Macca

McCarthy is too QB-centric. He was the same at GB but because Rodgers was so good, it always looked like it might work And it did work early (SB win) and then we'd get close but ultimately our all-round game (lack of) got found out And I'm not sure that Prescott is as good as Rodgers so it is a flawed strategy To me it's when it gets to crunch time or the big moments. McCarthy leans on the QB but here lies the problem, the opposition know it so the bluff is taken out Dallas passing yards was 3rd in the league and they were 14th for rushing Run defence was 16th and passing defence was 5th So not too shabby but do SB winning teams lie mid table on rushing & run defence? You'd maybe expect at least top 10 for both categories in order to win big By contrast, the 49ers are 3rd in rushing and 3rd best on run defence. Passing yards 6th & pass defence 14th

Houston @ Baltimore (7-12) Green Bay @ San Francisco (1-6) Tampa Bay (1-6) @ Detroit Kansas City @ Buffalo (7-12)

Dallas to Retain Mike McCarthy

Jackson Irvine breaks the deadlock after an hour Prior to that, it has been a real arm wrestle with very few shots at goal (apart from Syria slamming one into the the right upright early in the game) In other news, Roma have sacked Jose Mourinho and now he has been linked with Chelsea (again) Edit: The Aussies finished strong in the end and could have scored a couple more So 2 wins puts us at the top of the group and we're through to the next round with 1 game to play* *Australia play Uzbekistan in their final group game next Tuesday at 10.30pm (Ch10)

Interesting. There's certainly a few vacancies All the more reason why Belichick is now saying that he is "Targeting talented but underachieving teams" Bill gets to call the shots with his fantastic record. He might only have 3 or 4 prime years left but teams can rise quickly in the NFL And there's a lot of teams that would like to taste SB success (Some for the first time)

How would Hardeman go as an intercept mark specialist these says? Without having to worry too much about his opponent! He would absolutely dominate

What can happen when a team is in contention is that a team can have a gap year. Happens quite a lot So even though I believe we're good to go for the next 5 years, we may have a year or 2 in there where we don't perform to our best. Or we have a rash if injuries or we don't have luck on our side For instance, for years people kept writing off Geelong off but they kept bobbing up And I've been keen observer of how the best teams have gone about it. Their window often just stays open as they keep recruiting well So if Jason Taylor isn't the most important pillar at the Demons, who is? He keeps recruiting good players and if you keep adding 2 or 3 good players to the team, year after year, you'll remain in contention That stands to reason So last year we added JVR, McVee & Hunter to the team along with Grundy who was by no means a poor player Along the way you have to add A grade talent and that's where the savvy recruiting comes into play. Free agency, trading and somehow working our way up in the draft is the way to go about it And that's what we continue to do We're just not going to win the premiership every time we're in contention. The key to it all is to remain in contention

Atlanta have interviewed Bill Belichick and the Chargers have interviewed Jim Harbaugh (Harbaugh just coached Michigan to the college championship and formerly coached the 49ers)

This young bloke Alcaraz is very impressive. A tremendous all round game and a killer drop shot And the commentary from John McEnroe is excellent ... supreme knowledge along with dry humour

@Go the Biff @titan_uranus @BDA @Dr. Gonzo @Clintosaurus @DemonDave @Dee Zephyr @Dappa Dan @Gorgoroth @layzie @JV7 @DeeSpencer Leaderboard Post Season Tipping Comp 6 - BDA 5 - Go the Biff, JV7, Gorgoroth 3 - Dr.Gonzo, Dee Zephyr, Clintosaurus, DemonDave 2 - layzie, DeeSpencer, Macca So, next week, each win is worth 2 points plus 2 points for each correct score bracket (1-6, 7-12 or 13+) Interesting lines Sun 8.30am Houston @ Baltimore (-9.5) Sun 12.15pm Green Bay @ San Francisco (-10.0) Mon 7.00am Tampa Bay @ Detroit (-6.0) Mon 10.30am Kansas City @ Buffalo (-2.5)

Given our stellar record with recruiting, we might end up with real depth in our forward line, 58er We've extended Jefferson's contract so the MC must see potential in the lad JVR will only get better and what if Fullarton can hold down a spot as a forward ruck? T-Mac & Brown will probably be gone at seasons end so we might need to recruit another key forward anyway (although Jefferson might come on) I suppose we did recruit May with the no.5* pick so we could do that again with another full back but we'd need the currency. We might even have our eye on a free agent key forward to facilitate Petty going back. Or a free agent Full Back So, a lot can happen between now and when May hangs up the boots but Petty is an option if we've got real depth in our forward line And we are addressing that issue with the recruitment of McAdam & Billings and Tholstrup looks like he is being viewed as forward/mid. If he shows a bit early we may see him debut early So Petty going back would need a few things falling into place, but it's definitely a possibility *That 17 loss season in 2019 worked out alright after all! (we got Sparrow as well in that deal for May)

Our premiership window can well and truly stay open and can do until at least 2028 The only 2 great players that possibly/probably need to be replaced immediately after 2025/2026 are May & Max but do both replacement players need to be A+? Petty is an ideal candidate for full back as long as we can keep him and a Nankervous type rickman is not such a bad thing And if we continue to recruit as well as we have done, there's no reason why we can't stay in the window (allowing for the odd year where we may finish in the bottom part of the 8 or just outside)

Oh, thanks for the correction! What a big win that was against Miami!

