4 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

We beat Lions, we beat Dogs, we beat Geelong. 
And I bet my bottom dollar that if Oliver doesn’t do his hamstring we beat Port as well. 
 

There is a lot to be said for fighting back and winning. But there’s equally a lot to be said for not needing to constantly fight back to win, don’t you think? 
Why is Pies coming back and winning more impressive than Melbourne being in every game we play and rarely being in a position to not win it?

Nothing funnier than someone doubling down in blind faith got to give it to you.

Dwayne calling the 50m line "the paint" ... uugghh!

Me doing my bit for the Australian cricket team.

 

40 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

Nothing funnier than someone doubling down in blind faith got to give it to you.

We are 4th on the ladder with 2 games and percentage ahead of the rest. Why is it blind faith to believe we are a good side? We’ve beaten more top 4 sides than the Pies have. 

9 hours ago, fr_ap said:

They're a phenomenal team and right now, they deserve the flag more than anyone else. I'm pretty sure they'll get what they deserve. 

They don't deserve to win the flag right now. You deserve  to win the flag if you're the best team on Grand Final day. In any case, deserving something is irrelevant. Melbourne finished 2nd in the H&A last year. Did we deserve to officially finish 5th after 2 tight finals and a knocked-up team? You need to be injury-free and get some luck in Finals. Still a long way to go.

8 hours ago, binman said:

Betting odds are interesting.

Two weeks ago we were fourth favourite, behind the pies, Port and lions.

We are now outright second favourite @ 5.50, behind the pies @ 2.75. 

Logical to me. Looks like Collingwood-Melbourne at the MCG in one Qualifying. No home ground advantage. One of Port & Brisbane will be playing away in the other Qualifying. Melbourne would have been longer odds previously because they had to make the Top 4 first but that's now almost  certainty. 

6 hours ago, DubDee said:

those thinking the Pies are lucky are kidding themselves. i thought they might have had some luck last year but they are doing it again and looking at a 20 win season

thats not luck

20-2's a great season but the point is that they're not a 20-2 team. 20-2 teams generally dominate their opponents and I'd say right now there's not much between 1-4 and Home Ground Advantage is going to be very important.

6 hours ago, BDA said:

It's funny how the best teams have so many "lucky" wins.

The best teams fight to the end and always believe they can win. It's what separates them from the rest.

 

Like Melbourne. Oh, sorry I forgot. Melbourne beat Brisbane last week because Brisbane gave us the game by going negative and won this week despite Adelaide being the better team and being unlucky at the end. The fact that Collingwood wins after coming from well-back means they are an unbeatable champion team. If they are such a great team why do they need these comebacks to win games?  

1 hour ago, Jaded No More said:

We are 4th on the ladder with 2 games and percentage ahead of the rest. Why is it blind faith to believe we are a good side? We’ve beaten more top 4 sides than the Pies have. 

I admire your faith, but still want what you are smoking.....

Just now, demon3165 said:

I admire your faith, but still want what you are smoking.....

Each to their own. I hope you’re pleasantly surprised in September. 

11 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

Each to their own. I hope you’re pleasantly surprised in September. 

And I hope I am nothing would be better than to win a premiership on the G

11 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

Each to their own. I hope you’re pleasantly surprised in September. 

I just want one team Jaded, one team, to actually take their chances against Collingwood early and bury them into a pile of quality Australian soil. 

It can happen and I hope it happens in finals. Better still I hope it is us that does it. 

12 hours ago, Sydney_Demon said:

... If they are such a great team why do they need these comebacks to win games?  

C'wood are obviously very good and in a great position to win the flag. 

But this is a very good question.v I'd be interested to see an explanation from those who think they are the bees knees.

In the 16 wins Collingwood have this season they've led at 3 Quarter time 10 times.

This theory that the Pies only win by coming from behind is probably a little on the nose. It does show that they can be put in a losing position and just need to be kept in a losing position. 

12 hours ago, demon3165 said:

I admire your faith, but still want what you are smoking.....

