Thread starter
#1
The West Coast Eagles, after winning the '06 flag, went undefeated in the first 6 rounds of 2007. "THEY CAN STILL GET BETTER!" bleated the journos as Cousins had missed the entire season to date, Dean Cox was out with an injury, and aside from a fairly brutal execution of Carlton in round 4 the eagles just seemed to be cruising through the early rounds looking like they could "go up a cog" at any time. Well they came to a sudden thudding halt in round 7 when they played an unsurprisingly inconsistent yet surprisingly defiant Geelong, who they had steamrolled from waaaaaaaay behind the previous year. Geelong won the encounter by 39 points, suddenly became the giant killer of the AFL, and then eventually became the giant. We're all well aware of the accolades, the brownlow, the AA record, the grand final CHASM that was the winning margin and the subsequent media fawning over this NEW VICTORIAN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.
Naturally over the preseason, questions were asked. Will they have the fire in the belly to go the distance again? Did they party too hard and too long? They could be forgiven for overindulging in their premiership, given the distance travelled between flags. We as AFL fans universally sat through the preseason, mumbling under our breath "this is bullshit anyway, who gives a shit about the nab cup? Bring on the real stuff, I want to see how revolutionary my team's preseason training regime ended up being." Predictions were made, trash was talked, the media spewed forth their populist tripe pandering to the masses and OH LORDY ST KILDA ARE A CONTENDER. Again.
But I digress. My point really, is that after SIX rounds last year, the Eagles were still a monty for back to back, and it all went pear shaped despite them looking so ominous early on. It is currently round THREE (not even played yet!) And already people are pencilling in Geelong for '08 glory. Sure, there are the naysayers (mostly from the Hawthorn board who feel that they're not getting enough recognition) who are trolling for Geelong to choke, but I am here as a genuine and 25 year Geelong supporter saying WE ARE NOT DESTINED FOR ANYTHING. Ottens, like Cox last year, is out. While I can't really draw a Cousins parallel with anyone as significant on our list, all it takes is one twang in a hammy or one ping in a knee and there goes Ablett or Bartel or Chapman for 4, 6, 8, 12 weeks or the whole season. All it takes is one seedy Steve Johnson weekend where he falls off the wagon and drives unlicensed through someone's loungeroom and BAM! we have a comparative repeat of WCE's off-field drama from last year.
I understand that people mostly say these things for fun, or for shits and giggles or whatever, but there is a growing resentment of the general hubris which is beginning to surround the GFC. This week's LUDICROUS odds against Melbourne are just another straw crushing the camel's back. Be prepared for a fall at all times GFC fans, and for the rest of you - We don't ALL feel that Geelong is bulletproof.
flame on you crazy diamonds.
Naturally over the preseason, questions were asked. Will they have the fire in the belly to go the distance again? Did they party too hard and too long? They could be forgiven for overindulging in their premiership, given the distance travelled between flags. We as AFL fans universally sat through the preseason, mumbling under our breath "this is bullshit anyway, who gives a shit about the nab cup? Bring on the real stuff, I want to see how revolutionary my team's preseason training regime ended up being." Predictions were made, trash was talked, the media spewed forth their populist tripe pandering to the masses and OH LORDY ST KILDA ARE A CONTENDER. Again.
But I digress. My point really, is that after SIX rounds last year, the Eagles were still a monty for back to back, and it all went pear shaped despite them looking so ominous early on. It is currently round THREE (not even played yet!) And already people are pencilling in Geelong for '08 glory. Sure, there are the naysayers (mostly from the Hawthorn board who feel that they're not getting enough recognition) who are trolling for Geelong to choke, but I am here as a genuine and 25 year Geelong supporter saying WE ARE NOT DESTINED FOR ANYTHING. Ottens, like Cox last year, is out. While I can't really draw a Cousins parallel with anyone as significant on our list, all it takes is one twang in a hammy or one ping in a knee and there goes Ablett or Bartel or Chapman for 4, 6, 8, 12 weeks or the whole season. All it takes is one seedy Steve Johnson weekend where he falls off the wagon and drives unlicensed through someone's loungeroom and BAM! we have a comparative repeat of WCE's off-field drama from last year.
I understand that people mostly say these things for fun, or for shits and giggles or whatever, but there is a growing resentment of the general hubris which is beginning to surround the GFC. This week's LUDICROUS odds against Melbourne are just another straw crushing the camel's back. Be prepared for a fall at all times GFC fans, and for the rest of you - We don't ALL feel that Geelong is bulletproof.
flame on you crazy diamonds.

