Opinion Have we dodged a bullet?

[Pollywaffle]

As I have said before better to lose to hawks in PF than Freo in a GF (I think we have a record of gifting teams landmark wins ? ) Lets not extend it to this GF. We were overachievers this year and probably finished about where we deserved given injuries ,form etc (ducks expected rebukes)
Pressure's on the hairdressers now .They have the game that might counter the Freo stifle.
Should be fascinating to watch with little emotional investment for either team.
Hopefully a Draw with heaps of long term injuries and suspensions..

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

2008 was so bad because we were hot favourites. I have particular fondness of the 94 series - 3 remarkable finals before we finally succumbed in the granny. In 95 Carlton were simply to good. Only a Bradbury would have seen us win in those years.

Likewise this year Freo and the Hawks were simply better than us, I think next year will be different, but this year was what it was and there is zero point speculating on the what-might-have-been's

I was always very wary heading into the Fremantle game. The only area where they looked a bit weak was in defence (with Johnson and Ibbotson out and McPharlin under a cloud). It was the only place where we could have potentially exploited them, but our forward line wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders either (something that made the Chapman-as-sub decision all the more perplexing). Everywhere else (ruck, midfield, forward), they're extremely good.

As for 2008, I'm not sure we would have been any happier with a straight sets loss, or dropping the preliminary final to the Bulldogs or Hawthorn. Ask Essendon supporters how that felt in 1999.

 

[Beth]

Id rather lose a prelim than a GF. Im pretty much over Friday, I'm genuinely not over 89. If I ever see it I still keep barracking for us to kick one more goal - and I'm kind of convinced we still could....

 

[Copernicus]

Bugger this for a joke.

We'd give ourselves every chance to avenge the QF loss. Now we get to sit on the sidelines. No upside to it from my position.

 

[Commando]

Age old question I guess, would you rather lose a prelim or granny?
I genuinely don't know but if it is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all then I guess I'd rather lose a granny....

Having said that in 08 I'd rather have lost the prelim...

 

[candiehappy]

Id rather lose a prelim than a GF. Im pretty much over Friday, I'm genuinely not over 89. If I ever see it I still keep barracking for us to kick one more goal - and I'm kind of convinced we still could....

it's weird, but I do the same thing. I watch that game every couple of years, and I still yell at the telly.

 

[barmy44]

it's weird, but I do the same thing. I watch that game every couple of years, and I still yell at the telly.

i had lunch yesterday at a place near uni, and fridays game was on replay... i kept hoping certain plays would go differently. i also re-watched the '08 GF about 9 months ago, and hoped for the same thing.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

it's weird, but I do the same thing. I watch that game every couple of years, and I still yell at the telly.

I was just a kid when that happened and was stoked to see Geelong playing in the finals. Ablett winning the Norm Smith made my day. As I mentioned earlier, ask the Essendon supporters if they're over 1999. The thing to me about losing the grand final is you can get away from the media. It's the last game of the year. But if you have any interest in the game, once you're knocked out in the early stages of the finals, you have to read/hear/see people dissect the loss from every possible angle. After the grand final, you can just switch off SEN, stay off Big Footy, avoid the Fairfax and News Ltd. websites...you're not obliged to take in any more football news until the draft if you don't want to.

 

[BotsMaster]

Bitterly disappointing loss, certainly up there with the 05, 08 losses for mine.

Hmm no I disagree with that. While I was quite angry and frustrated on Friday night (then again on Sunday), I don't put this loss with those two because in 2005 we were winning the game from the start only to be pipped at the bell by Nick ****ing Davis and in 2008 we were red hot favourites where we dominated every key stat except the scoreboard.

 

[Dave Hall]

Id rather lose a prelim than a GF. Im pretty much over Friday, I'm genuinely not over 89. If I ever see it I still keep barracking for us to kick one more goal - and I'm kind of convinced we still could....

95 was a mismatch, in 94 I was wondering how bad can this get!!?

 

[BigRedLion14]

AGree...couldn't lose to Hawks in a GF again

 

[denicat]

If its not a granny dont even think about the lost finals only granny hurt for ever

 

[And_ROOS]

Yeah i am still not over 97 for some strange reason haha.

