Where do you see us finishing come the end of 2011?

[footycool]

Interesting to hear what my fellow dons supporters think coming into the bye

I'll say 5th as we should knock off some good teams this year but unfortunately are not top 4 material this year.

 

[Johnny619]

Well according to the ladder predictor I did today I had us 7th and an away final against Freo but that was with us losing most 50/50 matches...

 

[Sir James]

Top 6 if we get no more injuries, but ill be happy to finish in the 8.

 

[Bomber32]

Anywhere between 6th - 8th, I will be more than satisfied with.

 

[Mad Bomber Sean]

Once we have Pears back, Ryder gets more ruck time, Hille begins to play good footy & Hocking keeps his elbows to himself top 8 would still be a good result imo. We are rebuilding & have a long way to go yet.

A lot depends on injurys. But top 8 is still a good result.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

4th - 6th.

 

[Duckworth]

Out in the first week of the finals. Playing 4 ruckmen instead, to compensate for the zero ruckman we played over in Adelaide.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

3rd with no more real injuries.

I think we can beat teams like Hawthorn and Carlton in the run home and I'm banking on us having our first "big" away win in a few weeks against Freo.

 

[ant555]

Same as what i said at the start of the season 6th-10th.

 

[lamaros]

Same as at the start of the season.

6th

 

[Valve Bounce]

3rd with no more real injuries.

I think we can beat teams like Hawthorn and Carlton in the run home and I'm banking on us having our first "big" away win in a few weeks against Freo.

I'll run with Kelvin.

 

[Godzke]

Depends on injuries (same for every other team). Assuming the worst has past, 3rd-7th. If not, 5th-10th. Yes, we may still miss the finals. Can't count our eggs just yet.

By the way, this loss to Richmond is the difference between us consolidating 3rd spot and probably being overtaken by 2-3 teams after rnd 10.

 

[sacka]

I will be happy with any finals action but i think we can get top 6 myself, I wish we had the bye a few rounds before the finals though.

 

[bombre-boy]

I reckon between 6th and 9th....percentage is good which will help.
Really depends on about 3 games...
V Sydney
V Richmond
V Carltank.

 

[fishardansin]

Good question. I was thinking about this yesterday. I think in the end we'll just sneak into the 8. Our good wins early in the year have since shown themselves up to be a mirage with Bulldogs and St Kilda being rubbish all year.

What I'm most impressed with is fighting performances against the odds against Carlton and Richmond. It shows that this group has great spirit. This is necesary when things get tough deep into finals.

I think with our full list to choose from combined with the way we're playing so far this year we are one of the better middle of the road sides and smokey for top 4. Unfortunately we wont have that full list this year.

I think we'll win most of the games we should and get into the 8. We'll need a few players to find better form and come back from injury if we are to beat sides like Hawthorn, Freo, Geelong, Collingwood, West Coast in Perth and Carlton at some point, which will be necesarry to make top 4.

Players needing to find form are Hurley, Ryder and Davey. I know Hurley is out now but in the month before his injury he wasn't actually catching much. He and Ryder do a lot of hard work to get to the right place but either don't get their hands free in the wrestle or when they do they don't actually complete the mark. This needs to change. We really need Davey's zip and energy back in the team. He looked very good before he broke his arm.

We really need Pears and Dempsey back so we can settle a back six. This wont happen until next year though. I see Essendon as legitamate top 4 and premiership contenders next year if we can finally have a year with a good run with injuries. This year I'm pretty sure we'll make the finals and would be happy with 1 final win.

 

[citizen-erased]

Win against the tiges would have set us up nicely to hold top 4.
Not sure its out of the question, but we have to make it up with a scalp and preferably one that would be a top 4 challenger
Hawks and Blues spring to mind
A win over Freo @ Patersons would also be nice.

Key now is to not drop the gimmes
Melbourne, Port@AAMI, North. These are games we should win but have a tendency to drop.

Tipping us to finish 5th now.

 

[yaco55]

Happy to win 12 games in 2011.

