When we beat Geelong, Will you forgive everything?

[King Corey]

Pardon the intrusion but we have not torn anyone apart this year bar St Kilda. Whist I hope you are right, I feel it will be far far closer than tearing you apart.

Go Catters

Don't be humble.

Guys like Murdoch must be laughing about the fact there's only 2 blokes in our team who can keep up with him and one of them will be minding Motlop and the other one is almost a pensioner.

 

[utility]

I will forgive everything if we beat Geelong...






















... in the grand final. Anything less and I'll still be worried about breaking toes and fingers because I'm kicking cars and punching walls.

 

[dazbroncos]

Don't be humble.

Guys like Murdoch must be laughing about the fact there's only 2 blokes in our team who can keep up with him and one of them will be minding Motlop and the other one is almost a pensioner.

Funny you bring up Murda… I actually suggested on our board that he get dropped for Bews specifically to have him tag Thomas. Sick of seeing him kick 4 against us and Bews, although young and new, has had several games where he's done good things on small fast forwards. Thomas will teach Bews plenty but at the very least Bews will run both ways and may drag Thomas away from goal. Bews will also go the full game and not quit.

Will be a good one..

Go Catters

 

[Twinkletoes]

.....I'll still be worried about breaking toes.......

No need to worry mate, I'll be a broken man already.

 

[King Corey]

Funny you bring up Murda… I actually suggested on our board that he get dropped for Bews specifically to have him tag Thomas. Sick of seeing him kick 4 against us and Bews, although young and new, has had several games where he's done good things on small fast forwards. Thomas will teach Bews plenty but at the very least Bews will run both ways and may drag Thomas away from goal. Bews will also go the full game and not quit.

Will be a good one..

Go Catters

Thomas kicked 4 last week. Unfortunately it didn't change the result.

Is Kersten likely to play? How are he and Hawkins managing the forward line? Both strike me as big power types and you don't mind dropping a ruckman down there either.

 

[dazbroncos]

Thomas kicked 4 last week. Unfortunately it didn't change the result.

Is Kersten likely to play? How are he and Hawkins managing the forward line? Both strike me as big power types and you don't mind dropping a ruckman down there either.

AFAIK, Kersten will play. Its only game 6 for him but the week off has come at the perfect time to get the body right - as it has for many of our guys and yours to i'm sure.

He and Hawk are getting used to playing with each other so its not like he and Pods were with the synergy yet, but it is coming. Kersto is different to Pods too in that he is not as much of a sit it on his head andlket him get it type guy as opposed to lower the eyes and hit him on the lead type. His range from 60m is outstanding.

As for the resting ruck, they will appear down there too. Not sure if you will get Hmac, Simpson and Blitz all in the one team. If they of it, and you seems a bit short back there, I would expect to see it happen a bit.

Go Catters

 

[muttley45]

When we beat Geelong, it will only square the ledger after our pitiful display @ Kardinia park in Rd 10, i still remember Kelly, and Bartel running riot and doing as they pleased most of the night

 

[Only Forwards]

There are supporters who expect we can actually give the premiership a shake this year?

I was a believer once but that time is gone now.

 

[Higgins2Waite]

When we beat Geelong, it will only square the ledger after our pitiful display @ Kardinia park in Rd 10, i still remember Kelly, and Bartel running riot and doing as they pleased most of the night

yep. That was a pathetic effort. They set up with spare men out the back and we allowed them all night. I thought i was watching gridiron for most of the night. The geelong quarterback was given all the time in the world to set up attacks and kick it I50.

North clearance -> Cats player -> I50...rinse and repeat.

I hope Thompson plays on Hawkins and stays on him for the entire game. Needs to pull his finger out and be on top of his game. If he isn't hawkins will destroy us (helped in part by the 50/50 decisions that always seem to go his way...if only drew was so lucky)

 

[Kimbo]

I was a believer once but that time is gone now.

Interesting OF. I never - not once - thought we had any chance of winning the 2014 premiership and was highly doubtful of external views that we could make the top four. Mathematically, perhaps, but never in 'reality' in my mind.

So, beating the top teams has been, for me, a sign of improvement and growing maturity offset significantly, of course, by the bad losses against other teams. Let's face it, we have not achieved wins against more fancied opponents and with a good defensive effort like we have this year.

