On 03/04/2022 at 12:19, hemingway said:

Enjoy the moment and enjoy each win. After a lifetime of playing and watching sport, I follow the old adage of not getting too far ahead of oneself. Injury and other unforeseen variables can change the picture very quickly. 

And we have had 3 rounds. 

Lets just enjoy now. 

This. 

Let's not model ourselves on Hawthorn supporters, now or ever.

We only have one rival this year…

Ourselves.
If we are switched on right, we will win it. 
The Boys want to win it at the ‘G

We're going to lose at some point this year. IMO, we'll drop one of the next four (GWS, Richmond, Hawthorn, St Kilda), despite them all being at the MCG.

We've been up for a while, we're still unsettled personnel-wise in defence, and Petracca's learning to play through hard tags.

When we do lose, I suspect many of those who have said in this thread that there's daylight between us and the rest of the competition are going to regret saying that.

Besides which, there are plenty of examples in history of dominant H&A sides not winning it. St Kilda went 19-0 in 2019, finished 20-2, and didn't win it. Richmond was 19-3 in 2018 and didn't win it. Adelaide was the best H&A side in 2017 and didn't win it. Port was on top of the ladder literally every week in 2020 and didn't win it.

  On 10/04/2022 at 00:51, Return to Glory said:

This. 

Let's not model ourselves on Hawthorn supporters, now or ever.

Nah. I have every intention of being a smug arrogant pr..k around Hawthorn supporters and supporters of most other teams. The same way that Hawthorns supporter 'friends' have behaved  all my life. The exceptions are if they support the Saints ,North, GWS, GCS or Freo  in which case I'll just be condescending.

I've waited my whole life to behave like this. I'm going to enjoy it.

  On 10/04/2022 at 06:26, titan_uranus said:

We're going to lose at some point this year. IMO, we'll drop one of the next four (GWS, Richmond, Hawthorn, St Kilda), despite them all being at the MCG.

We've been up for a while, we're still unsettled personnel-wise in defence, and Petracca's learning to play through hard tags.

When we do lose, I suspect many of those who have said in this thread that there's daylight between us and the rest of the competition are going to regret saying that.

Besides which, there are plenty of examples in history of dominant H&A sides not winning it. St Kilda went 19-0 in 2019, finished 20-2, and didn't win it. Richmond was 19-3 in 2018 and didn't win it. Adelaide was the best H&A side in 2017 and didn't win it. Port was on top of the ladder literally every week in 2020 and didn't win it.

Correct, but we were dominant last year and won it. So anything is possible. 
We aren’t dominating right now we are definitely just pacing ourselves. If we finish top 2 I can’t see us losing the flag. 

  On 10/04/2022 at 06:26, titan_uranus said:

We're going to lose at some point this year. IMO, we'll drop one of the next four (GWS, Richmond, Hawthorn, St Kilda), despite them all being at the MCG.

We've been up for a while, we're still unsettled personnel-wise in defence, and Petracca's learning to play through hard tags.

When we do lose, I suspect many of those who have said in this thread that there's daylight between us and the rest of the competition are going to regret saying that.

Besides which, there are plenty of examples in history of dominant H&A sides not winning it. St Kilda went 19-0 in 2019, finished 20-2, and didn't win it. Richmond was 19-3 in 2018 and didn't win it. Adelaide was the best H&A side in 2017 and didn't win it. Port was on top of the ladder literally every week in 2020 and didn't win it.

All very true, a lot can still go wrong. Carlton has just lost Cripps for a month. If a few of our guns go down at the wrong time of year it could be problematic. However, having said that, Richmond 2018 was the only example of past teams you’ve referred to above where there was probably daylight between them and the next best. They just had a horrible night in their preliminary final against Collingwood. There is daylight between us and the next best side (probably Brisbane if they turn it on), then daylight to everyone else.
 

We’ve barely flexed a muscle all season yet despite four wins, so if we are challenged I think we’ll still win most games.

Injuries and/or inaccurate kicking in a crucial finals match will be the only things that might stop us this year.

Time to be the first team ever in the AFL era to win the flag undefeated I reckon

  On 03/04/2022 at 12:46, Garbo said:

It’s us then daylight. 

Dixson made that same statement on the Fox post match game the other night after our game.

I don't want to get cocky and finals are usually hard to win, but it's really nice to hear the footy world talk about us that way, rather than saying how we are pusss.

