Macca

This site - cyclingnews.com gives quite a good overview for each stage of the tour. Live coverage can be found here ... letour.com (stage 1) While I'm here I'll post up today's profile but I'll mainly just post up the "profiles" when we're in the Alps or the Pyrenees (which will happen from about stage 8 onwards) It looks like SBS will cover the tour from about 8.30pm on Saturday and Sunday evenings and ... from about 10pm weekdays. I'm presuming it's live on the SBS website as well.

It does, but Brazil might be able to get past Germany regardless ... who knows? Fred and Hulk will need to step it up but that's entirely possible. The Brazilians played quite a good game today and the Colombians dropped away a bit as a consequence. The final might be a different story though especially if Brazil get through and have to face Argentina or Holland. Argentina are missing Aguero as well so the tournament is starting to open up. Costa Rica have been impressive all through the tournament and they can't be discounted. I still favour the Dutch though. The Argentina/Belgium game could be a cracker. A lot rests with Messi.

Germany and Brazil are through to the semi's but sadly, Neymar won't be playing a part ... Neymar: Injured Brazil forward ruled out of World Cup

If last night's show is anything to go by, it doesn't look like it. I get the feeling that the Armstrong story isn't done with yet. There's still the possibility of some court room drama and then there's the question of all the money he's made from the sport. Those he crossed won't be letting things go too easily either. Anyway, what is noteworthy is that pro cycling seems to be relatively clean now (as compared to the Armstrong era) Much of what we've recently witnessed is of a retrospective nature rather than being more of a current issue. The sport has taken a monstrous hit but because pro cycling is so big, it will recover it's immense following. The crowds at this year's tour will be huge as always. In other words, it's business as usual. That's not to say that cycling is squeaky clean but with the blood passports now being in operation, taking PED's as a pro cyclist is now extremely high risk. 'Testing' for peptide use seems to be available as well now. ... Official Site ... Tour de France preview (BBC podcast - 77 mins)

I guess many of us knew a lot of the details already but it was still equally as disturbing to see it all played out again. Having a federal investigation shut down was an eye-opener though - at the time, many probably believed that it should have been shut down. He was certainly a powerful figure. It just goes to show that even in this transparent age, things can still be covered up for a lengthy period of time. In the end, he's the biggest sporting fraud of all time and it's daylight to the next biggest cheat (in terms of fraudulent "achievements") I feel for the people who bought into him lock, stock and barrel - they must feel so betrayed. Seeing those past interviews with him was difficult to stomach (knowing he was just flat out lying for the most part) ... and yeah, the Tour will be great viewing once again. No real mountain stages until some category 2 climbs in stages 8 and 9 but it hots up after that. Starting off in Yorkshire this time around - Froome is favourite whilst Contador is a highly rated 2nd favourite - I thought Alberto might have dropped away a bit but apparently not so. It will be interesting to see how much Richie Porte has progressed - he showed a bit in last year's tour.

Here's the bracket for the round of 16 matches ... You'd expect Brazil, Argentina and Germany to win their round of 16 games and probably France, Belgium, Colombia and the Dutch will get through to the last 8 as well. The Costa Rica/Greece game is hard to pick. However, I reckon at least 1 of those aforementioned teams will miss out and there might even be a couple who get beaten. Anything can happen on the day and there's always the chance of a red card or a dodgy penalty. I'd like to see the Netherlands make it as far as the semi's (at least) but their round of 16 opponents (Mexico) have done very well so far and they might prove hard to beat. The Belgium/USA game could be a good one too. All the games offer something ... bring it on!

What was Luis Suárez thinking? It's such a shame. Biting is just a complete no no and it will be very interesting to see where his career goes from here. There were rumours that he may have moved to Barca or Real Madrid but with this latest episode, those 2 teams at least would probably be backing off. Anyway, England, Italy and Spain are all out with probably Portugal to follow them ... Costa Rica topping their group is a great story but many of the teams from the Americas are doing well. That wasn't unexpected of course, but it still had to be done. Contrarily, it looks like only about 5 or 6 European teams will qualify for the round of 16 games. Up until the 2010 World Cup, European teams would usually number about 9 or 10 teams in the final 16. Any number of teams could win the World Cup this time around. There might be one unfancied team who might make it all the way to the final. As it stands, either Costa Rica or Greece will make it to the last 8 (they play each other in the round of 16 games) There's sure to be a few upsets as well. It's been a grand World Cup so far with plenty of goals.

