Did the first GF benefit the Pies or Saints more mentally for next week?

[coopernewf]

After hearing lots of post game chatter, there seems to be plenty of people talking about who is more likely to win next week on the back of this GF.

A draw is a draw don't get me wrong - so on this premise picking a winner may well come down to the 'who really knows?' factor. However, I'm posting this to ask you if you think one team will walk in to next week more prepared?

Presuming there's no suspensions or injuries of course.

LOADS of people are saying St Kilda are now more mentally equipped, knowing full well they can match it with us on the big stage. But personally I like to look at it differently, in that the Pies will go in now knowing they'll need to throw everything they've got at it in order to win (like the Prelim against the Cats). Too often are we the favourite and we lose and when no one expects it we come out firing. But hey, I am biased.

Thoughts?

 

[nolanr]

Maybe t may have benefited the Pies in that their big stars didnt fire, yet they didnt loose and therefore still have a lot of room for improvement

 

[Jabso]

I think we start again. We should be favourites but the odds should have corrected themselves to what they truely should be before the weight of money that came in for us.

I'm quietly confident. The pluses and minuses of both team's situations have already been said ad nauseum and will continue to be.

Mick's quote was very apt "If we treat this as a loss, it will be. If we treat this as an opportunity it will be. If we treat this the way we have rebounded all year, then we will go in with the utmost confidence that we have gone in with all year.''

 

[RipItUp]

Personally I think its benefited the Pies.
Everyone was saying going into the game the Saints will use last years heartache of losing to really get them going and get them across the line

The Saints dont really have that up their sleeve anymore. The Collingwood players basically know what it feels like now and wouldnt want to go though the same feelings again.

 

[Jabso]

One thing no one has talked about is the grand final sting that can often last the first quarter and a half. Where everyone is kamikaze for the ball. The pressure is borderline maniacal. That period where we were on top, the grand final sting was still there and we couldn't build on our domination because of the pressure. Had our dominate half been the 2nd half, I reckon we would have run away with the game.

I think next time the sting will be out of the grand final, players will know what to expect. Hopefully that brings us back to our free wheeling best.