I was hoping for a top six finish, increasing the chances of winning an elimination final as a minimum 'pass mark' for the year. In this context I've been bemused by those who seem so frustrated with the team having thrown away chances of greater success this year. As annoying as the losses have been, my angst is not measured by lost opportunities for a premiership.

 

[Jay-Z]

Interesting OF. I never - not once - thought we had any chance of winning the 2014 premiership and was highly doubtful of external views that we could make the top four. Mathematically, perhaps, but never in 'reality' in my mind.

So, beating the top teams has been, for me, a sign of improvement and growing maturity offset significantly, of course, by the bad losses against other teams. Let's face it, we have not achieved wins against more fancied opponents and with a good defensive effort like we have this year.

I was hoping for a top six finish, increasing the chances of winning an elimination final as a minimum 'pass mark' for the year. In this context I've been bemused by those who seem so frustrated with the team having thrown away chances of greater success this year. As annoying as the losses have been, my angst is not measured by lost opportunities for a premiership.

Well said. My pass mark for this team at the start of the year was a top 6 finish and winning a final. If they can achieve that, I will be very happy (regardless of what a lot of people on here think, a top 6 finish will be a very good achievement considering our injury list). Top 4 was always going to be more a "goal" than a "target" if you know what I mean. It is very hard to go from 10th to 4th in 12 months these days


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Wells Now Williams Fan]

I was a believer once but that time is gone now.

So many on here keep forgetting we have never had close to our best side on the park all year.

If we can get some outside speed with Wells & either Grima/Tippett to allow Lachie 3rd up then look out my friends.

Trust Me....... We are not as far away as many of you believe !!!!

 

[Only Forwards]

So many on here keep forgetting we have never had close to our best side on the park all year.

If we can get some outside speed with Wells & either Grima/Tippett to allow Lachie 3rd up then look out my friends.

Trust Me....... We are not as far away as many of you believe !!!!

We'd need to finish top 4 for a shot at the flag.

I can't see that now.

 

[archereleven]

Beating Geelong changes nothing for me. If we win a final ill consider the season a small success, but hard to think that now as we have blown a huge chance at top 4 from purely being lazy and not switching on. No matter what the goals were pre-season, as the season has progressed, i find it difficult to believe anyone competitive would feel satisfied with what has transpired.

If we beat Geelong, it means we have beaten everyone from 1st-5th. With the injuries we have suffered as well!

If 6th and a finals win is a progressive season, then next season simply has to be premiership with GC on the horizon. I still think GWS are 2 years away from being special.

 

[Jack Reacher]

No

 

[Wells Now Williams Fan]

Beating Geelong changes nothing for me. If we win a final ill consider the season a small success, but hard to think that now as we have blown a huge chance at top 4 from purely being lazy and not switching on. No matter what the goals were pre-season, as the season has progressed, i find it difficult to believe anyone competitive would feel satisfied with what has transpired.

If we beat Geelong, it means we have beaten everyone from 1st-5th. With the injuries we have suffered as well!

If 6th and a finals win is a progressive season, then next season simply has to be premiership with GC on the horizon. I still think GWS are 2 years away from being special.

Mate thats just a load of tripe saying next year or thats it.

This injury will slow Gary down bigtime. GC can't get out of their own way without Gary dominating (never won a game without him) & he is 31 next year.

GC can't win a premiership without Gary at his peak & this shoulder op with stop him !!!!!

 

[Wild Bill]

Interesting OF. I never - not once - thought we had any chance of winning the 2014 premiership and was highly doubtful of external views that we could make the top four. Mathematically, perhaps, but never in 'reality' in my mind.

So, beating the top teams has been, for me, a sign of improvement and growing maturity offset significantly, of course, by the bad losses against other teams. Let's face it, we have not achieved wins against more fancied opponents and with a good defensive effort like we have this year.

I was hoping for a top six finish, increasing the chances of winning an elimination final as a minimum 'pass mark' for the year. In this context I've been bemused by those who seem so frustrated with the team having thrown away chances of greater success this year. As annoying as the losses have been, my angst is not measured by lost opportunities for a premiership.

Great post - We have won as many games this year as we did last with 5 games to go. The supporters wanting a flag are the loudest when things have not gone our way. Expectations V Reality - these can be a long way apart for some supporters.

 

[roosmad]

will get flogged by geelong, lets be honest we should make finals, several games after the cats are even money bets, the melt down will be insane (myself included) if we don't.

 

[Only Forwards]

Interesting OF. I never - not once - thought we had any chance of winning the 2014 premiership and was highly doubtful of external views that we could make the top four. Mathematically, perhaps, but never in 'reality' in my mind.

