Macca

The circumstances are obviously different but selection has taken a bit of a different course this season, all the same Jones out and can't get back in. Tomlinson out where previously that may not have happened. Jetta dropped but returns soon after. Rivers & Jackson given a taste and now Jackson gets another chance. And Brown is pure back-up. Which is not a bad recruiting move. Same deal with Preuss. And it now looks like the coaching panel recognises that we need structure up forward after trying out a medium sized forward line that didn't work. Same deal down back where Oscar is now preferred over others. Jackson plays because of the eye injury to T-Mac but the MC now gets another chance to see what Luke offers (albeit a very raw recruit) But he can ruck alright and has a huge leap so he may surprise.

He's not that bad and lets face it, most of our forwards aren't all that flash in front of goal. We need marking strength and a tall presence up forward. Gawn fits the bill but I'm advocating maybe only 20% - 30% forward. Gawn can occupy the hotspot whenever possible, which can bring our small forwards and other forwards into play. Did you read my post as having Gawn up forward permanently or as a mainstay AF? Because I certainly didn't mean it that way. Jackson will almost certainly spend a bit of time on the ball (IMO) ... how much time, who knows? Key forwards these days are often there to provide structure. So much so that Sydney were so worried about Reiwoldt & Lynch that they overdid the flood. A mix of Weideman, Gawn & Jackson can provide that structure. And with a large bank of games to come in the next 6 weeks, Max will need to be managed properly.

Gawn might play more forward whilst Jackson does some rucking. What the split is in percentage terms remains to be seen. The MC might not know exactly either. However, it could be assumed that Weideman will be a stay-at-home forward so there's that. Double-teaming a player like Gawn up forward is easier said than done esp if they need to keep an eye on Weideman as well. So a lot may depend on how LJ goes in the ruck and on the ball. And Jackson is a very different type of draftee. He will have rucked and played as a very tall midfielder for a lot of his junior footy. His ability as a forward is the question. But Luke may not have been picked primarily to replace T-Mac's position. Could be a bit of all sorts. He is the very definition of a project player.

I thought Sam presented and played quite well on Saturday. All things considered. Kudos. It's a tough gig playing as a KPF these days. Crowded forward lines & zones makes it near impossible for a KPF to stand out. So the expectations need to be tempered. A lot of grunt work for not a lot of reward. But without that structure, our forward line is up against it. And he's still learning. You'd like to imagine that Sam would be getting some specialised coaching because again, it's a tough role to excel at. Body positioning, knowing where to be and where to lead to as well as the other basics often need to be taught. Unless said player is a bit of a natural. And if T-Mac is out next game we need to place another tall in the forward line otherwise Weideman can be double-teamed out of the contest (esp against a team like the Hawks) Brown is the back-up so he looks the logical replacement. Petracca & Gawn can drift forward to help out. Not sure Weideman or Brown are suited as forwards who can roam far and wide as T-Mac can do (when he's on song) so we might have to improvise in that area. Melk & Fritsch can both play as high half forwards so there's that option.

Roughie for the weekend Sha Tin Sunday Race 8 No.9 Pakistan Friend (33-1) Ace tipster Tom Biddington has marked it on top after 2 strong trials from the horse. Certainly has a chequered history but if it turns up it's a show. One for the exotics

Cadel Evans features tonight ... stage 9 2011 (when he was the winner of le tour)

They do but all of them are quite capable of disposing of the ball in a more efficient manner ... but our ballistic style doesn't allow the players to steady or take that extra bit of time before disposing of the ball. Lowering of the eyes is almost non existent. And our forwards do not present, play in front nor provide moving targets with multiple leads. So it's a coaching issue as well. Plapp is the midfield coach with Mathews as the stoppages & contest coach whilst Goodwin oversees it all. There's a lot to fix but if they have a clear plan, things can be turned around. That takes time doc ... how long? Who knows but urgency is required. We need to see a rapid improvement in the next month starting Saturday evening.

Yeah I reckon frustrated as well as furious Gonzo. Not sure about gutted as we've seen the team on numerous occasions have poor seasons. 2012 & 2013 I felt gutted. We were completely hopeless in those 2 seasons. But this team has a semblance of talent albeit with a forward line that needs new personnel and reconstruction. We know the team is capable of winning against most of the teams yet we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. You have to win when you're capable of winning otherwise it seems such a waste.

