Macca

Games this weekend . Liverpool vs Arsenal on Sunday evening being one of the matches of the round . You can click on any team for more news , information and fixtures ... Saturday, September 1, 2012 21:45 EST West Ham United v Fulham 00:00 EST Swansea City v Sunderland 00:00 EST Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City 00:00 EST West Bromwich Albion v Everton 00:00 EST Wigan Athletic v Stoke City 02:30 EST Manchester City v Queens Park Rangers Sunday, September 2, 2012 22:30 EST Liverpool v Arsenal 01:00 EST Newcastle United v Aston Villa 01:00 EST Southampton v Manchester United

Here's those 2 clips ...

Was on the outer wing as well with a couple of mates . Virtually underneath that old opposition coaches box . Probably in the vicinity of many current 'landers ! The excitement levels were fever pitch . Never forget it . The 2000 prelim final rivals it for sheer joy . There's a couple of youtube portions of the game available (2 x 8mins) The bit that often gets forgotten is that Garry Lyon broke his leg that day . I wonder how we would have fared 3 weeks later if he had of played ...

What we need right now is some 'Ready to go' A grade talent . To me it doesn't matter if these free agents have only got 2 or 3 years left . Free agency is an 'Every year' thing so we can dip our toes in anytime . Obviously we need midfielders but 'Best avalable' A graders might have to do for now . Just get 'em . We will be spending approx 9.14 million in salaries yet we haven't had a player have a 'A' grade year in quite some time . Jones has been great this year and Frawley's AA 2010 year was terrific but our club needs a serious injection of class . If we can't get enough or any A graders then the B+ types would still be a step up . North Melbourne picked up two 29yo's and a 31yo at the end of 1972 under the 10 year rule (a kind of free agency) . Those 3 players (Barry Davis , John Rantall and Doug Wade) helped turn that club around in a very short space of time . They went from a basket case in 1972 to playing in 5 consecutive grand finals from 1974 onwards . They also brought in a lot of talent from interstate which helped their cause . And .....RDB helped , of course ! We should go hard at the available free agents this year with a view to doing the same next year and beyond . Better to spend the 9.14 million on some real talent rather than some...................not so great talent . The Hawks , Pies , Cats and Swans all spend around about the same 9.14 million dollars in their salary cap's . And look at the talent on those lists . A fair whack of A graders (20?) and at least as many B+ types . We haven't drafted or developed enough A grade or B+ players . Nowhere near enough . Free agency gives us a 2nd chance . We should also look to trade with the GCS .

I reckon you have to wait at least 8 - 9 years to evaluate any draft . Probably longer . And if you agree that it takes this long then why do we place so much creedence on getting it 'Right' at the time . I agree that you've got a much better chance at getting it right at the pointy end but it's impossible to get it right all the time . Even half the time is a stretch . There is a lot of luck involved . Had a look at the 1997 draft the other day . Goodes went at no. 43 , Black 31 and Nathan Thompson 82 . The 'Experts' reckon we get it better these days but I'm not convinced . Joel Selwood went at no.7 in the 2006 draft . The Hawks picked Mitch Thorp at no.6 . Mitch played 2 games . The same 18yo's that are getting talked up as 'Definate' stars of the future will be castigated by all and sundry years later if they aren't stars . And the recruiters will have got it wrong again , of course . It's like groundhog day with this stuff . An 18yo is way too young to be judged correctly on his future abilities . Of course , these same recruiters are hailed as 'Geniuses' when they pluck out a Hird or a Goodes later in the draft . We made the decision re Watts at the time . IMO It wasn't right or wrong at the time so it can't be right or wrong now . It was simply an educated guess . Also .....the club could have been scared off with the 'Go home' factor re NN .