  On 09/04/2022 at 22:22, BDA said:

Kane Cornes reckons we're 15% better than our nearest rivals because of our defensive structure. I agree with him

interesting because he picked port to beat us last thursday

We have played four teams. Settle down. Injury to 3 key players would even it all up.

I think Brisbane are right up there and are the side that worries me most at the moment.  If they weren't shafted again down at the cattery,  they would probably be on top of the ladder right now.  I also think they will be alot better with Hipwood back in their side, assuming he can come back from injury and find his best form again.  I watched them demolish Geelong at the Gabba mid season last year and the were impressive.

I really do hope Geelong fall apart at the seams again come finals time.  It's a long season and I think that will really hurt and start to bite their fossilised main stars like Selwood, Dangerfield, Smithd, Toohey etc.  As well as Cameron seems to be playing at the moment, if Hawkins ever gets injured, I think they would be totally stuffed.

In theory, the Bulldogs should be there abouts, but their very poor start to the season will make it very hard for them to stay in touch and just make finals from here and they won't have any luxuries that we do to rest or take their time bringing back injured players like we have.  If they do make finals, they could be totally stuffed by the time they get there, unless they can find good form fast, finish in a flurry and win it from 5th again like 2017...but I can't see it.

 

It's a long season and there's still pleanty of opportunities for us to get injuries and have a form slump, but the great start we have had to the season has put us in a really good position already.  Particularly considering we haven't really hit our straps form wise yet and with the injuries we've had to our back six, we could really go from strength to strength from here.  I think our exceptional depth is already proving to be of great value in the COVID iso interrupted season we are having.

 

I'm also hoping that some of the sides who have been injury depleted and/or had poor starts like Port, Essendon and the Bulldogs can win some games against top 8/top 4 sides in the next half a season and help us put more of a buffer on the rest of the top 4.  In theory we should have had a much harder start to the season with the opponents we've had, but we've either got lucky and played them when they're down or we've been good enough to make them look quite ordinary or a bit of both.

  On 10/04/2022 at 08:18, Jaded No More said:

Correct, but we were dominant last year and won it. So anything is possible. 
We aren’t dominating right now we are definitely just pacing ourselves. If we finish top 2 I can’t see us losing the flag. 

  On 10/04/2022 at 08:37, Glorious Day said:

All very true, a lot can still go wrong. Carlton has just lost Cripps for a month. If a few of our guns go down at the wrong time of year it could be problematic. However, having said that, Richmond 2018 was the only example of past teams you’ve referred to above where there was probably daylight between them and the next best. They just had a horrible night in their preliminary final against Collingwood. There is daylight between us and the next best side (probably Brisbane if they turn it on), then daylight to everyone else.
 

We’ve barely flexed a muscle all season yet despite four wins, so if we are challenged I think we’ll still win most games.

Injuries and/or inaccurate kicking in a crucial finals match will be the only things that might stop us this year.

Don't get me wrong, I think we're the best side in it and I think our first four games have been fantastic given the opponents, the fixture, the back-to-back six day breaks and the missing players we've had. I'm incredibly pleased with where we sit and IMO we're playing football that is better than anyone else so far (our percentage exceeds everyone except Brisbane, who belted North by 100 points. We're nearly 10% clear of the rest of the competition).

I just don't believe we're so far in front of Brisbane, Geelong or Sydney that it's a lay down misere, and even if we are that far in front, it doesn't guarantee anything.

  On 10/04/2022 at 06:26, titan_uranus said:

We're going to lose at some point this year. IMO, we'll drop one of the next four (GWS, Richmond, Hawthorn, St Kilda), despite them all being at the MCG.

We've been up for a while, we're still unsettled personnel-wise in defence, and Petracca's learning to play through hard tags.

When we do lose, I suspect many of those who have said in this thread that there's daylight between us and the rest of the competition are going to regret saying that.

Besides which, there are plenty of examples in history of dominant H&A sides not winning it. St Kilda went 19-0 in 2019, finished 20-2, and didn't win it. Richmond was 19-3 in 2018 and didn't win it. Adelaide was the best H&A side in 2017 and didn't win it. Port was on top of the ladder literally every week in 2020 and didn't win it.

I won’t regret it.

The difference is we have form on belting top 4 sides, like, absolutely belting them, when it counts. 

