Macca

Ha ha! Too true BM! For what it's worth, here is my 2/4/6 trifecta combo for Saturday's Diamond Jubilee Stakes 1200m Group 1 $1Million ... 12, 14 / 3, 8, 12, 14 / 1, 2, 3, 8, 12, 14. The 2 Aussie horses are right in it and I've marked them on top with just a smidgen of bias. Anyway, the Tatts Tiara 1350m Group 1 $500k it is then. Here's the order ... @Dee Zephyr @Wadda We Sing @Macca @binman @binman

@Dee Zephyr @binman @Wadda We Sing Trifecta time again and this week we see the final Group 1 for the season ... and our last go at it in terms of putting together a winning combination until we start up again in the Spring (or late winter?) Anyway ... here are 2 choices or there might be another race that takes your fancy ... Doomben Race 8 Tatts Tiara 1350m Group 1 $500k Royal Ascot Diamond Jubilee Stakes 1200m Group 1 $1Million

The main interest from Tonight's racing from Royal Ascot centres around 'Cracksman' in the 2000m Prince of Wales Stakes Cracksman is at prohibitive odds (4-7) so I'll be just taking a look only as I can't see it being beaten ... stranger things have happened though with a number of the favoured runners from last night not getting amongst it (notably Benbatl, Rhododendron, Lady Aurelia & Romanised) Cracksman is one of the invites for the Cox Plate and with the increase in prizemoney it would be great to see the horse measure up against the mighty mare Winx. Is it unusual (these days) for a horse to run in a Cox Plate & a Melbourne Cup in the same year? Back in the day it used to happen a lot. All 3 on the rare occasion (Caulfield Cup included)

The diving element I haven't noticed ... same as usual really. It is a part of the sport that is probably here to stay - especially the accentuation of contact. In Serie A a player can get a 3 match holiday for diving. I know a couple of people who follow that league and they are very pleased with the crackdown.

All the Royal Ascot news & replays from last night can be found here ... Racenet.com.au

A straw poll could see a majority of real fans against VAR but many who want the technology (myself included) would prefer to see the technology used whenever applicable. However, out of it all we may see the sport completely changed with a large increase in penalties and red cards ... we could also see teams becoming adept at milking penalties for minor infractions. Be careful what you wish for hey? I'm flicking between the soccer and the Royal Ascot preview and both events have got my attention tonight ? Japan should be able to turn their man advantage into a win you'd reckon.

I would argue strongly that the French defenders handball against Australia was far more deliberate than the Colombian's hand ball. The former could have even been premeditated whilst the latter was a reflex motion. It should also be noted that Jedinak was ready to strike with his head if that cross wasn't deflected with a deliberate hand ball (goal scoring opportunity?) Anyway, one player gets a red card whilst the other player was not even given a yellow card (was he even cautioned?) Meanwhile, VAR intervenes in a totally obtuse & random fashion. Go figure. I realise nothing can be done about it and in many ways I'm howling at the moon but FIFA has a got a great chance to bring about more consistent outcomes with a video review system but it's as if they want the technology to fail and then be scrapped. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but how about that one DZ? ?

It had to happen didn't it? ... deliberate hand ball in the penalty box by the Colombian defender. Red carded and sent off and the penalty converted. Japan 1 Colombia 0 ... 5 minutes in. You've got to feel for the bloke as it seemed like a reflex motion in many ways. But the rules are the rules - oh, hang on ...

Here's the full race card for Royal Ascot tonight ... Royal Ascot Tuesday 19th June 3 Group 1's but I may just have a couple of doubles involving Race 1 (The Queen Anne Stakes) & Race 4 (St James Palace Stakes) Aiden O'Brien has 5 runners all-up in both Group 1's and at least 4 of the 5 could feature in the finish. Race 3 (King's Stand Stakes 1000m) is the race that Merchant Navy & Redkirk Warrior were withdrawn from so as to race in Saturday's Diamond Jubilee Stakes 1200m $1Million ... 'Kachy' at $12 represents decent each way value in the race - was beaten less than half a length to Battaash in a Group 2 at it's last start. The favourite (Lady Aurelia) is a very speedy horse though.

