Can a side ever go undefeated ?? Is it possible ?

[MC Extra Dollop]

Although they did come close in recent seasons, the greatest irony is that none of those teams won that respective premiership (assuming you are referring to 2009, 2011 and 2008)

If you're going by combined loss margins, 2011 was actually much closer to running the table than 2008. The Essendon and West Coast losses could have gone either way (though we were outplayed in both games) and we were still within single digits midway through the last quarter of the Sydney game. Combined margin of our three losses in 2011: 25 points.

No team will ever come close to what Essendon did in 2000.

Come up against a team with Ben Beams, Brent Grgic and Matthew Collins in the grand final? Yeah, you're probably right.

It's unlikely to happen because teams realise how damaging it can be to play every game like it's the grand final and because the gap between the best teams and the worst teams usually isn't as much as people think.

 

[Magic Mike]

Come up against a team with Ben Beams, Brent Grgic and Matthew Collins in the grand final? Yeah, you're probably right.

Melbourne 2000 > Port Adelaide 2007

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Melbourne 2000 > Port Adelaide 2007

Okay mete...

 

[ManOfClay]

Timing of this thread suggests it was a brag so in hindsight and ignoring the fact that essendon won the flag, suck shit dan for your preemptive bragging.

I give you one Brad Johnson middle finger to John Barnes at the final siren.

 

[mianfei]

It’s possible if the umpires don’t start helping underdogs, you never know how the AFL will take to a very dominant team.

Do the umpires ever really help underdogs?? I was watching a game from 1985 between St. Kilda and Fitzroy that was the Saints’ only win in their first fifteen games; there were some dubious decisions but I could not say they all favoured the Saints. St. Kilda actually had fewer scoring shots than their opponents in every game during 1985 and in 37 successive games altogether, but managed to win three including an enormous upset over Footscray in the last round.

 

[Chewy]

No team will ever come close to what Essendon did in 2000.

Geelong went mighty close in 2008. They were unlucky to peak a bit too soon and ran into a formidable in-form opponent on Grand Final day.

Essendon of 2000 were luckier than Geelong of 2008 that they didn't have to beat a decent opponent in September. Carlton was their nearest rival, but things went pear-shaped for the Blues when Kouta (the AFL's most dominant player in 2000) suffered a season ending knee injury in Rd 20

Won the pre-season competition straight, competed in a full 18 team competition, no Gold Coast or Western Sydney providing unfair fixtures, only lost 1 match for the entire year and that was to a last minute snap from the Bulldogs in the smallest of margins, and completely demolished teams of over 100+ points in the finals and won the flag to top it all off.

18 teams, huh? By my count, there were 16. And like Geelong in 2008, Essendon had a fairly easy fixture. They played 2nd-placed Carlton twice, but only one game against the teams who finished 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th on the ladder.

Geelong of 2008 played just one game against every Top 8 team (apart from 2 games vs North who finished 7th)

I reckon the easy draw definitely helped both teams cruise through the season, smashing their opponents and playing in 3rd gear for the 2nd half of most games.

It's a fine line between getting an easy draw and dropping 1 or 2 games compared to getting a tough draw and dropping 3 or 4 games.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Geelong went mighty close in 2008. They were unlucky to peak a bit too soon and ran into a formidable in-form opponent on Grand Final day.

Essendon of 2000 were luckier than Geelong of 2008 that they didn't have to beat a decent opponent in September. Carlton was their nearest rival, but things went pear-shaped for the Blues when Kouta (the AFL's most dominant player in 2000) suffered a season ending knee injury in Rd 20

18 teams, huh? By my count, there were 16. And like Geelong in 2008, Essendon had a fairly easy fixture. They played 2nd-placed Carlton twice, but only one game against the teams who finished 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th on the ladder.

Geelong of 2008 played just one game against every Top 8 team (apart from 2 games vs North who finished 7th)

I reckon the easy draw definitely helped both teams cruise through the season, smashing their opponents and playing in 3rd gear for the 2nd half of most games.

It's a fine line between getting an easy draw and dropping 1 or 2 games compared to getting a tough draw and dropping 3 or 4 games.

thats an interesting stat. Wasn't aware of that

 

[Balance]

Do the umpires ever really help underdogs?? I was watching a game from 1985 between St. Kilda and Fitzroy that was the Saints’ only win in their first fifteen games; there were some dubious decisions but I could not say they all favoured the Saints. St. Kilda actually had fewer scoring shots than their opponents in every game during 1985 and in 37 successive games altogether, but managed to win three including an enormous upset over Footscray in the last round.

It could go both ways, but in the context of a team looking like going undefeated, we could have a dubious game against that team. It's not about underdog or favourites, I think it's more that these sorts of imbalance are unwanted.

Just like in your example, Saints were looking like going winnless, but whoever was responsible for the umpiring (VFL?) wouldn't let it happen. It's not good for the game.

 

[KrakFiend]

OP seems not to know the difference between possible and probable.