  On 10/04/2022 at 12:44, titan_uranus said:

Don't get me wrong, I think we're the best side in it and I think our first four games have been fantastic given the opponents, the fixture, the back-to-back six day breaks and the missing players we've had. I'm incredibly pleased with where we sit and IMO we're playing football that is better than anyone else so far (our percentage exceeds everyone except Brisbane, who belted North by 100 points. We're nearly 10% clear of the rest of the competition).

I just don't believe we're so far in front of Brisbane, Geelong or Sydney that it's a lay down misere, and even if we are that far in front, it doesn't guarantee anything.

Geelong are a year older, and we are a year better, from an absolute flogging. We understand their game and can counter it.

The only thing that might save Geelong on their day is Jeremy Cameron having a blinder, which he didn’t do last year against us. 

There IS daylight between us and the opposition.

But the beauty of football is come preliminary final, each game is elimination.

The 2018 season is the best recent evidence of the no guarantees maxim being true. 

The tigers were rhe best team in 2018 by a mile something like 1.70 to win the flag come finals, IRC.

They were even shorter to beat the pies in rhe prelim.

Got mugged by the pies and a septic..

USA USA USA 

  On 03/04/2022 at 11:56, Jaded No More said:

Sydney - play a similar style to us, good even spread across the ground. Very talented side and superbly coached.

Brisbane- talent on every line. Excellent midfield. Will challenge again. Question marks over their ability to get it done in finals and at the MCG. 

Carlton- I have my doubts about their defense and defensive work rate but their mids and forwards are elite 

GWS- can be and do anything but probably won’t 

Geelong - old 

Dogs- poor defensively 

The rest do not keep me awake at night. 

I agree. Carlton, Dogs and Cats all exposed by mid list sides last week.I agree Cats too old which will be exposed as the season goes on. 
 

l think our main threats are GWS and Swans, but let’s see how they go as the the season progresses. My guess is it will find them out……

I couldn’t be happier with where we are sitting at the moment. Recent results show that there is only one team in the league that really knows what defence is, and that is us. Last year we won so many games on the trot at the start of the season, but none of them any more impressive than the wins we’ve been having this season – they were all 3 to 4 goal grinds. And there is so much potential improvement! I have been a knock on Jordon, but he showed on Thursday that he has plenty to give. Sparrow will continue to improve. I think that even though Weed was quiet last game, he is starting to hold his marks, and I think he may have finally turned the corner.

Loving it right now…

I was speaking a bombers fan and a cats fan at a wedding over the weekend (I know 🤮), and they said what we’re all thinking and saying, we’re in cruise control and when we get challenged we have levels that they other teams can’t match. We all agreed the only thing that would stop us is if we had injuries to all of our midfield guns at the pointy end of the season. 

Geelong and Brisbane seem to be our only current rivals, the Lions going toe to toe with the Cats at home is impressive even if they didn’t get the chocolates. I tipped GC this week, Carlton are going to make finals but there’ll be ups and downs. In no way are they a contender. 

  On 03/04/2022 at 20:31, praha said:

Came here to say this. Can score quickly but also get scored against quickly. They will win some big games this year. But they still lack polish imo. They could well finish top 4.

They along with Sydney, Brisbane and Collingwood are my biggest concerns this year. I'm not concerned about Geelong, nor the Bulldogs.

Collingwobbles are rank, Brisbane are the ones to keep an eye on.

Garry and Bucks on SEN this morning jokingly suggested the fourth most likely challenger to ourselves are the Casey Demons.

I worry about the team in Yellow (and sometimes green). On their day they are certainly capable of defeating us. They are our real rival this season.

  On 11/04/2022 at 03:48, Allus Monk said:

I worry about the team in Yellow (and sometimes green). On their day they are certainly capable of defeating us. They are our real rival this season.

ah....previously known as the alabaster larvae

Probably not anyone we have played.  All 4 are outside the 8.

  On 10/04/2022 at 14:45, binman said:

The 2018 season is the best recent evidence of the no guarantees maxim being true. 

The tigers were rhe best team in 2018 by a mile something like 1.70 to win the flag come finals, IRC.

Yes, some commentators in the media also comparing us now to Richmond 2018:

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/04/11/be-very-afraid-unbeaten-demons-have-huge-scope-for-improvement/

Can we hope of matching our club record of 7 consecutive GFs instead?!

  On 11/04/2022 at 03:23, In Harmes Way said:

Garry and Bucks on SEN this morning jokingly suggested the fourth most likely challenger to ourselves are the Casey Demons.

Great humour