Dont forget this pearler for YM
"It is simple
Brett Ratten is the man to coach Melbourne
Any of the other contenders will set us back 10 years
If we dont get Ratten, I may not renew my membership
He is the obvious choice"
I know where you are coming from..I think the last time I suppoorted a Vic team against an interstate side in a GF was for the Roos against the Crows in 98
In 2000 we actually also had a week's rest prior to the preliminary final as they were using the current finals system then. We were not close to winning the premiership that year as Essendon were a super team that were daylights a head of the rest
As much as I admired Godders efforts this year I had to laugh when I read this quote in todays sun..
"If we had 22 Simon Godfreys in the side each week this year we wouldn't have lost a game" - Daniel Ward
The reality is the top 4 teams are the only ones really going to have a fair dinkum crack at the premiership and therefore the current systems seems pretty good. The only reason there is a top 8 is so the league can make more revenue from the finals. There will always be sitiuations where a team misses a double chance by %. The previous final 8 system was a bit of a joke re: the Adelaide/Melbourne scenario of 1998.
my memory of that day was the crowd cheered the fact that the hawks had hit the front for the first time before the Demons game had finished but the Hawks hadn't actually won until after the game.