Macca

I will keep an eye out for that All Ireland Final ... and the Pats will probably win it again! See you on the NFL thread (Other Sports) We run an interesting comp for those who might want to partake. I'm reasonably eager for the footy as I have watched very little AFL this year. Tigers & Dogs might do well (?) With some sports I'm more inclined to follow the league (NRL, EPL & NFL) whilst with footy it's the Demons front & centre. With cricket it's the Test side. Ashes cricket No.1

Ashes comes first PSD and then the footy. And the Rugby League finals are on the week after. The NFL kicks off this weekend whilst the EPL is in full swing. Spoilt for choice! Most I know are into all of the above and more. For what it's worth ... Eagles by 45 Cats by 35 Bulldogs by 10 Tigers by 35

We still look brittle after Smith ... no.5 onwards. I would have left Labuschagne at no.5 for that reason. One of Head or Wade makes way then. Still leaves a gap at no.3 because of Khawaja's average form but I've still got Khawaja ahead of Head & Wade. My team uncludes Renshaw & one of Pucovski or Patterson but none of those 3 are in the squad. The current batting order does not inspire. DJ's idea of Warner at no.5 has real merit as well. Alex Carey ... just pick him now as the choice of Paine is far too conservative. The Ashes are on the line so you make the moves now. It's nothing personal ... all players who aren't top-notch are expendable. And those players know it too.

The NFL Is Back! Guess the Lines Week 1 - Bill Simmons With Cousin Sal

Vega Magic out for the Spring They can't figure out what is wrong with the horse but the horse is being sent home to Perth and might run in the Winterbottom in the Summer (at Ascot)

Jones is still in our best 12 - 18 players. And that's if they're all fit and healthy. We've got a list full of C & D graders who have never been any good and probably never will be. List cloggers. In fact, I'd add a couple more Jones types 'to' the team. Even if it was only for a year or 2. Those concerned about 1 spot out of 47 are overplaying the value of 1 spot. In any given year the list is often clogged up with non achievers often replaced with a new batch of non achievers. Not just our club either. The overall depth of talent in the AFL is quite shallow. Good players are hard to find. Older experienced types should be kept on instead. Not all obviously but again, we often bring in delisted free agents and they do nothing. Better the devil you know. And Jones isn't the reason why we only won 5 games. The whole team & FD more like it. Everyone. The overall list is well below par. We can ill afford to lose any more experience. Why he isn't playing forward is baffling though. He fights hard for the ball and is an excellent kick for goal. Which is something that none of our forwards showed this year. Fritsch if he played there all season being the exception. Petracca if he could kick straight.

Money talks Rusty And you normally have to pay overs anyway. We're not as badly placed as we were previously and we're more like a 10 win team with a functioning forward line. And that's without a big name forward or 2. Fritsch and a fit Melksham would have made a difference if they'd played forward all season. And plonk Viney and/or Jones forward and another win or 2 could have eventuated By the time we started ringing the changes it was way too late.

Hunt plays from behind too much and doesn't get to enough contests. Nor does he apply enough forward pressure. Apart from that he's 'ok' Good pace, elusive and can kick goals. Melksham plays for frees too much and again, doesn't get involved enough. An excellent kick to position and he's got class but he has a few issues. He's not that good. I'd keep both but neither player is B+ level by any means.

The good KF option would be a left field get. But that is what it often takes anyway. The Tigers changed tack when they went after Lynch and the deals for Buddy, Kennedy etc took a bit to get across the line. First of all the salary offer has to be through the roof and then the deal has to go through. We got Hogan with the Scully compo pick (kinda, sorta) and Freo got Hogan with 1 top end pick. So it's not impossible to land a big fish if the club is hell bent on securing a decent key forward. And we're not necessarily going to hear about it until it happens. The 2 that we've got are lazy. T-Mac has been a disappointment and I'm not sure we can rely on him. Weideman just flies for marks like it's 'kick to kick' . If the plan is to go with those 2 I'm not at all confident. Imagine if you were the coach?

If I was part of the recruiting team I'd find a way. By hook or by crook (To bring in 2 decent key forwards over a 2 or 3 year period) As a collective our forwards play from behind, they don't lead enough or lead to space, can't kick straight and don't play as a team within a team. And the marking skills are well below par and they don't 'relish' the front position. As individuals you could make a case for any number of them but as a collective, we fail. Ironically the bloke who does play in front and who does make multiple leads and make position is too small for the task (Spargo) And Spargo isn't quick enough nor does he have the kicking skills to be a decent small forward. Our forward line deficiencies first reared its ugly head after half time at Port Adelaide in 2018. Hinkley decided to pressure & press our midfielders and the rest is history. Sooner or later all the other clubs were going to cotton-on and that's what has happened. A hurried or haphazard kick into a forward line can still be retained if all our forwards get to the front position and relish doing it. But we play from behind and won't adhere to the fundamentals. We also need cleaner delivery from our midfield and those issues can be addressed with more skillful midfielders, pace, outside run, spread etc etc

