Expectations for 2014

[Bloben]

I expect to improve from 2013.

Last year our effort was often lacklustre which was put down to a culture of laziness. Apparently that has been fixed. I can forgive poor effort in preseason matches because it is preseason however if I see us get belted in the contested ball that we did against Richmond in the actual season I will be pissed

 

[Gone Critical]

I expect to improve from 2013.

Last year our effort was often lacklustre which was put down to a culture of laziness. Apparently that has been fixed. I can forgive poor effort in preseason matches because it is preseason however if I see us get belted in the contested ball that we did against Richmond in the actual season I will be pissed

I think you have succinctly summarised what should be the minimum expectation for 2014. An improvement from 2013. Missing the finals shouldn't enter the equation

 

[peter9789]

My feeling with the loss of so much experience since the 2010 flag, we will finish outside of the 8 this year. Still a very young list, and lack some quality down back, and as a consequence we will see some inconsistency across the year as the group matures. I also think their will be significant improvement in Gold Coast, North Melb, Port Adelaide, and West Coast and believe these clubs will push us lower down the ladder for 2014.

Anything outside of a top 10 finish will be a failure but I also see Geelong and Carlton slipping down.

But I do see this turning around in 2015 with us returning to the finals.

 

[RuFiO]

Who do we trade to get the extra 1st Rounder?

Scott Pendlebury can buy many peanuts 1st rounders.

 

[Reykjavik]

It's really hard to gague.

Looking absolutely bluntly, you would say, finishing 8th and losing Shaw and Thomas would suggest 9-12 is our realistic expectation.

What we dont know is how much our overall performance was driven by internal problems that are (hopefully) resolving themselves. I relied on that factor a lot, as well as seeing potential for a lot of younger players to imrpove to make a case for finals.

Seeing how we have stacked up so far though, and especially the injury toll, I'm revising downwards. For mine, improvement this year was heavily dependent on the likes of Seedsman/Fasolo/Keeffe/J Thomas stepping it up a notch, and all are struggling with fitness and or form. I also factored in a lot from the likes of Freeman/Oxley/Broomhead, all of whom I expected to make us better than alternatives. It's unfortunate, but I think that while our early injury state is bad enough, its way worse because it is hitting precisely those we needed to step it up to make us better. I'm expecting us to be well worse than I hoped by round 10 as a conseuence, though I think we will finish the season well. I just dont think now it will be well enough to factor in finals.

 

[Gone Critical]

My feeling with the loss of so much experience since the 2010 flag, we will finish outside of the 8 this year. Still a very young list, and lack some quality down back, and as a consequence we will see some inconsistency across the year as the group matures. I also think their will be significant improvement in Gold Coast, North Melb, Port Adelaide, and West Coast and believe these clubs will push us lower down the ladder for 2014.

Anything outside of a top 10 finish will be a failure but I also see Geelong and Carlton slipping down.

But I do see this turning around in 2015 with us returning to the finals.

Out of interest can you elaborate on wher you think we have lost so much experience compared to the 2010 team. We still have 14 memebers of the 22 from that day all who are 4 years on in experience. All are top or near top 22 still and the majority of them are much better players than they were in 2010. We have recruited guys like Young and White who are experienced campaigners and expected top 22 this season. The younger players like Elliott, Fasalo, Adams, Thomas, Keefe, Seedsman, Williams, Sinclair and Dwyer have a body of games now that should hold them in good stead. Add a few experienced depth players who hopefully we dont need much in Clarke and Armstrong means there is a body of 27 players before we have to even think about the new guys like Kennedy, Broomhead, Freemand, Langton etc etc Our rucks with Grundy and Witts is the obvious area lacking in experience but otherwise we should be good to go in 2014 experience wise.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Outside the 8 would be unacceptable
Outside the 4 but inside the 8 would be disappointing

But that's just me.

 

[BeechyMagpie]

Can't remember a year where the supporters have been more divided in expectation. Some are bullish about still being a premiership threat, others are fearing the worst and can foresee not making the 8.

Whilst we all want to see the pies finish top 4, I must say, I'm much more in the camp of the latter, and think we are going to battle a bit and playing finals footy would be a win. Which is quite weird considering we have 3 of the best midfielders, and perhaps the best power forward, in the game.

