Expectations/predictions for 2009!

[bibi01]

My expectations-

12 - 15 wins and to play finals

less 5-6 goal come from behind wins (meaning we play 4 quarters each week)

wins v top sides (gel, haw, ade etc) and not just beating the bottom sides

a fwd line that is flexible, provides multiple options, functions as a team within a team and does not solely rely on fevola

all players to follow judd's lead and prepeare in the manner he does (that means you Nick 'ate all the pies' Stevens)

as a team we are one an upward curve, we are getting to the stage where our players are/should be ready to deliver week in week out and match it with other teams.

we have truck lodas of talent, we have resources being pumped into the playing group to assist their development like we have never had previously- we don't have any excuses for not being a top 8 team in 2009.

 

[matt73]

I would consider anything less than a top 8 finish next year as a failure. We finally have the team capable of competing with most and with a young list we should be in for a long period up the top where we belong.

Hopefully all the boys have a huge preseason and hit the season running. I also hope that we don't leave all our wins to the last quarter surges as you doubt we will have as big a year of massive last quarter comebacks again.

I would also really, really like it if we could finally beat St Kilda again. Can't remember the last time we did!!!!!!!

 

[Faz 2000]

My expectation and hope is we win 12 games and sneak into the bottom of the 8. There's no way the Blues can reasonably expect to improve at the same rate as we did this year. However I do expect improvement, and I think it will come from the following areas:

Backline - Jammo and Bower will get bigger, stronger and smarter. Waite looks settled for a role down there. Scotland is an excellent HBF QB, Thornton is good as a 3rd or 4th defender. Need Armfield or someone to be able to clamp down on small forwards, but I think there's lots of natural improvement in this area.

Rucks - Kreuzer and Hammer will be another pre-season stronger, and will no doubt do an awful lot of hitout practice over summer. They couldn't really be less effective in the hitouts, so again I foresee natural improvement in this area. Even moreso if we get a veteran to hold the fort for 2009.

Forwardline - Fev will get his 80-100 goals, and be out most dangerous forward. How well we do for the year will mostly be determined by what we do in our forward line. We need more targets, more creativity, more variety... more of everything. The only bits I think are settled is Fevola at FF and Eddie Betts as a tackler, chaser, and kicker of extraordinary goals from the pocket. Fisher has a role, but needs to be a bit player.

Midfield - recognised as our strength, and there's no doubt that Judd-Gibbs-Murphy-Stevens have talent, awareness and skill. The physical development of Murphy and Gibbs will continue and will improve their games further. Harder tackling would be good, and some decent tagging would be good too. Out of Hadley, Bentick, Simpson, Walker, Bannister, Grigg, Russell and probably a few others, we need to get 4-5 guys who can cement a job in there as either a stopper, winger or rotation option. Midfields can always get better. Faster, stronger, harder, more skilled. I don't think this is as big a strength as we think it is. We have been smashed out of the middle by plenty of finals sides, and no matter how many times we say "Judd, Murphy, Gibbs", that fact doesn't change.

Coaching - Ratts had some good wins this year, where his moves and/or motivation prompted some great comebacks and wins. But there were question marks, too. There appear to be players getting regular games where there performances don't warrant it. And at no stage have we really come up with a forward line structure/gameplan that isn't all Fev. Teams also seem to score incredibly easy goals off their half-back line against us, and I think a lot of that is due to our gameplan. But he's a new coach, and I would imagine a very hard worker, so I look forward to more ideas and development in 2009.

So there's scope for improvement everywhere in our game, as you'd expect from a team that came 11th. Some of it will come "for free", just by young players getting stronger and fitter over summer. The rest, though, is going to require tons of hard work. Our skills across the team need to improve drammatically, and our gameplan and structure still isn't right. We're severely lacking in personnel up forward, and still carrying some very so-so AFL footballers week-in, wekk-out.

But if all of this sounds overly negative, it's not meant to be. I think we're in a great position to incrementally improve this year, and the next year, and probably the year after that.