Curious as to your reasoning on that?
Team not played enough games together? More development needed of younger players in team? Limited finals experience?
Need a couple more pieces of puzzle player wise?
But we we re not smashed by those teams and could have actually won some of those games.
We were smashed in the first Richmond game and I thought the second one flattered us.
The Hawks game is a game where good teams find a away to win despite playing ■■■■ all day (which we nearly did)
The Collingwood game was a farce, so I’ll give you that one.
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Just natural progression. If we can play similarly to what we did for the second half of last season all year next year we should finish top 6. If we finish top 6 I would hope we would win a final. We will also have a list that is 12 months more experienced with playing as a unit, a game plan that is hopefully fully evolved, and completely understood and implemented by everyone, and be starting to achieve our potential. But as surely as we will improve, so will many of the teams around us. I think we are well and truly on the way, and once everything becomes absolutely second nature to the playing group, we will be a serious challenger. I just don’t think we are quite there yet. I know people will say footscray did it, and ninthmond did it, but I don’t subscribe to the way they did it being, or becoming, the norm. Footscray’s flag was just pure dumb luck. They were an average team that clicked for four weeks, which just happened to get them a flag. I can’t see that happening to us. Ninthmond won by assembling a team of a handful class players, surrounded by good honest battlers, stripping everything back to basics and beating everyone with simple fanaticism and pressure. As we know, that was not enough to even get to the big dance again. And no way will we strip everything back to basics and try that route. We are equipped, and set up, to play a different game style. So in a nutshell, from my point of view, next year solidify the gains made in the second half of last year, 2020 hopefully be ready to have serious shot.
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I was thinking we win the GF in a close one. DONT BE SO NEGATIVE BOOT!!!
Our aim simply must be top 4 and even though every year we say “No excuses this year” we simply must have no more excuses and win a final.
Melbourne hasn’t made the finals in a decade and ended up making the prelim. Richmond the year before hadn’t won a final for 16 years and ended up winning 3 finals in a row.
Need to finish top 4, win the first final to get the monkey off our back and keep going.
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Definitive statements re ‘cannot win 2019 flag’ are misplaced. We are 1 of 8 teams with a list good enough to win a flag next year. Nobody has any idea whatsoever as to whether our players will collectively improve more or less than our main opponents, or where the curse of the injury gods will fall.
A solid continuation of the upward trajectory on display during the second half of last season is a reasonable expectation, provided injury or another misfortune doesn’t intervene along the way.
Something like what Melbourne did this year after a disappointing finish to 2017. Reckon Essendon can do similar.
Am I the only one that is tiring of the ‘we must win a final’ argument?
I could not care less about winning a final.
I want to win a flag and I think we can next year!
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Can’t win a flag without winning a final. Actually, minimum of 3 wins needed.
Seriously, we do need to step up and win finals footy. It is and can be a very different beast.
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You know what I mean.
Does anyone really care for the results other than who won the flag.
I know I don’t.
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5000+ days since we even won a final. There’s even a ■■■■■■■ Facebook page celebrating it. I’ll be happy with that as the starting point thanks.
So we win a final.
Then what?
It means sweet fark all.
Edit: Unless the side we beat in a final was FCFC
It means we get a home prelim.
Like in 99?
You’d rather get kicked out of a preliminary final than never make it in the first place
I am sure Collingwood love playing in Grand Finals every second year
It means we stay in the finals and get to play another final.
That then takes you closer to a flag.
For those who know or can be bothered to look it up, when was the last time a side won the flag after a long time of not winning finals for a decent stretch? I get the feeling premiership teams have been in finals and won something before they go on and win the flag. Melbourne this year got into finals and won two finals. They have that experience for their next crack if they keep their form up.
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Like in ‘99.
With a +/- 2 point margin for error.
Better than being the Blues and winning the spoon every second year
The football landscape is constantly changing.
I’m not convinced that staying up the top every year is what it was ten years ago.