I don't think we are exactly a young rebuilding side. Cloke, Pendles, Swan, Ball, Maxwell, Reid, Brown, Harry, Toovey, Beams, Sideboob will make up half our side, and are premiership players who are either in their prime, or on the downhill run towards the end of their careers. The other half could be made up of experienced players (Hudson, Lynch, White, Armstrong, Karnezis, Clarke, Goldsack) or young players, but with the XI named above, we really should be playing finals football.

IMO the 2 main factors that could be the difference between pushing top 4, and scraping into 8th will be:

1) First 4 games: Freo, Swans, Cats, Tigers - If we can be 3-1 and start with some form and momentum then we will have some confidence to take a few better sides on.

2) Fasolo, Elliott, Adams & Then Marley, Seedsman, Young - Think these 6 players are crucial to our season.
Out of Fas/Elliott Adams we really need output from these 3 as our small forwards/Half forwards and more intensity. Last year I thought we were crap on the ground, and let the ball out of our forward 50 way to easily. Whilst Elliott had some highlights, and had some good days, I didn't think we had anywhere near as much pressure in the forward line as previous seasons.

Same with Marley/Seed/Young with drive out of the defensive half. I'm really keen to see Young and Seedsman at half back or on the wing as they are genuine 100m players who can run and kick long. We can catch some teams on the break a bit and get it inside 50 quickly to our key forwards with these two guys.


When you look at our team, and look at the depth, it makes me wonder why in the hell we have our targets set so low? But then we are Collingwood supporters and we probably over rate a few players and expect more off some than we should

 

[BeechyMagpie]

Oh and before anyone comments - I know Williams and Seed are unavailable at the moment

 

[GAMEFREAK]

If we dont make the 8 then Bucks will have concerns if he will still be the coach, unless due to a bad run of injuries. If we have a decent run we should make finals, we have plenty of experience, still a lot of premiership players in our best 22 and plenty of young kids putting pressure on the older guys if they dont perform. We have a good blend of both, areas we need to improve our rucks and backline.

Witts needs for us to step up to make top 4 and how we as a unit play defensively to support our backline. Reid must play back we need him there.

We should have made top 4 last year and i thought we only played average for most of the year. Jolly played crap, Daisy wasn't available for the year and Shaw was undisciplined, i dont think we have lost a lot to how they contributed last year.

We hopefully have got rid of all the crap behind the scenes and everyone is on board and now Bucks team can show if we are committed and ready to give their all and if this happens i have no doubts we will make the 8 with improvement to come in the following years due to some good recruiting.

 

[frizzle]

Just as a matter of interest.
How many think we will lose round 1?
How many think we will lose the first 2 rounds?

 

[Gone Critical]

Just as a matter of interest.
How many think we will lose round 1?
How many think we will lose the first 2 rounds?

I think we should start favorites against Freo. The game is in Melbourne, we ahve a few week longer to prepare. I am confident for that game. Sydney in Sydney is funny. We have such a good record against them. This is 50:50 for me. We should be 1:1 at a minimun after round 2. I am hopeful for 2:0

 

[The Don]

I'm not going to quote them all but just say I agree 100% with everything gone critical has said and will add two points.
1. In cloke swan and Pendelbury we have three of the top 10 players in the league and arguably 3 of top 5.
2. In 2010 we had a lot of youth win a flag. Beams sidebottom Blair and macaffer all 2-3rd year players. Brown and Reid only established themselves that year Wellingham etc as well.

Like any premiership team you need a lot to go right to win a flag( which we haven't had in the last 2 and a half years), but if things go right I believe we can make top 4 and from there it's anyone's game.

 

[BeechyMagpie]

How important do you think a quality ruckman is in the modern game?

My opinion changes all the time.

 

[Pie in the Sky]

Our midfield's too good to miss finals, I don't think missing the 8 should be acceptable for any supporter this year. Top 4 is a bit tougher, but it's not out of the question if we can get good improvement out of younger players. I'm expecting at least one finals win.

 

[DaicosianMarvels]

7-11th but I really do think we will struggle to make the 8 this year.

Shaw is a big loss to the side, Williams will most likely be out for the year and Toovey is coming back from an ACL.

