First 7 Matches

[Blueinblood]

i decided to do what other boards are doing and make early predictions for next year.. ill just do the first 7

richmond- should win if everyone is on the park for us...our midfield is much stronger but they have a few quality players.....i cannot see them stopping our attacking half including our midfield..should win by about 30 points BLUES BY 32

saints- close match...with baker out they will have no1 to tag judd or stevens or murphy but they have some excellent midddys....if we can keep saint nick away from the ball and umpires we may have a chance if fev has a night out..... being at the td is massive advantage for them...
saints by 16

essendon- if we are injury free we should smak them simply because of their midfiled and brendon fevola....could be looking at 50+ if everyones on the park and jamo keep lloydy to 3 or 4
blues by 43

collingwood- tough task..the key is our midfield pace and anthony rocchead..we have advantage in the middle but may not match their HFL and rocca and keep cloke quiet.....as usual we will probs lead at half time and get overrun
pies by 23

adelaide- at the G so we have BIG advantage.....our backline should be able to contain there lack of forwards and our midfield has a slight advantage so we shlould get the points in a close one..cant see tham kicking enough goals so they will try and flood but on the g its not ideal
blues by 27

melbourne- tough task.....they have good players and good depth but had lots of injuries.... our middfield is better but there BL is better than ours...should be close
either way - 2 goals or less

WC- will struggle at subi bu will do better for judd hopefully....theyll blow us away early but well peg them back..slowish match with us never getting closer than 24 points after quater time
WC by 37

 

[Smell The Glove]

Not unrealistic to be looking at four wins from those first seven matches- with some extra luck maybe even five.

 

[HBF]

If we play well, I don't see any reason why we couldn't be 5-1, or even 6-0 going into the West Coast game in round 7. Those first 6 games are all winable, and with no injuries and good form, I really think that 5-1 at least is achievable.

 

[NWTYRX]

I'd probably say 4-2 is the most realistic outcome going into the West Coast game

 

[Blue Dimension]

Richmond, Melbourne and Essendon are all definately beatable and will have a definate chance to get wins against those teams.

The Saints without Gehrig (who has averaged something like 5-6 goals against us in previous years) and through the suspension of Baker, may be a possibility. We pushed them late in the year, so i can't see why we wouldn't just pip them if we're playing at our best and we have all things going well for us.

 

[Blue Ball Fever]

If we play well, I don't see any reason why we couldn't be 5-1, or even 6-0 going into the West Coast game in round 7. Those first 6 games are all winable, and with no injuries and good form, I really think that 5-1 at least is achievable.

Love your optimism mate, but you are dreamin.

 

[marcmurphy3]

Love your optimism mate, but you are dreamin.

You should always aim high.

We are definitely capable of beating all of those teams although WC at Subi could pose a massive challenge.

 

[Jeremias]

Richmond-WIN

St Kilda-LOSS

Essendon-WIN

Collingwood-LOSS

Adelaide-LOSS

Melbourne-WIN

West Coast-LOSS

This is what I realistically think will happen, and that would give us a 3-4 start, which is reasonable. Having said that, there are a few results which could go either way. I can see us beating Adelaide over here, but they are the much safer bet. We could also lose to Melbourne and Essendon, even though we shouldn't really.

And who knows, we may be able to surprise the Eagles over there like we almost () did a few years ago...only difference is, this time we have a much improved midfield, and Juddy . Highly doubtful though, of course.

 

[HBF]

Love your optimism mate, but you are dreamin.

Why is that?
We beat Richmond last year. Would go in favourites
St.Kilda would be 50/50, but with Gehrig retired, and Baker suspended, we might just get over the line.
Essendon - should be able to account for them with our stronger midfield
Collingwood - Only lost to them by 24 points both times we played, so with Stevens and Judd in, and no Clement to take Fev - who knows
Adelaide - toughest match to date, but will be at the 'G, and IIRC, didn't we only lose to them by 3-4 goals at the Dome this year?
Melbourne - Give us every chance of getting over the line here.

 

[marcmurphy3]

Why is that?
We beat Richmond last year. Would go in favourites
St.Kilda would be 50/50, but with Gehrig retired, and Baker suspended, we might just get over the line.
Essendon - should be able to account for them with our stronger midfield
Collingwood - Only lost to them by 24 points both times we played, so with Stevens and Judd in, and no Clement to take Fev - who knows
Adelaide - toughest match to date, but will be at the 'G, and IIRC, didn't we only lose to them by 3-4 goals at the Dome this year?
Melbourne - Give us every chance of getting over the line here.

