Macca

The Tour de France starts tomorrow night with limited attendance at the event being somehow enforced ... it will be interesting to see it all unfolds nonetheless. Just catching up with the news but we won't see Chris Froome as he will be contesting the Vuelta (Oct 20 - Nov 8 ) Geraint Thomas will be contesting the Giro (Oct 3 - Oct 25) and will also not contest le tour. 8 mountain stages including one on day 2 (Sunday) ... Egan Bernal & Primoz Roglic are joint favourites to take out the event although Thibaut Pinot & Tom Dumoulin could easily be big players. Quintana will be thereabouts whilst Richie Porte is listed at 100-1 to take out the prize. Anyway, the best late night TV is back with us and I'm eagerly looking forward to it.

I follow a few tipsters as lets face it, they are going to know a lot more than I will ever know! Notably Gator (David Gately) in Melbourne and James Jordan in Adelaide but Paul Joice up in Sydney is also quite good. More so at plucking out a real roughie. So here's his roughie for Saturday. Rosehill Race 4 No.9 Merlinite $41 (Win) $6 (Place) Glen Boss is on board. Make of that what you will.

Yep, it's not just the Colts that are retired early these days but as always, the new breed take centre stage to replace those retirements. Another star we'll never see again is Yes Yes Yes. That performance in the Everest last year was breathtaking (I only wish I'd backed it!) The cups will be different with way more local representation. A reminder of how things once were Wadda. We might even see a lightweight Aussie horse get into the Melbourne Cup field a la the way Bart used to get his runners in. I do miss those days when that scenario would happen regularly.

Best Bet (Saturday) Rosehill Race 8 No.3 Mugatoo (Win) $2.30

Biffen & JV7 grace us with their presence from time to time as well, Wadda. When I saw Rubisaki listed in the last race I just knew it would be your best bet! An ADATR favourite along with Osborne Bulls and a few others. Gator likes Arcadia Queen in the Memsie Stakes and I'm on at $8.50 ... but it's not my best bet. Need some more think time but I've got a couple in mind.

8 Stakes races out of Melbourne & Sydney on Saturday but the main interest will focus on the Memsie Stakes at Group 1 level (Caulfield) An excellent field has been assembled and as a result, it's a good betting race. Rosehill Form, Tips & Odds (Stakes events are races 5, 7 & 8 ) Caulfield Form, Tips & Odds (Stakes events are races 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 ) Memsie Stakes Race 9 1400m Group 1 WFA $750k

Group 1's from the weekend (Part 2)

Some Group 1 replays from the weekend and late last week (Part 1)

Yep Our best is shown when we get the game played on our terms. So we need to do most things right and hope the Saints are not at their absolute best. Ratten is a good coach though so they will be well prepared. The win can happen of course but when we've been up against the testing material this season we've fallen short. But you never know, losing the way we did yesterday will sting so the group (coaches included) will at least know what we need to do. As LH mentioned, we need to be ready and totally switched on.

I'm not sure we can match St Kida if they bring their best unless ... we win the tap outs, win possession from the taps to advantage, win the clearances in 50/50 situations and then use the ball well when we have possession. Across half back and the back half of the midfield we also need to win the ball back as often as possible ... and again, use the ball well when we get hold of it. And the forward line needs to fire ... 2 marking targets would help enormously but Weideman can't be totally relied on as a prominent key whilst T-Mac is out of form. We'll need a number of things to go our way to win the game.

Too true RF ... welcome to the thread by the way. The more the merrier I say. I bet all around Oz on a Saturday arvo so the Valley being called off wasn't that annoying. How good was Verry Elleegant yesterday? A crack field and she did a lot of work and then fought back and won after being headed. Gutsy win. I was on Master of Wine (with a bit of an interest bet) but the horse needed the run.

Nice pick DZ Only audio today but the 4yo lightly raced mare looked quite impressive by the sounds of it. Won with a leg in the air! Bit better than Highway class you'd reckon. And the ADATR crew were heading for a near certain double if Jungle Edge had have had a chance to run. But I got the win & exacta from your choice so can't complain.

And if the rain arrives as expected the 10yo mudlark's odds may get quite skinny. Drawn wide and there is plenty of early pace but even 2 or 3 wide on the pace over 1000m will suit the horse if we reach a Soft7 or worse. Got one for us Gorg?