So, beating the top teams has been, for me, a sign of improvement and growing maturity offset significantly, of course, by the bad losses against other teams. Let's face it, we have not achieved wins against more fancied opponents and with a good defensive effort like we have this year.

I was hoping for a top six finish, increasing the chances of winning an elimination final as a minimum 'pass mark' for the year. In this context I've been bemused by those who seem so frustrated with the team having thrown away chances of greater success this year. As annoying as the losses have been, my angst is not measured by lost opportunities for a premiership.

For us to have had a chance we would have had to seize it when it was infront of us.

Gold Coast 7 -1 in the first quarter
Brisbane 7-1 in the second quarter
Adelaide or Carlton games we could have won but didn't.

If we win all those winnable games 4 extra wins sits us entrenched in the top 4. Right now we'd sit on top.

From there we would have been a shot at the flag, just a shot but it would have been real.

For the argument that goes around is finishing 6th and a home final better than finishing 4th and playing away. Its top 4 every time. EVERY time. 1-4 have a shot at a week off which is critical in terms of winning the flag. 5-8 are making up numbers.
Before anyone say of but Adelaide this and Jarman that the final structure was different. Since its changed no team has won the flag when finishing outside the top 4. For a team as immature as ours to do it would be beyond remarkable. It would be truly astonishing.


I have never said that we haven't improved, we have we will make finals. Looking at it in the most basic of ways we have improved by the sheer fact we are on the same amount of wins as we were last year with what 5 rounds to go? Improvement in this aspect I have no issue with. What I do have issue with is that 3 years ago Boomer called out players for not standing up when the heat was on. 3 years down the track, loads of heart breaking losses and I am yet to see players collectively stand up and say this is a loss we are just not going to cop. We melt, last year it was in games against the top teams, this year its games against also rans.

We had a great opportunity this year. Weaker draw because of last year. The way that the AFL now formulates the draw will dictate that next year we are likely to have a draw that more closely resembles the one we had last year.

I also have a fear that again we will search for some panacea to our issues that will again result in us having adjustment periods while the team tries to get it right and the chosen few are given time to run the plan exactly while we allow good form from the VFL to go unrewarded because while decent it is not aligned to the game plan.

While we search for an answer to run a game plan perfectly a flag is won every year by a team I hate.

 

[Only Forwards]

Great post - We have won as many games this year as we did last with 5 games to go. The supporters wanting a flag are the loudest when things have not gone our way. Expectations V Reality - these can be a long way apart for some supporters.

I just wanted us to take the shot that was put in front of us.

I don't know how you could deny that it was there.

We are good enough to beat the top teams. We have the talent to beat teams we've lost to.

You can slice this season anyway you want. We had an opportunity that we failed to take. And we failed I ways that are just bad. We lost to Brisbane, a team that score 1 point in a half of football the previous week. That we could have beaten by 25 goals the first time we played them. 89 point turnaround. its just bad. We let weak teams walk all over us, we just allowed it to happen.

I didn't need us to win the flag this year, I just wanted to see our players have the stones to stand up and take the shot.

 

[scooby1279]

stats from AFL website

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Where's the 'cant be ****ed for periods of a quarter' stat.

We'd be leading that. Easily.

 

[Ry009]

IMO, the blown chances and the disappointment along with it hasn't got much to do about our flag chances this year.

The positive out of the closes losses last year was the scope of improvement in the group for the next year, this year, it's hard to see where the improvement will come from to see us get to the next level unless there is a complete mindset change in the group...too many 'ifs'

This year whilst we have shown we can beat anyone, we have also shown that we can lose to anyone, ANYONE.

IMO if you want to perform in finals you need to bring a decent stretch of hardened form going into it. At the moment don't expect to see a 4 quarter performance. We can't take the form of our season atm into the finals.

Only 4 quarter efforts for the rest of the season (regardless of W/L) will they redeem themselves IMO.

 

[Only Forwards]

Only 4 quarter efforts for the rest of the season (regardless of W/L) will they redeem themselves IMO.

We put in 4 quarter efforts and get beaten and I have no issue what so ever.

right now we are getting beaten putting in the bare minimum rather than the required effort.

 

[Long Live the King]

Of course everyone will. Im surprised some psychology student hasn't written a thesis on the schizophrenic behaviour of being a North Melbourne supporter.