2007 Draw

[blues4flag]

They have worked it this time so that the teams that meet in Rounds 1-7 only play each other once (except Carlton v Collingwood & Essendon), therefore you play the teams you meet in Rounds 8-15 twice. Apparently it is based on a whiz-bang software package the AFL are now using, which is the same as the one used by the NFL in the U.S. Not that I know anything about the NFL.

I don't think that's correct. Adelaide for example, play 6 (or thereabouts) of the teams they face from rounds 1-7 twice. I'm pretty sure that any team can be chosen to be played twice, regardless of when they were played.

Anyway, I'm happy with the fixture. I personally like the Sunday twilight games and happy we're playing in two. Would have preferred more Friday nights, but the less Sunday arvo/more Saturday games makes up for it.

 

[stokesy]

How come a lot of us member didn't like Sunday arvo games??

I personally prefer Sunday arvo, doesn't collide with country footy on Saturday's, which a lot of us play/involved in and therefore have to make a choice between watching Carlton or country footy.

Sunday arvo games are the ideal way to finish off the weekend I believe.

 

[BlueBelle]

Was at Subi earlier in the year for the Freo game. The guys over there are so passionate.

I went to Subi in 2004 and the WCE supporters are feral!

 

[douls]

Sunday arvo games are the ideal way to finish off the weekend I believe.

Not when ya love a beer

 

[btdg]

That draw worries the hell out of me. Early in the year we play a whole host of mid-table teams who are either improving (Richmond), or who will have a point to prove after disappointing 2006 years (Geelong, St Kilda, Essendon). Throw in West Coast in Perth and Collingwood at the G, and I reckon we could well end up winning only 1 of our first 7 - not great for the confidence of our young blokes, and the worst thing is we could be playing decent footy and still end up in that position.

The middle section will be big for us - Kangaroos, both Adelaide teams in Melbourne and Hawthorn are winnable games. If our confidence isn't shot, we could conceivably get 3 games between rounds 8-12, which would give us 4-5 wins with 10 games to play - still being in finals contention at that stage would be huge. Could get some confidence going, especially with 5-6 young guys coming into the team, and make a play at something.

If our confidence is shot by the first 7 games though, those 5 games will kill us, just absolutely destroy the club imo. After that, we travel 3 out of 4 weeks, which won't be so bad if our confidence is good, but will basically mean 4 losses if we aren't, which could conceivably put us at 1-15 or 2-16. From there on, our last 6 games are matches which are winnable if we are doing alright (say, going 5-7 in the first stretch then 1-3 in the horror middle stretch), but will be horror matches in we're already out of contention - with St Kilda, Collingwood and Melbourne likely finals teams, Essendon a big chance to bounce back next year and Port in adelaide as tough as ever.

For me, the draw, and how we react to it, is going to be a huge factor for us next year. For what its worth, I reckon we are a 5-7 win team next year. But if things go wrong with that draw I wouldn't be suprised to see us end up 2-20. If things go well, we could be 6-10 with 6 games to play against decent, but not unbeatable opposition - which could almost be a shot at finals football, as unlikely as it sounds! I almost reckon there's no middle ground, either - I reckon we'll either be a 2 win team next year, or we'll be in contention up until the final whistle...

Just shows how important psychological factors are going to be for us next year with a young list. Is Pagan the right man for that? I guess we'll find out soon enough, with the worst case scenario being a pre-first round priority pick next year (even though we'll arguably be a 6-win team who just had a bit of bad luck, as opposed to this year where we are a 4 win team who did about right. Hmmm, new priority pick rules in action - go figure!)

 

[Bring-Back-Powell]

All I can say is thank god we play Carlton twice at the MCG...not at Telstra Dome!

We may even snag a win against you next year