Best Bet (Saturday) Moonee Valley R8 No.1 Jungle Edge (Win) $4.60

The 1st Group 1 of the new season is coming up at Randwick on Saturday but there are 6 Stakes races in all across Melbourne & Sydney ... all of them good betting races. Moonee Valley R6 McKenzie St. Moonee Valley R8 Carlyon St. Randwick R4 Silver Shadow St. Randwick R5 Show County Quality Randwick R6 Toy Show Quality Randwick R7 Winx St (Group 1)

I'd forgotten about the playoff tips DZ ... to be honest I'm just catching up with the overseas sports. I see Vancouver made the playoffs ... my cousin lives there and is a big fan. So I lean towards them a bit but not with any great passion. They might reach the last 8 with a bit of luck. But the last 8 will see some excellent match-ups anyway. Islanders, Vegas, Avs & Bruins are almost certainly going to feature. Tampa as well by the looks of it.

Horrific crash in the MotoGP ... no one seriously hurt thank goodness but Valentino Rossi can count his lucky stars. The vision can be viewed online with a quick search. Jack Miller the Aussie leads the race with 18 laps to go and hopefully he can hold on and win.

How 'bout those Demons!

Showmanship showed a bit ... dominant in the end for sure. Pikey in the last in Melbourne insread of Ascot! Viridine just too good whilst Savatiano stood out for those who weren't looking (yours truly included) An even day with a few winners ... North Pacific looks one to follow out of the races up in Sydney.

You left out 'or Tomlinson' on the wing rjay. I haven't seen much in Tomlinson either and that was the thrust of my argument. So either/or without any great expectations Again, our best 15 players need to perform and neither Tomlinson or T-Mac are best 15. We've probably got about 15 who could fill the last 7 spots. It might only be 5 spots if 17 are assured of a game. I've just gone with 15 as a roundabout figure.

We need our best 14 or 15 players playing well and the rest could play to specific roles rather than be looked upon as possible standouts. For instance AVB could play because of the physicality and aggression that he brings or Jones plays because of his experience. T-Mac could play in the hope that he rediscovers his best form whilst fulfilling a role as a utility. But none of the last 6 or 7 players picked will be difference makers so fulfilling a role therefore can kick in instead. And despite Goodwin saying that we're going to pick our best side I believe that players do have to be managed with all these short breaks. Gawn may not come up but if he does then it might be T-Mac or Tomlinson for the wing position. Both can probably do ok without any large expectations attached. Either/or. Viney plays if fit but I reckon we'll see a more even spread of minutes for all our midfielders ... some might rest forward or back or on the bench. Brayshaw rediscovering his form means the selectors would be loathe to put him back on a wing The bloke we need to get playing well again is Harmes. A tagging role and/or more midfield minutes. A run-with role?

Well in 3 or 4 years time we might have an absolute gun midfield which could allow us to play Oliver on a half back flank. Imagine a Brisbane Lions type midfield circa early 2000's. Great lists win big and in my decades of support we've never had a 'great' list. So Oliver playing as a distributor/sweeper across half back is dependant on the team being a great one.

I'm commenting on what my eyes see and what has often happened. Historically and what is likely to happen with regards to where our players play. I haven't actually looked at the line up of the team that closely. The ins & outs are noted though and how we've used our principle on-ballers up until now is plain to see. What is unknown is how we will share the ruck duties ... they'd have a plan but what was that Mike Tyson quote?

See post above Wyl

Jones can play as a half forward but he is nearing the end. Replacements aren't all that flash either so I'd still play him. But he needs to lift. T-Mac probably had to come in once Gawn was ruled out but Tom is horribly out of form. It's not over for him though but again, he needs to find his best form. The ruck duties look like being shared instead of the Pruess option. That's fair enough. I'rm reasonably happy with the selected team (all things considered) but we've got 5 blokes who are ideally suited for the clearances and centre bounce downs. That's 1 too many for my eyes thus my push for Viney to the forward line. Way down the track Oliver could be a star at half back ... but he's a ball magnet on the ball right now. Brayshaw feeds off him but for whatever reason, we've gone away from that.