Amazon exiles discussion
Sport
>
"BALL UP!" - Val's 2025 Aussie Rules Footy Tipping *Open to Everyone*
I'm here Val, same as always please, Earlier start for this season, good good, missed this! Go Giants! :)
Yup! Deal me in please Val 🦘🏉⛹️♂️
I'm in Val and I've sent reminders to Jed, Sarah and Graeme.
N.B. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR TIPS EARLY!!! THERE'S A THURSDAY NIGHT GAME!!!OPENING ROUND
Thursday Mar 6
Brisbane Lions v Geelong Cats (in Brisbane)
Friday Mar 7
Sydney Swans v Hawthorn Hawks (in Sydney)
Gold Coast Suns v Essendon Bombers (on the Gold Coast)
Saturday Mar 8
GWS Giants v Collingwood Magpies (in Sydney)
If punters could lodge their tips by midnight WEDNESDAY March 5 (your time) it would be a great help, although I can accept them up until 8.45am THURSDAY (your time) if absolutely necessary.
🏉Brisbane Lions +35
Hawthorn Hawks
Gold Coast Suns
GWS Giants
Welcome Jed. I’ve made a note of your charity.
I've updated the charity donations this year - about time I think.$14.00 : Weekly winner
$8.00 : Closest margin each week
$8.00 : Highest score each week
$20.00 : the team which boasts the Brownlow Medal winner (best AND fairest) at the end of the season
$20.00 : the team which boasts the Coleman Medal winner (most goals scored in the home & away) at the end of the season
$20.00 : the team which boasts the Rising Star winner (best first year player) at the end of the season
END OF HOME AND AWAY:
$40.00 - First place
$30.00 - Second place
$20.00 - Third place
$15.00 - Wooden spoon
FINAL SERIES
$20.00 x 3 weeks (closest tipster)
$20.00 Grand Final (closest tipster)
Come on the Swans.lions by 15
SWANS
Suns
Giants
thanks for running this again Val
Hi Val, just been prompted by Sussex and certainly in.Swans off to a great start with Errol Gulden breaking his ankle in warm up match against the Gold Coast Suns last Friday. A severe blow as I consider him the lynchpin of our team.
New coach and new tactics in our two warm up matches which they both won. Tom McCartin playing full forward moving from defence. Maybe temporary because no Tom Papley, Logan McDonald or Hayden McLean seen in these matches and can only assume had minor niggles.
First match for Tom was funny for a spectator but not for him. Although he started his career playing forward, he spent the first three quarters marking players rather than trying to mark the ball and punching the ball away rather than catch it. He got there in the end and scored a goal in the last few seconds. He looked better in the second match.
As writing this the Lions have asked the AFL to call of their first match Thursday evening because that is when our cyclone is due to hit. The news does not sound good, and it looks certain that the cyclone will hit us as a category 2 making land over the northern suburbs which is where we have just moved from last week. This is by no means certain, and the exact location of its path varies by around 150km.
Either way we are set for over 100km winds and rainfall predicted around 500mm. We are currently trying to make our new place safe and removing all garden furniture etc. to the inside.
For someone who has never seen anything like this it is quite worrying but there is nothing we can do other than try to remove all objects that can be thrown around.
Having checked flooding sites, we are in the lowest risk category, but we are surrounded by tall trees and a lot of bushlands although just 6km south of the CBD.
Anyway, I will include the Lions game in case it goes ahead.
Lions by 16
Swans
Gold Coast (but Val's team may sell win this as the Suns were not great against us last Friday and picked up injuries themselves.)
Giants
Good luck everyone
Val if you have any tips on how I can again receive messages please let me know. I do receive your reading list messages.
Tim, welcome back and good luck to the Swans in 2025. They should have enough depth to cover one or two injuries, although Gulden is a big out. If you see this, I did send you a friend request on Goodreads so have a look around (maybe under Messages or Friends in the top right hand corner. If you accept I can at least send you a weekly reminder to prompt you to see what everyone's posting. I access Goodreads on the main Amazon Exiles page:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
and if there are new posts (in red) on my thread or Mark's, I see them. There are two threads that are never updated for me - "Don't Kill Snails with Salt ... Creme Eggs & Toasted Teacakes...." (under the General heading) and "What Are You Hearing At The Moment?" (under Music Chat). I just have to look at them every day to see when they were last updated. I know other people have this problem too. It's a pain!
Not sure if you can access this page but here are the predictions for 2025 by the footy journalists in The Age newspaper.https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/w...
It's official: Two Opening Round games postponed.As reported by Fox Sports:
The AFL has officially postponed the two Opening Round games that were scheduled to be played in Queensland, as the southeast region of the state prepares to face the full brunt of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Thursday night’s 2025 season-opener between Brisbane and Geelong at the Gabba and Saturday’s Gold Coast-Essendon fixture at People First Stadium have been scrapped from Opening Round.
The league is yet to decide on rescheduling, with a Tuesday afternoon statement reading: “The AFL will announce the alternate schedule for these matches as soon as possible as we continue to work with clubs and venues on possible scenarios.”
The AFL’s decision was made in conjunction with the Queensland Government, the Bureau of Meteorology and Stadiums Queensland.
The games could not be moved to Victoria for the weekend due to concerns over flights, and so the players and staff could be with their families at home.
“What we want to do is have the minimum amount of people flying in and out of Queensland at the moment. For the players and the staff at the Suns and the Lions, I think they will want to be at home with their families, looking after their houses and their loved ones,” CEO Andrew Dillon said.
“Our understanding is with the tidal surges that will be coming ... that once the cyclone passes, there will be continued rain and the forecast rain will make it really difficult.”
The Brisbane vs Geelong game is very likely to be played in Round 3, when both teams have a bye week, but finding a home for Gold Coast vs Essendon is much trickier.
The Suns and Bombers don’t share a bye, either in the early-season phase or at mid-season, with Nine’s Tom Morris reporting there are three options on the table.
One would include moving existing games around so that the game can squeeze in-between - notably Essendon has a Round 16 bye before hosting Gold Coast in Round 17 - with another option seeing multiple games changed, involving common opponents, replacing later byes.
Common opponents in that area of the fixture include Geelong and GWS, so those teams could see their games moved around.
The least-preferable option would be playing the game during the pre-finals bye. That would be undesirable because, if either side is in finals contention, it would leave the finals fixture up in the air and create travel problems for the following week.
But if neither side was in finals contention, it would create a bizarre dead rubber that only matters for draft position and bragging rights.
It’s believed this will be the first time since 1963 the V/AFL has rescheduled games due to bad weather. In that year, an entire round (and thus the rest of the season) was pushed back a week due to heavy rain in Melbourne which flooded the grounds.
The postponements leave just two games to be played in Opening Round, with the SCG to now host the first game for premiership points between Sydney and Hawthorn on Friday night.
The Bureau of Meteorology has significantly upped its official forecast for Brisbane in the last 24 hours, with the maximum amount of rain predicted for the state’s capital increasing by nearly 100mm on Thursday, and 80mm on Friday.
Winds exceeding 130km/h are expected for both days.
“As I said yesterday, the priority is that we do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of everyone in and around any potential cyclone zone or community impacted by the forecast heavy rains and storm surges.” AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said in the league’s Tuesday release.
“It is a very uncertain situation that is unfolding, and our thoughts are with everyone in southeast Queensland and northern NSW that may be impacted. Ultimately, we hope this weather event doesn’t eventuate, but we know everyone needs to prepare accordingly and we don’t want our games to be a distraction to those preparations.
“We want to make the decision now to give clubs and fans certainty in an uncertain environment and allow anyone from Queensland who would normally be involved in this game through coaching, playing, attending or working at the venue time to be home with their families and available in the community if required.”
Anita, Tim, Steve, Sussex, Jed:If you see this, would you please change your margin prediction to this game:
Friday Mar 7
Sydney Swans v Hawthorn Hawks (in Sydney)
Makes this opening round a bit pointless with only 2 games now running doesn't it?! Why don't they just scrap it and reschedule as they used to, and get rid of these daft mini bye rounds for good?! Anyway..here's my tipping predictions:
Friday 7th March: Sydney Swans v Hawthorn Hawks
The Hawks didn't do too badly in their pre-season game against the Western Bulldogs, but last season's runner-ups looked good against the Suns in their pre-season game.
Swans to win it easily by 25 points.
Sunday 9th March: GWS Giants v Collingwood Magpies
I wasn't impressed by GWS's performance in their pre-season game against a well in form Carlton side, and i gather GWS has lost a lot of forward players in that game, so they're not going to win against a side that destroyed a very poorly Richmond side. I would wager that Collingwood could possibly be in the hunt to re claim the crown this season.
Magpies to win comfortably.
oof! Stay safe over there Val and Tim I've updated to...
