Not Far Off...

[Leo.J]

Three close games go the other way and we're top 4.

That said we haven't beaten anyone half decent.

We showed a bit against the contenders we've played but they put us away pretty easily.

The next few weeks are going to be crucial, we really need to beat either the Crows or the Bombers, preferably both if we are going to be taken seriously...

We have to make our move and string a few big wins together leading into the second half of the season.

We need some big scalps to get some momentum.

[Scottish Saint]

That said we haven't beaten anyone half decent.

Sydney are top of the ladder and we beat them.

[bigcarl]

The next few weeks are going to be crucial, we really need to beat either the Crows or the Bombers, preferably both if we are going to be taken seriously...

Yep, it's time to get cracking if we are fair dinkum about being contenders.

Couple of big scalps would be a start and a winning streak like 2009 and 2004 ... only this time to end the season rather than begin it

[Leo.J]

That said we haven't beaten anyone half decent.

Sydney are top of the ladder and we beat them.

True that.

[Richter]

That said we haven't beaten anyone half decent.

Sydney are top of the ladder and we beat them.

Correction, we crushed them. Game was not even close after half time.

Compare we games against other 'challrngers'...

- Hawks... In it until final Q despite losing our no.1 ruck before the game and our B&F key defender during it.
- West Coast... valiantly fought back to within a couple of goals down in the last... despite losing our second ruck during the game against a team whose dominance emanates from that area of the game.

People keep on saying it but this is an incredibly open season. At this stage any of the top 8 could win the flag and even Carlton and the Tigers are a sneaky chance... certainly any of the top 11 could go on a run and finish top 4.

[saintsRrising]

That said we haven't beaten anyone half decent.

We need some big scalps to get some momentum.

What about The Ladder Leaders the Swans?


But yes we do need to win more. A 6/5 win ratio may not be good enough after round 22. 7/4 should make finals. Mind you if you cannot win at least 7 there is probably no point making the finals anyway.


However I have said for a while....this could well be a Bradbury Year where the team on it's feet powering along at the end could grab the glory.

In our favour:
* Ben, Stanley, Fish, Ray Geary all did not play yesterday
* Steven and Armo have BOTH stepped up this year = greater midfield depth
* Players like Saad, Miler and Stanley will benefit a lot from playing a goodly number of AFL games this year
* The whole team by season end will be more used to Watters Gameplan (you can see it already)
* Watters by seasons end will be more used to his players and will have tweeked things


If we get our players back my main concern is that we have been monstered by teams with good big forwards this year due to our lack of a true full back. Fish back will assist, but it is still a weakness.

[Eastern]

That said we haven't beaten anyone half decent.

Sydney are top of the ladder and we beat them.

True that.

Before we beat Carlton they were premiership favorites !!

[Moods]

We simply have to get more consistent. Our efforts themselves have been reasonably consistent, but win/loss win/loss all year won't cut it. We have to string games together. Looking to the future, the Crows game is a real chance to lose, then North for a win, then bombers for a loss. We HAVE to start winning games consecutively.

[bigcarl]

I won't be convinced about us as a contender until we beat a quality team like the Crows on the road.

I'm delighted with our direction under Watters, but I'll be even more rapt if we can win key games away from home which was a hallmark of 2009-2010.

You can't really count last night against the Suns.

Disturbingly, Ross Lyon-coached teams seem to travel well, as seen yesterday when the Dockers won well against an in-form Richmond.

I'll spew if those purple idiots get in the eight ahead of us.

[Quixote]

Sorry off topic Leo - but has anyone noticed we currently have the highest POINTS FOR in the League?

All I can say is that it's been a while!!

Promising.

[gringo]

We are tracking nicely, no pressure, enjoyable watchable footy, haven't been disgraced by any game we've played so far and knocked off some form teams and some stragglers. We are hard to read on form but so many are this year. A couple of close games our way and we sit on top.

Rooey is flying under the radar and seems the same with the Saints, he's a few goals off Franklin and one behind Jack in second place yet most think he's having an average year. Saints seem to be doing a Sydney, just hanging in contention without arousing any real threat in people's minds. I felt preseason we could upset a few and be a contender despite the rush to write us off.

[Old Mate]

Despite beating the Swines I reckon the Carlton win was our best. We started their rot and beat them with Waite and Murphy fit.

[TJMcCarthy]

I wanna see us win three in a row. If we beat the croweaters and the bummers, whoo hoo baby we'd have to be top four contenders. And then I'd say- look out Collingwood. We're coming for ya. Revenge!!

[jaxons]

Had we beaten Port in Round 1, Freo in Round 4, and Richmond last week, all games we should have won we would be on top right now.

[gringo]

I wanna see us win three in a row. If we beat the croweaters and the bummers, whoo hoo baby we'd have to be top four contenders. And then I'd say- look out Collingwood. We're coming for ya. Revenge!!

This is a super strange year with some very flattering fixtures artificially propping teams like Adelaide, Sydney and Essendon up. Essendon doesn't hold the fear it used to with our quicker game style, Adelaide just can't keep sustaining their form and will fall away at some point IMO and Sydney look nearly as up and down as us. I'm confident that we can win any game we have left if things go right. I still think Collingwood deserve favouritism over all but are not a class above like the last couple of seasons.

