It's time we all took note of the big, fat, pink elephant in the corner of the room (no not Stevo)...

We are a chance to play f... f... f...finals this year!

I don't know if I'm jumping the gun, counting my chickens or shutting the gate after the horse has bolted but it's time to face facts...

I recognise that apart from our the last quarter against Swans and the whole St Kilda game we haven't been too impressive of late, but sometimes ya gotta win ugly.

Like a pauper with cap in hand, I'd be happy with any finals appearance. Some of my optimistic friends are crazy enough to be talking top 4, but that's just crazy talk.... or is it???????

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Heartbeat is optional

Im very wary of talking top 4 as we have been very inconsistent and ive been let down too many times... BUT looking at our last 6 games, top 4 is a realistic goal if we are up to it!

Collingwood ( even money i think, but we are a decent chance, if im being optimistic - WIN )
North Melbourne ( surely we will win this - WIN )
Geelong ( Cats are clearly thinking about finals and arent to concerned about regular season, we may be a sneaky chance, more probably a LOSS )
Port Adelaide ( these blokes are dangerous at home, we have won there before, no reason why not again - but because we dont travel well LOSS )
Melbourne ( win for sure, Melbourne are tanking - WIN )
Adelaide ( should win this at Etihad, i hope - WIN )

Key games are Collingwood and Port games, i think if we win them ( should make us 13 wins, 9 losses ) we could well snag a top 4 spot

Wishful thinking i know, but with a bit of luck and a lot of consistent footy, we are a big chance

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Matty Kruzer you star!

If we beat Collingwood, we are almost certainly in the 8 and looking dangerous for top 4.

Finishing 4th and playing the Saints at the G/Etihad is a pretty good deal when you compare it to finishing 4th in recent years.

2006 - Travel west to play the Eagles at Subi
2007 - Play Geelong who were unbeatable
2008 - Again Geelong who were almost unbeatable
2009 - Saints who we pushed to 9(?) points and probably should have beaten

Somehow slip in to 4th, and there is a massive opportunity to roll the Saints and enjoy a week off before the Prelim

4th spot has never looked so good.

We'll still finish 5th-8th.... We're not Top 4 material..

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

On the year we have had, I agree, we are not a top 4 team. But on ladder position, we are one game off 4th spot.

Simply, we need to win 1 more game out of the last 6 than the other 3 teams.

Not easy, but not impossible.

Also remember that we play 2 of the 3 other teams (collingwood & adelaide) really giving us a chance to make the spot ours... if we are good enough.

I hope we play Brisbane in the 1st round of finals if we make it...

I dont think we are a shoe in for the top 8 just yet. We need 3 wins. Coll, Geel, Port and Adelaide will very tough games. I expect to win one of those. I think the North game is massive, lose that and I will be very worried. With Essendons easy draw and Hawthorn firing up I am holding off my excitement.

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Koperek.

We'll make the 8.

I don't think we'll make the top 4. We don't deserve to, at any rate. We've dropped too many winnable matches to here and cruelled our own chances of that.

To be honest, it might be good to finish 5-8 anyway, and be bowled out early, for a couple of reasons.

• Putting finals experience into players like Murph, GIBBS, Kreuz, Eddie with less pressure than the expectations that a top-4 finish would provide;

• Geelong and St Kilda are so dominant this year, we'd be better off having a harder run at the big one next year.

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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.

I can never understand the “we don’t deserve to finish that high” theory. If we finish that high, it’s because we’ve won more games and have a better percentage than those below us, how is that not deserved?

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"I had to eat"

Fair point, but we won't get that high, because we don't deserve to end up that high. If that makes sense. Well, it does in my head, anyway.....

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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.

Have to say I have never understood the "we don't deserve to [achieve particular outcome]" logic. If we make the top 4, it will be because we deserve to finish in the top 4, as we will have won enough games/have finished with a high enough percentage to finish in the top 4. If we finish 5th-8th, it will be because we deserve to finish 5th-8th, as we won't have won enough games or finished with a high enough percentage to make the top 4. If we miss the finals altogether, we will have deserved to have missed the finals as we wouldn't have done enough to make the finals.

It's almost like we have to justify our own position to make us feel secure. Just take things as they come.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

Great minds...

