Macca

I sometimes get a good tip from a mate D77 but I wouldn't ever trust my own tips! However, I've sometimes done ok with a parlay place bet (pick 4) ... gotta really study the form though.

That's a huge win by Spurs over Real in the Champions league ... 4 of the teams from England won. Chelsea lost but are still well placed with Atletico only sitting on 3 points after 4 games. Juve & Barca dropped points unexpectedly but the big losers are Dortmund. Some interesting results to say the least.

9 Group races on Saturday (Derby day) ... the best betting day on the calendar. I'll be doing the form on Friday night in a comprehensive way with a view to finding some first 4 combinations. 3 horses to win, 5 horses to come second & third with 7 horses to come fourth is my usual multiple combination. It used to be 3, 5 & 5 for trifectas but the lure of the big dividends for a first 4 is too strong. @Wadda We Sing @Diamond_Jim @ProperDee @Toorak... got any ideas, suggestions or tips?

No worries mate .. as I said, happy to discuss in the off-season. I reckon most here would rather leave the tipping part as it is though ... the design is very simple and it's low maintenance. Obviously a bit frustrating but that's the fun of it. By the way, I reckon the Lions are a big chance but I just couldn't pick against the Packers - not against a divisional rival anyway. My Detroit supporting mate knows he's going to cop some grief if they don't defeat a Rodgers-less Packers though. Is your game against the Broncos a trap game or do the Eagles just keep on their winning ways?

Well, in the first year we had joint winners so I'd rather leave it as it is (for continuity) Think of it like the Brownlow ... you get all those hard-earned votes (points) and whilst they used to have a countback, they changed it to joint winners because it was deemed unfair to lose that way. It's a good suggestion though Dappa. Happy to revisit the discussion in the NFL off-season if you like. From memory, in year 1 both cowboy_from_hell & Strafford were equal leaders going into the last week but both picked up 3 points with different tips. Extending the season proper tipping comp would effect the post-season comp as well ... that sort of just evolved because people kept tipping into the post-season (with scorelines)

Rams KC Atlanta

The games again ...

Rather than derail the 2018 Fixture Thread, I thought it best to post up an idea for an 'ideal' fixture here. It didn't take as long as I thought but it was a tricky exercise all the same. There will be the odd error and feasibility issue but the gist of the idea is to highlight how we could be so much better off with a better fixture. 12 wins this past season should have seen us get a better deal but it looks like we're going to have to be a dominant team in order to get noticed. Anyway, here it is ... Further to the @Dr. Gonzo idea of involving the 3 smaller clubs in Victoria in a bloc to get a better deal with the AFL, the club could take it a step further and approach all the Victorian clubs with regards to cementing the games we play against those clubs into being free-to-air games on a regular basis. Home then Away (the following season) would apply to the Victorian teams that we only play once a season (except for the QB clash) A mock fixture for next season could look as follows ... all the highlighted games to be on free-to-air. Round 1 @ Geelong (7.30pm Friday) ... a reciprocal rights game Round 2 vs Carlton MCG (7.30pm Saturday) Round 3 @ Brisbane (1.10pm Saturday) Round 4 vs Essendon MCG (7.30pm Friday) Round 5 @ Gold Coast (1.10pm Saturday) 5 day break ... but the Tigers to also only get a 5 day break Round 6 @ Richmond MCG (7.30pm Wednesday) 10 day break Round 7 @ Port Adelaide (1.10pm Saturday) Round 8 vs St Kilda MCG (7.30pm Saturday) Round 9 @ Western Bulldogs Docklands (7.30pm Friday) Round 10 vs Fremantle Darwin (7.30pm Saturday) Round 11 Bye Round 12 vs Collingwood MCG (3.20pm Monday) Round 13 vs Geelong MCG (3.20pm Sunday) Round 14 @ North Melbourne MCG (3.20pm Sunday) Round 15 @ Carlton MCG (3.20pm Sunday) Round 16 vs Adelaide Alice Springs (1.10 Saturday) Round 17 vs Gold Coast MCG (2.10pm Saturday) Round 18 @ Fremantle (4.45pm Sunday) Round 19 vs Sydney MCG (7.30 Saturday) Round 20 vs Hawthorn MCG (7.30pm Friday) Round 21 @ West Coast (4.45 Saturday) Round 22 @ St Kilda MCG (3.20pm Sunday) Round 23 vs GWS MCG Highlights include ... Only 6 x six day breaks 4 Friday Night Games - Free-to-Air 4 Saturday Night Games - Free-to-Air 4 Sunday 3.20pm Games - Free-to-Air 1 Monday QB clash - Free-to-Air 1 Wednesday Night ANZAC eve clash - Free-to-Air 14 games in total on Free-to-Air A bye after the Darwin game Double up games against the Cats, Suns, Blues, Freo & Saints. All our games against the Victorian clubs to be on Free-to-Air. 2 Northern Territory games but only 3 other home games in Victoria against interstate teams. We still have 5 other interstate games (I did try and reduce it to 4) but this is offset by having 6 home games against Victorian teams (all 6 on free-to-air) 13 games at the MCG and only 1 at the Docklands

I was only ever talking about the recent past ... I was replying to someone who was saying that we don't stand on our own 2 feet right now. If you want to go right back in time, that is a completely separate discussion. If we are getting any extra grants or handouts, they are nowhere to be seen. Not in the annual reports (overseen by PJ), nothing in the media either. It's just another myth and I'm surprised that you can't see that it's a myth.

Since PJ has taken up the CEO role at the club he has continuously intimated that we stand on our own 3 feet. And why wouldn't we believe him? He is a nan of obvious integrity and couldn't possibly be spinning us any lines. Only those with a grudge to bear or an obvious agenda might choose to believe otherwise.

