With the Dees ahead of us

Gary Lyon and Gerald Healy.

_________________
THEY LIKE TO SEND UP!!!!!!!!

Until each team plays each other the same number of times, the AFL, as a fair dinkum competition, cannot be taken seriously.

He (Mr Swann) said the honour and pride associated with the club's traditional navy blue jumper was priceless.

7th, 9th, 10th...Just a matter of time before some expert predicts we'll win the spoon this year.

I`m expecting KB to come out with that announcement during the week.

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

_________________
That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

Bottom line is that we have finished 8th the last couple of years. Until we surprise the comp with a significantly better than expected year, we are a 7th -10th side. 12 months ago, nobody was talking of a collingwood back to back dynasty. they came, surprised and conquered. even if we win one final this year, the pundits might have us finishing 5th - 8th in 2012. Let's not get prickly about what people's perception of where we are at. Let's deliver big time (get to a prelim final) and maybe the journos might show us a bit more love.
TOP 6 AND A PRELIM. GO BLUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_________________
If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

A very good call - we do need to prove ourselves as we have made the finals the last two years, some would say unlucky not to progress to the next round, others may say too soft and we choked.

Must deliver a bit more substance this finals series e.g. a win or two to get the monkey off our back.

..he also reckons that brown should be captain ahead of ablett for the suns..

_________________
..if you can't be good, be good at it..

With the greatest respect to all of those believing we are undervalued in the media, we won less than 50% of our games last year including 4 of our last 12. It is up to us to change the media's perceptions by our on field actions, not the other way round.

Can't wait for the next thread like this.

_________________
Premierships: 1869, 1871, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1887, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995.

"GIBBS."

Does anybody else think the constant "our aim is to win a final" statement is bullshit? Once we've achieved that 'lofty' aim do the players take their foot off the pedal? Sounds like an excuse not to win a premiership to me.

The ridiculous "targets" that clubs are coming out with in the media just make them look stupid when they don't happen and no-one cares if they do.

Today I read that the club wants to win two flags in the next five years. I heard Melbourne saying the same thing a few months back

Why two? Why not three? Or one? Or five?

We're starting to sound like an unsuccessful club.

How about just getting everyone involved at the club performing to the highest level possible and letting the rest of us talk crap..

_________________
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

Didn't Collingwood come out and say they wanted to win the flag at the start of 2010?

The Pies were just one bad bounce away from another colossal choke.

And it is membership season...

Why is everyone afraid of aiming high and failing?

Carlton supporters are starting to sound like Richmond people.

The meedyah wrote Carlton off in 1995...Quartermain even tipped the Cats.

I doubt that Carlton are just sitting on their hands and expecting for it to happen without putting in the hard work.

It appears all these young teams except for Carlton can only improve from here on in...Melbourne are young with Green and Jamar in AA form and a key to their side.

Not a very enthusiastic attitude by some for the start of a fresh new season eh?

gary being hursuit,
is not so astute
cos carlton will win
enough to get in..
to the
2,3, or4...
and even if not..
they'll still make the 8
so all of you hate....ers
get on your bikes
and go take a hike.

_________________
That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

I reckon that 2 of our biggest problems areas have been:

(1) Defensive pressure across the ground. This is a pretty broad category and includes - not being as well drilled as the better sides in our structures and defensive transitions, not running as hard defensively as the other way, not blocking opponents running forward to receive the ball, and allowing too many tackles to be broken.

(2) Ball use. Simply - not selecting the right option and/or bad execution.

In other words, in 2 of the 3 phases of the game - (1) when the opposition has the ball, and (2) when we have the ball - we are a fair way behind the best teams. The 3rd phase (contested ball) could also be improved, but I don't think has been as much of a concern IMO.

From what the coaching staff have said publicly, and from what I've seen with my own eyes in the practice matches, I'm confident we're going to make progress this year with (1). Our tackling seems stronger and our positioning around the ground looks better when the opposition has the ball. This is an absolute non-negotiable, especially given that our backmen (almost to a man) look vulnerable in one-on-ones.

But I'm still worried about (2). I've seen nothing in the practice matches to suggest that we are about to join the elite of the competition in this regard. The premiership side will be the team that has the most players who most often make the right decisions with the ball and execute well under pressure. We will not overcome the press or zones of the likes of Collingwood and Hawthorn if we do not get much better with our disposal, particularly by foot. This includes kicking for goal. "Getting better" means being consistently effective.

We've been crying out for years for defenders that are smart ball users. Hopefully Yarran, Laidler and Watson can provide some immediate improvement down there. But, unfortunately, across the board I don't see us having the elite decision making and skills under pressure that the top 4 teams do.

Predicting ladder positions is fun but with so many variables (not the least of which is injuries and which teams adapt quickest to the rule changes) I find it impossible.

However, I think we should improve enough in area (1) to hold our spot in the eight - given a reasonable run with injuries and luck in close games - but I think we're still short enough in area (2) for me to say that, unfortunately, I can't see us penetrating the top 4...

_________________
It's never as good as it looks and it's never as bad as it seems.

not sure why some of the media has us dropping away. were not an old side and we have improvement left in guys like yarran, garlett, lucas, henderson, hampson, warnock, kreuzer (when he returns). I dont think weve seen the best of guys like gibbs, bower & murphy either.

When you add that to Judd not really showing any signs of slowing down i dont see why we would drop away?

Maybe i am just an optimist?

Good points ABNS...

I reckon we can add mental softness whenever Judd leaves the field. Our mids need to believe thay are just as effective in situations without him.

It's another version of our forwards believing that they can survive without Fev.

We have had two very dominant players with kids in support - time for the kids to step up...

_________________
"...that's the thing about opinion - you don't have to know anything to have one..." Andre Agassi commenting on Pat Cash 2004
"...the less you know - the more you believe..." - Bono 2006

Could not agree more JK. Watch everyone jump on board the sleeping giant if we win say 14-15 games and end up in the prelim

_________________
If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

...but if we do improve in all areas of our game including (2) then a top 4 spot is not out of the question


Good post abns.

I don't think we are being written off completely; it's just the selection prior to the season has to be made by these guys a week prior to the season start. It's not easy selecting the top 8...Lyon selecting the Demons ahead of the Blues is baseless and bias imo. I bet every sports writer and commentator can see our potential to be a top 8 side, and if we have taken the next step we could press for a top 4 (if everything goes our way) but we have shown a bit of potential in the past 2 years along with some long flat periods too.

Remember what happened to Carlton after the Walls article in the Age last year? The same thing that happened to Sheehan the year before. Once bitten twice shy.

It's up to us to change the perception of our own supporters let alone the wider footy community.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I'm expecting that 99 prelim.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Good points ABNS

My concerns are with how we deliver the ball inside 50 and how we defend if we lose the ball in our forward 50.

If a team drops a tall defender back are we able to make the right decision and not bomb it to a 2-1 or 3-2 contest?

When we lose the ball in our forward line, are we able to stop the opposition moving the ball forward without us even touching it?

For me they are the two keys to this season...you are right regarding when the ball is in dispute; we are more than capable in that area.

_________________
"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch