MoSSBODS_Marg, in tipping the Tigers, extended its lead at the top of the Leaderboard, finishing the season three tips clear of the pack on 135.5 from 207 (66%). The two RSMP Tipsters finished in joint 2nd place, one tip ahead of MoSHBODS_Marg.

This week, our lone contrarian forecaster is MoSSBODS who's narrowly come down in favour of the Tigers. All the other Head-to-Head Tipsters have gone with the Crows.

Sydney slipped back into 2nd on MoSSBODS this week, leaving the two MoS Systems now in perfect agreement about the order of the Top 6 teams. That result required MoSHBODS to make its only adjustment of the week, swapping GWS into 4th for Port Adelaide.

C_Marg's errant prediction of a Giants win was the only thing preventing a 2 from 2 performance from all the MoS Head-to-Head Tipsters this week. The all -Tipster average was, instead, 1.9 from 2.

Only C_Marg has dared tip against the favourites this week, it opting for an upset Giants win over the Tigers by about 3 points.

Sydney slipped back into 2nd on MoSSBODS this week, leaving the two MoS Systems now in perfect agreement about the order of the Top 6 teams. That result required MoSHBODS to make its only adjustment of the week, swapping GWS into 4th for Port Adelaide.

Only Home Sweet Home and Consult The Ladder tipped both winners this week, but that had little effect on the Leaderboard for the Head-to-Head Tipsters, which still has MoSSBODS_Marg two tips clear at the top.

With the bookmaking markets posted, all of the MoS algorithms that use prices as inputs have what they need to do what they do, so, the bye week notwithstanding, there's no reason not to post the full set of forecasts today.

MoSSBODS now rates Sydney as the top team, ahead of Adelaide and Richmond, while MoSHBODS has an unchanged Top 3 of Adelaide, Sydney and Richmond. On both Systems, the Ratings gap between Adelaide and Sydney is very small.

Finals, for the most part history shows, tend to follow the script, which is what we saw this weekend before the extraordinarily unscripted extra-time performance on Saturday evening.

With the bookmaking markets posted, all of the MoS algorithms that use prices as inputs have what they need to do what they do, so, the bye week notwithstanding, there's no reason not to post the full set of forecasts today.

MoSSBODS and MoSHBODS have identical Top 3s of Adelaide, Sydney then Richmond after the weekend's results, though they differ about the ordering, if not the composition of positions 4th to 6th.

The competition ladder and the TAB Bookmaker were relatively poor indicators of the winning teams and their margins this weekend.

This week, five teams are expected to score 100 points or more by at least one forecaster, the Brisbane Lions, Sydney, Port Adelaide and Essendon expected to do so by all four. MoSSBODS alone adds the Kangaroos to that list.

It's genuinely hard for me to believe that we're at the end of the home-and-away season already with the equivalent of only two regular rounds worth of games to be played. 

Sydney's victory over Adelaide, coming as it did on the back of substantially fewer scoring shots, failed to impress MoSSBODS or MoSHBODS, both of which reacted by transferring Rating Points from the Swans to the Crows. Regardless of that, these two teams remain comfortably ahead of the remainder on both Systems.

Seven favourites or equal-favourites won this week, which made for good tipping amongst the Head-to-Head Tipsters, the only one bagging fewer than six being Home Sweet Home, and the all-Tipster average finishing at 6.2.

The two RSMP Tipsters bagged seven, which was enough to drag them into a share of the lead now with MoSSBODS_Marg on 121.5 from 189 (64%). 

In yet another round where the four forecasters are predicting a sub-180 average Total, only five teams are expected to score 100 points by at least one of them.

Regular readers will know that many of the MoS forecasters use no player or bookmaker price information, which leaves them potentially exposed in weeks where teams' lists are materially different from their regular list or where motivation levels might not be normal levels

Adelaide and Sydney continue to enjoy a healthy rating lead over all of their rivals on both MoSSBODS and MoSHBODS, though GWS are making most progress in bridging or, at least, steadying the gap.