 

[Boppo]

25/1? Don't you mean 125/1?

 

[VelvetSledge]

OP seems not to know the difference between possible and probable.

OP is 13 years older at this point.

 

[mianfei]

...like Geelong in 2008, Essendon had a fairly easy fixture. They played 2nd-placed Carlton twice, but only one game against the teams who finished 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th on the ladder.

Geelong of 2008 played just one game against every Top 8 team (apart from 2 games vs North who finished 7th)

I reckon the easy draw definitely helped both teams cruise through the season, smashing their opponents and playing in 3rd gear for the 2nd half of most games.

It's a fine line between getting an easy draw and dropping 1 or 2 games compared to getting a tough draw and dropping 3 or 4 games.

They say that in all sports, for instance most NFL critics say the 1972 Miami Dolphins who went undefeated were not as good a team as the 1984 San Francisco 49ers or 1985 Chicago Bears, simply because the 1972 Dolphins played an exceedingly weak schedule. If we apply that logic to the VFL/AFL, it would certainly effect not only the Essendon of 2000 and the Geelong of 2008, but also the 18-0 1929 Collingwood team who played three of the following five teams only once.

This becomes quite tough to say, though, when one looks at teams like Essendon in 1962 or Carlton in 1995 whose only losses were to teams far down the ladder and in one of two cases each (Essendon to Hawthorn in Round 8 of 1962; Carlton to St. Kilda in Round 9 of 1995) were probably due to very bad weather. Thus, the fact that such teams played many of the top teams only once may not be that significant. Then, there are cases like Port Adelaide’s amazing unbeaten 1914 SANFL season or Essendon in 1950 where abnormally dry weather helped produce an exceptional record (between 1910 and 1915, Port were almost certainly the best dry weather team in all of Australia).

Just like in your example, Saints were looking like going winless, but whoever was responsible for the umpiring (VFL?) wouldn't let it happen. It's not good for the game.

I said that I did not think there was any bias in the umpiring decisions in that particular game, though I do not deny the possibility.

 

[Conan Troutman]

Geelong went mighty close in 2008. They were unlucky to peak a bit too soon and ran into a formidable in-form opponent on Grand Final day.

Yeah Geelong 2008 had a better home and away season than Essendon 2000 - both teams with only 1 loss, but Geelong having the greater percentage.

But as you said, Hawthorn put a stop to that.

As a Geelong supporter, that's that one loss that bugs more than any other - I've experienced losing Grand Finals in the 80's/90's, so losing the grand final itself just adds one more to that list, but to also lose possibly the best season ever in that same game, takes it up another level for me.

 

[blaze036]

IT IS IMPOSSIBRU!!! >.<

 

[IrishHawksFan]

I think its impossible to go through a season unbeaten, 25 games to remain unbeaten is too tall a task for any team in this day and age. No matter how good you are its near impossible to maintain your concentration at 100% for a full season. Players are only human after all so fatigue/illness/complacency/injuries affect even the greatest of teams. Arsenal went unbeaten in the premier league 2003/2004 but they drew with some very medicore teams at the same time like Birmingham, Bolton and Porthsmouth!

 

[mianfei]

Arsenal went unbeaten in the premier league 2003/2004 but they drew with some very mediocre teams at the same time like Birmingham, Bolton and Portsmouth!

It’s much easier for luck to influence results in soccer than in football, especially when stadiums are roofed.

St. Kilda in 2009 had played fellow top clubs Footscray, Collingwood and Adelaide twice in winning nineteen on end, so they might be really as good a side as Geelong the previous year. However, the Sydney result (the Swans won only eight games in 2009, remember) where they only won by a point showed that perhaps they peaked around the time of the Crows and Bulldogs games and were never the same side after the Swans managed to kick more points against the Saints than any side bar Carlton. Also, the weather deteriorating took the edge off their Docklands-adapted style especially in the Grand Final

 

[IrishHawksFan]

It’s much easier for luck to influence results in soccer than in football, especially when stadiums are roofed.

St. Kilda in 2009 had played fellow top clubs Footscray, Collingwood and Adelaide twice in winning nineteen on end, so they might be really as good a side as Geelong the previous year. However, the Sydney result (the Swans won only eight games in 2009, remember) where they only won by a point showed that perhaps they peaked around the time of the Crows and Bulldogs games and were never the same side after the Swans managed to kick more points against the Saints than any side bar Carlton. Also, the weather deteriorating took the edge off their Docklands-adapted style especially in the Grand Final

I agree with you, and weather affects a sport like footy much more then it affects soccer in my opinon. I know im only following the AFL since circa 2005 but having watched it closely since then and having seen games from before then on TV and the net Id be of the opinon that Geelong 2007 to 2011 must surely be the greatest footy team of all time. If they were unable to go through a season undefeated then I don't think any team ever will.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Essendon can do it

 

[Big Animal]

GWS in 2018?