Most people have us finishing anywhere from 10th to 16th, but what would it take for us to exceed those expectations and finish in the top 8 or even in the 4. For mine in order for us to make the top 8 next year (aside from a huge improvement in the whole list) i think-

-Bate to become a top 50 player in the afl

-Davey to improve on last years form and earn an all australian guernsey

-Sylvia to be in brownlow contention

-One of the melb youngsters to go close to winning the rising star

What are other peoples thoughts on what has to go right for the dees to exceed expectations?

Most people have us finishing anywhere from 10th to 16th, but what would it take for us to exceed those expectations and finish in the top 8 or even in the 4. For mine in order for us to make the top 8 next year (aside from a huge improvement in the whole list) i think-

-Bate to become a top 50 player in the afl

-Davey to improve on last years form and earn an all australian guernsey

-Sylvia to be in brownlow contention

-One of the melb youngsters to go close to winning the rising star

What are other peoples thoughts on what has to go right for the dees to exceed expectations?

There's a greater chance of us recruiting Sheedy the Martian who in turn would possibly recruit us a Star from the Dark Side of the Moon.

Maybe at the start to 2011 season could we dream of miraculous deeds.

This 2010 will be growing our young uninitiated stars of the future.

Most people have us finishing anywhere from 10th to 16th, but what would it take for us to exceed those expectations and finish in the top 8 or even in the 4. For mine in order for us to make the top 8 next year (aside from a huge improvement in the whole list) i think-

-Bate to become a top 50 player in the afl

-Davey to improve on last years form and earn an all australian guernsey

-Sylvia to be in brownlow contention

-One of the melb youngsters to go close to winning the rising star

What are other peoples thoughts on what has to go right for the dees to exceed expectations?

Those 4 points are quite possible, i think the key to any success next year will come from how quickly the list

a) Bonds together as a unit

b)How quickly the whole team learns to apply pressure for the full 4 Quarters, particularly in the Final Q when everyone is spent.

c) Getting the set play right from a kick in.

Sure there are other factors but after hearing Sean "Not a" Whellman on radio last night. I look forward to this season more than i have any other in a very long time.

There's a greater chance of us recruiting Sheedy the Martian who in turn would possibly recruit us a Star from the Dark Side of the Moon.

Maybe at the start to 2011 season could we dream of miraculous deeds.

This 2010 will be growing our young uninitiated stars of the future.

I don't think these things are mutually exclusive.

Those 4 points are quite possible, i think the key to any success next year will come from how quickly the list

a) Bonds together as a unit

b)How quickly the whole team learns to apply pressure for the full 4 Quarters, particularly in the Final Q when everyone is spent.

c) Getting the set play right from a kick in.

Sure there are other factors but after hearing Sean "Not a" Whellman on radio last night. I look forward to this season more than i have any other in a very long time.

Any chance of a recap for those of us that didn't hear it.

Most people have us finishing anywhere from 10th to 16th, but what would it take for us to exceed those expectations and finish in the top 8 or even in the 4. For mine in order for us to make the top 8 next year (aside from a huge improvement in the whole list) i think-

-Bate to become a top 50 player in the afl

-Davey to improve on last years form and earn an all australian guernsey

-Sylvia to be in brownlow contention

-One of the melb youngsters to go close to winning the rising star

What are other peoples thoughts on what has to go right for the dees to exceed expectations?

For that to happen, they need to be nominated...

We potentially have a young guy that can win the award this year. In fact, based on ability, any one of possibly 7 of our young guys can win it - Watts, Scully, Trengove, Tapscott, Gysberts, Strauss and Blease. Obviously they all need to play and actually play well for multiple games to go close to winning.

It is quite possible that at least 5 of these kids could get nominated. If so, our ladder position will be significantly improved as generally a player only gets nominated on the back of his team winning that week. If this is the case, having 5 or more nominations is a definite possibility.

If we can get our young guys playing potential rising-star football, I have no doubt blokes like Sylvia, Moloney and Davey will take that next step. This will then hopefully result in a couple of more wins for us.

It will only take a couple of early wins with our younger guys showing promise for the entire playing group to lift. After that, momentum is a magical thing, and bloody hard to stop.

In regards to exceeding expectation, I would think winning a game or two against quality opposition (eg. St Kilda - we nearly did it late last year, Bulldogs, Geelong, etc) will build a belief amongst the playing group. For this to happen, the biggest thing that we need to see if our midfielders kicking more goals. We need Sylvia & co to be aiming for 20-40 goals each for this season, anything less will be a failure. We wont have the forward power this year to kick enough goals to win too many matches, so the blokes in the guts need to step up in this area.

Off the topic a little I know but: When does the club usually play intra club matches in the lead up to the NAB cup ? They must be getting close.

Off the topic a little I know but: When does the club usually play intra club matches in the lead up to the NAB cup ? They must be getting close.

Saturday 13th of March @ Casey.

Details here

Saturday 13th of March @ Casey.

Details here

That would be 13th Feb - our NAB cup first round is Feb 21

Saturday 13th of March @ Casey.

