Diamond_Jim

The live online betting odds always fascinates me....Crows are now at $4.40 with Eagles at ( not sure because betting was suddenly suspended) ??? Just came back and Crows at $3.50 Someone must have put a lot of money on the Crows

In Salzburg at present............not sure what today's theme song should be: Oscillating between Climb every Mountain and Mozart's Requiem.

The old path is looking very rocky and the gate is barred. Perhaps we can squeeze below that bottom bar and get into that beautiful green paddock. Not sure as a mare that we really want to go into a paddock full of stallions but who knows??

Last quarter ..season on the line and we come up with 3 goals ...not one from a regular forward... tells you something

Luckily Pies have missed a few we are just not that good

and my care factor is .....

not looking good

3 goals down with 12 minutes to play.... season on the line mmmmmm interesting

the corpse...... she breathes!!

5 goals to 3 that quarter Need to do better in the last to win Why

and wow... we got it....again please

really need one more goal this quarter

I am somewhat grateful that MFCSS has prepared me for this outcome and shields me from disappointment. Seriously though the second half of the season has been pedestrian at best

perhaps the team is resting before the finals...wait a minute!!

four goals in a half of football ...enough said

Since the 8 came in has the premiership team missed the 8 in the next year? Ironically the Bulldogs probably had less injuries than last year PS... Have since answered my own question: Since the AFL went to an eight-team finals system in 2000, only once has the reigning premiers missed the finals the next season. In 2017, it will occur for the second time. The first time was the Hawks in ’09, after shocking the football world the year prior by knocking off a vintage Geelong team. http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/03/22/afls-reigning-premiers-miss-top-eight/ The article makes a number of good points including this one: The AFL’s banning of third-man-up at stoppages will have an adverse affect on the Dogs’ gameplan, as Marcus Bontempelli was a great exponent of it, ranked third in the league last season at 63 (per Champion Data).

mmmmmmm could be a very hot thread by the end of the weekend. Hawks to win ... simply to lessen the Saints' draft pick

Agree Our form over the last 6 weeks has been average at best. We need a good win against the Pies and then who knows what might follow

and hey presto what arrives in my inbox.... a free entry to the Caulfield horse races for AFL and club members on 2 September

My problem with the bye is that it kills the public momentum of the season for supporters. It will only take another sport to capitalise on the absence of AFL and watch the AFL come roaring back. Horse racing or NRL perhaps if not soccer? My bet is that they will come up with a formula that adds another week (not necessarily more games) to the final series.

mockas pies at Port Douglas in the '80's weren't bad ...not so great now

So that would mean we have to draft another 1-2 ruckmen if Jake leaves....what fun for the trade board. Very important perhaps for Weideman to develop his ruck skills as well as his forward play.

good point but I have always thought that the Doggies win last year was more luck than ability. Good luck to them but I cannot see it being repeated anytime soon. On form we are above the Bombers and on a par with Port. The rest of the 8 would go in as favourites against us. On the other hand a number of our players could just decide to "click" in September. Here's hoping

One plus re the scheduling is that all the AFL emergencies will be free to play in this match

If you rank games on paper from hardest to easiest using say 1-4 last week against the Lions was a category 4 game. I rate the Pies as a category 3 game so it should be very winnable. Why am I not overly confident... could it be because we just scraped home against the 18th team who also happened to be an interstate team that had not won at the MCG for quite a while. Pies could go for a shoot out ... why not.... have little idea how we would fare if this happened but if Hogan kicks straight it could be interesting.