4 minutes ago, Hell Bent said:

I reckon 12 wins gets us into the final 8 this year,  so if we go 8 - 6 from here we will play finals. I can't see any teams giving us a flogging so our % will be healthy.

I expect finals but I'm not looking any further than that just yet.

Our best is as good as anyone's though! 

Agree 100%

9 hours ago, Skuit said:

This will sound like the strangest comment ever uttered in these hallowed digital halls, but I don't think I'm ready yet. This is my life now. Melbourne's inveterate crapness is a core part of my personal identity. The Stockholm Syndrome has full hold of me. Just the thought of a flag and the existential anxiety seizes my brain. How the hell am I possibly going to cope on Grand Final day?!! And around all those bloody neutrals who couldn't possibly understand. What if it all goes horribly wrong? And surely, surely, after waiting so desperately all this time, there isn't the slightest hope that the joy however great could ever live up to the desire. And how much salt would it rub into the wounds - to suddenly do it so easily after a half-century of wasted effort? What happens when life returns to normal? When cricket returns to the G' and ordinary people no longer care? When everyone else has forgotten the pain and the suffering and simply moved on? I'll be that prisoner released into society after serving a life sentence. I'm institutionalised. My only hope is recidivism. To bid farewell to the MFC and jump on the Richmond bandwagon to nowhere . . .  

Skuit was here.

Edited May 18, 20178 yr by Chook

I would've waited till after we beat North in terms of making a thread like this.

Lose Sunday and we're simply going around in circles and unlikely to make the 8.

As for contending, I think a dream result would be winning 1 final (especially at the G in front of the faithful) and building that into next year when perhaps we could be contenders for a grand final. 

Winning a final would be surreal for many of us that went to see the Dees week in week out over the last 10 years.

14 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

A contender would win the next three games in a row. 

Let's go...

52 minutes ago, A F said:

I don't want to be a negative [censored], but I don't see us developing a level of consistency this year that will get us there.

Even when the Bulldogs finished outside of the top 4, they'd played a season that was capable of top 4 if it weren't for injuries.

I don't think we're mature enough to play to that level. I've always expected 2017 to be another year where we find our feet, make the 8 and maybe win a final. I've always seen 2018 as a year we should be pushing for the top 4 and could pinch a flag, ala Hawthorn in 2008 or Bulldogs in 2016.

I hope I'm wrong and we can get to a level of consistency sooner than even our coaches expect, remembering that McCartney has repeatedly said we're 18 months behind the Dogs in their development. We're certainly due finals though and 13+ wins.

I agree we probably won't get the consistency this year however our best is good enough and the season is wide open. It's unlikely but anything can happen

As a club when we do get a run on we tend to hit the top pretty quickly (prelims in 87, 94 & 98). 

Edited May 18, 20178 yr by Dr. Gonzo

We would need to get on a roll to make top 4 to be any chance IMO.

GWS, Adelaide, Port Adelaide and West Coast are well all positioned to finish top 4 and I don't like the prospect of needing to win two cut throat finals on the road.

1 hour ago, Skuit said:

This will sound like the strangest comment ever uttered in these hallowed digital halls, but I don't think I'm ready yet. This is my life now. Melbourne's inveterate crapness is a core part of my personal identity. The Stockholm Syndrome has full hold of me. Just the thought of a flag and the existential anxiety seizes my brain. How the hell am I possibly going to cope on Grand Final day?!! And around all those bloody neutrals who couldn't possibly understand. What if it all goes horribly wrong? And surely, surely, after waiting so desperately all this time, there isn't the slightest hope that the joy however great could ever live up to the desire. And how much salt would it rub into the wounds - to suddenly do it so easily after a half-century of wasted effort? What happens when life returns to normal? When cricket returns to the G' and ordinary people no longer care? When everyone else has forgotten the pain and the suffering and simply moved on? I'll be that prisoner released into society after serving a life sentence. I'm institutionalised. My only hope is recidivism. To bid farewell to the MFC and jump on the Richmond bandwagon to nowhere . . .  

Wonderful stuff Skuit. 

A touch of Jean-Paul Sartre. A little along the lines of Being and Nothingness.

You are not alone in your thoughts. 

However, the fundamental truth is that you can't live without joy and suffering, it's just that we Demon supporters have had more suffering than joy.

However, I cant help but think that it will be anticlimactic when the Demons win the flag, particularly when one realizes that other than for Demon supporters, the rest of the world will not give a flying......

For a brief moment, we will experience joy and the gratification that comes with success, but it will be a transitory moment that will quickly submerge in the flotsam and jetsam of daily life.  A brief escape from the horrors of this world and the destructive behaviours of the human race.

 

 

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

Where were you in 2000?

I don't want to get ahead of myself but if we do make the Grand Final I'm not sure I want to be favourite. I would prefer to be the underdog. My psyche could not handle being overwhelming favourites and losing.

