Toast Collingwood - the fastest rebuild ever

[Gimmeafree]

Whether you Love them or not, I think it is time for neutrals to acknowledge the incredible rebuild by the Pies. Finishing 17th amid a sea of pessimism, is there anyone that could have predicted that after Round 20, they might be sitting in SECOND place ! Can’t recall any recent team going from second last to second in one year ?

Every optimistic Pies fan I know thought there’d be at least a couple of years in the wilderness.

I know lots will say it’s luck and they have a tough draw to come etc etc, then straight sets exit, but this turnaround is incredible.

They are up to their eyeballs in season 2022 and with the roar of the G behind them, who would want to face them in September ?

 

[Purple Suit]

Dead Cat Bounce. Wait till the old heads retire & they lose some of the close ones. See Hawks 2018.

 

[owen87]

Whether you Love them or not, I think it is time for neutrals to acknowledge the incredible rebuild by the Pies. Finishing 17th amid a sea of pessimism, is there anyone that could have predicted that after Round 20, they might be sitting in SECOND place ! Can’t recall any recent team going from second last to second in one year ?

Every optimistic Pies fan I know thought there’d be at least a couple of years in the wilderness.

I know lots will say it’s luck and they have a tough draw to come etc etc, then straight sets exit, but this turnaround is incredible.

They are up to their eyeballs in season 2022 and with the roar of the G behind them, who would want to face them in September ?

They were the 8th most experienced side in the AFL last week. Hardly a rebuilt team.

 

[HaroLad]

They won’t win a final

 

[brutus76]

Brisbane finished last in 1998 and then lost a prelim to the Kangas the following year

If they can't beat this END THREAD #DoBetter

 

[Obeanie1]

Collingwood has a lot of factors helping it rebuild faster than most. It heads the father son ladder by a country mile. Massive advantage. Being in Melbourne it has access to players wanting to be traded either home or to the center of the AFL game. And they are ruthless. They cut contracted players and turf them out without a second thought.

Still a big destination club.

Now will they get in enough top end talent to win a flag with this upcoming group we won't know for years. And yes Pendlebury, Sidebottom, De Goey, Howe, Elliot and Grundy likely won't be there in two years.

 

[Ash1337]

This team is just having a surge with a easy draw and belief in a new coach and game plan. They'll most likely fall come finals time. I can see them as like 2015 dogs. If they can back it up the next season then they'll be a real chance at a flag.

 

[carlton4lyfe]

Pies fans claim to be in a rebuild to despite the fact they have the bulk of the 2018 grand final list and are the 6th oldest team in the comp , they'll be the '2021 Essendon' of this year, wont win a final and drop out of the 8 next year.

 

[Gone Critical]

I think its reasonable to still be wary about us. Playing an older experienced team every week and lots of close wins with a low %. There are reasons why you can argue we are still at the start of the rebuild and 2022 is a bounce that may be followed by a fall

Still its been hell of a ride, Fly dong a great job, ND performing immediately above our lofty expectations, beating the Blues and Essendon twice so far and finals to play. Good year to be a Pie and I didnt expect that.

 

[HairyO]

I think its reasonable to still be wary about us. Playing an older experienced team every week and lots of close wins with a low %. There are reasons why you can argue we are still at the start of the rebuild and 2022 is a bounce that may be followed by a fall

Still its been hell of a ride, Fly dong a great job, ND performing immediately above our lofty expectations, beating the Blues and Essendon twice so far and finals to play. Good year to be a Pie and I didnt expect that.

At the start of the year you probably would have had the wins against Carlton and Essendon as the major ones to care about, not finals. So its been a pretty good effort.

Risk of over-performing is a harder draw next year.

 

[PyrrhicVic]

Rent free /THREAD.

 

[NetworkNerd]

West Coast. Wooden Spoon 2010, Prelim Final 2011. And it wasn't a cheap top 4 finish either. 17 wins and 130%

Collingwood never sunk that low and we have to see if they can match that high

 

[Gone Critical]

At the start of the year you probably would have had the wins against Carlton and Essendon as the major ones to care about, not finals. So its been a pretty good effort.

