The Month from Hell.

[mattys123]

We all knew 2 weeks ago (3 games ago now) that this month of matches (round 8 to Round 11) would once and for all decide just how good we are, and whether or not we are genuine premiership contenders.

The month so far;

Fremantle (Subiaco) - WIN 36 points.

Easily the best 4 quarters of football we have played this year, and despite a few injuries to Freo, a well deserved win.

Geelong (MCG) - LOSS 36 points.

Immediately cancelling out all the good work from the week before, we came "back to earth" against the champion team, and were well beaten, although once again scoring shots cost us dearly.

Brisbane (GABBA) - LOSS 8 points.A strange performance, after starting well, and leading by 15 points at half time, we just never seemed to be able to get anything going up forward, and were also smashed in the clearances in the second half by Black and Power. Having only one genuine key defender hurt us too, as Presti was buggered by the last quarter after chasing 2 guns around all night. Once again turnovers and a genuine lack of forward presence or pressure was our biggest downfall though.

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Western Bulldogs (Etihad) - TBC

Simply put, the most important home and away game we will play this year. Win and we go 8-3, a mark even the most optimistic pies fan would have taken pre season, lose and go 7-4, and really fall back in a "dogfight" for 3rd and 4th spots with the Dogs and Freo.

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So far we are 1-2 after 3 of the 4 games, making next weeks game so important.

NO EXCUSES, NO REGRETS, NO REASONS FOR A POOR PEFORMANCE, the time is now, time to perform to our true potential, and time to cut some "deadwood" adrift.

In 8 days, we will know a lot about this football team and it's capabilities, because make no bones about it, the Western Bulldogs will throw everything but the kitchen sink at us, and if we respond like we did tonight, you can kiss any hopes of a Grand Final appearance goodbye.

HUUUUUUGGGGEEE GAME NEXT WEEK, and that may be an understatement.

 

[TradeDraft]

Agree - Biggest game of the Year on Sunday. Lose This and we are right back to the Pack. Win and we keep our Heads above water and then we have a easier Month with.

• Dees
• Swans
• Eagles
• Port

 

[danielnajdek]

If we play like tonight they'll murder us Just shows you how quickly it can change in two weeks. I was so confident of our chances after that Freo win now I don't know what to think of us this year

 

[Temploar]

B: H.Shaw, S.Prestigiacomo, B.Johnson
HB: H.O'Brien, T.Goldsack, N.Maxwell
C: L.Ball, D.Swan, S.Sidebottom
HF: A.Didak, T.Cloke, D.Beams
F: B.Dick, J.Anthony, P.Medhurst
Foll: D.Jolly, S.Pendlebury, D.Thomas
Int: L.Davis, S.Wellingham, J.Fraser, L.Brown
Emerg: Dawes, Lockyer, Keefe/N.Brown.

That should be our side if we want to get anywhere close to the finals, none of this Macaffer/Obree/Toovey/Wood/Reid Sh()t

MM needs to get it through his thick head that favouritism does not work and it's all about selection/positioning and maintaining the kick up into the forward 50.

If we don't win against the bulldogs and show convincingly that we still can go up against the best, then we can kiss Geelong/St.Kilda good bye until 2011

 

[The Royal Sampler]

It will be interesting because the Bulldogs will have the blowtorch on them all week too. No easy matches for us... although technically we just had one a few hours ago.

 

[mattys123]

It will be interesting because the Bulldogs will have the blowtorch on them all week too. No easy matches for us... although technically we just had one a few hours ago.

That was never an "easy" match, despite what some thought.

We were playing a genuine finals contender interstate, I rated this game almost as hard as the Freo game, especially with Luke Power bound to perform in his 250th, and Brown and Fev finding some fitness after terrible months.

Yes, we should have won tonight, but it was by no means "easy".

Easy games are against;

North Melbourne
WCE
Richmond
Adelaide
Port Adelaide

Anyone else isn't "easy" IMO, especially on their home grounds interstate.

And talking about away games, guess what happens next week, we play a a side on their home ground for our home game, figure that one out.

 

[Football God]

Hopefully the media gives us a flogging, so it backfires, again.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

A borderline top-eight team, playing without Drummond, Adcock, Brennan, Merrett, Charman etc. and J Brown playing on one leg is an easy game if you're a good enough team. We're not. Yet.

 

[danielnajdek]

Yep this was a easy game. We were just pathetic and need to be smashed on the training track.

 

[Vixen]

B: H.Shaw, S.Prestigiacomo, B.Johnson
HB: H.O'Brien, T.Goldsack, N.Maxwell
C: L.Ball, D.Swan, S.Sidebottom
HF: A.Didak, T.Cloke, D.Beams
F: B.Dick, J.Anthony, P.Medhurst
Foll: D.Jolly, S.Pendlebury, D.Thomas
Int: L.Davis, S.Wellingham, J.Fraser, L.Brown
Emerg: Dawes, Lockyer, Keefe/N.Brown.

That should be our side if we want to get anywhere close to the finals, none of this Macaffer/Obree/Toovey/Wood/Reid Sh()t

MM needs to get it through his thick head that favouritism does not work and it's all about selection/positioning and maintaining the kick up into the forward 50.

If we don't win against the bulldogs and show convincingly that we still can go up against the best, then we can kiss Geelong/St.Kilda good bye until 2011

You're effing kidding after tonight.

 

[joefootylover]

There are no easy game this year IMHO, take a look at the ladder, West Coast and the Hawks are potentially only a game outside the eight at 13th and 14th spot FFS, and both sides are improving, Hawthorn in particular would be fancying its chances of making the finals and having an impact.

lets just win enough games to finish top 4, keep out list fit and fresh, and then have a crack at bringing our A game into a grand final.

very even season this year amongst just about everyone cept Geelong, and they CAN have an off day (anyone remember 2008?)

