Remove this Banner Ad

Some positivity...

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

G

Guardian Hawk

Norm Smith Medallist
Veteran SuperCoach Leagues Winners - BigFooty Division 1
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Posts
6,585
Reaction score
12,419
Location
Murrumbeena
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Whilst this board is usually a beacon of optimism things have turned lately and things have become very negative. Admittedly, I didn't see our 2nd half capitulation against Brisbane but since then people are talking of tanking, writing off the season, the whole list is terrible, we're doomed forever, etc, etc.

So, I thought I would counter that by reminding you all of some positives...

1. We have won 2.5 more games and our percentage is more than 20 ahead of this time last season.

2. Last year, it was Tom Mitchell and little else on the inside. This year Shiels has stepped up and O'Meara is developing consistency and has just played the best game of his career (Mitchell has also continued on despite extra attention and is a strong chance for Brownlow and coaches award).

3. This time last year, many were calling for Breust to be dropped (and Sicily was just getting the hang of a new position). This year Breust is on track for AA and Sicily would have been a shoe in if not for injury.

4. Birchall and Burgoyne are due back in the next couple of weeks. Not only will they improve our side but it is a chance to see 2 great servants of the club do there thing again before they retire. McEvoy and Sicily may return for finals.

5. Finally, and most importantly, we are still a good chance for finals. I know most think we either won't make it or if we do, it means nothing as we will just be beaten anyway and end up with a worse draft pick.
However, a chance at finals makes things interesting from a fan point of view and finals experience is invaluable for the development and hunger of our (particularly younger) players. It also tells prospective free agents that we may in fact be a team on the rise again and that they will get finals at Hawthorn.

The biggest part, however, is that the top 8 are pretty even and anything can happen when finals start. It is conceivable, for example, that we get Melbourne in week 1 and Collingwood in week 2, both at the MCG. Would anyone write us off from being able to win those games?

Our record against the current top 8

1. Richmond - narrow loss
2. West Coast - narrow loss
3. Collingwood - win
4. Sydney - narrow loss
5. Port Adelaide - win
6. Melbourne - win
7. GWS - narrow loss
8. Geelong - win

All is not lost just yet!

Feel free to add your own positives...
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

Guardian Hawk said:
Whilst this board is usually a beacon of optimism things have turned lately and things have become very negative. Admittedly, I didn't see our 2nd half capitulation against Brisbane but since then people are talking of tanking, writing off the season, the whole list is terrible, we're doomed forever, etc, etc.

So, I thought I would counter that by reminding you all of some positives...

1. We have won 2.5 more games and our percentage is more than 20 ahead of this time last season.

2. Last year, it was Tom Mitchell and little else on the inside. This year Shiels has stepped up and O'Meara is developing consistency and has just played the best game of his career (Mitchell has also continued on despite extra attention and is a strong chance for Brownlow and coaches award).

3. This time last year, many were calling for Breust to be dropped (and Sicily was just getting the hang of a new position). This year Breust is on track for AA and Sicily would have been a shoe in if not for injury.

4. Birchall and Burgoyne are due back in the next couple of weeks. Not only will they improve our side but it is a chance to see 2 great servants of the club do there thing again before they retire. McEvoy and Sicily may return for finals.

5. Finally, and most importantly, we are still a good chance for finals. I know most think we either won't make it or if we do, it means nothing as we will just be beaten anyway and end up with a worse draft pick.
However, a chance at finals makes things interesting from a fan point of view and finals experience is invaluable for the development and hunger of our (particularly younger) players. It also tells prospective free agents that we may in fact be a team on the rise again and that they will get finals at Hawthorn.

The biggest part, however, is that the top 8 are pretty even and anything can happen when finals start. It is conceivable, for example, that we get Melbourne in week 1 and Collingwood in week 2, both at the MCG. Would anyone write us off from being able to win those games?

Our record against the current top 8

1. Richmond - narrow loss
2. West Coast - narrow loss
3. Collingwood - win
4. Sydney - narrow loss
5. Port Adelaide - win
6. Melbourne - win
7. GWS - narrow loss
8. Geelong - win

All is not lost just yet!

Feel free to add your own positives...
Click to expand...
I see some long term positives for sure.

I also think that a “hot and cold” set of peformances is actually very typical of a younger side learning to gel.

I also see that a good team can sometimes just need a few extra decent pieces. Getting Impey this year was great.
Getting OMeara and Mitchell was also great. We need a few more pieces and some younger players to develop

However, I don’t have optimism for this year but I’m not all doom and gloom for years to come.
 
we are developing a core of players that will take us into the future in Mitchell, JOM, Impey, Sicily, Burton, Hardwick, Morrison and hopefully soon Worpel, Cousins? and Lewis?... plenty to look forward too

getting into the finals would be good for all those previous points, exposing this group to finals, making this group believe in the program, having free agents view us as a good option, but most importantly getting finals experience into our youth and core group going forward.
 
The more pronounced the bad times are the better are the good. I still maintain that the 2008 grand final was one of the most euphoric feelings I have ever felt in my life. It still makes me happy now when I cast my mind back. The sole reason for that was the 17yrs of solitude that set the scene for it. A couple of years in the cellar isn't the worst thing in the world. Plus watching player development and list turn over (with all it's hits and misses) has it's own form of interest.
 
Last edited:

Remove this Banner Ad

We will always have this...

WickedMindlessArawana-max-1mb.gif
 
JAMES SICILY
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

We have been at the top of the ladder for 7 years until last year. A competition based on equalization means we were always going to drop off the pack. We had to.
People who were lucky enough to see us three peat but condemn us for not having elite youth, I am not sure what you were expecting us to do. We were playing with picks in the 20's (At best) most years. many of those years we were entering the draft in the 30's because we traded our first pick for players that were integral to our three-peat. The fact we could score the talent we did with the picks we had (Dimma, Burton, Sis, Morrison, Poppy, Hill, Stratts and more) was an unbelievable effort.
We are now at the real cross roads. We either Geelong it to stay mid pack, bottom of the eight and maybe top 4, or we give the kids games to see what we have and put up with being an 8 - 15 type team for 2 - 3 years while we hit the draft hard.

interesting times
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Remove this Banner Ad

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top Bottom