No, this isnt a glass half empty post.

Okay, so we played horrible today, got shutdown in the middle and killed down back. However, it was against a side which, in my opinion, is easily the best side by a mile outside the top 4, and they could have made it too if they had a kinder draw (theyve played all the top 4 teams twice). Adelaide are a well drilled, slick outfit, they are going to be up there for the next few years, they have some great talent. Definitely the dark horse in the finals.

Now, whatever the outcome of the game between the Lions and the Swans, we are we deserve to be, 6th/7th. Our aim this year was to make the 8 and weve done it, anything is a bonus from here on in. Weve had some good wins and some shocking losses, and its been too easy to get excited and start dreaming of us making a massive run in the finals and playing off in a grand final. Today showed that this kind of expectation is unrealistic. Weve won 4 in a row, then put in a shocker against a very structured side, but that sort of inconsistency is to be expected when we are a young team on the rise.

Sure, there are some worrying signs, the defence is the biggest, the same defence that kept Geelong to 62 points and Port Adelaide to a similar score in Adelaide has conceded almost 100 to the cellar dwellers of the league and a whopping 176 points today. We need to address this issue during the week because we know the boys can keep decent opposition to low scores when things go right.

Judd and Murphy both had absolute shockers today, what are the odds of that? More importantly, what are the odds of that happening 2 weeks in a row? Whatever the outcome tonight, I am confident the Blues will bounce back next week, weve beaten the Lions twice and we should not fear them at all. Juddy will not allow himself to play like he did today again, Betts will be back in the side, and the boys will be pumped for their first finals match in yonks. Oh and the biggest positive from todays match is that weve sent the Scum to AAMI next week

I hope people dont get too disillusioned after todays match, because I believe we are where we deserve to be. Dont forget too we have been killed by the injuries to Waite, Jamison and even Austin to a lesser extent. All things considered, weve had a great home and away season and I for one am rapt to make the finals. I think we can realistically beat the Lions, but after that anything is a MASSIVE BONUS.

I have faith in the Blues, I cant wait for next week!

I told my partner after the game...

We play Brisbane. We have already beaten them twice.

If Western Bulldogs win tomorrow... They play Geelong, Collingwood get St. Kilda. If we beat Brisbane then we get Western Bulldogs (if they don't beat Geelong again)... We beat the Western Bulldogs (which we've already done this year) we get St. Kilda. If we beat St. Kilda we get Geelong. We've already beaten Geelong.

Not all is lost. We avoided the Scum and sent them to AAMI. Hell yeah! Bye Bye Scum. Adelaide by 85.

No, this isnt a glass half empty post.

Okay, so we played horrible today, got shutdown in the middle and killed down back. However, it was against a side which, in my opinion, is easily the best side by a mile outside the top 4, and they could have made it too if they had a kinder draw (theyve played all the top 4 teams twice). Adelaide are a well drilled, slick outfit, they are going to be up there for the next few years, they have some great talent. Definitely the dark horse in the finals.

Now, whatever the outcome of the game between the Lions and the Swans, we are we deserve to be, 6th/7th. Our aim this year was to make the 8 and weve done it, anything is a bonus from here on in. Weve had some good wins and some shocking losses, and its been too easy to get excited and start dreaming of us making a massive run in the finals and playing off in a grand final. Today showed that this kind of expectation is unrealistic. Weve won 4 in a row, then put in a shocker against a very structured side, but that sort of inconsistency is to be expected when we are a young team on the rise.

Sure, there are some worrying signs, the defence is the biggest, the same defence that kept Geelong to 62 points and Port Adelaide to a similar score in Adelaide has conceded almost 100 to the cellar dwellers of the league and a whopping 176 points today. We need to address this issue during the week because we know the boys can keep decent opposition to low scores when things go right.

Judd and Murphy both had absolute shockers today, what are the odds of that? More importantly, what are the odds of that happening 2 weeks in a row? Whatever the outcome tonight, I am confident the Blues will bounce back next week, weve beaten the Lions twice and we should not fear them at all. Juddy will not allow himself to play like he did today again, Betts will be back in the side, and the boys will be pumped for their first finals match in yonks. Oh and the biggest positive from todays match is that weve sent the Scum to AAMI next week

I hope people dont get too disillusioned after todays match, because I believe we are where we deserve to be. Dont forget too we have been killed by the injuries to Waite, Jamison and even Austin to a lesser extent. All things considered, weve had a great home and away season and I for one am rapt to make the finals. I think we can realistically beat the Lions, but after that anything is a MASSIVE BONUS.

I have faith in the Blues, I cant wait for next week!

there might be someone in charge at Carlton that gets a reality check. it can be tough sometimes.

Well said Blueboy_Dan, even the initial disappointment of getting pumped puts it into perspective that we have had a great season. I just wish we could have seen the blue boys in our first final in ages in melbourne, darn Sydney!!