Have you enjoyed season 2022?

[Bates Mate 4,520]

Pretty simple question but keen to hear members responses. We sit second on the ladder with 4 games to go but scanning through most threads it appears alot of the natives are restless.

I'd personally say I haven't enjoyed the year as much as the ladder position suggests I should. 

The first 10 wins the brand of footy never had my excitement levels up . I've not been able to attend as many games as I'd like due to having a young family and us having so many night games. 

The only game I've really enjoyed was the Brisbane game.i was able to attend and we played a ferocious brand of footy and the crowd was into it .

I've sat through 35+ years in the outer through all the good and mostly bad but after reaching the promised land  last year, this year is just strange.

 

 

[BDA 23,048]

I'm very happy

The lot of the average sports fan is disappointment. Most teams are just average, up and down, inconsistent

Other than Freo and Geelong we have been competitive every game, sit second on the ladder and are right in the mix for a back to back. We have problems and concerns but compared to others we are in a great spot

[Undeeterred 3,127]

2 minutes ago, BDA said:

I'm very happy

The lot of the average sports fan is disappointment. Most teams are just average, up and down, inconsistent

Other than Freo and Geelong we have been competitive every game, sit second on the ladder and are right in the mix for a back to back. We have problems and concerns but compared to others we are in a great spot

A stretch to say we weren’t competitive in those two games 

[The heart beats true 18,201]

It’s been brilliant. We’ve been up to our necks in every game bar 2 I reckon (Freo and Geelong). I thought we played some scintillating footy on Saturday night. The Dogs played the best they could possibly play to beat us. It was laughable that they kicked so straight in the last quarter. They couldn’t do that 99 times out of a hundred. 

I have so much admiration for our team structure and discipline. Watching players run 150 metres at full speed knowing they probably won’t get the ball is incredible. 

I think we’ve clearly got the best midfield and defenders in the comp. Everyone fit, on the park and playing well and it’s going to have to be something incredible to beat us.

I also love that we know we’ve got Tracc and Clarry for the next 6-7 seasons. 

This place is where a lot of people vent their frustration because it’s a free hit. They really want us to succeed, but if they start ringing the alarm bells they hope it’ll console them if we lose - and they can say ‘I told everyone’. I don’t really buy into that. It’s ok to want us to win, but also be respectful of how hard the year has been, and still have a lot of faith in what we can do.

 

[rpfc 29,030]

I enjoy the way we are competitive in every game we play and that I get to see really good footy every game. 

It’s just frustrating that it is interspersed with sub par performances and boring footy. 

Expectations rise and that is a part of it of course. 

[Clintosaurus 7,953]

Our dog has not enjoyed most of the last 8 matches.

[david_neitz_is_my_dad 4,084]

Aside from the the first quarter in round 1, Brisbane game and most of the Saints game, not really. We struggled to get over the line against bottom 4 teams and got pushed aside by Freo, Collingwood and Geelong had their way with us in the end.

We look pretty far off it and things can change or you can say its just the regular season but at the very least we wont be dominant in the finals its a very even playing field.

Edited July 26, 2022 by david_neitz_is_my_dad

[John Crow Batty 8,893]

I am frustrated that we don’t seem to go hard enough for the entirety of most games. It appears the opposition nearly always are trying harder even when we beat them comfortably. It shows we have the talent and the game but slacking off too often. Smacks of arrogance and hubris. We certainly can do better and I’m expecting it for the remainder of the season.

Edited July 26, 2022 by John Crow Batty

[layzie 34,528]

For the most part absolutely. We had a gameplan you could trust once a lead was established. Yeah some slip ups here and there but it is great to have a competitive team again.

While it has been great though the way this season ends has a big part to play and I'm not talking about winning a flag or not. I'm talking about where we finish in Rd 23. I enjoyed the 2004 season very much but it was a season squandered in the end. You could say the same for the two years after. You would hate to have the wheels fall off now and no-one remembers teams that started seasons real well (Unless they win the flag of course) 

[Vipercrunch 2,864]

Great question and I agree with your final sentiment that it has been strange.

I went to several games very early on, and although we were challenged during most of those games, I never once doubted we would win, which was a completely foreign feeling.  My son who attened all of those games with me said he found expecting to win all the time to be less enjoyable than going to games with only a faint hope of winning.

As we moved into our mid-season slump, because I'm firmly in the Cult of Loading, when we started to perform poorly and lose games, my confidence has never waivered, quite the oppisite in fact.  I am impressed that my club has it's eyes firmly on the real goal, that of playing it's best footy when it counts in September.  Simultaneously hating to lose while also framing those loses within the big picture and being ok with them is also a completely foreign feeling.

Now as we enter the final run home, there is a lot of trepedation as questions/predictions are finally answered.  Has my trust in the players and staff been well placed or totally misplaced?  Time will tell but I will be devasted and angry if we don't at least make the preliminary final as we are definetely good enough.  I don't believe last year was a fluke or only due to incredible luck, so to not make at least PF weekend would be an absolute failure.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Vipercrunch

[Demon3 2,541]

Great question.

Really hard to say.. i think there is apart of me that hasn't enjoyed it as much as last year,  i think that's the pressure that has come with being the premiers. Last year was a wild ride.. hoping to play finals, hoping to finish top of the ladder, hoping to win a final, praying we win the GF. 

I have not enjoyed some of the Media scrutiny, they have really made me angry at times with their constant searching for issues and looking to break us down.

Its been a tough year, but i will never not love watching us play. 

