Greatest opportunity

[Deepthroat]

If we don't win in Melbourne this week, I don't think we ever will this year. Theboys should be very keyed up to give a good account of themselves. Especially after the St Kilda debacle 2 weeks ago.

If we go into the brek 7-5, it will prove all the knockers at the start of the year just how wrong they were.

All that is needed is one monster effort, the boys should have plenty to play for with a break the week after and the way Carlton used them as ragdolls in their training drill at Optus last year.

 

[noodle]

totally agree. there is no bigger chance than next saturday. there are 3 things in our favour:

the blues are at an all time low.
the saints defeat will still be felt by the players.
woosha knows the blues well.

it is probably the 3rd consecutive melbourne game that the eagles 'should' win but as we have seen the last two times, nothing is guaranteed in footy.

 

[carlyp]

Yep we just have to beat the blues or we won ever win in Melbourne! Another thing...if we go into the break with 7 wins then were right up there with Collingwood and all the others on eight wins because there was one game that we should have won (The collingwood match where we lost by one point). See..were doing alright!

 

[iceman]

No doubt our best chance (after StKilda) to win away. Hopefully Woosha's knowledge of the Blues will help

The main concern i see is that without Wilson and now Sierra, how are we gonna score?? At the Sydney game i think the crowd was what got the boys over the line and if faced with a similar situation this week then the Blues have Optus Oval to their advantage

Another thing is that the Blues finished the game against Geelong with 8 goals in the last quarter, that wouldve provided a huge boost of confidence for them and i think theyll start the game full of fire and raring to go....

Heres hoping for our first win in Melbourne

 

[Methuselah]

Looking through the stats from the Blues-Geelong game, it appears a lot of the Blues stars racked up a lot of possessions - Ratten, Camporale, Bradley, and Lappin. Maybe this all came in the 4th quarter after Geelong relaxed. But their midfield is still very capable of playing well, and they will lift against us. Vic sides always do.
Of critical importance this week is Gardiner....is there any news on him? If he plays we look a lot more flexible.

As for who will kick goals, IMO this is a game where Green should come back into the side as a defender, and Hunter should be given a go at FF. Hunter would not be up against a "name" FB and the kid is supposed to be able to take a strong mark and has, up until now, played as a forward. Lets see what he can do.

 

[iceman]

Originally posted by Methuselah
As for who will kick goals, IMO this is a game where Green should come back into the side as a defender, and Hunter should be given a go at FF. Hunter would not be up against a "name" FB and the kid is supposed to be able to take a strong mark and has, up until now, played as a forward. Lets see what he can do.

I agree, Haynes was given the opportunity last week, it should be Hunters turn now. He's been touted as a forward and continually plays that position in the WAFL, he should be given at least half the game there

 

[Mr Eagle]

I do believe that if we don't win I shall rampage through the streets of Perth (all are welcome, BYO copious quantities of alcohol) as apparently violent mob outrage is now the appropriate response to poor performance by your team.

Soccer. Is there nothing this "great" game cannot teach us?

 

[Methuselah]

Don't underestimate the power of international contests of any kind. The last time the russians received a thumping from the Japanese was in 1904 when the Japanese navy sank the pride of the Czarist fleet in a short, sharp engagement. The russians were humilated. To many russians the decline of their country's power and influence since the end of communism has mirrored the decline of the czarist empire. And they may be right....since the end of communism the life expectancy of russians has really declined quite dramatically...so an understanding of the general malaise and despondency in that country may lead to some understanding of the consequences of a loss to Japan in a footy game.

 

[iceman]

Im with Mr Eagle

Violent mob outrage here we come

 

[carlyp]

Yeah!!!! Lets rip Perth to pieces if the boys dont win! Lets ransack Bennys house and throw stuff at Georgina (Mrs Woosha). Lets blockade the tarmac so they have to spend hours on the plane why the police have to bargain with us!

 

[noodle]

Originally posted by carlyp
Yeah!!!! Lets rip Perth to pieces if the boys dont win! Lets ransack Bennys house and throw stuff at Georgina (Mrs Woosha). Lets blockade the tarmac so they have to spend hours on the plane why the police have to bargain with us!

i thought that you lived in tassie carly? nice to know that you'll be in for a riot

 

[Goldenblue]

Lets just hope these violent outrages never happen to our "great" game, Australian Rules.

If we do not beat the Blues this week, there is a huge problem for the WC to even worry about playing finals. This is the best chance we do have this week to win away, but also we should not take for granted many things.

1> The Blues are at a low.
2> Woosha's knowledge of the blues.
3> Ladder positions.

Other factors include for a possible Blues win.

1> Kouta's possible return. (Enough to inspire his side)
2> How long can the Blues keep losing till a win is imminent? (They will win a game soon, they are a proud club)
3> Ratten will be all better for fitness with a game under his belt.


