Macca

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

Not just the midfield ... who amongst our backmen were able to hit up targets further afield at pace? They bombed it, much like the midfielders It's a ruse that we moved the ball quickly from half-back. Long bombs take less time to travel and that was our game plan Meanwhile, the other teams were sharing the ball at pace but in effect, that takes longer to progress forward than the long bombs Another useless stat that tells us nothing

I'd give our experienced and senior players no more than a C in the last 2 seasons. And that's being generous The ladder doesn't lie, rjay. We lost 28 games over the last 2 seasons and now most here are predicting anywhere from 6-10 wins (that's 13-17 losses) for 2026 If we had a decent senior core of players, those win column predictions would be much higher And it's not about individual players per se, it's about the results in a collective sense

What about all the senior & experienced players? A lot rests with them, in my view. Collectively, they've virtually disappeared in the last 2 years It's the senior players who need to lead the way with high standards. (And that includes Checkers & Steele) The previous coach is gone so now the blowtorch goes on the senior players

Next week's games (AEDT) Sunday 8.30am - Buffalo @ Denver Sunday 12.00pm - 49ers & Seattle Monday 7.00am - Texans @ New England Monday 10.30am - Rams @ Chicago

Leaderboard Tipping Comp 9 - Clintosaurus 7 - Dee Zephyr 6 - Go the Biff, Gorgoroth 5 - ElDiablo14 2 - BDA, Macca 16 points up for grabs next week (2 per winner & 2 per correct score bracket) Game times and dates to follow

Next week's games (actual times* to be confirmed) Sunday - 49ers @ Seattle Sunday - Bills @ Denver Monday - Rams @ Chicago Monday - Texans/Steelers @ New England *Previously the 2 Sunday games have been played at 8.30am & 12.00pm AEDT *The 2 Monday games previously played at 7.00am & 10.30am AEDT

Leaderboard Tipping Comp* 8 - Clintosaurus 6 - Go the Biff, Dee Zephyr 5 - Gorgoroth, ElDiablo14 2 - BDA, Macca *Subject to a proof-read n.b. Tomorrow's picks Steelers (1-6) ... BDA, Macca, ElDiablo14, Go the Biff Texans (1-6) ... Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth, Dee Zephyr

And now the Patriots have broken the game up with that TD Hard to see the Chargers scoring 2 x TD's from this point. As it stands, they are going to have to take risks to give themselves a chance anyway Need some big plays right now

To be fair, both defences have been very good and defensive games can be quite watchable

I tend to only really like basketball at international level. Don't mind watching Stef & the Warriors occasionally If I had the time, I'd watch a lot more baseball and ice hockey

Bit of a dull affair, this one, despite being a close game WR's on both sides can't create seperation resulting in both QB's scrambling about

Chargers get close to the goal line again and this time they take the field goal?

I can see why they did go for it though In a general sense, the road team needs TD's to win Effectively, it cost the Chargers 3 points with the ensuing Pats drive, but they could have gained 7 points

Any bias aside, both the games today were fantastic entertainment. But you have to be a fan of the sport. It's not a tune in once-a-year scenario The sport is just so unpredictable. One area that increases the unpredictability is the ball being punched out of a receiver/RB grasp. Seems to be a lot more prevalent these days and of course, once that happens, all hell breaks lose in the chaos

It can either way, depending on which Bears team turns up But if the Bears start like they did against the Packers then the Rams (or the Eagles) will put them away But if the Bears start well, they can beat the Rams or the Eagles. They'll gain a lot from today's win

It was certainty a horrible half by the Packers but that's how we've played all season (against good teams that have stepped it up) Apart from that, we tied with Dallas, lost at home to the Panthers and lost at Cleveland. So we're not that good, but the Bears made us look good Until Chicago decided to play like they can! But they'll need to play 4 quarters against either the Eagles or Rams So the Rams will go to Soldier Field if the 49ers can defeat the Eagles Otherwise, it's at Seattle next week for the Rams

I agree, but the Bears probably needed a playoff win to sort out where they are at They'll know what their best is, but they would probably learn more from that first half today To be honest, it just looked a bit too easy for the Packers in the first half today (waltzing the ball into the end zone) The Bears came out after half time totally focussed and totally motivated. A different team And the Packers couldn't deal with it

Leaderboard Post Season Tipping Comp 3 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, Gorgoroth, Dee Zephyr, ElDiablo14 1 - BDA, Macca