Anyone think we possibly could..?

[skeptic]

I was thinking about it after 5 rounds and then with the form slump it just became about making the finals.

Now all of a sudden, we’re there and we’ve been pretty much competitive against everyone. We got some players back… had a big win. After next week, all it would take is 4 wins

Any one dare to dream?

[mr six o'clock]

Why not .
As I said in another post our best football is good enough.
Whilst we've had a number of things go against us this year , we've also had a bit of luck .
Winning the free kick count , a rarity !
Players getting off at the MRP , another rarity !
Teams having unexpected losses helping us maintain our spot in the eight .
Hitting form at the pointy end of the season.
Six weeks ago I thought we'd have no chance to beat any of the top four. Now it's only the lions and we get a chance to see if we're good enough this week .
So hopefully things keep going our way.

[Devilhead]

I will think about when we win the Prelim

[jays]

Think we could win a finial or two but tbh we are going to have to travel for most likely all finials which seems to difficult

[Saint2]

At some stage, there will be a team in the eight, that has a huge task ahead, but will go on to win the premiership- maybe it will be us?

[Ghost Like]

We can afford to lose one of the next five. If we lose this week, we only have to win four in a row. Why not? Let's get it done. Being in it already gives us a better chance than 10 other clubs.

In Ross We Trust...Anytime, anywhere!

[Otiman]

I'd love to see us in the second week of finals.

If we can get some consistency we will give it a crack. Can't have a second half vs Carlton, or a last qtr vs Hawthorn again, at any point in a game.

[The Fireman]

I need a bigger sample size

Under RTB I dare to dream

[Ghost Like]

I'd love to see us in the second week of finals.

If we can get some consistency we will give it a crack. Can't have a second half vs Carlton, or a last qtr vs Hawthorn again, at any point in a game.

Agree. 5 complete games like the first half against Carlton or 5 complete games like that against Geelong but with accuracy thrown in.

Then, why not us? The planets aligned in every possible aspect for the Dogs so let's dare to dream.

[samoht]

See next post. ....

[samoht]

We're at full strength at the right time.
And full strength this year trumps whatever we've had last year or when we last made finals, with the natural improvement and progression of talented young players, and the addition of Stocker.
Dream on, I say.

The real challenge is to keep recruiting our way onwards and upwards to ultimate and sustainable success ... the kind that Geelong and other great teams enjoyed.

[meher baba]

Earlier in the season I felt it might be possible, but I feel it is more or less unthinkable now, due to the relative weakness of our central midfield contingent and its inability to compete in the clearances against the midfields of stronger teams.

On Saturday night, the Geelong midfield was seriously under strength due to injuries and to Dangerfield looking like he was playing on one leg, particularly after half-time. We dominated the clearances 33-21 and consequently the inside 50s 59-41. And yet Geelong remained in the game until well into the fourth quarter.

Our defence is superb, but our midfield struggles to win enough ball against the better teams and, even when it does win the ball, it struggles to create enough good opportunities inside the forward 50: it gets the ball in there often enough, but not frequently enough into advantageous positions. And then almost all of our forwards (Butler and Sharman being the main exceptions) are far too capable of missing set shots and sitters in general play.

I fear we will get a bit of a reality check on Saturday afternoon going up against a strong midfield with only Crouch and Steele as key midfielders (albeit that Steele seems to be playing a little less injured than previously).

But I really, really hope I'm wrong.

[SaintPav]

Can our team defence and game plan overcome the lack of midfield talent compared to other teams?

We need to kick straight and nail most of our chances.

We also need a player or two to have a standout finals series and play out of their skins.

Who will be our Bont?

[samoht]

Who will be our Bont?

Billings.

[SaintPav]

Who will be our Bont?

Billings.

Very ouch, samoht...

[Life Long Saint]

We might have to travel interstate 3 times just to make the GF.
That's a huge ask given that teams could be Sydney, Port, and Brisbane.

We've struggled with Collingwood and Melbourne, too.

TBH, I don't think our best is good enough this season to challenge for a flag.
I'd be happy if we can win a final.

[SaintWiki]

One good thing is we'll be under the radar in every game we play and on current form we'll be giving everything we've got.

[Scollop]

I'd be happy if we can win a final.

Same.

Here's how I see things pan out for an Elimination Final between us and GWS.

I reckon Melbourne will have a win against Sydney. I think the bookies have Sydney as favourites but they died in the last quarter against Adelaide last week. I expect them to carry that form into this week.

If GWS have an upset win over Carlton we'll be playing the team in the best form out of every side in the top 8.

Percentage could come into it.

If it's a close match and if we also lose in a close encounter we'll be playing GWS at Marvel

[Scollop]

If the Western Bulldogs beat Geelong down at GMHBA then that changes things. It means the match between GWS and Carlton is a dead rubber.

GWS can't qualify if the Dogs beat Geelong

[The_Dud]

Our season has had ups and downs - started on a high, had a long mediocre stretch in the middle, and now looking pretty good again the last few weeks.

At this point I'd be disappointed if we didn't win our first final, which I think will be against Sydney down here, but even up there I think we can do it.

After that I'm not so confident, history shows the top 4 are the top 4 for a reason, and usually are the last 4 teams in the finals.

[meher baba]

I'd be happy if we can win a final.

Same.

Here's how I see things pan out for an Elimination Final between us and GWS.

I reckon Melbourne will have a win against Sydney. I think the bookies have Sydney as favourites but they died in the last quarter against Adelaide last week. I expect them to carry that form into this week.

If GWS have an upset win over Carlton we'll be playing the team in the best form out of every side in the top 8.

Percentage could come into it.

If it's a close match and if we also lose in a close encounter we'll be playing GWS at Marvel

At the MCG, alas.

[Bin Chicken]

If the Western Bulldogs beat Geelong down at GMHBA then that changes things. It means the match between GWS and Carlton is a dead rubber.

GWS can't qualify if the Dogs beat Geelong

I think you need to look at the ladder again, Scollop. Dogs have to win and hope Giants lose to make it

[Impatient Sainter]

Ill be happy if we win a final, anything else is a major bonus!

[bigcarl]

Ill be happy if we win a final, anything else is a major bonus!

Yes, that’s about where I am at.

I think the club has set the stage for a successful period, but probably need a top four finish and a bit more elite talent.

Best hope would be a Bulldogs 2016? finish, where they became the sentimental favourite due to their historical ineptitude. Everyone got behind them, including - notably - the umpires.

A cup is a cup, you would take it. But I don’t think they were the best team in it that year over the majority of the season.

[meher baba]

Looking at it realistically, the Bulldogs in 2016 were a much better team than we are. They had a solid defence and a lot of run out of the midfield. We’ve got the former but not the latter.

To put it bluntly, we just aren’t dangerous enough in attack to pose a major threat to the top sides. Of course, any team could have an off day and we might win 1 or 2 finals. But only a very special team could hope to win 4 from 4.
There’s only been one of these so far. To become the second, some of our players will need to exceed their previous best by a fair margin.