Hawthorn Hawks +1
GWS Giants
Duke - can I have your margin please for the Swans/Hawks game.The reason for “Opening Round” is parochialism. AFL dominates in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia - and Tassie too. NSW, the ACT and Queensland are NRL (rugby league). Both codes try to make inroads on the other’s territory. So the AFL are trying to “grow” the game in the northern states. It’s not a particularly popular move amongst most fans. Takes a few rounds before you can make any sense of the ladder.
Val wrote: "Duke - can I have your margin please for the Swans/Hawks game."Hi Val, i did state it in my post; I've tipped the Swans by 25 points.
I'm a trying my best to entice another Melburnian to come and join us for this season....just want to check if the Bulldogs are available? He supports them. I tried to entice him to come and join us last year, but no joy....thus hoping by waving his team colours at him this time, he might change his mind!
Also, does anybody know if non subscribers can view a goodread group as a 'lurker', at all? I cannot remember how one joins a group on this platform, thus not sure is one can see anything if not subscribed, like as it can be on Facebook. Would he need to open an account then ask to join a group, or get a group member to invite him in, how does it work on here??!! We've been here so long now, I've forgotten!
Thanks for confirming Val. The games had to be postponed. We have all public transport shutdown for Thursday and Friday. At 2pm on Wednesday the rain has just started but slightly better news for us but not others is the cyclone is now predicted to hit the coast a little further south probably on the Gold Coast. That is still only 35km away so we will be in for a rough night on Thursday/ Friday morning our time.
Ironically, I was working in the main railway yard serving Brisbane called Mayne yard. We have just completed refurbing a 2-storey office block that was severely damaged in floods a couple of years ago. The site is right next to Breakfast Creek which is tidal and very high tides predicted as the cyclone is expected right on high tide. The client is very worried, and they are sandbagging this building but the whole site is likely to be flooded. Last time stabled trains were standing in about 500mm of water.
I am taking over on Monday from a colleague who has looked after the demolition phase internally to fit out the adjacent block on the upper floor including a new roof. Roofers due Monday but with the weather they will lose at least 2 days and forecast next week looks bad.
I am not totally confident in Swans due to the loss of Gulden but still hope they will win as they did look good in their two pre-seasons warmups.
Swans by 18
theDuke wrote: "I'm a trying my best to entice another Melburnian to come and join us for this season....just want to check if the Bulldogs are available? He supports them. I tried to entice him to come and join us last year, but no joy....thus hoping by waving his team colours at him this time, he might change his mind!..."The Bulldogs are indeed available. If he has an Amazon account (amazon.au), that should be all he needs. Just go on to :
www.goodreads.com
When asked to sign up, just enter your Amazon name and password. If he doesn't have an Amazon account, I think he would have to join Goodreads (or Amazon).
Tim wrote: "Thanks for confirming Val. The games had to be postponed. We have all public transport shutdown for Thursday and Friday. At 2pm on Wednesday the rain has just started but slightly better news for ..."
I'll be thinking of you and having my fingers and toes crossed that the worst of the rain/wind/cyclone passes you without incident. It's going to be a hairy time for much of Queensland and northern New South Wales. I've always thought flooding must be the most dispiriting of events. The mud, the smell, etc. And most of your effects would be beyond help. Good luck to all our northern neighbours.
theDuke wrote: "I'm a trying my best to entice another Melburnia..."If he should manage to log in/sign up via Amazon or Goodreads, he can then click on COMMUNITY where he will see a drop down menu. Choose GROUPS and then search for AMAZON EXILES.
On the left hand side of the page, there is a button saying JOIN GROUP. I don't think Gordon has set up any restrictions (some groups are invitation only).
Once joined he should see this page:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
and if he scrolls down to the heading SPORT he will find us at
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Hi. I'm a mate of Duke and he invited me here to join in. I'm a Western Bulldogs supporter. 😁
Welcome Tazz! I'm also in Melbourne but a Bombers supporter. My daughter and her husband are rabid Doggies fans as are his Dad and brother. C & A went up to Sydney in 2016 for the Preliminary Final against the Giants when she was seven and a half months pregnant. It was such an exciting game, I thought she was going to give birth in the stand. They also went to the Grand Final to cap off a glorious year. We'd love to add you to our little tipping comp - we have two ex-Poms living in Brisbane but everyone else bar me is in the U.K. However they've learned a lot about the game over the years - I think I started doing this in 2012??
