On 17 January 2017 at 1:27 PM, Ethan Tremblay said:

It's the least they could do really. I'm sure there's enough left over in the donation kitty. 

I have a slight dilemma though. My first born is due September 7, the first week of finals. If this isn't a sign we're going to make them, I don't know what is. 

Skyping of births seems the in-thing to do these days. 

I believe Peter Highman will be in Melbourne that weekend and will need a lift back to Perf.  You could try and work something out there?

3 hours ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

I want to win every game as much as the next person but if we lose round 1 it wont be the end of the world. In fact a loss to a team of simmilar quality could be a good wake up call right at the start of the year. But if we lose round 1 and 2 then it will be time to start panicking because beating Geelong in round 3 will be no easy feat. Its being 0-3 that worries me. We are starting against 3 bogey teams since 2008 we are 2-32 against these 3. 

Imagine if we had North in round 4.

Record would be like 2-45 

3 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Imagine if we had North in round 4.

Record would be like 2-45 

then Hawthorn in round 5! 

With all the improvement we have had some of these records are just terrifyingly bad

On 1/1/2017 at 6:06 PM, george_on_the_outer said:

To make top 4, a team has to be seriously good.  To make the finals, just more than average, or with a bit of luck.

Hawthorn in 2016 made finals based on winning 6 games by less than 10 points.  They scraped into top 4 after beating a miserable Collingwood by a lucky kick in the dying seconds by Jack Fitzpatrick.

North scraped into finals  by winning just 2 more games than they lost. If a Billy Stretch kick had gone to the other side of the goal post, the Saints would have been playing in lieu of North.

Now good teams win the close games, but the margin between making it or not can come down to that luck/fortune factor.

We were in the race for September but for 2 appalling losses against Carlton and Essendon.  We weren't lucky against North, we were against GC the second time. 

Without changing all that much, or improving just that fraction, we should be playing finals in 2017.  We now have the talent and importantly the work ethic to win games.

Like North, Hawthorn and even WB in 2016, winning just a couple of those tight games will get us there. 

Injuries....well that's another story. Particularly if our AA ruckman gets hurt.

If we can keep Gawn and our midfield injury free, we'll make the finals. Our midfield is going to be seriously good. By 2018 it's going to be scary. Tyson, Viney, Oliver, Lewis, Jones, Brayshaw, Petracca, Salem and Vince. That is a high quality, high possession midfield. Oliver is the next Sam Mitchell and Tyson isn't far behind. Add Viney's strength and combativeness, and compliment it with the power and x-factor of Petracca, the outside class of Brayshaw and Salem, and you've got the foundations in 2-3 years of a premiership midfield. All of this backed up by the current AA ruckman.

Edited January 19, 20178 yr by A F

45 minutes ago, TRIGON said:

Does God really take things so literally??? If so then have the AFL schedule the Saints V North on Good Friday...conundrum for God to vex upon!

My hope is that this will tip the almighty off the Saints.

1 hour ago, jumbo returns said:

We will win if we stop their run and someone.....please, pick up Saint Nick!

I'm sure Goody's game day reactions will be a bit quicker than the past 

9 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

I'm sure Goody's game day reactions will be a bit quicker than the past 

On this one bb they could hardly be slower.