Prediction Will we win a final this season ?

[TheProwler]

I think we will.

Last year we were terrible and only fell short of the 8 by 4/5 games, 2 of which we found a way to lose.
Our midfield was flogged to death and was one dimensional. Our forwards were starved, but our conversion, surprisingly, was very good when we went inside 50. We will go inside 50 heaps more this season. The addition of Prestia and Caddy and the flow on effect will ease the load on our back line who have proven they can stop plenty of goals when the mids do their job.

We will finish 5th and win our first final.

BOOKMARK IT

You don't think other teams that were above us last year will also improve? I expect us to improve a great deal on last years debacle but one, just one injury to a KP player could unravel everything. Good on you for being so positive but I just can't, been lied too and cheated enough by this board/coaching group. Come R23 when we are in the finals I will believe it but until then it's just a fairy tale.

 

[Groupie_]

I think we will.

Last year we were terrible and only fell short of the 8 by 4/5 games, 2 of which we found a way to lose.
Our midfield was flogged to death and was one dimensional. Our forwards were starved, but our conversion, surprisingly, was very good when we went inside 50. We will go inside 50 heaps more this season. The addition of Prestia and Caddy and the flow on effect will ease the load on our back line who have proven they can stop plenty of goals when the mids do their job.

We will finish 5th and win our first final.

BOOKMARK IT

if we do it will be cos of Puma

 

[PetterdHoisted]

Convinced we need the double chance to win a final, convinced we won't finish top 4

 

[Groupie_]

Convinced we need the double chance to win a final, convinced we won't finish top 4

yes we need to finish in the 4 and lose the qaulifying final then win the semi, prelim and granny. easy peasy

 

[Goldust]

I think we will.

Last year we were terrible and only fell short of the 8 by 4/5 games, 2 of which we found a way to lose.
Our midfield was flogged to death and was one dimensional. Our forwards were starved, but our conversion, surprisingly, was very good when we went inside 50. We will go inside 50 heaps more this season. The addition of Prestia and Caddy and the flow on effect will ease the load on our back line who have proven they can stop plenty of goals when the mids do their job.

We will finish 5th and win our first final.

BOOKMARK IT

EDITED FOR ACCURACY
Our midfield was flogged to death and was one dimensional. Our forward was starved, but our conversion, surprisingly, was very good when we went inside 50. We will go inside 50 heaps more this season.

 

[Mr r33per]

I think that's part of Hardwicks cunning plan, let everyone think there will Bea new game plan but then revert to the awful slow high possession plan of 2016. Unfortunately for us, the tiger faithful our great stable board decided early last year to grant him a further two years of contract. Thus he is just as likely to consider a new style sometime next year.

I would imagine it would be the clubs and his best interest to spend the remaining 2 years of his contract working with his fellow colleagues to come up with a winning game plan that can be implemented and polished over the next two years. That's of course if he would like a contract renewal at the end of 2018.

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[TheProwler]

I would imagine it would be the clubs and his best interest to spend the remaining 2 years of his contract working with his fellow colleagues to come up with a winning game plan that can be implemented and polished over the next two years. That's of course if he would like a contract renewal at the end of 2018.

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Had that same chance last year but went with the step back and played a boring over possesion game that the kids couldn't execute. Will believe it when I see it for more than just a quarter or two. The argument of it being high taxing game doesn't wash anymore, dogs were exhibit A.

 

[Goldust]

Had that same chance last year but went with the step back and played a boring over possesion game that the kids couldn't execute. Will believe it when I see it for more than just a quarter or two. The argument of it being high taxing game doesn't wash anymore, dogs were exhibit A.

Just proving what KB says ..... no need for 227 interchanges per game, just let the layers go hell for leather.
Watching the '80 grand final again last week - Monteith and Freame sat with their arses on the pine for all but about seven minutes each, while 18 blokes went 100 miles an hour for 100 minutes.
Enlightening.

 

[HTT]

Just proving what KB says ..... no need for 227 interchanges per game, just let the layers go hell for leather.
Watching the '80 grand final again last week - Monteith and Freame sat with their arses on the pine for all but about seven minutes each, while 18 blokes went 100 miles an hour for 100 minutes.
Enlightening.

I agree less interchanges are better, but you can't compare 1980 with 2017. Game is completely different now.

 

[Nantes]

Impossible to tell at this stage. I think this year is all about refreshing the program and experimenting before aiming at 2018 hard.

We will know much more by about round 5.

 

[Groupie_]

Impossible to tell at this stage. I think this year is all about refreshing the program and experimenting before aiming at 2018 hard.

We will know much more by about round 5.

