The premiership hangover - real or myth?

[Freomaniac]

Cats 2023 is much like Hawks 2009.

Key retirements and so many injuries. Struggled with ups and downs all year and fell short of finals by a game or 2.

That's true to a degree.... But one major difference.

Cats 2023 was an old squad.

Hawks 2009 side was very young

 

[HairyO]

That's true to a degree.... But one major difference.

Cats 2023 was an old squad.

Hawks 2009 side was very young

True. But despite being young in 2009 we had about 8 or 9 players miss the preseason due to surgeries and then had a bunch more injuries during the year.

We had Crawf retire, Cats had Selwood retire. Both left huge gaps.

 

[Cairnsman]

Collingwood have 10 players from their flag team over 30, many well over, and Murphy is a possible retirement, could they have a hangover?

 

[FrustratedTiger]

Collingwood 1991 springs to mind. Mind you, the way they celebrated 1990, I'd have been hungover for a decade

 

[Piggy Smalls]

I hope it’s real because we have Collingwood’s first rounder.

 

[Schauermann]

Well, the competition is very even (not only atm), so it is likely that premiership teams can't repeat their success easily. There are always risers and sliders and sometimes the premiership team is among the sliders.

Add that most opposing teams put their maximum of effort in copying or countering the premiership winning tactics. And there is a psychological side to it too: Most players probably will give 105% against the reigning premier.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

No. Geelong lost because they want to star in the movie The Hang Over 4



Joel Selwood retired because he's going to be the director instead of captain. A good business decision.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

I hope it’s real because we have Collingwood’s first rounder.

You guys vowed to win the Premiership. The it's we '' vow '' to make the finals. Then it's vowing to be competitive. Next thing you know you'll be vowing to spell a vowel.

 

[PenrithGWS]

its real, its mental

1 per cent off at afl level and its over

 

[Cyclops]

Yes good point made it can happen, and it can be for a variety of reasons.

Grand Finalists play those 3-4 extra games at the end of the year, usually massive intensity and extra violence, and then clubs hunt them the next year.

Players and coaches could definitely lose focus (could be emotional/resting on laurels and who could blame them) but the extra games accumulate in my view, which makes sides that front up for finals for years on end extremely impressive.

Collingwood 1991 springs to mind. Mind you, the way they celebrated 1990, I'd have been hungover for a decade

There were some very bad men in that side. The Portsea fiasco (the golf cart escapade) was supposed to be a pep rally, not a scene from Animal House.

 

[juss]

Of all the premiers this century only Brisbane 2001-03, Hawthorn 2013-15 and Richmond 2019-20 won consecutive flags.

Melbourne last season went out in straight sets after winning the flag the previous year.

Is a premiership hangover real?

Missing the finals the next year would be the starting criteria imo, then you've gotta look deeper into other factors.

 

[Cleansweep17]

Real, the comp studies the premiers much harder to counter/copy their gamestyle and usually the hunger goes for those premiership players. Only the best teams can go b2b.

Case in point being Geelong 08. Got out coached by Clarkson and their heads got too big in the GF. Thought they’d cruise to a win.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

It’s real. Teams just have to take their foot off the pedal slightly and others are coming for their place at the top.

Backing up Premierships really doesn’t happen too often at all, yet people continue to get sucked into predicting B2B or dynasties.

 

[BigVic]

Real, the comp studies the premiers much harder to counter/copy their gamestyle and usually the hunger goes for those premiership players. Only the best teams can go b2b.

Case in point being Geelong 08. Got out coached by Clarkson and their heads got too big in the GF. Thought they’d cruise to a win.

I thought they'd go b2b. It is hard to do so in the 21st century