All your Round 4 Footy tips, racing tips, and some thoughts about the Tribunal

 

A system always needs some time to settle down, I always had concerns about the revised match review process with one man as judge, jury and executioner.  In the IT game there is always the need for redundancy in the system, not sure what the process will be should Michael Christian be unavailable, has a horse running somewhere or a daughter playing footy!  Then without anyone working with him how would there be consistency?

 

We are getting what I expected a far more lenient system, of 10 charges laid on the weekend one proved too much for Chrisso and went straight to the actual tribunal and rightly so, the three weeks was below my expectation for a despicable act.  Then only delivering one meaningful sanction the rest simply being fines.  Surely some of those required stronger action.  Aaron Sandilands – careless conduct – he chose to bump off the ball when not even around a contest – what a crock?  The pinup boy Alex Rance – careless conduct – what about just late and cynical – a $2,000 fine is no deterrent for a player earning over $500,000 per year.

 

Saw two of the sling tackles live – the punishment is not fitting the crime.  Punishments being based on the severity of the injury is a dangerous path to be on.  The potential for serious harm remains and players will push it to the edge.  It won’t be so funny when somebody gets hurt!

 

Now for round 4!

 

Charddy Sippers ($1.20) vs Boy Behaving Badly ($5.90)

 

The Pies are good travellers, however the Crows are deadly in their own backyard.  A couple of injuries to Buck’s boys don’t help either though they do welcome back serial transgressor Jordan de Goey.  They were terrific against the Blues, reckon the tricks up forward were wasted on a lowly opponent.  Grundy is a ripper, his clash with Jacobs will be a beauty.  The Pies will try hard but will be no match for Adelaide on their home deck and reckon we might be in for another Friday night fizzer.

 

Lobbed Out ($1.22) vs The Hermanators ($5.50)

 

The tale of two ruckmen, Rory Lobb has not come up for the Giants while Herman has incredibly escaped the wrath of the match review officer.  Suspect it won’t really mean that much.  Simpson for the Giants might not be adequate while the Sandilands – Fyffe combination is one of the best ever means Freo are well placed.  Despite their improvement this year Freo just don’t have the depth of talent to beat the Giants away from home.

 

Dusted Off ($1.10) vs Beam me In ($10)

 

Huge effort from the Lions last week without their best player in Dayne Beams.  He comes back in to face the Tigers who got the job done over the Hawks last week.  Not a lot of chat about Dustin Martin’s game, he was devastating in the first quarter to set up the ultimately unassailable lead.  His team orientated decisions makes his teammates look better than they really are!  The Lions will try but think the Tigers will prevail in the battle of the big cats.

 

Not Picken Him ($3.40) vs Wouldn’t Reid About It ($1.40)

 

Tough times for brave dog Liam Picken, let’s hope he can come back to the game.  If he doesn’t he will always remain a great premiership player.  On the other side Sam Reid has succumbed to yet another soft tissue injury, losing him presents a number of challenges for the Swans especially how they play Buddy.  The Dogs were terrific against Essendon after getting the “rounds of the kitchen” in the press.  Can they maintain the rage or was it just a Dead Dog Bounce?  No better test than the Swans and not without hope, not for me though and think the Sydney side will be too good.

 

Bellerive ($1.58) vs Prime Time Frights ($2.72)

 

The Blues screwed up another Friday Night, this time it seven o’clock on a Saturday for the Hobart crowd to shuffle in.  Can they put up a better effort against the Roos who are building their southern fortress?  Losing Marchbank hurts, there is now no ambiguity in the role for Weitering he needs to be a key defender this week.  The Liam Jones project will undergo some serious assessment from local hero Ben Brown.  These two teams are off the pace, predict that North have a bit more experience plus the familiarity of the ground to notch another victory.

 

West ($1.17) vs Gold ($6.20)

 

The battle of the Coasters.  The Suns have stayed out west for the whole week and might feel at home, I doubt they will feel that for long once they hear the Eagle hordes baying for blood.  Josh Kennedy returning is a boost for the Eagles against lowly opposition of which Gold Coast is despite promising signs.  West Coast to win.

 

Fangs for the Memories ($2.34) vs Curfew Town ($1.73)

 

Not sure about the need for a curfew – let alone in Adelaide.  They lose SPP who is a pretty important component of Port’s aggression around the contest.  They take on the Bombers who lose McKenna and have lost even more if we read the media opinions, their turn for the rounds of the kitchen.  The reality is nothing is a good as it seems and nothing is as bad as it seems.  While they were terrible last week, their opponents were on fire.  It was one bad game, they are playing a side without a recognized ruckman, they should be smarting from the commentary this week.  Reckon the Bombers can hit back.

