Post mortem

[Somebody]

Looked pretty mediocre to me - however Carlton did apply a lot of pressure so maybe they weren't so bad. Only thing that will make me feel better is if Brions slaughter Roos that will make us look not quite as bad - but then again I'd hate to see Brions kill the Roos so that's a bit of a lose-lose situation.

But looking more and more like a devt year but I haven't given up hope yet. At least there is a slight improvement over last year, when in an equivalent match against mediocre opposition (Essendon) we got creamed and that pretty much screwed the season. Will be v hard to finish top 4 though.

Obviously we need Buckley back to have any hope of the big one against the likes of Geelong.

 

[Tarkyn_24]

Is this to our season???

The way we're playing it is, we're limping into it like last year.

 

[malteaser]

Yeap I think we are spent. They pressure isn't there anymore, the tackling is down and we are always second to the ball. But did we really think that we would win the big one this year. I didn't. It's been a break through year. We have put plenty of games into the young ones, and with a full pre season for the likes like, Clarke, Money Bags, etc, we will make top 4 easy Next year and I mean the way we will have a decent % because we will have more experience to bury sides, rather than just getting over the line or falling away and playing pressure footy for 4 quaters, no just 10 minutes.

Lonie, Richards, Licca, Holland all gone

Please we need a ruck and a mid who gets the ball first.

 

[Pie eyed]

Yeap I think we are spent. They pressure isn't there anymore, the tackling is down and we are always second to the ball. But did we really think that we would win the big one this year. I didn't. It's been a break through year. We have put plenty of games into the young ones, and with a full pre season for the likes like, Clarke, Money Bags, etc, we will make top 4 easy Next year and I mean the way we will have a decent % because we will have more experience to bury sides, rather than just getting over the line or falling away and playing pressure footy for 4 quaters, no just 10 minutes.

Lonie, Richards, Licca, Holland all gone

Please we need a ruck and a mid who gets the ball first.

If we can manage to have a good week next week everyone will remember the last two weeks as a slight slump before the finals.
If we lose next week everyone will remember "when the Wheels started to fall off".

The best we can hope for is the boys try their best...

It doesn't matter how you dress it up Collingwood is a young side learning it's trade with a few old heads to guide them.
And so far I am impressed...no matter how they go from here on they have had a good year and the future looks good.
Two seasons ago we finished second bottom with 5 wins.
Last year we made the finals and finished 5th with 14 wins.
At the moment we are 6th (only out of 3rd due to percentage) and have four rounds to go...all of which we could win.

Best case scenario would be 4 wins for 15 wins and would probably see a 2nd place finish and the double chance...

Worst case scenario would be four losses and we may even miss the eight.

Either way we have blooded 9 young players this year and another 5 or 6 last year all of whom show either great promise or the spark.

Maybe this won't be the year but the future so bright you better wear shades....

 

[twoforjoy]

momentum feels all but gone. Apart from getting the job done and securing the important 4 points yesterday there was not a whole lot be excited about. MM has been saying all year that the goal for the club is to improve on last year. I think this is a realistic goal and if we do better than it well so much the better, but honestly if we are not able to lift from where we are now we will get bundled out again in the first week.

 

[Pie eyed]

momentum feels all but gone. Apart from getting the job done and securing the important 4 points yesterday there was not a whole lot be excited about. MM has been saying all year that the goal for the club is to improve on last year. I think this is a realistic goal and if we do better than it well so much the better, but honestly if we are not able to lift from where we are now we will get bundled out again in the first week.

Don't get out the razor blades just yet...there's always next week.

I would rather see some momentum for Melbourne and Sydney.
Two good wins then might pick you up.
Pies are not the only team a bit down.
North Melbourne and Port Adelaide had there own set backs and others will before the end of the season.

Am I sounding a bit like your analyst? LOL

 

[Pie eyed]

Here is some light at the end of the tunnel...

Next round 19

Hawks v Brisbane Brisbane are on a roll
Port v Carlton Carlton are not that bad as we know and could pinch it
Roos v West Coast win/win for Pies
Sydney v Saints win/win for Pies be nice if the saints exposed the swill
Pies v Rchmond a must win and the Tiges are always up for these games

all could go our way quite easily

Round 20

Brisvegas v Sydney win/win for Pies hope Brissy thump the swill
Hawks v Port win/win for Pies
Roos v Geelong win/win for Pies
Pies v Melbourne again a must win as Melbourne find a bit extra v Pies

A bit irrelavent to go any further without some actual result but it is not really our draw per se but our potential rivals which could be of the most interest.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Unfortunately as other teams, such as Sydney who seem to be getting better at the right time of the year, we seem to be going in the opposite direction and just dropping of the pace a little. We certainly struggled against a team 14th on the ladder. if we were on top of our game, we should be winning these games by 8-10 goals, like Hawthorn did to Essendon, Geelong to Richmond. We look flat, even though we missed Pendlebury and O'Bree who can get us a centre clearance, we are just so dificient in this area, it's is a huge concern. Hopefully as the weeks go on we can get a full strength team out on the park leading into the finals, which may give us some hope of been competitive against the likes of Geelong, West Coast, etc.....
We will finish top 4, l think wins against Richmond and Melbourne could see us get that.