 

 

[old55 23,864]

Reigning Premiers and in the hunt again.  Seriously - what's not to love?

[chook fowler 19,783]

not really. Frustration is the main emotion - glimpses of good form that are not sustained. Kozzies 6 in Alice was a real joyous event and have liked watching the progress of Jordon on the wing. Clarrie continues to amaze. Otherwise - meh.

[Tony Tea 2,816]

The fact that we have been off our food all year and had plenty more injuries than last year, but have still won lots of games, and have hardly ever been out of games, is enormously promising. We mightn't win it this year, but I wouldn't want to face us in a final; especially if we have some unplayed cards. I reckon our development jumped ahead of the curve in 2021, and we've come back to the field in line with development in 2022. 2023 and onwards looks good.

[Mr Steve 3,820]

Prime Time TV nearly every week, ending the season with three Friday nights and one Sat Night game. The stuff I used to dream of.

[At the break of Gawn 4,515]

I really enjoyed the first 5-6 weeks and especially the afterglow of being premier, but then we started to see huge lapses in our game which still hasn’t been addressed.

It’ll never live up to the excitement of ‘21. I still have really fond memories of 2018 but hopefully this year will be better than that.

[praha 11,267]

I struggle to find a way to articulate this feeling. I have "enjoyed" it but found it to be mostly uninspiring. As it turns out, being at the top, being hunted, being hated really isn't that fun. Remember when merely making finals was a huge win for us? Now it's top 4 or bust.

I do remember at this *exact* moment last year convincing myself we weren't going to finish top 4. The remaining 7-8 weeks are such a blur.

This year has felt like a real grind. Every game has seemed *tough*. And the losses have really stung. Especially the Sydney, Collingwood and Bulldogs games. I lost sleep over them. Which sounds weird I know.

I don't feel like we've really had any stiring, passionate wins this year. Whereas every single one of our losses seems to have been the opposition's biggest win of the year. That really pisses me off. Teams really love beating us. I thought I'd enjoy being hated but it's made me hate losing even more. I just can't handle the way people carry on when they beat Melbourne. It makes me reallllllly want to burt the living daylights out of Freo and Collingwood. Really put them to the sword.

I just thinking objectively across the whole year and the stars just aren't aligning. Weirdly this year has 2020 vibes for me. Not bad, mostly forgettable, frustrating in parts, fun others. 

The next 4 weeks might change things for me but something seems off. I haven't been able to put my finger on it.

Edited July 26, 2022 by praha

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,525]

Good question.
Hard to answer.

All I’ve ever wanted is for our team to be competitive week in, week out; and we certainly have that this year.  So I should be happy.

Im finding myself a bit flat after the premiership last year.  The highs aren’t quite as good and the lows don’t really hurt.  I’m sure that’s a tiny example of what the players would feel in a premiership hangover.  

We’ve climbed a bloody big mountain and it’s difficult to emotionally invest straight away again.

 

[FearTheBeard 1,234]

They play the most dire football, its slow and boring.

They refuse to use the corridor and in close games we never look like scoring in the last ten minutes.

Melbourne are a hard watch.

Still far more fun than being 5-13...

[Guest]

YES!!!

I’m not a ‘Premiership Or Nothing’ type. 

For decades like every other Dees fan I’ve said “One flag in my lifetime. Just one flag and I’ll be happy.” Well, we got the one flag… and I’m happy.
 

Of course more success is always welcome, but meanwhile I’m enjoying the season and loving our Club more than ever. ❤️💙

[Diamond_Jim 12,778]

When we were winning I said to a friend that watching Melbourne was like watching a python devour it's prey. Slow and methodical. Gruesome but not exciting.

flashes of brilliance from Oliver and cameos from Langdon pre rib injury.

Now that we're losing.... resigned to it.

Took the losses to Collingwood and the Dogs quite hard and the score in the loss to Geelong flattered us.

It's such a long way down from Bang,bang, bang !

[tiers 2,883]

Not as much as I had hoped. With a 10/10 start I was hoping that we would have some big wins where I could relax and just watch us dominate and add percentage.

Most of our wins have been solid but not dominant. Maybe I got spoiled by the PF and GF.

[DubDee 26,711]

Good thread. Expectations rise so much after wining the flag and then being 10-0. Will we go 2022 unbeaten the media ask? then we go 3-5 and our whole season is up in the air.  I have certainly not felt the emotional highs of other years - even the bad years when a win felt so good as it was unexpected. And there have been very few games where I could relax and enjoy the win.

But looking back over the year, you have to think how lucky you are to see Clarry, Trac and the gang each week.  I used to lament us never having a champion midfielder and now we have two genuine stars

[DemonWA 3,941]

I've enjoyed the year to date. 

Our finals form at the end of last year set an unrealistic expectation for many. I'm able to see that as a but of an outlier so I've been comfortable with where we're at, although the next month will ultimately determine whether we've had a good year or not. If we finish top 4 we'll have had a ripper season

 

[old dee 24,084]

54 minutes ago, rpfc said:

I enjoy the way we are competitive in every game we play and that I get to see really good footy every game. 

It’s just frustrating that it is interspersed with sub par performances and boring footy. 

Expectations rise and that is a part of it of course. 

Covers my view rpfc. I expect us to perform closer in our form of last year.I am a bit over footy at senior AFL level. I am not keen on the way it is played. Enjoy reserver and lower levels more. No loud music, flashing signs, no night games. The games are played at a lower level than seniors , you are closer to the action. If it wasn't for the MFC I would have no interest in AFL at senior level.