Macca

He's still a young man in terms of being able to identify talent It is D-day for a few of his past picks however, most of those picks have either not been tested at senior level or if they have played, they haven't been given a decent shot at it We'll know a lot more by the end of the season

*Spoiler Alert (if you don't know the results) @Gorgoroth @layzie @Clintosaurus @Dee Zephyr @ElDiablo14 @Go the Biff @BDA Leaderboard Tipping Comp 13 - ElDiablo14, Clintosaurus, Macca 12 - Gorgoroth 11 - BDA 9 - Dee Zephyr 8 - Go the Biff 2 - layzie We play for 3 (+3) points per game in the Championship week, so 12 points are up for grabs in week 3 of the playoffs Monday 7.00am Patriots (-5.5) @ Denver Monday 10.30am Rams @ Seattle (-2.5)

It's a clean slate for a lot on the list (especially those who have had limited senior experience like Laurie, AJ, Luker, Jeffo, Kolt et al) Let's see how they all go under the new coach And does anyone know how old Jason Taylor is? (Not that I believe that he is past his use-by date)

Rams win! Abit of luck here or there decides it. Bears were so close but then the interception

Bears D-Line (and secondary) has been extra good today Stafford is under constant pressure

I remember that quite well and I called it a catch at the time on this very thread I made the connection to the Fail Mary that went against the Packers at Seattle a year or 2 earlier Win some, lose some

Leaderboard Tipping Comp 9 - Clintosaurus, Dee Zephyr 8 - Gorgoroth 7 - BDA, ElDiablo14, Macca 6 - Go the Biff 2 - layzie Remaining tips Pats 1-6 ( Go the Biff, Macca) Pats 7-12 (ElDiablo14, BDA) Houston 1-6 (Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth, Dee Zephyr, layzie) Rams 1-6 (Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth, Macca) Rams 7-12 (ElDiablo14) Bears 1-6 (BDA, Dee Zephyr, layzie, Go the Biff)

Could be that it's viewed as a fumble upon hitting the ground (?) Anyway, the game ends up being decided by 2 x PI rulings. Both calls were there but if the defenders don't play close, they give up a catch. The Bills are cursed!

That looked like a catch to me! There again, the catch rules are a bit dicey

Tips! @BDA @Gorgoroth

The state of origin game (WA vs Vic) will probably be an open, free flowing exhibition match and largely bruise-free (as opposed to an open, free flowing game where the players are hard at it) But where's the passion for winning? AFL State rivalry is a thing of the past where as with RL State of Origin, the State rivalry drives the concept Care factor 100% (RL) vs Care factor negligible (Aussie Rules) Mind you, if they predominantly held origin games in WA, the matches would pull a crowd. Maybe the same for SA. I'll be watching as will hundreds of 1000's of others who are just keen footy fans If it's ongoing, I see the 3 main states involved with the games played in WA or SA. Every year? Big maybe But again, all our passion for the sport rests with the clubs and the premiership

Denver 1-6 Seattle 1-6 Pats 1-6 Rams 1-6

I'm not sure that all involved at the club knew how to deal with success. All the rest of what happens, if that occurs, follows down a similar path An example of how to do deal with success might be our very own Norm Smith and the club, back in the day. But even that went all pear-shaped in the end Not sure about regrets though. It is what it is and you move on and start again

I have a different view ... if he does well at GWS, it will reinforce the notion that he needed a fresh start Brownlow votes can divide opinions but there's no doubt that the umpires absolutely notice the standout players (as do the fans & media) Here's Clarrie's last 6 years 2020 - 14* 2021 - 31 2022 - 25 2023 - 6 2024 - 5 2025 - 0 *2020 was a shortened season

Clarrie is no longer our player and the reason he is elsewhere is because of his own doing Look at the reasons ... only one club was really interested and they got him for half price along with not having to give up any worthwhile picks to attain him He was damaged goods and he needed a new start. And we needed a new start without him And in my view, his offloading was a MC and FD move ratified by the Board (that happens by default) Certainly, King would have had a say but it should be remembered that we were trying to offload Clarrie long before King was even thought of as the Head Coach But I bear no ill will against the bloke at all. In fact, I hope he can get it together again. It's pointless holding grudges Along with Petracca, he'll forever be remembered as an integral factor in the 2021 premiership

Fair enough In my view, I can't see us winning many games unless our senior players step up and perform The new coach gets a pass mark for a good length of time but the senior players don't. They've already failed miserably in the last 2 seasons We'll soon find out as we're going to get tested early and there are no longer any easy, winnable games

