Macca

In terms of how our club fared re Scully its a case of of 'All's well that ends well' ... in the end we turned Scully into May (in a roundabout way) and Steven might have 4 very productive years ahead of him as a premier backman We originally turned the Scully compo pick into Hogan and aside from when Jesse was injured, he was easily our leading forward But from an overall perspective a lot turned to pus back then (especially those horrid 2012 & 2013 seasons) And 2014 was tough going not knowing if we were going to drag ourselves out of the mud Nightmarish times As for GWS ... company store, company money. Not many 'really' care

The book title? The 3 Flags of Richmond (How Jordan McMahon Changed the Course of History) And it shouldn't be forgotten that Richmond were also tanking that day ... they and their supporters desperately wanted Scully

McMahon didn't miss though If he misses that shot for goal a lot of things could (or would) have been different It was a real sliding doors moment ... Tiger fans who for years were filthy that McMahon kicked that goal are probably now thankful that he did kick the goal Do Richmond win the 3 flags without Martin? And if they had have lost that game against us does Martin end up elsewhere? It should be remembered that Trengove was all the rage as well and the Tigers might have picked Trengove over Martin if Jack was available. Or Scully of course who they were just as enamoured with One goal kicked or missed changes the course of history. The bottom end of the ladder in 2009 had 3 or 4 teams that weren't trying to win so any unplanned win didn't suit any of those teams

Some stories to come out of today's racing - go here I reckon General Beau (winner of the Blue Diamond C & G Preview) could be the main focus ... the connections would have to pay a late entry of $50k for the Blue Diamond Stakes (although they picked up a cool $96k for today's win) But 'Dosh' in the fillies preview was very impressive as well and had a bit in reserve according to Jordan Childs. Frost Flowers was the raging favourite and couldn't match Dosh but might be better for the run at the Heath All Banter the 3yo did it well also against the older horses ... now being set for the Oakleigh Plate where it will get in as lightweight chance. Kept finding under Williams which is always a good sign

Was on Miss Albania in a couple of multis ... just missed on a decent pay day as the others got up (see above post) But Regardsmaree wins in great style to end a decent day at Caulfield. Warwick Farm next!

Blazejowski way too good anyway. It was due but I thought the weight might stop it Got a double (More Prophets & All Banter) to make up for it. Win some, lose some but I'm in front for the day with a few more in Sydney to top up the balance (hopefully!)

Primarily drafting as a way of building a premiership list can work but there again, often it doesn't if that's the only way a club decides to build a list (primarily drafting only) From our clubs perspective, in recent times we've swapped a number of top end picks for proven talent (May, Lever, Tyson (?) Clark (?)) but have used draft picks outside the first round for other experienced players (Melksham, Hibberd, Tomlinson, Ben Brown, Frost, Langdon) Again, putting aside that disastrous period* where we drafted one failed pick after another, we've drafted with much better results more recently (Viney (pick 26 F/S?), Petracca, Brayshaw, Oliver, '"Scully for Hogan for May", Salem, Harmes (Rookie 2015) & Fritsch) And we await with bated breath on LJ, Kozzie, Weideman, Rivers, Rosman, Bowrie, Laurie & others So it's a mixed bag** and we are definitely on the improve but remain a work in progress Top 4? Ridgy didge? Not yet. Not sustained anyway. The forward line needs to fire consistently rjay Bottom line, recruiting should entail many aspects - Free Agents, Drafting, Traded in Proven Talent and various other top ups (the odd DFA, Academy players (?) Rookie identification etc etc) *Not that I was advocating it at the time but if we had have swapped all those failed draft picks for proven talent (prior to when Roos arrived), we wouldn't have bottomed out the way we did - isn't hindsight a wonderful thing! **I've left a few players out no doubt

Good win by Dosh - looks to have a real future. Well done! I got on Frost Flowers (at better odds) on Sunday but your pick was too far good. The Jockey (Childs) reckons that there is more in the tank too General Beau ran half a second quicker (3 lengths) in the C & G preview but times aren't everything

'Viral' gets a good pull in the weights in the Dillon Stakes (R6 No.6) ... I got $4 but it is now into 2.60 It is a very competitive race though with about 6 chances in an 8 horse field ... Never Again is out to $9 which seems overs. Savour wager!