Pickett oozes class We've got ouselves a player

It wasn't that long ago that the NRL wasn't even in the conversation with regards to our viewing habits For instance, I watched the Roosters/Storm game and was messaging a few people during the match. There was an AFL game on channel 7 but I can't recall who was playing who. Again, there's no way the above would have happened 10 - 15 years ago. And I'm not a Storm or Roosters fan - can't stand either team. But my eyes were drawn to the NRL like others are being drawn. I now call the AFL an interesting sport rather than a spectacular sport. And does 'Interesting' win out? If the NRL can be classed as interesting as well then it's my belief that some AFL fans will embrace NRL when it suits But will the NRL fans embrace AFL? (In its current form) There was an article that came out a couple of years ago by Roy Masters which showed the AFL dropping to 90 million sets of eyes (per season) from 108 million (over a 4 year period) whilst the NRL went from 80 million to 98 million over the same 4 year time period. 18 million both ways is too much of a coincidence. Real numbers that effect broadcast rights dollars. And the just completed extended broadcast agreement resulted in a 14% drop in dollars. Watching AFL these days is like watching all the teams embracing the Atletico Madrid playing style. Playing each other in the same way. Flooding combined with 36 players being in one quarter of the arena (with numerous stoppages) is killing the sport as a spectacle. Drastic change is needed to help improve the product.

These threads highlight how knowledgable opposition fans are in relation to our team and its vulnerabilities. The brutal honesty is quite confronting (and hard to argue against) And that's just the fans ... imagine for a minute the FD's of the other teams and their deep knowledge. Our weaknesses are front and centre. As are our strengths. And whilst our weaknesses outweigh our strengths, we won't challenge. 2 decent key forwards and we'd be a top 4 team HF Fritsch T-Mac*(Roaming) Melksham (High HF) F Pickett Proper KPF Rotating Mid *Not sold on T-Mac as a KPF ... if not, we'll need another proper KPF.

From the Hong Kong Wizard (yours truly) The Roughie Sha Tin Sunday Race 7 No.9 Impeccable Fellow 20-1 (in from 25-1)

Trial & error would see a satisfactory result ... there would be bumps and roadblocks but the theory can win out (eventually) Just have to find a way that it can work. You'd need line judges but if the penalties are draconian the coaches would be forced to leave their players in the arcs (no matter when the stoppage rule was enforced) Like many others I need a reason to watch the sport again (it's an eyesore IMO) ... even the millennials are complaining now. It is now an across the board issue.

Fantastic idea As a matter of fact I was talking to a mate about your very idea just a couple of weeks ago. Draconian penalties as well though ... free kick 10 metres out from goal straight in front. So let's say it was 4 players from each team (maybe even 5) who must be inside each 50 arc at each stoppage. Stoppages can happen at any time and there are stacks of them in every match that we witness. Often 40+ So what coach would risk a certain goal? What if was a 2 goal penalty just to make sure? So we'd (in theory) see 14 - 20 players in their forward or back positions for most (if not all) of the games. Problem solved as I see it as long as kicking backwards was outlawed (kicking over the mark was one of the original rules of the game for good reason) You should send your idea off to Steve Hocking. Quite seriously, do it. I have had my own ideas on how to fix the sport but I'm happy to abandon those thoughts for your idea. Immediately. You've sold me.

This weekend we head to Epsom for the Derby & the Oaks Epsom Derby - Full Field, Form & Odds Epsom Oaks - Full Field, Form & Odds Last start winner 'Frankly Darling' with Frankie Dettori on board starts 2nd favourite in the Oaks whilst the impressive 'Russian Camelot' trained by Aidan O'Brien is on the 3rd line of betting in the Derby. But there are certainly some value runners in both events.

Managed to back the winner of the Irish Derby so not giving out my tip worked! That's a bit of a conundrum looking ahead ... anyway, here's the replay

Tuned in tonight and the highlights packages (Etape Classique) are very good ... 3 stages tonight all from the 2013 tour. The Island of Corsica featured. I doubt we'll see anything with Armstrong involved though RF. That's a blessing!