**** off

 

[Azzleberry]

To beat Carlton R1 by 40+ is 4/1 on Sportsbet.. great value that and safer than winning a final

 

[Football Tragic]

We will win a final this year.

2016 was an anomaly caused by a mix of injuries, blooding youth, inability to adapt to the new rules and opposition game plans.

Injuries - No one can say whether we will be effected to injures but I feel we are in a much better position to cover injures in 2017. As long as Rance or Jack don't go down I think our depth gives us much better insurance than 2016 where the drop down from our core group to the next tier was far more substantial.

Youth - We made the difficult decision to replace our mature role players with youth. We hit a ceiling with our solid toilers so finding draftees that could take us further was, while extremely risky, a necessary step. Last year the players we tried out were typical draftees - exciting at times but very inconsistent. Markov, Short and Rioli proved they were worth enduring with. Menadue, Drummond and Butler have shown glimpses but need confidence and a run of form in the VFL before breaking into the team.

These players have another year of development now. As good as they were in 2016, they will be considerably better in 2017 due to natural progression. You are only as strong as your weakest link and in 2017 our weakest link is definitely stronger.

Adapting - Unlike last year, the new rules play into our hands instead of the opposite. The third man up rule will allow Hampson to use his tapwork to our advantage. We have changed our personal to increase our ball movement. Markov, Short and Ellis join with Houli and Rance to create speed out of our backline. We also have more speed on the wings and Prestia has leg speed and Caddy allows Cotchin to move on the outside which also increases our speed through traffic.

Opposition - This is an area you can never fully predict. What we can expect is a great deal of mimicking of the Doggies game plan. We can also expect the majority of teams to revert to a more defensive mindset as the season progresses. I think we will be quicker, as I mentioned in my last point, but I do think our midfielders will return to better team defensive and two way running in 2017. This dropped away noticeably last year which put our defenders under a huge amount of pressure. I think Caddy and Prestia are natural leaders and along with Cotchin, will make our midfielders more accountable. Afterall, if you don't perform in the midfield now, there are plenty of midfielders that will be fighting to step up into the side.


Even if we hadn't brought in three excellent additions to the team, our natural progression would have allowed us to improve. With Caddy, Prestia and Vlaustin allowing Dusty forward, Cotchin to the outside and Edwards as a crumbing forward, we are not just a better midfield. We are a better team and one that will definitely win a final.

 

[Goldust]

We will win a final this year.

2016 was an anomaly caused by a mix of injuries, blooding youth, inability to adapt to the new rules and opposition game plans.

Injuries - No one can say whether we will be effected to injures but I feel we are in a much better position to cover injures in 2017. As long as Rance or Jack don't go down I think our depth gives us much better insurance than 2016 where the drop down from our core group to the next tier was far more substantial.

Youth - We made the difficult decision to replace our mature role players with youth. We hit a ceiling with our solid toilers so finding draftees that could take us further was, while extremely risky, a necessary step. Last year the players we tried out were typical draftees - exciting at times but very inconsistent. Markov, Short and Rioli proved they were worth enduring with. Menadue, Drummond and Butler have shown glimpses but need confidence and a run of form in the VFL before breaking into the team.

These players have another year of development now. As good as they were in 2016, they will be considerably better in 2017 due to natural progression. You are only as strong as your weakest link and in 2017 our weakest link is definitely stronger.

Adapting - Unlike last year, the new rules play into our hands instead of the opposite. The third man up rule will allow Hampson to use his tapwork to our advantage. We have changed our personal to increase our ball movement. Markov, Short and Ellis join with Houli and Rance to create speed out of our backline. We also have more speed on the wings and Prestia has leg speed and Caddy allows Cotchin to move on the outside which also increases our speed through traffic.

Opposition - This is an area you can never fully predict. What we can expect is a great deal of mimicking of the Doggies game plan. We can also expect the majority of teams to revert to a more defensive mindset as the season progresses. I think we will be quicker, as I mentioned in my last point, but I do think our midfielders will return to better team defensive and two way running in 2017. This dropped away noticeably last year which put our defenders under a huge amount of pressure. I think Caddy and Prestia are natural leaders and along with Cotchin, will make our midfielders more accountable. Afterall, if you don't perform in the midfield now, there are plenty of midfielders that will be fighting to step up into the side.


Even if we hadn't brought in three excellent additions to the team, our natural progression would have allowed us to improve. With Caddy, Prestia and Vlaustin allowing Dusty forward, Cotchin to the outside and Edwards as a crumbing forward, we are not just a better midfield. We are a better team and one that will definitely win a final.

