I was listening to the "First Crack" podcast earlier today, and there was common consensus that of the current top 8, 7 were "genuine" flag contenders. David King nominated us as the odd one out, and said he didn't believe we could win it this year.

So question to the community (as biased as we can all be!) - are we actually a genuine threat? Or just making up the numbers?

It is important to note that as it stands, we have beaten 3 of the top 4 from last year (and all of them are still considered serious contenders), with only Port to play out of that group.

I personally entered the year hoping we would move up the ladder, finishing just outside the top 8 to demonstrate improvement. Making a final was the absolute pinnacle of hope, with the experience that would bring being seriously valuable.

Right now, I have moved my expectations somewhat - I now think a finals berth from here is a minimum, and a final victory would be an added plus.

But regardless of it all, I am starting to believe that we could still reach the heights of the 2003 team, and possibly even do a "Baby Bombers".

Thoughts?