I agree. We are a massive chance to beat all those teams. There is no team there with a far superior list to ours. Collingwood are overrated.

 

[rockape]

i think we can win 6 out of the first seven games , the only side that will prolly beat us would be westcoast only because its a subi. the rest we should be able to belt

 

[hustla]

Geelong is the only team that is probably out of our reach. The boys showed at the end of the year that they can handle st kilda collingwood and even the grand finalists in port adelaide. The minimum we should be after 7 rounds is 3 wins. We can definately win all 7 matches.

 

[westbrom]

I think we are capable of beating all 6 of the teams, but I do not think we are capable of being 6-0 realistically.

To give you an idea of what I mean, we are playing.

Richmond
St.Kilda
Essendon
Collingwood
Adelaide
Melbourne

So you can make an argument for each...

Richmond.

Last years WS, some of their best players are over 30 and will struggle to be up for round 1. We clearly have the better midfield and more exciting forward line.

St.Kilda
Loses a matchup headache in Gehrig, Waite went 1/2 against NR last year and if he can perform like he did in the first game against them we are close to over the line. Judd/Stevens/Murphy/Carazzo compares well with Hayes/Ball/Del Santo/Harvey, with Hayes/Ball injury prone and Harvey about 84 years old. Their back line is good, but we have the forwards that can take the marks and a midfield that can kick goals. Neither team has a great ruckman.

Essendon
Worst list in the AFL, consider PR their next great, which shows where they are heading. Coach had poor record at VFL level. All their best players are around 30 or older. Midfield is very slow, but fast of the HB line. Carlton should have too much class.

Collingwood
Slow midfield, young defense may struggle to hold Fevola. Waite could take Cloke out and Rocca is slow, with midfield pressure should be able to double team him at contests as ball will not come in as quickly.

Adelaide
Playing away from home, without first choice ruck from last year. Can finally match their strength, which is their midfield and they do not have a dangerous forward, with the exception of Welsh/Birdman.

Melbourne
Aging, have lost TJ, good defence, but should not match our midfield. THey have dangerous forwards, but most rely on space in the forward 50. Under performed last year and dangerous game, but we should have the edge...


Ok so their is a reason we can win each.

Now put yourself on the other side of the fence and look at those game from and opposition supporters point of view...

ie Melb.

Judd and Stevens are quality, but question marks over Stevens. Judd will take time to fit into midfield and might find it tougher without the blockers. If we can stop Fevola early he may have a tantrum and they have no one capable of stopping Neitz if he gets on a run. McLean will have a full pre-season and should be primed for this season. Jeff White is far better than any ruck on their list and if we can get first hands on the ball or make then use Carrazzo as their main ball winner, we should be able to negate the midfield effect. Our defence is stronger and they need to play players like Scotland/Houla on Robbo/Davey which gives us a reasonable chance as niether are defensively minded. Dees by 24


So yes we can win each game, but they are not clear wins. It is possible for us to go 4-2 with those two losses being Richmond/Essendon. This year we are finally in a position where we can compete against most teams, but we are not Geelong and we cannot go into games expecting that we will smash opponents, as of yet we are not "clearly" better than any of our first 6 opponents.

I think we will win 3 or 4 of our first 6 games.

 

[cfc4life]

Why is that?
We beat Richmond last year. Would go in favourites
St.Kilda would be 50/50, but with Gehrig retired, and Baker suspended, we might just get over the line.
Essendon - should be able to account for them with our stronger midfield
Collingwood - Only lost to them by 24 points both times we played, so with Stevens and Judd in, and no Clement to take Fev - who knows
Adelaide - toughest match to date, but will be at the 'G, and IIRC, didn't we only lose to them by 3-4 goals at the Dome this year?
Melbourne - Give us every chance of getting over the line here.

Went to this game at the dome we would have won if not for bad umpiring and the 50 metre penalty against lappin for the 'attempted' trip.

 

[Smell The Glove]

Went to this game at the dome we would have won if not for bad umpiring and the 50 metre penalty against lappin for the 'attempted' trip.

Yeah, true. A shitty second quarter when everything seemed to go against us didnt help. And Fevola didnt exactly have one of his better days either.

