Amazon exiles discussion

Well 2020 was a write-off in many ways. Sport was one of many victims yet somehow, with a few small hiccups, the AFL stumbled on - mostly by sending teams into hubs. Spectators had withdrawal symptoms but we had little choice but to watch our boys trundle round in blazing sunshine in Queensland (I don't think they have winter up there). Fingers crossed this year's season progresses without mishap. 23 rounds are scheduled and the Grand Final will be back at the MCG in September at the traditional time of 2.30pm - none of this night-time, made-for-television rubbish. The first game will see last year's Premiers, Richmond (Tigers) face up to Carlton (the Blues) at the MCG on Friday night before a crowd limited to 50,000. Here's hoping last year's tipsters will be back to try their luck at predicting the winners and earning some money for charity. Let me know.

Last year's tipsters are listed below. Please let me know if you are happy to front up again and if you have any changes to your chosen team or charity. I will message Suzy, Blastro, RedJohn and Dean. Hopefully Suzy may be able to contact Grizzly. And I'll put a post on the Premier League thread too. We still have Fremantle (the Dockers), Geelong (the Cats) and Hawthorn (the Hawks) available for adoption if anyone else would like to join us.

Val - Essendon (The Bombers) - Asylum Seeker Resource Centre - https://asrc.org.au/
Anita (Sydney Swans) - The Mirabel Foundation - http://www.mirabelfoundation.org.au/
Lez - St Kilda (The Saints)- Dementia Australia - https://www.dementia.org.au/
The Foe - Melbourne (The Demons) - Launch Housing - http://www.launchhousing.org.au/
David - Brisbane (The Lions) - The Song Room - http://www.songroom.org.au/
Philip - Richmond (The Tigers) - Canteen - http://www.canteen.org.au/
SJ Brooke- North Melbourne (The Kangaroos) - Backpack Bed For Homeless - https://backpackbed.org/au/
Tech Sergeant - Collingwood (The Magpies) - Oscar’s Law - http://www.oscarslaw.org/
Blastro - Footscray (The Western Bulldogs) - Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation - http://www.zaidee.org/
RedJohn - Carlton (The Blues) - Fr Bob Maguire Foundation - https://www.fatherbobs.com/
SussexWelsh - West Coast (The Eagles) - Save The Bilby Fund - http://savethebilbyfund.com/
Dean - Adelaide (The Crows) - Sacred Heart Mission - http://www.sacredheartmission.org/
Suzy - Gold Coast (The Suns) - Friends With Dignity - http://www.friendswithdignity.org.au/
The Duke – Greater Western Sydney (The Giants) – The Centre for Eye Research - https://www.cera.org.au/
Grizzlygrump - Port Adelaide (The Power) - Red Nose
https://rednose.com.au

ROUND 1

Thursday March 18
Richmond Tigers v Carlton Blues (in Melbourne)

Friday March 19
Collingwood Magpies v Western Bulldogs (in Melbourne)

Saturday March 20
Melbourne Demons v Fremantle Dockers (in Melbourne)
Adelaide Crows v Geelong Cats (in Adelaide)
Essendon Bombers v Hawthorn Hawks (in Melbourne)
Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans (in Brisbane)

Sunday March 21
North Melbourne Kangaroos v Port Adelaide Power (in Melbourne)
GWS Giants v St Kilda Saints (in Sydney)
West Coast Eagles v Gold Coast Suns (in Perth)

If punters could lodge their tips by midnight WEDNESDAY March 17 (your time) it would be a great help, although I can accept them up until 8.15am THURSDAY (your time) if absolutely necessary.

Some links that may assist you:

AFL Home Page
https://www.afl.com.au/

2021 Fixture, round by round
https://www.afl.com.au/fixture

2021 Fixture - whole year at a glance
https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/docu...

The site I use most is
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl

Join me in as usual please Val. Thanks, Lez.

Me too please, Val

Reporting for duty Val. *clicks heels & Salutes*

I dunno if the grizzly one is still around..he hasn't posted on the other thread since January...anybody heard from him of late?

Count me in. Thanks Val.

Yep, me too 👍

Hi Val, I haven't a clue what to do but if it's in a good cause ...

If Hawthorn (The Hawks) are free still, then may I? (My Dad was a Baggies fan and they play at the Hawthorns, so a bit of a tenuous link) And as a charity, the backpack bed for homeless.

Instructions, please?

Welcome Isabella to our merry band!

Hawthorn is all yours. They play in a guernsey of yellow and brown stripes - somewhat nausea-inducing (IMO)! More info on the club (if you want it) can be had at:

https://www.hawthornfc.com.au/

They have been a very successful club over many years and their coach, Alistair Clarkson, is something of a genius in that he keeps re-inventing himself and the team. They bill themselves as "the family club" and they do attract many families. I think their song is also somewhat nausea-inducing, but maybe that's just me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AOnE...

