praha

I hear Kent Kingsley is a small chance.

Pineapple of a post.

Like Mumford did last week?

Lol no he didn't. We were just always found out by better teams once our easy schedules were finished up. Whenever we travelled, played a top 5-6 team or had any less than a 7 day break, we lost. Once it hit round 11 we turned to mash and were constantly found out. Daniher resigned in 2007 because he knew his 2003-2006 rebuild was shot. That said we would have bounced back within a year or two and probably won a flag had we supported him and he had the urge to stick around. Think he just grew tired.

It's viable...and I do think we'll bounce back and perform better this next three weeks...but you're right that we've cut it fine. Bulldogs closed the year off poorly last year. We have had our first full 8 day break in a while and it would be weird if we come out flat on Sunday. Lewis was talking us up big in the media today, saying "if and when we play finals" teams will be worried about playing us. He is one bloke that is primed for this situation and along with Jones I expect a massive game from him on Sunday.

And take ten marks and kick 4 goals.

I've hated it overall. It's been fun at times but some of the losses have had me angrier than I've been in a while. Freo, Hawthorn, North x2...Geelong and Richmond are hard to stomach in hindsight. It's been a Rollercoaster. I haven't enjoyed a season in a while..wish I could fast forward to to round 23 just so I know whether we're in or not.

Petracca just said, "Stick with us". Season over, folks.

They are distinctively different players from different eras. Flower played for a team with [censored] house zones and no facilities. That he got them up and into finals in 87 is testament to that. Which is my point. Flowers legacy would have lived on regardless but it was that little bit more special by making the finals in 87. When we had an opportunity he went above and beyond playing injured in the worst club of the preceding 2 decades. Jones' legacy is imo shaped around this very scenario, 30 years on. I'm not saying he can't do it. I'm saying he needs to. We need him to step up to the plate.

He's just what we need in the team. Another lanky defender who can't lower his eyes coming out of defense, nor take a contested mark.

There's no point having captains and a leadership group if you're going to spread the accountability across a whole team including players with less than 50 games experience. Lyon made a good point about Saturday, they scored 10 goals in a row with ease and there was little resistance. It was a major indictment on Lewis and Jones and Co. Goodwin said at quarter time that we were too quick in the wind. That's part coaching, part leadership problem. Leaders are directors that ensure the directives are met. There was no talking or resistance to an onslaught that made us look like the worst team in the comp. And it's happened multiple times this year-- Freo, Hawthorn, first game against North --when we had our leaders playing without injury. GWS are very good,I'm not even angry about the loss broadly, but that first quarter was shocking revelation of where our leadership stocks are at.

Flower was a league above Jones. Nate is half the player Flower was.

Long ago, WA. Long ago.

Well, yeah.

Watts and Jones need to make a stand this next three weeks and prove they're not perennial losers. Jones is the captain and needs to shoulder that responsibility. Simply signing on during dark times isn't enough because it's an easy "out" when things don't go well. "Oh, well he stayed with us in dark times...". Mark my words, if those two can't get up and give us what we need, we won't get close to any of our next three opponents. Even Brisbane will towel us up. Those guys epitomise a losing culture, and they've never had a better opportunity to turn that on its head. If we miss finals this year and Jones can't perform over the next three games, do not be surprised if he's shopped around at season's end. It's going to happen eventually if we can't break this funk with him playing the role of "leader". I called it two years ago that he'd be replaced as captain and should be shopped. I honestly believe the likes of Oliver and Viney will benefit being 100% in control of the midfield. That just can't happen with Jones in the team as it currently is. He has three weeks to turn that around otherwise you're going to have to put up with another off-season of me calling for him to be traded. It's fate. He's back in the side, our midfield is at full strength, we have three games to book a finals spot, our first in ten years. He absolutely needs to lead this club to a final berth. Geelong fans wouldn't expect any less of Selwood, Hawthorn of Hodge. If you want to see leadership under scrutiny, check out the Bulldogs' leadership over the past month, made up of players with a 20th the experience of our leadership group.

It's a big test for our leadership group as well. There's a reason why Viney was made Co captain, and this talk of Jones being somewhat displeased initially suggests he has something to prove. There has been no bigger test of his leadership character than what he faces in the final 3 rounds. He needs to go above and beyond going through the motions and breaking even. The same goes for Vince, Lewis, and to a lesser extent, Jetta and Hibberd. We need Jones to take this team on his shoulders and guide them to a finals appearance. I know it's a lot to ask, but it's his time now. There's no point up your gaming on QB, ANZAC Eve, if you're not going to do it in the last 3 weeks with your team's first finals appearance in a decade on the line. I'm going to be watching Jones more than anyone in these final 3 weeks. I've been critical of him on this forum multiple times, but he's never *really* been put to the sword. His time is now. El Capitán needs to be the one with the final say. If he's not, then he'll just be proving Goodwin right for taking captaincy exclusivity off it. It's a privilege, not an entitlement. He now has to earn it for the first time in his career.

