Top two finish awaits!

[Mr Peabody]

So after Dermie's article on Lachie as underrated and the manager's thread on here last week (which I did enjoy it must be said), the Boss wheels him into his office and starts out his game review with "Lachie, have I told you the one about today's news being tomorrow's fish & chip wrappers?"

 

[Arcassius]

Yeah agreed

When I have some time I'll watch the 3rd quarter again to see what changed in our setup.

I do recall that when Sydney started it's run, we started putting the same players in at the centre bounce. Fyfe, Sandi, Mundy and Hill I think, and we used that combination several times in a row (and got spanked). Will need to confirm in a rewatch, it was just something I noted at the time.

 

[Pavs_Risotto]

I remember, during the lead up to the Saints game last year, there was some pretty cocky stuff happening on here including a certain post of the year contender. We all know what happened next, and I bet most would have loved to have been able to erase certain threads/posts from existence after the drubbing Freo received from the Saints.

I personally think that this thread stinks of us getting way ahead of ourselves. For all we know, GWS may go through undefeated from here on in. They certainly seem to be finding a way to win this year. Didn't they come pretty close to Sydney as well?

 

[kingswood71]

[QUOTE="Neale is interesting - did they put more work into him? Or did he start to think the game was just going to come to him? Watching at the ground he seemed flat... and slow to react at times. I have never thought he was slow he is actually quite quick but on saturday at times he looked sluggish. Loved his check side kicks forward from packs though!.[/QUOTE]
maybe he was one of the players with a cold??...Was the cold talk just a rumour or was it confirmed??....If a few players, incl. Neale, had colds, this could explain a few things

 

[poshman]

I remember, during the lead up to the Saints game last year, there was some pretty cocky stuff happening on here including a certain post of the year contender. We all know what happened next, and I bet most would have loved to have been able to erase certain threads/posts from existence after the drubbing Freo received from the Saints.

I personally think that this thread stinks of us getting way ahead of ourselves. For all we know, GWS may go through undefeated from here on in. They certainly seem to be finding a way to win this year. Didn't they come pretty close to Sydney as well?

Who is 'us' ...... fans, or the club?

GWS going undefeated seems to be getting far more ahead of ourselves than my suggestions of a top two finish?

I dont think we should overlook anyone. I do think some on here are underestimating just how good a win we had on the weekend though. Some have mentioned Adelaide were considered the form team... i dont think so. Sydney were. I still think we would go into a GF as under dogs against both sydney and the hawks. However I do think from here with two games break on our main competitor other than sydney we should look to finish top two. Given that all injury scenarios could also happen to those teams and just as we wont go through unscathed neither will they. Or do our fans hypothetical only include our guys getting injured?

What if Franklin and Kennedy go down? What if Mitchell and Hodge go down... no one seems to be applying the same logic to other teams that they are to ours atm.

 

[poshman]

maybe he was one of the players with a cold??...Was the cold talk just a rumour or was it confirmed??....If a few players, incl. Neale, had colds, this could explain a few things[/QUOTE]

Maybe - we wont know. All we see is what is produced on game day. And both lachie and micky were way down on expected output. Both would have a solid D to E next to their names on that on performance... apparently its not good to give out F's in society anymore...

Given their performance, I find the win all the more remarkable and encouraging re: our list and depth through the middle.

 

[StingBitten]

Freo fans should know better to indulge in this kind of talk... but screw it.

I think the next 7 games before the bye are going to be more interesting than many think.

Let's look at the Away games - Melbourne, then Western Bulldogs, Adelaide and Gold Coast.

Of those 4 I'm certain we'll beat GC, but Melbourne and WB are vastly improved sides from last year and won't be the percentage booster I was hoping for. WB in particular looked frightening against Adelaide; with that said in our current form there is no excuse for us to not achieve comfortable victories. Adelaide will most likely be the toughest away game but we've had a good track record there recently.

For the home games - Essendon, North Melbourne and Tigers I believe we'll beat the Tigers comfortably at home. Essendon and NM seem to play well over here but I don't think we'll see a repeat of NM's Anzac upset from last year. Essendon might be tough however and we'll need to be at our best.

I'm going to take a guess and say we'll be 10-1/9-2 at the break.

