Macca

It is entirely possible for a number of players to all have one of their better year's in the one season. Everything clicks into gear per se. And I'm not saying that is what happened in 2018 but in theory, it's certainly possible. What we now need is for more of our players to have one of their best years ... this season. If that happens we could have a better year (from an overall perspective) than 2018. Related ... even the best players in the league can have a lean year. And if a number of your best players all have a lean season in the same season, you could end up with a poor W/L ratio. I reckon that could sum up our past 2 seasons but again, I thought we dropped away too much last season.

I agree ... but Salem might be under instruction to give the ball off with those dinky 15-20 foot passes. Often sideways or to the boundary line. Needs to be given more of a reign to set up forward forays ... Salem can now make time for himself and we need to see more productive disposal levels (and I'm not referring to DE% ... that stat is often overrated) Melksham is terrific with ball in hand (when he gets it) and there are a few others that can be much more damaging with their disposal (notably Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, Petracca & Viney ... as well as Salem) With a number of others, it's hold-your-breath time. The eyes say it all. And of course we need our players further afield to be sprinting on leads and making position on a consistent basis ... moving targets (at speed) will often catch the eye of a player with ball in hand. Our forward line failed massively (last season) in that dept. In soccer they talk about dynamic disposals and that description is self-expanatory. In footy, the measurements are often quite vague - just numbers that often don't make a lot of sense. e.g. Tap outs and tap outs to advantage But what about tap-outs to advantage that lead to a 'clean' clearance which can lead to a scoring opportunity Damo? So, with regards to the topic at hand, what I would like to see is contained in paragraphs 3 & 5 (above)

Yeah I did ... it's called a balanced view, stuie You might want to try it sometime (if you're capable)

In your imagination You're never going to get it ... it's one thing to have favourites but you've got to be able to recognise faults. You were the same with CS although you dropped him like a hot potato once he was removed. Which is typical of you. If you really want to know why Garlett could no longer get a regular game and was ultimately delisted, look no further than the coach of the team.

Fair enough but there are about 15-20 current players on the list who need to prove themselves as bona-fide AFL players. And I'm being conservative because the number is probably a lot higher So I put Bennell in with about 25 - 30 others on our list. The focus needs to be widespread rather than about 1 bloke. But I suppose Bennell is the 'news' to many but if you, me or anyone else were involved at the club, we'd just see him as another unproven prospect along with numerous others It would be different if the bloke was signed to a long term contract on big money. But that is not the case ... quite the opposite in fact.

An occasional short step would have been acceptable but Jeff ran past way too many contests (more so in the last year or so) Such a good finisher though and he'd still be with us otherwise. Garlett made the call on himself in a lot of ways ... Goodwin's decision to dispense with the bloke was made easier by Jeff himself. But there are plenty who don't relish the contest when it doesn't look so obvious. But ultimately they still get found out in the same way. Either traded away or delisted. Those who are highly skilled or immensely skilled and therefore highly productive stay in the system.

There are any number of other Hail Mary 'Shots' every season old dee. Even a top 10 pick is a speculative pick as there are any number of high school age kids who just can't make the transition to AFL football. And trading for established talent can often be problematic too in terms of injury (or otherwise) Clark, Lumumba, Lever & May have all had their issues. And that's just our club. Can anyone guarantee that Weideman, Jackson & Pickett won't be busts? Now, I am not at all intimating that any of the 3 are going to be busts but the possibility is definitely there. It's draft them and then hold your breath. By comparison, Bennell is just another (in a long line) speculative pick. I just don't see the big deal (at all)

Including all the rookies, up to 20 players (or more) won't be at the club after the completion of the 2021 season ... so have a look at the complete list and see if you can come up with the 20. Of course, a lot has to play out yet but the numbers don't lie. And it is not really about identifying the 20 ... more so about recognising the actual numbers. It's like the bust rate with drafting ... over 40% for first round picks. In baseball the bust rate is 75% for first round draft picks. In the NFL the bust rate is 40%+ for first round picks and the draftees are 21-22 years old with 4 years of College football behind them. Including the rookies, in one 2 year stretch during the Roos era over 25 players were dispensed with. Why? Because there just isn't the available talent available so therefore the lists need to be constantly churned over. So why be so concerned with the equivalent of 1 rookie spot where the impact on the salary cap is negligible anyway? The usual suspects here are jumping at shadows with their over-the-top comments (or perhaps they have a hidden agenda) The value of 1 spot on the list is overrated anyway ... the real issue is getting to a point where the club has 25 bona-fide AFL standard footballers on the list. Bennell is definitely worth the punt as at least we know the bloke has some untapped talent ... the last 10-12 players on the list are often devoid of real talent ... they are often just making up the numbers. How many top players are in the league in totality? 100? 120? And there are close to 900 players in the system. There are hundreds that fall short every season. And hundreds of not-so-good players are kept on lists because there aren't any decent alternatives.

Tips from the big bookies for Saturday January 25 The big bets for Saturday January 25 All the tips to make your Saturday profitable

A few decent races coming up tonight and over the weekend acting as a bit of a preview to the Autumn Here are some races to look out for - the Australia Stakes is to be run at 9.30pm tonight and the race has attracted a decent field ... 'Hey Doc' & 'Scales of Justice' have drawn the 2 inside gates so the race will be on early. 'Begood Toya Mother' & 'Microphone' should be on the speed as well. Friday Evening - Australia Stakes Sat - Blue Diamond Preview (C & G) Sat - Blue Diamond Preview (F) Sat - John Dillon St. (Caul) Sat - Carrington St. (Rand) Mon - Centenary Vase (Sha Tin) Mon - HK Classic Mile (Sha Tin)

Could go that way as well Dappa ... and being a SB a high scoring game probably isn't a given even though both teams are free-scoring teams. It is a high mark set by Vegas though ... and the bookies rarely lose.