Some observations:
Injuries: I suggest we are better laced to cover some midfield injuries and in some other positions, but nail on head when you say "As long as Rance as Rance or jack don't go down". Arguably the most important players on our list and neither can even be remotely replaced by Elton, Chol, Moore etc. They better stay fit!
Youth: Did we make the difficult decision to go with youth, or was it injuries to Houli, Edwards, Conca etc. that forced our hand. We went youth only when the season was shot, so I don't have confidence we won't go back to 'tried and true' or 'tried and failed' early doors.
Adapting: Here we are spinning that great myth again ... the third man rule will benefit Hampson (or any other ruckman on our list) Nonsense. People act as if every ball up and boundary throw in has become a third-man up scenario. Bulls**t. The third man happens at best three times a game, more often less. How is Hampson all of a sudden at a distinct advantage??? He might be at an advantage in one boundary throw in a game ... and that's not allowing for the fact that 90 per cent of his tap outs are already neutrliased or of no advantage to the team.

 

[TigerImposter]

How does Hampson get a mention in a thread regarding winning a final since 2001?

 

[Groupie_]

Sorry, flags in the bag.

Easy peasy.

dimmas last chance no finals win and he's finally goneski

 

[Hank Heavenly]

if we do it will be cos of Groupie getting rid of BLK

EFA

 

[Black Saab]

I'd rather reserve judgement until I see the first four rounds.
All depends on how our game style matches up to the other teams.
With so much new blood in the best 22, you'd think when the real stuff comes along the team chemistry might take a little while to bear fruit.


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I'm of the same mind. I'm wary of how Richmond will go this season. Of course I hope they perform better than they have at any other time over the last 30 years but as the season nears I am not convinced they can make finals. My brother and I will be there at the G Round 1 hoping to see the Blues get rekt but... Finals??? Not yet convinced they'll make the 8.

 

[Wackelpudding]

Will we win a final this season? Probably not, but it'll be a lot of fun if we do, and I will be there!

 

[Cotcho]

Not even close lol

 

[Tigersman]

Sadly, our forward line looks to be light on for genuine talent and our backline is a similar story. Key position stocks are very low

We need Cotchin to return to his best, Martin to maintain his form and hit the scoreboard more and Prestia to be the A grade star we all hope him to be.

Our support cast all need to show improvement on recent efforts with 2 or 3 stepping up to be regular solid contributors.

Add to that a strong year from Jack and a serviceable year from Griffiths and we are a chance to make finals.

All up, too much needs to go right. I think we will miss the eight.

 

[mopsy]

One injury in each area of the ground and the spoon beckons.
Rance, Riewoldt, and one of the better mids bye bye Damien.

Really what has changed apart from Caddy and Prestia.They address just one of many list problems and if one gets hurt we are basically back to where we started.
Ask yourselves can we win anything with the same sort of injury run the dogs had.
Fair dinkum under Hardwick we have been blessed when it comes to injury to our better players.

 

[Goldust]

One injury in each area of the ground and the spoon beckons.
Rance, Riewoldt, and one of the better mids bye bye Damien.

Really what has changed apart from Caddy and Prestia.They address just one of many list problems and if one gets hurt we are basically back to where we started.
Ask yourselves can we win anything with the same sort of injury run the dogs had.
Fair dinkum under Hardwick we have been blessed when it comes to injury to our better players.

Really what has changed apart from Caddy and Prestia.They address just one of many list problems and if one gets hurt we are basically back to where we started. CORRECT
Ask yourselves can we win anything with the same sort of injury run the dogs had.
Fair dinkum under Hardwick we have been blessed when it comes to injury to our better players. CORRECT

100 PER CENT PERFORMANCE

 

[Hank Heavenly]

Really what has changed apart from Caddy and Prestia.They address just one of many list problems and if one gets hurt we are basically back to where we started. CORRECT
Ask yourselves can we win anything with the same sort of injury run the dogs had.
Fair dinkum under Hardwick we have been blessed when it comes to injury to our better players. CORRECT

100 PER CENT PERFORMANCE

Basically the same list that took us to the finals 3 times tho... (and should have won 2 of them)...

 

[Goldust]

Basically the same list that took us to the finals 3 times tho... (and should have won 2 of them)...

Three quarters of the same list that couldn't seal the deal, with a crop of blokes including Edwards, Batchelor, Maric and Houli who have shown signs of considerable decline, others who have regressed but could go either way like Conca and Morris, and a few who haven't kicked on like Griffiths with doubts he ever will. I'm optimistic, all things going well, we could sneak eighth, but we have a lot of good luck when it comes to injury during the Hardwick years, well until last year, and we went backwards at a rate of knots.