Does the gap widen ? ......

[saint75]

2010 Premiers ----- + Krakouer, Tarrant

2010 Runners Up ----- + N/A

What do people think ?

Possibly minus Cloke though.

Krakouer is a slightly better Leon Davis, and Tarrant will have to fill the Cloke spot if he leaves.

I don't think it does at all TBH.

Why? What has Krakour done at AFL level that will somehow make him better than Leon? REmembering that Krakour is now 27yrs old - not 21 yrs old. He may be great, but I reckon that statement is a little disrespectful to a bloke who has played 200 games, regardless of how he's performed in finals. The other bloke hasn't ever done anything - yet.

This post is spot on. They have recruited 2 older players that are not that reliable to be honest. Long way from the WAFL to the AFL.

Also, Tarrant was hardly on the park this year. Good when he was, but not startling outstanding.

I am more interested in the Cloke story. Was listening to his father this morning on the live trade radio whilst working and if Collingwood don't come to play and do it quickly, he is gone. Question is, where will they find the money? If they are not pushing at almost 100% currently with the addition of Tarrant and Krakouer (as they have not lost a lot - only Fraser), they have a different salary cap restriction than the rest of the AFL clubs.

[plugger66]

Yes the gap widens between the feral corrupt troglodytes and the rest of the civilised society they operate with in.

The Tarrant trade is an example of what happens when a team is allowed to bend the rules. The AFL like a strong Collinwood because it increases what they bring in but to allow them to flout a loop hole is just negligent.

Freo were bullied into a poor decision, they would have been dragged over the coals like our guys if they allowed him to go for nothing.

They will be lambasted while collingwood will be talked up as geniuses at recruiting.

I hope some pressure is put back on their list this year at least and guys like Brown and Dawes start looking at GWS for some good money.

What a lot of crap. Any club should do what is required to improve their list so there is no issue. We would do the same if we had a chance. And so we should.

[clarky449]

Dont worry thats it for next year.

[Saints94]

Its a bit disapointing not to be active in trade week, i thought we could have got some more outside speed.

[GrumpyOne]

Krakouer would have been a good pick-up, but if you aint got room in your salary cap, you can't speculate like that.

[Brisvegas saint]

Yes.

We have been very unlucky over the last few years. Will really need that to turn around now.

[hungry for a premiership]

One thing that needs to be remembered is that is is indeed a long season. Individuals in teams go up and down in form and how good a side is can change dramatically. Example: At the start of this year, we were a better team than collingwood. By the end, when their recruits had gelled and things had gone well, they were a better team than us.

If theres one thing we should know after the last two seasons, its that its all about hitting form at the right time. I'm confident that our squad, plus a rising Steven and a rising Stanley, can, if it hits form at the right time, beat Collingwood, beat Geelong, beat the Bulldogs when the whips are a'cracking. My biggest concern is not doing the business on GF day - its getting there in the first place!!! Make no mistake, WE ARE THE HUNTED. There are all these other teams ready to come up and take our place in the top 4. Its getting through the regular season and racking up our usual, expected points against the likes of, North, Richmond, Melbourne and the like thats a worry.

[kosifantutti23]

What gap?

The Grand Final was a draw.

[kos]

We have alot to look forward to with improvement from our kids in

comparing to 2010. Steven, Stanley, Lynch, Armitage, Simpkin, Smith,

Geary and co all will be pushing to improve our lineup.

Collingwoods has already shown their hand with what they are developing

and have reaped the benefits. By introducing and continually

playing these kids we will improve more than what the pies will with the

inclusion of a 30 year old Tarrant and a richmond reject krakour.[/quote]

[Brisvegas saint]

What gap?

The Grand Final was a draw.

The replay was a better reflection of where the two sides were at by the end of the year.

[Moods]

What gap?

The Grand Final was a draw.

The replay was a better reflection of where the two sides were at by the end of the year.

If you truly believe that, then why so bitter about the end result?? It should have been expected in your eyes. If we had finished on top and blitzed our nearest rivals all year and lost like that in the GF replay then I could understand your angst.

The end result shouldn't have come as any major surprise for you, and you shouldn't have got your hopes up as much as you did I would have thought.....

[SainterK]

I think Tarrant is a hugely romantic trade...

[bigcarl]

I think Tarrant is a hugely romantic trade...

Some Collingwood supporters to this day blame his poor kicking for costing them the 2002 flag.

I think that now they've won one, they've welcomed him home. Hopefully it puts a few noses out of joint down there because, like Luke Ball, he'd be on a fair whack.

Collingwood are a very good side, but (imo) it is not a given that they'll be able to back up next season.

For one thing (if the league has any pretentions to providing a level playing field) they are unlikely to again have such a dream draw, running into the grand final with 11 successive home games.