I've got 'Fetch TV' so no issues my way. Got it super cheap too as I was already an Optus customer with internet & home phone. But I sympathise with those using a streaming service - they should be offering refunds as well as a written apology. But I do have a real issue with VAR ... use it for everything or don't use it. The adjudicating has already reached farcical levels and we're less than a week into the tournament. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the match referee on the ground and I'm all for video replays in any sport as long as it's feasible (you wouldn't bother with AFL on everyday decisions) It's like VAR has its own limits as to how many incidents it wants to take a close look at ... obvious penalties are ignored whilst minor infringements are brought to light. It is all over the place.

What we do know now DZ is that the winners of at least 5 or 6 groups will probably be undecided going into the 3rd round of games in the Groups ... Spain, Portugal, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and a few other countries may well have to win their last game's in their respective groups to progress or win their group's. And if Belgium and/or England & Sweden don't win tonight those teams will be in the same boat. Of course, all the round 3 games are played at the same time within each group so there's no room for any shenanigans or skulduggery ?

A few replays from the weekend (including the French Oaks) ... Ipswich Cup 2150m Group 3 Eye Liner Stakes 1350m Group 3

A Bears fan ... well, what can I say other than the 2 biggest encounters in any given season is when my Packers face Chicago. It might be the biggest old school rivalry in the NFL too. Wadda is a Packers fan too so you might need to enlist some outside support! And yeah, we can expect our Aussie horses to be under the odds but I will be looking at the exotics as I normally do ... the pools should be big enough for the trifecta at least. Not so sure on a First4 though. It's a week out but here's the early field, form guide and odds for next Saturday's Diamond Jubilee Stakes 1200m $1Million ... the field will be reduced but they run down the straight over the 6 & 8 Furlongs at Royal Ascot. Click on any horse for it's latest form. But it all starts late Tuesday evening with 3 Group 1's - Ascot Tuesday 19th July - Full Race Card ... I might have a few 'interest' trifectas in the Group 1's as I'm now a bit more familiar with a few of the horses. More so races 1 & 4 on Tuesday. Just hoping the pools are half decent. Top Hats & Tails will abound. The Free-to-air racing channel is covering the 5 day Royal Ascot carnival from 10.30pm ... beginning Tuesday evening.

I follow the Socceroos by default Wadda ... just like the Wallabies, the Test Team & ODI International team, all the Olympic teams in various team sports and even the Kangaroos at Rugby League International level. Then there's the Green Bay Packers & Boston Red Sox. Every now and then one of the teams gets up and wins something ? And then of course there's any racehorse with even the tiniest/remotest connection to Australia - racing overseas ... go Aussie! (even if it's a horse) So I'm all in with Redkirk Warrior & Merchant Navy over the next month in the UK! Could they go 1-2 next Saturday at Ascot? Trifecta time for me!

n.b. Australia are playing Denmark next Thursday evening at 10pm (AEST) Podcasts ... BBC World Cup Daily The Guardian World Cup Football Daily Here are the games coming up over the next week ... SBS televised games are in dark italics. SBS are also showing a one hour highlights package from 5.30pm daily. All times AEST ... Sunday, June 17: Costa Rica v Serbia, Samara (10pm) Monday, June 18: Germany v Mexico, Moscow (Luzhniki) (1am) Brazil v Switzerland, Rostov-on-Don (4am) Sweden v South Korea, Nizhni Novgorod (10pm) Tuesday, June 19: Belgium v Panama, Sochi (1am) Tunisia v England, Volgograd (4am) Colombia v Japan, Saransk (10pm) Wednesday, June 20: Poland v Senegal, Moscow (Spartak) (1am) Russia v Egypt, Saint Petersburg (4am) Portugal v Morocco, Moscow (Luzhniki) (10pm) Thursday, June 21: Uruguay v Saudi Arabia, Rostov-on-Don (1am) Iran v Spain, Kazan (4am) Australia v Denmark Samara (10pm) Friday, June 22: France v Peru, Yekaterinburg (1am) Argentina v Croatia, Nizhni Novgorod (4am) Brazil v Costa Rica, Saint Petersburg (10pm)

