My thoughts on us...

[goDees22]

WE SHOULD NOT FALL IN A HOLE this time:

I know that we hear all this stuff from Daniher and the players that they have learnt from past mistakes and that they know they need to keep focused, and although we heard it last year and it still happened i think we will be right this time.

Our best 22 imo:

B: Whelan Carroll Ferguson
HB: Brown Rivers Bartram
C: Green Bruce Johnstone
HF: Pickett Miller Yze
F: Davey Neitz Robertson
R: White McLean McDonald
Int: Sylvia PJ Moloney Bate

Bit harsh on the blokes below, some of which have done nothing wrong, particularly Dunn but it is a long season, he's a skinny bloke and as you can see with Thomas at the Pies, most young blokes can't hack a full season, so Miller is our best bet at CHF if he can get back into form.
Paul Wheatley
Daniel Bell
Chris Johnson
Jamar
Lynden Dunn
Phil Read
Ben Holland

The main reason i dont think we will drop off, and definitely not drop off as much as in previous years, is because we aren't downhill skiers anymore. We are easily the best team in the league in 1%ers, and we're also one of the best tackling teams in the comp, looking at a game like yesterday, our physical pressure is great, this is just like what it is like in finals footy, tough hard, unrelenting pressure, and thats the sort of pressure we are putting on.

We have a settled team, our forward line has a great mix of talls, smalls, speed, strength, the midfield has the bulldozers McLean and McDonald and the silky skills of Green, Johnno and Bruce, and the backline has a hell of a lot of options. Dutchy can take the gorillas if need be, Rivers is sensational, Carroll has done well this year and Whelan and Brown are top notch small backmen.

If we have a good run with injuries i have no doubt we can be a top 4 team, remember that Collingwood are supposedly a quality team, and no matter how much their supporters crow about how badly they played yesterday, most of that was through our good play.

Having said that, we have looked good in previous years and shat ourselves mid-season, but i think we have a better formula this year and shouldn't fall in a hole like so many times before. Now lets go out there and get pumped by Essendon

 

[Klyntonius]

I agree with you to a point. We started last year pretty much the same as our current situation of playing hard and accountable football. In the previous seasons I think the players have got caught up in their hype and I just hope that they have learnt from it this year. I think that we are 5-6 weeks from being able to draw any solid conclusions and even then we were on top in Rd18 2 years ago and fell in a heap. This week will tell a small story. If we are serious we should account for Essendon easily (min 6-8 goals) and we should win at least 3 of the next 4. I'm not willing to hold my breathe just yet but I am more confident that we are stronger than last year.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

The difference between Rd 18 2004 and now is that back then;

Davey, Rivers & Miller were coming into the end of their first full season. With two key position players only 18/19 they and the team were bound to get overrun at the end of the year

Carroll has substituted Nicholson at FB

McLean, Sylvia, Bell & Chris Johnson were only in their 1st/2nd season

Moloney & Pickett have been added to the team

New additions including Bate, Bartram, Dunn have proven to be genuine players with hardness at the ball and good footy brains. We also have Jones waiting in the wings who also looks ready-made for AFL footy. Because of these young players coming on as well as they have it has provided us with increased depth and competition for positions with players like Ward, Read, Holland, Godfrey, Wheatley, Brown, Miller, Bizzell, Ferguson & Nicholson to really have to battle to earn or keep their spot in the team

Daniher is a good list manager and along with Cameron has assembled a genuinely talented and hard group of players who are footballers before athletes

Daniher has changed our gameplan from unaccountable attacking footy to a hard, physical game that has been proven to stand up to the ladder leaders in Adelaide, WCE, Sydney & Collingwood so far. There also seems to have been an emphasis on tackling and McDonald, McLean & Bartram have led the way in this department. This has led to us being ferocious at the clearances and giving our outside midfielders first use of the ball. On the flipside we also have the talent, speed and scoring options to play a quick attacking brand of footy to kick goals in bursts when have to

Daniher has also become smarter on game day and has been willing to experiment a bit more as evidenced this past week by leaving Bruce on Tarrant when Buckley went to FF and playing Davey loose across half-back

Daniher has also developed two young ruckman who not only are able to help out Jeff White in the ruck but are also able to play forward when needed to stretch the oppositions defence or replace an injured player


All in all I think we are a greatly improved side over the last 18 months. We always had the talent and scoring options but fell away when the game changed to a harder contest. This was because our seniour players like Yze, Johnstone, Bruce etc were outside talented players but couldnt play a physical game. I can see why people wouldnt rate us yet and I admit that we are yet to prove anything until we perform consistently well over an entire season go deep into the finals. But I believe we are definitely heading in the right direction and Daniher must take full credit for this. I was calling for his head after 2 games this year but he has been able to turn it around. Lets see if he can continue in the right direction.

 

[Canna7]

I agree DA.

I have bagged Daniher in the past, but I think he has done a terrific job this year. I feel like a hypocrite saying that, but he deserves his credit.

Look back to our team in Round 18, 2004:

Clint Bizzell
Troy Broadbridge
Nathan Brown
Cameron Bruce
Chris Heffernan
Ben Holland
Travis Johnstone
Darren Jolly
James McDonald
Brad Miller
David Neitz
Alistair Nicholson
Phillip Read
Guy Rigoni
Jared Rivers
Russell Robertson
Peter Walsh
Daniel Ward
Matthew Whelan
Jeff White
Adem Yze

Players in bold are no longer playing for us regularly for one reason or another.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

I agree DA.

I have bagged Daniher in the past, but I think he has done a terrific job this year. I feel like a hypocrite saying that, but he deserves his credit.

You don't have to feel like a hypocrite Daniher has been crap and taken years to learn from his mistakes. It seems to be coming together now but that doesn't mean we should feel bad when we were playing stupid football into the coach's 8th season.