We'd want to go all out this week

Catsace

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Thread starter #1
I reckon unlike 2007 and 2008 the competition has now shown they are nipping at our heels. Team selection notwithstanding, the defeat to Carlton on a fine, sunny day after us having an 8-day break with only two main players missing from our line-up did suggest that some other sides have a game style that can challenge us.

Now, i am not suggesting that we are at our peak yet, and Scarlett plus Corey are two vital parts to our mix. But i am saying that perhaps this year unlike the previous three, we will be only 'in the mix' with a few other sides for the upper reaches of the table. As another Cats poster on another thread suggested, perhaps this year might have a touch of the 1990, 1993 or 1997 about it, where there is no longer a dominant side but a group of sides than can go all the way with the right luck and circumstances. Our mission is to place ourselves right in the forefront of such a group, as i'd back ourselves in September over any of the Pies, Dogs and Saints simply because we're now a proven September outfit. But the key is getting there, and not doing a 1990 or 1993 and miss the bus so to speak.

So in the light of that, we should aim to really towel Richmond up unmercifully. We need a huge win to bump our percentage up there with the best, as i reckon it will come into play later in the year. A nice big whipping would enable us to be the 'best of the group' in terms of whatever number of wins we fall on. If we get 15-7 with a huge percentage i'd say a top-4 spot is a monty. But we need to strike while the iron is hot, the Tigers missing Tambling, Martin and co look as weak as any side since Fitzroy. We need to use this to maximise our chances come later in the year. Just feel that we won't be sailing away with an 18-4 or better this year, we might drop 6 or 7 games. Just like Brisbane did in 2003 mind you, but we are probably not the all-conquering juggernaught that just blew teams off the park in the first 40-odd games of our streak of power.
 

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Renegade

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#2
Feels like Round 6 2007 again...
People within the club unhappy at each other, some negativity around. Granted it's not to the same extent as 2007, but hopefully the ensuing result will be the same...and we play Richmond again this time too.
 

Turkey Tom

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#3
Thrashing Richmond would be nice, but isn't going to prove too much to be honest.

Just hope the guys are not going out to play expecting to win, as we possibly did against Carlton.

How we play the following week against Sydney will be more of a measuring stick.
 

Partridge

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#4
Thrashing Richmond would be nice, but isn't going to prove too much to be honest.

Just hope the guys are not going out to play expecting to win, as we possibly did against Carlton.

How we play the following week against Sydney will be more of a measuring stick.
Remembering back to that game in round 6, 2007, what I recall is that the focus was simply on doing the basics - every player focused on 2 tackles per quarter or something like that. Simple, hard, accountable football.

If we do that on Sunday, and concentrate on doing that, it will be a massacre. Get the little things right and I'm very confident good results will emerge. The talent is still there.

But you're right, it's as much how we go against Sydney the week after also.
 

AidanNelson2009

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#5
The cats need to string a couple of good wins together, and start playing the football the way we use to, fast attacking, play on at all costs type footy, something that went missing a lot in the Carlton game. We already have 2 defeats, and i can't see ending up with an 18-4 finish after rd 22, i think we will lose about 5-6 games. 17-5 or 16-6 would get you in the top 4. I agree that this year there are a lot of teams that are in the running for the 2010 premiership, there is no stand out team like there has been in the last 3 years which has been us. Collingwood, St.Kilda. Sydney, Geelong, Brisbane, WB, any of those teams could do it this year, it is a very open season. We want to be finishing top 4 to secure a double chance in the finals.
 

Turbocat

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#6
Generally I agree. The margin for the margins sake is meaningless. But percentage will be important. The other thing I'd love to see is either Hawkins or Pods kick a bag. It would be good for either of them to build their confidence.
 

Copernicus

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#8
I'll take any win after last week's debacle. It doesn't matter how much we win by, it's all about attitude. If we win by 100 but Richmond play like an Ammos side, and all we have to do is coast by and not really work that, then that is much less preferable than having a close win against a Richmond team that really comes to play and works us hard.
 
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#9
I'll take any win after last week's debacle. It doesn't matter how much we win by, it's all about attitude. If we win by 100 but Richmond play like an Ammos side, and all we have to do is coast by and not really work that, then that is much less preferable than having a close win against a Richmond team that really comes to play and works us hard.
But does us winning by 100 points automatically mean that Richmond didn't come to play and made us work hard?

Alternatively, if we only win by 8 points, does that mean that Richmond had a good game, or that we just had a shocker?

It's not as easy as all that.
A 100 point victory can be seen either way - the loser was crap, or the winner brilliant.
A close victory can also be seen either way - the loser put up a good fight, or the winner was average and were lucky to scrape a win.

If we win by only 8 points, doesn't necessarily mean that Richmond gave us a hard time, it could mean that we're just playing like crap.

Against opposition as ordinary as the Tiges have been, the only truly satisfying result is a big win, otherwise it's hard to gauge how we really played.
 
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