Weather excellent with 5 days to go

[plugger66]

20 degrees. A bit cloudy and not much wind. Couldnt have a better footy day. Lets hope they are right.

[#1GILL]

20 degrees. A bit cloudy and not much wind. Couldnt have a better footy day. Lets hope they are right.

Bloody hope that stays accurate mate. Would be fantasic.

I think our chances reduce significantly if there is rain.

[saint75]

Was looking at that last night. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

[iwantmeseats]

I think we NEED rain to have any chance IMO.

[saintnick12]

Sounds like a great forecast. We are due for a big game in great conditions after the last few. Will certainly be good for our talls.
And good for all of us too. No rain and not too warm. Lets hope its correct.

[Stephen Theodore]

As a banana bender I certainly hope its different to last years G.F. (weather and result)

[#1GILL]

I think we NEED rain to have any chance IMO.

Why is that?

I think to get the most out of Roo and Kosi we need dry conditions with little wind.

It will make it a lot easier for them to clunk it, and Kosi is a real confidence player. Hopefully they both get one on the board early because Nick always seems to be a much better shot for goal after he has already kicked his first.

[plugger66]

I think we NEED rain to have any chance IMO.

Have you seen our last 2 finals?

[Beej]

With rain I think the side with the better midfield generally comes out on top.

While our midfield has its fair share of guns, I think theirs shade it in terms of both depth and goalkicking and when the forwards are down, as is usually the case when it's wet, midfielders are required to bob up with a few goals.

Collingwood have a number of genuine midfield goalkickers.

So I'm hoping the rain stays away.

[saintsRrising]

We have the better big forwards...and IMO the better rucks...

So IMO we have the edge in talls....so dry day for me please.

4PM update is out now...and last rain is now Friday morning....so that givesa fair bit of leeway in their being no rain.

[iwantmeseats]

I think we NEED rain to have any chance IMO.

Have you seen our last 2 finals?

Yeah, I was at both. IMO, we will get pantsed with there speed through the middle in the dry, christ, they basically have TWO sets of class midfielders. Rain needed to bring it back to a close in slog, or they will do it on their ear.

[plugger66]

I think we NEED rain to have any chance IMO.

Have you seen our last 2 finals?

Yeah, I was at both. IMO, we will get pantsed with there speed through the middle in the dry, christ, they basically have TWO sets of class midfielders. Rain needed to bring it back to a close in slog, or they will do it on their ear.

Well I reckon if the rain had came early against the Cats we probably wouldnt even be here. I have seen nothing to suggest we are better in the rain and havent seen anything to suggest they are worse in the rain. What I have seen is when the ball is dry and tall marking fowards can make a difference. I do agree the game will decided on how our mids go but if can break nearly level we need a dry day to take advantage of that.

[kosifantutti23]

I think we NEED rain to have any chance IMO.

Have you seen our last 2 finals?

Yeah, I was at both. IMO, we will get pantsed with there speed through the middle in the dry, christ, they basically have TWO sets of class midfielders. Rain needed to bring it back to a close in slog, or they will do it on their ear.

Maybe you could take a week off from posting.

[4ever_saint]

Our game plan relies heavily on our ability to mark in defense and up forward. As shown in both finals, when wet, our team isn't clean with their disposable and our tall forwards go missing.

As much as I love Milne and Schneider, I don't see them filling the void of Riewoldt and Koschitzke if (or when) it starts to rain.

Dry is our only chance IMO, it means everyone will be at the top of their game and given the best opportunity to present in the forward line and back line. Marking is the key to our players controlling the tempo of the game

[bergholt]

Yeah, I was at both. IMO, we will get pantsed with there speed through the middle in the dry, christ, they basically have TWO sets of class midfielders. Rain needed to bring it back to a close in slog, or they will do it on their ear.

nah. the fastest way to move the ball from one end to the other is by kicking it. our skills by foot are generally ok but no better, so we rely on having a bit of leeway in execution of our disposal.

the problem is that when it rains we lose that leeway. watch the first half against the dogs - we couldn't hit a target! we improved as it dried out. similar, though not to the same extent, in the second half against the cats. we dominated the third quarter but couldn't make enough of it because we missed targets.

the other problem with rain is that it makes it more tiring to run hard all day, but that's something that applies equally to both teams in this case. against geelong that was also a problem for us because the cats don't zone as much as us or the pies, so they end up running less in total across their team, so the rain wears them down less.

[yipper]

I think we NEED rain to have any chance IMO.

Have you seen our last 2 finals?

Yeah, I was at both. IMO, we will get pantsed with there speed through the middle in the dry, christ, they basically have TWO sets of class midfielders. Rain needed to bring it back to a close in slog, or they will do it on their ear.

Maybe you could take a week off from posting.

Amen to that!!! Get a grip will ya!!! Or just bugger off out of here.

We are in the Grand Final, The Pies are crapping themselves under the weight of expectation and I firmly believe the planets are aligning for us. Good weather, slipped under the radar of expectation and have the experience edge over them. This is ours!!!!