Which of the top team's are you most/least worried about?

[Phil McCreviss]

Was having a chat to some mate's earlier this week about ranking the team's that would worry us in September. In order I ranked them:

1. Geelong - due to their long run of win's against us, big bodies, know how to win)
2. Collingwood - we played our hearts out in the prelim and they still beat us. Talent in spades. If they click they will be dangerous)
3. West Coast - Great young group of kids mixed with some exciting talent. Enough home games to ensure top 4.
4. Fremantle - Don't rate them a chance against us but still think if they make finals they will cause some real headaches

Don't rate Carlton at all because we bully them. I hope we play them in the finals finger crossed

 

[market]

Most Concerned

Geelong - They are still a great team and play us well - (if we are leading at 3 quarter time, i want us to score early in the quarter...point or goal).
West Coast - They are highly likely to win nearly (if not all) their games at Subiaco and if they can scramble 5-6 away (they have 1 already), fair chance they will get home finals...I do not want the Hawks to come to Perth to play a prelim etc...
Freo - As above, but on a lower scale of concern...if they can keep their A grade team on the park, they are a massive problem.
Pies - Concerned, but not as much as the teams above...

Least Concerned

Carltank - No comment

 

[crazywildhorse]

Most:

• West Coast
• Fremantle

Least:

• Melbourne

Not that I think either Fremantle or West Coast will win the flag, but they have a lot of potential to cause a lot of damage to the order of how things should go.

If the Hawks only beat one more team this year it will be the Demons. I see a touch of bogey in every other side apart from this lot.

 

[Fastback]

Was having a chat to some mate's earlier this week about ranking the team's that would worry us in September. In order I ranked them:

1. Geelong - due to their long run of win's against us, big bodies, know how to win)
2. Collingwood - we played our hearts out in the prelim and they still beat us. Talent in spades. If they click they will be dangerous)
3. West Coast - Great young group of kids mixed with some exciting talent. Enough home games to ensure top 4.
4. Fremantle - Don't rate them a chance against us but still think if they make finals they will cause some real headaches

Don't rate Carlton at all because we bully them. I hope we play them in the finals finger crossed

I'm confident we have Collingwood covered, we lacked a quality tall in that prelim - Gilly or Roughy would have done nicely.

The Cats simply never say die against us so you know the game will always go to the wire, the big question is, will we be able to stop their run when we're 4 goals up in the 3rd quarter?

West Coast is our biggest threat imo, they have us covered in the ruck, boast enough fwd talls to cause headaches, have a more than adequate midfield and the defence is pretty solid too. It's been a year since we played them at York park, a game where they kept coming at us right until the end. I think they'd start favourites out West.

Freo are still an unknown quantity, on paper we are a better side and would win 8/10 in Melb but they'll be very hard to beat at home this year.

 

[Buddy Guy]

Cox and Nic Nat

 

[Thaihawk]

I think we can handle any opposition. However, my greatest fear for 2012, would be a final in WA against The Eagles. We need to finish top two, and if we do we can go all the way.

 

[hawker11]

Most worried about West Coast due to their quality talls.

 

[moginie]

Apart from West Coast & Collingwood, the other team that may threaten us & has given us trouble over the years is Sydney. They seem to have gone under the radar, but their playing group is around the same age as ours & their depth appears reasonable. The round 5 game is going to be just as tough as the previous four.

We'll find out where we stand against Geelong on Monday. Then we'll know whether to worry about them.

Carlton are the team that I'm not too fussed about at the moment.

 

[jpzhawk]

Westcoast in Perth

daylight

Geelong, Collingwood and WestCoast in Melb, Freo in Perth evens.

daylight

Carlton and anyone else in the bottom 4.

High chance the Eagles will finsh top 4. We don't want to be playing them in Perth and if we do, week 1 would be the best scenario so we have a second chance and highly unlikely to play them a second time over there.
Round 4 will give us a rough gauge as to what we could be up against. UGLY..
Don't rate dorkers out of Perth.
Geelong and Collinwood will be the usual high quality, tough close game.
Freo in Perth would be tough but no way near as daunting as the Eagles at this stage.
Carlton we go ok against.
The rest should'nt pose too many problems.

 

[grizzlym]

West Coast.

There's a feeling out there that they could develop very rapidly this year. Some quality talls, especially in the ruck and to cover up forward to. I also believe that the spirit and whole mood at the club is extremely good too.

 

[TheFourPillars]

I think we need to worry about Geelong personally they are opponents in round 2 and they are going to be tough enough to beat as it is . We focus on top 4 possibly top 2 and then we see who are opponents are from there

 

[Dinsdale]

I worry about every team. Almost as much as I hate every other team.

But seriously, the contenders along with us are Geelong, Collingwood, West Coast.

Adelaide are the dark horse, but I think they have too many of the same type of player.

If we can sustain our play in the last quarter (as we did last week) in other matches, then we can give it a good tilt.

 

[J0NNY B]

Carlton

 

[cryptor]

Wouldn't our 'kick-mark-kick hold possession' game plan be very suited to a large ground such as Patterson's stadium?

 

[Roger Rogerson]

West Coast too. But theirbackline is suspect. Bit like us. Their strengths are our weaknesses.

Reckon Carlton are a big worry if Hampson Warnock and Kruezer stand up. Big if though.