 

Big Boy ($2.22) vs Big Max ($1.80)

 

A mouthwatering contest at the G on Sunday and particularly the sideshow between the ruckmen.  The Hawks were good against the premiers last week, their best being when they could control the tempo of the game.  They will have their work cut out to do the same against Melbourne who like to move the ball quickly.  Tom Mitchell remains a conundrum – he had over 40 possessions last week and used the ball beautifully yet Richmond did not put too much into negating him.  Will Bernie try to lock him down?  Not sure it will matter, think the Demons are on the improve and if they are to be a top four prospect then they should win this.

 

Fenced In ($1.27) vs Thanks Chris! ($4.40)

 

The Saints are in enough of a hole before having Chris Pelchen regurgitating some of the dealings of the past.  That is in the past and cant affect the Saints efforts and performance against the Cats.  They  have suffered some serious injuries that will impact their midfield depth, plus a couple of unnecessary ones that fortunately will not keep Touhy and Blicavs out..  The absence of Ablett and Guthrie may be an issue in other games but against the Saints in the Cathouse they should be too strong.

 

The Queen Returns

 

The Championships continue at Royal Randwick with another four Group 1 events highlighted by the Lizzie which is highlighted by the appearance of Winx.

 

Race 6

 

The big ones open with the Australian Oaks (G1, 2400m, 3yo Fillies SW) and a tough field to assess.  Hiyaam (2) was able to hold out Unforgotten (3) and Aloisia (1) in the Vinery Stud – reckon the extra 400 metres gets them past her.  Luvaluva (5) is poorly drawn, however won convincingly last week with a huge weight.  Two others of interest are new to the game and coming off Victorian regional form in Naivasha (12) and Wild Sea (13).  Their respective trainers Blackiston and Kent do know how to produce good staying type.  Really tough but plonking on Aloisia (1) to get another classic.

 

Selections – 1-5-3-2

 

Race 7

 

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1, 2000m, WFA) is Sydney’s match up to the Cox Plate and we get to have the same match up with the mighty Winx (9) running against the horse who has put up the greatest challenge to her in recent times inHumidor (3).  Add to the mix Doncaster winner Happy Clapper (1) and Group 1 performer Gailo Chop (2), we have a very interesting race for second.  Humidor (3) might lack consistency but his best beats the rest bar Winx (9).  Could he beat her?  Very doubtful but might be worth a shekel at $16 or better.

 

Selections – 9-3-1-2

 

Race 8

 

The Sydney Cup (G1, 3200m, HCP) has regained some of its stature, this is a pretty good renewal of the event.  WithLasqeuti Spirit (15) and Cismontane (16) in the race it should be a true test, with that in mind the best known stayer in the bunch is Almandin (1) and while he gives others a big weight advantage he will get the trip.  Would prefer McEvoy to have remained in the saddle rather than Ollie.  The unknown is the Japanese raider Pre Stwick (6), has the magic man on board and we know that Japanese form is good form here.  Sir Charles Road (13) won the lead up race last week with authority and was followed by Ventura Storm (4).

 

Selections – 1-6-13-4

 

Race 9

 

The Coolmore Legacy Stakes (G1, 1600m, F&M WFA) is Sydney’s equivalent to the Myer Stakes at the Flemington carnival, the fillies and mares over a mile at the scale.  A great race!  The two standouts in Daysee Doom (1) and Dixie Blossoms (3)have drawn the outside gates so taking the risk against them.  The field is deep with the likes of Prompt Response (4), Spanish Reef (7), Payroll (10), Eckstein (13) and Samovare (14).  I am going with the X-factor in the field with the Godolphin filly Alizee (17), coming back to her favoured distance on track where she is 3 from 8.

 

Selections – 17-4-10-13

 

Quaddie Time

 

Another tripod last week, at least this week we get the free hit with Winx.  The challenge is to get some value.

 

Leg 1 – 9

Leg 2 – 1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 13

Leg 3 – 4, 5, 7. 10, 13, 17

Leg 4 – 10, 11

 

72 Combinations, $30 investment will deliver about 42% of the dividend!

 

Friar Time

 

A huge day for the Friars winning four from four.  The Seniors were too strong for Eltham Old Collegians winning by over 20 goals.  The Under 19s eventually extracted themselves from a tenacious Parkside to register a solid 12 goal win and the Girls finished the day with a win in their first game for points over Yarra Old Collegians.  The week sees a quadruple header at Friar Park with Unders kicking off against Preston Bullants, the Girls taking on Old Melburnians while the senior teams host Bulleen-Templestowe.  Not to mention a luncheon to celebrate the contribution of players past which will have many highlights in itself.

 

Go Blues, Go Friars,

 

 

 

 

 

 

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