Would of been a clean sweep of the top4if we hadnt been robbed against Port in Adelaide.

Hard to disagree with this.

48 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Hard to disagree with this.

Please explain your position

7 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

Please explain your position

I think they are the second best team.

If the ladder was based on percentage only (not wins and losses) I think it it is a better representation of the true ranking of teams.

16 hours ago, demon3165 said:

Nothing funnier than someone doubling down in blind faith got to give it to you.

Being the eternal critic is the softest, easiest game in town, and you're flying with the twin parachutes of "they're finally doing what I've said all along" and "happy to be wrong" if we do succeed.

15 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

I think they are the second best team.

If the ladder was based on percentage only (not wins and losses) I think it it is a better representation of the true ranking of teams.

I disagree entirely because finals are generally a far more contested game where scoring dries up. They average a measly 1 goal a game more than we do, and I reckon that stat has been overblown by some of their smashing of the lowest sides. 
On the other hand, they are 10th for contested possessions. Guess who is first? FYI Port are 8th and Pies are 12th!

They do rank 1st in clearances but I reckon if we don’t lose Oliver for 3 months that looks very different. Not to mention they’re now going to be without Ashcroft. 
 

Edit: we are also 1st for intercepts. Port are 5th, Pies 11th and Lions 12th. I think the Lions defense is very susceptible to fast ball movement. We kicked over 100 points against them without Fritsch (yes they did the same to us too). Port also have a very soft defense. 
As for rebound 50s we are the best out of the top 4 sides, who are all poor. Lions are 17th!

Edited July 24, 20231 yr by Jaded No More

3 hours ago, Clint Bizkit said:

I think they are the second best team.

If the ladder was based on percentage only (not wins and losses) I think it it is a better representation of the true ranking of teams.

not when you have teams like meth coke and nordamelbin to distort %s

1 minute ago, daisycutter said:

not when you have teams like meth coke and nordamelbin to distort %s

Yep, a lot of teams playing three or even 4 times against those two sides will get an advantage compared to others not so lucky.

5 hours ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Hard to disagree with this.

I agree. We also beat them and the best team in the comp. Geelong think they're the danger... No.

*Can someone please photoshop a mfc jumper on Walter white.

1 minute ago, Nascent said:

I agree. We also beat them and the best team in the comp. Geelong think they're the danger... No.

*Can someone please photoshop a mfc jumper on Walter white.

better still just replace pic with one of jack viney

Just now, daisycutter said:

better still just replace pic with one of jack viney

Even better

2 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Yep, a lot of teams playing three or even 4 times against those two sides will get an advantage compared to others not so lucky.

Well we got Hawthorn twice & North twice, so 5 out of a possible 6 against the bottom 3 sides.  The teams Melbourne played/plays twice are Brisbane (currently 3rd), Carlton (9th), Richmond (10th), Sydney (12th), Hawthorn (16th) & North (17th). Now I'd say Carlton & Sydney are playing better than those ladder positions would indicate but you can't complain about match-ups this year. Incomparably easier than both 2021 & 2022.

On 7/23/2023 at 1:50 PM, BDA said:

It's funny how the best teams have so many "lucky" wins.

The best teams fight to the end and always believe they can win. It's what separates them from the rest.

 

That's partly true.

But i reckon a big factor in the pies run in close game is opponents thinking the pies will run over them.

They have won so many games where their opponent has been well on top and essentially chocked.

Just this season alone, off the top of my head I can think of the crows game at the g, Port this round just gone and the saints. 

6 minutes ago, Sydney_Demon said:

Well we got Hawthorn twice & North twice, so 5 out of a possible 6 against the bottom 3 sides.  The teams Melbourne played/plays twice are Brisbane (currently 3rd), Carlton (9th), Richmond (10th), Sydney (12th), Hawthorn (16th) & North (17th). Now I'd say Carlton & Sydney are playing better than those ladder positions would indicate but you can't complain about match-ups this year. Incomparably easier than both 2021 & 2022.

So much easier draw than 2021 and 2022 - particularly 2022