Please tell me someone who doesn't see their own view as "realistic"? And by the way, I haven't said where I think we will finish next year, I've just pointed out why/how we could improve significantly. I've also been very clear that we could fall badly if a few things don't go our way.plugger66 wrote:Last year I had us between 7th and 10th so People may think I am negative but I call it realistic. Where do you see us finishing next season?
This time last year I thought we we would go about as well as we did this year. I didn't necessarily have a position on where we would finish, because it is hard to predict things like injuries and how a team will respond to a new game plan and coaching structure, so I had more a range where I thought we might finish, depending on which way things went and a feeling of how competitive we would be and we were pretty much as competitive as I thought we would be, but just didn't finish it off enough in those close games, pissing many of them away with poor conversion.
Many who don't follow us thought we would follow the WB and tumble way down the ladder and be uncompetitive, but I was very confident that that wouldn't happen, so I probably thought the lowest we would fall might have been about 10 or 11, if things didn't work out, but I also thought we could finish higher than the 7th we finished the previous year, if things really went our way. As it was though, we got injuries in the areas we had the least cover for and a few that I hoped would get back to their best (like BJ, Gram, Gilbo) didn't as much as I had hoped (although they were all improving by the end) and of course we lost almost all the close ones, so we finished a bit lower than I thought we would or could, but were generally as competitive from week to week as I expected us to be.
Next year, again, it is very difficult to predict these things without being aware of how badly or otherwise you'll be affected by injuries, but all things being equal, I again believe that we can definitely finish as high as top 4, for all the reasons I've stated above and in other posts. I just know that we have lots and lots of areas we can improve in and if West Coast could go from the very bottom of the ladder two years ago, to top 4 the next year, for instance, or Sydney could go from dropping down to 12th in 2009, to back up to 5th the following year, or we could go from the finals in 2004-2006 to outside the 8 in 2007 and back up to top 4 the following year, the 2nd under Lyon, then I'm certain we can make a similar turnaround next year, if a lot of things go our way. We still have the cattle to be able to do it, even without BJ and Gram (although losing Gram at the end hurt, as he looked to be getting right back to his best at the the end of this season, but that's balanced out somewhat by Roberton's addition for "free".)
It doesn't mean that we will, but I'm certain we can and I'm liking most of what I'm hearing out of Watters (needs to stop talking about what we are lacking down back though and find us a solution, not use it as a cop-out). On the flip side, if we were to get significant injuries, particularly to our midfield, then we could be in major trouble and if we were to get on a bit of a losing run and the likes of Roo and Lenny and co. lose a bit of heart, or fire, then we could tumble very badly and finish as low as bottom 5. I see us as being right on the precipice and with a bigger range of where we could finish than last year.
My gut feeling is that we're not going to tumble, though and that we're really going to surprise everyone next year. I think everyone outside the club is pretty much just expecting us to just go away quietly and I have a strong feeling that the club has no intentions whatsoever of doing so. Even in our last game this year we had Joey tagging Marc Murphy, for instance, despite it being a perfect opportunity to play someone like Ledger on him, for experience, but we still went all-out to win and even subbed Ledger off, and I am expecting more of the same next year.
We are not going to just lie down or go away and I'm tipping that we will get off to a good start, with our relatively easy draw in the beginning, and that that will give the older ones a taste for it again that they won't want to give up, knowing that it could be their last year all together and I tip that we'll be right in the mix in the middle of the top 8 throughout the year. I think it will also be the year when we start to have a bit less reliance on Roo and co. and that we start to get more balance between what we are getting out of those over 28yo and those under.
We were the 4th highest scoring team in the comp this year, but I can see our forward line being even stronger next year, as I expect Wilkes to give us more than Kosi did this year (especially Kos after R6, when he seemed to pretty much hit the wall and struggled big-time), I expect that either Stanley, or Lee will give us more than the 11 goals and 56 marks that Rhys gave us this year and if Roo's knee is still responding well to that treatment and he is able to have a better preseason and train more during the week again, then he could give us another vintage Roo type year, especially as he could have more consistent support. (In case you are about to say that Roo is too old to have a "vintage Roo year", remember that Lenny and Milne had "vintage Lenny and Milne years" this year, as far as I was concerned, and they were both 32, two years older than Nick will be next year, so I think it's perfectly possible, especially after the way Nick finished off this year. He could have a new lease of life, for all we know, if his knee is a lot better.). Milne has kicked 50 goals in each of his last 4 or so years, so who's to say if he will drop off next year, or will he fight tooth and nail to keep the likes of Saad and Milera and TDL at bay for another year and pull out another one and hopefully Saad and Milera will build on what they did this year, or else TDL might be able to give us a goal or two a game, if they drop off a bit. Our forward line could be very strong.
I'm tipping this to be the year when the likes of Mac, Armo, Jack, Simpkin and Siposs really step it up and take a bit of the load off the older ones
and that if those older ones respond and give it one huge last crack themselves, that we will find ourselves right in the mix again, at least in the finals. But that's just me. I'm certainly looking forward to it, probably more than I was this time last year.
