Season 2007
1 - Richmond - W by 17 pts
2 - Gelong - L by 78 pts
3 - Essendon* - W by 3 pts
4 - West Coast - L by 61 pts
5 - Brisbane - L by 12 pts
6 - St. Kilda - L by 43 pts
7 - Collingwood - L by 34 pts
8 - Nth Melbourne - L by 17 pts

- Conceaded over 100 pts every week after Round 1...
- Our Captain, Lance Whitnall, was in the news for all the wrong reasons due to a very public and ugly family dispute with his brother...
- We'd already experienced two Pagan 'Hall of Shame' 10 goal + thumpings.
- Stevens and Cloke were gone for the season
- We had lost 4 in a row between Round 3 - 7 (that would become 6 losses in a row before our next win)..
- Most of our young talent was either rotting on the bench, being played out of position, or playing for the Bullants
- We're stil considered a rabble amost most people in the AFL
- Collingwood and Essendon* were flying...

THIS YEAR SO FAR....

Season 2008
1 - Richmond - L by 30 pts
2 - St. Kilda - L by 40 pts
3 - Essendon* - L by 16 pts
4 - Collingwood - W by 23 pts
5 - Melbourne - W by 33 pts
6 - Adelaide - L by 30 pts
7 - West Coast - W by 37 pts
8 - Brisbane - ???

- Have conceeded less then 100 points 3 times already
- Smashed our previous Membership record by over 2,000 and counting
- Have beaten Collingwood for the first time since 2005
- Stevens and Cloke are fit and firing
- Our universally respected Captain has played a pivital role for us in a win against his old club
- Won our first game interstate since 2004, and our first game at Subiaco since 2001
- Have only lost 1 game in our last 4 (and that was a game we were leading for 2 and a half qtrs)..
- Our young talent is starting to get noticed by the media after impressive performances so far this year..
- We're seen as a club seriously on the improve and going places in the next few years
- We're in a better position then Essendon* and on par with Collingwood
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The improvement shown by our team can be summed up easily...

Start of 2007
- Competative most weeks but still copped the odd uncompetitive thrashing. Winning games was a rarity..

Mid 2007
- A farse. Completely uncompetative. Embaressing. We copped thrashing after thrashing. Winning games was the last thing on our mind. Gameplan was a disgrace. Kids confidence is taking a battering. Fev is an undisciplined mess.

Late 2007
- New coach - new found enthusiasm. Refined gameplan led to a much more competitive team. Kids starting to show a bit. Fev's self discipline is on the improve. We 'mysteriously' lost many winnable games. Winning wasnt a priority

Start of 2008
- An injuection of class into the team has added to the enthusaism and compettitiveness of our group. Our kids are showing plenty. Fev having his best season yet. Club is winning games after a slow start (3 out of the last 4 games). Even when we've lost we've been competitive in each of these games). Club is slowly gaining respect.

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

2008 - We go into nearly all games thinking we have a good chance of winning

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Carlton - Nothing's changed
I still love you, oh, I still love you
Only slightly, only slightly less
Than I used to, my love

2007: Teams go into matches with us assuming that they will win.

2008: Matches against us are no longer marked down as a "bye"

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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 MOST important stat

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Ecclesiastes 1:4, "One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but The Blues abide forever."

No sure I would class Stevens as fit yet? although he is improving.

Not sure about Cloke firing either, a good handy player but as our kids get more experience I can see him on the outer.

Agree with the rest!

The question for now is who and what do we need to be ven better this time next year.

A CHF
A CHB thus releasing Waite
A mature bodied and tall ruckman
A few more skilful and talented runners
Speed?

The first games of Ratts' reign were losses - St Kilda and the filth - but the games were worth recording, and watching again, because there was fight in the guys .. as opposed to the floggings copped by Sydney and Brisbane in the previous weeks ... there is a great difference: it is a joy to follow the game .. I hope it comes to something come September!

This time last year, chase for Voss was well and truly on...

Was he saying "I think I want to coach" by now or was that later?

- or a 'forfeit' from us for that matter!

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1945 - End of round 3 Carlton was last.

Last round Carlton made the final four for the first time.

Eventual premiers.

That's what I'm talking about!

Last year if we had kicked 4 more goals per match we would have won around 12 games, just 1 goal extra per quarter.

This year in our 7 games compared with the first 7 games last year, we are averaging about 25 points more per game. (around 8 points for and 17 less kicked against.)
So if our back-line holds up then we will be close to a final 8 spot.