The Doggies are now your official team here. Would you like to pick a charity to play for? Can be anything you like. Our current participants are:
Val - Essendon (The Bombers) - Asylum Seeker Resource Centre - https://asrc.org.au/
Anita - Sydney (The Swans) - The Mirabel Foundation - http://www.mirabelfoundation.org.au/
Tim - St. Kilda (The Saints) - Koala Hospital - Port Macquarie - https://www.koalahospital.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/
SussexWelsh - West Coast (The Eagles) - Save The Bilby Fund - http://savethebilbyfund.com/
Suzy - Gold Coast (The Suns) - Friends With Dignity - http://www.friendswithdignity.org.au/
The Duke – Greater Western Sydney (The Giants) – Centre For Eye Research Australia - https://www.cera.org.au
Jed - Brisbane (The Lions) - Great Barrier Reef Foundation - https://www.barrierreef.org/
There are prizes every week (my money, no cost to you) so pick something that speaks to you.
Opening Round is a bit of a mess but if you'd like to pick the two winners plus the margin for the Swans/Hawks game we'll be off and running.
Great to have you on board.
Hi thanks Val for the welcome. Duke remembers my being born in Melbourne, Essendon, and growing up there. But I live near St Arnaud in the Wimmera region these days. Can I pick a charity that's already there on the list or does it have to be a new one? Yeah this opener is a mess for sure, first ever season opener disruption by a cyclone!
Well. Sorry to Duke, but I'm going Collingwood over GWS and Swans over Hawks.
So Collingwood and Swans by 20.
😁
Thanks again. 👍
Wow! Hot and dry up in the Wimmera! I think pick a charity that is close to your heart - it might even be something local up your way - CFA, SES, Men's Shed, etc - maybe google Wimmera charities or St Arnaud charities. Ones that have been played for in the past include Second Bite, Launch Housing, Red Nose, Fr Bob Maguire Foundation, Dementia Australia, Oscar's Law, The Song Room, Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation, Sacred Heart Mission, Lifeline, Support Act, Australian Children's Music Foundation, McGrath Foundation, Mind Australia, Edgar's Mission, Royal Children's Hospital, Australian Himalayan Foundation. You're free to choose.
Hi ValGreat to be punting again and supporting perennial losers in The Tigers! I will stick with my charity Canteen again please.
Sydney x 10
Collingwood x 10
Hope Tim is going to be ok with the cyclone coming.
My son Jed, who has joined us this season, is also in Brisbane!
... he was on about going surfing as the seas were getting a bit "lively". Madness? You decide.
Philip wrote: "Hi ValGreat to be punting again and supporting perennial losers in The Tigers! I will stick with my charity Canteen again please...."
One of the pundits in The Age article I posted above has predicted the Tigers won’t win a single game this season and won’t score a goal in one game! Now that’s what I call motivation! They’ve had a lot of retirements and some of their stars have moved on but that gave them a lot of high picks in the national draft. They’ve recruited some top 18 year olds in their rebuild but they will need time to mature physically and to gain experience. The Tigers could be a powerhouse again in years to come.
SussexWelsh wrote: "... he was on about going surfing as the seas were getting a bit "lively". Madness? You decide."Definitely madness!
Ahhhhh...you made it Tazz! I went on the POTV vape site to give you the link to here, but you ya found us on your own! :) Welcome aboard buddy, and Val has provided you with the basic on this comp....she does all the hard work, we just do the playing!And no hardship re my Giants, they weren't impressive against Carlton at all...they may struggle a bit this season. Collingwood looking good, but they had an easy game against a poorly Richmond side, be interesting to see if they can take on the stronger sides.
Tim & Jed, good luck tonight, here's hoping 'Alfred' doesn't hang around long and spins itself back into the ocean.
Hi Val. Ok I got one. The Royal Flying Drs. They do a great job in our areas with patient transport using mini bus's. You know the Dr problems here are dire. When we moved here the Dr from St Arnaud said no new patients, Donald the same, Charlton the same, Wedderburn too. There is no Dr or Surgeon at St Arnaud hospital either. We travel 130km round trips to see a Dr in Dunolly, the closest one that will see us. So yeah RFDS, people here would never get healthcare without them.
Oh yeah, the heat here. We have been stuck in a heatwave since the start of the year. Lost count of how many 40c plus days. Since the start of the year iv only slept in the bed once. 😄
Tazz wrote: "Hi Val. Ok I got one. The Royal Flying Drs. They do a great job in our areas with patient transport using mini bus's. You know the Dr problems here are dire. When we moved here the Dr from St Arnau..."Good choice! I'm glad you found something that supports your local community. I've recorded it as the Victorian chapter so you'll know the funds are being used locally.
https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/vic/
The state of health care in country areas is abysmal! Governments of both parties should hang their heads in shame. I'm sure many retirees would love to relocate to country areas (help with the housing shortages in the cities as well) but why would you if you can't have ready access to a GP? I can't even begin to imagine travelling 130km to see a doctor.