I'm just going to stream RedZone then ... I can't go without JV. I won't! Still, as Gorg pointed out, Foxtel covering 3 games is good news whilst it looks like the 7Network will cover 2 games (early & late Sunday games?) As for the divisional outcomes, I'm out of the loop a bit so I might have a go on the weekend. Packers could battle a bit this season. Maybe 8-9 wins but we're up against it. Good pipe-opener though (Friday 10.20am) ... Packers @ Bears. The teams and fans hate each other so it'll be game on! Packers have to keep it close and hope that Rodgers does his magic. Bears could be good though. The oldest rivalry - bring it on!

It is fair to say that Oliver is better than most at his trade. For instance, he gave Alizee every chance but the horse just didn't quite have that finishing speed we've seen before. But he rode the horse a treat all things considered. Had every chance. Same for Vega ... and he was smart enough to ease the horse up when the horse didn't respond in the straight. It's hard to fathom losing your life as a jockey. The families of the 2 young female jockeys must be besides themselves with grief. It really is an extreme sport in a lot of ways. A very sad weekend for racing.

We have been quite active in recent years Redleg and who is to say we won't bring in a couple of ready made players again. To my way of thinking I'd like to see 4 new 'good' players all-up. Hard to do though and I reckon we've only done that once in the last 15 years (2014 - Brayshaw, Petracca, Frost & Harmes) The top end pick this year might take a year or 2 to hit his straps if we draft a midfielder type with that pick but we might be able to swing a few moves with this year's 2nd rounder and next year's 1st and/or 2nd rounder. Plus there's trades however elaborate. I'm expecting quite a bit of activity from the club and we might see up to 10-11 new faces.

Tipping comp time again ... easy to play, just pick 3 road teams to win from 3 picks. Most week's there is 1 point on offer for getting all 3 correct but we have a number of bonus weeks where 2 points are up for grabs with the final week carrying 3 points. All tips must be in before the games start for your particular tips. No changing tips or editing allowed. As stated, it's a very easy process apart from getting them right! Missing a week or 2 or starting late may not necessarily effect your chances of winning ... there are numerous weeks when no one gets a point or points. However, the bonus weeks are where the comp is usually won & decided. Bonus weeks are week's 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17 where 2 points are on offer with week 17 worth 3 points. If we can 5 or 6 starters it's a goer. Just post up a yes if interested @Dee Zephyr @DemonDave @pantaloons @titan_uranus @Strafford @Dappa Dan @Go the Biff @Clintosaurus @DeeSpencer @cowboy_from_hell @layzie @JV7 @Dr. Gonzo @Cards13 @Wadda We Sing @daisycutter @beelzebub

Post Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2018 Gorgoroth Go the Biff DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017 Macca Clintosaurus Go the Biff/ JV7/ Gorgoroth --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Gorgoroth/ JV7 Clintosaurus Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 JV7/ cowboy_from_hell Gorgoroth/ Macca DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 JV7/ pantaloons Gorgoroth/ Go the Biff Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 titan_uranus DemonDave cowboyfhell/ Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regular Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2018 DeeSpencer Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth, Dappa Dan Dee Zephyr, Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017 Clintosaurus Go the Biff Dappa Dan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Gorgoroth cowboy_from_hell Clintosaurus/ DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 Gorgoroth cowboy_from_hell/ Macca JV7/ DeeSpencer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 Dappa Dan DeeSpencer Gorgoroth --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 cowboy_from_hell/ pantaloons/ Gorgoroth Strafford Macca --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall Medal Tally Gold Silver Bronze Gorgoroth 4 0 6 Macca 3 1 4 JV7 2 2 1 ---------------------------------------------------- cowboy_from_hell 1 3 1 DeeSpencer 1 2 3 Clintosaurus 1 2 2 Go the Biff 1 2 1 Dappa Dan 1 1 1 Strafford 1 0 0 titan_uranus 1 0 0 pantaloons 0 2 0 DemonDave 0 1 0 Dee Zephyr 0 0 1 

Monday Special Portugal Premeira Liga Monday 6.00am FC Braga vs Benfica Benfica Win (+2.5 Goals Match Score) $2.60

Sorry mate ... I was jumping at shadows. I thought you were having a go at the jockey. I misunderstood the joke. Apologies. When it got the inside lane I thought the horse was home. Wouldn't surprise me if they retire Vega Magic. It's a 7 year old and a Group 1 sprinter that's won nearly $4Million. It's done enough and it looked quite incapacitated in the straight. It should be noted that the horse only had 1 run.in the Autumn and was beaten 20 lengths at that only start. There is something wrong with the horse and I believe it's health & well being related.

