Tag Archives: essendonfc

Four red hotties for Sandown races on 27 May 2023 and the Professor’s Parlay

After a quiet weekend on the punt last week, the Professor and the Gelding are looking to storm back today at Sandown Hillside course. The track is rated a Soft 6 with the rail in the true position for the entire circuit.

Don’t forget to back the tip each way!!

Sandown Hillside

Professor’s tips

Race 7 Horse 8 – Prowling (for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Race 9 Horse 1 – Pinstriped (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Gelding’s tips

Race 5 Horse 3 – Euphoric

Race 6 Horse 7 – Katsu

Professor’s Parlay

Race 6 Horse 7 – Katsu into Collingwood to beat North Melbourne (AFL) into Essendon to beat West Coast Eagles (AFL).

The Professor and the panel of the Gelding, the Judge and Paul Dalligan will be talking sport tomorrow on the Sportzfan Radio YouTube channel from 12.00pm AEST.

Good luck and good punting!

The Professor

NRL & NRLW Grand Final 2022 wrap, AFLW, Essendon FC & Andrew Thorburn & more – Sportzfan Radio #470

The Professor, the Judge, Coutta, Sarah Radlow, Paul Dalligan and the Gelding talk about the NRL and NRLW Grand Finals, Cameron Munster’s new contract with the Melbourne Storm and Anthony Seibold reportedly in line to coach Manly Sea Eagles in 2023. Sarah reviews the AFLW season 7 so far and looks at the matches still to be played in this round. The Judge discusses Andrew Thorburn’s appointment as CEO of Essendon FC and what followed and the National Sports Tribunal reaching out to the AFL to assist with the Hawthorn FC enquiry. The Gelding has some tips for today’s Ballarat race meeting.

Our 4 red hot tips for Randwick races on 20 August 2022 and the Professor’s Parlay

A great day on the punt for the Professor and the Gelding last week at Caulfield where they had 2 winners, 2 placings, got the all up place parlay up and the Professor’s Parlay. All in all a very good return. They are looking to at least equal that at Randwick today where the track is currently rated a Soft 5 and the rail is out 3 metres for the entire circuit.

Don’t forget to back the tips each way!

Randwick

Professor’s tips

Race 1 Horse 5 – Bandi’s Boy (for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Race 10 Horse 3 – Pizarro (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Gelding’s tips

Race 6 Horse 3 – Lord Ardmore

Race 8 Horse 3 – Anamoe

Professor’s Parlay

Race 8 Horse 3 – Anamoe into Port Adelaide to beat Adelaide (AFL) into Richmond to beat Essendon (AFL).

Good luck and good punting!

The Professor

4 red hot tips for Caulfield races on 9 July 2022 and the Professor’s Parlay

After a reasonable outing last week, including the winning Professor’s Parlay, the Professor and the Gelding fix their focus on today’s Caulfield meeting where the track is currently rated a Soft 7 but showers are forecast during the day so that rating may be downgraded. The rail is out 3 metres for the entire circuit.

Don’t forget to back the tips each way!

Caulfield

Professor’s tips

Race 1 Horse 1 – Seven Sisters (for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Race 3 Horse 2 – Bigolino (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Gelding’s tips

Race 7 Horse 9 – Lyrical Lad

Race 8 Horse 4 – Oxley Road

Professor’s Parlay

Race 5 Horse 2 – Inundation into Brisbane to beat Essendon (AFL) into Parramatta Eels to beat Wests Tigers (NRL)

The Professor and the panel of the Gelding, the Judge, Coutta and Paul Dalligan will be talking sport on the Sportzfan Radio YouTube channel tomorrow from 12.00pm AEST. Special guest, tennis commentator Roddy Reynolds to review the Wimbledon 2022 tournament and Nick Kyrgios’ chances in the men’s final.

Good luck and good punting!

The Professor

The Professor’s and the Gelding’s red hot tips for Flemington on 12 September 2020 and the Professor’s Parlay

The Professor and the Gelding were on fire last week with four winners from four selections and the parlay also saluting. They are looking to equal that today.

Don’t forget to back the tips each way!