Sooner or later the Blues will win another match. We should not take this for granted in being a easy win for us, as per the Saint's debacle recently. The Blues are a proud club and a win is due for them, Lets hope it's not us.

 

[noodle]

for the Nth week in a row i shall be praying to the hamstring gods for gardi........

 

[carlyp]

Originally posted by noodle


i thought that you lived in tassie carly? nice to know that you'll be in for a riot

I'd fly to Perth for a riot..I love em! The Eagles are very important to me. Ever since I was a toddler my grandad has instilled in me a love of the Eagles that I will always have! I was actually born in Albany (so was gardi) and have spent every summer in WA plus went to WA 4 times in the winter of 1994 grandad was sick and When my grandad came up to Perth for treatment we used to go to training and watch the team go through their paces it was awesome! Not to mention that my mums cousin married Jim Malone (used to be our marketing manager) so he used to send me heaps of posters with Roo and jacko and Woosha's signatures. I even got a birthday card from the team one year!

 

[Mr Eagle]

Considering the Blues' almost-comeback in the fourth quarter this round...do you guys reckon it will improve their psychological position by giving them self-belief, or just depress them further knowing that not even a massive 8-goal quarter could get them over the line against a side that went to sleep at 3QT?

 

[noodle]

it certainly won't hurt their self belief. i first half hidng should put them in their place.

 

[iceman]

The 8 goal last quarter by the Blues would add a lot to their self belief and im sure that their coaching staff would be revving up the players to continue against us how they left off

I saw highlights of their game against Geelong (barring the last quarter) and they looked pretty ordinary and disorganised.

However, we dont want this to turn into another game like the StKilda one..... you know, the one we were supposed to win??

 

[Goldenblue]

Originally posted by iceman
we dont want this to turn into another game like the StKilda one..... you know, the one we were supposed to win??

That's what worries me the most......

 

[Thrawn666]

Big danger game yet again, all signs point to West Coast but we know what can happen by looking back 2 weeks. I think the big X-factor in the game is gonna be Corey McKernan. He was at his shocking best (worst?) early on in the year for the Blues but has been lifting over the past couple of weeks. It wouldnt surprise me to see him run rampant over us, but then again it wouldnt surprise me if he couldnt get a kick either. Add to this he's probably the one player at Carlton that Woosha didnt get a look at when he was there and it could be scary. If he gets ascendancy in the ruck it'll make things hard for our boys and we know that Carlton's midfield can play some good footy.

 

[Mead]

Originally posted by carlyp
Yeah!!!! Lets rip Perth to pieces if the boys dont win! Lets ransack Bennys house and throw stuff at Georgina (Mrs Woosha). Lets blockade the tarmac so they have to spend hours on the plane why the police have to bargain with us!

Well I'm in for the riot- what say we burn down subiaco, so the team has to play its games in the middle of an ashy wasteland for the rest of the season? We'll give them cauldron of fear!
However, Georgina Worsfold is off limits.. Do you really want to **** off Woosha's wife??

On the carlton game- if gardie plays, i'll be a lot more confident. If not, we're going to have to win without any one target up forward- keep in mind just how badly we struggled after Siera went off against sydney!

 

[jod23]

I dont think we will beat Carlton this week...we are a bottom 4 team away and Carlton are overdue for a win. Given the confidence from there finish against the Cats i think they will beat us. I would feel more confident playing a top 8 side than Carlton.

 

[Methuselah]

We should beat Carlton. Eventually the boys will get a win away from home and this looks the most likely.
Carlton will do everything they can, including not mowing the surface of the oval and perhaps even overwatering it to slow our midfielders down.
The idea that we are somehow unusual away from home in losing matches does not hold true. Most teams have a poor away record this season, even the premiers. It makes it clear that homeground advantage is very real. But it is not insurmountable, and in order to play in the finals, we have to win away from home.
I remember that in the early years of the Malthouse era we also had trouble away from home....but eventually we won a couple, the team realised it was possible and things flowed from there.
I thought something important happened for us last Saurday night when we came from behind to snatch victory after the Swans had run over us. That was a very important motivational lesson for the younger players.

 

[noodle]

got to agree with you Methuselah. last week was the closest game that i can remember since collingwodd (???)

it's important for the boys to play (and win) in games that go to the wire

 

[ozzult]

If we had have won that game against Collingwood, I think we would have, and most likely have beaten teams like Richmond, and St Kilda.

That one point, and the four points that came along with it in that match proved very important. If we got an away win so early in the season we would have been looking good in Melbourne, and we might have built some confidence from that.

We most definitely should have beat sides such as Richmond and St Kilda, who I don't believe are better than us.

 

[carlyp]

Yeah we should have beaten Richmond and the Saints and collingwood...if we had off we would be right up there..actually ladder leaders!! We just have to win at optus oval this week!