Maybe we should have tanked instead?

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" -Winston Churchill

L.M 35-06

Parkin has become an embittered old fool ever since Britt's got the arse.

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

Parko is being honest..no problem there.

What our group need to do is probably work harder than any other team due to that lack of experience. No problems with that.

I if we do sneak into the eight at the selection table the likes of Houla, Banno and Wiggins be selected before Brown, Armfield and Hammo.

We are rebuilding and developing this list so why not give every kid a chance to string two or three games together we can only be better for it.

Browne was dropped?? what has wiggo shown over the last few weeks??

Someone has got to make way for Walks (understandable) Banno and Houlahan. So do Armfield and Grigg or Russel make way for them??

so you'd rather play young under developed players then win?

Even you must admit that you can't play the young ones every week, Browne seems good but he shouldn't be an automatic selection, while Wiggins is playing well you play him if not don't, it's not like he's an old man either you know........someone like him should also get the right to try and prove themselves so they can stay on the list or not.

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

Agree 100%. If someone is proving his worth in the side, leave him in. Wiggins has played pretty well last couple of weeks and deserves a game this week.

Right there shows you have no idea what you are talking about.

On the weekend we played two of our three 2007 picks, and the other was rightly dropped after a series of games showing diminishing returns. He'll be back in due course, when he's EARNED it. We played each of our top three 2006 picks.

Fact is we finally have a list and some form where having a certain age on you birth certificate doesn't represent a god given right to senior football.

Those kids you refer to will need to earn their way into the team instead of being ushered through. Same goes for Banno and Houlihan (who I think may have played his last game for the club).


And that's the way it should be.

I am not sure how playing finals can possibily be bad for a footy team....

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Go Blues

Lets make the finals first before deciding if we have arrived too early.....
If we do I will reserve my judgement, like to see us play some of the heavyweights like Geelong, Bulldogs and Hawthorn to get an indication if we are just making up the numbers or we are the real deal. No point getting hammered in a one sided contest in our first final for a while just to say we made the finals......and then we need to consider our position in the draft.

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

This is the first time we've been in the Top 8 in Round 12 since 2001. In between we've clearly been the worst team in the competition. Being in the Top 8 only gives you entry to the finals if you're in Round 22, and we have some very good teams to go, so the whole thing is moot and premature. If we are in the finals, then great, exposure to that pressure can only be a good thing. If we miss out, we know we're rising and we have more work to do.

The desire of so many to go from bottom to top so quickly is hardly realistic. As per another thread, I am enjoying being mediocre this week!

Forget about whether we make the finals or not, we should really be questioning when our youngsters have develop, will they/the coach etc be good enough to win a premiership? Do we have the talent to beat a team like Hawthorn? We can never have enough talented youngsters.

how about the other 9 years he been on our list??

So do we tank to finish 9th? Is that the Parkin plan?

The way I see it, if you get in, you get in. If you don't, you don't.

You take it as it comes. Pretty simple really.

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NOW YOU'RE JUST SOME CLUB THAT I USED TO KNOW.

I have a lot of respect for Wiggo, though I don't think he'll be part of No 17. Good on him if he is.

But, he gives 100% for the CFC and that's where he earns my respect and gratitude. Kicked a crucial goal in the last qtr but, better still, he helped us keep the momentum in the last qtr. At the bounce after Medhurst got them back to 8pts, Pies were surely going to get the clearance until he came belting in and executed a great bump/spoil (can't quite remember what form it took) on a Pies midfielder - the spillage went to us and Waite kicked a crucial "circuit breaker" soon after. I challenge anyone who thinks the Pies weren't going to clear that stoppage.

Brilliant play by Wiggo and don't underestimate the impact that play had on our win. I wanted Browney in ahead of him for that game, too .

So Wiggo's 9 years of nothing earn him automatic selection.

Leigh Mattews got games into his kids, Paul Roos the same last year and they are not looking back.

I'm not saying we should deliberately not make the eight what im saying is what a fantastic opportunity we're in to give these blokes a taste of it when we have a few injuries and it being Ratts first year.

It's great to have players fighting for there positions but again Houlahan, Banno and Wiggo have shown absolute nothing to warrant selection over our future.

Why can't we have a year were we give every kid a game or two. We have a solid core of senior players and have shown to be far more competitive than previous years.

Winning a premiership is so bloody hard to do. Get it right and getting it right will be due to the development f our young kids who are the support act around Gibbs, Murph, Stevo, Fev and Juddy.

The Saints lack depth due to not pushing through kids.

Give all the kids a taste of it and god only knows how far they can run with it

My ideal?

Make the finals, Knock out Collingwood and then forfeit....




I think Parko is heavily influenced by the compalcency that cost a flag in 93 and the finals in 94.
H has adopted an "avoid anything that may make you complacent" stance ...fair enough too.
At the end of the day, the players know what they must do and it's the coaches that must manage that.
It gains nothing to avoid certain things and gains everything to face up to things and work out what you must do to make it better. That's the only way you become the BEST

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

Melvey confuses me.

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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

QFT

according to him we shouldn't play a player who is in form now if he has had '9 years' of being ordinary.

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

Parkin doesnt understand the re energising effect kids have on a football club...
After all he was the top up king...

The game isnt as much about crash and bash anymore its about skills and run.. and tactical set ups...

The kidshave the talent and we will still get another top 10 pick to add to our stable of young guns...

But we need to continue on with what were doing and educate and execute what we have as best we can...
and allow that to take its natural course...

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

You've hit the nail on the head there. If we make the finals, we make the finals. I don't understand the concept of "getting there too early".

If we're good enough, why stop the momentum? Why try and engineer a team that finishes outside the 8? Doesn't make much sense to me.

If we end up in the 8 after Rd 22, it simply means we are the top 8 teams of the year. No other reason. That's the reward for good football.