Macca

Round the neck, holding the man, the push from behind have all been exploited.... all grey areas.

You go in for the smother with your fingers in an almost fist like position ... at the appropriate moment, flick your fingers back.

Touched off the boot can easily be exploited by a player attempting to smother the ball. Just flick your fingers back at the appropriate moment. Easy as pie. Who is to say it hasn't already happened. So we now have another grey area which will continue to be a grey area. Unless it's an obvious touched off the boot I'd pay it as a goal. But what is an obvious touched off the boot? Again, just another grey area without a definitive answer. Hot spot? Technology often brings its own issues. I don't trust the technology in cricket even though the graphics paint nice pictures. Especially ball tracking. I prefer the rub of the green alternative ... take the good with the bad and get on with it. You want perfection? You won't get it.

Weekend Special MLB Monday 03.05am Boston vs Toronto Boston Win (-1.5) $2.05

Meanwhile the AFL turns a blind eye to PED use ... but the public doesn't care about PED use anymore (except when the Olympics or Cycling comes around) No votes to buy there. I'm not excusing Stephenson either ... more so highlighting the inconsistencies with regards to the integrity in the sport. A 10 week suspension for transgressing the rules with regards to gambling on the sport vs 1 urine test per year per player for PED use. Out of whack in my book.

We have to do something different though DW ... Petracca is the only one out of the 7 who plays forward (McDonald, Weideman, Hannan, Hunt, Spargo & Garlett being the others) who is getting to enough contests and therefore getting enough possessions. And when they do get it they butcher the ball. Our forwards just aren't doing anywhere near enough ... the eye test and stats confirn all that. And it has been a problem since round 1. If any of them got dropped would we be surprised? So Viney or Jones or Oliver playing forward couldn't do any worse in my opinion. We need players forward of the ball who can win the ball. With Rawlings taking over the forward line they might collectively get 1 more opportunity but I'd be making at least 2 changes to the forward line right now. Probably 3 changes and send a clear message.

Yeah it is a chronic problem right throughout the club Dockett ... that's why I'm loathe to point the finger at any particular player. We have very few players operating at maximum output and if we were to analyse the whole season not one player comes to mind as a standout other than Gawn. The above is the reason why I believe we can finish off the season well (if we can get our act together)

Previously (last week) I mentioned here that because our year is almost certainly shot in terms of finals, playing Oliver forward with Jones/Viney rotating forward as well was worth a try. Petracca to play out of the middle for the rest of the year along with Brayshaw & Harmes. We could rotate all the above as well. They've all got talent so what have we got to lose by changing things up JD? TMac, Weid, Spargo & Garlett to take up somewhat lesser roles but I'm not sure all 4 of them deserve to be playing anyway. 2 of the 4 play and maybe blood a couple of the new additions (to fit in somewhere) We can experiment and still go all out for victories. In some ways we need to start planning for next year but that includes gaining momentum for next year.

A fully fit Viney can play a lot better ... he doesn't look fit to me which takes away his greatest asset (attack on the ball with the ability to break tackles) However, he needs to work on his decision making once in the clear. He is another keeper for mine but I doubt he would be put up for trade anyway.

Last Group 1 of the season at Eagle Farm on Saturday (Tatts Tiara Race 8 ) ... a good betting race too. In fact the 4 feature events (Races 6, 7, 8 & 9) are all good betting races by the looks of it. Go to Racenet.com for more details. And the first day of the Ascot carnival was raced overnight. 'Blue Point' won the feature sprint in impressive style and the connections (Godolphin/Charlie Appleby) may well be eyeing off the Everest in the Spring. The horse is a fine sprinter with an excellent record so it racing in the Everest would add a lot to the race Lord Glitters won the Queen Anne Stakes whilst Circus Maximus won the St James's' Palace Stakes. Replays can be found on youtube or Tab.com.au

We need a full time kicking coach - specifically with regards to the biomechanics. In terms of 'developing' the ability of our players to kick the ball properly and being able to kick to position, the club has failed massively. The kicking for goal is a symptom of a much greater problem. Our general field kicking is woeful. We can't hit targets therefore we turn the ball over which leads to losing games. No good having a myriad of assistants if we can't kick the footy to position. Horse before the cart and all that.

Pleased with the developments as it's what a lot of us were calling for. The right time too in the sense where we've got the 2nd half of the season to get our act together. Puts everyone on notice which was also necessary. There is a need to make sure all are working together as a team though and that's where Pert needs to be able to cast a discerning eye

If our forwards had any idea about forward play a lot of Brayshaw's kicks would find targets. Therefore Brayshaw's kicking efficiency percentage should look a lot better. And our forwards can't take a contested mark to save themselves either. Quick clearances from stoppages requires those playing downfield to play in front. That doesn't happen either. All coming under the banner of a midfield to forward line disconnect but the main issue is the dysfuntional forward line. It is as bad as I've ever seen it ... reminds of the Alves, Wells & Flower days where they had no one to kick it to. We had an all-star centreline but couldn't win games. So the Gawn, Oliver, Brayshaw & Harmes starting midfield is a beauty but wasted. In a nutshell, Brayshaw is a keeper. We do need to make some trades for some decent forwards though. Are there any KPF free agents available? Our needs are immediate.

