Back2Back?

[upthecoastaz]

Premature, I know- but I’m interested to hear your thoughts (apologies if this has been posted already)

Deep down I think we can do it, Shep Nic and Gaffy will hungrier than ever for flag glory but at the same time.... Richmond pinching big lynchy.. hawks are looking dangerous with wingard (not to mention they’ve got Mitch back with them) Essendon could be on the come up too.. what about north?

I thought I would like being premiers (which, don’t get me wrong, I do) but thinking about defending a title is so much more nerve racking than actually getting to one, if that makes sense. Going into next season knowing it’s ours to lose makes my stomach drop as the chances are slim to none of retaining it. My worries lie with us being complacent, the other 17 teams will be playing catch up and we’re gonna need to improve greatly if we wanna go again. Don’t want to end up like Adelaide and not even make the 8 next year (highly unlikely, but still)

Was just watching the granny back and suddenly a wave of sadness came over me knowing that it could be another decade until we win our next one-you never really know with footy.
I reckon losing Mitchell will hurt us if I’m being completely honest. I’m hoping to be wrong and that his absence isn’t felt next season but only time will tell. My “2nd Team” is Hawthorn but I can’t stand them being good all the time god damnit. I want to be the only consistently successful club for crying out loud.

If we’re to win the flag next year we’ll be drawn with hawthorn for most premierships in the AFL Era.
We need to go 3peat in order to be THE most successful club in the afl Era, boasting 6 premierships.

What do you reckon lads? Any hunches? You feeling optimistic or would rather go in with no expectations? All I know is that if we can’t win, Hawthorn better not win or be above us on the ladder.(Because I don’t want them to have 2 flags on us and also because I’m bitter/petty and want to stick it to Mitch for leaving us.)

P.S sorry for the ramble. I’m not the most articulate person in the world, but being knackered doesn’t help. And yes, I have a love/hate relationship with Hawks and it’s largely on the hate side right now. I wish no success on them until we’ve overtaken them with at least 5 flags. Gonna hit the hay now, hopefully I’ll wake up with some reassurance that we’re gonna win the next 10 premierships[emoji1303]

P.P.S WE GOTTA DO IT FOR ROSA

 

[liam123]

Didn’t read the whole post but B2B is extremely hard. I’m only going to contemplate the what if’s at the end of home and away if we are top 2. This conversation happens to most teams most years and then fans get cocky and act like it will happen by round 10 when their team is top of the table

 

[upthecoastaz]

Didn’t read the whole post but B2B is extremely hard. I’m only going to contemplate the what if’s at the end of home and away if we are top 2. This conversation happens to most teams most years and then fans get cocky and act like it will happen by round 10 when their team is top of the table

Hey man sorry for the length, it’s late and I was just rallying off my thoughts-getting them off my chest if you will. Definitely wouldn’t call myself cocky; far from it, actually. I even said that I don’t like our chances and that it’s unlikely we go back to back (went as far as to say we have to wait another decade for our next flag). I was more so thinking of in terms of who teams have traded etc. and just gauging where you reckon we stand next year based on that. Also just wanted a bit of empty reassurance that we weren’t the ugly ex girlfriend and that Sam Mitchell hasn’t upgraded to someone better.

P.S I know I said I was going to sleep, but insomnia is a bitch.

 

[ConcreteWaters]

Also just wanted a bit of empty reassurance that we weren’t the ugly ex girlfriend and that Sam Mitchell hasn’t upgraded to someone better.

What's an upgrade on the premiership team? He's slumming it at the Hawks.

B2B is hard to do. Any year you go deep in finals is an exciting one. A lot has to go right, and even then you can have an off night and it's gone (Tigers).
No reason we can't though. Gaff and Shep in the team, with big Nic hopefully coming back by finals. Who knows? I'm way less nervous now about a flag. I always had the fear that blokes like Kennedy wouldn't get one. This group has one now. If it's another 12 years, so be it, it's still better than most clubs.

 

[Doashuey]

Of all the clubs in the AFL we are definirely the best chance to go B2B in 2019.

 

[EagleEgo]

B2B is highly possible, but only if:
1. Ah Chee, 2 Allens, Brander, Nelson and Waterman will improve to put pressure on and compete for selection.
2. Premiership team + Gaff, Shepard maintain good forms.
3. Nic Nat will show up without injury before August 2019.
4. Liam Ryan corrects his off-field issues and lives responsibily.
5. McInnes improves his second and third effort as ruckman/forward or we will draft another high standard ruckman in 2018.

 

[southcoast]

For mine the biggest challenge is for those who had stellar 2018's to repeat the effort. Without that 2018 will quickly become a distant memory.

Cutting the list as we have tells me WCE while being tolerant towards some players and their development (MAllen, Nelson for eg) they recognise the second tier players need to be pushing the first graders out of the way. Thems that were cut weren't up to it.

 

[SirKarl0s]

How well we deal with being the hunted next year as opposed to the hunter will have a massive bearing on how well we go. The premiers will always have a target on their back.

But that said, of course we'll go B2B

 

[Chris_6678]

A lot has to go to right for us to go back to back and i do hope the team is aiming for that no matter what.

