No reason why we can not make the finals. We are half a game out and if we had won aginst Port we would be in the eight. We have at times played poorly, had injuries and suspensions to key players and yet we are still in the mix. Imagine what could happen in things started ging our way a little. Personally I expect to win against Richmond, it is just the sort of senerio that our teams tend to respond well to.

That said we cannot afford to lose two or three in a row or we will be well and truely out of it. The next five weeks will tell as to wheter or we will make it.

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06

I think that all of these games are winnable....Richmond has only beaten the Doggies, Hawks and Fremantle at the G when they were worse than us last night...The Swans arent playing very well at all, plus the game is at the Dome...Brisbane may be back, but im yet to be totally convinced...Jonathan Brown wont kick 8 every week and they were playing Essendscum, plus again this game is in Melbourne at the Dome...And finally, the Port game, I havent seen anything so far to suggest that they can beat us at the G, or even at AAMI for that matter ...

Im not saying we will win all of these games but there is a strong argument that we are a very good chance in each of these...BTW good topic

Slim chance of finals.

In fact I am starting to wonder what merit there is in having 10 or so wins for the season. To quote Denis after Fridays night win " I have seen what we have got in terms of talent and I think our guys really have a go".
Denis is sending a clear message.

This team is capable of making finals but a lot of things have to go right. So far this season we have just spluttered along and managed a couple of wins and a draw. We lack depth of quality at the top end and in MOST cases the only way to get that talent is to finish bottom or near bottom for a couple of years.

We did that a few years ago and got nothing. Add Wells, McLean and Goddard who will eventually be a good player and those close losses turn into wins most likely. Opposition clubs only have to shut down a few players and we struggle big time.

It will take a bit of time to take that big step.

Why can't we make it? I think 11 wins and the draw will probably be good enough this season. So that's 9 wins out of 16 which isn't unachievable but we do need to play some better footy for longer periods.

Thing is that the teams around us are also going to drop games, we're not competing with great sides for a spot. If you said now, who do you reckon will confidently make the 8, I'd say St. Kilda, Geelong, Melbourne, West Coast, Brisbane and Port Adelaide. There are 6 sides in my opinion who are either certainties to make it or very likely, which leaves 2 spots for teams like North, Freo, Sydney, Carlton, Adelaide, Richmond, Bulldogs etc. North should probably make it thanks to their start to the season which leaves 4 or 5 teams competing for one spot. I think if we can get something going we're as much chance as anyone else.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

So even if we do make 8th and last 1 week is that anything to get excited about?

The way I see the rest of the season at this stage is this:

v Richmond - Win, they're starting their usual slip-sliding down the ladder.
v Geelong - Loss, but only just. Could be a good 8-point match if we jag it.
v Melbourne - Win, We've shown we can beat an almost full-strength Demons this year.
v Adelaide - Win, in a close one. Depends on our disposal
v Swans - Win, they're playing slow, hopeless footy, and even worse without Jolly and Williams. Plus, June 4 is my birthday, and if they lose that day I will be FILTHY.
v Brisbane Lions - Win, they are on the way back, but are vulnerable with a capital V
v Western Bulldogs - Win, Inconsistent, but good. Need to be wary of them
v WCE, Loss - Close one. We will run them close, only leaning their way due to home ground.
v St Kilda - Loss, But again, if we click we can get over them. 8-point win if we snatch it.
v Fremantle - Win, Should have had them over there
v Hawthorn - Win, By the time we meet them, they will be low on confidence and energy.
v Richmond - Win, see round 7
v Port Adelaide - Win, just. They may be fighting for some pride by then, but we should beat them, especially with Thornton and Livo back by then.
v Collingwood Win- folding like the proverbial cheap suit
v Essendon- Win- They may be fielding the Bendigo reserves by then..running out of players fast.
v Kanagroos Win- Make up for running out of legs last time.

Total wins, optimistically: 15.5 with an opportunity for 17. May be as low as 10.5 if we don't get our act together.

If we have a good winning run into the finals, IMO, the slate gets wiped clean, finals is a new game, and Denis is a master of September footy.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

BW I would be excited. It would show our steady improvement and be good for our fans and the bottom line. Not to mention, it would be great for our young team to experience playing finals footy as well.

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When Dick became President, it was as if everyone at Carlton came out of the hailstorm and into the sunshine - Stephen Kernahan

YARRAN!!





.

But wouldn't you say that when you consider where we're actually coming from, that would be a good achievement this season?

See if we were a side like Essendon* which has been around the same position for years then no you wouldn't really get excited about it. But when you take into account where Carlton was a few seasons ago then a spot in the finals would have to be viewed as a success. If I was offered 8th spot now I'd take it in a flash.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

You think were that good?
If we were going as well as that we'd finish top 4 easy
I'll be happy if we make the 8 and dont get thrashed

If we play to the level we know we can, which we showed we could in the WC, then yes.

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

The way we have been playing i wouldn't think we would go anywhere near to making the finals.We luckily beat both Hawthorn and Essendon* after coming from behind.We have lost to Kangaroos,Collingwood and Freo.You would say none of them would finish higher then 6th.We had a draw against Port who are playing crap this year.We are lucky not to be only 1 draw and 5 losses so far.Unless we start playing 4 quarters of footy a game very soon,this season maybe over before we know it.

Never want to tank games, but in some ways Id not be happy to make the finals knowing that the only way we can get the talent needed to win a flag is to have a couple of years in the bottom 4 and get the resultant draft picks.

As said previously, we need probably 3 or 4 more good players and in that a couple of potential stars in order to whether what the best teams might throw at us in a match.

Unless we show a significant form improvement though, Id say we would be good for about 10th or 11th.

We need a match a bit like Richmond had today against Port - a real statement game.

If we had kicked straighter in any one of our losses, we might well have
made a much better statement than we have to date.

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My Blue Heaven

Freo just beat Melb who have only lost 1 other game away.

Geelong only beat Port by 4 points.

Kangas are currently 2nd and have only lost 1 game.

If we don't make the 8 after rd 22, then the players might get some finals tickets to see some finals action..

God, Rd 6, 16 games to go... To early to call and our current form doesn't warrant finals action. Need to wait and see once we get some players back and get a consistant team on the track..

Well having read lots of TISH in other places, I reckon that you are about the money! I'd be happy with 11.5

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Stay tuned We're in for a BUMPY ride

The old injury/form/suspension rumba....
There's going to be so much hinging on how we're travelling and how "they" are travelling when we meet them.

Full team and we're back to WC form. Good playing , confidence, good matchups....don't think we'ld win the flag but as Pagan said we'ld be competitive...that's when you'll get those 12-15 wins...depending on what "they" are doing.

WHICH IS WHY PAGAN is so pissed off about the suspensions...and so he should be.
For mine...we won't make the finals (see end) but hopefully we won't bomb out either (win only 4-5) .Mind you if that looks like happening the abolishment of the priority pick will be back on the agenda...(notice it disappeared as soon as Essendon* started bombing )

AGRO....----please insert here------

ps....we should never have lost the Collingwood game!

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee