On 14/12/2021 at 00:44, deelusions from afar said:

Agree - easily my most hated team so the finish to the season and finals was that much sweeter!

Re Cats in Geelong, my sense (might be wrong) is that since Goody has been coaching us, we've played pretty well in at Kardinia Park - potentially have a better record there overall than the MCG against them.  I know they smashed us early in 2019 (but who didn't).  What's my point?  Playing in Kardinia doesn't hold any fears for me (especially after what we did to them this  year).

Whereas games at Canberra or Tassie often seem to trouble us regardless of how the opposition is travelling.

And Cairns!!!. This aside I'm with some of you. Don't care where we play as I think we will be even better in 21. The depth we have is very good and can cover injuries any where including one or two of our stars. We have the Weid , Dunstan, Tommo and a host of very good youngsters who will do the job if asked or required.

  On 10/12/2021 at 21:09, Demonland said:

Melbourne 5 wins 0 loss 20pts
Bulldogs 4 wins 1 loss 16pts
Essendon 4 wins 1 loss 16pts
Sydney 4 wins 1 loss 16pts
St Kilda 4 wins 1 loss 16pts
Geelong 3 wins 2 loss 12pts
Brisbane 3 wins 2 loss 12pts
Fremantle 3 wins 2 loss 12pts
Carlton 3 wins 2 loss 12pts
Richmond 3 wins 2 loss 12pts
West Coast 3 wins 2 loss 12pts
Port Adelaide 2 wins 3 loss 8pts
North Melbourne 1 wins 4 loss 4pts
Collingwood 1 wins 4 loss 4pts
Adelaide 1 wins 0 loss 4pts
GWS 1 wins 4 loss 4pts
Gold Coast 0 wins 5 loss 0pts
Hawthorn 0 wins 5 loss 0pts

We'd be doing seriously well if we can start 5-0 given we have the Dogs and Port in Adelaide. GWS at the G won't be a picnic either.

  On 13/12/2021 at 23:47, WalkingCivilWar said:

Uhm, does a one-legged duck swim in circles?!

This here is our OG chook whom we’ve had for years. Named Jay-Jay (after JH29)…

And introducing Febes 1 and Febes 2 (like Thing 1 and Thing 2, Dr Seuss)…

We can’t tell them apart, so whomever we see first at any given time is Febes 1 😆

The hairdos on the bottom pic suggests they would be better served by calling them Fritta.

  On 14/12/2021 at 07:51, leave it to deever said:

The hairdos on the bottom pic suggests they would be better served by calling them Fritta.

And maybe I should re-name this one BBB…

It’s better than her current name. (I only have naming rights for three of them. My son has named the other three.) This one he’s named Pom-Pom. 😑Need I say more?!

  On 14/12/2021 at 09:51, WalkingCivilWar said:

And maybe I should re-name this one BBB…

It’s better than her current name. (I only have naming rights for three of them. My son has named the other three.) This one he’s named Pom-Pom. 😑Need I say more?!

Looks more like a tea cozy or a Russian hat than a bird. As long as it lays eggs.

  On 10/12/2021 at 07:17, dworship said:

With the kids and going to work / school the next morning?

It's one day of the year. It's the flag unfurling after 57 YEARS. Let's not get too precious about these dates and times. 

Some  will still complain re Sunday so be it. !!! 

  On 13/12/2021 at 23:24, Macca said:

Another huge factor was the ability of all our forwards to fight for the front position and maintain the front position.  So important

Pound for pound our forward line isn't star-studded but we were exceptionally disciplined this season past thus giving ourselves do many more scoring opportunities

In previous years a lot of our forward forays amounted to not much at all

 

It's the mix of players ALL are different and nearly every one has more than a few tricks up their sleeves that makes our Forwards difficult to match up against 

Also the opposition forget Track and the resting mids and rucks ( Dogga and Maxy) and that each player needs watching themselves. 

Plus that we have never not been able really to get the ball into our forward area and now with so many good players and our system working with the delivery from defence or midfielders it's impossible to stop.

I would rate all our forwards and resting mids and rucks as at least 7/10 with Fritta Trac BBB Kossie Tommy all 8 or above. Any one on a given day can score heavily or star or bog or 3 vote Brownlow. And let's face it they are all DAMN GOOD FOOTBALLERS who are well coached.

