Sliding doors, what if we won in 2018, and kept Buckley and the same FD? Where would we be now?

[Timmy from Thomastown]

So essentially if he gives up his football philosophy he spent 10 years developing then he could succeed.

It worked for Malthouse…. Ten years without a ruckman.

 

[sr36]

What if we won every grand final ever, then what?

We'd be very happy. And arrogant and obnoxious. It'd be great.

 

[sr36]

To be fair, we weren't exactly gifted with forward talent at the time, apart from Checkers, Billy and Degs (which left a hole in the middle), yeah the defensive game plan was probably a little overboard.

The lack of forward talent made the slow play even worse. It was philosophically wrong. If your forwards are a weakness, you don't make it harder for them.

 

[Anzacday]

Imagine if Coxy didn’t light up the G and we didn’t smash Richmond.

 

[#23 Hill]

Stating the obvious, but I would love us to be the first team to get to 17 premierships and be number one for most premierships. Imagine having that stat at your disposable, whenever you got into arguments with opposition supporters. It'd be fantastic. "Yeah, more premierships than any other club, mate"

 

[Didak Wine]

What falafel dip would we have kept?

 

[loki04]

So essentially if he gives up his football philosophy he spent 10 years developing then he could succeed.

Clearly I meant scale it back and find the balance between his defensive philosophy and attack.

2018 he got closer to that balance and was a kick away. Imo his reaction to that loss and some poor defensive efforts saw the pendulum swing too far in defensive favour.

 

[Carringbush2010]

The lack of forward talent made the slow play even worse. It was philosophically wrong. If your forwards are a weakness, you don't make it harder for them.

Totes agree, my post was a speculation that Bucks may have gone more defensive because of it though.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Stating the obvious, but I would love us to be the first team to get to 17 premierships and be number one for most premierships. Imagine having that stat at your disposable, whenever you got into arguments with opposition supporters. It'd be fantastic. "Yeah, more premierships than any other club, mate"

And we should have that, even if we get to 16 we're top of the heap, we're ahead in every other metric over the competition except the most important one.

 

[Pistol Night]

Imagine if Coxy didn’t light up the G and we didn’t smash Richmond.

We probably still win. He only kicked 3. Jordy was a beast that night with 4 also

 

[Fat Jesus]

Imagine if Coxy didn’t light up the G and we didn’t smash Richmond.

Coxy kept our record of 4 peat intact.
Bloody legend.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Imagine if Coxy didn’t light up the G and we didn’t smash Richmond.

We probably still win. He only kicked 3. Jordy was a beast that night with 4 also

The question of the thread title would still remain for mine.

 

[Black_White]

It was widely acknowledged that our 2018 journey was on the back of Buckley taking advice from players and coaches to stop micro managing and let them do their job.
The fact that we lost and in 2019 Buckley went back to his old ways simply shows that had we won he would have ramped up his managing style to exclude all contrary views.
I see from the development of players, that I thought would never make it under Buckley, that the change has been beneficial to players, club and supporters.
So no, had we won and everything stayed the same it would be Carlton laughing at us!

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

It was widely acknowledged that our 2018 journey was on the back of Buckley taking advice from players and coaches to stop micro managing and let them do their job.
The fact that we lost and in 2019 Buckley went back to his old ways simply shows that had we won he would have ramped up his managing style to exclude all contrary views.
I see from the development of players, that I thought would never make it under Buckley, that the change has been beneficial to players, club and supporters.
So no, had we won and everything stayed the same it would be Carlton laughing at us!

We made the prelim in 2019 and missed a grand final berth by a kick.

Appreciate you’re not a Buckley fan but try not to rewrite history.

 

[Cyclops]

We made the prelim in 2019 and missed a grand final berth by a kick.

Appreciate you’re not a Buckley fan but try not to rewrite history.

Thanks for the reminder, I had forgotten that. Bucks did a very good job as a coach, and we did have a sniff in 2019. I feel as though the tiges might have savaged us though.