There are 23 rounds with 9 games each week, mostly played Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but there are some exceptions for public holidays. There is also a Finals Season (top eight teams play off) but we'll worry about that when we get to it. I will ask you for your tips each week. You will pick the nine winners and for the FIRST game of each round, you will pick the margin (that is the difference between the winning and losing scores). So your tips might look something like:

Richmond Tigers by 27 (this is points; don't worry about the weird scoring system)
Bulldogs
Demons
Cats
Hawks
Lions
Port Power
Giants
Eagles

Use your own system - favourite name, home team, a pin, whatever. Suzy likes the underdogs, Anita often asks her young charges for help.

Most weeks I ask for the tips to be in by Thursday midnight (your time) but I can accept them up to mid-morning Friday. There will be some exceptions but I will give your fair warning. Round 1 starts next Thursday night (Melbourne time) so I have asked for tips to be in by Wednesday midnight (your time).

You can either follow the thread here on Goodreads or, if you'd like, I can email you a reminder each week. If you prefer the latter, email me at valelynn at gmail dot com and let me know your email address. If you are going to be away, you can tip as may weeks ahead as you'd like. If you miss a week, it's no big deal.

I'm happy to donate your winnings to Backpack Bed For Homeless but if you'd prefer some other type of charity - illness, children, animals, education, environment - feel free to choose one or I can help.

Any other questions, just ask!

Hi Isabella, welcome aboard

...... hopefully you'll be up for the Premier League punt next season? :-)

yes, val, happy to continue with the ugly mutant dirty jakeys (at least i can't smell them from here!), oscar's law, and the magical holy numbers to determine margins. thankyou.

so,

tigers by 23
bulldugs
demons
cats
hawks
lions
power
giants
eagles

welcome, isabella - newbies buy the cheap warm australian laaahgah for everyone!

edit; didnae copy val's example, honest! (or did i?)

Hi Isabella. Good to see you.

Please count me in Val, and welcome Isabella. :-)

Welcome aboard Isabella :)

I'm always in, Val ... x ... Shine brightly this year my Suns!!! ;o>

Hiyah Isabella! - welcome to Val's wonderful Footy Thread! ... x ;o>

Welcome Isabella,don't worry this game is fun and you can't do any worse than me when I'm being advised by a three year old.Actually .....Thomas could you just come here?😂

Okay then..my first roll of the die:

Tigers - 36
Dogs
Dees
Cats
Bombers
Lions
Port
Kilda
Eagles

May the best man or woman win......let's gooooo! :)

Tigers by 14
magpies
demon's
cats
Hawks
Swans
power
giants
Eagles

... X X x x

Anita - thanks for submitting your tips. This must be a very trying time for you. Take your time to do all you have to do and to grieve for your Mum. Love always, Val

thanks Val,it's much better to be going this than just sitting .My boss wanted me to take the week off work ,I asked to come in, a 4 and 6 year old are good at taking your mind off of all those phone calls I have to make.x

Richmond +60
Collingwood
Melbourne
Geelong
Essendon
Brisbane
Port Adelaide
St Kilda
West Coast

Anita - very sorry to hear about your Mum.

ROUND 1

Richmond Tigers #24

Western Bulldogs

Melbourne Demons
Geelong Cats
Hawthorn Hawks
Brisbane Lions

Port Adelaide Power
GWS Giants
West Coast Eagles

Anita wrote: "thanks Val,it's much better to be going this than just sitting .My boss wanted me to take the week off work ,I asked to come in, a 4 and 6 year old are good at taking your mind off of all those pho..."

Awwww so sorry for your loss Anita
Yep, those littluns will definitely help you. xx

Port Adelaide 16
Richmond
Geelong
Hawthorn
West Coast
St Kilda
Swans
Brisbane
Essendon

Hi Isabella,

Thanks for your tips but I'm not sure if you've tipped the right round.

Round 1 is:

Richmond Tigers v Carlton Blues (in Melbourne)
Collingwood Magpies v Western Bulldogs (in Melbourne)
Melbourne Demons v Fremantle Dockers (in Melbourne)
Adelaide Crows v Geelong Cats (in Adelaide)
Essendon Bombers v Hawthorn Hawks (in Melbourne)
Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans (in Brisbane)
North Melbourne Kangaroos v Port Adelaide Power (in Melbourne)
GWS Giants v St Kilda Saints (in Sydney)
West Coast Eagles v Gold Coast Suns (in Perth)

Can you have another think and pick the nine winners plus the score difference between Richmond Tigers and Carlton Blues?

Don't worry, everyone makes blues to begin with. You will get there!

As it's late in the day now (almost half 11 here), and I think Isabella might have already headed off to Bed, can we put in a Punt for her for this First Round, Val? ;o>

No worries Suzy. I will do one for her later today when I do my tips.

Brilliant! - thank you, Val ... x x x

I'll do my Punt in the next half hour - although I'm afraid that I'm going to have to be guessing at which Teams might have ended up as the Underdogs for this Round - LOL!!! ;o>

Tigers x27
Bullldogs
Demons
Cats
Hawks
Lions
Power
Giants
Eagles

I know it looks like I copied Tech, but I didn't. Anyway, thanks for running this again Val, and come on you Deees!