 

[jerry springer]

give the guys 2-3 days off away from the club,get them refreshed,recheck our goals and move forward again

one good thing in our favour is that we play adelaide on the last fri night H&A game so if/when we make the finals we will have a 1-2 extra day break on the over teams who make the 8

 

[jerry springer]

another good thing is that rhyce played really well and clement got through (well sort of) unscathed.

it was great having Jimmy back in the mix,really controls things well back there

 

[Cyclops]

The first quarter was one of our worst all year: we made the tankers look good. Luckily 4 goals bounced through, but we fluffed around like we were the ones trying to lose it. Confidence was definitely shot, and we were heading for a loss. Even Fraser, so consistent this year, was bumbling in the ruck.

The umpiring count looked weird but they were not that bad as individual decisions: I think we were being spiteful and dirty, trying to get angry enough to win.

Second quarter we switched on and my heart was warm again. Fraser burned, Cloke bullocked, Johnno started to race, the Shaws got touches, it was all good: the scoreboard luck went against us, with too many misses, but we edged in front.

Fev nearly pinched it for them with his third quarter heroics but we found a way to win it in the last: just bomb it high to the big guys. The only way for the Blues to stop us from marking it or crumbing it was to cheat.

A survival win, and hopefully we've shaken the jitters. We definitely dobn't need to wobble against the Tigers or the Dees.

We definitely have a foward structure to make any side think twice. Cloke worried Geelong, Rocca scares West Coast. Together they are too much for any other side. Innacurate sometimes, but generally we've won despite poor kicking, and some of our losses have featured good scoring percentages (I think the Hawks game was the only one where accuracy cost us).

Our defence was a bit ratty again on Saturday, but its been our best bet most of the year and I expect form to return.

The midfield and ruck are patchy: usually effective, but they've been critical in all our losses and scares. Fraser smashes bad ruckmen, but he tends to be crushed by fat-arse proper ruckmen. Our "no-names" out-compete all other no-names, but are vulnerable to strong competitors, expecially ones called Daniel Kerr.

 

[Somebody]

Having watched the replay it didn't look quite as bad - hard to tell but CArlton were quite intense. Field kicking was "jittery" as someone said but should get back on track hopefully for finals. Obviously it has been a great year for development but the glaring exception is ruck where neither Stretch nor Bryan have significantly improved leaving a big hole for finals, which might make it hard. I think maybe Bryan has to be turned into a human battering ram for the finals like a Keating. AS far as midfield, hopefully with Pendles and Obree back and a couple of the young blokes back in form and refreshed like Toovey etc, and if Johno and Didak comtinue to lift,it might come good for the finals. So still some hope for this year.

I'd just like to mention Steakknives - has been taking a battering in forums but I actually saw some signs - he just seems about 1% off the pace which makes all the difference in AFL between starring and getting caught all the time. I saw glimpses of possibilities as a big-bodied mid/forward, still seems to be learning the midfield caper, and after a solid altitude pre-season, then see how he goes next year - just might raise a few eyebrows (then again maybe not, time will tell). But I don't think he's ready for finals footy this year.

 

[twoforjoy]

Thanks Pie-eyed. I'm inspired by your optimisim. I want to go into the finals with mojo rather than luck due to the way the cookie crumbles for other teams. I'm wondering if the dream run home is all it's cracked up to be in terms of keeping momentum or maybe the kids are just tired. BTW Was O'Bree injured or strategically resting?

 

[Pie eyed]

Thanks Pie-eyed. I'm inspired by your optimisim. I want to go into the finals with mojo rather than luck due to the way the cookie crumbles for other teams. I'm wondering if the dream run home is all it's cracked up to be in terms of keeping momentum or maybe the kids are just tired. BTW Was O'Bree injured or strategically resting?

My optimisim comes from 45 years of following the Maggies...very difficult without optimism & Scotch....I have no fingernails...LOL

O'Bree ? That would really depend on who you ask.
I did not see him on the injury list.