The Real Pies

[Didak Wine]

There is a lot of talk in the media, alarming talk, about how you can't just switch your form on and off. I don't quite understand why you can't. The matter has been put to rest over and over. Pies in 02 went to Adeliade with zero form and without Bucks. We went to Adelaide a few years back without form and won. I can't see any reason why the lads wont turn it up this week. We played ordinarily at the weekend and lost the game, reminiscent of Riewoldt v the bombers last year. It's all just crapola.

My question is, when we are at our best, can we beat the field? We've shown we can this year. I just hope we don't go into the game having won it in our heads. This group don't seem to have that streak in them. I guess we'll find out before too long. I imagine, there is a bit of sting in the old guts from going close in recent years for no cigar.

 

[Dawson]

Yes.

 

[Pie eyed]

There is a lot of talk in the media, alarming talk, about how you can't just switch your form on and off. I don't quite understand why you can't. The matter has been put to rest over and over. Pies in 02 went to Adeliade with zero form and without Bucks. We went to Adelaide a few years back without form and won. I can't see any reason why the lads wont turn it up this week. We played ordinarily at the weekend and lost the game, reminiscent of Riewoldt v the bombers last year. It's all just crapola.

My question is, when we are at our best, can we beat the field? We've shown we can this year. I just hope we don't go into the game having won it in our heads. This group don't seem to have that streak in them. I guess we'll find out before too long. I imagine, there is a bit of sting in the old guts from going close in recent years for no cigar.

Media smedia...what do they know?
See what gets printed after the first finals round.

 

[Wooljay]

I feel more comfortable going into the finals series of the back of a loss than a win tbh. I just felt there was no way we'd not drop a game since round 12, and go on to win the flag. I feel like there won't be that weight of continual wins bearing down on the team in the finals series.

 

[mattys123]

The one "weakness", if you want to call it that, that we have as a football team, is if our intensity is even off just a little, we perform well below our best, and are susceptible to defeat by just about anyone.

But it's the finals now, we won't be "out-intensified", that you can guarantee, which means our opposition now has to beat us at our best, which is damn hard to do.

IMO we have only lost 2 games this year where our intensity was at or near it's best, and they were in round 3 (Stkilda) and round 9 (Geelong).

We will beat the Dogs, we will return to the smash and pressure style that has made us stand above the rest in 2010.

Our next "true test" will come in 2 weeks time in the prelim, but the players will not underestimate the Dogs, of that I am sure.

We are going along fine, well actually more then fine, we are fit, we are ready, there is nothing more you can ask of our club and it's players before our first real assault on a flag since 2003.

Bring it, IT'S ON BABY.

 

[MagpieJoel]

The media change their mind week in, week out. For blokes that watch the footy every week, they very easily jump off a team after a loss.

I believe we will see a different team this week. The Hawks game wasn't all that bad, apart from the final minutes. We will be okay.

 

[Sloth]

I don't think Mick would allow a slumber in the finals..any poor quarter and he would give the team a right bollocking

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

You couldnt get a better lead-in to finals than what Collingwood has had. A tough low scoring encounter like we'll find against StKilda, and a shootout as we'll find against Geelong (or maybe Hawthorn).

We've incurred no injuires assuming Didak is fine, and over the past month we've managed to get game time into Davis Medhurst Anthony McCarthy Fraser Goldsack N Brown Reid and Blair. None of these are guaranteed to line up on Saturday night but the selectors have had the opportunity to have a good look at all of them.

 

[danielnajdek]

Like your picture Mattys

We'll be fine this week. We had nothing to play for in the last two games. This week we have heaps to play for so we'll be back to our very best. I'm sure of that

 

[knightwheelrqr]

I don't think we have the same air of invincibility as Geelong did at their best.
I think we are very beatable.

Our best I think is slightly worse than Geelong's best. When they get hot they can really light it up, but just depends on who is better on the day. Any of the top 3 sides can beat any of the top 3 sides. So if injuries go our way and hit Geelong/ St Kilda who knows what will happen.

Will be a very interesting finals series. Will be a fun ride.

 

[Wooljay]

I hope the complacency this board has for the first final against the Dogs isn't emulated by the playing group. Beware the wounded Dogs imo.

 

[Axl the great]

That is the beauty of our side, we can be horrible one week and brilliant the next, very few sides can boast that attribute but i have seen it numerous times and fully expect a win this week no excuses.

 

[StillWaiting5689]

I don't think we have the same air of invincibility as Geelong did at their best.
I think we are very beatable.

Our best I think is slightly worse than Geelong's best. When they get hot they can really light it up, but just depends on who is better on the day. Any of the top 3 sides can beat any of the top 3 sides. So if injuries go our way and hit Geelong/ St Kilda who knows what will happen.

I'd agree with this, Geelong at their best is still the top team in the league. Though their best isn't as good as it used to be and the gap between the teams has obviously gotten smaller. Top three teams are all genuine chances and the Dogs and Hawthorn are both surprise packets that have the ability to go all the way on a given day. I think the premiership field is much deeper this year than it has been in the past.

 

[Heritier 09]

That is the beauty of our side, we can be horrible one week and brilliant the next, very few sides can boast that attribute but i have seen it numerous times and fully expect a win this week no excuses.

i don't think we've been horrible in a single game this season. we didn't really rock up this last week, but in the past 3 years getting within 3 points of hawthorn with buddy kicking 6 would have been considered a huge effort.

when we've kicked poorly, our effort could not be questioned. it is a testament to a list not overly blessed with top end talent (what i mean is you could almost argue that most sides have a better best 3-5 talentwise, then we do.) that we have finished top of the ladder.
we have a superb group of blokes, superbly coached, who are in many people's eyes premiership favourites.

FWIW i think we win saturday night, somewhere between 5 and 6 goals. let's not forget how much a week off would mean to the dogs, nor what an astute tactician Rocket eade is, nor indeed the talent that will be left on the park, (Hall, Lake, Cross, Boyd and possibly Griffen)
But we'll see the real pies this coming month. i feel good in my special area.

 

[Rohan25]

The media change their mind week in, week out. For blokes that watch the footy every week, they very easily jump off a team after a loss.

Totally agree, in fact they will happily jump off a team after a goal, let alone a loss. In the match against St.Kilda a few weeks back, it was early in the second quarter and we were 3 or 4 goals up from memory. Triple M were talking up our game style saying we were so comfortable around the boundary and we wouldn't change for anyone, we can beat anyone with this style etc. 2 minutes later the Saints score a goal and suddenly they claimed that they were forcing us wide, and we allowed ourselves to play into their hands.

It was beyond ludicrous that they could just change their whole view on how the game was panning out after one goal. In the third quarter, they were peddling their original view again.