2025 make or break year

[jnrmac 20,185]

15 hours ago, BW511 said:

It might not be enough.

We will be better than last year but we are coming from a long way back. 

The glass half full approach would say that we lost 4 games to top 8 sides by a goal or less. That's with all of the BS that was going on and the injuries etc.

We aren't that far off  

[Katrina Dee Fan 3,893]

53 minutes ago, deelusions from afar said:

Not sure what you meant by "are we?".  My point was that we had a number of losses where we were absolutely smashed which is a change from the previous 3 season00s where we were almost in every game.

This year we had Freo x2, Bris at the MCG and obviously a few late in the season eg Dogs where looked miles off it.  The compeition is very even so even the best teams haved a howler or two.  For us, it was more than one or two.  You take away our early wins to the dogs and hawks (before they got going) and what was our record against the top 8 like - despite being not far off it in terms of wins, we finished 14th for a reason.  Had we somehow made the 8, we wouldn't have troubled anyone in the finals.

I'm hoping it is the combination of a number of things that have been (hopefully) resolved since the season finished - disunity, instability off field, injuries etc

It was my mistake, I accidentally replied to your comment instead of the one saying we were a long way back.

[Little Goffy 14,639]

Sigh. You just know the moment anyone says 'I'm optimistic that if we can get our best players back on the field we'll be back in contention' someone with a Goodwin-shaped axe to grind will announce that Brisbane had just returned from the Somme when they won the premiership.

I'll sum it up. Oscar McInerney was the only missing Brisbane player who had polled a top-5 best and fairest finish at any club in the previous four seasons.

 

Meanwhile the Demons we're trying to make do without two routine contenders for the Brownlow medal as well as one of our most important leaders, on top of a normal injury mix.

Anyway, 2024 featured not only injuries but more simply a very poor season from about half a dozen of our best players. It was a huge drop in performance. If most of them return from injury and regain some form, then 2024 will be defined by the swell that produces alongside multiple highly rated kids that our misfortune and wisdom has allowed us to draft and to get games into.

There is a possibility that we will absolutely stop the competition into dust in 2025. But the range of possibilities for us includes everything from barely competitive to absolutely dominant. It's a weird one.

Just please leave the axe at the door.

[picket fence 17,496]

46 minutes ago, Little Goffy said:

Sigh. You just know the moment anyone says 'I'm optimistic that if we can get our best players back on the field we'll be back in contention' someone with a Goodwin-shaped axe to grind will announce that Brisbane had just returned from the Somme when they won the premiership.

I'll sum it up. Oscar McInerney was the only missing Brisbane player who had polled a top-5 best and fairest finish at any club in the previous four seasons.

 

Meanwhile the Demons we're trying to make do without two routine contenders for the Brownlow medal as well as one of our most important leaders, on top of a normal injury mix.

Anyway, 2024 featured not only injuries but more simply a very poor season from about half a dozen of our best players. It was a huge drop in performance. If most of them return from injury and regain some form, then 2024 will be defined by the swell that produces alongside multiple highly rated kids that our misfortune and wisdom has allowed us to draft and to get games into.

There is a possibility that we will absolutely stop the competition into dust in 2025. But the range of possibilities for us includes everything from barely competitive to absolutely dominant. It's a weird one.

Just please leave the axe at the door.

Very interesting post young Goffmeister. Interesting that you bring up that the 4 players missing sans Mc Inerny didn't finish top 5 B & F. The fact is those 4 players missing would waltz into our best 22 come Hell or Highwater. EASILY. Testimony to Brisvegas that their replacements might also get a game in our setup. Now that is the gamechanger I.MO. Oh and I'll take my axe with me could be slitheras at my front door!!!

Edited December 9 by picket fence

[Little Goffy 14,639]

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

Very interesting post young Goffmeister. Interesting that you bring up that the 4 players missing sans Mc Inerny didn't finish top 5 B & F. The fact is those 4 players missing would waltz into our best 22 come Hell or Highwater. EASILY. Testimony to Brisvegas that their replacements might also get a game in our setup. Now that is the gamechanger I.MO. Oh and I'll take my axe with me could be slitheras at my front door!!!

Yoikes, it is no wonder Simon Goodwin struggles to embed a game plan when the goalposts keep getting shuffled around.

One moment Brisbane are missing key players, the next it is the replacements.

Coleman, Doedee and McCarthy may well be in our 22, but they wouldn't be pushing our Petracca, Oliver and Brayshaw to do it.

Anyway, it is a side argument. You believe that Simon Goodwin is the problem, I believe we've been hit hard by circumstance and have managed to load up on new talent during the storm.

