Toast Minor Premiers

[thebirdman 24]

Gotta give everyone credit. No one outside the club saw this coming.

Cast your minds back a few years to the last game of the year against North. Many wanted us to tank for an earlier pick but we came out and blitzed them to help develop a winning mentality.

Think about all those close losses over the years and how we are now starting to win those ones.

Those little things over the last few years have set us up for success.

 

[SugarShane]

Even though crows are minor premiers... i don't think anyone is feeling that great. Our form isn't great. And with rankine penalty, doesn't feel like we're in a great position.

However given where we were last year this time, hard to complain.

Yeah imagine at the start of the year someone said "You'll finish top, but no one will be all that happy about it."

Real monkey pay type scenario.

Personally I still expected us to miss finals. So truly I am in awe of what we've done. I never subscribe to "there's always next year" so hopefully we can still make some hay with what we've got. That said, if any team ever had the list profile to start a prolonged assault, it's us.

Full credit to Matthew Nicks and the guys for snapping so many hoodoos this year and being one of the most mature Crows outfits we've ever seen. Mostly.

 

[SugarShane]

TT.... Absolutely do not underestimate what this guys done... Almost every game when we have needed a hero... This guy steps up...

Absolute STAR.

View attachment 2404854

This guy is huge in more ways than one. So reliable and an absolute nightmare to defend on.

2024 without RT: 5-1-10
2024 with RT: 3-4
2025 with RT: 18-5

 

[Huntercrow]

TT.... Absolutely do not underestimate what this guys done... Almost every game when we have needed a hero... This guy steps up...

Absolute STAR.

View attachment 2404854

This deserves to be on every page……The poster boy for the AFL.
The physique
The attitude
The friggin beard………Darcy should look so good.

 

[George CantStandYa]

What a weird year. Doesn't feel like we were the top team. Doesn't feel like we finished the year on a high despite not losing any games and beating other good teams.

Strange feeling.

I feel the same but I did feel pumped and confident prior to Rankine suspension, I’ve felt flat the whole week.

The other concern is our midfield, we can’t win 3 finals getting smashed in the middle each week.

But if we play our best football for 3 weeks we can win it. I reckon if we can win our first final playing good footy the vibe will be back.

Credit to the whole club, including Nicks, unbelievable effort. I think I might need to lock my shit thread.

Well done Crows

 

[lincsPJ]

Said for over 10 years that Neil Balme and a new logo would fix everything.


But yeh… this has been a pretty good transformation.

 

[Trigger13]

Apologies if this has already been asked. When do we think the QF will be played? Thursday night?

 

[Hell Boy6669]

Apologies if this has already been asked. When do we think the QF will be played? Thursday night?

I suspect Thursday night, had we been playing GC it would’ve been the Saturday to give them further rest.

This is based on nothing but gut feeling of prior finals fixturing.

 

[BunjiMC]

Apologies if this has already been asked. When do we think the QF will be played? Thursday night?

Typically 1st plays the first final.

Could have changed if there were 2 games at the G that would have landed on Saturday. But that doesn't look likely.

 

[Hell Boy6669]

I read they won’t be announcing the fixture until Wednesday post the gc ess game, but surely it leaks before then.

 

[SugarShane]

Typically 1st plays the first final.

Could have changed if there were 2 games at the G that would have landed on Saturday. But that doesn't look likely.

Bulldogs may get forced to play at the G though?

Us & Collingwood will 99% be Thursday. AFL will be creaming their jeans at the thought of it (much like PA v Haw this year).

If Hawthorn somehow get over the Lions maaaaybe they'd go with Gee vs Haw at the G but I doubt it.

If results go as expected I'd think:
Thurs: Us v Coll (AO)
Fri: Gee v Bris (MCG)
Sat arvo: GWS v whoever (somewhere in NSW)
Sat night: Bulldogs v whoever (MCG)

 

[Crow-eater]

Bulldogs may get forced to play at the G though?

Us & Collingwood will 99% be Thursday. AFL will be creaming their jeans at the thought of it (much like PA v Haw this year).

If Hawthorn somehow get over the Lions maaaaybe they'd go with Gee vs Haw at the G but I doubt it.

If results go as expected I'd think:
Thurs: Us v Coll (AO)
Fri: Gee v Bris (MCG)
Sat arvo: GWS v whoever (somewhere in NSW)
Sat night: Bulldogs v whoever (MCG)

Bulldogs vs GC at the MCG would be horrid. There'd be maybe 40k there. AFL would hate it.

 

[Mattrox]

We have sort of limped there for one reason or another, but 18 wins and our 5 losses were all close. A very very solid minor round and a week off will do our lads a power of good I think.

Doesn't this make our win-loss record over the previous 2 years a net positive?

 

[Mattrox]

Also. Don’t know why I did it. But I perused the Port Board. They are not handling the fact we won the Minor Premiership. Consensus is we will go out in straight sets according to them.

The amount of salt is enough to cure 4000 ocean trouts!

Off to the Port Power board.

 

[SugarShane]

Bulldogs vs GC at the MCG would be horrid. There'd be maybe 40k there. AFL would hate it.

They played StK v GWS there a few years back. They don't like to play finals at Marvel for whatever reason.

The chances are slim but it could still end up WB v Haw.

 

[Pilchard_Adams]

If Freo beat the dogs, the Geelong final may be the only Victorian based final week one. The only MCG played game could be Collingwood either week 2 or 3 of finals depending on the result week 1. Then if course the GF

How will the VFL handle that? 2 games in Melbourne for the whole final series. Will they force a team to play at the MCG at some point?

 

[Dirty Bird]

If Freo beat the dogs, the Geelong final may be the only Victorian based final week one. The only MCG played game could be Collingwood either week 2 or 3 of finals depending on the result week 1. Then if course the GF

How will the VFL handle that? 2 games in Melbourne for the whole final series. Will they force a team to play at the MCG at some point?

Yes - Us in the GF

 

[ams4crows]

If it was a draw we would

If GWS win today their percentage would be more than the lions

 

[BRL121]

If GWS win today their percentage would be more than the lions

?

 

[SugarShane]

?

Brisbane V Hawthorn ending in a draw would put Brisbane in 4th, ignoring other results.

However if GWS beat St Kilda their percentage would have them overtaking Brisbane and ending up 4th. Basically it's almost impossible for us to play Brisbane, even if they had a draw.

 

[ams4crows]

Doesn’t matter they have a draw now so % doesn’t come into it

We are talking about if the Brisbane v Hawthorn game is a draw, then the Giants would finish 4th

 

[FR0GGY]

We are talking about if the Brisbane v Hawthorn game is a draw, then the Giants would finish 4th

Yeah sorry, got it wrong.

 

[ams4crows]

Yeah sorry, got it wrong.

All good, the likelihood is low any way

 

[hippyhippy]

This guy is huge in more ways than one. So reliable and an absolute nightmare to defend on.

2024 without RT: 5-1-10
2024 with RT: 3-4
2025 with RT: 18-5

RT is our most important player by far... such a great contested mark

 

[kirky]

Said for over 10 years that Neil Balme and a new logo would fix everything.


But yeh… this has been a pretty good transformation.

Neil Balme - so he went to Collingwood and whilst there they played off in GFs but the Magpies hierarchy decided to move him on, so he goes to Geelong and they win a flag in his first year and goes back to Collingwood for 2015/2016 before accepting the job at Richmond in 2017 and again flag in his first year.

Three times lucky??? Can it happen?