained Thanks & kudos

Socceroos at Vietnam on Tuesday evening (World Cup Qualifier) On Ch10HD live from 9.30pm n.b. we defeated China 3-0 last Friday to kick off the campaign (highlights are up on youtube)

Yeah, clearer! Not sure that works with the narrative though haha #pardonmycynicism

Don't know WCW As it is, there is very little information available about the ruling at the time. Quite scarce in fact, but it was a ruling Google might help a bit more from the last time I searched (3 or 4 years ago) I'm assuming the rule was brought in back then to stop teams hugging the boundary line (trying to waste time?) but who knows?

It's a bad rule. Another grey area open to interpretation Last handpass, kick or directed punch away or tap away is the only rule that can go close to working. So the Caleb Daniels & Angus Brayshaw kicks would be clear cut if that rule was in operation Leave it as it is and there will be arguments aplenty (maybe that's what the AFL wants*) Interesting that the rule that I'm suggesting was in place from around about 1926 through to around 1939 And no, I wasn't around in those days *The conspiracy theorist lurks in all of us

Replays going back a couple of weeks (as well as the 4 features from Saturday)

I reckon our defence can match their forward line and our midfield shades their midfield. Our precision out of defence can also be a factor If that happens our forward line can do quite well or even better especially if the ball is moved into our forward line quickly with decent disposal However, we also need our forwards to display defensive pressure from the word go. Not just the small forwards either, all of our forwards Couple all that with our all over defence and we should come away with the win So it's not so much what Geelong are capable of, we're well aware of their capabilities. It's more about can we be at our best. Our best beats their best as their weakness is a lack of forward line defensive pressure and they're all over defence isn't strong either. They like to play keepings-off in their own backline but I reckon that stifles their offensive capabilities Need to nail those gettable shots at goal too as the opposition are capable of being accurate in front of goal So you break it all down and we're advantaged as long as we bring our best Demons by 20 - 30

Ah yes, the home town decisions Back in the day you couldn't buy a free kick at Windy Hill, Vic Park or Princes Park. The oldies have told me that it goes all the way back Happens in a myriad of other sports too ... especially in the NFL & Baseball. Used to happen in soccer before the advent of VAR Cricket as well and even neutral umpires seemed to get influenced. Reviews have changed things to a point where the umpires are now more like orderly's But in Aussie Rules with all the grey areas and no reviews apart from goal line technology (which is dodgy anyway) we are pushing the proverbial uphill. The game is harder to umpire than it ever was I get the passion and emotion but the lack of understanding is baffling. Do people really believe that the game can be umpired correctly with all the stuff that is going on and all the grey areas? Honestly, I've been hearing the same argument since the 60's. Nothing changes from year to year and the raging arguments just go on forever

We were a total of 16 free kicks down for the home & away season. That's about 0.7 of a free kick per game And when considering the professional free kicks that are given away from time to time, 0.7 of a free kick per game is a negligible amount

As I explained in a previous post, the Dogs don't get pinged for holding the ball very often (the AFL allows a player to let the ball dribble out or be knocked free in a tackle as well as small throws being allowed when tackled) So that somewhat explains the low free kick count for the Bulldogs opponents. And they've been playing that style for at least 6 years now And you are right with your observation that the Dogs are regularly first to the ball. Again, the player 2nd to the ball has a hard time of it winning a free kick especially when adding in that the Doggies rarely get pinged for holding the ball Beveridge worked it all out years ago and I'm surprised that more teams haven't followed suit. It's of absolute no surprise to me that the Dogs have a large free kick differential