It’s a non negotiable, lose to the Hawks and you may as well pack the season up from a Finals perspective.
Still plenty to be gained of course, as we have a large proportion of draftees from 2014 onwards playing in the Seniors right now, and showing consistent improvement.
Those couple of games immediately after the Hawks (WCE away & GWS at Marvel), it’s just difficult to see how we win both of those, even if we play well.
I just reckon we’ll get the Hawks though.
They’re well coached, but there is a reason they are 5-6.
There are plenty of potatoes in that side !
Wouldn’t it be nice if we knew we were likely finalists? If we’d won a couple of games we should have - St Kilda, Swans - we’d be 7 - 4 and in a much better position. But, yet again, we have to try imagine we’ll, somehow, get to twelve wins - that’s seven out of the last eleven, more games than we’ve won so far. It would be good if we started playing well from Round One, not play a mediocre brand of football, most of the season.
I don’t think they were Speedy.
We got them in the middle of a form trough.
They lost the week before, lost the week after our game, and nearly lost the week after that.
It was embarrassing how much space they allowed Saad and McKenna to cut them up thru the middle and then deliver into an open forward line.
The fact they were missing Kennedy and Darling would have made little difference to the early lead we built, though it would have helped them bridge the gap later.
I still think GWS at Marvel gives us a far better chance of an upset.
People are spooked by Rd.1, but seriously, how much better do people really feel that GWS are better than us playing at Marvel ?
While I agree with Bomber Billy’s sentiments, I must take exception to his use of English. When I went to school, admittedly a long time ago, the word ‘verse’ had something to do with a poem or song. I thing the better verb is ‘play’, as in ‘We play them all on the run home.’ There are certainly a few ‘eight point’ games there.
Give up EB. My step father left school when he was 14.
Much as my Mother tried to correct him, he always referred to the family as “ewes” ; she could not convince him that ewes were female sheep. But in the end I suspect he was just playing games.
Looking a little bit ahead, Lachie Whitfield will miss our home game against GWS. That’s a massive out. Put Clarke on Coniglio and we might even the odds a little.
Nah, let’s flail our arms in the air like infantiles(cough Nino) and bemoan the fact we lost to the Saints and Swans.
AND, we should do this after every loss and say how it’s going to cost us a place in the Finals !
Because this behaviour really works in every day life, and serves to improve one’s life.
Barrack for Geelong until the end of the season. We need them to knock off Port, Adelaide, Hawthorn, Brisbane and Freo at the very least. I don’t care if they finish #1. its a dead certainty they are top 4 anyway.
Squiggle predicts we win 11 games for the year from here.
Looking at their predictions ( which can be quite wrong from week to week ) they had GWS and Freo as close, but losses for us . So they are gettable games, which would lift us to 13, which would allow us to play finals.
But, as with last year, we are a week by week proposition. We have to start by winning on Friday night ( which Squiggle says will be close, but a win to us)
First half season we definitely under performed. Is our best footy ahead of us?
Hopefully injury will not be some kind of excuse factor and we either sink or swim on our merits.
At around the half way mark it’s a bit of a roulette spin.
Invariably at least one team in the eight falls of a cliff in the second half of the year, and at least one continues their topsy turvy form, that’s seen them in the bottom reaches of the eight.
So looking at the five teams above us;
Richmond & Brisbane - I think the season & injuries are catching up. A supporter as realistic/ pessimistic as many on Blitz could really only see 3 or 4 more wins as better than 50/50 odds.
Port- the definition of topsy turvy - they could coast into the eight or implode.
Note they play all the other four teams around them - so for Essendon I either want them to win or lose all four. But who’d want to rely on the tarps?
Freo- on the surface a favourable run home. But injuries are hitting, they’ve still got Ross Lyon, and Fyfe is due for another tragic injury that cruels their chances. So, hmmmm.
And Adelaide. Do they get better? They’ve probably got 4 more wins in the bag, so again it’s games against Richmond Port and us that’ll tell the story. Should be safe, but they’re not a convincing side by any stretch.
I have no idea whether we will make the 8. I no longer have expectations.
If we do not make finals, its a Fail. That’s why I earnestly hope injuries do not mask the opportunity for the side to be judged on its merits.
Why give up though ?
We’re only 1 win away from 6-6 and being right there with the other contenders for those lower spots in the 8.
Do you honestly believe that Port, or Fremantle with their recent injuries will win more than 12 games, or even more than 11 for that matter ?
We’ll get in with 12 wins, which means beat Haw/NM/Port/WB at Marvel, Sydney at the MCG, GCS away, and then only pinch 1 of Adelaide/WCE/Freo away, GWS at Marvel, or Collingwood.
It’s do-able, but you want to throw your hands up in the air and say “we’re sh*t, what’s the point” ?
Well, let’s hold off on that talk IF we lose to the Hawks.