Analysis Where r u at re Roos 2016?

[Gasometer]

I get excited at 6-0

Then start to dream.

Then feel sick.

Winter is coming and the hunters are out.

Then I think of bigger things.

Where are we at after so many years of.....meh...????

 

[shintemaster]

I get excited at 6-0

Then start to dream.

Then feel sick.

Winter is coming and the hunters are out.

Then I think of bigger things.

Where are we at after so many years of.....meh...????

Can't lose at the moment. I'd like to see us hit the halfway point without a loss, from there we can start to really share the load, load up against rivals and put the fear of god into a few teams.

 

[shniko11]

Enjoying being 6-0 and like how this team is clicking atm.

Dreaming abit but at last we aren't chasing our tails like other years.

Make top four and anything is possible.

And we have put ourselves in the best position.

But yeah i am more confident this year in games that we will over run the opposition and i haven't felt that confidence since the 90's

 

[numchuks]

I have felt confident going into every match this season that we'll win. It's a feeling I've never felt before as a North supporter. We are finally showing we are a top side.

Like many I've started to dream of premierships, but there's still so much we have to prove that we're the real deal and honestly I'd be shocked if we finished on top this season come finals.

Our 2nd half to the year is horrible, rnd 12-16 (Geelong, Hawks, West Coast & Adelaide Away) will be very tough and our last four matches for the season are looking really hard too ( Dogs, Hawks, Sydney & Giants).

That's two blocks of games where we could really lose four in a row twice. If we can't beat at least half of those sides ( who are all potential premiership contenders) in the regular season, we won't be able to beat them in finals.

That is why we are flying under the radar a bit at the moment, despite being on top because we haven't faced many of those sides yet. In the past we haven't been able to deal with that pressure of being favourites and have performed much better when no one rates us. Will be very interesting to see how this group deals with expectation if we remain on top and the media pressure grows around us as premiership favourites. It's the million dollar question mark I have on this side.

 

[Gasometer]

Yep

sick

 

[La Flama Blanca]

Our 2nd half to the year is horrible, rnd 12-16 (Geelong, Hawks, West Coast & Adelaide Away) will be very tough and our last four matches for the season are looking really hard too ( Dogs, Hawks, Sydney & Giants)..

We really have to look at the hard daw in the second half of the season in a positive manner. We should be sitting on top of the ladder 9-0 with the most experienced side in the league by the end of May. There is no reason why those sides shouldn't be looking at us as the hard draw!

 

[The Butcher]

Tremendously excited and terrifically terrified.

The closer we get to our goal, the more it feels there is to lose.

Fix up our clearance numbers tho and it's pretty much over for our opposition.

 

[amaz199]

As long as we bring our mongrel to every game, we will be very competitive and difficult to beat. Consistency is key.

Made the call we will beat all of GC, Freo and WB... Feel so happy. Can't stop now.

 

[Reginald0]

we are tougher meaner, most everyone is better, the coaching is smarter and we have 22 blokes pulling the finger out for 4 qtrs. every week
if we can get top 4 and play the interstaters over here we will go extremely close

 

[naturally north]

I think we need first or second and avoid an interstate final

Who knows if we will. Certainly tracking in the right direction

 

[shinboner magic]

I don't fear anyone - they should fear us.

 

[DrZaius]

Watch us win, be happy.
Go on main board, be sad.
Watch us win, be happy again etc.

I'm ok with this.

 

[Hannem]

We really have to look at the hard daw

Bruce Mcavaney likes this.

 

[True North]

Top 2 is the aim, nothing less.

Can't see us losing a game in Melbourne.

 

[shinboner spiggs]

Hoping we dont burn out mid season, even though I don't believe we will. It's good to see guys like goldy and Higgins not having as great as an effect as last season, which only means if they do hit full flight then we'll be a very tough side.

Strongly believe that we should rotate players. Debut a couple, give wells, Higgins, swallow and Tarrant all a rest, give goldy a spell for a game.

Don't dance with the devil in terms of form, but if we're up by 50 at 3/4 time against a low side, then bruise free footy for a quarter might do some good. Dropping down a gear or too from time to time is not a bad thing at all.