We have a less experienced list than previous years (4th youngest), less proven depth than last year. Our ruckman has played less than 10 AFL games.

We will have improvements this year, players like Kennedy, Thomas, Seedsman, Frost, Adams and Grundy are all going to improve but if we expect to play top 4 with the list we have this year that would be madness.

My expectations are to sneak in to the 8 and win a finals game hopefully which would give these young guys a taste of finals footy and the experience of winning a final which would be great for them and the future of the club.

 

[jmac70]

I expect us to finish between 5th and 8th. Hopefully win a final.

 

[Gone Critical]

7-11th but I really do think we will struggle to make the 8 this year.

Shaw is a big loss to the side, Williams will most likely be out for the year and Toovey is coming back from an ACL.

We have a less experienced list than previous years (4th youngest), less proven depth than last year. Our ruckman has played less than 10 AFL games.

We will have improvements this year, players like Kennedy, Thomas, Seedsman, Frost, Adams and Grundy are all going to improve but if we expect to play top 4 with the list we have this year that would be madness.

My expectations are to sneak in to the 8 and win a finals game hopefully which would give these young guys a taste of finals footy and the experience of winning a final which would be great for them and the future of the club.

So based on that I assume we outperformed ourselves a bit in 2013. You expect us to perform worse in 2014 than last year even though we have an improved squad assuming we don't get the injury run of last year. Why do you think our list has deteriorated so far in the last 2 seasons with Bucks as coach

 

[TheWing121]

How important do you think a quality ruckman is in the modern game?

My opinion changes all the time.

I think a quality ruckman is the difference between being a top 4 side and winning a premiership. I personally think for us to win the next flag Grundy has to become a threat around the ground and pushing forward. Not just competing at ruck contest and 2nd efforts after. Obviously he is really young, but until he develops that part of his game I don't see us winning a flag

 

[Chilli Con Incarnate]

Our top end talent (inside the best 22) is best in the league quality. Our bottom end talent is a work in progress. This year really depends on how well players like Keeffe, Grundy, Seedsman, White, Fasolo and Young can all play. They all have shown talent and potential in small doses whether it was for us or a previous team. If this band of players steps up, as well as a few of the kids, then we will be a solid contender.

If it is left up to Swan, Cloke and Pendlebury to carry the team, then we will struggle.

I see us finishing anywhere between 5 and 12.

 

[harry1990]

Maybe just ask the question who are we better than, who is better than us ???

 

[DaicosianMarvels]

So based on that I assume we outperformed ourselves a bit in 2013. You expect us to perform worse in 2014 than last year even though we have an improved squad assuming we don't get the injury run of last year. Why do you think our list has deteriorated so far in the last 2 seasons with Bucks as coach

I don't think we have an improved squad though.

I think we have brought in great young talent but have lost experience players in the process. Our future is bright but I think with the loss of Marley, Shaw and Thomas we will have a similar season to last year but expecting teams like North, WCE and Port to improve which could affect our spot in the 8. I think North will finish higher than us and I can think of any of the top 5 teams from last season that we are going to go past.

This is just my prediction based on looking at the list but if we are 4-0, I am sure I will be pretty optimistic and excited about this season.

 

[SprooseMoose]

We missed top 4 last year by... 2 games? Something like that. Definitely a couple of games we dropped that we should have won anyway.

With the exception of Shaw, everyone that we lost in the off-season had minimal impact throughout the year. If we can win those two or three games that we should have won last year, and if indeed we have got rid of the elements that dragged us down last year (injuries, distractions, etc), there's no reason we can't reasonably expect to improve on last year.

I guess it depends on how define "improvement". Winning a final, or finishing higher on the ladder?

If we had made top 4 last year (and we nearly did), I don't think there's be so much pessimism about this year.

 

[THATSGOLD]

Just as a matter of interest.
How many think we will lose round 1?
How many think we will lose the first 2 rounds?

Reckon we will go down in a close one round 1 and that will be the story of 2014. Our fans will accept that close enough is good enough.

 

[SteeleBeams]

I expect us to have a testing season - i don't think we will miss finals. We will be a competitive outfit all season. Realistically, i think we will finish in the bottom half of the 8.

I think missing the finals will be a massive let down.