http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-pre ... 6020249717

I have heard him on 3aw in Febuary saying that we could finish as high as 2nd so not sure what has changed in the past month.

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You heard it here first!

His mate Sir Jim has arrived

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Cheats never prosper (except in the AFL)

Yep. Now that Essendon* are being coached by a 'legend', they'll now finish ahead of us.

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

You simply can't compete against someone who pisses sunshine.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

Gerald Healy

Another mystery L that appears, like the t in Gartlett and the missing n in Thorton!

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i AM CARLTON

Yeh if you look at his previews of 9-17 no Essendon*...

Greg Healy predicts we'll finish 48th.

Younger brothers

Let's take a trip down memory lane....
Nobody had us in their predicted Top 8 last year either. Apparently we were going to struggle badly up forward without Fev..
Back in pre season 2005, we were BACK aparently, and media was abuzz with how the Lance and Fev show was going to dominate the competition. Most of us fell for the media's buzz too and fell flat on our a*ses when harsh reality hit. As if that wasnt bad enough, we went back for more in 2007 too
Fast forward to pre season 2009 when the Tigers were the talk of the town. Cuz was going to help them make the 8 apparently. Well we all know what happened next dont we.
Last year, it was the Doggies turn to be all the rage during the pre season after their NAB Cup win, but once again we found out that unlike what most 'experts' had predicted in the pre season, nothing much had changed.
Oh, and of course Michael Voss was a genious coach with the best forward line in the comp, and Daniel Rich was the best kid in the competition last pre season too LOL...

So let the Bummers be the talk of the town in March. It ll make it all that much sweeter when they crack out the usuall excuses for their underperformance come September.

We on the other hand, can stick to giving these Bummers loving 'experts' the big one finger salute on our march tothe Finals...

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

Gerard.

Foxsports.com.au's 2011 AFL premiership season preview with expert Gerard Healy: Carlton

I doubt he's actually seen us play much. Guys like Gerard wouldn't go and see practice matches, so he'd have all of 80 minutes to make an assessment. Besides Sydney (for obvious reasons) and St Kilda (who he grew up barracking for), I think he generally has an overly soft spot for the non-Victorian sides. Partly because he played a lot of his career outside of Melbourne. Partly because as a FOX commentator, he gets to see a lot more of the non-Victorian games first hand.

So, for example, he was surprisingly positive about West Coast when broadcasting during the NAB Cup.

Is 9th the new 8th given we have 17 teams?

The fat slug supposedly "hasn't ruled out" a 10 team finals next year, so probably.

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Probably not a bad thing media don't rate us at least that way the players don't get ahead of themselves

The problem with journos these days is those who don't follow a certain club lack depth of knowledge about that club, and therefore their views are poor in spots.

An example of this is GH saying Jamison had a poor 2010. He doesn't mention that since then Jamo has had a (finally) injury-free pre season and the coach ranked him the no.2 best performed player at the club this pre season. If GH knew that, or bothered to keep up to date with all AFL clubs progress, he would have a different view on Jamison's likely 2011, notwishtanding the fact Jamo will miss Rounds 1 and 2.

But hey all media cannot be expected to have on their roster people who barrack for every club. Which means the ones they have should probably pull their digits out a bit more to be better up to speed with each club's propgress pre season.

It is amazing a team that was so close to getting to the 2nd week of the finals, especially given they played interstate, and which has a lot of natural improvement in them due top having lots of youth on their list, is viewed as going backwards by so much media. just goes to show the media cannot stand the Blues. I hope we well and truly stick it up all of them in 2011.

Foxsports.com.au's 2011 AFL premiership season preview with expert Gerard Healy: Essendon*
http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-pre ... 6022454398



Hehehe.

Healy ight be right, you never know, but my gut feel is he is going to look pretty silly over his Bombers call.

Botom line is opposition clubs pay less attention to shutting down opposition teams in pre season games, come the real stuff tactics will shift up a gear and this is where James Hird (and his players) will be tested.

The one thing they have done well though, is in their pressure on the ball carrier. Cannot deny this. But I still think it is a big call to say this team that was so horrid in 2010, will turn things around so dramatically.

No, but I can state categorically that I believe they have eased back their training levels much earlier than everyone else and have started spending petrol tickets before the season's even begun. They will look listless by about round 7.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Sportsbet have us 6th to make the 8 and 6th to win the Flag, I believe

We seem to be 6th or 7th, for most betting agencies. Teams around us, Bombers (Healy loves Hird, Connoly is a Scumbag), Dees (Healy played for Dees), Swans (Healy played for Swans) ... are we seeing a trend now?

Sometimes you read a decription so appropriate you just can't stop laughing. :
Nice one M - you've made my day.

Well I think we have enough quality to finish in the top eight

to go next level Watson and McCarthy need at least 50 games under their belt to solidify the backline.

I'm content with the midfield - just need to work a little harder.

Still need a gun forward target.... Waite is good, Hendo will be more than serviceable and we really need him to go up a notch.

Tough call for the kid but frankly it's up to him whether we finish in the top eight or 12th.