I think if you factor in that we have Judd, Stevens, Cloke and Hadley to come in for the loss of Lappin, Whitnall, Koutoufides and Kennedy, Adelaide have lost Hudson and Mattner (both had good days) from that game, its one we really should win on paper. Away from the Toilet at the G works even more in our favour.

Richmond- definite win
St Kilda- possible loss
Essendon- probable win
Collingwood- possible loss
Adelaide- probable win
Melbourne- possible win
West Coast- probable loss

 

[Beloved]

I'm still amazed at the fact that we double up the two of the first three rounds from last year (Richmond rnd.1 and Essendon rnd.3). Nether the less...

Richmond: Carlton by 34 points
St.Kilda: Carlton by 10 points
Essendon: Essendon by 22 points
Collingwood: Collingwood by 32 points
Adelaide: Carlton by 5 points
Melbourne: Carlton by 24 points
West Coast: West Coast by 45 points

From here on out, I think were going to struggle. Don't ask me why, just a gut feeling.

 

[Beloved]

Went to this game at the dome we would have won if not for bad umpiring and the 50 metre penalty against lappin for the 'attempted' trip.

That was against the saints wasnt it? I can't remember it against Adelaide. I remember Fisher did a ripper interception against the Crows though

 

[Banga19]

I'm still amazed at the fact that we double up the two of the first three rounds from last year (Richmond rnd.1 and Essendon rnd.2). Nether the less...

Richmond: Carlton by 34 points
St.Kilda: Carlton by 10 points
Essendon: Essendon by 22 points
Collingwood: Collingwood by 32 points
Adelaide: Carlton by 5 points
Melbourne: Carlton by 24 points
West Coast: West Coast by 45 points

From here on out, I think were going to struggle. Don't ask me why, just a gut feeling.

Really? Interesting... We have had the wood over Essendon even when we were bad, and they were reasonable, now they seem to me to be on the way down, and us well and truly on the way up.

 

[Barwick17]

Could be 5-1, 6-0. Where did you finish? Judd will have to kick ten a game to get you there. I know you are more optimistic now but seriously you guys are gunna be way disappointed!

 

[Beloved]

Really? Interesting... We have had the wood over Essendon even when we were bad, and they were reasonable, now they seem to me to be on the way down, and us well and truly on the way up.

I did take both line-ups into account, but one of the major vote swingers was the way that our games seem to go. When Carlton were in their 90's glory, we struggled to find wins over Essendon, and when Essendon are well above us, like this year for instance, we still seemed to get the result over them 3/4 times. IF we can use our list the way it should be used, then there is no stopping us, including the past results (not that it should have that bigger impact), but I just don't think we will be fully prepared for the game. If we go 2/2, then I think Essendon will take the cake. If not, probably still Essendon, but by a shorter ammount that 22 points.

 

[Banga19]

I did take both line-ups into account, but one of the major vote swingers was the way that our games seem to go. When Carlton were in their 90's glory, we struggled to find wins over Essendon, and when Essendon are well above us, like this year for instance, we still seemed to get the result over them 3/4 times. IF we can use our list the way it should be used, then there is no stopping us, including the past results (not that it should have that bigger impact), but I just don't think we will be fully prepared for the game. If we go 2/2, then I think Essendon will take the cake. If not, probably still Essendon, but by a shorter ammount that 22 points.

Fair enough

 

[Beloved]

Could be 5-1, 6-0. Where did you finish? Judd will have to kick ten a game to get you there. I know you are more optimistic now but seriously you guys are gunna be way disappointed!

Your right. Theres no way the likes of Simpson, Fev, Fisher, Carrazzo, Gibbs, Scotland or Stevens could help us win a game Have a shower, your a Collingwood supporter.

 

[Barwick17]

Your right. Theres no way the likes of Simpson, Fev, Fisher, Carrazzo, Gibbs, Scotland or Stevens could help us win a game Have a shower, your a Collingwood supporter.

We arent talking about 1, but 6 straight. You will be a better team but
- Judd will have an interupted pre season
- lost a lot of experience
-players named above are good but your depth isnt flash
- how many teams are 6-0? WCE were a few years back but look at the team they had?

 

[encino]

Why does everyone expect Collingwood to beat us?
They will have a poor season next year... sucks to be their supporter because this year they played above themselves and now have false hope.

 

[Barwick17]

Why does everyone expect Collingwood to beat us?
They will have a poor season next year... sucks to be their supporter because this year they played above themselves and now have false hope.

Maybe... better than tanking form though, you have to admit that!