Crows in the Finals.

[Mattrox]

Real finals contenders do not have a preferred team to be playing first. They play who is drawn and make a good account of it.

Whoever we play, Sando will be working with the team to build a structure and game plan for that specific game. He will be working on the players mindset, preparing them to focus, play well and win the contests. If we are not up to it, then so be it. But if we turn up at the park ready to play, we are in with better than "a chance".

As has been said before, finals are a different beast and I pity the team that faces us in the first week if they think they will win because "Crows are Collingwood's bitches" or "Hawks are a better team". I'm sure the top 4 teams will not have that same mentality about the Crows that the Vic media or some BF posters have. They will be ready to play, and I am confident we will be ready as well.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Given we should finish top-2 & more likely minor premier, there is no reason why we should fear any team on our home deck. The Pies are the team that have the wood on us, but we are overdue to beat them & at worst 50/50 at home. Everyone else, including the Hawks, we would start favourites at home.

We have a great opportunity to have 2 home finals - win these & play in a grand final ... & anything is possible!

If in the worse case scenario we lost the 1st week, we would still get a home final the following week, which against weaker opposition, I would expect us to win & still make a preliminary final.

I think most of us at the beginning of the year would have been happy to make the finals & win at least one ... but whilst we have have a great opportunity, lets hope we can do a Bradbury, whilst not many of the Victorian scribes rate us.

 

[Vader]

Real finals contenders do not have a preferred team to be playing first. They play who is drawn and make a good account of it.

Whoever we play, Sando will be working with the team to build a structure and game plan for that specific game. He will be working on the players mindset, preparing them to focus, play well and win the contests. If we are not up to it, then so be it. But if we turn up at the park ready to play, we are in with better than "a chance".

As has been said before, finals are a different beast and I pity the team that faces us in the first week if they think they will win because "Crows are Collingwood's bitches" or "Hawks are a better team". I'm sure the top 4 teams will not have that same mentality about the Crows that the Vic media or some BF posters have. They will be ready to play, and I am confident we will be ready as well.

Bollocks. Think back to R22 2001. Essendon deliberately tanked their last game of the H&A season (vs Richmond). Doing so ensured that Richmond, not Carlton, would finish 4th on the ladder. This meant that Essendon avoided playing Carlton in the first week of the finals - the same Carlton team that had already beaten them twice that year. Having lost to Richmond by 4 goals in R22, they turned around and smashed them by 70pts a week later.

The Essendon team of 2001 were undeniably a "real finals contender", finishing minor premiers before losing the Grand Final to Brisbane. That didn't stop them from fixing the finals series in order to avoid a nemesis team.

 

[Smoooothy]

Bollocks. Think back to R22 2001. Essendon deliberately tanked their last game of the H&A season (vs Richmond). Doing so ensured that Richmond, not Carlton, would finish 4th on the ladder. This meant that Essendon avoided playing Carlton in the first week of the finals - the same Carlton team that had already beaten them twice that year. Having lost to Richmond by 4 goals in R22, they turned around and smashed them by 70pts a week later.

The Essendon team of 2001 were undeniably a "real finals contender", finishing minor premiers before losing the Grand Final to Brisbane. That didn't stop them from fixing the finals series in order to avoid a nemesis team.

so because it's happened once, that makes it fact??

what you have there is an anomoly. i would actually back mattrox here, majority of the time a team wouldn't give 2 shades of **** all about who they played the first week of finals, let alone a top 2 team..

 

[Vader]

Of course they care. The Essendon example is a bit extreme, in that they deliberately tanked a game in R22 in order to avoid a specific opponent, but every team would have opponents that they would prefer not to meet in the finals (if they can avoid it).

 

[RocknRoll]

Bollocks. Think back to R22 2001. Essendon deliberately tanked their last game of the H&A season (vs Richmond). Doing so ensured that Richmond, not Carlton, would finish 4th on the ladder. This meant that Essendon avoided playing Carlton in the first week of the finals - the same Carlton team that had already beaten them twice that year. Having lost to Richmond by 4 goals in R22, they turned around and smashed them by 70pts a week later.

The Essendon team of 2001 were undeniably a "real finals contender", finishing minor premiers before losing the Grand Final to Brisbane. That didn't stop them from fixing the finals series in order to avoid a nemesis team.

Is there any proof of this or is it just another conspiracy theory?
Did any players admit it?

If the only proof is that Essendon thrashed Richmond a week later it makes about as much sense to say Collingwood must have tanked for a draw in the first 2010 GF because they thrashed St Kilda the next week.
They just wanted the loss to REALLY hurt St Kilda ...

 

[Vader]

Is there any proof of this or is it just another conspiracy theory?
Did any players admit it?

If the only proof is that Essendon thrashed Richmond a week later it makes about as much sense to say Collingwood must have tanked for a draw in the first 2010 GF because they thrashed St Kilda the next week.
They just wanted the loss to REALLY hurt St Kilda ...

There was massive speculation that they would do it, to the extent that Richmond (5th with 14 wins) started favourites with the bookies against Essendon (1st, 17 wins). Richmond's win surprised absolutely nobody. Neither did Essendon's demolition job the following week.

It was one of the most blatant - and successfully executed - tanks of all time. They succeeded in avoiding their nemesis team as a result, with Carlton being knocked out by Richmond in the semi finals.

It was absolutely nothing like the Collingwood/St Kilda 2010 GF situation.

 

[Mattrox]

Of course they care. The Essendon example is a bit extreme, in that they deliberately tanked a game in R22 in order to avoid a specific opponent, but every team would have opponents that they would prefer not to meet in the finals (if they can avoid it).

