Macca

The Giants could get in first anyway (?) Here's his Combine performance ...

There's a lot going on next weekend apart from Super Saturday at Flemington & Guineas day at Randwick. We've got the Group 3 Newcastle Newmarket on Friday and then on Sunday it's Black Opal Stakes Day at Canberra with 4 feature events to be held. And then Bruce McAvaney graces us with his presence on Monday for the Adelaide Cup Meeting ... hopefully working with James Jordan again with JJ giving out his tips. They worked really well together last year. The horse that won the cups treble out of Tassie in Eastender is running in the Adelaide Cup ... drawn 18 but it often gets back as a general rule. Still, with 20 horses in the field that's a lot of horses to get past. Good field, all the same. Run over the classic 2 miles.

Foles to the Jags? @Clintosaurus @Dappa Dan - thoughts?

I only watched our game rjay but I felt that we saw a different balance between the in-close footy and open footy. There was plenty of pressure on players disposing of the ball - especially on Angus who, to be fair, did have 37 disposals. So from an overall perspective, if that's the sort of footy we get to see, I'm on board. You don't want too much one way or the other (congestion/open footy) so I hope we get to see a good balance in the neutral games. Our game looked like it was easier to officiate too. We saw the 'longer' bomb from the kick in and that was interesting - cleared the press a few times thus opening the game up. But it's early doors ... we won't be able to make a judgement call on the rule changes until about a third of the way into the season. My ideal game would see about 32 goals being scored in a match - and both us and the Tiges scored 16 goals each on Sunday.

With everything to play for Liverpool can't even score against Everton ... meanwhile, City keep finding a way to win. I'd like to see Liverpool win the title but draws ain't gonna get the job done. With 9 games to go and only 1 point separating the 2 sides, it's now down to who blinks first. I'm not sure that Man City will leave the door ajar again like they did in late December so Liverpool may have to win at least 8 of their 9 remaining games. Maybe even all 9.

Clarrie has that look about him though and the bloke behind him has that look of utter despair. They're both possibly looking at their own footy future's in that snap. 'A picture is worth a 1000 words' was never more apt. Oliver is your quintessential above the shoulders player. Born to play footy.

So that's what Josh Mahoney looks like. Who knew? The club has copped it left, right & centre on our drafting & trading history but what about the recent past ... Oliver, Brayshaw and (probably) Petracca are star quality whilst I believe Weideman could be really good if he can develop a genuine belief in himself. Salem is another success story. Viney the same. Melksham & Hibberd came for 2nd round picks. Fritsch, Frost & AVB came reasonably cheap as well. On top of that we've used top end picks to trade in 2 quality backmen (May & Lever) to shore things up down back. Trading/recruiting for senior talent in Cross, Vince & Lewis were also good moves. We've gone from predominately missing to predominately hitting with regards to recruiting.

Hawkshot, Hartnell & Mystic Journey get the 3 remaining wild-cards for the All Star Mile Read more here

I started a thread here once about the 'Best combined 22 that anyone here had seen play.' That opened up the possibility for both young & old (here) to post up players from any era. But if I was picking an all-time great Demon 22 then I'd be putting up plenty who I never actually saw play. Ivor Warne-Smith, Norm Smith, RDB and many others. But RDB supersedes all and therefore has to be brought into the conversation ... he was too good a player and played as a ruck-rover (midfielder) This is not to detract from Clarrie's obvious ability but he needs a similar output for a few more years yet before the true accolades can be bestowed on him. Wells is the best midfielder I've seen play at the club but again, RDB is miles ahead of all of them if we trust the history. And I trust the history.

Clarrie did win the Morrish Medal (fairest & best in the Under 18 comp) so every club would have known about him. But you're right, working our way to the 3 pick was a masterstroke. The Bombers were all set to take Oliver and Parish with picks 5 & 6 but we usurped them.

"In Lyon's time on earth" but ... Clarrie has a long way to go before he catches up with Ron Barassi I never saw RDB play but I know plenty who did see him play ... a gun ruck-rover (midfielder) who was arguably best on ground in 3 winning grand finals. Universally regarded as a great footballer. Oliver is on a similar trajectory but he's still got to get there. Not sure we should ever dismiss the past so easily.

T-Mac was cut out of the game yesterday by a very good player in Rance ... with Hogan gone T-Mac is now almost certainly the main focus for opposition teams. He'll be double-teamed as well as not many teams have a backman as good as Rance. We really missed Melksham yesterday but we need Weideman to stand up and become a consistent 2nd tall option. If he does that, opposition teams will have 2 talls to concern themselves with. If both talls fire along with Petracca & Melsham, we're more than half-way there. The small forward and/or the 5th forward option can shine if the base is strong.

The way I saw it a lot of his kicks were under extreme pressure but he (Brayshaw) was still trying to direct the ball to the 'hot' spot ... only for that area to be often occupied by Richmond players. If our forwards stopped trying to take the easy option of leading to the boundary line or playing from behind, they may have been on the end of those rushed kicks to the hot spot area. Basic footy 101. We made it easy for their backman by not sticking to the basics ... and Brayshaw often had no option but to kick it forward when under pressure - the other option is to get caught in possession or to handpass it to another player who could end up under the same pressure. Surround Brayshaw with the 9 good players who missed yesterday and you'll see his disposal efficiency skyrocket. By the way, Brayshaw doesn't quite have the turn of foot that Martin/Dangerfield/Judd has but he's a different sort of player. We need our forwards to play in front and lead to space or to the hot spot ... cause & effect at play here except Brayshaw isn't the cause of ineffectual forward play. We need to own the hot spot if we're to dominate games. Constantly leading to the boundary line just makes it easy for opposition backmen. If our forward line fires, we can win big. The midfield isn't the issue nor is the backline a problem either (with the acquisition of Lever & May)

And I just gave you the reason - he often disposed of the ball under extreme pressure. So it stands to reason that when disposing of the ball under extreme pressure, the player can only do his best. If you want pinpoint accuracy from those situations then you're a hard-marker. Our problem this year won't be the likes of Brayshaw ... we absolutely need a fully functioning forward line with our forwards displaying the basics as well as top skills. By the way, Brayshaw often favours his left side to wrong-foot the opposition but even with taking that option, he was still (yesterday) under a lot of pressure on numerous occasions. If he goes to his preferred side he may not get the kick away at all ... and again, our players forward of the ball need to be reading the play and position themselves accordingly.