[Quixote]

Had we beaten Port in Round 1, Freo in Round 4, and Richmond last week, all games we should have won we would be on top right now.

Like.

[SainterK]

Had we beaten Port in Round 1, Freo in Round 4, and Richmond last week, all games we should have won we would be on top right now.

Like.

Dislike!

Makes them even more annoying...

Oh well, we'll beat the crows this week and restore the balance somewhat.

[TJMcCarthy]

Had we beaten Port in Round 1, Freo in Round 4, and Richmond last week, all games we should have won we would be on top right now.

Obviously we're not the only club with the 'oh we should've's ' wish lists. It emphasizes the unpredictable season all top sides are having. I personally think it's exciting and I remain very optimistic. Building belief consistency and momentum is the key.

[Leo.J]

Imo we beat both the Blues and especially the Swans while they were either under manned or out of form.

Whether we played them into being out of form we'll never know.

For me we need to beat the Crows on their own heap and the Bombers for us to be fair dinkum.

[TJMcCarthy]

Imo we beat both the Blues and especially the Swans while they were either under manned or out of form.

Whether we played them into being out of form we'll never know.

For me we need to beat the Crows on their own heap and the Bombers for us to be fair dinkum.

That's a pessimistic statement IMO. Carlton and Sydney were beaten because we played better football. Neither team could lay a glove on us because of our own good form. It denigrates the Saints combined best efforts to say otherwise.

We know quite clearly that our side is very good. Consistency is the only issue. We're on the curve and it's going up IMO.

All games we play this year against top sides will be close & winnable IMO. I know we do not fear anyone. I just pray we win the close ones.

[Teflon]

That said we haven't beaten anyone half decent.

We need some big scalps to get some momentum.

What about The Ladder Leaders the Swans?


But yes we do need to win more. A 6/5 win ratio may not be good enough after round 22. 7/4 should make finals. Mind you if you cannot win at least 7 there is probably no point making the finals anyway.


However I have said for a while....this could well be a Bradbury Year where the team on it's feet powering along at the end could grab the glory.

In our favour:
* Ben, Stanley, Fish, Ray Geary all did not play yesterday
* Steven and Armo have BOTH stepped up this year = greater midfield depth
* Players like Saad, Miler and Stanley will benefit a lot from playing a goodly number of AFL games this year
* The whole team by season end will be more used to Watters Gameplan (you can see it already)
* Watters by seasons end will be more used to his players and will have tweeked things


If we get our players back my main concern is that we have been monstered by teams with good big forwards this year due to our lack of a true full back. Fish back will assist, but it is still a weakness.

Myth this.

I watched Swans the other night against Hurley, Crameri (whose been marking everything) and thought they could get monstered....I mean Ted Richards is hardly Mick Martyn.....did they? no. What they did is work as a really good unit, getting across to help each other at every turn. Fisher is the glue down back for us, with Gwilt back, the emergence of Simpkin and Gilbert/Raph/Geary/Gram?/Goddard.........I reckon our backs are ok

[Con Gorozidis]

In a topsy turvy year like this injuries will play a massive role in what happens.
if we get our ruckman and fish back and dont sustain any serious new injuries we could come home with a wet sail after the bye... it is going to be a fine line between 1st and 10th this year.

[bigcarl]

I won't be convinced about us as a contender until we beat a quality team like the Crows on the road.

I'm delighted with our direction under Watters, but I'll be even more rapt if we can win key games away from home which was a hallmark of 2009-2010.

You can't really count last night against the Suns.

Disturbingly, Ross Lyon-coached teams seem to travel well, as seen yesterday when the Dockers won well against an in-form Richmond.

I'll spew if those purple idiots get in the eight ahead of us.

I should add that if we do make the eight we're likely to come up against the Eagles in Perth or the Swans in Sydney or Adelaide in Adelaide.

So we'd want to show we can win on the road ASAP.

[Leo.J]

Sorry off topic Leo - but has anyone noticed we currently have the highest POINTS FOR in the League?

All I can say is that it's been a while!!

Promising.

This is a real positive for me.

In recent seasons we've generally been able to lock any team down but only score freely against the weaker sides.

This year we are probably the polar opposite, we've been able to score freely against anyone but only really been able to lock down the weaker sides.

We've shown glimpses of getting the mix right but over all the good sides have kicked a score against us... Sydney omitted who we should of smashed with good kicking, that said they'll be alot stronger next time with Goodes and Mumford back. That said we did lose big Mac just before the Hawks and Fisher during, and Stanley during the Eagles.

With the return of a few key personel for us our defence will improve, hopefully giving us the right blend of offence and defence.

As I've said we're not far off.

[SainterK]

Balance.

We are getting more balanced.

I'm on board Leo, we will give this final series a serious shake.

Rd 1-3 team is nothing on the kind of football the side is playing now.

With a ruckman and AA B&F winning defender amongst those to return, we can only improve more.