The addition of the veterans by Roos was a vital factor towards building a decent list for the future We went too young in other rebuilds and left ourselves way short. Thus, the thrashings we incurred Anyway, time will tell but maybe the biggest task for King is getting the best out of our experienced players. If he can do that, it will make it so much easier for the youngsters Max 12 wins is my optimistic view down to 6 wins (17 losses) if things go pear-shaped But as you said, it will indeed be an interesting watch, rjay

There hasn't been a lot of chat about King and whether he might be able to coach the team to 10-12 wins or so But I believe that if we're able to get to 10 or 12 wins (and by default, a possible spot in the top 10) then King will be largely responsible Why? Because the consensus (here at least) is that a lot will have to go right if we're going to get close to a positive W/L record To my way of thinking, if we qualify for the finals, it will mean that King is getting a fair bit out of our senior players I doubt that qualifying for finals will be on the back of the youngsters performing extra-well (although, they of course, can be a decent contributing factor)

Too many dinky 15 metre sideways kicks from Salem ... holds up the play and allows the opposition to reset Bowey getting there as is Turner. But I wouldn't call either as gun players who can bullet-pass 30 metre kicks to position. Not yet anyway Kozzie isn't bad but in the future, Taylor, Windsor, Kolt, Langford & Lindsay are capable

Kicking skills and more kicking skills If all our players could hit targets with 30 metre bullet-passes (forward), we'd be world-beaters As it stands, how many have we got, with that skill, who also gets the ball a lot? I'm reckoning a few of our youngsters (and future youngsters)

I reckon it's a load of garbage anyway. Much like all the bs talk about loading Efficiency of ball movement is key. And to judge that, the eyes have it The last 5 premierships have been won by teams that move the ball extra-well with high efficiency (yep, that includes us in 2021) The Tigers of 2017 - 2020 constantly moved the ball forward via the corridor. Perfected the handball forward which often resulted in a hot-spot shot for goal

@BDA , @Gorgoroth , @Clintosaurus , @Go the Biff , @ElDiablo14 , @Dee Zephyr This week, 2 points per win & 2 points per winning bracket Leaderboard Tipping Comp 9 - Clintosaurus 7 - Dee Zephyr 6 - Go the Biff, Gorgoroth 5 - ElDiablo14 2 - BDA, Macca Next week's games (AEDT) Sunday 8.30am - Buffalo (-1) @ Denver Sunday 12.00pm - 49ers & Seattle (-7.5) Monday 7.00am - Texans @ New England (-2.5) Monday 10.30am - Rams (-4) @ Chicago

We lost A grade Oliver sometime in 2023 and A grade Petracca was looking elsewhere soon after. But gone now, and we move on My concern is that the previously well performed players such as Fritsch, Salem, Lever, Langdon, Viney, Rivers, Petty, Sparrow and a few others have all regressed. Certainly none of them have stepped it up (which is what a few of them should have done) Players like T-Mac, May & Melk are on their last legs and are now depth players So it wasn't just about Oliver & Petracca dropping off We're going to need a lot more than an ageing Max & Kozzie performing well, otherwise we could drop right off the perch Thus, the thinking has to be that the senior players have to get it done. At least for the interim Players similar to Checkers & Steele might be needed, similar to what Roos did when he recruited the experienced types such as Cross, Vince & Lewis

The (rough) average return in terms of predicted wins on this particular thread is about 8 ... that amounts to 15 losses. I haven't seen anyone talk about the top 4 or top 6 or even the top 8 It's all bit meh and that type of thinking highlights that we don't rate the list. A conclusion could be reached that looking ahead, we are heavily reliant on youngsters coming through. If so, we'll need a good dose of luck as drafting can be a flawed exercise And you can't seriously contend without a core group of senior players that are performing well In other years, with a new coach and a revamped FD, there would be renewed optimism for the year ahead. Not this time. Expectations are low If we can't win games without Petracca & Oliver, then that doesn't say much about the rest of the senior players. They need to lift, big time

As previously stated, the established senior or experienced players need to lead the way For instance, we probably had about 25 players on the list last season who come into the category of senior or experienced players If a player is in the system for 4 or 5+ plus years, they need to perform So how many of the 25 performed up to standard? 4? 5? Gawn, Pickett, Bowey and who else? Chandler was ok but players like Langdon, Salem, Rivers, Viney and numerous others do nothing with the ball Let's see what King can do with them