Author: craigpett

Leading tipsters this week were Grace, Helen, Janet, Matt and Sal, all with 6 out of 7, followed by Ausi, Dee, Huddo, Jeremy, Judith, Lara, Ray, Rob and Tony with 5. Tony has now edged back into the lead on his own whilst Helen has jumped into equal second with Gaynor, and Fran and Huddo are 1 further back.

What a mighty win for the Crows here in Melbourne on Thursday night. It’s one that really stamps them as a premiership chance this year. Let’s hope they can keep it going against Tony’s Dees at Adelaide Oval next Saturday. Meanwhile, Port’s run of narrow losses continues. I thought they were great last night against Sydney but in the end the Swans showed their class. Essendon just seem to waiting for next year. It seems inevitable that they will appoint Hird. But who will win the flag in 2026? With apologies to all the Victorian-team-supporting tipsters in our comp (and there’s a few), here’s hoping for a non-Victorian grand final, with the two teams coming from the group of Fremantle, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.

The Ladder after Round 14…

Best this week were Grace, Helen, Jeremy Colleen, Jeremy, Matt, Ray, Sal, Steph and myself, all with 6 out of 8. Next were Fran, Gaynor, Janet and Lara with 5. Gaynor was in the lead on her own for about 6 weeks until Tony jumped in front of her last week, but now Gaynor has bounced back and she and Tony are tied for the lead, one ahead of Fran, and with Helen and Huddo tied one further back.

That was a great win for the Crows on Thursday night – at last we have beaten Geelong. It was also good to see Matthew Nicks, Jordan Dawson and other Crows players at Noarlunga on Saturday watching their Reserves against South, with the Crows beating the Panthers by 44 points in the end. Noarlunga is a ground where you can drive in and watch from your car. That’s what some of the Crows boys were doing – the camera found them and zoomed on in them. So, the Crows’ season is back on track, especially if we can beat the in-form Dogs on Thursday night at Docklands. Meanwhile, Carlton’s run of wins is now at four, Gold Coast are faltering, and Freo go into a bye this week still sitting pretty on top of the ladder.

The Neale Daniher funeral is on Wednesday and I’m going. What an inspiration of a man.

The Ladder after Round 13…

Story number 1 this week concerns Steph. In what I think is a first in the history of Steph’s involvement in our comp, not only has she tipped 7 out of 7, but no one has equalled it, meaning she is our stand-out tipster of the week, followed by Janet, Jeremy and Tony with 6. Way to go Steph.

Story number 2 concerns Tony Cardamone, our neighbour two doors down here on Shore Grove. Tony has been having a couple of problems with his new Toyota RAV4 lately – the battery went flat because of confusion about how to turn the hybrid engine fully off, then two weeks ago there was a problem getting the side mirrors to turn in when you turn the engine off. But Tony has not been having any problems with his tipping. He has been consistent all year so far, and this week, when he even tipped GWS against his own Demons, he has jumped into the lead on his own, one ahead of Gaynor, with Huddo and Fran one further back.

It’s exciting times at Carlton all of a sudden. What a game that was on Friday night, with Cripps taking a big mark in front of goal with less than a minute left. Now Carlton are every chance of making it 4 in a row when they play Essendon next week. It’s also exciting times for Freo. Will they win their first-ever flag this year?  I’d like to see it. Next week they play North Melbourne in Bunbury. As for the Crows, it’s a huge game on Thursday night against Geelong. A win would restore hopes in the season. A loss might see it start to slip away. 

The Ladder after Round 12…

In a tough, topsy-turvy tipping round, there was some change on the leader board. Jeremy’s hot run of form continues. He got 7 for the third week in a row and has got himself off the near-bottom of the ladder. Next best this week was Fran, who got 6, with her Hawks beating the Crows on Thursday night. Fran was the outright leader for the first few weeks of the year and is now back in contention, just two off the lead. But it’s still Gaynor in the lead by 1, from Huddo and Tony in joint second.

It was a disappointing night for the Crows on Thursday night, especially after such a good first quarter. It’s hard to get a feel on how good the Crows really are this year. I’ve got a feeling we’ll end up playing off in the Wild Card Round for teams 7 to 10. As for Port, what a dismal night for them. Luckily for Josh Carr he’s a first-year coach, so he’ll be given some grace. Peter’s Pies scraped in over West Coast in Pendle’s record-breaking big game (not mentioning how players like Craig Bradley and Peter Carey played nearly 500), and meanwhile Freo just keep on keeping on. Could it be their year?.

Next week we are back to 7 games for the round, starting Thursday night.

The Ladder after Round 11…

It was good week for Jeremy, getting 7. Next best were Fran, Grace, Lara, Matt, Tony and me with 6. Gaynor still leads by 1 but now Tony has joined Huddo, just 1 back.