It will be interesting to see Fremantle's selected team on Thursday night . It should be remembered than Ross Lyon's St Kilda 'Rested' 7 players against Hawthorn 3 years ago (round 19) . Baker , Dal Santo , Fisher , Goddard , Hayes , Montagna and Reiwoldt were all rested . They won the game anyway . At the time the Saints were undefeated and 2 games and a hefty % clear of 2nd placed Geelong . Their 3 remaining fixtures were against 9th placed Essendon , 14th placed North Melbourne and us in the last round . These same 7 players all played the following week against Essendon (ironically they lost their 1st game of the year ) . Quite amazing how the football world forgets these things , yet the finger gets pointed at our club - constantly (re tanking) . Freo rested a bunch of players (9?) against the Hawks 2 years ago and only a couple of weeks ago Sandilands was a late inclusion . Lyon is not immune from playing ducks and drakes . There might be some 'Late' exclusions from Freo if it looks like 8th spot is their best option (taking into account other results preceding our game) Here's the season results of 2009 ... http://stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/2009.html#lad

Latest hit from 'Garbage' Macca 9.9

Yeah , no good , but my tips were a bit of 'Hit and hope' Jack . Trouble is , they're always hit and hope ! I'm a lot more confident with the Australian Test side . 2nd part of 'Kerry Packers War' was terrific . I thought they nailed it really . Awfully difficult to get the authenticity spot on , but the makers of the show did a fine job . Great viewing .

Yep 'Hardnut' , in some ways you may be right but any club will nearly always turn over 5 or 6 players in any given year . If we turn over 10 this year and 5 or 6 next year that will be a total of 15 or 16 . Not far off 20 (which is about 50% of a list) . We've still got quite a number of players who are out of contract and ........there might be 1 or 2 contracted players who may be traded out . For what it's worth I reckon the criticism of Royal is a bit odd . How do any of us know how much influence he has ? Same goes for focusing criticism at 1 or 2 players . We've only had 1 legitimate win this year because as a team we're clearly not good enough . Blaming one player or another achieves nothing . It's a team game . It should be remembered that previously , our players have not been trained up to proper AFL fitness levels . This is according to Misson , Craig and Neeld . That's where it gets tricky when evaluating any given player . It can't be the players fault if the previous FD weren't getting them fit enough . Hopefully the current FD take this into account . Also , our players have had to learn a whole new style of playing the game . We had a style which had very little defensive aspects and accountability . Our 2nd and 3rd efforts were poor and our contested ball and clearances were not up to scratch .................and now the focus has gone onto these areas with the new regime . Once again , the current FD need to take this into account when evaluating players . As an example of re-building a list , Hardwick turned over about 28 players in 3 years . For proof , google up their 2009 list and see who's left . This , of course , was after Wallace's re-build . Let's face it , apart from a few glimpses in 2010 , we've been a poor side since 2006 . However , on the flip side , if our club were to pick up 5 or 6 experienced players then everything changes . These players must be hungry for success , know how to play accountable footy and have a big attacking side to their game . Excellent kicking skills being a prerequisite ! Might be asking a bit too much in one trade period but that has got to be the club's goal . There's still enough free agents available and we should be in the market to trade vigorously for other experienced players who aren't free agents . We can get it done . And that's not taking into account who we pick up in the National Draft . Although Viney and co might take a few years before they are consistently good very good great players

That's about 10 players 'Wyl'. But here's the sad bit - have a look at the list of our players who didn't play today . How many of them are safe ? I had a look and I came up with about 9 - 12 players who might be under pressure or are gone . None of them played today . A couple/few are contracted too . A total re-build is not out of the question . We looked fairly good in the 1st quarter today . After that , it was awful . We need to trade in some talent and get some free agents - desperately . At least 5 or 6 experienced players are needed who know how to play footy , 2012 style ! If that happens , then maybe things will get better in a hurry . It's not really feasible to turn over more than 10 players in one year so in all honesty there's possibly another 8 - 10 of our current list who will go at the end of 2013 . I wish I could be less honest ...

Stuff the consequences . Just win . Sheedy will probably force our hand anyway . Pick 4 or 6 - meh.... We need to go into next season with some real hope . It starts today .