Too old ET but a 47 year old David Schwarz might have been handy in the hot spot today ? Quite seriously though, we hardly have a natural forward on the list. Pickett is already ahead of all of them (IMO) Fritsch is a flanker/4th forward type and quite handy. T-Mac has become easy for the opposition to cut out of the game. Melksham & Hannan don't do enough and Hunt is too flashy whilst AVB looked proppy. Weideman can't get a game and that isn't the fault of the coach whilst Brown has been brought in just in case they all break down.

Ha ha! We have tried to get KPF's in but none of them have worked out for one reason or another Clark, Dawes, Hogan, Cook and 1 or 2 others but for all of that effort we may as well have payed way overs for pure A grade. Easier said than done though DG. Reality is that we fall short up forward and until we fix that, we're not a threat. I was hoping we'd get Patton even though he may have only been available every now and again. Still better than what we've got right now though. If it were up to me I'd play Steven May forward for the rest of the season. Then still recruit another proven KPF and a proven KPD to replace May. In the meantime Oscar can come into the backline and do his best. It's not ideal and far from perfect but we need a decent target to help out T-Mac Not sold on Weideman but he'll get a chance or 2. Brown is pure back-up and not the future.

Even though big decent KPF's do not influence games like they used to, you've still got to have them. So if we had 2 decent key forwards who can play the position well, we'd probably be a top 4 team. Play in front, take a grab, occupy the hot spot, absorb punishment and average 2 or 3 goals. We don't have 1 player of that ilk on the list and the only 1 who goes remotely close (T-Mac) gets double-teamed every week. Any 2 of Lyon, Schwarz, Robbo, Jakovich, Bennett, Williams, Spalding or Neitz and we'd be a threat. Weideman will get a chance or 2 but he's still got a lot to learn. Brown is a back-up 3rd forward type and Jackson is too young right now to play the role. If 1 of the aforementioned 8 players had have played today we would have won. e.g ... one passage of play saw Gawn tap to Viney who gave it off to Gus who then kicked long to Fritsch in a 1 on 1. Fritsch's defender then smashed the ball towards the boundary line and safety. A big bodied KPF (with talent) positions his body more so in the hot spot, takes the punishment and takes the mark or brings the ball to ground where the front & centre types swoop.

Fingers crossed we deliver the ball properly EH but our forwards need to play as forwards are meant to play ... leading to space, multiple leads (at speed), defensive pressure, play in front, kick straight etc etc But our clearance work needs to be clean & efficient. Scrubbing the ball forward or banging it forward won't work It all starts from the dominant ruckman ... and our schemes & set plays from the tap.

And if we dominate from the stoppages you'd like to think that just by the pure numbers involved, we'd have enough clean and crisp clearances to turn that into an advantage In 2018 we did that to a certain degree but in 2019 our clearances were often without any purpose whilst being delivered to a dysfuntional forward line So where does the braintrust exist ...amongst the personnel involved or the 2 blokes (Plapp & Matthews) charged with organising our midfield and stoppages work?

There is an obvious correlation but if the NFL never had any set plays or we didn't know about it the playbook for our sport would be needed anyway Stands to reason mentality. Ice hockey has a lot of set plays as well ... same as soccer, League & Union.

We'll need to dominate from the stoppages to have a chance of winning ... the backline is adequate without being outstanding whilst the forward line is often dysfynctional So we need to excel from the set plays to beat a team like Geelong. So having a dominant ruckman like Gawn with a midfield consisting of Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw, Petracca & maybe Harmes has to be a big advantage for us ... unless it isn't. You'd like to imagine that Plapp & Matthews would have a playbook consisting of 250 - 300 different types of plays from the various stpppages but is that a thing? If not, it should be.

The Irish Derby is on Saturday night Here are the listings, form & odds from RacingPost.com ... Irish Derby (Curragh) The early favourite 'Russian Emporer' has been withdrawn but will probably run in the Epsom Derby on the 4th of July (1 week from this Saturday) And if you're looking for a double at the meeting the race straight after the Derby is the G3 Vintage Crop Stakes where 'Latrobe' is listed as the topweight (if it runs)