a pass mark for me is not to be bored ****less watching us play

hopefully Kingy can coach the team to move the ball with purpose and drive and some semblance of competence. and would be great to see us deliver the ball into an open forward line

I still think that we can win 8-12 games in ‘26 despite losing CP5, CO13 and Judd04. Trent Rivers and Jack Steele to minimise CO13 loss, Changkuoth Jiath14 and Andy Moniz-Wakefield45 to nullify the McVee loss.

Tracca for mine is the biggest hole = Kozzie36, Jv7, Windsor6, Lagford4, Culley13, need someone to really step it up with score assists, goals, etc.

losing Bowsa17 is a real setback but have Lindsay5, Taylor19 to assist here, I’m also in agreement that we need all our senior players including Brody Mihocek to play near their best if we are to improve on ‘25. We have to much talent both potential and kinetic to just fade away, I’m tipping Steven King and team to provide the lift for us all.

Sorry this is so long winded.

3 hours ago, Macca said:

In terms of wins, who knows? Anywhere from 6 to 12 wins depending on any number of factors

Much like winning, losing can be a habit so if we don't win games, we can lose confidence and lose the will to win

This is where King's coaching is all-important. He and the FD have to take a realistic approach. As do the supporters

I believe our main area of concern is the development of many of the players (old & new) And having a healthy list is also A1 important

The development of the new game plan with a good dose of patience thrown in is another important facet

I still believe that it's our senior players who need to lift and be accountable

Because if that doesn't happen, up ahead is a major rebuild. Of course, we're in a rebuild of sorts by default anyway, but we're not bereft of talent

A rebuild of sorts with a revamped FD, some added experience (or veterans), along with a few mature age types and a good sprinkling of youth

I'm reasonably confident that we'll advance forward to point where we can attack 2027 with gusto. This year is all about development

💯

Pass mark is making finals

Anything less is a fail

My expectation is that we will fail, but I also didn’t think we’d make finals in 2021

6 hours ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

Sportsbet has us at $3.50 to make the 10 along with Carlton. Only Eagles, North, Tigers and Bombers outside that.

Unless someone's in the inner sanctum of all 18 clubs it's almost like poker hands round a table. Someone starting with 3 jacks can feel really confident while someone with a pair of 3s knows they might win and someone with a nothing hand knows they'll probably lose - but at that time no one knows more than a small part of the whole picture . As players get some new cards and then reveal their hands the original predictions can turn out to be way off. Right now we probably do deserve to be 3.50 or 4.00 but come October and we might be marvelling at , say, Langford coming third in the Brownlow and Latrelle being the recruit of the year and JVR kicking 45 goals -everyone would in hindsight say 3.50 was a gift!

I already said before this thread was resurrected what i really want to see is improvements and good foundations built. But i certainly can imagine us being a surprise packet. Over and over 3 or 4 teams go back into the 8 each season. It's so regular I'd almost bet my life savings that in 2026 that 3 or more teams return to the final 8 (let alone 10). The 3.50 will be irrelevant by May (whether shortening or lengthening.)

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by Go Ds

2 hours ago, BDA said:

a pass mark for me is not to be bored ****less watching us play

hopefully Kingy can coach the team to move the ball with purpose and drive and some semblance of competence. and would be great to see us deliver the ball into an open forward line

At times last year we showed we could move the ball quickly and effectively but not often enough. The trading in of CJ and Miohcheck as well as drafting in Latrelle indicates where we’re heading.

I think we can beat North, Eagles, Bombers, Tigers, Carlton, Saints, Pies & Port.

I don’t buy into it takes multiple years to learn a gameplan but it does take time for new players to gel. Miohcheck, Steele, CJ and Latrelle are the ones most likely to debut early for us. I think once we get some continuity we are every chance to upset a team or two this season.

Pass mark is finishing 8-10 on the ladder. Then we go into wildcard weekend with a nothing to lose approach.

13 hours ago, Nate said:

I'd like 8 wins, but just want to see some cohesion on the field. And some accurate kicking at goal 😁

This is where I sit as well. 8 or 9 wins would be nice while stopping the repeated nonsense of losing games despite more scoring shots.

Hopefully King brings some offensive efficiency to the club.

Given we’re 8-21 (27%) from our last 29 games, I can’t entertain the idea of a top 10 finals birth this year like some others have.

At the very best, we have a 2020 like season (with a slightly worse W/L) where we potentially start the season slowly after a terrible end to 2019, but build nicely in the second half and carry that momentum into the following year.

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by Bring-Back-Powell

I'm more confident in the list than most - I think we have players that will embrace new roles, responsibility and game style and surprise us.

Having said that, with significant list turnover, coaching changes and playing style changes, I think the first half of the season will be pretty much a write off and I am expecting to see threads like "Time to go Kingy?", "Maybe Goody was the right guy" and "Petracca = God" etc on here at the half-way mark. When everyone has given up hope for 2026, I think we'll start to bank a few wins and come home with a wet sail to scrape into the final 10.

Obviously I hope we start strong and continue it but most teams that have had the kind of personell (on and off the field) that we have normally take a bit of time to get things to click.