19 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

The game today showed a few things.

The first is that the Dogs are eminently beatable if they're not dominating the middle. Essendon won clearances 47-31 despite the Dogs fielding Bontempelli, Liberatore, Macrae, Treloar, Hunter, Smith and Dunkley. They kicked I think 5 goals from centre clearances. If the Dogs aren't on top in the middle the rest of their side isn't amazing.

The second is that accurate goalkicking is so important. The Dogs had 2 more scoring shots and 21 more inside 50s (60-39) but lost.

Essendon's unlikely to go 15.7 every week, kicking set shots from the pockets and 60m out, but they've done it in a game they needed to win.

Essendon has GC and Collingwood to come. If they win both they finish 11-11. With their percentage, that means they're close to certain to finish in front of West Coast, Fremantle or St Kilda if they also finish 11-11. 

Get ready for the Essendon hype train to kick into full gear.

Hook this directly into my veins.

Disgraceful effort by Freo. Stuffing up their finals chances again and boosting Essendon’s….Ugh!

Edited August 8, 20213 yr by John Crow Batty

2 minutes ago, A F said:

Schache is a comedian of a defender by the way. Has the reaction time of a corpse.

It was funny seeing the hype about him after our game, where it was pissing down.....

34 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

I’M SINGING THEIR FLIPPIN’ SONG!!!!

In your duffel coat with Jobe's number on the back?

DON'T SAY YOU WEREN'T WARNED

3 minutes ago, A F said:

I don't care what anyone says, he's brilliant on the outside, but has no defensive game at all does Bontempelli. 0 tackles. If he gets votes in that game it's a joke.

How bloody wonderful was it to see that mob beaten? Another test, another failure. 

If the Bulldogs aren't winning clearance, they can't win games. They can't even generate inside 50s. Their style won't hold up in finals unless they pull 2 or 3 performances out of their arses. Can't see it. The flag is ours to lose from here.

That's how I see it too. Dogs are our only real worry, Cats, Port, Lions don't scare me. Swans could get us on a good day and cause an upset in a Prelim maybe but I don't see them winning the flag.

1 minute ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Yeah they’d have to win eight of their next three matches. 

Not beyond the AFL to arrange that

 

Fremantle getting blown apart by Brisbane.

If they lose, it guarantees that a side will make the 8 with 11 wins (or worse).

Might finally be time to end any of this never-ending debate about expanding finals to 10 sides. Do we really need more 11-11 or 10-12 sides playing finals?

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

Fremantle getting blown apart by Brisbane.

If they lose, it guarantees that a side will make the 8 with 11 wins (or worse).

Might finally be time to end any of this never-ending debate about expanding finals to 10 sides. Do we really need more 11-11 or 10-12 sides playing finals?

You're asking the wrong question.

The question is can we squeeze more money out of Foxtel/7 by offering a couple more nothing games at the end of the year?

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

That's how I see it too. Dogs are our only real worry, Cats, Port, Lions don't scare me. Swans could get us on a good day and cause an upset in a Prelim maybe but I don't see them winning the flag.

For the same reason that it was silly to assume that Geelong/Sydney would win every game from here, it's also silly to write off a side like Geelong because they lost this week.

Geelong's lost two games since the start of May. They're absolutely still a massive threat.

We're obviously right in the thick of the contest, the more so if we win tomorrow and can use the last two weeks for top 4 positioning without the risk of falling out.

1 minute ago, Mazer Rackham said:

In your duffel coat with Jobe's number on the back?

DON'T SAY YOU WEREN'T WARNED

Worse, Tim’s number!!!!

I’m older than you think 😉 

woohoo!

top of the ladder tomorrow

i'm off to have a shower, but

7 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Hook this directly into my veins.

It was the way they won centre clearance though. They basically walked out the front of stoppage over and over again. Bulldogs can't defend.

Edited August 8, 20213 yr by A F

Just now, titan_uranus said:

For the same reason that it was silly to assume that Geelong/Sydney would win every game from here, it's also silly to write off a side like Geelong because they lost this week.