Flemington

Professor’s tips

Race 6 Horse 14 – Windstorm (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 9 Horse 6 – Parlophone (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)

Gelding’s tips

Race 2 Horse 1 – Immortal Love
Race 7 Horse 4 – Fierce Impact

Professor’s parlay

Race 6 Horse 14 – Windstorm into Port Adelaide to beat Essendon (AFL) into Melbourne Storm to beat North Queensland Cowboys (NRL).

You can hear the Professor and the Sportzfan Radio panel discuss all the current sporting issues live on their Facebook page tomorrow from midday (AEST).

Good luck and good punting!

The Professor

Weekend musing – Drew Morphett, Nathan Buckley, All Australian team, Chris Scott, Ange Postecoglou

One of things I want to discuss is the tragic passing of Drew Morphett. Drew was one of those classic ABC commentators who was comfortable commentating on anything from football to athletics to tiddlywinks. He was always interested in presenting the picture to the audience and not pumping up his own tyres. In a pretty cut-throat industry I think he was universally liked by his peers. He will be missed.

I was also pleased that Nathan Buckley was reappointed as Collingwood coach for another two years as this will consign Collingwood to another two years out of the finals. It has to be good for the competition.

It was interesting to see that three of the banned Essendon players made the All Australian team with Hurley the only player to have made the team previously. Unfortunately for Essendon, Paddy Ryder (Port Adelaide) and Michael Hibberd (Melbourne) no longer play for the club. What it does show is that a year out of the game is not fatal for a player in his 20’s, but perhaps once you get to thirty it is not a positive experience.

Chris Scott took Geelong into another finals series last night and his fellow coaches recently voted him as the hardest coach to coach against. He certainly has had a lot of success since taking over from Bomber Thompson, however, his finals record needs some scrutiny. Since the 2011 finals series where Geelong won three games, including the premiership, but with the loss to Richmond, he has now contested a further nine finals for only two wins and one of those wins was over Hawthorn last year when Isaac Smith had a shot after the siren that could have taken the game away from Geelong. I think a few questions need to be posed as to Scott’s finals coaching record.

Speaking of coaches I cannot believe that Ange Postecoglou has come under so much pressure recently. He got the Socceroos an Asian Cup and in the current qualifiers the Socceroos have only lost one game. They do have an issue with scoring, but I put that down to personnel, not system. His system creates scoring chances, but we don’t seem to have the quality of strikers to put the goals away and this was no more evident that the recent game against Thailand. I think Tommy Juric is a good developing striker in the Mark Viduka mould, but we need a Harry Kewell or Tim Cahill at his best to compliment Juric. This is not Postecoglou’s fault, he has tried to develop players, but Australia just does not have genuine strikers playing at the highest level. Let the World Cup campaign pan out and reassess at the end.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend musing covers the AFL’s final round and the Dustin Martin saga

This weeks final round of football is an absolute cracker with every game having some influence on the final standings. In the Herald Sun they have equated this round to the final round of 1987 where several games impacted the make up of the finals. As an Essendon supporter I am happy that my team has control of its own destiny. The Bombers should account for Fremantle at home, but having seen my side cough up a 27 point lead against Brisbane at home you never can be sure. It also may be Jobe Watson’s last game in the red and black. He certianly got the most out of himself and it still riles me that he returned his Brownlow medal.

The Dustin Martin saga seems to be dragging on and it seems more likely that he will leave the Tigers. I know he is an important player and this year’s likely Brownlow medalist, however, if the reported offer from North Melbourne is $1.5m a year for 7 years the Tigers should not attempt to match it as it would jeopardise future contracts and their payment structure. I do not think he is worth anything like that sort of money as he doesn’t provide any sort of marketing clout save for his position as a star player. I also do not think that most Richmond supporters would want their club to go too far to keep him. Martin needs the money and I have no doubt he will go to the highest bidder. He is not a media performer and he is not coaching material, so he has to make hay while he is playing. If North Melbourne do get him there is no guarantee that he will be the panacea for their woes in any case. Paying a player that amount of money will no doubt cause a ripple affect amongst the other players as Tom Boyd’s contract apparently did at the Bulldogs. This guy is no Paddy Dangerfield.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend musing – Arsenal’s FA Cup, Wenger re-appointed, AFL, Dreamtime game controversy, Huddersfield Town promoted to Premier League

I was pleased to see that Arsene Wenger re-signed with Arsenal for another two years. While I understand there is a lot of discussion about him being moved on by Arsenal supporters, in the end he has still had a good year. The Gunners accumulated 75 points this year finishing fifth in the EPL. That would have got them into the top four on eight of the previous ten years and in two of those years they would have finished second. Arsenal also won the FA Cup last weekend with a great win over Premier League Champion’s, Chelsea. So the year, while frustrating, has not been a disaster. The key now is to ensure Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez remain at the Club on a long term basis. That is the biggest challenge facing Arsenal and Wenger at the moment.