 

[100action]

If we play like tonight they'll murder us Just shows you how quickly it can change in two weeks. I was so confident of our chances after that Freo win now I don't know what to think of us this year

hah funniest thing ive read all week, im guessing you have not seen us play this season, we have had no convincing wins this season and up to 10-15 of our players go missing when we lose.

We got owned by a 9-15th side and our performance was much worse than yours this week. Ill be happy if we can get within 45 points providing the boys show some heart and at least give it a crack, this is not a big game for Collingwood, its a penciled in win, your big game however is against Melbourne in 2 weeks given what happened in round 2.

 

[mattys123]

hah funniest thing ive read all week, im guessing you have not seen us play this season, we have had no convincing wins this season and up to 10-15 of our players go missing when we lose.

Could have sworn you were talking about Collingwood there.

But yes, we should start favourites, but the Dogs will be "up" for this one.

Huge game for both teams, loser won't make top 4 IMO.

 

[loki04]

A borderline top-eight team, playing without Drummond, Adcock, Brennan, Merrett, Charman etc. and J Brown playing on one leg is an easy game if you're a good enough team. We're not. Yet.

You left out an unfit overweight disinterested fevola.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

It's not a great sign to see arrogance in a team, but we need to be closer to arrogance in terms of our belief than where we are now. James Kelly was pretending to be asleep during the singing of the club song yesterday after demolishing the Demons, and it was pointed out during last night's coverage. The fact is, there are such things as easy games; it's only the media training that players get that prevents anyone from saying as much.

I'd like to see our team get to the level where the boys can face an opponent thinking "percentage booster" and deliver ruthlessly, rather than play like it's just going to happen without an effort.

 

[TradeDraft]

It's not a great sign to see arrogance in a team, but we need to be closer to arrogance in terms of our belief than where we are now. James Kelly was pretending to be asleep during the singing of the club song yesterday after demolishing the Demons, and it was pointed out during last night's coverage. The fact is, there are such things as easy games; it's only the media training that players get that prevents anyone from saying as much.

I'd like to see our team get to the level where the boys can face an opponent thinking "percentage booster" and deliver ruthlessly, rather than play like it's just going to happen without an effort.

Our Last Few Wins you did see a few players like Swan and Didak not singing the song Properly and just Mucking around. Bit of Big Head Syndrome?

Well Said Sampler they play like it will just happen and gone back to our old form

 

[Coooooooneyyyyyyyy]

Hopefully the media gives us a flogging, so it backfires, again.

Sorry for coming onto your board boys but, The media will give us a flogging it thinks with the whole Aker thing

 

[HFF]

At the start of the season. if someone had said we'd be 7-3 after round 10 and inside the top 4 we would have gladly taken it.

Last night, we should have won, however, we did get out of jail in a game vs Melb. It's just the way things go in footy.

This month was going to be very tough. A trip to Subi, a return vs the reigning premier and then another trip north. We return to play the Dogs on their home turf to round out the month.

There is no doubt that the game vs Dogs is very important. If we break even at 2-2 we have done exceptionally well out of it, considering last nights disaster. If we come out of it having beaten another top 4 fancy in Freo and another team who see themselves as "contenders" in the WB, we have really set up our season for a 2nd half assault with games against Adel/Rich/WCE still to come who we haven't had the luxury of playing yet.

 

[loki04]

Sorry for coming onto your board boys but, The media will give us a flogging it thinks with the whole Aker thing

Lol why say sorry it's a free world and it would be a dull place if just us pie supporters posted all the time.

 

[Football God]

Sorry for coming onto your board boys but, The media will give us a flogging it thinks with the whole Aker thing

Lol enter at any time mate. Yeah, probaly right. Newspapers will start off with an article putting pressure on aker then the club mid-week

and they will make up some continuing bullshit rumour like jack anthony moving to GC17 and making an excuse on why we're choking the last couple week... OH and another shit article on Mick Malthouse.

cant wait!

 

[eddiesmith]

A very overrated month actually, Geelong is the only team who should have troubled us, we disposed of Freo with ease as expected and should have done the same with Brisbane whilst the Dogs lost to Essendon

I do wonder if the team that never travels is going to struggle with their draw of a game interstate every 2 weeks over an 8 week period, lucky the last 7 games are all at home and they can finish the year like they have so many times under Mick, on fire

 

[The Zone]

Sorry for coming onto your board boys but, The media will give us a flogging it thinks with the whole Aker thing

CWilson had a article on The Age site today bagging Aker. The poll and the comments were running Aker's way and then the story got harder to find before disappearing altogether!

I wonder if someone has told her that she's writing about AFL not a Sex and the City gossip column? Her style is bloody annoying.

 

[TradeDraft]

CWilson had a article on The Age site today bagging Aker. The poll and the comments were running Aker's way and then the story got harder to find before disappearing altogether!

I wonder if someone has told her that she's writing about AFL not a Sex and the City gossip column? Her style is bloody annoying.

The Dogs will get all the Attention and we would get next to none

 

[mustafish]

The Dogs will get all the Attention and we would get next to none

we arnt that good and now its just showing....

 

[pennym]

ok i absoluely hate to lose BUT........ in the course of any season we are always going to lose some games...some that we probably should have won...we will have highs and unfortunately some lows...to go through totally un defeated is unrealistic and a pressure we certainly don't need come finals...so...let's get those loses out of our system now....have our downers now and come through the back half of the season on a high leading into the finals....we all know how good we can be....let's show the world on that one day in September,,,having said that...shit I hope we win nextweek...GO THE MIGHTY PIES!