Got 'Diamonds in the Sky' up in the first race ... double winnings with Laddies as well (gotta love that!) Very good start!

For those without cable it seems that Viceland HD (Ch031) are covering a 'live' game of the NBA every day around lunchtime (including the Heat @ Nets on right now) Live coverage of the NBL is quite frequent as well ... Brisbane vs Sydney 3pm today

Rodgers is peeved but I reckon once things settle down he'll remain a Packer LaFleur is the one that will be feeling the heat even though he gets a bit of grace considering it's his 2nd year as head ciach He made some amateurish calls under pressure but I reckon he stays on (for now) The underlying issue is structural & player personnel ... defence against the run & pass defence remains average and our running game can't be relied on. Jones should be the no.2 not the main man Fournette was the difference between the 2 sides yesterday. Each of his runs impacted We ask too much of Rodgers so it stands to reason that Aaron expects to be the main man all the time Drafting a QB (Jordan Love) in the first round of the draft last year should be looked upon as a smart insurance move by all & sundry (including Rodgers himself) And you can keep Goff! haha

Forget to mention that Coolth won that race Gorg ... $7 or $8 was available from memory A horse on the way up and knows how to get into the finish. Record 7:3-0-2 with a 4th & 5th Worth following up on ... ADATR Blackbooker

Nice card at Caulfield tomorrow with the 2 Blue Diamond Previews along with a couple of listed Stakes races on later in the day Full Fields, Odds & Form - Caulfield (Tuesday)

I'll post up the highlights from the NFL later but in the meantime this NFL Primetime upload should be available for a few hours ... nice to see Boomer front & centre again

Leaderboard - Tipping Comp 22 - Dee Zephyr 21 - Go the Biff 15 - Macca 13 - Gorgoroth, JV7 11 - Clintosaurus 6 - DeeSpencer* 3 - DemonDave* *Denotes started late in the comp Just a reminder that we play for 10 points in the SB (5 for the win & 5 for the right margin) As for the 2 out in front, who blinks first! haha In actual fact, 5 participants can still win outright with 6 combos available (Tampa 13+ anyone?)

Watched the first episode of Vienna Blood the other day - looks the goods already. Period Crime Drama set in Vienna in the late 19th Century 3 episodes (90 mins each) out with another 3 to come soon ... on SBS & SBS Demand

Live Leaderboard - Tipping Comp 19 - Dee Zephyr 18 - Go the Biff 13 - Gorgoroth, JV7 12 - Macca 11 - Clintosaurus 6 - DeeSpencer

Well done to Tampa ... they go to the SB in their home town after winning 3 games on the road in the playoffs 13 years in the wilderness. Brady comes to town and they're at the big dance

The coach calling has been below par by the Packers. But Tampa have been too good anyway despite Brady being intercepted 3 times Thus, the Packers have had their chances on offence ... but the last 3 drives yielded just 3 points. No decisive running game being the biggest issue and the defence is average

Take the 3 points and give the ball back to Brady with 2 minutes left? Don't poke the bear On that last drive GB's lack of a running game shown up again. The opposition know we had to throw it and plan accordingly Too one dimensional

GB running game not a factor ... we've reverted to kind. Jones is too small, gets hit hard, out of the game. We needed a running game on the last 2 drives 8 point game now (should be 7) 31-23 So the Packers need a TD & a 2 point conversion just to tie things up. 4:33 left in the game

And GB can't make the most of it ... twice

Brady's receivers have now dropped a few catches ... or through the hands Agreed ... tactically it was a poor percentage play going for 2

28 - 23 now but Brady & Tampa will probably get at least 2 chances to score points. And Rodgers maybe only the 1 time if Tampa eat up the clock Unless there is an error/turnover from either team that leads to a score