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2025 Pre-Finals Break – State Of The Game

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  Last Week      8/10     Season Total 152/207 (73.4%) We’ve reached that time of year again when we take a pause.   Not that anyone really wants one, but we are forced to sit through one anyway.   But this gives us time to reflect on the State of the Game.   If you’re a chronic reader or a masochist, then you’ve read all of my missives this year and noted that I’ve repeatedly said I’m getting a bit bored with the footy.   There’s just not that much in it these days.   I’ve been trying to pinpoint the reason why? What the Stats Say Is it because there is a clear two-speed economy going?   There are teams that have it and then teams that have not.   Most games are one sided and predictable and I think I only got 26% of my tips wrong just to mix it up a bit.   That could be it.   Or could it be that when I watch a game it’s usually pretty frustrating watching terrible ball movements patter...
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Round 24 Preview

  Last Week           7/9           Season Total      144/198 It was an action packed week of footy last week with the trailing news being about Milera’s contract, Sheezels 54 and Rankine’s brain fart. We enter the final week of regular footy for 10 teams who must decide to play for pride or play for draft picks.   For the rest, it is all about equations.   Who do you play, do you win or lose and how much do you win or lose by are all factors that will affect ladder position with none of the top 8 sureties for any given spot.   We also have the extra match to preview this week so let’s dive in.   Essendon vs Carlton        MCG       Thursday Night Traditional Rivals will meet on the Thursday Night for a game that not many want to see.   With Essendon playing mostly kids, m...
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Round 23 Preview

Last Week           8/9           Season Total      137/189 Every now and then the season throws up some fodder for us preview writers sink our teeth into.  This week it is the announcement that Snoop Dogg will be headlining the AFL entertainment on Grand Final Day.  I’m not really familiar with his work but I did some snooping and here are some things I learned about the Dogg.  His real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr (does that mean he qualifies as a Broady Boy.  He looks like he could have been raising hell in Broadmeadows).  He converted to Rastafarian and also goes by the alias Snoop Lion.  Snoop confessed once that he was a pimp, and using some colourful language bragged about how good he was at it.  He has a rap sheet that is very long.  His album list is a fun read including great works like Doggystyle, Tha Dogg...
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Round 22 Preview

  Last Week           7/9           Season Total      129/180   We’ve finally had our first coach sacking of 2025.  Simon Goodwin has been let go with immediate effect and we won’t be seeing him again for the rest of the season.  The board at Melbourne has spoken and has clearly mandated that 83-point victories will not be tolerated under any circumstances.  They just won’t stand for those kinds of shenanigans, and this is grounds for instant dismissal.  What does this mean for Melbourne going forward with a number of players futures up in the air and speculation growing in the media?  We’ll find out, I guess.  In the world outside of AFL (assuming it exists), India won a remarkable test match against England needing 4 wickets before they got 35 runs.  Woakes even stepped out to bat with his arm in a sling.  ...
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Round 21 Preview

  Last Week           9/9          Season Total      122/171 Firstly, credit where credit is due.   I lambasted Kayo earlier in the year for their annoying interface and ability to make me have to scroll through hours of footage to get to the point I was last at.   Well, maybe someone out there reads this missive as they have now introduced a “Resume” option.   Of course, like a farmer complaining about not getting enough rain and then complaining that they have too much rain when the rains does arrive, I can say I hate the Resume function.   I’ve gotten so used to having no resume capability that now I have it, it confounds me and gets in the way of my live sport digestion. Not that it mattered on the weekend just gone.   I didn’t watch a second of the footy during the weekend and looking at the scores, I doubt I missed much at all. ...
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Round 20 Preview

  Last Week           5/9           Season Total      113/162   I’m pleasurably writing this while waiting for Rory to tee off at The Open Championship.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve had a marked shift in my interest from footy to golf.  I didn’t watch any footy on the weekend and to be honest, didn’t really miss it.  To that point, I started to dive deeper into golf stats and wanted to understand what LIV has done to those golfers.  It’s not good.  Almost without exception (there are always outliers), they have all had a dramatic decline in their strokes gained since leaving the PGA and joining LIV.  What could be the cause?  Is it the fact that LIV is 54 instead of 72 holes?  No, their strokes gained are just as bad over those first three days.  Could it be that they’re not as comfortable in the pressure coo...
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