Diamond_Jim

The teams occupying 3-7 on the ladder are separated by only 4 points. Hopefully we don't see a repeat of last year where we need to win a game to stay top 4. A victory by the Tigers over the Saints tonight would give us a little break on the pack. The loss to Freo may be one we rue.

Not many roads/choices unfortunately? If you have a 4WD there's always the Birdsville Track. At this time of year it should be cool weather wise with a lot of red earth surrounds. If I had the time and inclination I'd head up to Kakadu and Darwin ..Cairns. Good luck finding a camp spot at Uluru on short notice

Years ago when we were playing in both Darwin and NT I was at the MCG. There was a group of youngsters (around 15-16) from the NT down in Melbourne for a football carnival sitting near me. I asked them if the games by the MFC had seen anymore support for MFC in the NT. They looked at me as if I was from Mars. They all barracked for the usual Melbourne mega clubs. The sale of these games is about Event sale... same way as you sell an undertakers' convention. It's only about money.

That is barely break even. We get a Million to sell the game to NT. Luckily conditions in the Alice are benign. Have a thought for the Bulldogs who were the away team to GCS in Darwin a few weeks back. No money and horrible conditions. They lost the game and also lost the next game back in Melbourne

An American virtually married her chatbot... Describing Eren as a “marshmallow” and a “sweetheart,” Ramos said that her beau confessed his feelings to her days into his existence as a chatbot. From bonding over music to visiting a “secret garden” together, made possible by Ramos uploading Eren into Augmented Reality (AR), she remembered thinking to herself: “Whoa. This is really romantic. I’ve never experienced this before.” https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3224404/woman-who-married-ai-chatbot-after-toxic-relationships-says-it-helped-her-heal-abuse?module=lead_hero_story&pgtype=homepage

Clearances were the key to Port's dominance last night after quarter time.

Does it... you get one career of around ten years at most. Do you want to "waste" five of it in a rebuild. Surprised that Larkey re-signed with North today. Five odd years of losses and low crowds. Throw in Tasmania and the almost inevitable twentieth team it doesn't look good for teams bottoming out in say two years

nah It was Viney's recommendation so they say to go with another guy.... Could just be a rumour though

Bergmann and JHF look identical at medium distance. No wonder I think JHF is such a good player

not sure... who did we pick?

Kane Corne's article was more about avoiding the basket case AKA West Coast Eagles by threatening to leave. I could imagine that this choice is open to at least the top 5

Kane Cornes in today's Age.... "But Reid’s career would be at risk of stagnating, rather than flourishing, on the big stage should he, as expected, be drafted by the Eagles. After Jason Horne-Francis’ exit from North Melbourne just a year after being announced at No.1, Reid should make it very clear to the Eagles that he could do the same. He would only need to tell West Coast of his intent to return home to a Victorian club after his mandatory two-year contract expires, if not sooner. If Reid and his management group are savvy and strategic, they can engineer the Eagles into trading the No.1 pick to Melbourne, which is prepared to offer multiple first-round selections in return for the first crack at securing Reid." https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/why-the-afl-s-next-big-thing-needs-to-avoid-football-s-graveyard-20230614-p5dgje.html

A number of games that will impact MFC's ladder position. Wins by the Saints and the Lions sees them even with us on the ladder. A win by Port makes positions 1 or 2 very hard for us. A Bulldogs win puts them back in top 4 contention A Sydney loss means it's very hard for them to make the 8. Giants v Freo (can the Orange Men do it for the Dees) So many combinations to enjoy on a stress free bye weekend AND of course the Ashes !!!

Fascinating and indicative of how things are changing in professional sports. Was watching On the Couch and they were discussing coaches taking a 3-4 week break mid season just to relieve pressure. Longer seasons bring with it more issues. A small matter is the MFC bye. Physically it's a good rest but mentally it's not even a 7 day break.

Only one goal behind the great Allen Jakovich. Interestingly Jako's average of 4.28 goals per game is almost double the next best average. A very special player https://australianfootball.com/clubs/most_goals/melbourne/8

From today's Age . Interesting if true........... There were even more fanciful suggestions around what ex-Demon Jackson might command in his move to Fremantle, with one report tipping a seven-year contract worth $10.5 million in totality. The seven seasons stuck throughout the trade period, with the speculated money dipping to about $900,000 per year. However, a well-placed source confirmed to Money Talks that Jackson, who is enjoying a career-best season with averages of 15 disposals, 1.1 goals, 13 hit-outs and four tackles, accepted a five-year deal until the end of 2027. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/big-decision-looms-for-dogs-20230613-p5dg3p.html

In simple terms we need 4-5 goals a week out of the three small fowards. This weekend we got 4 behinds which probably should have been 3 goals. As a group they are not contributing anything near what they did in the early rounds when it was probably around 6 goals. There's no one at Casey to come in. I'm prepared to give Smith a 3 week run with Petty at the expense of Spargo or Chandler but I'm not confident

Geelong v Port this weekend will be crucial to our top 2 chance. If Port win it's hard to see us catching up 3 games to the Pies or Port in the next ten. Collingwood play Port in Adelaide which could leave the door ajar slightly. Our last four games are comparatively easy assuming we do the right thing and win in the next 5-6 weeks. Beat Brisbane at the MCG and we could in theory go 10-0

It's stadium deals... The WA clubs have good ones as well. Not so sure about SA Have a search of "clean stadiums"

No Geelong puts in a list of those teams it wants to play at the MCG. We're not on it In simple terms if you can't guarantee 70k at the MCG they're not interested. Essendon is an anomaly this year due to their unexpected good form. Going forward if Geelong falters they may well elect to play a few more down there. Some of the clubs at Docklands could make a fortune if they had a similar stadium deal. Unfortunately the commercial in confidence aspects means we'll never know

Post stage 5 renovations they will have a capacity of 40k from which they will make the same money as from 70k at the MCG. No incentive to play the lesser Melbourne based teams whatsoever Stadium control is worth a fortune dollar wise

Kardinia Park is narrow. Our wide boundary game is suspect in those conditions. Could we rest a winger... Hunter.... for a tactical corridor player (do we have such a player) ??

Nice win... now for the Cats at Geelong

Shades of Casey who kicked 1:9 while Collingwood kicked 10:1

Inaccuracy is rife at the MFC these days