Putting aside my one-eyedness for a minute, I wouldn't under-rate that as a factor in their eventual victory.

For another thing, we've seen how quickly the landscape can change.

Will they be prepared for our revamped gameplan? How many of their young guys will stand up to the rigours of AFL football over time?

[kosifantutti23]

What gap?

The Grand Final was a draw.

The replay was a better reflection of where the two sides were at by the end of the year.

Why?

If Lenny's kick had bounced through or into Milne's hands and we'd hung on to win would you have posted here that we were not worthy winners?

The draw was a fluke. The two sides were very evenly matched on the last Saturday in September. Collingwood was by far the better side in the fifth week of the finals but who plans for that?

[borderbarry]

From another Perspective,

Saints. Pick 24. 42.

Pies. Pick 43.

[Thinline]

What gap?

The Grand Final was a draw.

The replay was a better reflection of where the two sides were at by the end of the year.

In your opinion.

Personally I think your opinion(s) are so blatantly tainted with vindictive, pessimistic bile that they are rendered inconsequential.

In my opinion, that is.

Also in my opinion the second grand final didn't even seem like a grand final. To me it seemed like a fitness test. That's why there'll never be another replay.

[SainterK]

I still find myself flipping TL, I go from thinking we were close, to perhaps thinking we are quite far away.

What I do know, is that Collingwood seem to falter under pressure, as shown in GF1.

Had we converted half, just half, of the 1.8 in the second quarter, we'd have only been 3 points down at half time.

What would they mindset of Collingwood been then?

[chook23]

I still find myself flipping TL, I go from thinking we were close, to perhaps thinking we are quite far away.

What I do know, is that Collingwood seem to falter under pressure, as shown in GF1.

Had we converted half, just half, of the 1.8 in the second quarter, we'd have only been 3 points down at half time.

What would they mindset of Collingwood been then?

We lost

Ifs buts maybe just do not matter

[SainterK]

I still find myself flipping TL, I go from thinking we were close, to perhaps thinking we are quite far away.

What I do know, is that Collingwood seem to falter under pressure, as shown in GF1.

Had we converted half, just half, of the 1.8 in the second quarter, we'd have only been 3 points down at half time.

What would they mindset of Collingwood been then?

We lost

Ifs buts maybe just do not matter

I realise this, but isn't the vibe of this thread about the gap between Saints and Collingwood?

I was just contributing to a thread that is trying to establish how close we actually are to Collingwood...

[Dr Spaceman]

I still find myself flipping TL, I go from thinking we were close, to perhaps thinking we are quite far away.

What I do know, is that Collingwood seem to falter under pressure, as shown in GF1.

Had we converted half, just half, of the 1.8 in the second quarter, we'd have only been 3 points down at half time.

What would they mindset of Collingwood been then?

We lost

Ifs buts maybe just do not matter

That's true.

What is also true is that we won't be able to answer this gap question until season 2011 is well and truly underway.

[Mr Magic]

I still find myself flipping TL, I go from thinking we were close, to perhaps thinking we are quite far away.

What I do know, is that Collingwood seem to falter under pressure, as shown in GF1.

Had we converted half, just half, of the 1.8 in the second quarter, we'd have only been 3 points down at half time.

What would they mindset of Collingwood been then?

It wouldn't have made any difference K.
Everybody who's not 'one-eyed' or wearing 'rose-coloured glasses' knows we were way off the mark:-

Our bottom 6 are no good
The gameplan was no good
The Captain was no good
The Coach was no good
The Selection Committee were no good
Our skills were no good
Our supporters were no good.
We didn't play enough youth.
We didn't play Max the previous season.
We shipped Luke Ball off to Collingwood and refused compensation.
We delibeately threw away our first draft pick on somebody we knew was going to sexually assault a girl.
We drafted duds.
We had a terrible slogan.


In all honesty, if we'd kicked straight we would have just been lucky - afterall we never deserved to be there in the first place.

[saintbrat]

you forgot something Mr M
either or

[Dr Spaceman]

you forgot something Mr M
either or

And Peake's boots

[johnpeterbudgefanclub]

What gap?

The Grand Final was a draw.

The replay was a better reflection of where the two sides were at by the end of the year.

Why?

If Lenny's kick had bounced through or into Milne's hands and we'd hung on to win would you have posted here that we were not worthy winners?

The draw was a fluke. The two sides were very evenly matched on the last Saturday in September. Collingwood was by far the better side in the fifth week of the finals but who plans for that?

Neither us, neither you. What's your point?

[Mr Magic]

you forgot something Mr M
either or

And Peake's boots

Of course you're both correct.

Seriously I'm amazed that we actually got so close, given how bad we were adn how many things we got wrong.