DemonWA

There was a stoppage on their f50 when he dropped 2 or 3 of them off the ball. Absolute bull

That's my point. How the f#ck do people go from no success to 'premiership or bust' mentality

I hate the attitude of fans who have somehow forgotten decades of mediocrity and don't enjoy wins. FFS. Huge lifter. That sort of win will give the boys some extra bounce. Jayden Hunts last couple of minutes were unreal

I'm hoping that cripps playing provides us with extra resolve to bring our A game. Last week felt like a final and they're all essentially finals from here on with top 4 on the line. Time to get on a roll.

I'm predicting a similar outcome to the Freo match. Dees by 6 goals and change

Don't disagree that the whole 2021 was phenomenal, but I thought the way we attacked during the prelim and grandfinal was something different altogether

The boy can leap at the footy I'll give him that. If he is gettable we should have a go, but I don't think he is a better forward than Fritta.

Petraccas game on GF day was as good as he has ever played. Also the waves from the centre were a hallmark of the Prelim and GF only imo. I feel like people over rate our 2021 form due to 2 absolutely stratospheric performances at the pointy end.

Of Carlton put this much effort into winning games of footy they might not be in this precarious position where they're odds on to finish 9th!

No need for the essay, there's nothing wrong with disagreement

Indeed. And @Rhino Richards would hand out bans and warnings like a over zealous parking inspector!

The suggestion that we're a month or two from being at our absolute peak sits OK with me, but I think they'd be negligible gains from hear on in. Potentially the prefinals bye helps. We should have beaten the Pies, but I don't accept they won because of the differences in our loading/tapering. 2 weeks ago even the most ardent pro loaders were saying the freo game was the point in which the discussion would be put to bed. Revising the theory to match the results was my initial source of scepticism, and I feel like that's what these discussions have reverted to.

The only thing we're aligned on is that both the dees and pies are legitimate contenders.

This thread and the 2014 equivalent are both pure gold. I went back and read the 2014 one and some of the old names made the Scully and Neeld eras come flooding back

I agree. But Georges comments made me laugh and I hope they're on the money haha

Basically they will not win a final (or do much damage) because they're playing a game style that is suited to GMHBA and not the 'G and they're old

I try to follow the logic but I can't fathom being 25% away from peak performance. 5-10% sure, but I just can't accept 75% being a realistic number to put out there for round 20. I would say even at the most 'loaded' stage of the season we'd struggle to be a full 25% off the pace. I think trying to play our press AND counter the run and gun style of the Pies is a different beast to what we train. I also think the teams that play the super fast game styles may go into their shells and/or [censored] the bed when the stakes are as high as they will be when elimination finals come around. We need to stick with our method. Not related, but loved George's views on the Cats. Would love that to be the case also, but fear they're as good this year as they have been for a very long time

I feel like these discussions only get airtime when we loose. Gawn kicks straight and the narrative becomes that he is the GOAT and how dominant our mids were, rather than our forward half connection woes.

The better stat would be kicks inside 50 resulting in turnover. That would tell the story that they're trying to articulate here imo. These stats need to be reviewed in context of playing alot of the year with one AFL standard KPF. No doubt these guys could improve their delivery inside 50, but often they're kicking to a 3 on 1 (BBBB outnumbered) or a massive pack because there aren't too many other options on.

Question for the chaps on the pod; In our losses, the team has been good enough to lead for long periods of the game, but has lacked the killer instinct to put teams away and ultimately it's seen us loose some games that we've had control of. Do you think this issue can be helped with changes to the line-up, or is this purely a fitness and complacency issue. Do you expect any significant changes over the next 2 weeks or would you expect the FD to continue to back the same sort of personel and structures?

I'd like to think we'll beat the Blues by 30 points and I feel like we've got the wood over the Lions too. Can't take any win for granted but I think we're still a chance for top 2

Our form has been up and down. But if we play to our ability we can best most sides on their best days. We'll need some luck and some more consistent efforts but it's feasible. This time last year I didn't truly believe we could win it either.

Watching some of the post match. Pies carried on like they won the flag. Flogs

Sorry mate. That's a round peg and a square hole.

I'm aligned with that for sure. I feel like in the 2nd half we engaged in a shoot out(a little like the dogs game) which is a sign we were not in control. That's got to be a factor too. I'm not devastated by these losses. I think our team is good enough and maybe loosing these sorts of games might spur them on a little.