 

[Nothing]

If we are worried about losing to Melbourne we might as well go a rebuild.

 

[Arcassius]

Melbourne we'll account for

We've lost 3 games in the last 2 seasons at home right? Outside of Port, one against North and one against Essendon - both in situations where things just went wrong. We play them both again at home and both will be challenging games (depending on which team shows up). Neither is a given. Tigers we should account for comfortably.

I'd love for us to get through the season unbeaten - but there are a few genuine 50-50 games and knowing us, we'll do a St Kilda at some stage and drop one we shouldnt

 

[ROYISHUNGRY]

Freo fans should know better to indulge in this kind of talk... but screw it.

I think the next 7 games before the bye are going to be more interesting than many think.

Let's look at the Away games - Melbourne, then Western Bulldogs, Adelaide and Gold Coast.

Of those 4 I'm certain we'll beat GC, but Melbourne and WB are vastly improved sides from last year and won't be the percentage booster I was hoping for. WB in particular looked frightening against Adelaide; with that said in our current form there is no excuse for us to not achieve comfortable victories. Adelaide will most likely be the toughest away game but we've had a good track record there recently.

For the home games - Essendon, North Melbourne and Tigers I believe we'll beat the Tigers comfortably at home. Essendon and NM seem to play well over here but I don't think we'll see a repeat of NM's Anzac upset from last year. Essendon might be tough however and we'll need to be at our best.

I'm going to take a guess and say we'll be 10-1/9-2 at the break.

Of those games, only genuinely worried about Adelaide. Western Bulldogs kamikaze style football and small young players will get shutdown by our defensive brutes.

Essendon at home is a worry. But they have injury concerns and are down on form for mine.

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

 

[E Shed]

I actually think The Dogs are exactly the sort of team that can worry us with their Kamikaze style.
Sydney were at their best in the 3rd and their play on and relentless run through the middle caught us completely flat footed.
A lot will depend on whether they can get their hands on the ball enough and if our defence can force them wide. We depend to some extent on slowing down entries into the forward 50 so everyone can zone off and drop back. We are at our weakest when teams move it quickly.
Melbourne will be more of a tactical battle and they haven't quite got the cattle yet to take us I would have thought.

 

[poshman]

Melbourne we'll account for

We've lost 3 games in the last 2 seasons at home right? Outside of Port, one against North and one against Essendon - both in situations where things just went wrong. We play them both again at home and both will be challenging games (depending on which team shows up). Neither is a given. Tigers we should account for comfortably.

I'd love for us to get through the season unbeaten - but there are a few genuine 50-50 games and knowing us, we'll do a St Kilda at some stage and drop one we shouldnt

Essendon and North are interesting. I havent seen anything from either that scares me but wouldnt be too shocked if we lost one, as north especially seems to go ok against us. I would still expect us to be 11-1 turning for home.

 

[poshman]

I actually think The Dogs are exactly the sort of team that can worry us with their Kamikaze style.
Sydney were at their best in the 3rd and their play on and relentless run through the middle caught us completely flat footed.
A lot will depend on whether they can get their hands on the ball enough and if our defence can force them wide. We depend to some extent on slowing down entries into the forward 50 so everyone can zone off and drop back. We are at our weakest when teams move it quickly.
Melbourne will be more of a tactical battle and they haven't quite got the cattle yet to take us I would have thought.

I wonder how much of the hype around the bulldogs is based on an exciting playing style mixed with youth and the expectation they wouldnt do as well as they have. I think we will shut down murphy - our mids will dominate and our backs will limit their forward line.

The other big thing - WB havent proven their style under pressure from elite pressuring teams. Adelaide didnt pressure on the weekend and wce arent on our level when it comes to pressure and defensive systems atm.

As things stand right now I expect us to win in the 25-35 point range.

 

[Banker]

I dont understand the logic in here sometimes. The only games we should be worried about is the ones that involve 6 day breaks. If we're a serious contender we need to finish top 2 for once.

With Ross as our boss and the harder games at Subi I think this thread is fair game. Honestly the only way we lose games before the break will be through major injuries, bad kicking or complete off day.

We just beat a Sydney team without Ballas and MDB/Suban both playing. For once our fringe players are actually scared of being dropped, which can only yield further hunger for spots.

