The Season so Far
Frustrating and inconsistent. LWLWLL. Sitting 12th on the ladder. The game against Melbourne was another odd one - we were in that for a long while but it felt like we were slowly getting strangled out of the game and that the barn doors were about to explode open. As many posters have said, it's exactly what we used to do to other teams.
The odd part is, we actually haven't looked that bad this season. 3 goals up against Carlton (7th), 4 goals up against St. Kilda (5th), ahead at half time vs Melbourne (1st), hit the front in the 3rd against Adelaide before being royally shafted. It's not like we've been uncompetitive in any game, we just can't quite seem to string four quarters together. And when we do get the momentum, we rarely score enough to fully capitalize on it.
But good news! This week we've got the Naitanui-less Eagles who's season so far has been a sputtering mess. They just lost to the previously winless Port by 84 points.
Conspiracies
I would like to delve deeply into stats from both teams, and come up with evidence of why we should win this one.
Instead...
The elephant in the room to address and harvest its delicious ivory is the umpiring. Currently we are sitting at a -47 free kick differential, whilst the Eagles are at -19. Given our horrendous record already, coupled with the Eagles' historical umpiring dominance in Perf, this could get ugly. But no matter, we've overcome hurdles like this before. To all the Tigers fans out there, just sit back and enjoy the reaming - I mean, how much worse can it get?
The Game
^ actual Optus Stadium ground surface
We've only had 5 games on this concrete road, this shatterer of shins, annihilator of achilles, calamity of calves, for a total of 2 wins and 3 losses. Last time we played the Eagles it was a heartbreaking loss that hamstrung our already flailing finals chances. Two incidents to remark on from that one:
1. Ryan's 7m pass to Kennedy who put them in front deep in the last. Apologies for the poor quality, but if you look closely enough, you can see the cash falling out of the ump's pocket.
2. Bolton blatantly blocked off the footy in the goal square with 8 seconds to go. Whoever that spud Eagles defender was doesn't even try to contest the pill. But no matter, no matter, I'm not bitter...
The Eagles are an odd one and if I were their fans I'd be jumping port to Heave Ho Freo. But alas, the Eagles still seem to have a pretty good side. Some good backs (Barass, Hurn, Mudguts McGovern if he's fit), good mids (Shuey, Yeo, Gaff, Kelly, Redden), and good forwards (Kennedy, Darling, Rioli, Ryan, the lesser Cripps). And not to mention the GOAT winger himself, Paaaaatrick Naishhhhh.
(yes my photo editing skills are trash).
Prediction
We really should get the job done here if we're any chance of playing finals. Especially with no Naitanui and likely no Yeo, expect our midfield to get on top and we have the forwards to stretch them defensively. If we play anywhere near the glimpses we've shown we'll be right. I think the Eagles will lift after last week's demolition, and as we all know, we are everyone's grand final.
Tigers by 16.
Frustrating and inconsistent. LWLWLL. Sitting 12th on the ladder. The game against Melbourne was another odd one - we were in that for a long while but it felt like we were slowly getting strangled out of the game and that the barn doors were about to explode open. As many posters have said, it's exactly what we used to do to other teams.
The odd part is, we actually haven't looked that bad this season. 3 goals up against Carlton (7th), 4 goals up against St. Kilda (5th), ahead at half time vs Melbourne (1st), hit the front in the 3rd against Adelaide before being royally shafted. It's not like we've been uncompetitive in any game, we just can't quite seem to string four quarters together. And when we do get the momentum, we rarely score enough to fully capitalize on it.
But good news! This week we've got the Naitanui-less Eagles who's season so far has been a sputtering mess. They just lost to the previously winless Port by 84 points.
Conspiracies
I would like to delve deeply into stats from both teams, and come up with evidence of why we should win this one.
Instead...
The elephant in the room to address and harvest its delicious ivory is the umpiring. Currently we are sitting at a -47 free kick differential, whilst the Eagles are at -19. Given our horrendous record already, coupled with the Eagles' historical umpiring dominance in Perf, this could get ugly. But no matter, we've overcome hurdles like this before. To all the Tigers fans out there, just sit back and enjoy the reaming - I mean, how much worse can it get?
The Game
^ actual Optus Stadium ground surface
We've only had 5 games on this concrete road, this shatterer of shins, annihilator of achilles, calamity of calves, for a total of 2 wins and 3 losses. Last time we played the Eagles it was a heartbreaking loss that hamstrung our already flailing finals chances. Two incidents to remark on from that one:
1. Ryan's 7m pass to Kennedy who put them in front deep in the last. Apologies for the poor quality, but if you look closely enough, you can see the cash falling out of the ump's pocket.
2. Bolton blatantly blocked off the footy in the goal square with 8 seconds to go. Whoever that spud Eagles defender was doesn't even try to contest the pill. But no matter, no matter, I'm not bitter...
The Eagles are an odd one and if I were their fans I'd be jumping port to Heave Ho Freo. But alas, the Eagles still seem to have a pretty good side. Some good backs (Barass, Hurn, Mudguts McGovern if he's fit), good mids (Shuey, Yeo, Gaff, Kelly, Redden), and good forwards (Kennedy, Darling, Rioli, Ryan, the lesser Cripps). And not to mention the GOAT winger himself, Paaaaatrick Naishhhhh.
(yes my photo editing skills are trash).Prediction
We really should get the job done here if we're any chance of playing finals. Especially with no Naitanui and likely no Yeo, expect our midfield to get on top and we have the forwards to stretch them defensively. If we play anywhere near the glimpses we've shown we'll be right. I think the Eagles will lift after last week's demolition, and as we all know, we are everyone's grand final.
Tigers by 16.