.
.
Tigers by 22
Magpies
Demons
Cats
Bombers
Lions
Power
Giants
Eagles

Hi all
Thanks for the elbow in the ribs Suzy...I predict a few more will be necessary!!

Here's hoping my Crows have found their peck this season!!

Tigers 18
Pies
Demons
Crows (wishful thinking)
Hawks
Lions
Power
Giants
Eagles

Cheers

Well, that was rather a long half an hour, wasn't it?!! - LOL!!! ;o>

I had only bobbed downstairs and out to the Garage to put an Amazon Parcel Box into the Paperwaste Wheely Bin (that needed to be put out for Collection first thing tomorrow morning) when I suddenly remembered that I also had some Paperwork Shredding to do and, if I did it now, I could also put that into the Bin as well.

Dad had forgotten to lock the Garden Gate so I decided to push the now full Paperwaste Wheely Bin through to the front of the House, up the Driveway, and then lock it on my return - and was just hoping that I had got away with not being seen by any of the Neighbours while doing this in my new Miffy the Rabbit Pjs when I turned around and almost fell over our resident Hedgehog - and so I had to hurry back indoors again to get (Him? Her?) a saucerful of it's favourite Cat Food ;o>

Then, while I was giving it some privacy and peace to enjoy it's Meal, I decided to go back into the Garage and re-organise some of the contents in a couple of the old Freezer's Drawers to free up some room ready for our Sainsburys Home Delivery on Saturday and, while I was out there doing that, I also finished off a load of freshly-washed Laundry in the Tumble Dryer as well.

I had just retrieved the now empty saucer and said goodnight to the Hedgehog, as it was waddling off up the Driveway again, and had gone back inside into the Kitchen when Mitz slowly came wandering downstairs (from already being tucked up and fast asleep in her Overnight Bed on the Landing) because Dad had also forgotten to shut the Dog Gate at the top of the Stairs!

I indulged her in several minutes of ... "Ohhh, yes you really ARE going back to Bed!" ... before I gave up on it and let her doze off in her Day Bed in the Kitchen for an hour while I re-arranged some Flowers and gave all of the Orchid collection in the Front Room a good misting of Water ... then I went back into the Kitchen and successfully managed to bribe an almost catatonic little hairy woofer back to Bed by waving a large leftover slice of Roast Lamb from Teatime under her Nose all the way back up the Stairs ... and now here I am, in my own Bed, and back online again to FINALLY get my Footy Punt in!!! ;o>

Blues by 7
Magpies
Dockers
Crows
Bombers
Swans
Roos
Saints
SUNS

Game On! - and Good Luck Everyone! ;o>

I've sent an email to Lez but has anyone seen David???

Sorry Val - I don't have him as a Contact ;o<

suzysunshine7 wrote: "Sorry Val - I don't have him as a Contact ;o<"

We'll just have to shout very loud. Altogether now, "DAAAAAVVVIIDDDDDDD!!!!"

WHO? ... WHAT?! ... WHERE?!! ... sorry I must have dozed off for a minute!

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIDDDDDDD!!!"

You call that loud????

DDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!

Hey?! - it's already gone four in the morning here, Val!!! - LOL!!! ;o>

(*opens Back Door and whispers*) ... "David? - where are you?" ... !

Right, well that's me almost spent up entirely on buying in several months worth of Dog Food, and so it's time to try and get some sleep!

We have just started to have a National shortage of Pet Food in Pouches here in the UK ... and what is THE only Food that our darling little Moo can eat without her suddenly becoming very seriously ill and ending up in being rushed to the Vets for Emergency Treatment? ... Burns Penlan Dog Food ... the Lamb and the Chicken flavours ... a Pet Food that only comes in Pouches! ;oO

The UK may not run out of Stock of this particular brand of Dog Food - but, if they do ... ! ! ! - so I ordered in 3 months worth last week and I've just gone and ordered in another 3 months worth to be delivered early on next week.

x Nighty-Night x Sleepy-Tight x and very Sweet Dreams x

"x Nighty-Night x Sleepy-Tight x and very Sweet Dreams x"

sheesh! talk about lazy!!!! 😈

Val's tips:

Tigers x 30
Dogs
Freo
Cats
Bombers
Lions
Port
Giants
Eagles

I've prepared tips for Lez, David E., Blastro, RedJohn and Isabella based on "experts" in the daily paper. I'll give them till 8.15am (your time) and then post them if any of them is still AWOL.

Righty-o. Here are tips for late-comers. I don't think Grizzly will be back this year and there's no way I know of contacting David. If anyone doesn't want to play this year - or is unable to, that's fine. No one should feel pressured into participating.

I've used a very scientific means for these tips - the letters in a person's name. Lez (3 letter) gets Sam's tips, Isabella (8 letters) gets Caroline's tips, RedJohn (7 letters) gets Michael's tips, David (5 letters) gets Peter's tips, Blastro (7 letters) gets Anthony's tips. These are all footy journalists so should know what they're talking about(?).