 

[Gasometer]

How many wins for top 4?

 

[muttley45]

Player "management" is the way to go, whether it be older guys or newbies, plenty of clubs doing it, but since we are unbeaten and top of the ladder, the old "if it aint broke, don't fix it" theory is always relevant, trust the club to make the correct and appropriate decisions as required.

 

[Egga]

I'm being careful to keep a lid on it. I don't consider 6-0 or even 9-0 to be relevant when considering our flag chances, but do think wins against Adelaide and Dogs in quality games puts us in the top handful of teams.

As numchuks says, our draw in the second half of the year is tough.

We will have a better idea of where we sit after round 10 v Sydney and even moreso after round 16.

 

[numchuks]

How many wins for top 4?

16-6 plus good percentage imo should do it.

 

[Forever North]

Assuming we go 9-0 we would basically, at worst need to win 7 from 13 to finish top 4. This is the minimum as far as I'm concerned now. It would then be a case of trying to win 1 or 2 more to be top two. I'll ******* spew if we miss top 4 from 9-0 or 8-1. It's a pretty even comp below us so we need to really take advantage of this start and stay ahead of the pack. I don't fear anyone, we will have the odd bad day at he office but the planets are aligning for us at this stage. Team looks hungry, motivated and well coached.

 

[ferball]

Have we actually played a really good game yet?

It seems like things are still falling into place but they aren't there yet.

The defence seems to be coming together a bit. If Scott Thompson's effort is the start of a return to form then thats a great sign. But one game doesn't make great form for him or the lot of them. Basically everyone that was criticised here stepped up this last game. But we still didn't nail it. The forwards struggled against a team missing three players with defensive class.

They brought great pressure tho.

Our captain leads the league in tackles and we have three other players (all mids) in the top 14 tacklers for the league. Even Daniel Wells is the 10th highest tackler in the league. Four of the highest 14 tacklers in the league are our midfielders!!! I love it. Swallow leads the league, JZ is right behind him. Our third highest tackler has barely played in 2 years, was written off as finished by many last year and was renowned as a silky outside mid (who I sometimes thought was a bit soft, even if he was my favorite player.) He wants it so bad he's the 10th highest tackler in the league. He knows he only has one tiny shot at it left. People calling for the captain to be dropped, was in poor form the other week, still leads the league on tackles. They know they're on borrowed time and won't die wondering.

That's a massive level of leadership, and it sends a huge message to the team. They want it and will move mountains to get there.

It seems whatever we have to do we keep doing it. Whatever we have to rise to we rise to. We still haven't really got it together but we keep forcing ourselves to win and really have been since the GC game last year. The boys are a great team. If we actually get it together with our best team playing to their best by the end of July early August then everyone else will have good reason to fear us.

Its a big if tho.

Which is why we're all on tenderhooks.

 

[Harris 10]

Top 2 has to be the aim.

We must avoid interstate trips in September.

 

[discodaddy]

I'm being careful to keep a lid on it. I don't consider 6-0 or even 9-0 to be relevant when considering our flag chances, but do think wins against Adelaide and Dogs in quality games puts us in the top handful of teams.

As numchuks says, our draw in the second half of the year is tough.

We will have a better idea of where we sit after round 10 v Sydney and even moreso after round 16.

I think our tough finish to the year will hold us in good stead come the finals. Battle-hardened and all that.

To the OP's question, I'm cautiously optimistic. Have been burnt too many time to go "all in" (emotionally) just yet. Reality checks loom at every corner...

Disco.

 

[Dodecahedron]

We have to rest and rotate players at some stage with the age of our list. I'll leave it to Brad and the boys on how they do this without overtly disrespecting the opposition.

Logic says we cannot have Drew, Waite, Dal, Spud (dare I say Boomer) etc playing 22 rounds then finals.

That being said, if you're going to play an older list, this is the year to cash in. For finalists, there are two byes this year. One mid year and one before the finals start.

If North manage any tired or sore bodies pro-actively, then I feel confident of top 4.

 

[Horizons_00]

Teams have to "beat" us now where as before we had to beat them