Macca

First noticed the lesser emphasis on percentage with Geelong in 2017 They finished 2nd that year but their percentage was around 117. Scott started locking down late in games and now many other teams are following suit. Defence first ... Roos' mantra from long ago holds up and we are seeing it first hand with our own team

Depends on how one views footy ... when Essendon got within 11 points late in the last quarter I was not in the least bit concerned ... had strong belief in our systems & structures New dawn, new age, new team. MFCSS has been buried for now 5 years ago I would have had an opposite view with only an 11 point lead but 5 years ago we were nowhere near as good defensively as we are now We have become the lockdown specialists ... here's hoping we can maintain that mantra

I reckon the days of needing to crush teams and with it, thirsting for percentage are a thing of the past Footy is now a defence first sport so all that really matters is the win Percentage is worth half a win and is it really worth smashing the best players week after week just so as to win by a bigger margin? Not crushing teams is not a weakness when you analyse how we go about it We now have 4 walls of defence ... our forwards applying defence pressure, midfield the same and then the 2 lines of defence. May often plays last man as a type of goalkeeper

Earlier in the year it started becoming quite noticeable how well our defence was playing as a collective But there is no denying actual possessions in the back half and the efficiency of those possessions So tonight (collectively) May, Lever, Salem, Rivers, Hibberd & Hunt had 109 possessions between them. And if we count in Brayshaw who gathers the ball a lot (24 tonight) in the defensive part of the wing that adds up to 133 ... a big number but we're doing that consistently. Petty's role down back is almost as a pure stopper so his numbers are nearly always going to be low Think about years gone by and compare those numbers to the accumulation of numbers in defence this season. Often quality possessions too (intercept marks, re-gathers, backline teamwork etc) As Grapeviney said in an above post, other teams are stifled from their own half back line facing our team defence and the actual defence. Forward entries by the opposition often result in futile exercises Starts from the forwards applying pressure, then the midfielders and then the 2 lines of defence. A four pronged strategy But we've built a wall down back that is quite dependable

Yeah I just missed on the F4 in the Away Game race ... lean day! (but still way in front from last weekend!)

Tour de France starts tomorrow night (SBS) SBS cycling commentator Matthew Keenan said today that up to 4 Aussies could end up in a top 10 position (overall) in the tour ... 3 of the 4 are the head riders for their team's with Porte to aid Geraint Thomas when applicable. A support role but if Thomas falters, Richie can step in especially if he is in and around the top 10 in the GC Richie Porte - Ineos Grenadiers Ben O'Connor - AG2R Jack Haig - Bahrain Victorious Lucas Hamilton - Team Bike Exchange So there's a bit to look forward to aside from Caleb Ewan & Michael Matthews probably featuring in the sprint finish stages There are also another 4 Aussies involved and www.cyclingnews.com has a feature article on the Australian involvement (click on Tour de France on cyclingnews.com or try google) Here's a brief description of each Stage ... n.b. Cat1, Cat2 & Cat3 indicate the degree of difficulty of the various climbs Stage 1 Sat 26/6 Flat/Hilly Stage 2 Sun 27/6 Flat/Hilly Stage 3 Mon 28/6 Flat Stage 4 Tues 29/6 Flat Stage 5 Wed 30/6 Time Trial Stage 6 Thurs 1/7 Flat Stage 7 Fri 2/7 ... 2 x Cat4, 2 x Cat3 and 1 x Cat1 Stage 8 Sat 3/7 ... 1 x Cat3, 1 x Cat4 and 3 x Cat1 Stage 9 Sun 4/7 ... 2 x Cat2 and 3 x Cat1 Stage 10 Tues 6/7 Flat Stage 11 Wed 7/7 ... 2 x Cat4 and 3 x Cat1(includes the double ascent of the notorious Mont Ventoux) Stage 12 Thurs 8/7 Flat Stage 13 Fri 9/7 Flat Stage 14 Sat 10/7 ... 2 x Cat3 and 3 x Cat2 Stage 15 Sun 11/7 ... 1 x Cat2 and 3 x Cat1 Stage 16 Tues 13/7 ... 1 x Cat4, 2 x Cat2 and 1 x Cat1 Stage 17 Wed 14/7 ... 3 x Cat1 Stage 18 Thurs 15/7 ... 2 x Cat4 and 2 x Cat1 Stage 19 Fri 16/7 Flat Stage 20 Sat 17/7 Time Trial Stage 21 Sun 18/7 Flat Sprinters to look out for on the flat/hilly stages ... Caleb Ewan Mark Cavendish Peter Sagan Arnaud Demare Tim Merlier Sonny Colbrelli Wout van Aert Mattieu van der Poel Alexander Kristoff Elia Viviani Michael Matthews And the GC contenders ... Tadej Pogacar Primoz Roglic Geraint Thomas Richie Porte Richard Carapaz Enric Mas Julian Alaphilippe Rigoberto Uran Ben O'Connor Lucas Hamilton Jack Haig Marc Hirschi Tao Geoghegan Hart Nairo Quintana David Gaudu Chris Froome Brandon McNulty Radal Majka Marc Soler Giillaume Martin Patrick Konrad Wilco Kelderman Emanuel Buchmann Michael Woods Alejandro Valverde For more info www.cyclingnews.com has a full Tour de France preview

