Last Half Of Season

[Optimistic Dog]

Hope we can repeat the first half which will mean we would be 18 wins 4 losses and a top 2 finish. You would expect wins against North, Crows, Hawthorn and the Suns. You would be disappointed if we lost to Fremantle, Sydney or Essendon. We then need to win 2 of Geelong, WCE, Dees, Port to finish 18 wins 4 losses. Not easy but very doable. If Dunks and ADZ are minimum time injuries 6 weeks to go they will back for the last 6 games.


Fremantle Away
Bye
Geelong Away
WCE Away
North Home
Sydney Home
Suns Away
Adelaide Home Ballarat
Melbourne Away
Essendon Home
Hawthorn Away TAS
Port Home

 

[footscray1973]

On recent-ish history, sitting where we are is not a bad thing. Remember North in 2016 - won the first 9 straight, lost 10 of the next 13, including the last 4 games of the season, then squeaked into the 8 three games behind us in 7th:



Got annihilated in their elim by Crows in Adelaide.

Or Saints in 2009 - won the first 17 straight, lost 2 of the last 3, got the rub of the umpiring green against us in the prelim, and choked in the Granny.

I'm happy to sit 2nd, slowly get players back, and hit another gear in the finals, while Demons cop all the pressure to stay at the top of the ladder.

 

[Triple Baileys]

Hope we can repeat the first half which will mean we would be 18 wins 4 losses and a top 2 finish. You would expect wins against North, Crows, Hawthorn and the Suns. You would be disappointed if we lost to Fremantle, Sydney or Essendon. We then need to win 2 of Geelong, WCE, Dees, Port to finish 18 wins 4 losses. Not easy but very doable. If Dunks and ADZ are minimum time injuries 6 weeks to go they will back for the last 6 games.


Fremantle Away
Bye
Geelong Away
WCE Away
North Home
Sydney Home
Suns Away
Adelaide Home Ballarat
Melbourne Away
Essendon Home
Hawthorn Away TAS
Port Home

I just happy that Adz and Dunks will be back with games to spare before the finals. Was looking worse for Dunks when the first medical prognostications came out.

 

[Doggies_13]

The next three games are the key games for me. With them all being away, at grounds we historically struggle on and with key injuries atm.

The last 8 games only the Melbourne game should be difficult, if we are serious about finishing top 4 and with players coming back we should be winning the other 7, port are not a contender and especially away from home should be an okay hit out before finals but shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[Brian Perrin]

Covid may mean we don’t have to play in Geelong - could be a big win for us if so

Eagles seem to be imploding a little


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[CarnTheScray]

Finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd. I don’t think recent history has been kind to those that finish 4th.

 

[Mattdougie]

Finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd. I don’t think recent history has been kind to those that finish 4th.

Demons finish on top I wouldn’t mind finishing 4th

 

[Braybrook Son]

Freo game is huge this week in having a say where we finish

 

[Next Waiting]

 

[Pep_x]

Sunday's game is massive for our season with Geelong then another trip to Perth to come in the following weeks.
Got to win 2 out of the 3.

 

[BeMoreBont]

Would actually heavily work in our favour if they brought the WC game forward a week or two and we stayed in Perth to play both sides before heading home. West Coast have Kelly, McGovern, Shuey and Duggan all back in 3-5 weeks. As it stands we play them in 4 weeks.

 

[Optimistic Dog]

Today our start to a repeat of first 11 games and nine two finish.

 

[conrad_437]

If the Demons finish on top then 4th is fine by me. Essentially a home final (not like we would be playing at Marvel anyway).

My worry is finishing 3rd and having to play Brisbane away.

 

[CarnTheScray]

Should finish top 3 from here. Wouldn't be surprised if Geelong kick us out of top 2. Doubt Brisbane will finish top 2.

A win over one of Geelong or West Coast would be nice.

 

[Mattdougie]

Should finish top 3 from here. Wouldn't be surprised if Geelong kick us out of top 2. Doubt Brisbane will finish top 2.

A win over one of Geelong or West Coast would be nice.

A Port win tonight should mean we have no excuse not to finish top 2 imo

 

[doggies ftw]

Geelong play Port, us and brissy next 3 so it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to put in a decent gap on those teams if we can get the job done next week. Most important game of the season so far coming up imo

 

[ummmbont]

Melbourne,Brisbane,Port,Geelong all
Have very hard second half to the season 8 more wins gets us top 2

 

[Pugz89]

Should finish top 3 from here. Wouldn't be surprised if Geelong kick us out of top 2. Doubt Brisbane will finish top 2.

A win over one of Geelong or West Coast would be nice.

Geelong win would be handy given it'd be an eight-point game in terms of top 2 finish. Particularly if they knock off Port tonight.

 

[Mattdougie]

Melbourne,Brisbane,Port,Geelong all
Have very hard second half to the season 8 more wins gets us top 2

7 wins will do it and maybe even 6

 

[_Mike_]

7-8 wins should all but guarantee a top 2 berth while 5-6 should be enough for a top 4 spot.

 

[ummmbont]

Can’t believe we are missing

Treloar,Dunkley,VDM,McLean,Wood,Richards
Jong,Garcia

Our depth is off the charts right now.

