Re being third favourite, it is way too early to call as we have not proven ourselves this year yet vs fellow contenders.
We beat GWS, West Coast and NM who won’t be in the eight, and it was way too close vs NM.
We beat Geelong by 30, but they will may not be a top 8 team by season’s end.
We lost to the Dog’s after some shocking biased umpiring, but even with fair umpiring, it would be a small win at best.
We need to see how we go against Melbourne, Brisbane and a rejuvenated Freo who is second in the league for defence at the moment.
Possibly also vs Carlton too with their two tall forwards firing, though with Cripps out, it may not be a good measure of how we stack up.
I'm definitely with you. While Melbourne are still playing excellent footy, they have had a very good run with injuries. If that suddenly changes, with any of their key players, like Petracca, Gawn, May going down, along with a random selection of their first team, then they would rapidly become a lot less intimidating opposition.
Alternatively, if we have an injury free run, then with our abundance of skilled players, we should be able to build the teamwork and the confidence, that would run most teams off their feet. So, with a bit of luck, I definitely think a premiership this year is possible.
Some years there is an open premiership race where any team out of the top dozen could win it. If it was one of those years, the swans would be right up there. I don't think it's one of those years. The demons, and maybe the lions are way ahead, list wise.
Coaching a team like Melbourne must be so easy. Everyone knows their roles and they all work collectively. But once the slide starts for these teams, it is harder to get back there just like Richmond and Port Adelaide are finding. Once you lose it, it is hard to find it, no matter how good the coach is.
We are not great this year but we are playing at a consistent level. If the opposition gives us space and time, we will carve them but if they don't, we have the skills to grind it. We have missed Papley in the front half (I reckon Buddy plays a tad better when Papley is around - Their synergy is very good) and probably need more consistency from the midfield group - and that should get us in the right end for a premiership challenge.
Are we really consistent? I think we have been a bit up and down, but maybe that is a result of how the opposition play us. I don't have the knowledge to decide.
We should be 7-2 in four weeks time, but i wouldn't put my house on it. Maybe I'm just a glass-half-empty character.
It’s a long time from May to September.
Yes, Melbourne are doing everything right at the moment, but I think we can match them, if we get a good run with injuries. I like to stress that, because our game might be the most complicated game to play. In that, opposition defenders can attack you from any direction, you can more or less run in any direction, there's a wide range of options that can be taken on any play; all of which demand almost simultaneous attention from players. So to counteract those demands, it's important to develop teamwork.
And having a good run with injuries, is important to developing teamwork. The more each player plays with a similar group of players, the more they develop an intuitive understanding of what their team mates are likely to do. Is player A more likely to apply a shepherd, or run into space to receive a handball? What sort of lead is player B likely to provide? Does player C usually kick it short or long?
If I take a risk, will player D provide me with defensive cover? And so on. So, I tend to think that Melbourne are at the stage, where they're just doing, rather than thinking about doing, and when we're on, we're not far behind.
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