Yep , of the 'Current' 8 , only the Cats and Freo didn't win after their bye , this season . The Cats lost by 6 pts to Sydney in Sydney (who were also coming off their bye) and .....Freo lost to the Bombers at home (the Bombers were also coming off their bye) . In other words , for the good teams , you could argue that the bye is not a disadvantage...

A 23 round season with 3 byes which gives us a season in which each club plays 20 games . This could create 3 split rounds where clubs have their byes . In order to make these 'Split rounds' more appealing , the AFL could 'Theme' them . Games with a Rivalry / Blockbuster / Derby element could quite easily be marketed as 'Stand alone' matches . These split rounds could be double-ups so as to maximize revenue . As an example , Freo play the Eagles twice , once in a full round , the other in a split round . The game itself has become a mini endurance event and having just 1 bye doesn't cut it . Teams are 'Resting' players more regularly so if that's going to be a continuum then a fairer way to do things is to have more byes . Effectively this structure means 2 less games per season , per team (for financial reasons the AFL are never going to cut it back to 17 games) . There's been rumours that the AFL have canvassed an extended finals series . To make up for the financial shortfall in a shortened season and to appease the AFL's broadcast partners , I reckon Dr Gonzo's idea of a wildcard weekend appeals (see post #37 above) . However , a wildcard weekend is not essential . The current final 8 works quite well without any real flaws . As an aside , it's interesting that in the last 5 years , the qualifying final winners have all won their respective Preliminary finals . A two week break vs a one week break is now a massive advantage .

Well our 3 most hated teams (arguably) have all lost this weekend . If we win tomorrow I might start believing that our newest member ('American Demon') is a good luck charm . We may need more 'Sign-ups' from the 'Land of the free' !

Good point Jack, Chelsea have 2 wins already . We'll have to win 4-0 then ! Watched part 1 of 'Howzat ! Kerry Packer's War' and agree with HT and Stinga . Memories of that time are still quite vivid . Essential viewing tomorrow night .

Good old Aunty have done it again . Geez 'Wyl' , what is going on at Ripponlea ? Pull some strings man ! We missed Greg Chappell's maiden ton and now this .... :-7

Now , I'm not into hugging men (not that there's anything wrong with that !) but when the siren went in that Preliminary final against the Blues , I couldn't help myself and hugged the mate I went to the game with . A spontaneous act but the unbridled joy was something to behold . To this day , the look on his face remains priceless ! He's a Carlton Supporter .

Aussies will beat South Africa - a 2-1 series win . Won't be easy and we'll need Cummins , Pattinson and Starc firing to achieve this . I do have my optimistic hat on though ! The reason we're so close to the top of the Test rankings is that we've started winning again since 'that' Ashes defeat . And England have struggled since attaining no.1 status . And ......we've got a series win and a tie in our last 2 series against South Africa . In fact , if we win this series against South Africa there's a reasonable chance we'll go to no.1 in the World . This time last year we were no.5 . That 'Ashes' defeat in 2010/11 was a bad one but we've played some good cricket since then , including a 4 - 0 thrashing over India last summer . Here's the 'Test Championship Table Predictor' .......this upcoming Australia/South Africa series is effectively for no.1 status . Pity it's only a 3 Test series . http://www.icc-crick...t_predictor.php Test matches in Australia this summer ... vs South Africa 1st Test 9–13 November Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane 2nd Test 22–26 November Adelaide Oval, Adelaide 3rd Test 30 November–4 December Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth vs Sri Lanka 1st Test 14–18 December Bellerive Oval, Hobart 2nd Test 26–30 December Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne 3rd Test 3–7 January Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Btw Jack , if 'our' Hammers win the early game at Swansea tonight we'll go to the top of the table (temporarily of course !)

