Cool your jets on the Geelong '08 hype please

LifeSpan-Void

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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.
 

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NT.Thunder

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Have you actually read your own post, sounds like your trying to be someone your not.

Geelong 2008 premiers!
 

hoopla

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#6
I agree with you completely LS-V. I love watching my team play at the moment but let's get realistic. We lost some games last year and we didn't thrash every team. But hey, that's footy. Expect the unexpected.
 
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#7
Nup - you got away with the lid on last year keeping all the hype in check. There is not a chance of that happening this year as everyone probably realises the only way to beat Geelong is for them to get ahead of themselves.

You can take it to the bank that Geelong will be favourites in every game they play for the rest of the year unless they really get hit by the injury bug.
 
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#8
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.
I can assure you we don't want you to choke. You are the hunted and we are looking forward to the contest. We want you guys to be playing your best when we come up against you because this gives us a yardstick as to where we are at.
Hope the next 6-7 years provides a great rivalry between us like the glory days of old.
 

Omegaman

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#9
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.

...

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.
...and there were journalists claiming at one point that the Lions 01-03 would still be reigning fire on the competition as late as last year.

Fair enough, but I will add- you're the premiers, get used to it. Hype will follow you even if the wheels fall off this year, until such time as people realise the ascendant teams have worked you out. There were more than a few people that pegged Sydney as a threat going into finals last year, even though we had significant key injuries and facing an opponent that had beaten us confortably for a number of consecutive games.

But like it or not, my money is still on the Cats :thumbsu: Most challengers in recent times have enjoyed a number of consecutive years of dominance (even those who didn't snare a flag, like the Pies and 01-03 Port) and by my count this is year 2 for the Cats. There will be challenges- Hawks are up and about and the Pies have an annoying habit of sticking it to most teams- but barring a rash of injuries or a WC style flameout, Geelong still deserve favouritism.
 

Jammer

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#10
Good post GS-V..

Love watching the Cats and they look to have a few lengths on the field at this stage.
I'd of put the 2001 Bombers as your equal. They looked untouchable well
into the second half of 2001 before some cracks emerged.
Still think the Pies with their game plan are the only team that can test Geelong......
 

Lazyboy

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#11
Geelong are the most overrated side in the history of the game.

Most of it is fueled by Sheehan and his stupid little lists.

If people think smashing Essendon by 99 points is something freak and amazing then they have overrated Essedon, as they are a bottom 4 side.
 

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Godfrey Jones

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#12
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.
lol, love your enthusiasm mate

but Giants in 06?? How much did we beat you guys again?? Probably around the same margin you guys will beat the demons this week.
 

gocatsgo

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#13
Come on mate, we had 44 years of crap and suddenly we are a great side and you want to knock us down a peg?

Just sit back and enjoy the ride i reckon.

The media will talk, will pump us up etc, but as is the Australian way, as soon as there is a chink in the armour, they will take aim and try and shoot us down....its the circle of life unfortunately.

It's not going to last forever, god knows we might not see another team like this for another 44 years, maybe never again. Go with it I say.

The last team to win a GF by 90 points or more, Hawthorn in 1988, went on to win premierships in 1989 and 1991. How great would it be to have an era like that with this team?

Eagles won by 80 in 1994, but that was at the end of their era, like the Hawks in 1991. Carlton were an old side in 1995 and that was basically their swansong, just like Brisbane in 2003 (we should have played Port in the final in 2004!)

Stop trying to keep the lid on and just enjoy it while it lasts!
 

FoxC

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#14
Totally agree with you Lifespan-Void. I cringed when I heard all this talk about how many hundred points we'll beat Melbourne by and how we'll go through the season undefeated. Sure Geelong supporters are entitled to enjoy last year's premiership but 2008 is a new season.

One thing different about the Cats this year is that the players and coaches are not caught up in the hype and unrealistic expectations by punters and supporters. If the club maintains a level-headed approach, we'll still be hard to beat, but it's not impossible to be beaten.
 

Hoops

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#15
Geelong are the most overrated side in the history of the game.

Most of it is fueled by Sheehan and his stupid little lists.

If people think smashing Essendon by 99 points is something freak and amazing then they have overrated Essedon, as they are a bottom 4 side.
:thumbsu:

I think this is what the OP was getting at. This is what we want to hear
 

nicky

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#16
I think i'd rather geelong win than hawthorn, but i'd prefer hawthorn to win over the saints. Pies would be my second choice for the flag but if the pies were the ones to knock us out of the finals i might revisit this.
 

LifeSpan-Void

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Thread starter #17
lol, love your enthusiasm mate

but Giants in 06?? How much did we beat you guys again?? Probably around the same margin you guys will beat the demons this week.
No, GFC became "giants" in 07. You took us apart by 102 points in '06, at the 'G. Don't worry about my memory, worry about your ability to read and comprehend.
 
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#18
yeh people should calm down and get off the bandwagon.....the mighty bombers of 2000/2001 were a very good side......losing only 1 game in 2000 then 4 in 2001 even tho they didnt win the flag was pretty awesome...geelong are going well but arent doing anything that essendon didnt do in those 2 years
 

nicky

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#19
yeh people should calm down and get off the bandwagon.....the mighty bombers of 2000/2001 were a very good side......losing only 1 game in 2000 then 4 in 2001 even tho they didnt win the flag was pretty awesome...geelong are going well but arent doing anything that essendon didnt do in those 2 years

yeah they remind of the bloods in the 30s when we ended up losing the gf to the pies. Shocking stuff.
 
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#21
I think i'd rather geelong win than hawthorn, but i'd prefer hawthorn to win over the saints. Pies would be my second choice for the flag but if the pies were the ones to knock us out of the finals i might revisit this.
So we can put down nicky's order of preference for the 2008 flag:

Sydney
Collingwood
Geelong
Hawthorn
Saints

?
 

DanA

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#23
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.
There are two major differences.

1) Geelong are a more a evenly spreed team and in 2007 Westcoast were decimated with injuries. Cousins, Kerr & Judd all missed the finals. Three standout players in the same position of the ground.

2) In 2006 Westcoast lost a final and won two close ones including the GF by 1 point. They were the best team for the year but nothing compared to the dominance of Geelong.


You would have been better served using Essendon 2001 as your argument.
 
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