Why break the alliance? It's a perfectly fine union that our club doesn't seem to have an issue with. The Casey area has tremendous potential in a whole bunch of different areas. These things take time and we should be viewing the whole concept as a future investment. I'm almost certain the club would be viewing things the same way. If indeed we did have a "reserves side", would we care too much about the wins and losses? From a lot of points of view, it's all about development with these sort of things and always will be. However, from Casey's point of view, it is about the wins and losses. Over riding all that is that our club would be better off if Casey became a successful, on field, winning team ... especially when considering that we're serious about picking up a level of support in this huge growth area. The positive flow on effects would be there if it's all done right. The Casey team itself would be better placed if it could attract some better players. Rather than seeing that as a conflict, the best of both worlds could quite easily happen. In some ways, it's good that most or all of our players are playing for the Casey firsts but a bit more competition within the ranks never hurt anyone. So ... what if our club was to throw a bit more money Casey's way so that they can attract some better players? That can really only happen when we start posting profits again but why not? Same as if we were subsidising a reserves side, Casey may need to be subsidised in a similar way. If we had a reserves side, we'd have to pay the non listed players a reasonable fee to play for the side. It all amounts to the same thing. The key here is to get the balance right.

Sometimes, you don't get an indication as to how good a ruckman is unless he's the main man. Playing as a 2nd ruck in today's footy is a bit of a luxury unless that 2nd ruck can impact a game (preferably in the forward line) Pedersen is doing it in a different way and we're a better team because of the role he plays. As it stands, I can see Gawn or Spencer replacing Jamar if Mark loses form or if he gets injured. However, I don't believe either player needs to actually be in the side right now in order to take on the role of the main ruckman. Whether either player can be a top line ruckman remains to be seen. Fitzy needs to develop his game at Casey and there's no reason why he can't improve to a point where he's holding down a position in the senior side. Gawn needs to use his height to his own advantage in marking duels and again, there's no reason why he can't do that. The more players we have who are "knocking down the door", the better off we'll be. It's been far too long since we've been in that position. With Hogan, he may develop to a point where he can play a variety of roles (both within the forward line or elsewhere) The sky is the limit with the natural talent that this bloke has.

Not necessarily in our case ... ... Pedersen has been more than handy for us playing the role of the 2nd ruck ... rather than being played as a permanent forward with the occasional run in the ruck, he's been used as a utility who bobs up everywhere. Whilst Cam is in the form he's in and whilst Jamar is doing as well as he is in the ruck, we don't have a need for a Gawn or a Spencer. We may not need to change things up for quite some time. That's what I was basing my future forward line on - with Pederson to be used exactly as he is being used now. Have people seen the champion data stats on how well our backline/defensive game has improved? It's quite remarkable and all this with Frawley playing in the forward line. Hogan could probably do a bit of work in the ruck when he comes into the side (probably more so in the forward line) He's a big lad.

The way footy is played now and especially where it's heading, a lot of players will need to be able to play in all parts of the ground. The positional line-ups "as they're picked" is often quite irrelevant. It's often about match-ups now.

We get an extra 3 flags and another (I think) 9 runners-up (although it seems that it was primarily the team that finished on top of the ladder that won the flag, back in the day) Well done. Now it's the elusive 16th that we're after ...

Forgot to add that in the future I see Salem, Kent and Toumpas in the midfield rotations with the occasional spell in the forward line (rotating with Watts, Trengove and JKH) ... probably somewhere around the wing area but not strictly as wingmen (I'm not sure the position of wingman even exists anymore) All 6 of the aforementioned are handy around the goals. Suddenly, we don't have such a bad list. Hogan will help us win a lot of games. It was an inspired move to use that pick to snare him. Things are looking up and it seems that we're getting an important re-signing on an almost weekly/fortnightly basis.

Have you factored in that Roos might keep Frawley in the forward line? It could happen. I remember many supporters wanting Neitz to go back (I was one of them) during his first couple of years in the forward line. Neita was such a good CHB that many of us just couldn't understand why Daniher was wasting him in the forward line. History tells us that Neale was on the money ... but for a while there ... Here's my "6" FF: JKH ... Hogan ... Frawley HF: Watts ... Dawes ... Trengove Both Watts and Trengove to play as high half forward's/midfielders with Frawley and JKH to run up into the space provided by their absence. Dawes to be used as a lead up forward (rotating with Hogan and Frawley) Dawes, Hogan and Frawley could be used as power forwards or as leading forwards out of the goal square.