Those who have an indifferent attitude towards our fixture have no right to complain about the NT venture (even if we increase the amount of games we play in the Territory) Why? Because the fixture we get forces the club to sell off games elsewhere. So yeah, the fixture is important. .

Despite continually receiving a fixture that doesn't ever satisfy our financial needs, the club continues to post up profits. The last 3 seasons has seen the club finish in the black and PJ has confidently stated that we will post up another profit this season. Just imagine how well we'd be going if we were a regular finalist whilst receiving a favourable fixture from a financial viewpoint. All this without any AFL handouts (apart from one 1.4 million dollar grant in 2013) .

Ha ha ha ... good luck trying to find 3 road winners this week Gorgo. It's possibly the toughest week we've had.

Leaderboard in the comp 6 - Clintosaurus 5 - Dappa Dan 4 - Go the Biff 3 - JV7 1 - Gorgoroth, Macca 0 - The usual suspects This weeks games ... 2 points up for grabs in the comp. Another tough week though - good luck! Guess the Lines Week 9 with Bill Simmons & Cousin Sal (Podcast)

And that's a problem? What do you suggest we do, try and not make money? We're already standing on our own 2 feet ... read our annual reports and stop making stuff up. Serious question ... when are the poker machines finishing up? Have you got documentation to support your claim? So @Dr. Gonzo puts forward an intelligent suggestion and you shoot him down and then offer ... nothing. That's you in a nutshell. I reckon it makes @Redleg look like a passionate demon who wants the best for his club. How about you? Do you want the best for your club? We're getting fed 3 day old scraps and have done for years now - decades in fact. Of late (2011 to 2016) we've been continuously 'granted' 7 home fixtures against poor drawing interstate teams and people wonder why we're not well off. Often our other home games in those years were against the other smaller Melbourne clubs. You want proof? - go to AFL tables and see for yourself. And that's the main reason we are selling off games to the NT ... do you reckon that we want to do that? Maybe we've been forced to do so to balance the books. A 1.4 million dollar grant in 2013 and you reckon there's lots more. So where is this extra funding that you continually bang on about? For the record ... AFL payments to clubs revealed, Giants handed $21 million 2016 PAYMENTS TO CLUBS 1. GWS Giants $21,548,374 2. St Kilda $18,566,589 3. Western Bulldogs $17,610,181 4. Brisbane Lions $17,532,922 5. Gold Coast Suns $17,194,594 6. North Melbourne $15,022,303 7. Melbourne $14,799,452 8. Port Adelaide $13,206,665 9. Sydney Swans $12,488,957 10. Richmond $12,358,925 11. Essendon $11,914,715 12. West Coast Eagles $11,703,240 13. Hawthorn $11,614,683 14. Carlton $11,607,942 15. Collingwood $11,304,689 16. Geelong Cats $10,787,483 17. Fremantle Dockers $10,563,307 18. Adelaide Crows $10,553,565 *All clubs received an $8.188 million base payment and a $1.2 million bonus payment. Extra payments included equal and disequal financial assistance, prize money, and distributions from Etihad Stadium signage rights. On the surface it looks like the 4 smaller Melbourne clubs are getting some form of compensation but our growth is stifled in comparison to the well-looked-after big clubs. As a consequence, the gap between the rich & poor gets wider by the year.

Yep ... and as we've discussed previously, clubs like Collingwood make big dollars even from their 7 away games in Melbourne (based on the large sales of their premium 18 game memberships)

It's another way into the game ... we've got 5 big money-spinners this season but we need to push that number up to 7 or 8. For some clubs, 7 or 8 big money-spinners is their minimum.

Well, I do expect a well paid CEO to be able to do his or her job to a high standard. And I haven't judged PJ against our previous CEO's.

In 2013 Jackson came out and said that we had good income streams and tbat we weren't a basket-case (off- field) As for on-field, we were cactus.

Of course we were inept ... we all witnessed the debacle. My point was about the monetary handputs in the recent past and my point still stands. A 1 4 million grant and that's it. Unless someone knows of other monetary grants or handouts. The work done by PJ is to be expected ... that is what he is there for.

In the recent past we've received a one-off grant of 1.4 million and PJ was steered our way. PJ went after Roos and got him but that's his job. And the club paid Roos' salary too. I can't find any other recent handouts.

And maybe the 4 lesser clubs in Melbourne need to find a way to fight back. Yesterday I proposed here on this thread that a joint venture could be put to the AFL by the 4 clubs with regards to Friday night or Saturday night games on free-to-air. Do nothing and we can expect more of the same.

No, I am not naive at all. You've just bought into a popular narrative. If you are so sure of your information then you need to provide the proof. So, provide the proof and back up your accusations. Actual proof too ... not "I heard this" or "I heard that" For instance, I can provide a link to that 14 million dollar grant given to Port Adelaide. And all our board elections have been ratified at the AGM's. I don't listen to heresay & scuttlebutt

The bye should happen after Darwin but I think I'm right in saying that we won our immediate game after the Darwin game last year. That might also have something to do with our improved list But I do agree with your view.

We've always elected our own board's and we've always stood on our own 2 feet ... I'm not sure where you get your information from. PJ was recommended to us by the AFL and we duly appointed him. We did receive a one-off grant of 1.4 million dollars in early 2013 but that's it. As a comparison Port Adelaide were helped out to the tune of 14 million because of their lousy stadium deal with footy park. Various other clubs have received large handouts as well in comparison. For further information read our annual reports. I don't believe the scuttlebutt and innuendo from those with obvious agenda's - most of it is lies.