No team is ever really outright favourites. One team might start at $3 or $3.50 but they eventually close in $2 with last minute bets and the emotion of the day. IMO there's never a real "underdrog" or "favourite" on GF day.

If we lose to North this weekend it'll be back to lamenting that we're still the same old Melbourne.

1 hour ago, loges said:

Be good to just string a few wins in a row together first

That's the key, can we get a run on where we win 4 to 5 in a row 

6 minutes ago, McQueen said:

If we lose to North this weekend it'll be back to lamenting that we're still the same old Melbourne.

I know it seems like forever ago, but it's not much more than a week since we were all wallowing in deep grief following the loss to Hawthorn.

1 hour ago, Clint Bizkit said:

We just flogged the top team on their home soil in front of over 45,000 of their fans.

We can beat anyone.

And yet, we seem to be able to lose to anyone

4 minutes ago, Deeoldfart said:

I know it seems like forever ago, but it's not much more than a week since we were all wallowing in deep grief following the loss to Hawthorn.

That loss was the easiest one to stomach for me. We were still trying to gel without a recognised ruckman and Hoges was hardly in a great place. Hawthorn to their credit played well. We played okay, we just caught them on a good day and it was a narrow loss. It happens.

The other three losses shouldn't have happened and likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for injuries and silly suspensions. All in all there's not a lot to be disappointed about in terms of how we've played. Scrappy at times but always in the contest.

This week is a little different in terms of expectation. Largely on the back of what happened last week.

The midfield has adapted to life without Gawn or Spencer and has proven it can still win the clearance battle while the opposition ruckman breaks the world record for hitouts. Forwards are applying elite pressure, mids are working their arses off running both ways and the backline is functioning well especially with Frost in career best form. They've proven last week what is possible when everyone in the team we are fielding plays their role.

Barring a repeat of Richmond where we play out more than half the game with two on the bench and Watts playing a majority role in the ruck, a win this week is non negotiable if last week was a true turning point.

 

If and when we find ourselves in the 8 after a h&a season, then, and only then are we in contention.

A lot of water to flow under many bridges yet.

Let just spank the Roos Sunday and then look forward to the next.

2 hours ago, Demonland said:

I don't want to get ahead of myself but if we do make the Grand Final I'm not sure I want to be favourite. I would prefer to be the underdog. My psyche could not handle being overwhelming favourites and losing.

Well, being the underdogs would be polite, at least the first time.

After that we can go in all stomping unchallengable beast for a few years.

I think it might help a few people's 'triumph anxiety' to think of Melbourne as a binary system - we're either completely awful or completely unstoppable. The wheel just has to turn.

In past seasons over the last decade we never had the opportunity to seize the moment. This season we have. 

In 1988 we were victims of stage fright. In 2000 we were one of the pack and took our opportunities to make the GF but had to come across a team that was nigh on unbeatable that season. This season we have as good a chance as any other club.

Edited May 18, 20178 yr by america de cali

9 minutes ago, P-man said:

That loss (Hawthorn) was the easiest one to stomach for me. We were still trying to gel without a recognised ruckman and Hoges was hardly in a great place. Hawthorn to their credit played well. We played okay, we just caught them on a good day and it was a narrow loss. It happens.

The other three losses shouldn't have happened and likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for injuries and silly suspensions. All in all there's not a lot to be disappointed about in terms of how we've played. Scrappy at times but always in the contest.

This week is a little different in terms of expectation. Largely on the back of what happened last week.

The midfield has adapted to life without Gawn or Spencer and has proven it can still win the clearance battle while the opposition ruckman breaks the world record for hitouts. Forwards are applying elite pressure, mids are working their arses off running both ways and the backline is functioning well especially with Frost in career best form. They've proven last week what is possible when everyone in the team we are fielding plays their role.

Barring a repeat of Richmond where we play out more than half the game with two on the bench and Watts playing a majority role in the ruck, a win this week is non negotiable if last week was a true turning point.

 

I agree with all that except for the first sentence P-man.  I found the Hawks loss soul destroying, and pretty much 'tuned out' of football until the middle of the following week.

Whenever Footscray won a flag we've won the next 3.

 

Relax. We've got this.

1 hour ago, drdrake said:

That's the key, can we get a run on where we win 4 to 5 in a row 

Until this happens, people will remain unconvinced that we are the real deal. 

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I agree we probably won't get the consistency this year however our best is good enough and the season is wide open. It's unlikely but anything can happen

As a club when we do get a run on we tend to hit the top pretty quickly (prelims in 87, 94 & 98). 

I've had enough of consistency. We've been consistent for the past ten years and look where that got us.  let's do it differently from here and be totally unpredictable.

 

GODEES!

21 minutes ago, Deeoldfart said:

I agree with all that except for the first sentence P-man.  I found the Hawks loss soul destroying, and pretty much 'tuned out' of football until the middle of the following week.