I'd prefer Watts or Frawley ... Fitzy needs to add some more parts to his game to squeeze out either of those 2. I also believe that if Frawley stays and Hogan is fit and firing, James may well remain in the forward line (or at least be used periodically in the forward line) I reckon he adds a lot and he's hard to match up on (especially when he can use his pace) Watts can develop into quite a versatile player who could play anywhere. I'm a fan of having 3 dangerous big forwards who can all take a good grab, can play a role as a lead up forward, be a power forward and/or have a yard of pace. A big forward playing a defensive role is an asset as well but knowing where the goals are should be a given. With all the flooding that is in the game, a tall forward must have a lot more than one string to his bow. A talented 3rd tall in the forward line is needed if a team wants to contend. IMO a list needs to contain at least 5 players who can slip into one of the 3 roles so right now, Fitzy is depth. Sometimes a back-up ruckman can play a role in the forward line and that's where Gawn comes into proceedings.

Great investment and terrific news. We will still need another big bodied forward who also has a bit of pace. Someone who is hard to match up on and together with Dawes and Hogan, would make our forward line quite formidable. We could almost rotate the 3 within the forward line with different roles (within games) to further make it hard for the opposition. I believe that might be an ideal scenario for Roos. Either Watts or Frawley can be that 3rd big forward (At some stage Watts will put on a bit of muscle which in turn will help his overall game) Haven't heard the latest on Hogan but it would be great to see him play at least a few games towards the end of the season. If he's fully healthy, let him loose.

I can see Italy winning both their last 2 games but I'm not sure England can beat Costa Rica. It's possible for England to still get through, but as you indicated, Suarez might have a fair bit to say in the outcome of the Italy/Uruguay game. Costa Rica may even surprise against Italy tomorrow - they were very good against Uruguay when they beat them. If Costa Rica defeat Italy or indeed if it's a drawn game, England are out of the tournament. ... World Cup: Mario Balotelli wants a 'kiss from the Queen' if Italy beat Costa Rica Also, Italy might be happy with a draw in their last game if they go into that last game on 6 points (they would win the group if that scenario happened) A draw between Italy and Uruguay in the last game would eliminate England but not necessarily Costa Rica. It is also possible that one of the teams in this group (group D) could finish on 6 points and miss out on advancing altogether. It's probably happened before but it would be an awful way to miss out. ... and that's just one group.

If Frawley goes and we receive a first round pick (say, pick 5, 6 or 7) there will be plenty of clubs willing to trade for that pick. We might be able to swing another Tyson/Salem type deal. GWS have been willing to trade in the past so there's one possibility. As well as that, we can use our other first round pick on the best available prospect. If he stays, we've spent a year developing him into a forward who can therefore play at both ends of the ground. If he decides to leave, he may have some regrets later on ... that's the risk he might decide to take. We really don't know if he's staying or going but it might end up being a win/win situation (at the end of day)

We drafted Dean Kent with that 3rd round compensation pick ... a more than handy late pick by the looks of it. We've drafted quite well in the last 2 off seasons ... when Toumpas and Hogan start firing, that 2012 draft will look even better. Viney and Matt Jones are progressing well and Terlich just needs to improve his disposal and decision making - we know he can go at the ball hard. ... 2012 National Draft

I'm not sure we're in disagreement anyway, GD ... I may be way off the mark with my thoughts on why the handball was not given off by Salem but I agree with you that at that stage of the game, you go back and have a shot (especially from that position on the ground) I guess sometimes more than one opinion can be true. Anyway, all's well that ends well

The technology gave it as a goal but it didn't look so to the naked eye. Shaka Hislop on ESPN brought up a good argument that at the exact moment that the keeper was bringing the ball down, the ball was initially past the line. It might have been academic anyway as the French were 1-0 up playing against the 10 men of Honduras. However, the overall reaction might have been a whole lot different if the incident had happened in the actual final.

The world's worst tipster at work again ... serial offender. Well done to the Spurs though ... Popovich is the master and his group of players were just too good. Patty Mills had a terrific series as well. Tim Duncan - 5 championship rings ... what a player he's been.

Yep, JR and your good selves have all made excellent points. All in all, the correct decision was made. Nothing wrong with a senior player putting the onus onto a young player either. Salem would have dreamed of those kind of moments. Christian came through with the goods under a lot of pressure - I wonder how Bellchambers feels today? (lol)

Yep, fair enough JR, but I'll stick with my theory. Dawes was in the clear and under normal circumstances would almost certainly have demanded the ball. Salem would have had no problem giving it off because it would have been part of the team rules. The timeclock governed the decision in my opinion.

Dawes put his hand up straight away to Salem (as if to say, go back and have a shot) I reckon he did that because he was aware that the siren wasn't far away ... he may have simply looked at the clock a minute or 2 earlier or maybe the runner had indicated that there was x amount of time left. I thought it was a heady piece of play by Dawes regardless. Of course, the commentators were urging Salem to handpass it off but they knew how much time was left. Dawes didn't.