What an ordinary season of footy

[Herne Hill Hammer]

He also says that he thinks West Coast have dropped off from last year due to injuries. If anything I'd say we're a better side than last year too. Naitanui, Shuey, S. Selwood, Gaff and Darling have all improved immensely making us a much better side overall even if we have been ravished by injuries this season.

Why didn't the Eagles finish top 4 then?

 

[iluvparis]

I think a lot of people are confusing themselves. While the season has been close and exciting in a lot of ways, the football hasn't been that flash. That's all I was saying. Do you really think that Hawthorn has improved that much if at all this year? Some of the younger players have improved and Roughead has returned but others haven't been as good or as productive through injury and suspensions.

Don't think they are confused mate - just think it is more of a case that the average intellect of a BF poster can't extend past....

OMZFMG!!!! LOOK HOW CLOSE DA LADDER IS!!!! AWSUM SEASON!!!!

As I said earlier - I would much rather watch Blake and Bolt destorying sprint fields in Olympic finals than watch a close race without them in it.

HHH hit the nail on the head - over half the comp (and therefore the quality of football) has gone backwards this year.

I hope the Hawks win it though - despite some of their d-bag supporters on here - they play a quality of football that I think is deserving of premiers.

 

[Such is life Ben]

Dont agree, the premiership is probably the most open it has been in years. Yes there has been a few more thumpings but there isnt much between the top 10 and the premiership race remains very gettable for any team left.

 

[iluvparis]

Dont agree, the premiership is probably the most open it has been in years. Yes there has been a few more thumpings but there isnt much between the top 10 and the premiership race remains very gettable for any team left.

See above for the the classic example

 

[Richard Jones]

I thought it was a pretty good season tbh.

 

[Off The Couch]

See above for the the classic example

So because a majority of posters in this thread view the season differently from the OP and yourself its obviously because their intellect is not on par with yours. Interesting outlook you have on opinion

 

[Jaeger]

Don't think they are confused mate - just think it is more of a case that the average intellect of a BF poster can't extend past....

OMZFMG!!!! LOOK HOW CLOSE DA LADDER IS!!!! AWSUM SEASON!!!!

As I said earlier - I would much rather watch Blake and Bolt destorying sprint fields in Olympic finals than watch a close race without them in it.

HHH hit the nail on the head - over half the comp (and therefore the quality of football) has gone backwards this year.

I hope the Hawks win it though - despite some of their d-bag supporters on here - they play a quality of football that I think is deserving of premiers.

Who has gone backwards out of the top 8 contenders besides Carlton, Geelong and maybe Collingwood?

Carlton couldn't beat a top 5 side last year, so it's hardly akin to watching a race without Bolt.

Hawthorn, West Coast, Sydney, Fremantle, North, Adelaide, Richmond, Brisbane and Essendon all improved. I also think St Kilda, despite missing the 8, were better this year than last. Same with Essendon. Geelong at stages were playing just as well as they were last year.

It was a very weak competition in 2011, and there was an enormous gap between the top 3 (Cats, Pies, Hawks) and the rest.

The standard has improved considerably all throughout the competition, and it's been one of the most even seasons in a while, if ever.

Why would you prefer a season of footy where the top 2 are streets ahead of the rest, and it's a two horse race by round 12, instead of a season where up to 6 teams are genuine premiership contenders two weeks into finals?

 

[Colonial]

Who has gone backwards out of the top 8 contenders besides Carlton, Geelong and maybe Collingwood?

Carlton couldn't beat a top 5 side last year, so it's hardly akin to watching a race without Bolt.

Hawthorn, West Coast, Sydney, Fremantle, North, Adelaide, Richmond, Brisbane and Essendon all improved. I also think St Kilda, despite missing the 8, were better this year than last. Same with Essendon. Geelong at stages were playing just as well as they were last year.

It was a very weak competition in 2011, and there was an enormous gap between the top 3 (Cats, Pies, Hawks) and the rest.

The standard has improved considerably all throughout the competition, and it's been one of the most even seasons in a while, if ever.

Why would you prefer a season of footy where the top 2 are streets ahead of the rest, and it's a two horse race by round 12, instead of a season where up to 6 teams are genuine premiership contenders two weeks into finals?

Probably because his team was one of the 2/3 that were streets ahead.....

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

Can't get exicted about any possible GF match up this year - Hawthorn - Collingwood the best result - would prefer Hawthorn - Freo which is now impossible.

Well you will have Syd-Coll or Syd-WC prelim, both of which have a lot of recent history to make them interesting. The other prelim could well be your desired Haw-Freo prelim.

Grandfinals - they can be blowouts or they can be tight encounters, it really doesn't seem to matter who plays in them, but Haw-Syd could be great if it's anything like the last H&A match.

