Macca

@Gorgoroth @Clintosaurus @Go the Biff @Dr. Gonzo @titan_uranus @ElDiablo14 @BDA @layzie @Dee Zephyr Leaderboard Tipping Comp 17 - Go the Biff 16 - Clintosaurus, Dee Zephyr 15 - layzie 14 - Macca 13 - BDA, Gorgoroth 11 - titan_uranus 10 - ElDiablo14, Dr. Gonzo Double Points this week!! And a bonus point is always on offer if you are the only 3 pick winner Baltimore & the Chargers look home & hosed? (As in, horse wins and then gets hosed down!) Beware the trap game!

Despite my misgivings, I've still got Max as captain for 2 reasons 1) I highly doubt that he'll be replaced so I'd rather stand with Max over the next 2 development years (we need to train up the young blokes) 2) Who else is there? Viney? Steele? My criticism is more about being the goings-ons being under his watch because by contrast, Max himself has led by example in exemplary fashion. And hasn't transgressed himself Maybe, just like Goodwin, he just placed too much faith with certain players So Max stays on as captain but I hope the club can keep everyone in line this time around Best culture? That's a laugh As an aside, earlier this year, the Ox had some very interesting things to say about the player behaviour (off-field)

Sure, but on the night in question (SF vs Carlton) we had T-Mac on one leg as our lone KPF ... he was also our 2nd ruck The only other viable choice was Max In my view it was Max or a complete liability (T-Mac)

If Grundy did check out then why would we let a player on a big contract check out so easily? Poor management. He was a required player And aren't there contracts to be fulfilled? As previously stated, all those 'incidents' involving poor behaviour, and then all those injuries leading into the 2023 finals series. That was our last chance in that mini era Reckon the club knew the writing was on the wall thus the recruiting of 4 first round pick mids after working our way up in the last 2 drafts And again, another 2 first rounders in this upcoming draft along with at least 2 more 1st rounders next year 8 mid 'types' all-up, over the space of 4 off seasons?

Fair enough As for the blown selection criteria in the finals of 2023, it has to (mainly) get back to the coach as it's his team But Schache instead of Grundy? Bewildering decision

What was true is that we went into the finals series in 2023 with an undermanned forward line with very little marking power Gawn had to be thrown forward with Grundy rucking ... not hindsight either as we had a whole thread about the make-up of the team We blew any chance of winning, especially against Carlton

In the space of a few short years we went from selfless to selfish to starting all over again Key Pillars Pres (gone) CEO (gone) Coach (gone) GM (going?) Captain (questionable)

See my post above

That was then, and the goalposts have moved since that dream run in 2021 For instance (and many were saying the same at the time), Max should have either put his hand up to play forward in the 2023 Semi final or told to play forward by Goodwin (Grundy rucks) Going into that SF, Melk, Brown, Petty, JVR, T-Mac & Fritsch were either out (4) or incapacitated (T-Mac & Fritsch) Do that and I believe we'd have won and then played in a PF (with JVR returning) History might tell us that that loss was the beginning of the end (of that mini era) So Max is far from perfect

He's good in many areas but not perfect. Post 2021, as a pillar of the club, he has to accept some sort of responsibility for the list going off the rails Many here are/were quick to point the finger at Goodwin but Gawn is the captain We heard that the players were given autonomy with regards to how they prepared for games. That's ok until the losses start incurring So what is the skipper doing? And that unholy mess with Grundy? Could be that he was a good captain and now, not so much Mind you, it's not like we have any adequate replacements for Capt. & VC

Leaderboard Tipping Comp 17 - Go the Biff 16 - Clintosaurus, Dee Zephyr 15 - layzie 14 - Macca 13 - BDA, Gorgoroth 11 - titan_uranus 10 - ElDiablo14, Dr. Gonzo

NFL Week 8 Game Picks (43 mins)

I definitely can't see your tips this week @Dr. Gonzo !!

Bills Bucs 49ers

What King has to deal with is that we have a lot of players who fall into the category of ok (or alright) Take Salem, Langdon, Rivers & Viney for example All 4 lack creativity & vision. And only 2 of the 4 are efficient ball users Our future lies with our recruiting

Don't leave out May (or Petracca) The Board/FD would have been rubbing their hands with glee once Trac asked to be traded "Beauty, we'll get more for him now" (Trac) King thinking the same way as well (in my view) 3 first round picks later .......

I believe that King had a huge input into the make up of the list i.e. those who he wanted out

In my view, 8 - 10 wins looks the most likely outcome for 2026 (hopefully on an upwards curve) Reality is that we are short on real talent and our disposal skills are not of a high standard The above can be improved upon with recruiting (and that takes time) Guerra would have had a big input whilst King & Smith would have been consulted (at the very least) Not sure on Viney or even Gawn ... Green, Lamb & Richardson sure. But how influential? We may never find out The perspective coaching applicants were asked to present their best 23 ... did King include Clarrie & May in his team? Or even Petracca? As for Gawn, is he such a good leader? Putting aside the good bloke factor and Max's outstanding football ability, it was under his watch as captain when things went pear-shaped within the playing group As for Viney, he's coming off a poor season where his ball-getting ability and disposal skills were well below par. Not sure he'd be one of those consulted on the clubs future

Mid table would be a very good result given the current state of the list (we lack matchwinners) A mid table finish with an upwards trend would be even better (here's hoping) Right now, a fair bit of mystery surrounds the ability of our best 23. We will know so much more in 12 months time The fact that we might only supply one player to the WA vs Vic Origin match is the big tell Reality bites

We're down to one rep then in my view ... Gawn (out, general soreness)

Is Kozzie S.A or W.A? What are the qualification rules? Ex Demon, Petracca, will probably get a guernsey but that would almost certainty be it, o.d. Ironically, the next game that Gawn & Petracca play will probably involve both playing in the same team

I can only see the whole exercise as being short-lived Look for huge squads and a monstrous amount of rotations, especially if it's a hot day (likely?) The West Australians will get behind the concept (at least initially) but ongoing? And elsewhere? As for Gawn, I'd have him as unavailable (managed) As it stands, we'll need to manage him through the season proper anyway. If he does play, maybe a quarter or 2 only

@Gorgoroth @Clintosaurus @Go the Biff @Dr. Gonzo @titan_uranus @ElDiablo14 @BDA @layzie @Dee Zephyr Leaderboard Tipping Comp 15 - Clintosaurus, Dee Zephyr 14 - Go the Biff 13 - Macca 12 - Gorgoroth, BDA, layzie 10 - Dr. Gonzo, titan_uranus 9 - ElDiablo14

Righto, parents were Kiwi's though and there's not many Kiwi's that prefer footy over Union (are there any?) Played Rugby for Powerhouse as a little (big) tacker so he might have been lost to Union