Details here

That would be 13th Feb - our NAB cup first round is Feb 21

Correct. 13th of February at VFL Oval. Starts 10am.

Correct. 13th of February at VFL Oval. Starts 10am.

Ooops...That's what I meant...

Ooops...That's what I meant...

Thanks Russian for the info!

For that to happen, they need to be nominated...

We potentially have a young guy that can win the award this year. In fact, based on ability, any one of possibly 7 of our young guys can win it - Watts, Scully, Trengove, Tapscott, Gysberts, Strauss and Blease. Obviously they all need to play and actually play well for multiple games to go close to winning.

Liam Jurrah is still eligible to win the rising star because he has played less than 10 games going into the current season.

Most people have us finishing anywhere from 10th to 16th, but what would it take for us to exceed those expectations and finish in the top 8 or even in the 4. For mine in order for us to make the top 8 next year (aside from a huge improvement in the whole list) i think-

-Bate to become a top 50 player in the afl

-Davey to improve on last years form and earn an all australian guernsey

-Sylvia to be in brownlow contention

-One of the melb youngsters to go close to winning the rising star

What are other peoples thoughts on what has to go right for the dees to exceed expectations?

Those 4 things could happen and mean just about nothing towards our chances of playing finals next year. Bate being top 50 would mean he'd only improve a fraction on 2009. He was already close anyway. Likewise if Davey played like he did in a top 4 side he'd be pretty close to an AA gurnsey. Sylvia being in Brownlow contention would show we had improved as a side moreso than him improving. As for the rising star, it doesn't mean jack.

What we need to make finals is stability in a side that can win more games than it loses. If we're lucky, that list is in place now, but it's unlikely it's complete. When all these young players come on, some may fall by the wayside. What's most important is to get to the point where we only need 33 or so of the names on the list during the season... Not 40 of them.

So for this coming couple of seasons, while it would be nice to see some finals action, I would take just seeing a moderately normal injury list first.

Liam Jurrah is still eligible to win the rising star because he has played less than 10 games going into the current season.

no he's too old

I don't think we should expect anymore than 7-8 wins, I think talking of anymore is head in the clouds stuff. I think we can look forward to closer more competative games and perhaps snatch a few more wins and nothing else. It will be exciting though.

no he's too old

Thanks Curry - you beat me to it!

I don't think we should expect anymore than 7-8 wins, I think talking of anymore is head in the clouds stuff. I think we can look forward to closer more competative games and perhaps snatch a few more wins and nothing else. It will be exciting though.

I know exactly what you're saying Steamin, but I am a supporter that expects his team to win every match, every year. Just like I expect my racehorses to win every race, every start.

Where it is vital as supporters is not to be disappointed when it doesn't happen. I, like you, am predicting 7 or 8 wins, but, if this amount is less, it's not "slit your wrists" material that a lot of people will consider. Reality is that 2010 is STILL a development year, but we should expect competitive performances for a massive majority of the season. If things go our way (ie. Established players take the next step, young players hit the ground running, minimal injuries to our players but more injuries to opposition players, etc), there is no reason why we can't push for 10-12 wins and maybe knock on 8th's door. While we have struggled recently, the AFL is still a bloody close competition, and on any given day, anything can happen. Let's hope that our day happens often this season!

As you said, it's going to be an exciting year. It has been a long, long time since we have had bulk players with that much potential, but seeing this next phase of the development - which I see as the team-building phase, is going to be great to watch. We will be able to see it in the faces of all players when we get in those rooms and sing the song after a hard fought victory.

Those 4 things could happen and mean just about nothing towards our chances of playing finals next year. Bate being top 50 would mean he'd only improve a fraction on 2009. He was already close anyway. Likewise if Davey played like he did in a top 4 side he'd be pretty close to an AA gurnsey. Sylvia being in Brownlow contention would show we had improved as a side moreso than him improving. As for the rising star, it doesn't mean jack.

What we need to make finals is stability in a side that can win more games than it loses. If we're lucky, that list is in place now, but it's unlikely it's complete. When all these young players come on, some may fall by the wayside. What's most important is to get to the point where we only need 33 or so of the names on the list during the season... Not 40 of them.

So for this coming couple of seasons, while it would be nice to see some finals action, I would take just seeing a moderately normal injury list first.

Bate came fourth in our best and fairest, that means that there are arguably three players on our list closer to being top 50 in the afl then bate, judging by our performance last year and those particular players performance, bate would have to improve quite a bit to be a top 50 player. Assuming he continues playing in the fowardline this improvement would make him our number 1 forward taking the best defender (keeping LJ free) this would give us greater structure going forward and with his performance depending on delivery from the midfield it would also mean that the midfield was performing better.

If sylvia is in brownlow contention he would be taking the best tagger and beating the tag. This would inturn free up jones and davey thus increasing there ability to impact on games.

As seen in hannibal best 6 thread its the a teams best players that make a team and that can lift a team. Sylvia, Davey and Bate all performing well, will make the players around them perform better also.

This wasnt meant to be about what i thought would happen to 2010 but what would have to go right for us to make the 8 for example having an injury free season or jurrah kicking 70 goals.