Elimination Final Hoodoo

[Blind Turn]

I hate Elimination Finals. We'd do very well to avoid them from here on in.

'79, '81, '82, '86, '91, '09, '11, '14 & '17 - all losses

'83, '02, '03, '04 - our only wins.

13 ****ing EFs for 9 losses is a big story in the modern history of our club.

Not sure what it is but there is something awry with the fabric of our club to allow that sort of statistical abhorrence to occur. Yes, we have fallen into the odd finals series but there is a lot of meek results come the cut-throat stuff unless we're genuine flag threats.

What can be done? I'd go as far as to say that now that we've given the saga players their dues we now need some seriously tough love for this playing group. Woosha needs to channel a little bit of the old-school coaches over the off-season.

 

[VelvetSledge]

Man, and here I was thinking I was at the peak of my misery.

Jesus.

 

[Blind Turn]

Man, and here I was thinking I was at the peak of my misery.

Jesus.

I'm actually not too distressed. We aren't up to it yet. But I thought the EF results are worth highlighting and the fact that our club needs to become much harder to beat.

 

[JayJ20]

I didn't realise that it was that bad

Our recent EF finals can be explained. We almost always play a brand of footy that doesn't stand up under finals pressure.

Oh and because we always lose to 2-3 bottom side and therefore, take ourselves out of top 4 calculation

 

[Doss]

This thread is like already crying and then finding a random cat of nine tails and taking off your shirt and whipping your shoulders silly.

 

[VelvetSledge]

 

[TheBrightSide]

History shows if you play in an elimination final, you're just making up the numbers anyway.
Have to be top four to be a real chance. (Besides rare anomalies)

 

[Blind Turn]

This thread is like already crying and then finding a random cat of nine tails and taking off your shirt and whipping your shoulders silly.

Granted, it comes across as self-flagellating. But I'm not losing my rag over this. Sorry to highlight it so blatantly but it's there as an historical fact that losing EFs is symptomatic of aclub that hasn't built a culture of being hard to beat. I want to see us find some steely resolve.

 

[Blind Turn]

History shows if you play in an elimination final, you're just making up the numbers anyway.
Have to be top four to be a real chance. (Besides rare anomalies)

It would be nice if we didn't demonstrate it so regularly though...

 

[nomad]

We also lost Elimination Finals in '72 and '73

 

[Blind Turn]

We also lost Elimination Finals in '72 and '73

I cracked from an egg in late '73 so I chose to discount them.

 

[fishardansin]

Of the last 4 we have lost we were clearly the shitter side 3 times. The other time players were missing in defense so we had Steinburg on Brown and Paddy had derailed the build up. Also who can bank on Greenwood keeping them in it when we're on top!

 

[Seagrave_Holmes]

So this is what it feels like to be a Richmond supporter until a couple of nights ago.

 

[Laverde2Smack]

Let's be honest we are a 7-12 quality team and Sydney are good. They will beat Geelong by 50 plus. As long as guys like Colyer and Myers are best 22 we will continue to be embarrassed in finals.... If we scrape in.

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[Laverde2Smack]

So this is what it feels like to be a Richmond supporter until a couple of nights ago.

Richmond has been much more competitive in finals compared to us even excluding their last win.

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[mayhem20202]

The only wins came in years around premierships when we actually had good sides. Let's be honest, our side is average at the moment, no surprise at all that we lost to Sydney. Our list has been in gradual decline since the 01 season and is only now showing signs of building into something that might compete for a top 4 spot, but we're still 4-6 players away from a 22 that can compete.


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[MarkG]

Elimination finals are something that you learn from. Would much prefer to make the final and lose rather than not play finals.

Your stats show that we lost the 81 and 82 elimination finals. We then played in a losing Grand Final in 83 followed by 2 winning Grand Finals in 84 and 85.

If that pattern repeats, we will be extremely happy.

If we lost an elimination with the bulk of our players in the 27+ age bracket, it would be a lot worse than our side that played Sydney.

Looking back on that Sydney game, they just coukdnt miss in the 2nd quarter. Had they missed 4-5 shots at goal, we would have still been in the game at half time.

 

[windyhill]

'81 and '82 were the only "bad" ones. Absolutely brilliant those teams, what made it worse was the fact that we toyed with carlton in those years. Don't tell me they weren't rapt to avoid us.

 

[eth-dog]

Eh. We'll get over them.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

tbh the coach and players saying "we will learn from this and get better" is getting very thin. They said the same thing at the end of every other elimination final loss yet all i see is the same crapolla the next year.

Hope to god I'm wrong but I believe it when I see it.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

History shows if you play in an elimination final, you're just making up the numbers anyway.
Have to be top four to be a real chance. (Besides rare anomalies)

Pretty much this for me. Particularly in the era of the Final 8, I really don't see Elimination finals as that important. Obviously at the time you're dead keen, but really, you need to be top 4 to be a chance.

If we start making top 4 and bombing out I think we'll have a problem.

 

[Kakkle]

Of the last 4 we have lost we were clearly the shitter side 3 times. The other time players were missing in defense so we had Steinburg on Brown and Paddy had derailed the build up. Also who can bank on Greenwood keeping them in it when we're on top!

Who were we missing from defence? Hooker & Hurley played. Carlisle didn't play, but he was a forward for the year bar a few games in defence in the middle of the season. Not Steinberg's fault our midfielders stopped running after H/T which allowed North to waltz into the F50 literally under no pressure.


Also I think the whole 'Paddy derailed the build up' is a bit blown up by Essendon supporters as an excuse.

 

[Doss]

Paddy playing like a busted arse (the great snap goal aside) on the night was more of a factor than the actual build up I would think.

 

[eth-dog]

Who were we missing from defence? Hooker & Hurley played. Carlisle didn't play, but he was a forward for the year bar a few games in defence in the middle of the season. Not Steinberg's fault our midfielders stopped running after H/T which allowed North to waltz into the F50 literally under no pressure.


Also I think the whole 'Paddy derailed the build up' is a bit blown up by Essendon supporters as an excuse.

Whilst I agree with pretty much all of this, if Carlisle was fit, who would have been dropped, Steinberg or Bellchambers (who was playing mostly forward)?

 

[Jimthegreat]

You were dead stiff running into the Swans. They weren't an ordinary 6th place side and could be considered the best side going right now. If you finished 8th and played Port instead you just never know.