As expected, the Bills won comfortably So, they'll be at home against KC next Monday at 10.30am (AEDT) 2 points for quite a few in the comp too!

It can't be assumed that we won't be addressing the issue of our forward line connection So, I'm assuming that we will be addressing the issue because we have to But as @rjay correctly pointed out, long kicks into the forward line has its benefits if we're able to retain possession on those long kicks. And whilst all that is happening the opposition aren't scoring But that system is no longer going to work against the good teams in my view so we need to change tack But again, sometimes we don't have a choice with long kicks in as the midfield is often under pressure. In those situations, kicking to a 1 on 1 instead of a pack (or the left forward pocket) would be preferable So if we have better schemes at the centre bounces and stoppages, we'll have a much better chance of delivering the ball with more efficiency to the forward line So it starts from the midfield (and also from half back on the rebound or from turnovers in our favour)

I inadvertently stumbled into the territory of @Demonstone

Good news, layz Our game is set down for 12.15pm next Sunday (AEDT) The Texans are set as the road team for the Sunday 8.30am game (AEDT) and they will be at the Ravens if the Bills win tomorrow (Bills would be at KC 10.30am Monday if they win) Detroit are the home team in the Monday 7.00am game and they will play the Eagles or Tampa

Hard luck all the same, BDA I honestly didn't believe the Packers could play that well and Dallas just had one of those days Don't worry, I've seen it happen the same way a stack of times with Rodgers & McCarthy If you do go after Belichick, Dallas will be must viewing and Bill knows how to win big. It's just the match up between Jerry & Bill? Huge ego's! But they could find a way for it to work and Bill would know how to manage Prescott properly. Belichick's strength is total team with no weak spots So, you've got the talent to win big, you just need a great coach You never know

The biggest difference from 2021 has been the crowded forward lines we now have to cope with. And that started from early in 2022 Couple that with our slower ball movement along with less corridor football and the crowded forward line gets even worse And then last year we started getting injuries to our first choice forwards so we ended up with a makeshift forward line trying to function in a crowded situation with the ball coming in, in a bombing style We're asking our forwards to stand underneath those bombs so what chance have they got? Despite all that we won 16 games in the season proper in both 2022 & 2023 (stellar defence, excellent midfield, accountable footy, a zone defence that operates well and a terrific contested style) So we need to get smarter up forward and with our delivery to the forward line. Certainly with the speed of those inside 50 forays We need to change because we have to change. That's where having some fresh ideas from McQualter can be invaluable As previously stated elsewhere, I'm confident that we'll see a different game style that can really hurt the opposition

It makes you wonder how that sort of targeted hit hasn't already been banned It's a brutal game

Only because the same person keeps quoting me and the same person started off quoting me Go back and have a look at who started the argument I'm just replying most of the time. The rest of my posts have focused on the technical aspects of our team and our prospects For instance ... I'm reasonably buoyant but not overly optimistic for the new season The first major task is to get into contention (top 4) and from there we're going to have to be at our very best and we're going to need a good dose of luck We can cover for a few injuries (here and there) but we can't cope with a massive injury list, no team can (Our forward line woes from last season has been well covered) But finishing top 4 is always a big ask even for a dominant team who are the reigning premiers So it's going to take a lot of hard work just to get into contention But we are more than capable of achieving all of the above If most things go right, we can win the flag

@Sir Why You Little What doesn't add up is if it's widely known within the club that Goodwin doesn't listen to his assistants, how has he still got his job? And why would the assistants not leave or look elsewhere? Your argument just doesn't stack up and I doubt that even 1 person believes your nonsense

Rubbish You don't have any sources

Where's your proof that Goodwin doesn't listen to his assistants

I just had a quick read of 2 fairly lengthy threads devoted to upcoming 2013 season The enthusiasm for the year ahead was quite frankly, a little amusing in hindsight but by and large, the mood was full of hope Many (including myself) were predicting at least 10 wins and others were talking finals (we were coming off a 4 win season in 2012) But 2013 delivered just 2 wins and an average losing margin of 77 points This year, we'll be coming off a 16 win season so how is the mood? Reading this thread, a bit gloomy and quite a few are angry and frustrated Some of those showing enthusiasm for the year ahead in 2013 are gloomy now Go figure