Opinion If we lose the Prelim....

[Dudley Leopard]

...will our season still be a success.

Bearing in mind that most of the BF Freo crowd would have said that making the top four would be the benchmark at the start of the season.

I think it would depend on the manner of the losing. Being overcome in a tight game by a red hot Swans outfit would bring no shame. getting belted by a fickle Carlton would be unacceptable.

 

[Righteo]

Had we lost to Geelong, won our semi final and THEN lost the prelim I'd say yes.

Considering we beat Geelong, earned the valuable weeks rest as well as having a home prelim against a side we should beat then I'd say it would be a failure. We're not guaranteed to improve next year and chances like these are so rare, we absolutely need to capitalise and go all the way IMO.

 

[Thistle]

At the start of the season making the top 4 would have been a success but given the position we have now put ourselves in anything short of a Grand Final, or even a Premiership, would be considered a failure.

 

[sij1981]

Please delete this post too much negative

 

[Simmofreo]

I have never been so confident about our team in 19 years !! And I am a negative person at times (as some of you know) they will not lose !! And that is no disrespect to sydney or Carlton as they are great teams. We have an amazing coach and an extremely hungry team. This prelim means everything to them. With 40 000 screaming purple army.Mark my words this is our time. GF I'm not sure but the prelim is ours.

 

[Outshined]

Yep, we're in the best position the club has ever been in to have a tilt at the flag, so a loss in the Prelim would render the season a failure.

 

[JungleMuffinFTW]

Had we lost to Geelong, won our semi final and THEN lost the prelim I'd say yes.

Considering we beat Geelong, earned the valuable weeks rest as well as having a home prelim against a side we should beat then I'd say it would be a failure. We're not guaranteed to improve next year and chances like these are so rare, we absolutely need to capitalise and go all the way IMO.

So losing to the team that finishes 2nd, and then beating 6th/7th and losing in the prelim, is better than beating the team that finished 2nd, and losing the prelim?

 

[sij1981]

Yep, we're in the best position the club has ever been in to have a tilt at the flag, so a loss in the Prelim would render the season a failure.

Agree

 

[JungleMuffinFTW]

We've gone from 8th to 3rd, and qualified for a prelim.

The season is a success regardless of what happens in the next few weeks.

 

[sij1981]

We've gone from 8th to 3rd, and qualified for a prelim.

The season is a success regardless of what happens in the next few weeks.

Sets a high standard for next year as minor premiers

 

[JungleMuffinFTW]

Sets a high standard for next year as minor premiers

You would assume 1st/GF would be the benchmark next season anyway, after finishing 3rd and a QF win.

 

[StingRoll]

Tough one.
Personally this season has already been a big positive in my eyes. Our game has improved, players that needed to step up have stepped up plus a few extras and we have nailed a gameplan that makes us an extremely hard prospect to tussle with no matter who we play or where we play them.... when have we ever been able to say any of this?

On the flip side we now have a home prelim agaisnt one of two teams that I feel we should be able to beat. So I would say if we don't make it to at least the Grannie I'll be a bit disappointed but still be fairly pleased with the way the team has tackled this season.

Maybe I'm just easy to please

 

[Righteo]

So losing to the team that finishes 2nd, and then beating 6th/7th and losing in the prelim, is better than beating the team that finished 2nd, and losing the prelim?

Wut.

I'm not saying it's better. I'm saying our season can't be considered a success if we earn a home prelim, have the week off which we so badly needed last year and is what ultimately cost us against Adelaide and then lose anyway. Going purely by ladder positions is a terrible way of measuring it IMO.

It's situational, brah.

 

[free at last]

We've gone from 8th to 3rd, and qualified for a prelim.

The season is a success regardless of what happens in the next few weeks.

Agree,the clubs culture and respect in the footy world has grown,but if we stumble in the PF,to me it would be a very big missed opportunity.

FYI I reckon we'll play off in the clubs first ever GF,just hope we don't have to lose one to win one.

 

[Righteo]

We've gone from 8th to 3rd, and qualified for a prelim.

The season is a success regardless of what happens in the next few weeks.

This is the problem and something you actually ignored in my previous post, it's a bit insane to believe our improvement is going to be so exponential. We have a massive chance to not only make the GF but win the whole thing, I suppose if we don't then you'll be mollified with our certain top 2 finish next year eh?

 

[believe_it]

Lose ?? What's this lose talk. Why on earth would we lose - it should be a significantly easier win than
the week-end except for a mentally soft side which we are not.

 

[Purple Suit]

...I will blame this thread.

 

[Arcassius]

We've gone from 8th to 3rd, and qualified for a prelim.

The season is a success regardless of what happens in the next few weeks.

This. Regardless of the result - most of us had criteria of achieving top 4. Which we've done. Season = success.

Anything more than this is icing on the cake. None of this shifting goalposts bullshit. If we win the prelim next thing you know people will say the season will only be a success if we win the GF. It's already a success - and hopefully we can shoot far beyond what most of us were hoping for

 

[Quokka]

• Finised 3rd, our equal highest finish

• Most wins and points in a season

• First ever home prelim

• Consecutive finals for the first time in our history

• Lots of development of younger players and most senior players in career best form

• Hinkley the only man who could even come close to stopping Lyon being Coach of the Year

• More respect for Fremantle as a team who can win then we've ever had

• Players locked in and ready to go again next year

• Away games? Bring em on

If we lose I'll be very disappointed but it'd be ****ing harsh to say it wasn't a successful year and I'll have every confidence of Fremantle being even better in 2014.

 

[Falkon]

We do not ****ing deal with hypotheticals!

 

[theGav56]

I am with Outshined.

If we lost after a weeks rest to opposition we should beat (Sydney because they are injury riddled and travel to Perth after a tough final against Carlton, Carlton because we are better than them) then it is a failure. That is because we have transformed into a team who wins the games they are expected to win, and can jag some that we probably shouldn't. Losing the Prelim would be a failure of that creed.

The success of the year should not be measured for the start of the season. The expectations change as the year progresses.

 

[Righteo]

This. Regardless of the result - most of us had criteria of achieving top 4. Which we've done. Season = success.

Anything more than this is icing on the cake. None of this shifting goalposts bullshit. If we win the prelim next thing you know people will say the season will only be a success if we win the GF. It's already a success - and hopefully we can shoot far beyond what most of us were hoping for

I don't see how it's bullshit. Footy is all about winning flags and we've managed to get ourselves into the best possible position to win one. For me our win on Saturday raised my expectations drastically, I no longer consider pre-season predictions particularly relevant.

In terms of the H&A season itself no doubt it was a success, personally it won't give me **** all consolation though if we lose the prelim to a battered Swans or a middle of the road Carlton.

 

[Seppo]

We've come too far
To give up who we are,
So let's raise the bar
And 'The Cup' to the stars.

Let's get lucky!

 

[Freeeoo]

I think that the fact that we have now developed a game style and list that can stand up literally anywhere against anyone, the year has to be considered a success because that will stand us in good stead in the next few years. If we happen to get beaten by a better team in the prelim it wouldn't make the year a failure in my eyes.
Having said that I'll be gutted if we don't make the GF.

 

[Lost_Deputy]

Typed out a long answer and deleted it. I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy this ride