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

i'm always more cautious of using the 'c' word


Collingwood


Aaaggh i said it. . .*puts dollar in swear jar*

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Cuck Follingwood

If we win 4+ out of our last 6 that will be 7 from 9 = top 4 form. Obviously we haven't shown anything like the quality of the top 4 teams, and I frankly don't expect us to this year. To win 7 of 9 and possibly sneak 4th would be a meritorious achievement. St Kilda were considered lucky (and they were) to sneak into the 4 last year. Wouldn't mind following their path! There I said it, I admire St Kilda

It's becoming clear to me that Ratts is not the man (to coach us in the finals) IMO

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

..to do a Malty, what's top four material..?.. ..i can guess as to what yer sayin', but going by season 2009 if we beat the Pies come friday night we will be in 4th place, at round 17.. ..yanno, that to me says we're top four material.. ..it's just that this year, your ideal of what top four should be, has actually shrunk to top two.. ..in my opinion, the only teams that deserve what we tend to think of as being top four material are the saints and cats.. ..the pies haven't beaten many of the good sides, we've beaten more top 8 sides than them.. ..the dawgs as we know from playing them are not contenders.. ..of course, come finals.... ..it's game on.. ..anything can happen..

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

..yeah, finals experience is all well and good, but i reckon there'd be heaps less pressure the first time we play finals.. ..nobody in their right mind would actually think we're a contender, so we'd be the perpetual underdog.. ..players might feel that they've got nothing to lose and play with a bit more freedom because they're not labouring under the expectations of others, just themselves giving it a crack..

..but after this year, well we've already proven we're a finals side, next year ppl might expect us to be top four, or even a contender.. ..there'd be alot more expectation to start making the push for a flag.. ..next year is a clean slate, this year almost everyone seems to think it's already a foregone conclusion it will be a cats/saints GF.. ..but we took it right up to the sainters, after giving them a headstart... ..if we played for all 4 quarters like we did for Q's2,3,4 that game would have definately been a 50-50.. ..they had their best side in, us down a few.. ..cats haven't been as good this year as previous, and they're goal-shy at times in games.. ..in finals, anything can happen.. ..doesn't even need to involve yer team, another team could cause an upset, and we face that team later on instead.. ..there's the chance of injury or suspension.. ..finals is always open to chance..

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

Its an old cliche, but one that fits where we are at at this point.

Just take it one week at a time.

If we beat Collingwood, its 2 games that have to be won from 5 matches to cement a finals spot.

Then its :

North - should win
Geelong - honourable loss
Port - narrow win
Melbourne - Win
Adelaide - loss

I'd say thats 13 wins. Then again, we might beat Adelaide and finish with 14 wins because its played in Melbourne.

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My Blue Heaven

i dont know about the dogs 'not being contenders'

They've won 9 out of past 11 games. And the 2 losses come to collingwood by a point, and geelong after the siren. . 2 losses to 2nd and 4th on the ladder at times of the losses and this week they play top of the lader saints and yeh the have a few injuries and suspensions etc but a win against the saints proves them as a legit contender.

I think we can win this week, and with exception of geelong we'll be favourites in all of the other matches. Port have a few games at home coming up, but any side who loses to melbourne and struggles at home against richmond shouldnt beat us. We won there last year, and after the crows thump them this week and put finals beyond their reach, the cue will go into the rack which all but guarantees us a win. North and the dees not that we need any help, but neither will have any potency to threaten us so another 2 percentage boosters there. The crows are a good side, but being in melbourne means we may be fighting for a home final, perhaps 4th spot!

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Cuck Follingwood

it sort of does except that we were damn unlucky against hawthorn, should have beaten Essendon* first time and were probably unlucky against the saints... 2 out those 3 had gone our way and we'd be fighting the dogs for 3rd spot. We aren't all that far off. but that is the eveness of the competition. right now it isn't inconceivable that we could finish top 4... but then again it isn't inconceivable that missed the finals as well. interesting month and a half ahead of us... I can barely contain my excitment and anxiety

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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

Everyone laughed at the Saints finishing fourth last year. General consensus was that they were miles off, and in decline, and finished there by default.................now look at them.

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"I had to eat"