Macca

Best Bet Strike Rate (took a hit yesterday!) 8: 2 - 2 - 1 Australian Group Racing Calendar And here are the 4 notable replays out of Melbourne & Sydney (last week & yesterday) Followed by the early market for the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (to be run next Saturday at Caulfield)

Replay time. In the post to follow (below) there are 4 replays from the meetings in Melbourne & Sydney - 2 from last weekend and 2 from yesterday. But in this post you can view the 4 big races from the York Carnival (which came to an end last night) We may see some of the participating horses in our Spring. Notably 'Japan' and maybe 'Battaash'

England get to 3-156 by stumps which was a stoic effort. Still require another 203. But credit it to them for refusing to yield. Stokes is 2 off 50 balls! As you stated Wadda, 1 wicket changes things but they've obviously come out with a plan to bat with time on their side. Root is a fine player but we need to dislodge him all the same. It isn't quite over yet and they are making us earn it. I didn't believe that they'd only be 3 down by stumps and if they'd had got to 220+ (about 3 runs per over) by the close of play you'd be quite concerned. But 359 is a tough ask. The new ball is due in 8 overs and you'd expect 1 of the 3 quicks to therefore make a breakthrough. Essential viewing once again tonight.

270 max is my tip. They are going to need one of their batsmen to get a 100 in order to challenge for victory. Can't see it on this track with the way it's played so far. 1 wicket often changes things quite a bit when the wicket is assisting the bowlers. The only doubt I have is if the wicket loses it's venom after lunch. It's only the 3rd day and usually a wicket is often at it's best for batting on the 2nd & 3rd day. Still, 359 is a tough total to reach

Watch out for some bat pads off Lyon in their 2nd innings. Was getting extra good bounce in their first innings and the wicket is still lively.

I've seen less dismissals in a t20 match played on a bunsen burner. They're dropping like flies.

Lots! We'll cash in now ... England are shell-shocked. Warner needs to go after them and put them to sleep. Edit: So much for that wish. Warner out. Harris might take up the attack instead.

Big Josh with a 5 fa! The Ashes are ours mate. The Aussies are men on a mission. That was just sensational.

Dave Warner back in form and he alone could end this today (in virtual terms) England 9 - 66 We have been ferocious Wadda. Playing like winners.

It's not a knockout but close to a TKO Wadda In boxing terms it's probably a 10 - 5 but the scoring in boxing has always been kind to the vanquished. I like the fighting qualities with the kid ... and it looks like his innings has inspired the bowlers. Just 1 wicket at a time (work for 1) to gain the upper hand even more comprehensively. Edit: England 8 - 60 and staring down the barrel.

Reckon I prefer something a bit more contemporary @Diamond_Jim for Marnus Labuschagne Dubbed 'Kid Charlemagne' by Wadda (Circa 1976!)

We can't let 'em get more than about 250 - 260 Wadda. And yep, the sun is out and the wicket might be bat friendly. Need one of our paceman to get a 5 wicket haul. Love the nickname for Labuschagne too. A demonland special. 'Kid Charlemagne' Looks a player of the future. Nice technique and good temperament. Need a few more. I'm a Renshaw fan for the same reason and hopefully, he'll get another opportunity down the track. Edit: 2 for 10 with Hazlewood & Cummins both bowling very well. Good start.

Like the 3 choices for the multi this week Wadda ... I often end up using BM's choice in an exotic bet. Really looking forward to the Winx Stakes too. There are any number of the runners in the race that can get into the finish so the Tri and/or F4 could pay well I'll post up some replays of the Group 1's from the York carnival (UK) later on. 'Enable' won again of course and is now set for a crack at a 3rd Arc de Triomphe.

The broadcast rights money ($2.518 Billion) is the biggie. But one could argue that the clubs generate that income whilst the AFL manages the money. Save for the 2 new clubs and maybe Brisbane, all the other clubs should be able to post profits given the money that is generated. Huge membership numbers, tens of millions from pokies, Tassie, NT et al, lots of sponsorship money etc etc. Money wise, the sport has never been in better shape. Even our club was able to pay top dollar for a coach (Roos) ... and it was our generated money that paid Roos' salary too. Posted profits in all of Paul's 3 years at the club as well.

Not going to happen DJ. The big clubs wouldn't stand for it. Their double-up blockbusters add a lot to their bottom lines'. In a general sense there is too much revenue at stake to ever see a 17 game season. Meanwhile, the gap between the small clubs and the big clubs gets wider every year. We as a club need to work the draft, salary cap and coaching to our advantage. I have always thought that a club like ours needs to at least have one of the best coaches in the system. But for the most part we continually appoint rookie coaches. And that is not a knock on Goodwin, it's just that a club like ours needs to find an advantage or 2. We are, by default, behind the 8 ball in so many areas. Other clubs tick the boxes as a matter of course. That won't be changing in a hurry either.

