Given how the season has progressed I don't think you can be satisfied with a Prelim. loss. We did the work early to set up the season. Superior fitness, winning gameplan, sharing the load, building belief. We've been fortunate with injuries. We finished top, which after the Bulldogs game, seemed unlikely. We've done most things right in the lead up to this game.

Part of being a good sportsman is recognising the opportunities that present themselves. Breaking down and simplifying those opportunities. Having no regrets. Having the wherewithal to seize what's possible.  

Win eight quarters of football and you can achieve what every kid dreams of.  Hesitation or failure to believe will result in a lifetime of regret.

4 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Underestimate Port at your own peril.

They’re on a 7 game winning streak which is 2 wins better than ours and finished only half a game and a bit of percentage behind us. And they beat the Dogs late in the year which we failed to do in round 18 and failed pretty dismally. Plus they have the red carpet quarantine free entry into a grand final.

It’s a genuine 2 horse race and if Port beat us in a GF, we tip our hats off to them and move onto next year.

I don't think Port are anywhere near as good as us, they beat an undermanned and out of form dogs narrowly, beat a putrid cats outfit and have had a disasterous record against anyone good. i agree they'll make it, and of the 3 teams we could play in the grand final, they're the one i'm least worried about. 

In the future I will be. For the rest of the 2021 calendar year I'll have to be heavily sedated.

It would take until the finals series of 2022* for me to get over not making a grand final this year. If we made the grand final but lost, it would take until we won one for me to get over that.

* (featuring the Demons)

I think a better word instead of satisfied would be accepting of a prelim loss.

The more I think about it, the more it would be hard to be satisfied with a prelim loss given how many wins we’ve had and the supreme progress we’ve made compared to 2019 and 2020.

I would however be accepting of a prelim loss given the large strides we’ve made, the inexperience of finals as a collective unit and the fact that we weren’t expected to finish top 4.

Satisfaction implies content. It would be hard to be content with missing out on a GF (regardless of venue)

Acceptance is looking at the bigger picture. Acknowledging how far we’ve come since 2019 as well as the COVID interruptions we’ve copped and then embracing the immediate future that this current list should offer to the the members and fans.

10 minutes ago, Dwight Schrute said:

I don't think Port are anywhere near as good as us, they beat an undermanned and out of form dogs narrowly, beat a putrid cats outfit and have had a disasterous record against anyone good. i agree they'll make it, and of the 3 teams we could play in the grand final, they're the one i'm least worried about. 

That’s an absolutely fair call about Port.

Up until round 21 the Dogs and us were neck and neck for most of the season so it’s reasonable to assume that they could be more of a threat to us than Port.

I just think Port have hit a groove and seem to have bought in as a group after totally blowing it last year after being top of the ladder all year. They seem just as tight knit as us.

I don’t see Brisbane as a threat at all.

No, but that round 23 win (everything about it) is a memory I will cherish forever no matter what.

Edited September 3, 20213 yr by Clint Bizkit

4 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

That’s an absolutely fair call about Port.

Up until round 21 the Dogs and us were neck and neck for most of the season so it’s reasonable to assume that they could be more of a threat to us than Port.

I just think Port have hit a groove and seem to have bought in as a group after totally blowing it last year after being top of the ladder all year. They seem just as tight knit as us.

I don’t see Brisbane as a threat at all.

I tend to agree on Brisbane, i think at full strength they'd be a threat, but they're missing too much firepower. 

Port are playing solid footy there is no doubt, my only real concern is their smalls. i think the Dogs are a legitimate threat to us if they can get into the grand final, but they're going to have a really really hard time doing it.

I think Brisbane probably narrowly beat the dogs, and then Port get through. and i think we win by 4-5 goals regardless of who we play in the prelim

A port vs Melbourne grand final right now seems like the two best/most in form sides, and should make for a good game

No this is our year to get our hands on the cup. 

Will be really disappointing if we don’t take our chance this year 

Everyone has their year(s) past they think we missed a chance. You never know when that chance will come again. For me this is the best chance I've personally seen. So no I won't be satisfied if we don't win it all this tear' Plus I'm running out of time.

Finished on top.
Beaten every-one there is to beat during the season.
Minimal injuries with every-one fit.
Game plan is solid.
The flag is wide open.
Reckon If we don't win the lot it's because we kicked poorly.
I'll be disappointed if we don't hold up the cup.
 
 
 
 

Edited September 3, 20213 yr by Fork 'em

Looks like a game between two bottom 8 sides right now. No way we lose to either of these sides. Have to win it all from here.

Edited September 3, 20213 yr by Chook

I’ll choose to look at the silver lining which is at least we can break the drought in front of a packed MCG like it should be.

The problem with that logic is there are no guarantees in this caper. Need to seize the opportunities when they present themselves.

