Things i learned from round 16

[WaltzingMatera]

5th on the ladder come the end of the season will not be a good spot to finish with St Kilda and the Bulldogs starting to fire.

That Collingwood are so far ahead it's not funny.

And the tank off has began from North down on the ladder. All of those sides will be fighting for the highest draft pick possible.

Teams still tank without the possibility of top 3 draft pick?

 

[AG]

The football media and public has become knee jerk central.

 

[Damon_3388]

Teams still tank without the possibility of top 3 draft pick?

A lot of people seemingly can't accept that some sides are simply not up to standard or are just completely shit, and every loss by a bottom 8 team in the second half of the year (particularly after a mini-surge during the season) must therefore be "tanking" of some kind.

 

[LarryDavid]

1. WB are finally playing like they should have been all season.

2. Saints doing well, but their real test is next week IMO.

3. People saying Geelong are done are idiots, still clearly the second best team in the comp.

4. Collingwood will not show mercy to any team, they WILL demolish you.

5. The fight for the top 4 and top 8 are going to be extremely interesting to watch.

curb your enthusiasm BR..the reality is..

The teams that finish 6th-8th will trip and stumble into the 8 like drunks do on a Sunday morning.. making up the numbers race = shameless

Pies play a smart brand of footy and any team that doesn't care bring 22 players 'on the same page' on gameday is in for guaranteed loss.

Geelong have critics willing to ask questions. That's two losses in a row now and another long suspension to a key player.

Ross Lyon knows his team's limitations and next week comes another dose of reality

Rodney Eade stated the finals are on the Bulldogs agenda last week.. nothing has changed since.

 

[September_Glory]

Collingwood. Daylight. Geelong. Gap. A bunch of teams.

 

[lihei]

1.The Blues are kidding themselves if they think they can win the flag.

2. The Dogs and saints are still alive

3. Not even 9th spot is within the tigers reach

4. West Coast are the real deal

5. Can Mick Malthouse stop making stupid comments(Roos will make 8)

6. Gold Coast and Port have shut up shop for the year.

7. Any chance someone will tag Dane Swan

8. 55,000 for tigers v dons WTF

9. St Kilda can score 100 points, they had it in them all along

10. If the dogs dont sign Rocket the dees should swoop

Despite the bye, Melbourne are still duds.

 

[LarryDavid]

I've rarely seen Swan get a heavy tag. If anything, players like Pendlebury, Shaw and pre-crisis Didak attract heavier attention.

Reality... these players eat GARLIC and opponents can't handle the stench.

 

[jko'neal]

Teams still tank without the possibility of top 3 draft pick?

Well I will take the Tank word back, bottom sides will from here on in put out players that need operations, struggling with fitness ect, and will try players in different spots and play guys that may not have played if they were in finals contention.

 

[Rod Stroker]

And the tank off has began from North down on the ladder. All of those sides will be fighting for the highest draft pick possible.

You're disillusioned of you thought North's performance today was tank induced. We do not tank.

I learnt that Collingwood are just under 3 months away from going back to back. They beat North today by a record winning margin in wet conditions that you thought might have made it a closer contest, and without a few of their best 22 players. Yet they just steamrolled along.

I also learnt that Eddie is going to have a farce on his hands in forcing a back to back premiership coach step down at the height of his powers.

 

[lihei]

The football media and public has become knee jerk central.

This seems to be getting worse in recent years where we critique everyone and everything on a weekly basis.

 

[Bomber32]

Collingwood are streets ahead of the rest of the competition.

West Coast are the real deal.

The Western Bulldogs have the form and momentum to make the finals.

 

[BigSexc]

• West Coast will finish top 5
• Collingwood are the team to beat
• NM wont recover from that , ... unfortunately
• NM might recover as Collingwood are in extreme form
• Carlton may not finish top 4
• St Kilda / WB are making 2011 are very interesting season
• GC might struggle to win another game
• GC might win because they play Richmond at Cazaly next week
  

big calls. insightful. well done

 

[LarryDavid]

Collingwood. Daylight. Geelong. Gap. A bunch of teams.

That's pretty pretty pretty good. Expect these two teams to play in September @ the MCG and also in October if they don't become complacent.

 

[joe444]

That NZ netballers choke but seem okay with swallowing pride. Down again, silverwhatevers.

That Collingwood is playing September football in July, but saying they aren't. Talking a tad too much, lads.

That Carlton are still two years way - which is great news for Carlton fans ... something is building.