For that to happen:

- Top 2 is a must because those home games in the finals are a real advantage in the lead up to the GF. With players like JK taking advantage of the extra weeks rest to help sore bodies.

- Keep injecting some youth when we can. One thing i noticed was how the whole squad got involved some point except for maybe 3-4 players. With the 4th emergencies i noticed we even Watson & Bayok in as emergencies and with this the group as a whole gets pumped.

- Gaff signing on is a massive boost to the morale because he is one of our elite players who didn't play in the GF. I can see him having a massive year and wanting to make up for his suspension.

- Sheppard coming back with no complications to his injury and being back to his best.

- Further improvement from the youngsters we played but there will be a dip in form being that they can be prone to second year blues.

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Winning flags is incredibly hard, let alone back to back.
I firmly believe the key is being in contention over a number of years rather than a Hail Mary approach.
If everything comes off and we win 2019, that's perfect. But if not, we need to make sure we're in contention again in 2020. 2021. etc. What that means is that:
- We need to get games into JK's successor.
- We need to have at least one new face running through the midfield each year. Shuey, Masten & Redden are all similarly aged and we may see a sudden fall off of their productivity.
- The game plan needs to keep evolving, otherwise the moment a team works us out it's game over.

I have faith though. I think we will be stronger 2019 than this year.

 

[ioppolo]

I'm happy with what we have now tbh. I'll soak 2018 in until the start of next season

 

[fidstar]

Not arrogant enough.

We should be talking about B2B2B

 

[matt_bas]

I'd love to, but don't think we will. We will miss Mitchell's influence to much.

 

[StateOE]

I hope you don't have that mindset in other aspects of life.
Enjoy the fact we won the flag this year and appreciate how incredibly hard it is to win one as an interstate side.
Bask in the winning feeling as much as you can because you won't know when the next flag will come.
Sure, the odds are against us winning back to back but who cares?
Just go into the season cheering the boys on in reaching finals and then cheer them on for every finals win.
A flag is just the cherry on top.

 

[FKASC]

Of all the clubs in the AFL we are definirely the best chance to go B2B in 2019.

Nah, Carlton are a far better chance IMO

 

[TheGhostOfJohnBelushi]

We know there's motivation given Natainui, Gaff and Sheppard missed out. That can be a huge motivating factor to go again, compared to sides who achieve it and basically everyone important to the core are part of it. I don't think there'll be a lack of desire.

Just enjoy what comes through 2019 and hopefully they give it a red hot crack again. Soak up 2018 too, it's been a magnificent achievement capped off with an insane effort to snatch the flag in the final 2 minutes of the season.

 

[greennick]

I think Richmond are rightfully favourites. They'll be up and about after the disappointment of this year's exit.

Like usual, it will probably all come down to injuries and form at the back end of the season.

 

[Turboman1994]

Honestly I feel like the next 1-2 years is our best chance to snag another flag we have the bulk of our elite players smack bang in there prime and JK is still our most important player

 

[Total_Juddshanks]

The amount of shit which has to go right to win a flag is remarkable- back to back is pretty much like dealing yourself a natural 21 twice in a row.

I think its going to be a tough year for an interstate club to go to the G and get the chocolates. Collingwood, Richmond, Melbourne , Hawthorn and Essendon are all stronger on paper then they were last year.

 

[kranky al]

Of all the clubs in the AFL we are definirely the best chance to go B2B in 2019.

I just bet you cameron ling would find a way to downplay this and prove that a vic club is

 

[Here2tellyouwhy]

Why the question mark OP?

Ive already started planning my trip in late September

 

[Figure09]

The amount of shit which has to go right to win a flag is remarkable- back to back is pretty much like dealing yourself a natural 21 twice in a row.

I think its going to be a tough year for an interstate club to go to the G and get the chocolates. Collingwood, Richmond, Melbourne , Hawthorn and Essendon are all stronger on paper then they were last year.

Yeah but Geelong team list manager didn't want to make premiers stronger?

 

[eaglesnutcase]

I think we will sit from 3-6 on the ladder
Every team has hard luck stories and the "lets do it for them next year"doesnt usually cut it.
Mitchell big loss
Lycett big loss.Hickey is a step back.Hopefully he will improve in our system.We dont accept mediocrity.
We only scrapped in and it wouldnt take much for our "team ethos' to drop a little.
Jk getting up there in age and injuries.
We MUST keep getting games into second tier players.
Weaknesses under finals pressure must be identified.Oh they had good years so we'll carry them for another season! NO! Compare Masten's best ever season against Sheeds GF performance.
Allen and Brander need to play a lot this year.We will build the future around them.
Competition for places,resting injured players,and as we did this year not being afraid to give responsibility to the next in line.
Hunger is now the enemy/friend.We know we have the cattle and most importantly ;the depth!
NN again could be the X factor.I hope this time he gets some more weight off and plays a bit lighter.I would like to see him come back 7 or 8 weeks out from finals and play primarily as a forward.Imagine Ryan and Rioli running around at his feet.Yeeha.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

dont think back to back will happen but in 2020 if we get kelly and coniglio then yes

 

[eaglesnutcase]

Talent? Tick. Coaches adaptability/new challenge/no Mitchell ? Probable tick. Mental strength?...............?