2011 MARS Ratings After Round 10

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Just five movers on the MARS Ratings ladder this week, 2 ups and 3 downs. St Kilda were the big climbers, up 3 places into 5th spot on the back of the 4.2 Ratings Points they gained from their 46-point win over Freo. The Lions were the other team to rise, up 1 spot to 14th having snatched 4.5 Ratings Points from Adelaide. The three teams to fall were the Dogs, down 2 places to 7th after surrendering 2.5 Ratings Points to Hawthorn; Sydney down 1 place to 8th; and Richmond down 1 place to 15th after they shed 2.4 Ratings Points in a surprise - and, for Investors, painful - loss to Port Adelaide.
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2011 MARS Ratings After Round 9

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Action was again confined to the middle sections of the MARS Ladder this week, with the teams from 4th through 12th collectively registering 3 rises and 4 falls. Carlton and Essendon, despite losing, rose by 1 spot thanks to significant losses by the Swans and the Dogs. Indeed, so large was the Dogs' defeat that their opponents, the Eagles, climbed 3 ladder positions as a consequence. Other falls were recorded by the Crows, down 2 spots to 11th, and the Dees, down 1 spot to 12th.
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2011 Round 9 Results: A Small Setback

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Richmond and Hawthorn brightened what was an otherwise fairly dull weekend for Investors, though a typo in my Ready Reckoner for the Port Adelaide v Fremantle game meant that the total loss was only just over 3% for the round and not 5% as the Ready Reckoner suggested. The Head-to-Head Fund landed 2 or 4 wagers, jumping 4% in the process to move back into profitability for the first time since Round 1. The Line Fund managed just 3 from 8, however, shedding a tick over 10% to leave it down just over 13% for the season and leaving Portfolios down 5.7% for the season.
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2011 Round 9: Attritional Wagering

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In this round, more than any before it this season, the terms "Home" and "Away" really mean something. For seven of the week's eight contests the designated Home team has at least 7 games more venue experience than their opponents, and in six of the games the Away team has played at the venue on no more than 3 occasions in the past year. Only Essendon has any right to feel that it's meeting its opponent on anything close to neutral territory and even then it has only half the venue experience of the Home team.
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2011 MARS Ratings After Round 8

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All the action on MARS Ratings last weekend happened amongst the teams in positions 3rd through 11th. First and second positions remain unchanged despite second-placed Geelong's victory over Collingwood, the 12th-placed Eagles and 13th-placed Roos both won but failed to gain enough Ratings Points to catch those ahead of them, and the teams in positions 14th through 17th all lost in a manner sufficient to preserve their rankings.
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2011 Round 8: The Forward Estimates Show a Surplus in 2011

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For the first time since Round 5, both the Head-to-Head and the Line Fund have failed to find value in a contest. It's the Brisbane v Essendon clash on Saturday that's bereft of financial interest, and represents the first time this season that Investors have not had a wager in a contest involving the Lions. (It's the third time, however, that a Dons clash has gone unwagered upon.)
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2011 Round 7: Guaranteed Profit

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There's still a game to be played before we can draw the curtain on Round 7 so the full weekly blog won't appear for another 24 hours. 

In the meantime, Investors will be pleased to know that their Portfolios are up 6.7% on the round so far, which means that a profit is guaranteed for Round 7 even if Carlton beat the Saints by more than 15 points in the last game, on Monday night. Alternatively, should the Saints spring the upset, another 5% will be added to the Portfolio value, which would leave it at just under breakeven for the season.