Honestly if we cant get excited this year, I worry how long it will take for another crack at the flag.

 

[Arcassius]

Honestly if we cant get excited this year, I worry how long it will take for another crack at the flag.

Sure we can get excited Some of us just prefer to wait until further into the season to see how we're tracking rather than going off early It's a long season ahead, finishing top is the aim - and achievable.

 

[Unique Name]

I actually think The Dogs are exactly the sort of team that can worry us with their Kamikaze style.
Sydney were at their best in the 3rd and their play on and relentless run through the middle caught us completely flat footed.
A lot will depend on whether they can get their hands on the ball enough and if our defence can force them wide. We depend to some extent on slowing down entries into the forward 50 so everyone can zone off and drop back. We are at our weakest when teams move it quickly.

Is that not what Port tried to do? We disrupted their gameplan fairly well and the Dogs don't quite have the players that Port have.

 

[E Shed]

Is that not what Port tried to do? We disrupted their gameplan fairly well and the Dogs don't quite have the players that Port have.

I think we knew what to expect and who to expect it from with Port, Dogs are something of an unknown in the way they've jumped out of the blocks.
I expect us to handle them, just wouldn't be surprised if they give us a fright.

 

[Clems Knee]

Every away game is a danger game when you have to travel across a continent to play.
We have only had one away game so far, and it was our most complete game. But Geelong aren't much chop at the moment. I think Melbourne are in better form. And the Bulldogs and Adelaide.

To get to top two, we need to win all of our home games, and not drop any away games to lower ranked teams.
Yes, we have started well, and it's exciting. But it's only April, and we've only won one away game. Not much of a sample size.

 

[freoextra]

Take this article down! the bad karma has begun

 

[calaisking]

Realistically, based on form, we should go in as favorites for our next 9 games with Hawthorn at AO being the one game we will be underdogs in round 15.

History shows that we will more then likely drop a game or two in those 9 games but even then we will be 12-2 at worst with a few easy games to follow.

Top 2 is a must.

 

[StingBitten]

How much did playing in Geelong (albeit winning) affect our GF form in 2013? We had a week's rest afterwards and then a home game against Sydney.

I imagine playing at home the first week would have us slightly better rested.. but our loss was more about being spooked on the big stage. Maybe a win against the Hawks at G in the first week could be the confidence booster we need to get on top this time.

 

[poshman]

How much did playing in Geelong (albeit winning) affect our GF form in 2013? We had a week's rest afterwards and then a home game against Sydney.

I imagine playing at home the first week would have us slightly better rested.. but our loss was more about being spooked on the big stage. Maybe a win against the Hawks at G in the first week could be the confidence booster we need to get on top this time.

Maybe, but I would rather thump them at home then take the confidence to the G. The hawks have scraped through the prelims, it would be good to have a home prelim against them, then move onto the G.

 

[StingBitten]

Maybe, but I would rather thump them at home then take the confidence to the G. The hawks have scraped through the prelims, it would be good to have a home prelim against them, then move onto the G.

Exactly - which begs the question why we keep having to play at Aurora ******* stadium? Aren't we entitled to play one top-tier Victorian team at the big oval? Richmond doesn't count.

 

[poshman]

Exactly - which begs the question why we keep having to play at Aurora ******* stadium? Aren't we entitled to play one top-tier Victorian team at the big oval? Richmond doesn't count.

The fixture is a mixture of stupidity meeting hypocrisy meeting financial overtures meeting inequality masked as fairness.

Of all the measures that are being looked at for equalisation the draw should be the very first. In no other league in the world is the draw so driven by finances and so openly flawed yet somehow taboo. We even actively help (through the draw) weaker teams get stronger, without thinking somehow that will affect crowd numbers - then finances - then improvement and stability and the flow on effect that will have as the free agency era grows.

but yes in short... it would be bloody good to test ourselves at the G against top sides... and no richmond dont count!

 

[FreoRicci]

Exactly - which begs the question why we keep having to play at Aurora ******* stadium? Aren't we entitled to play one top-tier Victorian team at the big oval? Richmond doesn't count.

Didn't some mayor/representative publicly say he never want Freo to come to Aurora again given the crap crowds and controversy that tends to come with it? Guess AFL think we have a massive supporter base there or something..