A lot of people not responding to the question. Highlighting we've improved is one thing. Failing to hit important KPIs is another. You can improve but still fail in your objective. It's been a very tough season and it appears we've hit a wall. Imo missing the finals would undoubtedly be a failure. We're 4 years into a rebuild now and have shown that we are finals capable. If we miss out on finals with 13 wins (which won't happen - if we win 13 we make it), then it suggests we've "improved" incrementally at the same rate as the teams around us, but have ultimately failed to move up into the upper end of the league. That may very well be something that is out of the club's hands and you can only do so much. However considering some of our losses this year, particularly North last week, it would imo be a major indictment on the leadership group if we falter -- again -- at a moment when finals was within reach. We have failed to embed ourselves in the top 8 with one very poor loss. We now have an opportunity to redeem that and move back into finals contention. Faltering like we did last year is a massive failure considering we end the season with 3 games against teams below us on the ladder. You couldn't possibly argue this season has been a success if we miss finals from here. We've improved, sure, but it would still be a failure. The current variables make it easy to distinguish between success and failure.

Realistically it's probably more likely we won't make it than will. In 2015 and 2016 we lost games we should have won, and *could have* slipped into finals, but we weren't a finals team. If we miss this year, we are going to reflect on that North game as your standard "Here we go again!" moment. Wins in Perth and Adelaide mean nothing if you can't win when it matters, against teams that don't matter. I know we say it a lot on here but the next 3 weeks is the biggest month in 10 years. This team is at a point now where it should be playing finals, even if it's just one elimination final. It's the next step in our development. We're 4 years into the Roos rebuild. Missing from here would be a huge failure. That would put us a year behind where we should be. And the wheels can fall off very quickly. We've seen that. We NEED to play finals this year, but I fear we've shown it's just not in our destiny.

Playing one finals match is so important for this group. It would be a colossal failure if we don't make it. The variables haven't been in our favour.

We've actually been handed a dream draw to end the season. Because we folded and couldn't get the job done against North, we have a chance to redeem ourselves with three straight games at the MCG, two against teams that never play there, and all three against teams below us. Pies are playing good footy atm, but we still have it easy compared to Bulldogs, Eagles, Bombers, who we are competing against for a spot in the finals. Let's take a look at a difficulty scale based on current ladder position. 1st place = 18 points, 18th place = 1 point. Western Bulldogs: 37 on difficulty scale Essendon: 27 on difficulty scale Eagles: 37 on difficulty scale Melbourne: 16 on difficulty scale Missing finals from here would be a colossal failure. The stars have aligned for this end to the season -- no travelling, all at the MCG, two 7-day breaks -- and we absolutely need to get it done. The aforementioned teams are all facing teams at the top end of the table, who we've faced in the past 2 months. I said earlier this season that the trifecta of Adelaide-Port-GWS needed to result in 2 wins for us to make finals, but that factored in a win against North. We went 1-2 in that trifecta, and with the North loss that puts us 2 wins off the mark of where we need to be to compete for finals. This means 3 wins to finish the season would net us a finals spot. If we net all three wins, we only need one match to go our way out of the games played by the other three. Also need to factor in performance of Port. Sydney beating Geelong essentially locks them in as they have a dream draw home. If Port lose today they are only a game ahead of us, with Collingwood, WB and GC to come. We are still in as good a spot for a final spot as we've been in for a decade. We'd be looking at one of the all-time great breakdowns in the club's history if we don't make it from here. I know the variables have made it tough and it's been a long season, but if we falter in the test of persistence and the marathon, that's going to linger over the club like a bad stain.

ANB is now firmly among the best. His pressure acts are elite and he doesn't go missing like Garlett does, who is either "on" or can't get a kick.

Gonna be the devil's advocate...the leader in any field has 100% buy in. Saying "it's just not possible" is imo a exploitation of an uneducated support base that doesn't appreciate or know the metrics.

Yeah but we best Adelaide. The problem is that we have turned up for a few games that kinda sorta matter but gone missing in game that have mattered. 2010 and 2011 were just that. Last week we faltered bad not just as a team but as a club. IMO Goodwin's response re. Not worrying about past records is indicative of a man that doesn't quite understand the cultural significance of his role. Adelaide have been successful but Melbourne is a foundation club with 4-5 generation supporters. It's a learning curve for him and imo he's struggling now. Finals won't happen this year because this club just isn't ready yet. It makes me so sad...but it's the reality.

On top of that we finish the season with 3 games at the MCG against teams below us, while Bombers travel to GC and also have the Crows next week. A finals spot has been ours to lose all year and we fluffed it epically by losing to North.

What's calling for him to kick more if it's not a critique on his influence?