Geelong's lost two games since the start of May. They're absolutely still a massive threat.

We're obviously right in the thick of the contest, the more so if we win tomorrow and can use the last two weeks for top 4 positioning without the risk of falling out.

I'm not writing them off because of this week. I just don't rate them as a genuine threat. I think Prelims is their ceiling, maybe runners-up but I don't think they can win the flag. Too one-dimensional in the middle, not strong enough either forward or back despite being competent.

Who did they beat in that 12 week or whatever run? Got smashed by the Lions, fell over the line against the Dogs (in Geelong) and beat the front-runners Port. All their other wins were against mid-lower rung sides.

7 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I'm not writing them off because of this week. I just don't rate them as a genuine threat. I think Prelims is their ceiling, maybe runners-up but I don't think they can win the flag. Too one-dimensional in the middle, not strong enough either forward or back despite being competent.

Who did they beat in that 12 week or whatever run? Got smashed by the Lions, fell over the line against the Dogs (in Geelong) and beat the front-runners Port. All their other wins were against mid-lower rung sides.

Geelong's biggest issue is that they've never been able to consistently deliver very high pressure on the opposition defensively (at least to my eye). They always appear to be playing in the same gear without any real ability to flick the switch.

Edited August 8, 20213 yr by adonski

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

I'm not writing them off because of this week. I just don't rate them as a genuine threat. I think Prelims is their ceiling, maybe runners-up but I don't think they can win the flag. Too one-dimensional in the middle, not strong enough either forward or back despite being competent.

Who did they beat in that 12 week or whatever run? Got smashed by the Lions, fell over the line against the Dogs (in Geelong) and beat the front-runners Port. All their other wins were against mid-lower rung sides.

Sure, on the metric of wins against good sides, we continue to be the front-runner. 

But we'll have to agree to disagree on Geelong's flag threat rating, They're as big a threat to us as the Dogs are, IMO.

The cats biggest problem is they are too old. they won't have the legs for a finals campaign

25 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Disgraceful frees to Bont on the last 10m

Protected species.

Grabs ball tries to break through two tacklers, drops ball 

 

......holding the man

 

FMD ump

QUADRUPPLE FMD

wow o wow that rails run to top has just opened up.

Are we good enough to take the opportunity?

37 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Disgraceful frees to Bont on the last 10m

Protected species.

Grabs ball tries to break through two tacklers, drops ball 

 

......holding the man

 

FMD ump

QUADRUPLE FMD

Edited August 8, 20213 yr by picket fence

By the quirk of the draw we're going to see two weeks of qualifying finals between the top four sides with a weeks rest between them. 

25 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Fremantle getting blown apart by Brisbane.

If they lose, it guarantees that a side will make the 8 with 11 wins (or worse).

Might finally be time to end any of this never-ending debate about expanding finals to 10 sides. Do we really need more 11-11 or 10-12 sides playing finals?

10 sides? [censored] me. Why not just have 23 weeks of practice matches and play an 18-team Finals series. Frankly I'd be happy to see it reduced to a final 6. As in top 1/3rd. Like the old final 4 in the 12 team VFL.

Edited August 8, 20213 yr by gs77
Wording

Just now, gs77 said:

10 sides? [censored] me. Why not just have 23 weeks of practice matches and play a final 18 competition. Frankly I'd be happy to see it reduced to a final 6. As in top 1/3rd. Like the old final 4 in the 12 team VFL.

THIS AGREE

Ok the results this week make tomorrow MASSIVE for us. Being able to sew up top 4 AND go top of the table with 2 rounds left…please Melbourne just get the job done!

18 minutes ago, BDA said:

The cats biggest problem is they are too old. they won't have the legs for a finals campaign

They are dropping like flies after a long season with full length games. 
But if they can pull off an injury free run from here on in they can absolutely win it. They don’t have anymore travel now either which really helps. 
They are mature and experienced and that always helps in finals. They know how to win it. The closest we got with this squad is a smashing in a Prelim. 
 

Edited August 8, 20213 yr by Jaded