We probably still win. He only kicked 3. Jordy was a beast that night with 4 also

Yep De Goey ripped Rance apart, Cox finished the job and snuffed out any chance of a comeback.

I think the golden child surrendered 7 or 8 on the night, we used to isolate him for a steady stream of goals.

 

[Bianconeri]

Clearly I meant scale it back and find the balance between his defensive philosophy and attack.

2018 he got closer to that balance and was a kick away. Imo his reaction to that loss and some poor defensive efforts saw the pendulum swing too far in defensive favour.

2018 was the exception not the rule of Buckley’s career.

Even if he wanted a more offensive setup he focused on the groups mistakes too much and had them scared to take the game on.

 

[ThePhantom777]

Interesting comment (bolded below) from Justin Longmuir

Justin Longmuir

Age

43

Ht

196cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.4

3star

K

6.9

3star

HB

4.5

3star

M

4.3

4star

T

1.4

3star

G

1.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

7.0

2star

K

3.6

2star

HB

3.4

3star

M

2.0

3star

T

0.6

3star

G

0.6

3star

in this article. He also praises Bucks for being calm after going 0-2 at the start of 2018 season. https://archive.md/RvOHA

And away they were. The Magpies made the grand final a year after finishing 13th.

Was it the Longmuir effect?

“I wouldn’t say all the ideas around team defence were my own. But I definitely brought a different level of thinking to how we could do the same things in different ways,” he said.

“I think they were doing a lot on work ethic and grunt and I offered a lot of method.

“But I wasn’t the only one. I get credit because I’ve taken the next step and am now a senior coach, but Matty Boyd and ‘Buddha’ Hocking had a big say in that as well.”

 

[HoraceStrasbork]

Or they would have eaten us, although Carlton supporters would have survived with the cockroaches. I don’t think dinosaurs would enjoy the taste of them either.

Maybe not the dinosaurs but the dung beetles would be overjoyed

 

[Pie thon]

I did think last year, if we won the flag in 2023 then the 2018 loss was worth it.
We would have a flag either way, but Bucks would have had the license for a rebuild now and we would have been sitting at no mans land between 6-12th at this stage.
Then add the plethora of memories of the 2022-2023 close games that we have now
The 2018 loss has ended up being a blessing, and even though it was a lost GF year, it was a good ride and i think Bucks 2019-2020 strong defence strategies were tapped into our current icing strategies with running the clock down an added feature.

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

I reckon Hardwick would be coaching Collingwood and we’d be challenging again.

 

[76woodenspooners]

Buckley stays a little longer

Carlton get Fly

We end up with Voss

Thank-you Dom Sheed

 

[The Phantom]

FWIW
Bux is making noises about coaching Tassie.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

****ing 2019 got away. GWS and all those injuries. Mayney hitting the ****ing post. That last quarter come back. We would have lost but should have been there in 2019 as well.

Bucks desperately unlucky. 2018 was a choke to some degree but on the flip side The Eagles missed a hatful of last quarter chances. Sheed played on though. Make no mistake about that. Great goal, clutch finish, but he played on.

 

[thebaldfacts]

2018 still hurts. 90 seconds left. Adams chucked one on the boot and could’ve got the lead, but kicked a behind. Uuuuuggggghh.

Bucks would still be coach. Probably be an underwhelming, average team. As was typical most years under Buckley.

Remember it well, though never watched the replay. We had the ball locked up in the forward line for what seemed like an eternity and just needed 1 more to finish them off. Tay got the ball just outside the goal square and threw it onto his left boot. Thought he missed the lot though. All I remember was that if he kicked it, it would probably have been enough.

 

[Black_White]

If Buckley had stayed we would never have seen the fast, dynamic football that even opposition followers were happy to watch.
Buckley did give us the basis of players that went on to a premiership though. He just wasn’t able to get them to the next level unfortunately.
While I wish we had 2018 and 2023 was 17 not 16, I always struggled to enjoy watching the game under Bucks.
I absolutely love the never say die, never worry about repercussions, style that Fly has bought to us.