It's time

[Mobbsy]

The players are ready
The coaches are ready

Time for us to get ready

Get that machine oiled up, can we top this ?

[YouTube]3P-nLzkdbPI[/YouTube]

 

[Pie eyed]

[YOUTUBE]vqMCZBjvmD4[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

God I WANT to be confident, I just can't.

I just can't see how we can turn our form around in one week.

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

God I WANT to be confident, I just can't.

I just can't see how we can turn our form around in one week.

Like we did after GF1 last year? Gave away a big lead, and were pretty lucky to escape with the draw...

Or like Geelong did in 2007, after just scraping through in a tight slog in the prelim final against a side that finished 6th in the regular season, who had just played an extra time semi-final at Subiaco, coming up against a Port Adelaide side who had just flogged the fourth placed side by 87 points, and who had beaten Geelong at Skilled just five weeks earlier.

Or, unfortunately, like Brisbane in 2003, when we beat them in the QF, and then beat Port soundly in the prelim, while Brisbane lost their QF and were only two points ahead of Sydney at 3/4 time in their prelim, but then they belted us on the day.

I'm not guaranteeing anything, but historically, finals form and late season form are actually pretty poor indicators of Grand Final performance. The Grand Final is a separate animal, and anything can happen on the day.

 

[HFF]

^^^ The 2007 comparison is an interesting one.

Sure, we are hurting but we need to believe.

Side by Side.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Like we did after GF1 last year? Gave away a big lead, and were pretty lucky to escape with the draw...

Or like Geelong did in 2007, after just scraping through in a tight slog in the prelim final against a side that finished 6th in the regular season, who had just played an extra time semi-final at Subiaco, coming up against a Port Adelaide side who had just flogged the fourth placed side by 87 points, and who had beaten Geelong at Skilled just five weeks earlier.

Or, unfortunately, like Brisbane in 2003, when we beat them in the QF, and then beat Port soundly in the prelim, while Brisbane lost their QF and were only two points ahead of Sydney at 3/4 time in their prelim, but then they belted us on the day.

I'm not guaranteeing anything, but historically, finals form and late season form are actually pretty poor indicators of Grand Final performance. The Grand Final is a separate animal, and anything can happen on the day.

I know the comparisons, believe me, I've been trying since Friday to convince myself all that is possible.

I just....don't see it happening. This team honestly looks spent to me. It alomst seems like they're waiting for Buckley to start coaching now.

I'm sure that's my confirmation bias playing tricks on me, but seriously, it seems that way.

I'm hoping for a massive turnaround, but man it would have to be a HUGE one.

I've already conceded to a Geelong mate I work with at my part-time job (I work 2 jobs) that if Collingwood wins, I wont say anything because I've conceded that we'll lose.

He thinks it's 50/50 despite our form.

 

[daics_35]

I know the comparisons, believe me, I've been trying since Friday to convince myself all that is possible.

I just....don't see it happening. This team honestly looks spent to me. It alomst seems like they're waiting for Buckley to start coaching now.

I'm sure that's my confirmation bias playing tricks on me, but seriously, it seems that way.

I'm hoping for a massive turnaround, but man it would have to be a HUGE one.

I've already conceded to a Geelong mate I work with at my part-time job (I work 2 jobs) that if Collingwood wins, I wont say anything because I've conceded that we'll lose.

He thinks it's 50/50 despite our form.

Dont concede defeat man, just enjoy we are in another GF, who knows when we will play in another one.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Dont concede defeat man, just enjoy we are in another GF, who knows when we will play in another one.

You have to admit, our form is a concern.

At least last year we went in smashing teams left and right when it mattered. So it was reasonable to go in feeling confident.

It seems anyone who goes into this game with genuine confidence, might be forcing it just a tad.

 

[HFF]

Ed, no doubt our form is a concern.

However, we must remain confident- even if it is forced.

We have had our best statistical season of all time.

We've had 6 AAs.

We have champions on every line.

We have the depth on every line.

We have a game plan and a coaching structure we believe in.

We have the opportunity to create our own history by achieving back-to-back greatness.

We are the reigning minor premier and the current defending major premier.

This flag is for everyone, have the faith we all want this badly.

 

[Visions]

You have to admit, our form is a concern.

At least last year we went in smashing teams left and right when it mattered. So it was reasonable to go in feeling confident.

It seems anyone who goes into this game with genuine confidence, might be forcing it just a tad.

I'm a bit like you. Not all that confident due to current form.

Think it will all come down to the centre corridor use of Geelong. If we allow them to do that at will, we're screwed. If we block their use and force them to go wide and stay wide, we are in with a huge chance.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

ok, I'm going to try and see a positive light here....

One thing I HAVE noticed and thought about today, is that, that last quarter against Hawthorn, I believe was one of the first last quarters we've won well in almost 2 months (I stand ot be corrected).

It was the firs time, in a long time that we've looked like....well, Collingwood.

The backline was mostly a brick wall with only cheapies getting through (a characteristic of our first half of the season), the midfield was motoring away from the stoppages and pressuring the opposition. The forwards were not only taking strong grabs and kicking goals, but even smalls kicked a few.

I can't remember the last time we kicked 5 goals in a quarter. Again, we may have against West Coast, but never at any stage in that game were we complete over the whole field the way we were against Hawthorn in that last quarter.

So I'm trying to subscribe to the theory that we may have just played ourselves into the right form.

Maybe the boys realised what was actually at stake at 3 quarter time and thought "Fcuk this, (best McBain voice) play time is over", and became the Collingwood we know and love.

If this is in fact the case, then we should be able to account for Geelong. But of course this is a very big if, and maybe I'm clutching at straws, but I'm trying my best to shake my trademark negativity here.

 

[Betterthenbencoon]

The way i see it Ed is that the prelim did us the world of good. We've had that tight contest, where we looked gone, but dug a bit extra, found something and got home. They now know that they can come from anywhere, against good opposition, and win it, even without playing 4 quarters.
Hawthorn forced us into uncharacteristic mistakes, but it took too much out of them to keep up for 4 quarters. Much the same with Geelong, they'll have to be manic like that to stop us, and that's a massive job, whereas our game style is all about pressure, and we are used to it, so manically pressuring Geelong, ala last years prelim, has been done before. The benefit now is that if Geelong do succeed in pressuring us into errors, we know we can still come from anywhere, the belief is there.

Im a lot more confident now than I was after the WC game. Dont write us off.