The Dreamtime game between Essendon and Richmond produced a couple of controversial issues. Firstly the rushed behind resulting in an easy goal to Essendon and then Dustin Martin being named the best player on the ground. I thought the rushed behind decision was technically correct, but I certainly would not have been happy if my team was on the receiving end. A good question was raised during the week on the issue – would the Richmond player have rushed the ball through if the scores were level with little time left on the clock? I think the answer would be “no”, he would have tried to tap it to his team mate who was nearby at the time. As regards Martin being best on the ground, last year he clearly was the best on the ground, but this year I didn’t think there was a clear stand out player. In my opinion Brandon Ellis was Richmond’s best and Brendan Goddard was Essendon’s best. Martin got close to 30 touches, but his disposal efficiency was similar to the major Essendon ball winners. I was a bit surprised when Martin also got both coaches votes. I must be a poor judge!

Also great to see Aaron Mooy’s Huddersfield get into the EPL with him scoring in the penalty shoot out.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend musing – AFL, sledging, EPL final week……

There have been instances of good sportsmanship and bad sportsmanship in the AFL last weekend.

On the good side it was pleasing to see Dyson Heppell and Joel Selwood chair James Kelly off after last weeks game to celebrate Kelly’s 300th game.

On the flip side, you had the sledging allegations levelled at St Kilda players for targetting Marc Murphy in the game against Carlton targeting. This is a difficult issue and hard to assess and monitor. By drawing attention to the sledging and the content of the sledging, it brought to light rumours that I and a lot of other footy fans who aren’t on social media sites were not aware of. Where do you draw the line when it does not involve issues that are currently in the code of conduct?

Another good story in the AFL this week is the appointment of the female umpire, Eleni Glouftsis for the Essendon v West Coast game this Sunday. By all reports she has got there on her merits and deserves the chance. Another way of getting females involved in the game of Australia Rules Football.

The EPL concludes this week with Chelsea and Tottenham wrapping up the top two spots before the weekend and Manchester City almost safe in third spot. That leaves Liverpool and Arsenal in the fight for fourth position and the all important Champions League qualification. Liverpool have the easier game, but the Gunners have come with a rush in the last month and are not without some chance of finishing fourth. With Manchester United playing off for the Europa Cup and possible qualification for the Champions League, more may need to play out before the final positions are known. I have had a look at the qualification criteria and it is by no means clear. My personal view is that it would not be a bad thing for the Gunners to miss out on Europe and only concentrate on the League next season. Chelsea and Leicester have won the League in the last two years without having to worry about the Champions League.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend musing – A- League Final, Collingwood’s good recovery after playing Anzac Day game…

The A-League grand final is on this Sunday with Sydney FC the clear favourite going up against Melbourne Victory. Sydney have only lost one game this season and has beaten Victory on three occasions, but the pressure is on Sydney as they are expected to win. The Victory have nothing to lose and an early goal could cause panic in the Sydney ranks. The Victory certainly have the talent to win the game and as with most cases involving the world game, they just need to take their chances. I am going to go out on a limb and pick the Victory to win 2-0.

Whatever the Collingwood fitness staff have at their disposal the other teams should be trying to emulate it. Back in 2010 they backed up for the grand final replay in a lot better shape than St Kilda and last Sunday they did it again with a five day break after the Anzac Day game. Essendon were clearly off their game on Sunday against Melbourne who had a similar break, whereas Collingwood faced Geelong who had two clear days break on them and yet Collingwood finished strongly and won the game easily in the end.

Just on the Melbourne/Essendon game, the Bombers finally got to play the Demons at Etihad instead of the MCG, however, the Demons had already played twice at the venue this year and it was the Bombers first appearance there so any perceived advantage was lost. he first half was one of the worst halves of football I have seen from both teams. Melbourne were a lot cleaner in the second half and deserved the win.

Have a great weekend!