Fair enough. I can understand why.

Geelong and Richmond were the toughest to swallow for me because we were clearly the better side on both occasions. Geelong we just refused to kick straight in front of goal and Richmond we got run over with a depleted side.

I think what separates this season so far is being able to pinpoint why we lost on each occasion for reasons outside of "we played like [censored]" which is a welcome change.

My faith is growing but it will take a big hit if we can't put away North and Gold Coast.

1 hour ago, hemingway said:

Wonderful stuff Skuit. 

A touch of Jean-Paul Sartre. A little along the lines of Being and Nothingness.

You are not alone in your thoughts. 

However, the fundamental truth is that you can't live without joy and suffering, it's just that we Demon supporters have had more suffering than joy.

However, I cant help but think that it will be anticlimactic when the Demons win the flag, particularly when one realizes that other than for Demon supporters, the rest of the world will not give a flying......

For a brief moment, we will experience joy and the gratification that comes with success, but it will be a transitory moment that will quickly submerge in the flotsam and jetsam of daily life.  A brief escape from the horrors of this world and the destructive behaviours of the human race.

Thinking aloud on this further, I'd hazard a guess that at least Hawthorn would care. We'd be level on 13 flags a peace and have also done the 3-peat (twice). They'd no longer have any bragging rights whatsoever. 

I think once we breakthrough, the Melbourne stigma that has pervaded the competition for so many decades will be quashed. Membership will be up (we'd easily get 50,000 the following year) and all of a sudden, we'd be back considered a 'top' Melbourne club, in the same way Hawthorn have managed to transform themselves since '96 into one of the biggest clubs going around. It'd be Melbourne, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond (for reasons unknown). At that point, maybe even Carlton drop out of that top group. 

Another great thing about our current list and the list of Hawthorn, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond and Carlton is that only Essendon would come close to matching our level of talent. Their midfield is going to be pretty good in the coming years (McGrath, Parish, Merrett and Heppell). The point here is that we have a big chance to elevate our club to 'big' club status, given the enormous upside in potential members, once the ultimate success has been achieved. Any club that's been through what we've been through in the past 10 years (most clubs would have folded) and still managed to get 40,000 members without making finals, is a club that has resilience and attractive tradition.

In many ways we are the sleeping giant of the AFL, with the uniqueness of our brand and our early tradition. And to tap it all off, we have a real chance to dominate these traditionally 'big' clubs in the next 5 or so years due to their relatively weak lists.

From the perennial losers between 1965 and the late 1980s, we have a chance to snap this culture and expectation and finally become the club we should be. And perhaps we finally have the right people willing to roll their sleeves up and do the hard work that is needed to win flags and create successful football cultures.

1 hour ago, praha said:

No team is ever really outright favourites. One team might start at $3 or $3.50 but they eventually close in $2 with last minute bets and the emotion of the day. IMO there's never a real "underdrog" or "favourite" on GF day.

We were definitely the underdogs in 2000...

5 minutes ago, A F said:

Thinking aloud on this further, I'd hazard a guess that at least Hawthorn would care. We'd be level on 13 flags a peace and have also done the 3-peat (twice). They'd no longer have any bragging rights whatsoever. 

I think once we breakthrough, the Melbourne stigma that has pervaded the competition for so many decades will be quashed. Membership will be up (we'd easily get 50,000 the following year) and all of a sudden, we'd be back considered a 'top' Melbourne club, in the same way Hawthorn have managed to transform themselves since '96 into one of the biggest clubs going around. It'd be Melbourne, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond (for reasons unknown). At that point, maybe even Carlton drop out of that top group. 

Another great thing about our current list and the list of Hawthorn, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond and Carlton is that only Essendon would come close to matching our level of talent. Their midfield is going to be pretty good in the coming years (McGrath, Parish, Merrett and Heppell). The point here is that we have a big chance to elevate our club to 'big' club status, given the enormous upside in potential members, once the ultimate success has been achieved. Any club that's been through what we've been through in the past 10 years (most clubs would have folded) and still managed to get 40,000 members without making finals, is a club that has resilience and attractive tradition.

In many ways we are the sleeping giant of the AFL, with the uniqueness of our brand and our early tradition. And to tap it all off, we have a real chance to dominate these traditionally 'big' clubs in the next 5 or so years due to their relatively weak lists.

From the perennial losers between 1965 and the late 1980s, we have a chance to snap this culture and expectation and finally become the club we should be. And perhaps we finally have the right people willing to roll their sleeves up and do the hard work that is needed to win flags and create successful football cultures.

Thanks AF for your positive and rational comments and for providing meaning to my reflective mood. You aren't a member of the Australian Rationalist Society by any chance?

The only bit I don't like is the possibility that Essendon may be a future threat. 

5 minutes ago, A F said:

We were definitely the underdogs in 2000...

nor we we raging favourites in 88