Can we compete with the best?

[Bravo Oliver, Bravo 182]

44 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

And yet we haven't beaten any ONE team currently above us. The law of average might suggest we might have accounted for one or any of the games those teams have lost...but no.

There's a very simple reason we haven't

Occam says hello

this

[old dee 23,790]

1 hour ago, beelzebub said:

Its not about competing...its about Winning.

The real question is....can we beat the best ?

So far.....no

Spot on BB sadly we are a 7th to 10th side still, there is no game killer in our ranks and our last 4 of the 22 are barely above VFL standard.

More recruiting is needed and as we have no top picks in 2018 we will need a near miracle diamond find amongst the gravel of lower picks.

[old dee 23,790]

1 hour ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

There are no undefeated teams in the league this year.  In fact the top three teams have each lost 3 matches, which suggests that the competition's 'best' are far from impervious.  We ourselves are 2 wins off top of the ladder.

Any team can beat any team with a bit of form and luck.  We are currently down on both at the moment, but that is never permanent.  

We, along with every team in the league, can beat any team on our day.

 

Of the teams currently in the eight we have only beaten North who are clinging to eighth so there is nothing to show that your statement is accurate.

[Gator 17,335]

Our biggest issue ?  It's going to sound simplistic and it's not the only issue, as there are others, such as Lever going down, Garlett not playing to his best, and not enough goals from our mids, but for me it's Petracca not only stagnating, but going backwards.

GWS are not the same team without Toby Greene.

Collingwood are a far better team now that De Goey has elevated himself.

Caddy's rise has been huge for Collingwood.

Caddy has kicked 28 goals and averages only 2 disposals less than Petracca.  De Goey has kicked 17 goals and averages 2 disposals less, but is far more impactful with his 18 disposals than Petracca's 20.

Petracca has kicked 9 goals from 12 games and just isn't impacting games the way he can.

Imo, if Petracca had taken the next step as a player we would have won more games.  

As I said at the start, there are multiple reasons that have adversely affected performances, but for me Petracca's ordinary year is at the top.  Match winners can make a huge difference.  He should be ours.

[ding 5,126]

We can COMPETE for sure. The problem is, we haven't found a way to win against the best.

Usually im very quick to say how [censored] we are as a team, but after the first few games, i have learned to be a bit slower to judge. Better for my mental health for a start........... Made too many calls based on one bad result in the past.

I am more confident we can/will make finals after the Port game then i was beforehand. Expected to get thumped tbh. Fact is, the guys dominated most of the game, but fell over at the last hurdle. ( Rank officiating made our task practically impossible in the last ) Yeah, we should have iced the game by halftime, but I still saw enough to honestly believe we are good enough.

We will win the next 3, and i think we will beat Sydney (They will be our BIG scalp), and GWS. If i was being my usual self and playing it safe emotionally, i would be in the "We are screwed" camp. Not now.

Im not giving up hope until there is none left.

GO DEES!

[drdrake 3,163]

No we can't, we are still mentally fragile and good sides know this

[Gator 17,335]

1 minute ago, drdrake said:

No we can't, we are still mentally fragile and good sides know this

That's rubbish and lazy.

Port know they lose that game 9 times out of 10 with the way their midfield was smashed.

Btw, who are these "good sides" you speak of ?

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,503]

34 minutes ago, old dee said:

Of the teams currently in the eight we have only beaten North who are clinging to eighth so there is nothing to show that your statement is accurate.

That’s a strange comment though. 

I have seen nothing this year to suggest that beating Port Adelaide, Collingwood, Sydney, West Coast or Richmond is impossible if we play at our best.

[The Chazz 4,077]

1 hour ago, beelzebub said:

Andy....you and I both

for us to play finals...let alone in any meaningful manner we need a lot of things to go right...and in a very particular pattern.

Again we fibd ourselves ( imho ) reliant upon outcomes of other teams to pave our way. We've abdicated our position of self determination by losing games we ought not.....or losing some by too much.

into the laps of gods go us...again. Gods have never favoured Demons

A lot of teams above us, below us and around us will be sweating on results this year.  It's the most even year I can remember, which is great for football, but not for the apple cart, especially as we're in the thick of it for a change.

What I will say is that I am quite confident that we will win at least 5 games on the way home.  If we win just the 5, then we, like a few other teams, will be relying on other results.  If we can snag that 6th win somewhere, then I think we will be firmly placed in the 8.

The run home is going to be very intriguing.

 

 

[old dee 23,790]

2 minutes ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

That’s a strange comment though. 

I have seen nothing this year to suggest that beating Port Adelaide, Collingwood, Sydney, West Coast or Richmond is impossible if we play at our best.

That is gut feel, as yet there is no physical proof like actually winning one of those games.

When we win a couple I will believe you.

[old dee 23,790]

32 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Our biggest issue ?  It's going to sound simplistic and it's not the only issue, as there are others, such as Lever going down, Garlett not playing to his best, and not enough goals from our mids, but for me it's Petracca not only stagnating, but going backwards.

GWS are not the same team without Toby Greene.

Collingwood are a far better team now that De Goey has elevated himself.

Caddy's rise has been huge for Collingwood.

Caddy has kicked 28 goals and averages only 2 disposals less than Petracca.  De Goey has kicked 17 goals and averages 2 disposals less, but is far more impactful with his 18 disposals than Petracca's 20.

Petracca has kicked 9 goals from 12 games and just isn't impacting games the way he can.

Imo, if Petracca had taken the next step as a player we would have won more games.  