 

[candiehappy]

Hmm no I disagree with that. While I was quite angry and frustrated on Friday night (then again on Sunday), I don't put this loss with those two because in 2005 we were winning the game from the start only to be pipped at the bell by Nick ******* Davis and in 2008 we were red hot favourites where we dominated every key stat except the scoreboard.

I couldn't talk at the end of the game from yelling so much. But calm the next day. I'd expected to lose by 40, was impressed with how we pushed them.

 

[MatLewis5]

Half the kids in our team from Friday night didnt even play olin the 08 GF and will now have some fuel of their own for our next 11 games against the Hawks.. At the end of the year when we look back we have jumped from 7th to 3rd and got another 15-20 games into the future stars of the team.. Bring on 2014..!

 

[CF]

F* me it's been a shitty year.

Made it to the prelim: Lost
VFL made it to the GF: Lost
Joel Selwood in front on the Brownlow with one round to go: Lost

2013: Thanks for NOTHING!

 

[Shell]

Yeah i am still not over 97 for some strange reason haha.

I think what makes 97 worse is Adelaide won it. I went to the prelim that year wanting BLOOD, I was an honorary Bulldogs supporter that day, it would have been so much better had it been Footscray v St Kilda in the Grand Final. Nooooo those ****ing South Australians have to go in pinch a flag that they didnt deserve.

/rant.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Come Saturday night - the only Bullet Geelong will have dodged is a blank -fired out of a plastic pop gun

The hype over Freo - is getting embarrassing- what have they done for Gods Sake !!!

Put your house on the Hawks - they are going to smash them - 60 plus points

 

[RegHickeyStand]

Had we been playing in next weeks GF could we have been humiliated by a fresher Freemantle? (a bit like 1994)

Played the worst game for the season in the final against Freo.

We found our form in the second half against Port, and were nearly peaking against the Hawks.

We would have smashed Freo in the GF.

The Hawks will. The Freo formline is not what it seems. We played crap, and Sydney were a spent force going in.

 

[Vdubs]

Come Saturday night - the only Bullet Geelong will have dodged is a blank -fired out of a plastic pop gun

The hype over Freo - is getting embarrassing- what have they done for Gods Sake !!!

Put your house on the Hawks - they are going to smash them - 60 plus points

For starters, they rested 12 players pre QF v Geelong. Smart.
Then they did the "impossible" and beat Geelong at Geelong- who does that?
Now they are in a GF after smashing Sydney at their own game.
Agree that Hawks are favourites for the flag, I've been saying that since they lost the GF last year.
But, Freo are the 2nd best team this year, evidently.

 

[AM]

F* me it's been a shitty year.

Made it to the prelim: Lost
VFL made it to the GF: Lost
Joel Selwood in front on the Brownlow with one round to go: Lost

2013: Thanks for NOTHING!

How true. But if when Freo do the deed on Saturday I'll feel a little better.

 

[Vdubs]

Played the worst game for the season in the final against Freo.

We found our form in the second half against Port, and were nearly peaking against the Hawks.

We would have smashed Freo in the GF.

The Hawks will. The Freo formline is not what it seems. We played crap, and Sydney were a spent force going in.

Reg, you are entitled to your opinion, deluded as it appears.
We had no legs left in that finalQ v Hawks, and if we had scrounged our way into a GF, what would have been different about us v Freo?
Hawk is gone for the year.
We have no # 1 ruckman.
Our mids are overly reliant on Selwood, and SJ is too temperamental to be relied on v Freo.
We are collectively physically exhausted.
You underrate Freo. They have accounted for us twice when it has counted. That is reality. Us smashing a fresher Freo team at the G without a ruckman is fanciful.

 

[JackFlash]

Freo would beat us by 10 goals in the GF...it would've been nice to be there, but the result would be reminiscent of past disasters in 94 and 95.

 

[Crhferrari]

Well Freo misfired today so we really blew a chance.

 

[The rabbi]

Had we been playing in next weeks GF could we have been humiliated by a fresher Freemantle? (a bit like 1994)

Yep, missing out on Grand Finals spares you from being humiliated in them.
Every team should avoid being humiliated in a Grand Final by losing the Prelim.
You know it makes sense.