Contenders and Pretenders 2019 ( edited - Page 32 current discussion ) Are Richmond now the team to beat?

[fightingfury]

Anything's possible. We did last year in fact.

Oh look hell just freezed over

 

[Present Not Past]

Yeah we're definitely getting favoured by the AFL, not that we're just currently the best team or anything. That would be silly talk!

The AFL needs a good news story, a dream that it can sell to the punters.

 

[Jack Bradley]

I can't remember a year where the gap between the best team and the rest has been so amazingly huge.

Sydney, hawthorn, Adelaide, GWS, Geelong, melbourne and port are all just making up numbers.

Collingwood would be a genuine threat but are injury cursed and west coast would have to beat Richmond at the mcg in a grand final that is lolpossible.

Talk about peaking at the right time Richmond should easily go back to back most likely because their opposition are all incredibly average and they play incredibly disciplined football.

So I'm calling it - if Richmond don't win 2018 grand final it would be the biggest upset I have ever seen in my 30 years of football.

For the love of god please step up your game next year top 8.

 

[Fabab]

GWS getting a few players back,they might give Richmond a good go.

 

[blckcaviar]

Tiges are good but they're not some kind of unbeatable immortal.

Let's wait and see

 

[kaiserchief13]

Richmond just haven't got any injuries to any key players for the past 2 years.

WC don't have many injuries atm but of course probably their 3 most important players didn't play yesterday and have been out for long portions of the season. Collingwood's injury troubles are well documented. Adelaide and GWS have had a lot of injuries this season as well, especially Adelaide to their top players.

If Richmond are at full strength other than 2-3 bottom 5 players in their team in the finals they will be hard to beat as I doubt any other team will have that luck with injuries as well

 

[Chism]

Tigers are the best team currently because they have earned that title with great play and pressure.

Saying everyone else is just a pretender and average robs the Tigers of the accolades that they have achieved and they are on top of the ladder for a reason and it is not their fault they have just about every other teams measure on the ground that matters most and good luck to them.

GWS and WC can threaten but i doubt they can do it on the MCG when it matters most , Cats could be the only danger to them but even still the Tigers will be deserved favorites in a finals game.

 

[Luv_our_club]

Tigers supporters get a bit upset if you suggest everyone else is falling over.

 

[Godspeed]

Devastated we won't win the moral premiership unless we take hammers to the knees of our players. Guess I'll have to celebrate the real one .

 

[Tarkyn_24]

I can't remember a year where the gap between the best team and the rest has been so amazingly huge.

Sydney, hawthorn, Adelaide, GWS, Geelong, melbourne and port are all just making up numbers.

Collingwood would be a genuine threat but are injury cursed and west coast would have to beat Richmond at the mcg in a grand final that is lolpossible.

Talk about peaking at the right time Richmond should easily go back to back most likely because their opposition are all incredibly average and they play incredibly disciplined football.

So I'm calling it - if Richmond don't win 2018 grand final it would be the biggest upset I have ever seen in my 30 years of football.

For the love of god please step up your game next year top 8.

Ah 2007?

Wasn’t helped by the four most capable sides all ending up on the same side of the finals draw (Geelong, Collingwood, West Coast and Sydney).

 

[LukeParkerno1]

If GWS have all (or most) of their players back they can easily win it. Would be Richmond’s worst grand final opponent.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Tiger time.

 

[The King!]

Top side favourites

Ok

 

[JayJ20]

Richmond are just incredibly disciplined with top end talent. The top 12 is actually much stronger than what it was last year and the year before. Richmond turned it up to the next level with their incredible dominance in Melbourne. Hasn't been seen since the Geelong, Collingwood and St Kilda days

 

[evo]

If GWS have all (or most) of their players back they can easily win it. Would be Richmond’s worst grand final opponent.

Agree.

I think the Dees and Port are also looking dangerous.

 

[zacaxel1975]

Tigers are the best team currently because they have earned that title with great play and pressure.

Saying everyone else is just a pretender and average robs the Tigers of the accolades that they have achieved and they are on top of the ladder for a reason and it is not their fault they have just about every other teams measure on the ground that matters most and good luck to them.

GWS and WC can threaten but i doubt they can do it on the MCG when it matters most , Cats could be the only danger to them but even still the Tigers will be deserved favorites in a finals game.

This account must be hacked surely?

 

[Chism]

This account must be hacked surely?

Take the good with the bad and I am honest and speak my mind.

Sometimes people get upset and sometimes they are happy but mostly it is “ You are a Mod and how dare you have an opinion in a forum “...!

 

[This Is Anfield]

For over a hundred years it's been shown that September is a whole new season and anything can happen.
Adelaide at this stage of 2017 was unbeatable for the flag.
The main difference, and it is a biggie, between Richmond this year and Adelaide 2017 is that we now have the Grand Final experience but it's still no guarantee of success.
What we have done is positioned ourselves to give ourselves the best possible chance.

 

[Forward Press]

I can't remember a year where the gap between the best team and the rest has been so amazingly huge.

Sydney, hawthorn, Adelaide, GWS, Geelong, melbourne and port are all just making up numbers.

Collingwood would be a genuine threat but are injury cursed and west coast would have to beat Richmond at the mcg in a grand final that is lolpossible.

Talk about peaking at the right time Richmond should easily go back to back most likely because their opposition are all incredibly average and they play incredibly disciplined football.

So I'm calling it - if Richmond don't win 2018 grand final it would be the biggest upset I have ever seen in my 30 years of football.

For the love of god please step up your game next year top 8.

Were you saying the same thing in 2008 about Geelong?

 

[Catsnlakers]

I'm pretty sure at this time of year in 2008 ( cats ), 2009 ( saints ), 2011 ( pies ), 2012 ( hawks ), 2014 ( swans ) & 2017 ( crows ) people were saying this too..... Finals are over a month from even starting, this flag race has barely even started!

 

[docko911]

I'm pretty sure at this time of year in 2008 ( cats ), 2009 ( saints ), 2011 ( pies ), 2012 ( hawks ), 2014 ( swans ) & 2017 ( crows ) people were saying this too..... Finals are over a month from even starting, this flag race has barely even started!

Richmond will be harder to beat this year but teams will also be more prepared. There are enough good players floating around that one team only needs to get it right and Richmond quickly have genuine competition.

 

[Roachy8]

No one is over the line yet in any possible way.
Lots still to be played out.

 

[Rich01]

I'm pretty sure at this time of year in 2008 ( cats ), 2009 ( saints ), 2011 ( pies ), 2012 ( hawks ), 2014 ( swans ) & 2017 ( crows ) people were saying this too..... Finals are over a month from even starting, this flag race has barely even started!

This.
OP alludes to having seen very little finals series in the last 10 years.

 

[Jack Bradley]

This.
OP alludes to having seen very little finals series in the last 10 years.

I will give you 2008 but 2009 and 2011? Lol no. 2014 and 2017 were 50 / 50 games. Adelaide had shown they were shakey towards the end of the year.

 

[yeee_haaaa!!!!!]

No one is over the line yet in any possible way.
Lots still to be played out.

Correct. Rich are an awesome team that plays to a great system and are having an incredible run of luck with injury. But imagine if they lost rance and Martin to injury in the next month - not only do they come back to the pack, they simply can’t win it. There is no team that relies on their top 6 more then rich , so they will be nervous over the next few weeks. If there is one thing that footy teaches you , it is that the wheel turns and at some point their turn will come with injuries. The landscape changes immeasurably should they lose 1 or 2 of their top 6 in the next month