 

[Slattery_20]

5th-6th now, for mine. Costly miss. Will smack them next time with a few back.

 

[Horace Scope]

If our run of injuries continues who knows.
Even with some of the boys back we probably won't make top 4 IMO.
Our intensity has dropped off a tad and without it you fall back to the pack.

I remember at the start of the season Lloydy questioning whether we could maintain the intensity for the whole year.

The next 2-3 games will tell if he's right.

If he is we'll end up 6-9 IMO

We've also got interstate games which we just SUCK at.

 

[Frothies Mcveigh]

5th-7th. Needed to win the Richmond game to hold onto 3rd.

 

[pazza]

5th to 8th.

Gunning for a home final and making the 2nd week. No travelling.

 

[coleman10]

Q: What's big and green and f**ks the Bombers?
A: The MCG

We have become an indoor team only which is very concerning. Our recent record at ANY outdoor venue is disappointing to say the least.

With that in mind, I reckon we can finish anywhere from 6th to 10th.

I had us pencilled in to beat the Tigers and with the ladder so tight this year, one game can make or break a side.

We won't beat Freo or Wet Toast in Perth - thats a given!

Mark down realistic losses to Pies, Cats, Hawks and Blues based on current form and the fact we simply cannot win at the MCG. (Cats at ES I know)

Crows (AAMI) and Swans (at ES) will be tough to beat but not impossible.

Would expect wins v Dees, Roos, Dogs, Tigers and Power. But with 2 of those at the "G" there's possible games we will lose.

That would give us 10 certainties, so a couple of "upsets" or wins at the MCG could see us get 12 wins at best IMO.

The bye in R24 could KILL US!

 

[juggers]

I see us finishing top six. Once we get Watson, Hurly and Hocking back in the team we will be back to business. it really did hurt us without watson and hocking against tigers.

From 2012 onwards we will be a real top 4 contender imo

 

[coleman10]

Q: What's big and green and f**ks the Bombers?
A: The MCG

We have become an indoor team only which is very concerning. Our recent record at ANY outdoor venue is disappointing to say the least.

With that in mind, I reckon we can finish anywhere from 6th to 10th.

I had us pencilled in to beat the Tigers and with the ladder so tight this year, one game can make or break a side.

We won't beat Freo or Wet Toast in Perth - thats a given!

Mark down realistic losses to Pies, Cats, Hawks and Blues based on current form and the fact we simply cannot win at the MCG. (Cats at ES I know)

Crows (AAMI) and Swans (at ES) will be tough to beat but not impossible.

Would expect wins v Dees, Roos, Dogs, Tigers and Power. But with 2 of those at the "G" there's possible games we will lose.

That would give us 10 certainties, so a couple of "upsets" or wins at the MCG could see us get 12 wins at best IMO.

The bye in R24 could KILL US!

Just did the ladder predictor and have us 8th with a week one final v Wet Toast at PS so we're screwed, unless we can cause a few upsets on the way!

 

[Slattery_20]

The bye in R24 could KILL US!

Why is the Bye then a bad thing? Compared to round 15 or whatever? Might be a good thing to freshen up & get the legs right before finals.

After the weekend it's looking something like Ess/Freo/WCE/Swans for the 5th-8th spots.
Swans should steam home. Bye rd 19, then us (etihad - we should win, but no sure thing 60/40), Tigs (should win), Saints (win), Cats (done), then nice easy Brisbane.
Freo could go either way. Finish with Hawks (50/50), Saints away (should win), Blues (50/50), North (win), Pies (done) and Dogs away (50/50)

Eagles hsould come home strong. Dogs away (50/50), Richmond (win), Demons (win), us @ home (probably win), Brisbane Adelaide (both wins)

We've got Carlton (win), Pies (loss), Sydney home (leaning towards us), Dogs home (win), Eagles away (forfeit), Port home (massive win) then the break.

Every chance of making a nice little run home, taking 6th and knocking off the Dockers. But... with that break, a trip to Subi or Sydney becomes that much more manageable.