As I said at the start, there are multiple reasons that have adversely affected performances, but for me Petracca's ordinary year is at the top.  Match winners can make a huge difference.  He should be ours.

Spot on PD. Sadly I don't think he will be a match winner a good player but seldom in the "Match winner" class.

[drdrake 3,163]

43 minutes ago, ProDee said:

That's rubbish and lazy.

Port know they lose that game 9 times out of 10 with the way their midfield was smashed.

Btw, who are these "good sides" you speak of ?

Yet, we still managed to lose the game, Hawthorn, Richmond, Collingwood, Sydney they know that is you pressure us for long enough we will crack.  Port found a way to hang in there till we eventually cracked in the last quarter.

[Roost It 1,434]

2 hours ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

There are no undefeated teams in the league this year.  In fact the top three teams have each lost 3 matches, which suggests that the competition's 'best' are far from impervious.  We ourselves are 2 wins off top of the ladder.

Any team can beat any team with a bit of form and luck.  We are currently down on both at the moment, but that is never permanent.  

We, along with every team in the league, can beat any team on our day.

 

Actually we keep proving we’d cant beat any side. The top teams have spanked us. I do however believe we have the cattle to go all the way soon enough 

[Gator 17,335]

6 minutes ago, drdrake said:

Yet, we still managed to lose the game, Hawthorn, Richmond, Collingwood, Sydney they know that is you pressure us for long enough we will crack.  Port found a way to hang in there till we eventually cracked in the last quarter.

We have a different team and structure to the one that lost to Hawthorn and Richmond.  And we haven't even played Sydney.

Hawthorn lost to Brisbane FCS.  Are they one of the "good teams" you're referencing ?

Sydney have lost at home to North, Port, and the injury plagued Adelaide.  Are they this infallible outfit ?

Richmond were beaten by Port one week before us.  And they never had the numbers we put up against Port.

I don't think there are any great teams in the competition.  And I certainly don't think a mentally fragile team wins 18 quarters in a row.  The most quarters in a row Hawthorn have won in their history is 13.  Do you know how many flags they've won in the last 50 years ?  There were plenty of crap teams they were coming up against during this period, so it's lazy to reference our opposition during that streak.

We're far from perfect, but I don't buy this "mentally fragile" BS.

When you smash a team like we did against Port and you don't get reward for effort on the scoreboard and you leave the door open you're a chance to have what happened to us happen.  Especially in that type of environment interstate.

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,503]

20 minutes ago, Roost It said:

Actually we keep proving we’d cant beat any side. The top teams have spanked us. I do however believe we have the cattle to go all the way soon enough 

So it’s impossible under any conditions or circumstance for us to be able to beat Sydney, Richmond, West Coast, Collingwood or Port??

Not even 1000/1?

Of course we can.  Will we? Probably not on current for, but it’s certainly possible.

[Willmoy1947 4,086]

Lucky the MFC doesn't reason like some of you blokes. "Reason from the positives" said Hanrahan Carrucan

[nosoupforme 3,085]

 We cannot win every game as we sit 8 W 5L. However the game against Port to me was gutsy and there were circumstances also gut wrenching l am sure for many of us. We are good enough for sure as we still have time  for the FD to rectify team balance as our Casey side is sitting equal Top of the ladder. If we win the next 3 games against the Saints, Freo and the Doggies, which l believe we should, then the test will come against Geelong away and Adelaide away as well. You will be able to judge for yourself by the time we play Geelong if we have a chance of  being in a good position to consolidate ourselves in the 8 and hopefully chase the 4. I believe we are good enough. We have to have some faith.  Go Dees!

[demonique 314]

We are pretty close to a real breakout game against the best . Got a feeling in my water !! ?

[Coq au vin 755]

No, we can’t yet compete against the best.  Sorry.

[DEE fence 5,011]

6 hours ago, DubDee said:

 a couple of wins against the good teams are just around the corner

God I agree, and God/Yahweh/Jehovah/Deus/Allah/Hu/Krishna/Gaia, whatever she prefers - I hope so soon.

[Gator 17,335]

1 hour ago, President Dee Trump said:

No, we can’t yet compete against the best.  Sorry.

Compelling.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,215]

7 hours ago, dl4e said:

There is still one big problem at the MFC. We are mentally soft. If or when we overcome that we can see wins over so-called tough opponents. Just like Port last friday. Mentally soft and lost.

As for Watson saying we don't have the cream is typical of him. We do have some cream it is just how to use it when it counts.

A Port supporter on BF said it best, we're not soft we just lack composure. Once we settle a bit and start to think our way through things instead of bashing the ball forward and making life hard for our forwards we will be very difficult to beat.

Edited June 26, 2018 by Dr. Gonzo

[SFebes 4,884]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

A Port supporter on BF said it best, were not sift we just lack composure. Once we settle a bit and start to think our way through things instead of bashing the ball forward and making life hard for our forwards we will be very difficult to beat.

That’s the best analogy I’ve heard, it’s spot on 

[Earl Hood 6,086]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

A Port supporter on BF said it best, were not sift we just lack composure. Once we settle a bit and start to think our way through things instead of bashing the ball forward and making life hard for our forwards we will be very difficult to beat.

Exactly what Jimmy Bartel was saying after the match, the crash and bash contested possession ethos was great but further success will require a bit more composure and strategy to set up scores and absorb opposition attacks. 

[Sir Why You Little 37,035]

We can compete with the Top sides for about 40-50% of a game. 

Closing that 55% will be a mammoth job....

Many have tried and failed