 

[Jeremy Jordan]

Thought it was a top season. Ripper games. There was a streak of Friday night games there for a bit that were the highest of quality. Lost a bit of interest now, but its because of my Victorian bias and my hatred of Hawthorn and Collingwood and i find it hard to barrack for any of the teams still left (i still think the quality will be awesome). But come Grand Final day i will jump on the bandwagon of one of the teams and get blind drunk

 

[Colonial]

Thought it was a top season. Ripper games. There was a streak of Friday night games there for a bit that were the highest of quality. Lost a bit of interest now, but its because of my Victorian bias and my hatred of Hawthorn and Collingwood and i find it hard to barrack for any of the teams still left (i still think the quality will be awesome). But come Grand Final day i will jump on the bandwagon of one of the teams and get blind drunk

Well said, not a fan of the vic teams or the Swans.. But I do think there have been some great games and will be chearing on when grand final day comes along.

 

[iluvparis]

Who has gone backwards out of the top 8 contenders besides Carlton, Geelong and maybe Collingwood?

Hawthorn, West Coast, Sydney, Fremantle, North, Adelaide, Richmond, Brisbane and Essendon all improved. I also think St Kilda, despite missing the 8, were better this year than last. Same with Essendon. Geelong at stages were playing just as well as they were last year.

Totally agree - think all these teams have stagnated at best - maybe Richmond has improved but as they were never a serious threat for the 8 it is largely irrelevant (in my eyes) as to how good the season is. Sure North improved but they were then found out yet again with another embarassing finals loss.

And how you have come up with thinking the Bolt reference was a reference to Carlton missing the 8 is beyond me

To say the standard has improved across the competition is in my eyes - totally false.

I also find that the most passionate people defending the quality of football this year are Hawthorn supporters - I wonder why that is?

 

[iluvparis]

So because a majority of posters in this thread view the season differently from the OP and yourself its obviously because their intellect is not on par with yours. Interesting outlook you have on opinion

Just because a majority of people approve of something doesn't make it correct.

 

[Hawkas1988]

Totally agree - think all these teams have stagnated at best - maybe Richmond has improved but as they were never a serious threat for the 8 it is largely irrelevant (in my eyes) as to how good the season is. Sure North improved but they were then found out yet again with another embarassing finals loss.

And how you have come up with thinking the Bolt reference was a reference to Carlton missing the 8 is beyond me

To say the standard has improved across the competition is in my eyes - totally false.

I also find that the most passionate people defending the quality of football this year are Hawthorn supporters - I wonder why that is?

I bet next year when your team is back in the 8, it will be a fantastic year and a much better year than this year

I just reckon people are underselling the Swans and Eagles a lot this year. People are saying it's only Hawthorn that are the standout this year, which is incorrect. We only won 1 more game than both those sides and the crows won the same amount of games.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

It seems to me there are a number of criteria with which to judge the standard of a season and it's by no means clear from what's been posted here that we all agree on what they are.

For starters there's the old visual aesthetics versus tight contest argument. God knows I've seen plenty of that as a Swans supporter. My default position on that is that even if you come to the footy for the speed and the dazzling displays of skill alone, they're not written into the rules; so by all means complain if one team/match/season isn't up to your standards in that regard, but don't start implying someone isn't somehow doing the right thing, when all they're doing is trying to win matches by whatever means are allowed to them within the rules of the game, and do acknowledge that you're speaking from personal preference rather than asserting some inviolable law.

Then, as someone who prefers a tight contest any day of the week, I apply that across the whole season. I love that this season the Coleman came down to the last game of the H & A. I love that there was a cigarette paper between the top four. I love that there was so much competition for the bottom half of the eight. I love that there were a few freakish upsets. And it seems to me that there were plenty of individual games with close winning margins, although someone more statistically-minded might care to give an overall view of how 2012 compared to previous years in that regard.

But others may scoff at all that and still rightly claim that in their aesthetic view, the quality of the football on display was not on a par with previous years and that's their right, but I disagree. I think it's been a fantastic season.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Well said, not a fan of the vic teams or the Swans.. But I do think there have been some great games and will be chearing on when grand final day comes along.

Nice neologism. I suspect a typo, but is that a cross between cheering on and tearing up? Like it.

 

[Off The Couch]

Just because a majority of people approve of something doesn't make it correct.

No - just intellectually inferior apparently

 

[Gizza]

Why didn't the Eagles finish top 4 then?

Because a number of other teams improved just as much or slightly more. Plus injuries and suspensions certainly didn't help.

 

[iluvparis]

It seems to me there are a number of criteria with which to judge the standard of a season and it's by no means clear from what's been posted here that we all agree on what they are.

For starters there's the old visual aesthetics versus tight contest argument. God knows I've seen plenty of that as a Swans supporter. My default position on that is that even if you come to the footy for the speed and the dazzling displays of skill alone, they're not written into the rules; so by all means complain if one team/match/season isn't up to your standards in that regard, but don't start implying someone isn't somehow doing the right thing, when all they're doing is trying to win matches by whatever means are allowed to them within the rules of the game, and do acknowledge that you're speaking from personal preference rather than asserting some inviolable law.