Risk of over-performing is a harder draw next year.

Think the draw thing is over amped. If you do get an easier draw maybe it gives you a win. Still you never know what the next season brings anyway. 2018 for us was the dream draw. We ended up with with 14 matches against teams outside the 8 and won them all. 8 matches against teams in the 8 and won only one (Melb)

At least in 22 we have been beating sides in the 8. Melb, Carl, Dockers

Also this year we double up against Melb, Lions, Carl, Ess and Crows so not really an easy draw

 

[unplugged]

They won’t win a final

Unless we're fortunate enough to play Geelong.

 

[rye]

amazing what happens when you get perennial losers buckley and mcguire out

 

[kreglze]

I would say last year was the outlier and this year is closer to where their list should be, however, MaCrae and his coaching staff have still done an excellent job.

I still have doubts over them (evidenced by their poor percentage), but still been a great year to be a Pies fan, but they have probably had an extra 10 years of aging with all the close wins.

Next year is the interesting one.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Brisbane finished last in 1998 and then lost a prelim to the Kangas the following year

If they can't beat this END THREAD #DoBetter

"EVER" in these greatest ever threads on bigfooty is defined as anything from 2010 onwards it seems

 

[JayJ20]

Grand finalists in 2018, Almost grand finalists in 2019, semi finalists in 2020, 17th in 2021 and now finalists in 2022.
Apparently playing Nick Daicos, Ginnivan and Henry constitutes a rebuild.

 

[HaroLad]

Unless we're fortunate enough to play Geelong.

How did our final in 2020 go

 

[Mitchell Madness]

They have 4 good young kids playing with a bunch of older players.
I wouldn't call that a rebuild, more like a mini-reset

 

[mcgarnacle]

Think the draw thing is over amped. If you do get an easier draw maybe it gives you a win. Still you never know what the next season brings anyway. 2018 for us was the dream draw. We ended up with with 14 matches against teams outside the 8 and won them all. 8 matches against teams in the 8 and won only one (Melb)

At least in 22 we have been beating sides in the 8. Melb, Carl, Dockers

Also this year we double up against Melb, Lions, Carl, Ess and Crows so not really an easy draw

But won a couple of important ones in week 1 of finals vs Geelong, and PF vs Richmond.

 

[mcgarnacle]

I would say last year was the outlier and this year is closer to where their list should be, however, MaCrae and his coaching staff have still done an excellent job.

I still have doubts over them (evidenced by their poor percentage), but still been a great year to be a Pies fan, but they have probably had an extra 10 years of aging with all the close wins.

Next year is the interesting one.

No matter how the season ends for them, they've given their supporters plenty of heart attacks and emotion.

And could be a QF on the MCG vs Geelong or Melbourne or Brisbane. You'd be nuts to write off a direct passage to a prelim!

 

[Magpie Since 1986]

For all the people saying we are lucky to have won a lot of close games, yet last year nobody was saying how unlucky we were to lose a lot of close games. Last year we lost 4 games by 10 points or less and two games by a single point, including a loss to a goal after the siren.

The reality is last year we were unlucky to be 17th - we finished with a percentage of 85% - compare with this years 17th.
This year the reverse is true and luck is going our way.

So really last year we were more like a 10th to 12th side and have improved a bit with a new coach, a good run with injuries for once and guys like N Daicos and we are now more of a 7th to 9th side. Not a rebuild and not the drastic.

 

[MF]

Underperformed last year, overperforming this year and will probably be somewhere in the middle next year.

 

[marcmurphy3]

I wouldn't really call it a rebuild. The guys that are propelling them this year are the same experienced guys that were on their list last year. Players are just playing better both individually and collectively. Obviously Daicos has been great but aside from him their first to third year players haven't really been that impactful.

Not sure they ever really needed to rebuild in the traditional sense anyway.