Thinks these guys are going to cap our team off in second half of the season.
Inn
Treloar
Dunkley
Richards
Wood
Marra
Garcia

Out
Scott
R.Smith
JJ
Hannan
West
Gardner

Crozier Keith Williams

Dale Cordy Daniels

Treloar Libba Smith

Dunkley Marra Richards

Bruce Naughton Weightman

English Bont Macca

Wood
Martin
Duryea
Garcia

Emerg
Gardner
Scott
VDM
Hannan
Neil

 

[Dazb86]

Hopefully we come home strong with Dunkley and Treloar back in the side.

 

[X_box_X]

I'm bored. Ladder predictor time.

I've just completed 22 rounds. With one round remaining, here is my ladder:



ROUND 23:

Obviously this is all hypothetical based on my predictions, which in all likelihood will be a far cry from what actually occurs, but how exciting would round 23 be if this is the ladder with one round to go?

• Brisbane & Geelong separated only by percentage. We'd be hoping Brisbane remain in third place so we avoid a QF against Geelong:
• Port & WCE separated only by percentage. Both teams will likely face each other in the EF based on these predictions so finishing sixth for home ground advantage in that EF becomes massive:
• GWS in 8th only a game ahead of Sydney and Essendon.

Now for the big games in round 23:

• Brisbane v WCE at the GABBA. A huge game for both sides. Brisbane will prefer to finish third purely to avoid having to play Melbourne at the MCG. WCE playing potentially for a home final. This has shades of 1997 about it with both of these sides playing in the final round in that season with plenty on the line.
• Carlton v GWS at Marvel. I can see the AFL scheduling this one for Sunday afternoon just to add some excitement for the final day. The way this will likely play out is GWS needing to win to play finals. Sydney and Essendon will probably be scheduled to play on Saturday and if one or both of them happens to win, this Carlton - GWS match becomes massive! Adding to the magnitude of this, it could very well be Marc Murphy's final game, so the Blues will be up for this one.
• Essendon v Collingwood. This fixture is always massive, but with finals on the line for the Bombers, it becomes even bigger!
• Geelong v Melbourne in Geelong. Wow! What a way to end the H&A season. Melbourne won't have as much to play for, having already secured top spot. In all likelihood, the same fixture could take place in week one of the finals.
• Sydney v Gold Coast in Sydney. Big game for the Swans with finals on the line, and they shouldn't have any trouble beating the Suns.
• Bulldogs v Port at Marvel. Huge game for Port with a home final on the line. Our place in second will be secure providing we maintain a healthy percentage advantage and if history is anything to go by, it wouldn't surprise me if we lose this one, just like we lost the final H&A match in both 2015 and 2016.

The end result?



I've got us losing our next two, and also losing our dead rubber to Port in the final round. It wouldn't surprise me if we beat Melbourne at the MCG. I reckon most here would be happy to end the season with a 17-5 record.

 

[ScragCity]

I'm bored. Ladder predictor time.

I've just completed 22 rounds. With one round remaining, here is my ladder:

View attachment 1152935

ROUND 23:

Obviously this is all hypothetical based on my predictions, which in all likelihood will be a far cry from what actually occurs, but how exciting would round 23 be if this is the ladder with one round to go?

• Brisbane & Geelong separated only by percentage. We'd be hoping Brisbane remain in third place so we avoid a QF against Geelong:
• Port & WCE separated only by percentage. Both teams will likely face each other in the EF based on these predictions so finishing sixth for home ground advantage in that EF becomes massive:
• GWS in 8th only a game ahead of Sydney and Essendon.

Now for the big games in round 23:

• Brisbane v WCE at the GABBA. A huge game for both sides. Brisbane will prefer to finish third purely to avoid having to play Melbourne at the MCG. WCE playing potentially for a home final. This has shades of 1997 about it with both of these sides playing in the final round in that season with plenty on the line.
• Carlton v GWS at Marvel. I can see the AFL scheduling this one for Sunday afternoon just to add some excitement for the final day. The way this will likely play out is GWS needing to win to play finals. Sydney and Essendon will probably be scheduled to play on Saturday and if one or both of them happens to win, this Carlton - GWS match becomes massive! Adding to the magnitude of this, it could very well be Marc Murphy's final game, so the Blues will be up for this one.
• Essendon v Collingwood. This fixture is always massive, but with finals on the line for the Bombers, it becomes even bigger!
• Geelong v Melbourne in Geelong. Wow! What a way to end the H&A season. Melbourne won't have as much to play for, having already secured top spot. In all likelihood, the same fixture could take place in week one of the finals.
• Sydney v Gold Coast in Sydney. Big game for the Swans with finals on the line, and they shouldn't have any trouble beating the Suns.
• Bulldogs v Port at Marvel. Huge game for Port with a home final on the line. Our place in second will be secure providing we maintain a healthy percentage advantage and if history is anything to go by, it wouldn't surprise me if we lose this one, just like we lost the final H&A match in both 2015 and 2016.

The end result?

View attachment 1152936

I've got us losing our next two, and also losing our dead rubber to Port in the final round. It wouldn't surprise me if we beat Melbourne at the MCG. I reckon most here would be happy to end the season with a 17-5 record.

I had us finishing second too but losing the Melbourne game. I had Melbourne finishing with only the one loss for the year. I had Tigers finishing third and Geelong in fourth.

 

[Optimistic Dog]

Do not think Richmond will make top 4 after there loss to WCE would not mind playing the eagles first week of the finals at home but more likely be the cats or lions.