Been a while for this thread! Anyway, here's a new artist with a new jazz-type sound ... couple of catchy tunes

Laddies keep about 10% but I like my multi's to be on my terms so I'll take that small hit. Trouble is that Lunar has come into 2.40 for the place (was 3.20) ... so I'll find another along with Canasta to get the odds up. An all-up place bet might salute There's plenty of value in Melbourne & Morphettville though. Waiting on Gator's Randwick tips but there's 3 or 4 shorties so the multi's up there might be the go By the way, www.skyracing.com.au has all the big tipsters picks from about 9am tomorrow

Righto then ... makes sense now I'd already put Canasta into a 2/3 parlay but the Canasta legs were refunded. I ended up cashing out the multis so will have to start all over again!

Yeah those 2 can be the add-ons Gorg So I'll be cheering on Lyre! All the picks are renowned strong finishers so it could easily be a blanket finish Can't say I like any of the other races at Eagle Farm apart from the last (race 9)

Each-Way Saturday - Flemington R7 No.9 Lunar Flare $12/$3.20 Will end up doing a parlay 2/3 with Lunar at the place (3.20) as one of the 3 legs

Meanwhile up in NSW they might have to go a stage 3 or stage 4 lockdown after the latest outbreak 8 people contracted the virus at one party and goodness knows where those 8 people have been since Swans & GWS out of that State for a time

Yep those 4 would go into my F4 ... thinking of boxing 6 and taking a small percentage. Apart from Brooklyn, the other 3 you mentioned have excellent Group racing form Nudge & Charleise have both been running well lately but for value and previous G1 & G2 form, Lyre & Dame Gizelle could be thereabouts. There's always a roughie I have narrowed it down to 10!!

Just had a look at the field on racenet ... any number of chances! One for the exotics

Had a lean week at Ascot until last night ... managed to land a 2/3 parlay with Point Lonsdale, Wonderful Tonight & Dream of Dreams. The treble (especially) paid very well Will post up all the Ascot G1 replays soon enough ... this thread acts in historical fashion if people want to scroll through (or back) for replays of most of the G1 races But sitting up until 2am - 3am has taken its toll! Tired as!

Unlucky .... sounded like it was home

Saturday Best Bet Flemington R7 No.1 Curran $5.00

'Jack Irish' is back starring Guy Pearce and in this new series, Gary Sweet. Good show 2nd episode of series 3 airs next Sat on the ABC at about 9.00pm (episode 1 is available on iview)

The team had an off-day. If these sort of days are inevitable (as they often are for the best teams) then the team just has to make sure that we bring our best against the best sides (especially in the finals) We haven't lost a game to a top 8 team as yet but if that starts happening, we are in trouble. We're in uncharted territory as supporters as the expectation can be that we bring our best and win all the time. I don't believe that is possible with our current list. We are very good but we're not a superstar team Collingwood played very well too ... their lesser lights collectively did well, they tackled us with intent all day and we didn't have much time when we had the ball But nearly all our players were below par ... as previously stated, we had an off-day and those sorts of days will happen unless the team is full of stars

The BBC are covering all the games ... the audio feed can be found mostly through their 5live service Just go to www.bbc.co.uk then click on the 'more' dropdown tab then click on 'sounds' ... then scroll across to 5live and there you have it

The Euro's got it's first must-watch-replay last night with the Netherlands-Ukraine game last night ... and the big guns are already starting to rack up the wins

Make that Friday the 18/6 for the New Zealand/India World Test Championship And the Kiwi's wrapped up the test & series against England about an hour before lunch

New Zealand are all over England in the 2nd test at Edgbaston ... they should wrap things up before lunch tonight and take the series win. England lead by a mere 37 runs with only 1 wicket in hand in their 2nd innings. A nice warm up for the World Test Championship where the Kiwi's will take on India. Begins on Thursday (18/6) ... being played at Southampton (4000 spectators per day will be allowed to attend)

And the G1 replays from the last few weeks (including the Stradbroke)

Replay catch up