It's always so distasteful to suggest you want your side to lose matches but I don't think that's the case for the majority here. I think there's a frustration that we have been an average team for a number of seasons now who has had numerous strong finishes to seasons, building up hopes before a new year begins and we're below average yet again.
To have only ended up with picks towards the end of the top 10 considering how poor a side we have been overall is somewhat frustrating, especially considering the two years we were woeful all season - '10 and '11 - the Suns took us out of the running for the elite few at the top, and in the following years we were bumped back by the Giants.
Swallow, Gaff, Patton, Coniglio, Stringer, Tyson, Wingard, Macrae, Wines, Boyd, Billings, Kelly, Bontempelli and Kolodjashnij have been just out of reach as a result, while we've ended up with Polec, Longer, Mayes & Aish. Two are gone, one more is about to, and all four are quite clearly not in the same bracket as the majority of the earlier top 10 picks from their year. Not yet, at least.
It would feel frustrating to have had to endure another season of very poor performances to yet again miss out on that bracket of elite players, so I too find myself hoping the circumstances fall our way to ensure we end up with a top three pick.
That doesn't mean I'll be barracking for a loss on Sunday or at any other match this season, but if the match starts to head that way I'll be quietly content just as I was against Sydney, Fremantle and Adelaide. I believe it's quite essential to our list build to get at least one shot at that top bracket of draftees, and expect this will probably (hopefully, at least) be the last year we're right down the bottom of the table and in with a shot.
It's distasteful as I said, and I would hope we would never deliberately lose because I believe the impacts that can have on culture are evident, but if we have some brave losses and/or those sides around us get a few against the odds wins, I think that would be a good thing for the football club. To end up with a pick outside the top two or three would be a real shame to be honest.