He was under pressure a lot which isn't his fault either. Under the circumstances I thought his disposal was first rate. Now he could just handpass it like Clarry does but we need to get the ball forward quickly from a congested situation The real issue is that all our forwards need to relish and fight for the front position because a rushed kick often falls short. Disposal efficiency stats are often a misnomer ... the eyes have it along with an understanding of the modern game.

I thought it was a really good hit out ... we had a whole host of good players out yet our teamwork & link up play was quite good (all things considered) I especially liked the way the team kept coming deep into the last quarter ... but any number of players who ran around today aren't going to be in the starting 22. 15 players pick themselves (if available) so only about 7 spots are up for grabs and there's at least 20 players vying for those 7 spots. Gawn, Viney, Jones, Lewis, May, Lever, Petracca, T-Mac, Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, Salem, Jetta, Melksham, & Hibberd all start (if fit) yet only about 6 of those 15 played today. Add in those 9 who didn't play and it's a completely different team. Weideman, Fritsch and one of Frost or Oscar probably start as well so the rest are fighting for very few spots. That competitive environment is great for the club thus we saw the team fight to the finish today. Again, we could have been on the end of a belting yet very nearly won the game. I was very pleased with the overall effort.

I reckon both teams are overs on the Win/+2.5 ... Juve are 5.50 so I have done the 'saver' multi with Liverpool & Atletico. The combined odds are just too tempting Wadda even though I do like your Napoli selection. I also like @Dee Zephyr 's selection with Atletico ... good value all round really. The same theory has been working for me on the horses with the saver option. It's really only feasible if both odds are deemed as overs. There will be goals in this match you'd reckon. Meanwhile, our Demons have had a good hit-out in oppressive conditions. We've got a number of good players missing but we've taken it right up to the Tiges.

Early odds for the Newmarket with question marks over a couple at the top (notably Nature Strip & Zousain) Santa Ana Lane & Redkirk are excellent value (both are former multiple winners down the straight at Flemington at Group 1 level)

Here are the 3 specials ... all tomorrow morning Monday 6.30am Serie A $4.20 Napoli Win +2.5 goals v Juventus Monday 03.15am EPL $2.50 Liverpool Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score @ Everton Spanish Primera Division Monday 04:30 - Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid $2.90 Atletico Madrid Win & Over 1.5 match goals Old school combined odds of 33-1 (with a boost) Good luck to anyone who is playing

Best Bet Strike Rate 96: 39 - 14 - 12 Australian Group & Listed Races And here are the replay's of the Group 1 races from yesterday ... Surround Stakes - Nakeeta Jane (logon to watch)

Looks a no-brainer Wadda, doesn't it ? Saturday overnight I've been having a couple of multi's based on the English Championship, League 1 & League 2 ... just 3picks but there is some very good value to be had in those leagues. Anywhere from 15-1 up to 50-1 based on the Win/+2.5 match goals rule-of-thumb. Spurs/Gunners tonight (11pm on SBS) could provide a few goals as well although either team can win.

Spurs vs Gunners on SBS tonight ... coverage starts at 11.00pm. TalkSport Radio TodayFM (EPL Coverage)

You could look at from the connections of Happy Clapper's point of view ... they have given up the chance to win other races with bigger prizemoney along with black-type recognition. That they happened to gain a wild-card was testimony to the horses ability but it's still a bit of a risk running against Winx ... and the fact is that any number of the connections of the good middle distance horses have deliberately avoided Winx - Apollo Stakes (1400m) Chipping Norton (1600m) Ryder Stakes (1500m) Ironically, the All Star Mile doesn't include the best Miler in Australia - Winx. My query is why isn't 'The Autumn Sun' running in the All Star Mile or running against Winx? For stud purposes the ASM doesn't carry any weight yet but when it does become a Group 1 race (along with the Everest) they'll be clamoring to get into the race. My attitude has always been there's no time like the present so the dilly-dallying annoys me ... both races aren't going anywhere so get them both recognised asap.

Next year we'll have a stronger field but in any Group 1 WFA middle distance race the field often tails off after the top 6 or 8 ... to get 14 bona-fide chances in the race would be a promoters dream. They'll make it happen next year by lifting the Benchmark qualification as well as altering the voting procedures to suit ... we might see 5 or 6 wild-cards too. 1 or 2 NQR's is acceptable though given it is a public vote. I reckon the 3 add-ons will be Mystic Journey, Fifty Stars & Hartnell ... add those 3 to Alizee, Amphitrite, Grunt, Happy Clapper & Material Man and you've got a very good field. Moss 'n' Dale & Mr Money Bags could run bold races too. And 1 or 2 of the rank outsiders could end up with a dream run from a good barrier and end up finishing in the top 8 past the post. Good money to be made for the connections of the long-shots.

Weekend Special Monday 03.15am EPL $2.50 Liverpool Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score @ Everton