That Geelong would be better with a guy named Selwood. And that I think the coach is serious in saying there is a specific plan which is about to unfold, involving Mooney no less. Give the plan 10% chance of working.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

1) Carlton flushed their top four chances down the toilet today.

2) North have neither improved nor gone backwrads for a couple of seasons now. Competitive against mid-table sides but the good sides generally find them out.

3) The Dogs will be a pest in September.

4) Hawthorn will be one hell of a side over the next three years.

5) Collingwood is a brutal football team. They would win the premiership by 8 goals if the GF was played tomorrow.

6) John Worsfold is a genius.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

That John Worsfold said if he was offered Judd as a swap for Kennedy, he would say no.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Pies have it in the bag.

This year for the first time in a long time i enjoy watching the Eagles play.

 

[Keys]

The ladder now reflects the reality that collingwood are the best team in the competition

west coast have earnt the right to be considered a top 4 contender even if they don't quite make it.

To write off Carlton as a top four chance after one bad loss is premature especially when they ate still in the four.

The saints and bulldogs will be the teams putting the greatest pressure on essendon freo and Sydney to keep their spots in the eight

Richmond are out of the finals race for 2011

 

[Blueboys7]

Carlton will not finish in the top 4.

 

[Higs]

1. Having the bye is really boring

2. Carlton are as overrated as ever (not a knee jerk)

3. West Coasts transformation has been amazing. It would have to make Richmond fans envious seeing West Coast be terrible one year and bounce back to contention so quickly.

 

[Damon_3388]

That Collingwood is playing September football in July, but saying they aren't. Talking a tad too much, lads.

Maybe I'm just overrating the Pies or expecting something that may never come, but I still don't think we've played especially well for a full four quarters yet this year (despite Harry O'Brien saying today was "a good four quarter effort" on Twitter post-game).

 

[HawkMongrel]

1) Carlton flushed their top four chances down the toilet today.

2) North have neither improved nor gone backwrads for a couple of seasons now. Competitive against mid-table sides but the good sides generally find them out.

3) The Dogs will be a pest in September.

4) Hawthorn will be one hell of a side over the next three years.

5) Collingwood is a brutal football team. They would win the premiership by 8 goals if the GF was played tomorrow.

6) John Worsfold is a genius.

*SHOULD*

This has bit us in the arse once already, although that time we ran away with a rather nice trophy that the naughty boys from Geelong are still crying to their mothers about.

 

[SCRAY72]

1. Collingwood will win the flag

2. Callan Ward has decided to join GWS

 

[EagleMan87]

Maybe I'm just overrating the Pies or expecting something that may never come, but I still don't think we've played especially well for a full four quarters yet this year (despite Harry O'Brien saying today was "a good four quarter effort" on Twitter post-game).

I agree, it was a four quarter effort because the Roos fell over, just as it was for West Coast against Footscray six weeks ago or Carlton over Richmond last week.

It makes for an interesting finals series. I really want to see if Collingwood can shift into that extra gear -as they've been threatening to do all year- in a final.
We all saw what happened with three of the past four H&A dominators: Adelaide 2006, Geelong 2008 and St Kilda 2009 failed to win or even make the Grand Final).

Regardless, I don't want West Coast to make the GF(nor do I think they can for that matter) this year for fear of a Port Adelaide 2007 type showing.

 

[Lord Nicholson]

To write off Carlton as a top four chance after one bad loss is premature especially when they ate still in the four.

Two in the last three weeks, really.

But I agree.

Anyway...

Dalhaus solidifies as a legitimate excitement machine.

When flat, Geelong are either 4 or 8 points worse than the opposition. Ergo, still brilliant.

North's "improvement" is interesting.

Stewie Crameri could potentially possibly maybe be something maybe.

I like seeing a win at the 'G. I'd forgotten what that was.

Port are unwatchable.

Saints are even more unwatchable.

Unfortunately, it's only going to get worse for the Suns this season.

Tony Shaw has an unhealthy obsession with Patrick Karnezis.

Richmond's deficiencies are astonishing and comprehensive. In some ways, Harwick has the toughest job in the comp. At least the other flailing teams are gearing towards total rebuilds. The Tiges are a Frankenstein monster.

Dwayne Russell calling TWO games is cruel and unusual.

The standard of umpiring is atrocious across the board. And seems to be getting worse.

West Coast are a scary unit. I fear Essendon's trip to Subiaco more than any other fixture for the rest of the year.

...and yet they pale before Collingwood. A methodical, exacting side that would have to do something astronomically wrong to not go back-to-back.