Tazz wrote: "Oh yeah, the heat here. We have been stuck in a heatwave since the start of the year. Lost count of how many 40c plus days. Since the start of the year iv only slept in the bed once. 😄"I bet your water storage is very low too, as well as small dams for sheep/cattle, etc. Cyclones to the east, bush fires to the west, and not a drop of rain inbetween.
SussexWelsh wrote: "... he was on about going surfing as the seas were getting a bit "lively". Madness? You decide."A 12.4-metre (40ft) wave was recorded on the Gold Coast south of Brisbane, the largest swell ever picked up by that monitoring station.
Daring surfers paddled out to catch the supercharged waves, ignoring the threat of AUD$16,000 fines for “reckless behaviour”.
Made it! - but I'm having a decidedly ditzy doolally day today so I hope I get this right! ;o>Hawks by 7
Magpies
I hope everyone in Australia stays safe in Cyclone Alfred ... x
Nice to see again Suzy...hope you're well lass.
Well we couldn't have asked for a better start to the season than what we've seen in the first quarter. Some amazing skills from both teams. It's very even right now but I bet the Swans are wishing they had Gulden available - and Tom Papley's ankle is a worry.Sydney Swans (Anita) v Hawthorn Hawks (available)
4.3.27 (Q1) 5.3.33
Another exciting quarter with the Hawks getting the upper hand (and that's without any showing from Jack Ginnivan or Nick Watson). New recruits Battle and Barrass have added strength to the back line and Sicily is as dependable as ever. Karl Amon's goal was one for the ages. The Swans need more from Brodie Grundy.Sydney Swans (Anita) v Hawthorn Hawks (available)
4.3.27 (Q1) 5.3.33
6.4.40 (Q2) 9.6.60
Well that was an exciting game. The Swans fought back in the third quarter to get within two points but Hawthorn held their nerve. Bucketing rain didn't make it any easier.Tonight's result:
Sydney Swans (Anita) v Hawthorn Hawks (available)
4.3.27 (Q1) 5.3.33
6.4.40 (Q2) 9.6.60
11.5.71 (Q3) 11.10.76
11.10.76 (Q4) 14.12.96
Once again it is Suzy with the closest margin - $8.00 going to Friends With Dignity.
WoW! ... stunned! ... well played Hawks! ;o>
Stupid swans! 😂My misses even said "why did you pick the Swans?"
Someone mentioned the big waves and fines up Brissy way. I'm sure when the emergency services give warnings like "Don't drive in to floodwaters" "Don't venture into the surf" they hear .......drive into floodwaters.......go surfing.....
I see even Mick Fanning ignored it and came off second best with a bloody gash to his forehead. I guess being famous doesn't necessarily equate to being intelligent! Though I guess if boxing sharks is on your list of things I've done you'd feel pretty invincible.
Go the Pies. (They'll lose now I said that!)
Last year's affiliations were:
Val - Essendon (The Bombers) - Asylum Seeker Resource Centre - https://asrc.org.au/
Anita Sydney (The Swans) - The Mirabel Foundation - http://www.mirabelfoundation.org.au/
Tim - St. Kilda (The Saints) - Koala Hospital - Port Macquarie - https://www.koalahospital.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/
SussexWelsh - West Coast (The Eagles) - Save The Bilby Fund - http://savethebilbyfund.com/
Suzy - Gold Coast (The Suns) - Friends With Dignity - http://www.friendswithdignity.org.au/
The Duke – Greater Western Sydney (The Giants) – Centre For Eye Research Australia - https://www.cera.org.au
and Jed has promised to participate and follow Brisbane (The Lions) - tinny bum, they're only the reigning Premiers!
Any other takers? Any changes to teams and/or charities? Teams that are available are Collingwood (Magpies), Hawthorn (Hawks), Geelong (Cats), Carlton (Blues), Port Adelaide (Power), Fremantle (Dockers), Western Bulldogs, Melbourne (Demons) and Adelaide (Crows).
There is a one page .pdf of the 2025 fixture at:
https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/docu...
or a more detailed week-by-week fixture at:
https://www.sportingnews.com/au/afl/n...