If a team does this, it is an aknowledgement that they are not a "real contender" and have to "avoid" certain teams in order to maximise their chances to reach the GF.

 

[Vader]

If a team does this, it is an aknowledgement that they are not a "real contender" and have to "avoid" certain teams in order to maximise their chances to reach the GF.

Riiiiggght.. so the team which went (almost) undefeated in 2000 and was red hot favourite to win the 2001 flag (until Brisbane went on a rampage) was "not a real contender". Are you even old enough to remember 2000/2001?

 

[Mattrox]

Riiiiggght.. so the team which went (almost) undefeated in 2000 and was red hot favourite to win the 2001 flag (until Brisbane went on a rampage) was "not a real contender". Are you even old enough to remember 2000/2001?

I contend that deliberately throwing a game to meet a 'preferred' team is mentally weak. Training hard for finals and pulling up flat, or resting players in a final match and losing a dead game is one thing, but I would expect that the playing group to make their best effort.


I find your tone condescending. If indeed, the Dons did deliberately throw that game, then they had something to worry about at the time. That is mentally weak to me.

 

[Smoooothy]

I contend that deliberately throwing a game to meet a 'preferred' team is mentally weak. Training hard for finals and pulling up flat, or resting players in a final match and losing a dead game is one thing, but I would expect that the playing group to make their best effort.


I find your tone condescending. If indeed, the Dons did deliberately throw that game, then they had something to worry about at the time. That is mentally weak to me.

its the bay 13 argument. it happened once, so it must be true..

 

[Vader]

I contend that deliberately throwing a game to meet a 'preferred' team is mentally weak. Training hard for finals and pulling up flat, or resting players in a final match and losing a dead game is one thing, but I would expect that the playing group to make their best effort.

I find your tone condescending. If indeed, the Dons did deliberately throw that game, then they had something to worry about at the time. That is mentally weak to me.

Call it mentally weak if you like.. Personally, I think they made a smart decision. They maximised their chances of succeeding in the finals, by doing something in the minor rounds which had no ill-consequences for them.

 

[VSTone]

24-26 more sleeps

 

[Bob Neil]

Ditto.

IMHO this is not our year for a flag as the window is just opening. 2 years from now and we will be cherry ripe.

This year is about getting finals experience into our kids and building up to the next 2 years. .

Have to politely disagree. I understand the concept of building towards a flag but it's so damn hard to get in position to challenge - which we now are - that when you're there you have to treat it like your one and only chance and reach and grab out. I hope our players and coach are thinking this way.

Who knows if/when our draw will be this good again, we'll be in line for two home finals, we have Tippett in our team, etc, etc.

We may have started the year thinking development, but right now we should be desperate and hungry to succeed this year!

 

[FR0GGY]

Pissed off ill be overseas for the first final

 

[davos44]

I dont really think Hawthorn play that well here, neither do Sydney. Collingwood on the other hand...... Id actually rather play them at the G lol.

 

[amer]

I dont really think Hawthorn play that well here, neither do Sydney. Collingwood on the other hand...... Id actually rather play them at the G lol.

I'd love another crack at the pies with Tex to be honest. Putting them away at footy park, huge crowd, Walker saluting them, electric stuff. It'll happen sometime. Cannot wait for finals.

 

[Cap]

Have to politely disagree. I understand the concept of building towards a flag but it's so damn hard to get in position to challenge - which we now are - that when you're there you have to treat it like your one and only chance and reach and grab out. I hope our players and coach are thinking this way.

Who knows if/when our draw will be this good again, we'll be in line for two home finals, we have Tippett in our team, etc, etc.

We may have started the year thinking development, but right now we should be desperate and hungry to succeed this year!

I wouldn't have been so polite....

 

[mattymac]

I would like to play collingwood first up at footy park. Slay our demons straight up. They got over us in the last quarter last time thanks to a couple of freakish goals that deflated our boys. We've had some hard fought, character building victories since then. We can take them. The momentum and belief that would give us would be hard to stop

 

[Southerntakeover]

Call it mentally weak if you like.. Personally, I think they made a smart decision. They maximised their chances of succeeding in the finals, by doing something in the minor rounds which had no ill-consequences for them.

Ultimately though it gave credence to the 'if it bleeds we can kill it' mentality Brisbane took towards Essendon in the 01 grand final, and that Essendon list didnt win another premiership.

Not sure its the best support for what you're advocating.

 

[eastcoastcrow]

he's only in it for the money, i'm pretty sure i read on the punting board he doesn't follow the crows that much..

I love the Crows.

But I admit with the amount I bet on, I would rather me win the $$$ then Crows win the flag.

However, let me expand on that I have not got into a situation this year yet where I need the Crows to lose to win $$$

In fact I have backed them in all their losses to win bar one, ie the one at Geelong and with that I backed them with a handicap.

 

[Hell Boy6669]

If we drop one of our next three games, obviously Brisbane is the only chance, would that mean we are very unlikely to finish top 2?

 

[Glenno23]

If we drop one of our next three games, obviously Brisbane is the only chance, would that mean we are very unlikely to finish top 2?

If that happens, you'd be needing the Pies to drop one, or Sydney to drop 2.

Our % should end up higher than the Pies, but lower than Sydney's

 

[Footypie32]

Would love if our fans rallied to get a positive swell around the group for this finals series. We're in the top 4, we have a healthy list and emerging stars, we are a chance! Let's step up for a change!

So, we're not allowed to start threads on how we fallover in big games??

 

[eastcoastcrow]

All the losses this year we have had have hurt me bar one, the Geelong game. Even with that one I admired the character showed by our club.

Going out in straight sets will hurt me and our club and only fuel the debate about our soft draw.

Top 4 is an achievement for us however we must win at least one final IMO