Here is what I don't necessarily believe (or believe at all) ... That the AFL had to rubber-stamp the appointment of Pert That PJ wasn't involved in the decision making process That Pert is not the correct appointment That there is some sort of mythical rift between Bartlett & Jackson That our current board can't be trusted in making good sound decisions There are a lot of assumptions being made without any proof-positive evidence to back up those assumptions. All things considered the club is in a sound financial position and our last 5 annual reports back that up. And the current CEO is responsible for the last 5 annual reports (apart from this year) I wish Gary Pert all the best and the good news for him is that we almost certainly are ready for some sustained growth. Winning more games than you lose has always been the key and a good basis to work from. Previously, I've held an almost polar-opposite view to the above.

Apparently it can only be a yellow card (although there was no yellow card given out) because the ball was not heading towards goal. But the infringing player was on his own 5 metres from goal and another player may well have been able to head the ball in or slot the ball in with his foot if the ball wasn't deflected by the players hand. Was the player waving to the crowd? To me it should be a red card ruling because the act is absolutely deliberate and maybe even premeditated. And I'd be arguing just as fiercely if an Aussie had committed the act. Is it any different to what Maradona did? Ok, one is an attacking player and the other is a defender but it's the same act. VAR missed a penalty given away in the Argentina/Iceland game too ... Argentina can count themselves to be very very unlucky despite the sentiment given towards Iceland. Again, I'm not blaming the referee, he doesn't get the benefit of replay and has to make a split-second decision. Mistakes will happen under those circumstances.

That was an amazing defensive performance by Iceland ... Argentina threw everything at them but just couldn't find a way through to find a winner. Iceland were super-disciplined and they just refused to yield. Messi was trying to beat 3 or 4 players all game and to his credit, he played one hell of a game (albeit missing a penalty) But Iceland get a vital point and a fully deserved point too. So Spain and now Argentina only get a point from their opening games ... that gives real hope for the other teams in their respective groups

Messi could get amongst it here but the Icelanders are plucky. They (Iceland) showed great form in the last Euro's and will be up for the challenge. Hope we get to see the 'Viking Clap' at some stage ... it's their motto and any imitation just doesn't cut it.

I'm surprised that the panel back in Oz are not outraged ... you can't just be satisfied with winning the penalty. Anyway, what happens the next time it happens? A player gets sent off? I am not one to ever complain about decisions made by umpires & referees ... they are often in a no-win situation and they don't have an inbuilt replay system inside their heads. But they've brought in VAR and then it's not used properly or not used in a consistent fashion. Why have it? The French were the better team but do they score again if they were down to 10 men?

France were the marginally better team anyway but we were far from disgraced. We can get points in our remaining 2 games ... forget the rankings, Peru & Denmark are not that good and are beatable.

Isn't VAR there to spot these things? VAR alerted the referee with regards to the penalty to the French (earlier) so why not alert the referee with regards to a seemingly deliberate hand ball in the penalty box? I was under the impression that VAR rulings were of a comprehensive manner. Unless I'm wrong on that understanding?

The French guy should have been red-carded ... deliberate hand-ball?

We did well to hold them out and the scoreline suits Australia more than the French. And we've looked dangerous with the few times we've gone deep forward. The French have been lazy going forward however. Cahill will come on around 60-65 minutes in you'd reckon.

The $1.60 the place for Pounamu was almost a certainty so good luck with the other 2 legs Wadda ... I've got a 1-1 draw in the Aus/Fra game going for some bonus bets at Laddies. Cost me nothing - that's my kind of bet!