Top 4

[Markfs]

Should we add those to a poll and vote on which is most likely to happen? I'll stick my neck out and vote for 3.

I might hold off. I've heard that the gov't is investigating whether blair is a Lebanese muslim under cover. If that's confirmed, he'll have to leave Australia and live on a sinking island in the Maldives...

 

[Markfs]

Poor Blair.Someone should warn him so he can take precautions.

your sympathy is noted and will be dealt with by a fan group that calls itself the blair witch hunt

 

[Countrypie]

Top4? Nah, wouldn't think so. Will take a season opposite to all previous ones injury wise, to knock any of the Giants, Bulldogs Sydney Geelong out of the top 4. Then the Eagles, Crows, Saints, Melbourne in the layer next. That will be enough of a challenge for us.

See none of theses teams as lock for top 4 . The Giants yes. The Bulldogs finished 7th at the end of home and away and may well do so again. SYdney are another year older and Geelong were cruelly exposed in the finals after the benefit of the softest draw in the competition

 

[pablo disco bar]

is this your way of trying to make whiskeytown jealous?

whiskeytown has no need to be jealous

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Poor Blair.Someone should warn him so he can take precautions.

Tell him to duck

 

[didaksrightfoot]

Top 4? No.

Lets just see the team make the 8 first and play their best footy on a consistent basis.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Top 4 if EVERYTHING goes right, when was the last time that happened for any team? As far as I know that'd be never

 

[ThaShadow]

Top 2 but I won't quibble.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

make top 8

Just need to then win 4 games

Top 4

then need to win 3 games with one extra loss week allowed in week 1 only

 

[TradeDraft]

Top 2 but I won't quibble.

Thankfully only a week and half of School Holidays left

 

[MagpieBat]

Thankfully only a week and half of School Holidays left

Dunno. He does tend to regenerate at unexpected moments...

 

[iGNITER]

Definitely good enough for Top 8.
Top 4 would be a bit of a stretch but I have no doubt we can match it with the best on our day.

Our midfield bats a bit deeper now and has a good mix of class, skill and grunt.

I actually dont mind the look of how our forward line could potentially line up either:

HF - Elliott White Sidebottom
F - Fasolo Moore Mayne

 

[jonbe54]

The football department haven't made any notable changes to the "high performance" group in three years yet we still scratch our heads at why we have injuries. What's the definition of insanity again?

I've always wondered if people see such a correlation between injuries and success why the parameters haven't changed at our club. Given that correlation I bet if they were shifted to games missed through injury rather than wins that there would have been different staff in that department by now.

After all less games missed means more wins doesn't it? Meaning the coach survives and we improve...

My two cents. Injuries in general are a copout a look at our midfield in 2016 suggests they were overplayed. Overall Jon I unfortunately can't see that one the same way as you, but here's to hoping your right, that injuries are the key and our "high performance" team finally does their job.

Not necassarily the key Sco, like most complex organizations it's a matter of balance. One thing out of balance throws others out in a domino effect, looking back at it we have had a huge shift in fitness and administrative staff as well as coaching and player movements.

None of this is conductive to performance enhancement, my big thing is a stable playing group performs significantly better overall than a fluid one - which we have unfortunately had thrust upon us.

If we can have a stable playing group for even a single season - or at least the majority of one - many facets may settle into place and the difference in performance could be jaw dropping.

 

[jonbe54]

Top 8 is doable with any sort of reasonable run with injuries - top 4 is right out there with winning tattslotto but not utterly out of the question if the stars align.

 

[THATSGOLD]

Top 8 is doable with any sort of reasonable run with injuries - top 4 is right out there with winning tattslotto but not utterly out of the question if the stars align.

Top 8 but not top 4 won the flag last year.

 

[JB1975]

Top 8 but not top 4 won the flag last year.

Reasonable point. The gap between 1-4 and 5-8 seemed narrow or non-existent at various points throughout the season, including the finals. Having said that, the distinction is valid enough given that it could be the difference between winning 12 games of football or 16 games of football.

 

[THATSGOLD]

Reasonable point. The gap between 1-4 and 5-8 seemed narrow or non-existent at various points throughout the season, including the finals. Having said that, the distinction is valid enough given that it could be the difference between winning 12 games of football or 16 games of football.

Given that I'd say we won't make the 8. We are no where near ready to win a flag.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Reasonable point. The gap between 1-4 and 5-8 seemed narrow or non-existent at various points throughout the season, including the finals. Having said that, the distinction is valid enough given that it could be the difference between winning 12 games of football or 16 games of football.

Essentially:

Top 4 have to win three games to be premiers (allowed to lose first week only)
5 - 8 have to win four games (no losses allowed)

So one game differential essentially.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

As an aside that's why the Top 5 system was the best in my view.

Simply:

Top team as rightly rewarded heavily, with only needing to win 2 games to be premier, given double chance and break(s)

2nd and 3rd teams given double chance, potential week off, but must win 3 games to be premiership team.

4th and 5th must win 4 games no breaks.

Fairest and best method,

Won't happen these days but best system. Dogs would not gave made it on this system as finished 7th, but that is as it should have been.

 

[Black_White]

Top 8 but not top 4 won the flag last year.

The injury toll at the Dogs through 2016 was horrendous.
I remember commenting to someone after the Dogs first finals win that they would be flag favourites if they didn't have such an injury toll.
They were a top 4 team but injuries conspired to deny them that.

 

[THATSGOLD]

The injury toll at the Dogs through 2016 was horrendous.
I remember commenting to someone after the Dogs first finals win that they would be flag favourites if they didn't have such an injury toll.
They were a top 4 team but injuries conspired to deny them that.

Can imagine that was us. We would be blaming every single injury we got on losses. Oh wait that's what we did.

 

[Gymnorhina tibic]

As an aside that's why the Top 5 system was the best in my view.

Simply:

Top team as rightly rewarded heavily, with only needing to win 2 games to be premier, given double chance and break(s)

2nd and 3rd teams given double chance, potential week off, but must win 3 games to be premiership team.

4th and 5th must win 4 games no breaks.

Fairest and best method,

Won't happen these days but best system. Dogs would not gave made it on this system as finished 7th, but that is as it should have been.

Top six was the worst, 1992 we finished equal top for wins but 3rd on percentage, Saints scraped in sixth, beat us on the day and as lowest ranked loser we were out. Still not over it.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

Top six was the worst, 1992 we finished equal top for wins but 3rd on percentage, Saints scraped in sixth, beat us on the day and as lowest ranked loser we were out. Still not over it.

Went with a Saint mate, gave it to me all day, gave it to me for many years.

2010 replay........

 

[Gymnorhina tibic]

Went with a Saint mate, gave it to me all day, gave it to me for many years.

2010 replay........

Oh to be a fly on the wall

 

[pablo disco bar]

So cooney predicted us to finish 15th.....are we all being waaasy optimistic here?