Your idea actually has merit when considering all the data available. We could have done a lor better during that horror draft period by simply drawing names out of a hat. Such are the vagaries of drafting You should read up on the history of drafting in baseball ... a complete crap-shoot although Houston lucked out by drafting 3 guns in 3 consecutive years after tanking 3 years in a row. The luck factor in drafting cannot be overplayed enough. It is an inexact science and most probably always will be. But belief systems are belief systems so my words are only directed at 15% of the draft believers. Most others have bought in and are therefore all-in Just like your good self RR. Good to have you back but on this occasion we'll have to agree at disagree.

More revisionist stuff re the draft? We pluck kids out of high school and then attach some random number to these kids and then bestow greatness on the single-figured numbered kids as if the whole thing is somehow accurate The draft is best described as a glorified lucky dip with lots of nice prizes if you pick the right players. All the top end picks and nearly all first round picks are standout juniors but only about half of the draftees ever come up to the unrealistic expectations. And then we have the shouda couda wouda people with their hindsight offerings. I am surprised that these debates still go on.

The crux of the whole argument is the state of the game and the officiating of the game. Fix both those issues and it's problem solved (for the most part) However, that is easier said than done. The sport is harder to umpire than it ever was and the sport itself is often hard to watch as a spectacle anyway (for many) There is no other sport in the world where the umpires cop so much abuse - nothing comes close. And there has to be a reason for why that is. All the other umpires/referees in all the other sports can't just be way more competent. That argument doesn't make sense. The umpiring is never going to improve whilst we have so many grey areas in the game coupled with so much congestion. Making the umpires full time would help but if the grey areas and congestion remain, the problem remains. Which has all led to more fights in the crowd, more abuse, more frustration, more over-zealousness of security staff and then we try and remedy the situation with a band-aid approach. Make the sport more enjoyable to watch by ridding the game of the congestion & flooding and at the same time making the rules more defined for decision making by the umpires. Less players on the ground with minimum rotations for starters. A more open game is much much easier to officiate and at the same time, better to watch (for many) Supporters would still abuse umpires and be frustrated with umpiring decisions but that would be minimised. Or at least kept to a manageable level.

Weekend Special MLB Monday 4.10am Houston vs Toronto Houston Win -1.5 $1.87

A kicking coach more importantly ... cause & effect at play again DZ. Both with technique as in execution and also with the approach to the kick. At AFL level a player should be able to hit a target off 1 step who is 40 metres away. With velocity on the kick. So how many playees do we have on the list who can do that?

First there was Hal Todd with his occasional rants and then Bob Santamaria with 'Point of View' .... followed by Eric Pearce with his Epilogue. Now we've got deeluded as a kind of overview of the aforementioned. The quartet with their unabashed rhetoric that periodically makes sense.

As always, it is never just one thing. We need the players to have the confidence to have a shot at goal (in a general sense) The players also need to improve their techniques both with their approach & execution. And most of all practice, and lots of it.

And the disconnect between our midfield and our forward line along with a dysfuntional forward line combined with a poor conversion rate means an undermanned backline is then under seige Cause and effect. The above happened right throughout the 70's & 80's (with our team) with exactly the same problem (although our conversion rate was reasonable back then) And as soon as we recruited some decent forwards onto the list we started playing finals. With everyone fit and firing the backline & midfield is shored up but now we have a major issue with our forward line. And that issue needs fixing asap ... trading rather than drafting fixes things quicker (as we have done with the backline with the acquisitions of Lever & May) Fix the forward line and fix the connect between the midfield & forward line and as a flow-on effect, our backline will be less under seige and the opposition will find it harder to score.

His best form is sorely missed but he doesn't reach those heights anywhere near enough. Doesn't get to enough contests. I barely noticed him in the first 4 or 5 games of the year and he hasn't played since round 8. But he is not on his own ... there are another dozen players who are well below their best. So it is not Jake's fault alone ... he is just one part of the problem. Injured now so the spotlight goes elsewhere.

We choke in front of goal, pure and simple. Can be fixed too ... with a much more reliable 'taught' technique and a ton of practice. Reality check says we are not getting any better and in fact, the problem is getting worse That is how choking works. It gets worse unless remedied. And the opposition would know it too ... for instance, passing the ball off in an unnecessary way sends a clear message to the opposition and can have the effect of giving the other mob undue confidence. And then the sledging amps up which just exacerbates the problem. And you never give a sucker an even break.

The coaches have made by far the greatest changes to the sport but the AFL have stood idly by and let them do it. 36 players on the ball together with hundreds of rotations per game to name just 2 such instances. Flooding and the forward press are both coaching initiatives (for want of a better word) And then years later the AFL employs a band-aid approach to counteract. True custodians would have been ahead of the game but it's the money and future money that the AFL looks at primarily. The game should be bullet proof and can be if the people in charge knew what they were doing.

Does anyone know why we don't have full time umpires? Surely it wouldn't be a cost factor? Clubs now have enormous staff levels and a myriad of assistants yet the umpires are still part time. Considering the sport is by far the hardest sport to officiate, you'd reckon it would be a no-brainer. $2.518Billion from the last media rights yet we still have part time umpires? But that is the AFL for you. Incompetent custodians. If there isn't a dollar in it, they're barely interested. I have come around to the point where I believe full time umpires would make a significant difference. As an aside, the game yesterday didn't have a lot of congestion which made the game a lot easier to umpire. The game day thread here is often laced with any number of people baffled by the officiating but there was barely a word said about the umpiring. Which confirms my belief that if the game was opened up a lot more, there would be a lot less angst towards the umpires. Fix the sport and make the umpires full time and then go from there.