Blue Vain wrote:
Big Kahuna Boot wrote:
..who wants to be a finals contender though..?.. ..seriously, if you're not a real, regular flag contender, playing finals is fun but bittersweet cos you know yer no real chance.. ..don't wanna be like laidley's roo's or eade's dogs, where you play finals for no threat.. ..they even used to make top 4, but they were never truely in the race.. ..our list played to its strengths wasn't flag worthy.. ..it's been corrected, and will still use some of its strengths but in a much better way.. ..never gonna win a flag unless you can play finals footy week in week out.. ..even our best yr of 2011 we didnt play finals footy, couldn't string more than a few wins together, how the hell you gonna go deep into the finals without winning more than a few games in a row thru the season, every season for a decade..
Yes, I see you've been steadfast in your views in our previous finals campaigns.
Big Kahuna Boot wrote:
..and personally, even taking into account where our list was coming from.. ..finals footy this year should be a given.. ..finals footy shouldn't have been the pass mark for Ratts, it's simply not a high enough benchmark.. ..with the list we have there should be no doubt about finals footy.. ..regardless, it's more how we play footy that's more the concern for mine..
..finals footy was always gonna happen.. ..unless we either got cruelled by injuries to seriously important players, or our coaching staff are totally incompetent..
..and yet, in all of that you glossed over the bit where i said "regardless, it's more how we play footy that's more the concern for mine".. ....ultimately, playing finals footy, and playing footy in the finals isn't the same thing.. ..do i think we Might miss finals due to injuries?, no.. ..do i think we might due to coaching?, yes.. ..but not because of bad coaching, but due to corrective coaching.. ..for years we played on talent, with no discernible system that held up to pressure, or was even regularly adhered to, win or lose.. ..now, with so much of the talent on a decline, Judd [being massive for us recently], Snotland who can still play well getting the ball and running and helping support, but his kicking isnt what it used to be.. ..Carrots likewise, and Murph injured 2 seasons in a row [not declining though, injured]..
..now, that doesn't sound too bad, but when you play on talent and no system,, it is bad.. ..this year i think our list should have made finals, yes.. ..but making finals isn't enough.. ..we want to be a flag threat, so younger players needed to get their chances, which they have.. ..an actual gameplan, with recognised structures and understood systems needed to be implemented.. ..defensive accountability is still the struggle to instill.. ..real, honest two-way running.. ..disciplined team footy instead of flashy selfishness.. ..unearthing new leaders, etc etc.. ..we're coming from a long way back, and yes we could eke out a shallow finals foray this year and the coming few, or we could retreat a little and sort out everything we all see and agree needs sorting out.. ..i dont think anyone was truely beliving we could have been a legitimate repeat flag contender.. .at best, if everything went right, we might have fluked one.. ..maybe.... hopefully..