Leaderboard Post Season Tipping Comp 9 - DemonDave, Dee Zephyr 8 - Go the Biff 7 - Macca 6 - JV7 5 - Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth 4 - Dappa Dan 2 - DeeSpencer If you accurately tip the SB Winner you'll receive 3 points ... plus a bonus 2 points if your winning score falls within 3 points of the winning teams actual score. e.g. Dappa Dan puts up a scoreline of KC 34 49ers 31 ... if KC win and their winning score is somewhere between (and including) 31 - 37, then Dappa would pick up a total of 5 points (3 points plus 2 bonus points) So, all those participating can still win (either outright or tie for the win) or finish on the podium. And we could extend the bonus points system for all the rounds of the playoffs next year ... makes putting up the scorelines worthwhile.

Over/under set at 53.5 for the SB ... that might be unders for these 2 free scoring teams. You'd reckon the winning team could easily rack up the numbers ... Ravens aside, the 49ers & KC are the 2 best teams. Both teams are great to watch as well. And credit to Andy Reid (again) ... he just knows how to get his team's into contention. Time management can sometimes be an issue though ? Packers need to turn a good list into a great list ... LaFleur did very well in his first year but he'll need to reshape the team. There is still too much onus on Rodgers as we have weaknesses at RB (depth) WR (depth) and the run defence & pass defence isn't great either. The O-Line is reasonable but we're a ways off from an overall perspective. All in all we did well to make the last 4 ... which is something that 28 other teams didn't achieve. Good luck to the 49ers & KC fans that reside here on this thread. Just getting to the SB is some sort of achievement.

2 scores in it now though Packers will now need the 49ers to make an error or 2 (turnover) to have any sort of chance

As forecast by many (including myself) I only tipped the Packers (here) because I would never pick against my team. I thought we did tremendously well to make the last 4 to be honest. We're not a bad team but we're not that good either. On the other hand the 49ers look the complete package ... barring a miracle comeback by Green Bay the SB match-up looks a beauty.

Titans 17 Chiefs 32 Packers 28 49ers 27

Excellent recap above @DemonDave Leaderboard Post Season Tipping Comp 5 - DemonDave, Dee Zephyr, Macca 4 - JV7, Go the Biff, Dappa Dan 3 - Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth 2 - DeeSpencer This week each game is worth 2 points whilst the SB Winner receives 3 points plus a bonus 2 points if your winning score falls within 3 points of the actual score. And that is for the SB only, not this week KC are -7.5 favourites whilst San Francisco are -6.5 favourites.

Going to real tough at the 49ers next week though. Happy to be in the hunt of course ... we'll have to be at our best to have a chance. Still can't believe the Ravens didn't turn up and Houston threw away that game against KC. And the Titans could go all the way with the way they're playing.

Fairly sure a lot of our good players under Smith were from different parts of the bush but when we were restricted to the Goulburn Valley only (or part of) that all changed. Ironically we did get a few excellent players from that zone later on when the draft was first phased in (notably Lyon, Schwarz, David Williams and 1 or 2 others) And the zones were meant to be switched around every 3 to 5 years but that never happened. From what I've been told we were given the worst possible zones because of the ongoing success that we were having back then. That's probably what Smith was going on about (?) But by hell we dropped away (talent-wise) in a hurry post that great era.

But we have no such excuses in the drafting era (although we did contest the finals 12 years out of 20 from '87)

The zones were a big big factor too although it could be argued we didn't put enough time & effort into our zones (?) The older members would know more about that than I would.

The differences you highlight I don't bother with It's just Supporter-Speak based on human instincts. We'd be the same if we were as successful. Arrogance comes naturally per se. Clubs operate despite what their supporters say or do (primarily)

And the Packers just got lucky there ... not sure that the ball broke the plane (Jones) But you take the good with the bad hey?

In my opinion we've often never had enough real talent and I measure the list against dynasty type teams. Why? Because that is how good you need to be. Our biggest failings has been with recruiting. And I'd argue that recruiting is the most important aspect of a club. Great recruiting = A great list (as long as the coaching and all the rest of it is sound) But it all goes hand in hand so the leadership and expertise from the top needs to be A1 in order to be great at recruiting. Do that and then the wins happen. Hawthorn's strength has been it's recruiting. In the last half century, they've done it better than any other team We were once in the same position under Smith, Cardwell with Ivor as the right hand man to Norm. Back then (from what I've been told & what I've read) our recruiting was supreme.

I prefer to view things as the club will do whatever regardless of how we feel or what we say or do. We'd like to think that we make a difference but really we don't. I have been involved in local sport all my life and that is where one can really make a difference. Just my view of course but the club obviously knows its supporter base wants success ... and they know we're fiercely loyal too. Just like any other fan base I gave the Hawthorn example because I don't believe their supporters are any different to ours ... in the last half century 12 flags versus 0 flags. And considering our lack of success in the half century it's quite amazing to have over 50 thousand members. We are the club's greatest asset. Make no mistake about that. Fitzroy & South Melbourne supporters lost their clubs because of a lack of onfield success (which evemtually effected their supporter numbers) So never beat yourself up about your own support for the club. You and the rest of us are playing our part.