Think people are underestimating the difference between finals and home and away. Whole new ball game, and is only going to get tougher from here on in.

No way. To say that we equaled the achievement of 2018 would be a choke of the highest order. 2018 we somehow stumbled into the 8 and won two finals on a wave of momentum. We came up against an experienced and formidable opponent who had their sights set on bigger ambitions.

We have barraged our way to the top of the ladder, been there longer than any other team this season, and disposed of another top 4 team with ease in a qualifying final.

A loss next week would be equal to Essendon’s 1999 season. I bet you won’t find many Essendon supporters who would be proud of what they accomplished that season.

I’ll be pragmatic in that the year has exceeded expectations.

But I’ll be gutted in that I will realize how big an opportunity we will have lost if we don’t salute.

I’ve heard posters on here say that no matter what happens this year, we’ll be in the premiership mix for the next five years.

I don’t buy that.

The two previous MFC grand final teams of my lifetime rationalized their losses by saying that they were young and that their time would come.

Sadly, those versions of the MFC never got close to the big dance ever again. 

The difference between this year and those teams is that we finished 6 to 7 games behind our eventual opponents. This year, we’ve finished ahead of them all.

These chances don’t come often. We best make the most of it.

Edited September 3, 20213 yr by Colin B. Flaubert

52 minutes ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

I’ll be pragmatic in that the year has exceeded expectations.

But I’ll be gutted in that I will realize how big an opportunity we will have lost if we don’t salute.

I’ve heard posters on here say that no matter what happens this year, we’ll be in the premiership mix for the next five years.

I don’t buy that.

The two previous MFC grand final teams of my lifetime rationalized their losses by saying that they were young and that their time would come.

Sadly, those versions of the MFC never got close to the big dance ever again. 

The difference between this year and those teams is that we finished 6 to 7 games behind our eventual opponents. This year, we’ve finished ahead of them all.

These chances don’t come often. We best make the most of it.

Totally agree with all that but if we somehow don’t win a premiership this year and fade into the wilderness for the next 15 years I’ll be just plain flabbergasted.

The list is constructed and coached  to win a flag today. And if it doesn’t win today its constructed to win a flag next year and/or the following 4 IMO.

If we don’t win the GF, I’m bullish we’ll break the drought next year in front of the faithful, and what a day that would be for all of us starved Victorians that have barely seen a game since rd 22 2019.

Edited September 3, 20213 yr by Bring-Back-Powell

I would be bloody annoyed if they don't win and would expect some very hard analysis . No not looking at the match. It would have to be a learning experience which taught the team to win the next three.

And the team must just give its all and leave nothing n the tank.Win well or lose well.

 

Gee I really ruffle your feathers @faultydet, you offer a vomit emoji to me because I don’t see winning as the prime object in sport or in life. 

My ideology is play fair and share, enjoy the challenge and compete with gusto. Winning, nah, usually can't even be bothered keeping score when I play. The word play as I like it defined: "engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose."

Wow, caught up in the illusion of needing to be at the pinnacle so as to be satisfied!

If that is the attitude of an adult, would much rather be seen as having a teenagers mind set.

 

Edited September 3, 20213 yr by kev martin

Satisfied is not the right word, but it's been a fantastic season by any measure.

2 hours ago, At the break of Gawn said:

No way. To say that we equaled the achievement of 2018 would be a choke of the highest order.

I find this view staggering. Next week, there will be four teams left. None of the four teams would go in clear favourites against any other.

If our boys give it everything next week and come up short, I for one, won't be labelling them chokers.

No.

Premierships are very hard to win. For us to be in this position and not go all the way would be a waste.

 

No! Not if we lose to those ducks from down the highway! 
 

 

13 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Underestimate Port at your own peril.

They’re on a 7 game winning streak which is 2 wins better than ours and finished only half a game and a bit of percentage behind us. And they beat the Dogs late in the year which we failed to do in round 18 and failed pretty dismally. Plus they have the red carpet quarantine free entry into a grand final.

It’s a genuine 2 horse race and if Port beat us in a GF, we tip our hats off to them and move onto next year.

Context please : They beat the dogs without Bruce and at the time the Bulldogs were having their slump having lost their last two and working out their new forward structure. And again, had we not beaten Geelong in Rd 23 Port would of finished on top having not beaten 2nd, 3rd or 4th. But credit where credit is due, for mine Port hasn’t had a slump this year, they’ve come to play every week but have struggled against the better sides. Their win against Geelong last week was solid but rd 23 against the Dogs was hardly convincing.

18 hours ago, Roost it far said:

If we don’t win the flag from here it will a bigger waste than paying Gerry Harvey job keeper……and just as shameful. 

How about 6 million smaceroos to Louis Vitton