If we can get our gamepattern going we should make the top 4.

Alot of clubs are on the slide....

_________________
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.

Yeah, Tarrants a knob.

_________________
"I will rejoice in their anguish, delight in their failure and revel in our success"

We are Carlton, @#$%&! the rest !!!!!!

We never do well against the Aints, having always been beaten by them since 2001/2 or something .. what will change to make the difference ?!

_________________
[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

Never?

The fact that they are a team plateauing at best, and we're a team on the rise?

We'll start handing out a few thrashings over the next season or 2, and The Saints will be on the receiving end of one before long.

_________________
And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

@#$%&!, they'd better be. I can't take much more from those pricks

_________________
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

I agree: we have a good squad.

Fitter, better and stronger players (after the BIG preseason) to execute a good game plan is required in the equation for success.

I think things are going to 'click' in 2009.

I reckon, Ratts experimented his ability in the coal face. I think a lot of strategies and statements didn't come off as planned, but some did.

IMO, I don't think the 22 we had out there week in week out were strong and skilled enough to pull off any thought of stringing 3 wins together. We came back in afew games, but that has something to do with stamina, will from good conditioning. Cordy doesn't develop their footy skills.

That's all coming together in 2009. I expect Ratts with his brains trust (Riley etc) will be more in tuned with their squad in 2009; strengths and weakneses. He will coach ro his strengths more in 2009. I truly believe this will come naturally as the kids improve.

He has to coach to kick a winning score!!

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Well so here we are.

Maybe if we hadn't sold the Freo game to Gold Coast things may have been different.

I still feel that on our day we are in the top 4.

Challenge for 2010

Fix game plan when playing Essendon*, St. Kilda and Hawthorn.

Also get some backbone when playing interstate. No more slow starts and fade outs.

Top 4 should be possible with natural improvement, few injuriess, stiffer backbone and desire to win.

MC & Board need more belief, they believe we are very much in a building phase.

With this attitude assume Flag is still 3-5 years away. Read when Murphy and Gibbs are 25-27 yo.

We need to make more of our opportunitis just like Hawthorn did.

Top 4 spot was definitely ours for the taking this year - however in hindsight I am glad we did not snag the win last Saturday as hopefully it means there will be a serious review about the on-field and off-field deficiencies that must be addressed so we are a serious top 4 challenger in 2010.

A win on Saturday may have papered just papered over the cracks.

_________________
"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

yes but in some years 13 wins would get you near to top 4 -Essendon was the first team in umpteen years to get a spot in the finals with a 10 win season - so it was a different season alright

It may also have allowed us to beat the Dogs, Saints and then our GF opponents.

Anything is possible.

Correction. Anything was possible.

_________________
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.

I think 14-16 wins is a realistic target for next season. Less stupid
losses like the Freo game, and finally beating Essendon*, St Kilda and Adelaide would be nice.

I did raise the topic in another thread and I feel the $400,000 we got for that game has been wiped. I find it quite ironic that we lost that moved game to Freemantle by 7 points and the away final against Brisbane by 7 points. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I am firmly of the belief that the boards decision to sell an unlosable game for $400,000 has cost us a home final and at the very least another home final. Not sure what it is worth in monetary terms but at the very least it has to be worth something to the playing group.
Come round 3 next year and we might play Collingwood or Essendon*. If we lose by 1 point or 5 points and Chris Judd is sitting in the grandstand who knows, that may cost us a spot in the top 4?