Yeah but the extra revenue in the dividend has factors such as when clubs like us are at a disadvantage with regards to the general draw, blockbuster games, free-to-air games etc We get shafted and then they give us some extra dollars to shut us up. Been that way for years. The smaller clubs are kept at arms length and then made out to be on drip feed. For instance ... the smaller clubs get lumbered with having to play extra home games against low drawing interstate teams. Year after year after year. Meanwhile, the big clubs get to play each other on a regular basis. Year after year after year. Revenue gets effected because of the above - free-to-air exposure, sponsorship, visibility, membership etc etc. And the gullible footy public buy into it like it is somehow connected to a competitive edge. Then some of our own supporters who are angry towards our current on field plight buy-in as well. There are a lot of lies in footy DJ - you should know that.

Yep ... and some of the successful clubs can receive a larger dividend than the struggling clubs due to the complications associated towards those dividends. Upwards of $10Million - $12Million per club per year when I last saw the figures. With no real breakdown so almost impossible to make sense of it all LDvC Probably done that way purposely is my cynical view. The GCS & GWS would get close to $25Million - $30Million each per year IMHO. The membership numbers for both clubs are inflated and what other revenue streams do both clubs have?

Is this official or what you want or wish for? To replace $4Million - $5Million net profit from pokies would take a hefty increase in membership. Unless they were the premium type and thousands of them. Would have thought the club would invest the sale of the pokies into another revenue stream. Got anything official that you can direct us to ET?

But the AFL didn't really give us everything did they bub? It's just another footy myth. More lies. A myth that those with an agenda will happily believe. You and others should take the time to read our annual reports. 10 profitable years from the last 11 doesn't make sense for a club that has been mostly poor on the field But we've actually been well protected financially when taking into account the largesse amounts from Foundation Hero's, Pokies ($4Million - $5Million net profit per year) and the NT money (800k per game) But old habits die hard and we spent many years associating big financial losses with poor onfield results. Or vice-versa Having said all that I do have concerns about the income streams that can replace the Pokies money. Hope they've got a good plan.

I suspect that we are being questioned about our on field year and what steps the club will be taking to right the ship The rest of what you say may well be true but I'm not sure that is what the meeting is about. Although it could be. The last time we posted a loss was in 2013. On the back of a 2nd consecutive disastrous season and after the tanking fiasco. For the record we received a one-off $1.4Million grant that year but were fined $500k for being found not guilty re tanking. Hefty fine for no guilt. With Roos & Jackson at the helm we immediately started posting profits again. As far as I can make out there haven't been any more handouts (despite what the masses want to believe)

I don't read it that way at all LH. More so that the AFL are wondering why we've dropped away so quickly this season Maybe there's some issues that we're not privy to and it looks to me that we've been summoned rather than asking for handouts. Can't be sure though but I'll be surprised if we don't post another profit this season (that would make it 10 profitable years from the last 11)

Best Bet Saturday Randwick Race 7 No.1 Avilius (Win) $3.70

Smith has been ruled out of the 3rd Test It will be interesting to see what line-up we go with. Does Starc get a game? And what about Harris? Labuschagne looks likely to replace Smith but do they go with the same top 3 where the 12 completed innings reads as 8, 2, 13, 7, 8, 40, 13, 3, 36, 16, 5 & 2. Looks a lot like my typical batting season at suburban level (I was a bowler!) 12 completed innings for a total of 153 runs at an average of 12.75. Warner, Bancroft & Khawaja are just not contributing. And with Archer up and firing I'm not hopeful. Is Burns still over there? Renshaw has the technique to face up to a bowler like Archer but he seems to be out of the picture (for some reason)

That's a big call. And you say the players were gutless last Friday night? I wouldn't be saying that. I reckon it was more a case of a poor game plan coupled with a dysfuntional forward line. Amongst other 'coach-related' issues. And we definitely have some problems with player personnel and at least 10 will probably be moved on. As well as a raft of assistants. The sign of a good coach is how he goes when the heat is applied. It's a tough gig. Well paid though. Goodwin stays on but if we have another poor season like this season then he'll be let go. That's how it works. So the microscope is on all and sundry after such a disappointing season. Coach included.

You obviously didn't read my post properly Things happen beyond our control. As individuals, we can't change much at all So if the jungle drums are beating, so be it. You think you can change that thinking? 4 coaches have been sacked this season and I'm on record as not necessarily wanting Gpodwin to be sacked. It's my belief that we have a raft of issues. Player personnel, game plan, list structure, disposal issues, coaching, pace, motivation & will to win and various other problems. We're 5 & 16 for a reason. So how is that a problem for you? What on earth are you witnessing? Something different?