We all thought the Crows would beat North Melbourne but probably not that easily – it was good for percentage. On Thursday night we have Hawthorn at Launceston. That’s going to be very tough, especially with Hawthorn coming off an unexpected loss to Melbourne. Port are having a pretty poor season so far – is Josh Carr cutting through? And you have to feel sorry for Michael Voss. As soon as they sack him, Carlton finally have a win.

Till next Thursday…

The Ladder after Round 10…

Happy 18th birthday to Huddo!

Congrats to Ausi, birthday boy (man) Huddo, and Grace, who all got 9 this week. Next best with 8 were Dee, Gaynor, Helen, Janet, Judith, Lara, Matt, Peter, Robert and Tony. Gaynor is still in the lead but Huddo has jumped into second place, just 1 behind.

Poor old Port are making a habit of losing by only a few points. It will be interesting to see how they go against Gold Coast next week up in Darwin. Gold Coast never lose there. I didn’t see any of the Crows v Richmond game (I was flying to Sydney for work this week) but I was checking the scores and it was a worry for a while, although in the end a pretty good win. If we can beat North Melbourne next week, we will be 6 and 4, which isn’t too bad.

The Ladder after Round 9…

With the draw between Peter’s Pies and Fran’s Hawks on Thursday night, the rule in this comp is that no one gets this tip. So, with that, the best tipsters this week were Ausi, Dee, Gaynor, Helen, Huddo, Judith, Matt, Rob and Sal, all with 7, followed by Fran, Lara, Peter and Tony with 6. Gaynor’s 7 means her lead at the top of the ladder is out to 2.

What a finish to the Showdown on Friday night. Incredible, and just what the Crows needed. This week they play Richmond over here in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon, and if they win that, they will be 5 and 4, but they better not take Richmond lightly. The Tigers will have their tails up after beating West Coast this weekend. Meanwhile, Port can get their season back on track next week if they can beat the Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval on Friday night. I’m also looking to the game on Thursday night, Freo v Hawthorn in the west – should be a beauty.

Catch you later.

The Ladder after Round 8…

Again this week, most of the favourites got up. Port beating Geelong was really the only upset. So, best of the week were Dee, Gaynor, Grace, Helen, Huddo, Janet, Judith, Peter, Ray and Tony, all with 8, followed by Ausi, Fran, Lara, Robert and me with 7. This mean Gaynor still has a lead of 1 from Tony, with a heap of people close behind.

That was a dismal day for the Crows today. I’d say that was our worst loss for quite a while. Next week we have the Showdown, which will be an interesting night given that Port have found form, almost beating Hawthorn in Melbourne last week, then beating Geelong at Adelaide Oval yesterday. The bookmakers have the Crows as slim favourites at the moment. Fran’s Hawks, Tony’s Dees and Peter’s Pies are all going well.

Happy birthday to Ausi! 15 today.

The Ladder after Round 7…

With almost all of the favourites getting up this week, a lot of us got 8 out of 9: Ausi, Dee, Fran, Gaynor, Helen, Huddo, Jeremy, Judith, Lara, Robert, Tony and me. That means Gaynor still has her lead of 1, ahead of Tony in second on his own, and a bunch of people 1 further back.

That was such a relief that the Crows held on for their 1-point win over St Kilda. It would have been devastating if we’d lost, with all the tragic circumstances for the Dawson family during the week. Next week the Crows travel to Brisbane for a Sunday afternoon game. That will be a huge test, with Brisbane coming off a loss today. Port did well but fell just short of what would have been an incredible win over Fan’s Hawks in Melbourne. Essendon lost to Gold Coast but they suddenly seem to have found something. And Tony’s Dees bounced back with a win after a loss in the Barossa last week.

Next week begins on Thursday night with Bulldogs v Sydney at Marvel.

The Ladder after Round 6…

Great tipping this week by Ausi, Dee, Gaynor, Huddo, Judith, Rob and Tony, who all tipped exactly the same and got 8, missing only Essendon. Next best with 7 were Helen and Peter. Meanwhile, Gaynor has jumped back into the lead on her own, one ahead of Tony and two ahead of a bunch of people tied on third.

Well, it was good for the Crows to have a win after three tight losses. We have another home game next week on Saturday night against St Kilda. Essendon finally broke their 17-game losing streak, Gold Coast are in a mini-slump after losing two in a row, Collingwood are a bit wobbly, Brisbane are starting to look good and Hawthorn definitely are too. For anyone wondering if AI can help their footy tipping, see page 23 of this weekend’s Australian.

Wasn’t it good to see Tex’s little boy run out in a Colingwood jumper with Nick Daicos.

Will Adelaide get an extension on hosting Gather Round? Let’s hope so. 

Next week starts on Thursday night with Carlton v Collingwood.

The Ladder after Round 5…