[leave it to deever 17,517]

On 08/12/2024 at 18:03, Roost it far said:

Yee of little faith. If you take last years result and add Petracca, Oliver, Langford, Lindsay, preseasons into Petty, Spargo, a fit Salem, Bowey and May and then add another preseason into Windsor, JVR, Kolt, Turner and add Rivers to the midfield what exactly aren’t you confident about?

Thanks Rif. I do acknowledge your footy iq.

I do believe there is a cloud over the first two players I think.

No one can argue that in their previous prime that they are not the two best players about.

But unfortunately one has struggled with form for quite a while and the other has had issues with the club and has yet played since his well known anger at the club and a significant injury.

Giving them both the benefit of the doubt, I can't do the same for Petty. Not as a forward at least. Which I think leaves our forward line with just Jvr as our only real tall. And as mentioned he's often playing in the middle for ruck duties. And while a solid young player, he's still learning.

I like Spargo but he's no superstar and we are not really lacking goal sneaks.

And I do worry about Salos injuries 

I think there has been too much going on in terms of morale and the club not being able to solve our forward line problems.

We lost Jackson and then Grundy . While the Grundy fwd experience didn't really pan out at least they were great back up rucks for poor Max who is carrying a huge load. We have lost Smith as well.

Fritta didn't have his best season last year and Tmac is definitely not playing fwd again.

I appreciate your positivity but I think we will struggle again ammasing big scores.

Can't see us winning a flag with our current forward line. And I imagine Jvr will be required to play in the middle even more.

I think we will be one of the four clubs fighting for a finals birth and probably won't make it.

Unfortunately 2023 was a big loss for us and our best shot of winning a flag. Losing Melksham and then having Gus knocked out by that dog was really bad luck. We could have rolled the pies had those players not gone down and then won another cup. Shame. Maybe if Gus wasn't whacked we could even have won without Melksham. 

Id say it was just bad luck but I still maintain that  it was a deliberate act on por Gus. Plus we kicked ourselves out of both finals by errant scoring. An issue which has been around for quite a while as has our lack of a couple of big experienced fwds like Tmac.

Remember how potent it was when he was in form as a fwd alongside Hogan.

Imagine if we had that firepower again with some of the crumbers we now have. And Fritta as well. Wow.

Alas our two power back big fwds last year were a young Jvr and all at sea Petty. 

Night and day. That for me is the biggest hurdle. 

I just don't believe we have the necessary players and I'm not sure all the players have the necessary mind set.

I do so hope I'm wrong.

 

 

[leave it to deever 17,517]

On 09/12/2024 at 11:04, 58er said:

You need to sit down and list the PROS and CONS and if you look at it critically and intelligently you will come up with twice as many PROS than CONS for a return to Finals or even a Top4 finish with Flag possibilities.

Your usually half glass empty so I am not surprised of your general pessimism. Dont in any way share your view so if you act on my suggestion how you go. 

In all fairness 58er, you calling out someone as glass half empty is pretty rich.

Fair shake of the sauce bottle.

A great deal of your posts are just you having a negative crack at someone.

Your contributions are often more of a glass too many.

I don't mean to be deliberately rude or critical but you speaking of glasses full or otherwise, the saying glass houses and all that, seems quite appropriate.

Cheers .

 

[layzie 33,991]

On 09/12/2024 at 07:23, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Exactly.

I don’t think Brisbane get enough credit for their flag with three genuine best 23 players out with ACL’s and then their gun ruckman missing a GF! imagine if we lost Gawn on GF day.

Meanwhile Fremantle miss the finals after being 12-6-1 and their supporters simply blame injuries.

No-where near enough credit.

When you start a season the way they did with 2 wins in the first 9 games, you really need everything to go right from there and to have that happen you need a full selection at your disposal. The Lions were really flirting the boundaries of what was possible.

And that finals series was one for the ages. 

[leave it to deever 17,517]

18 hours ago, layzie said:

No-where near enough credit.

When you start a season the way they did with 2 wins in the first 9 games, you really need everything to go right from there and to have that happen you need a full selection at your disposal. The Lions were really flirting the boundaries of what was possible.

And that finals series was one for the ages. 

I for one certainly had the Swannies pencilled in for a cup before the game. I thought the Lions would have run out of gas.

A flag well and truly deserved.

[DistrACTION Jackson 9,224]

I was interested to see what our percentage would have been if we just removed the two losses to Freo, which were two of the worst performances I've seen in 5 years. The first was just an absolute shocker in the Alice and the 2nd was really the result of no Petracca or Gawn.

Incredibly our percentage would be 107.4 when just taking out those two matches....

Obviously that's not how it works, but it gives me confidence that we weren't that far off in reality.

[jnrmac 20,185]

On 10/12/2024 at 11:19, leave it to deever said:

In all fairness 58er, you calling out someone as glass half empty is pretty rich.

Fair shake of the sauce bottle.

 

 

What are you? Kevin Rudd?

 

No one says that