Plus they are asked to compete and tackle for their lives each game!

We have very little to worry about our forwards compared to many other teams.

 

Only 77 days to go 😜

  On 28/12/2021 at 19:30, 58er said:

It's the mix of players ALL are different and nearly every one has more than a few tricks up their sleeves that makes our Forwards difficult to match up against 

Also the opposition forget Track and the resting mids and rucks ( Dogga and Maxy) and that each player needs watching themselves. 

Plus that we have never not been able really to get the ball into our forward area and now with so many good players and our system working with the delivery from defence or midfielders it's impossible to stop.

I would rate all our forwards and resting mids and rucks as at least 7/10 with Fritta Trac BBB Kossie Tommy all 8 or above. Any one on a given day can score heavily or star or bog or 3 vote Brownlow. And let's face it they are all DAMN GOOD FOOTBALLERS who are well coached.

Plus they are asked to compete and tackle for their lives each game!

We have very little to worry about our forwards compared to many other teams.

Previously, our forward line (as a collective) has been a weak point from an overall perspective (since 2006)

As was our backline & midfield in many (or most) of the past 15 years.  As a result, we didn't have any proper depth

So now we are laden with talent all over and are continuing to add talent.  We could end up with a nice problem to have in terms of excess of talent  ... I've spoken to many who witnessed the Smith era and they've all said that we had an abundance of talent in those prosperous years

The same argument has been forthcoming from those supporters of teams who have won multiple flags in a short space of time

As for now, I'd say without doubt our biggest improvement as a club in the last 8-9 years or so has been talent identification and our ability to target certain recruits and acquire those recruits

Recruitment with a real purpose

The turnaround probably started in the 2012 off-season when we recruited Viney & Hogan (In the end, May was a swap for Hogan in an indirect way)  After that, the acquirement of PJ & Roos and the rest is history

Good coaching, a stable board and good administration on top of all that and the success follows

But without real talent and lots of it, it's almost impossible to win big

We've got an advantage now so we need to take advantage

As for the fixture ... any team, any time, anywhere

  On 28/12/2021 at 23:59, Macca said:

Previously, our forward line (as a collective) has been a weak point from an overall perspective (since 2006)

As was our backline & midfield in many (or most) of the past 15 years.  As a result, we didn't have any proper depth

So now we are laden with talent all over and are continuing to add talent.  We could end up with a nice problem to have in terms of excess of talent  ... I've spoken to many who witnessed the Smith era and they've all said that we had an abundance of talent in those prosperous years

The same argument has been forthcoming from those supporters of teams who have won multiple flags in a short space of time

As for now, I'd say without doubt our biggest improvement as a club in the last 8-9 years or so has been talent identification and our ability to target certain recruits and acquire those recruits

Recruitment with a real purpose

The turnaround probably started in the 2012 off-season when we recruited Viney & Hogan (In the end, May was a swap for Hogan in an indirect way)  After that, the acquirement of PJ & Roos and the rest is history

Good coaching, a stable board and good administration on top of all that and the success follows

But without real talent and lots of it, it's almost impossible to win big

We've got an advantage now so we need to take advantage

As for the fixture ... any team, any time, anywhere

Good summary of us at late 2021/early 2022.

  On 29/12/2021 at 00:10, 58er said:

Good summary of us at late 2021/early 2022.

It's all come together and for us supporters, we obviously want it to continue

I'm sure the club wants more success too but the club needs to maintain momentum with no slip-ups

Injuries to our best players could happen and then everything changes if we get multiple injuries to our best players at the same time.  Or, if we take our foot off the gas

How is our overall fitness going to be with Selwyn Griffith as the new High Performance Manager? 

Nothing is guaranteed but if we're hungry for success and we get a decent run with injuries we can win 'at least' one more flag with this list

But premierships are hard to win no matter how good a team might be, 58er ... the opposition are trying to win big too!

So who is our biggest threat?  Bulldogs?  Tigers? Port? Brisbane?  Surely not the Cats!  A team from outside of that lot?

If and it’s a big IF, Essendon can knock off Geelong (MCG) and Brisbane (Marvel) in the opening fortnight, I can see 65,000 for our round 3 Friday night game. This would effectively almost compensate for losing the QBDay gate this year.

Ofcourse that’s dependent on us starting the year in good fashion.

 

  On 29/12/2021 at 05:56, Bring-Back-Powell said:

If and it’s a big IF, Essendon can knock off Geelong (MCG) and Brisbane (Marvel) in the opening fortnight, I can see 65,000 for our round 3 Friday night game. This would effectively almost compensate for losing the QBDay gate this year.

Ofcourse that’s dependent on us starting the year in good fashion.

 

If Essedon win those first 2 games, their arrogant and aggressive supporters will turn up thinking the flag is theirs.

Watch your backs in the crowd.

 

 

Jesus I detest Essedon supporters.

  On 29/12/2021 at 05:56, Bring-Back-Powell said:

If and it’s a big IF, Essendon can knock off Geelong (MCG) and Brisbane (Marvel) in the opening fortnight, I can see 65,000 for our round 3 Friday night game. This would effectively almost compensate for losing the QBDay gate this year.

Ofcourse that’s dependent on us starting the year in good fashion.

 

We should be aiming for 80k for that game

  On 29/12/2021 at 09:15, Dr. Gonzo said:

We should be aiming for 80k for that game

Agree 80,000 or sellout is possible !

  On 28/12/2021 at 21:50, Dr. Gonzo said:

Only 77 days to go 😜

Yes indeed.

About time to start the Countdown to next game clock !!

  On 27/01/2022 at 03:23, Wadda We Sing said:

Yes indeed.

About time to start the Countdown to next game clock !!

48 days

  On 27/01/2022 at 09:17, Dr. Gonzo said:

48 days

Yes but last year there was a clock in the RHS column with hours and seconds.....quite hilarious and also serious!

Perhaps im not looking in the right place? Or maybe the boss is still working on it.

  On 31/01/2022 at 01:29, Wadda We Sing said:

Yes but last year there was a clock in the RHS column with hours and seconds.....quite hilarious and also serious!

Perhaps im not looking in the right place? Or maybe the boss is still working on it.

44 days 6 hours 43 minutes and 10 seconds

🤣

  On 31/01/2022 at 01:37, Dr. Gonzo said:

44 days 6 hours 43 minutes and 10 seconds

🤣

Classic.

  On 31/01/2022 at 01:37, Dr. Gonzo said:

44 days 6 hours 43 minutes and 10 seconds

🤣

Everything’s Marvellous 

  On 14/12/2021 at 09:51, WalkingCivilWar said:

And maybe I should re-name this one BBB…

It’s better than her current name. (I only have naming rights for three of them. My son has named the other three.) This one he’s named Pom-Pom. 😑Need I say more?!

i'm wondering why i can't see the last 6 or so images you have posted?

anyone else have this problem or has it happened since they were originally posted?

  On 14/12/2021 at 03:16, Bring-Back-Powell said:

We'd be doing seriously well if we can start 5-0 given we have the Dogs and Port in Adelaide. GWS at the G won't be a picnic either.

As much as I'd love to just smash the same clubs again next year, it would be nice to see WB & Port drop out of the 4 or 8 this year, and a few other challengers step up. We might look back on the first 5 weeks as a breeze. And play the real premiership contenders later on. Hopefully what we do to them will be so spirit crushing, that we effectively end both their seasons before they even begin. I don't think a club that relies on the ageing Boak, Jonas, Gray & Dixon has much left in its legs. And as for the Dogs, if Libba decides to not mentally turn up (again), then they're already gone.

Edited January 31, 20223 yr by John Demonic

  On 31/01/2022 at 06:53, daisycutter said:

i'm wondering why i can't see the last 6 or so images you have posted?

anyone else have this problem or has it happened since they were originally posted?

When I use up my image quota but want to post more images I go into my account and delete previously posted pics. I do this because - despite Andy explaining image-sharing sites -  I don’t know any other way around this. 

  On 31/01/2022 at 07:24, John Demonic said:

And as for the Dogs, if Libba decides to not mentally turn up (again), then they're already gone.

Disagree.  The dogs should be better as E Wood has retired, with hindsight at the end of the prelim. Worst defensive performance in a GF since Ray Boyanich.