Well , for me it's Collingwood but it might be Essendon . Schadenfreude is alive and well amongst a few of us . We sometimes venture over to 'Bomberblitz' and watch the meltdown . Some of us are probably over there now

Yeah , 'old dee' summed it up well . All the clubs have these perceived idiocyncracies . It's just a bit of good natured banter . Btw , and I think I speak for most Demon fans - We hate Essendon , Carlton and Collingwood (not necessarily in that order!) . We also have a fantastic finals record against those 3 teams . On this site we cover all the big 4 USA sports and we've got a general discussion area where we've got music threads , a bit of comedy and topical subjects concerning various World events . Just click on 'Demonland Forums' above to go into those areas . We've even got a cricket thread !

Welcome aboard American Demon . A few unwritten rules ... 1 - Learn to snow ski 2 - Drink Chardonnay 3 - Get yourself a Range Rover 4 - Practice phrases such as "Who's that big chap in the no.9 geurnsey ? 5 - Talk about 'Our Window of Opportunity' . It's currently 2015 . Next year it will be 2016 . 6 - If you have any sport(s) jackets , gets some leather patches on the elbows . Cheers

Matches this weekend ... Chelsea vs Newcastle and Liverpool vs Manchester City being the pick of the match-ups . You can click on any team for further news , information and fixtures . Saturday, August 25, 2012 21:45 EST Swansea City v West Ham United 00:00 EST Aston Villa v Everton 00:00 EST Manchester United v Fulham 00:00 EST Norwich City v Queens Park Rangers 00:00 EST Southampton v Wigan Athletic 00:00 EST Sunderland v Reading 00:00 EST Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromwich Albion 02:30 EST Chelsea v Newcastle United Sunday, August 26, 2012 22:30 EST Stoke City v Arsenal 01:00 EST Liverpool v Manchester City

Yeah , it's good news and OneHD usually cover different games to Foxtel (except of course , SNF) . Nice having a choice of games to view . One of the great things about the sport is that a number of other games are played at the same time . It's a very busy few hours on a Monday morning - trying to keep up with everything soon wakes you up ! Had a bit of a look at the schedule and this season there is a Thursday night game (Friday 10.20 am / 12.20 pm AEST time ) EVERY week until week 16 . Some great match-ups too - many of them divisional games . Ditto for SNF and MNF . The best bit is that there is rarely a let down with regards to the anticipated start to the season . There's always upsets , controversies and shocks . Here's my tips for the season ... NFC East : Philadelphia NFC North : Green Bay NFC South : Atlanta NFC West : San Francisco AFC East : New England AFC North : Baltimore AFC South : Houston AFC West : Denver 4 Wild cards : NY Giants , New Orleans , Pittsburgh and San Diego NFC Championship : Green Bay / Philadelphia AFC Championship : Baltimore / Houston Super Bowl : Green Bay / Baltimore - winner Green Bay (who else!) Improvers - Kansas City , Washington , Indianapolis , Arizona , Carolina and St Louis . Anyone else care to have a go ? Here's last year's standings ... http://espn.go.com/nfl/standings/_/year/2011/seasontype/2

Here's a wrap up of the weekends games from Ravi Ubha (ESPN)... http://soccernet.esp.../id/157?cc=3436 And a podcast on the same matches . James Richardson of the 'Guardian' hosts this lively and sometimes humorous review of the rounds games... http://www.guardian....-weekly-podcast

The Rams were 30th in passing yards last season so with the expected improvement in Bradford you should get much better in that area . My team (the Packers) were ranked 32nd (300 yards) in opposition passing yards (last season) yet we only lost 1 regular season game . It's just as well we've got Rodgers who does so well on the other side of the ledger ! St Louis were ranked 7th with 206 opposition passing yards so if you keep up your defence ............ Of course , there's rushing yards to consider as well . I'm usually not big on stats but this sport (NFL) is way different and the stats can't be ignored . Had a bit of a gander at your schedule and reckon much will depend on how St Louis go in their first 6 games . Get 3 or 4 wins in that period and ya just never know ! There's nearly always a couple/few teams that rise into contention . And other , more fancied teams can fall away .