Then, as someone who prefers a tight contest any day of the week, I apply that across the whole season. I love that this season the Coleman came down to the last game of the H & A. I love that there was a cigarette paper between the top four. I love that there was so much competition for the bottom half of the eight. I love that there were a few freakish upsets. And it seems to me that there were plenty of individual games with close winning margins, although someone more statistically-minded might care to give an overall view of how 2012 compared to previous years in that regard.

But others may scoff at all that and still rightly claim that in their aesthetic view, the quality of the football on display was not on a par with previous years and that's their right, but I disagree. I think it's been a fantastic season.

Good post - all fair points - and while I don't agree with the last paragraph about the quality of football this year, or the fact that a close season is necessarily a good season, I think you have nailed the crux of the argument in that people judge the season of footy in its entirety on different metrics.

And based on mine - I thought it was relatively ordinary.

 

[iluvparis]

I bet next year when your team is back in the 8, it will be a fantastic year and a much better year than this year

I am pretty sure nowhere in any of my posts have I stated the quality of football was poor given the lack of Carlton victories. That is just a cop out argument from you.

And given the number of Carlton victories over the last decade I feel I have to some degree an unbiased view of matches and seasons contested between neutral teams.

 

[Hawkas1988]

I am pretty sure nowhere in any of my posts have I stated the quality of football was poor given the lack of Carlton victories. That is just a cop out argument from you.

And given the number of Carlton victories over the last decade I feel I have to some degree an unbiased view of matches and seasons contested between neutral teams.

Well we differ in opinions then, I have loved the fight of the top 8 and top 4 spots all year and enjoyed not knowing who the clear favourite is for most of the year.

 

[JR78]

Raising the number of teams to 18 means the standard has to drop, and it has. More means less sometimes but Demetriou needs 9 games for his record TV rights. Players that weren't good enough for years are now drafted and getting cheap games.
Am a fan of State of Origin - so we see the best of the best, but the club comes first attitude of many, will see it never return.

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

Nice neologism. I suspect a typo, but is that a cross between cheering on and tearing up? Like it.

Actually it's a cross between cheating and cheering. Describes things like calling "BAAAALLL" in the hope of influencing umpires when you know full well there is no free kick, or booing opposition players shooting for goal. First coined by Chris Scott following Geelong's game at Subiaco.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

He also says that he thinks West Coast have dropped off from last year due to injuries. If anything I'd say we're a better side than last year too. Naitanui, Shuey, S. Selwood, Gaff and Darling have all improved immensely making us a much better side overall even if we have been ravished by injuries this season.

Because a number of other teams improved just as much or slightly more. Plus injuries and suspensions certainly didn't help.

Last year's final ladder :

• 1 Collingwood 80pts 167%​
• 2 Geelong 76pts 156%​
• 3 Hawthorn 72pts 144%​
• 4 West Coast 68pts 130%​
• 5 Carlton 58pts 130%​
• 7 Sydney 50pts 109%​
• 8 Essendon 46pts 100%​
• 9 North 40pts 101%​
• 11 Fremantle 36pts 83%​
• 14 Adelaide 28pts 79%​

This years final ladder :​

​

• 1 Hawthorn 68pts 154%​
• 2 Adelaide 68pts 132%​
• 3 Sydney 64pts 140%​
• 4 Collingwood 64pts 116%​
• 5 West Coast 60pts 124%​
• 6 Geelong 60pts 117%​
• 7 Fremantle 56pts 115%​
• 8 North 56pts 112%​
• 10 Carlton 44pts 108%​
• 11 Essendon 44pts 100%​

West Coast lost Le Cras, Nikoski, Kennedy and Rosa for either the whole season or large parts of it yet according to you 5 other players improved immensely and a number of teams improved only slightly more than the Weagles.

Collingwood and Geelong went backwards.

Using your logic, how could they have not made top 4 at least in front of Collingwood who lost most of their key defenders for large parts of the early season and have a dysfunctional forward line?

Adelaide improved slightly more than the Weagles according to you yet won 10 extra games and went from 14th to 2nd and Sydney improved slightly more than the Weagles according to you and won 3 and a half more games and went from 7th to 3rd. Hawthorn won 1 less game and went from 3rd to 1st. Collingwood won 4 fewer games and went from 1st to 4th and Geelong won 4 fewer games and went from 2nd to 6th. The Weagles won 2 fewer games and went from 4th to 5th.

This season included easy kills against, GWS, GC, Melbourne and more often than not Footscray and Port.

Out of the top 8 this year, Adelaide, Sydney and Freo have definitely improved and North probably have but they were there abouts for 8th last year and both Carlton and Essendon fell away with large injury tolls this season.

 

[mehow2g]

I agree the quality of football of the top sides isnt the best but when you had a team like Geelong around the past 5 years showing arguably the best football ever played I guess that aspect its been ordinary.

2007 GF Geelong didnt smash a side cos they were bad it was just Geelong playing the best Football.

If Geelongs team never existed and Saints were number 1 we would all be saying this years Football as a season and level of skill has been fantastic.