A similar reaction came with the punters after a run by Avilius in Melbourne last Autumn (Australian Cup) It was reported after the disappointing run (1.4 length 5th) that Avilius had contracted an ulcer/abscess in one of it's eyes. That's got to affect a horse. But punters are an unforging lot so the good odds were on offer in it's next run. It duly won at 7-2 (overs) I got on and I might have even made it my best bet here. And other times horses just don't run well because of some unidentified problem (like weariness from a solid campaign - which happens a lot) I thought Vega Magic's odds were a bit too short anyway. Sprint races often throw up mixed results (especially at Caulfield or the Valley)

Hang on a minute Wadda For a start Oliver gave the horse a near perfect run. Sat just behind the leader on the fence and then got the dream run on the inside. The horse never left the rails. But then the horse didn't go ... it was later reported that the horse has a hot spot in it's foreleg. If serious the horse may well be retired. I knew there was something wrong with the horse as soon as it didn't have that kick. I didn't need confirmation. I did my money too so you're not alone. Go back and have another look at the race Wadda. I understand that you may be hearing about the possible injury to the horse for the first time so thus the cross wires.

It's all about the X's & O's in certain games not about the actual output. Although from an overall perspective it is about output. But if you're measuring things by goals kicked by key forwards in certain games it's a short-sighted view in today's footy (crowded forward lines etc) To me a forward line starts and finishes with key forwards who have a presence, can take a mark and can kick straight. But they can't do it all the time these days. But the 'threat' has to be there. Stuff that is hard to measure. It's like not having a proper ruckman ... someone like T-Mac, Weideman, Tim Smith or Watts will eventually be outpointed to a point where the opposition can only lose if their coaching is incompetent. A journeyman ruckman like Nankervous will suffice though because he's a proper ruckman. So if you've got 2 dud key forwards the same sort of outcome can occur. As we saw this season. Not playing key forwards isn't going to work either as the opposition will find another way to gain a strong advantage in that situation (unless you've got 3 or 4 champion other forwards like Chapman, Johnson et al) Our lot apart from our key forwards are below average as well. Petracca is our best but he has goal kicking issues. So describing our forward line as dysfuntional isn't overstating things. Our issues are quite identifiable if the truth be known. But fixing things is easier said than done because of the restrictions with recruiting. I can remember when the club (and the supporters) thought our troubles were over when we recruited John Tilbrook. We placed him on a half forward flank in a dysfuntional forward line devoid of talent. And then the players wouldn't kick it to him. Starvation corner had a whole new meaning And then the supporters blamed Tilbrook! That's how it works but I see things way differently. You put a gun small forward into our dysfuntional forward line right now and he'd be wasted somewhat. Surround him with a couple of top-notch gun key forwards and it's a different story. So one comes before the other. Working from the opposite way is high risk. We'd be easy to coach against and the outcomes indicate that as well. You put Lynch & Reiwoldt into our forward line this season and we'd be playing finals again.

What are you saying?

Yet many questioned as to why Pail McNamee was prepared to make a play for Jono Brown back 11 years ago. Brown was exactly the type of key forward that we needed (to replace Neitz) and I was all for it. Was only going to be for 4 or 5 years but Steven May falls into the same bracket in terns of probable years of service. In the ensuing years the closest we came was with Hogan but his value was underplayed and understated. Measuring the value of a good key forward changed once the game became congested (along with crowded forward lines) Some players are just no good in confined spaces & circumstances. And when the bright lights shine others just aren't up to it. Others relish the contest and relish the front position (as key forwards) And that is what we desperately need in our forward line. Crumbing forwards are the add-ons. 3rd & 4th forwards largely the same.

I don't ever look at the general importance of 1 spot on the list. Considering there are often 20+ expendable types in any given year with any given club with any given list, what's 1 spot? I'd play Jones and/or Viney as small forwards to fill a need. At least we know they'd both fight hard for the ball and would get to the right spots. Jones will almost certainly be in his last year anyway whilst Viney might surprise. The other current options aren't good enough. So we could go for 3 or 4 tall forward types. 1 might turn out right whilst another might fill a need. It's trial and error or ... make a play for a big gun forward. Or perhaps 2 gun forwards over a 2 or 3 year period. Instead of all that we still.place too much importance on untried high school age draftees. Often to zero effect. We did it with May & Lever so why not shore up our forward line? Supporters get too pre-occupied with small forwards. I'm hoping the club is thinking a lot bigger than that.

Yes Melanie Tyndall lost her life after falling from a horse at the Darwin meeting yesterday.