Pies have peaked and so have Cats but they can both still win it if others fall over.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

I'm more worried about us having a bad day at the wrong time.

Add a fit Roughead and Hodge to our team and we'll be ****ing sensational.

As for the contenders



West Coast - hopefully they soar up to the top of the ladder and take some media focus off us. I didn't think they looked that impressive against the Doggies, but they've got the ingredients. Selwood, Priddis and Kerr somehow seem to be chroincially underrated. These guys are good! I still think our midfield has it over their's.

I remember being really disappointed that we only knocked these guys off by 7 points last year - but it turns out it was a meritorious win. Round four will be very interesting.

Geelong - I stand to be corrected on Monday, but they just can't be as good as last year with the loss of personnel. Either the cats or pies will fall pretty sharply this year. Still - never confident against the cast.

Collingwood - If teams shut down their run off defense like we have the last two times we've played them they'll be a much weaker side. Strong midfield and a lot of scoring options. Just a matter of whether it clicks for them or not.

Freo - No idea what to make of these guys. They'll win most of their home games and they've got some real weapons in their squad.

Carlton - just not worried about them. I think their midfield is really over-rated. They've got belief, but it'll get chewed up. They've got an easier draw than the other top 4 teams from last year.

 

[savagelunchbox]

Carlton - just not worried about them. I think their midfield is really over-rated. They've got belief, but it'll get chewed up. They've got an easier draw than the other top 4 teams from last year.

Neither am I.
I've always said that Carlton won't win a premiership with Chris Judd in their side. (I know you'll agree with me on this LP )

He is soft, hangs off the pack, pulls out of physical contact, can't handle physicality and worst of all, is a poor disposer of the ball and that right there will cost you more in the finals than any other time.

 

[Bardo State]

Playing against Carlton in a final would be an absolute godsend. Honestly more worried about Brisbane.

 

[TAITA]

Hmmmm......all good to dismiss Carlton out of hand on last years effort, BBF - all shit aside, they do structure up really well this year - dismiss them at your peril. Kruezer will be a beauty.

West Coast have lost all flexibility going forward.

Adelaide will surprise.

 

[HolyRioli]

West Coast, followed by Adelaide. WC because they are very good, Adelaide because we have perennially struggled in SA, and they seem to have their tails up. Very happy round 3 is in Melbourne.

Like others, not too worried about Carlton. We seem to match up on them very well

 

[Gary Conan Ayres]

I agree with the op

 

[Rev08]

Most have hit the nail on the head with West Coast and Collingwood, but to be honest I think time will tell with Geelong this season. I wouldn't be surprised if the loss of Ottens and Ling is more telling than some realise. Especially against us as they are 2 of the players that worried us most.

We really shouldn't write Carlton off though. It's all well and good to show all this bravado on these forums, but the reality is that they are a good side, and beating them for the past 8 years stands for nothing come game day. Their pace could worry us IMO.

 

[play2win]

Hmmmm......all good to dismiss Carlton out of hand on last years effort, BBF - all shit aside, they do structure up really well this year - dismiss them at your peril. Kruezer will be a beauty.

my thoughts exactly. another year and preseason into the likes of yarran, gibbs, murphy, garlett, kreuzer etc is only going to make them better. they have both pace and height that could trouble a lot of sides.

the next few years are going to be extremely competitive, there are quite a few good clubs on the rise at the moment.

 

[Phil McCreviss]

Most have hit the nail on the head with West Coast and Collingwood, but to be honest I think time will tell with Geelong this season. I wouldn't be surprised if the loss of Ottens and Ling is more telling than some realise. Especially against us as they are 2 of the players that worried us most.

We really shouldn't write Carlton off though. It's all well and good to show all this bravado on these forums, but the reality is that they are a good side, and beating them for the past 8 years stands for nothing come game day. Their pace could worry us IMO.

Don't think it's bravado at all. We match up well against them and we have shown in the past that they are susceptible to a bit of niggle. Contain Judd and Murphy and you are well on the way to a victory. You need to cover a few more players against the Cats and Pies to get a win.

Pace is an overrated asset imo. With less rotations this season this will become even more prevalent. Look at the premiership teams over the last 10 seasons. Geelong have never been blessed with speed and neither were we in 2008. Collingwood had pace in 2010 but that wasn;t the reason they won the flag. Even the Saints got to 3 Grand Finals with zero pace. You need to have a couple of players with a bit of toe but Carlton have their mix all wrong. Too many whippets and not enough big bodies, damaging key positions etc to be a threat for the flag. I think this is where West Coast and Freo are making progress moreso than Carlton.

 

[Phil McCreviss]

my thoughts exactly. another year and preseason into the likes of yarran, gibbs, murphy, garlett, kreuzer etc is only going to make them better. they have both pace and height that could trouble a lot of sides.

the next few years are going to be extremely competitive, there are quite a few good clubs on the rise at the moment.

Yarran - dangerous if given space
Gibbs - as above
Murphy - great player. Tough as nails too
Garlett - haha. Doesn't worry me in the slightest. Nail him in a hard tackle early and see how often he gets up. Same goes for Betts
Kreuzer - Good player and gives them versatility. Still more worried about Cox and NicNat however.

Out of that bunch it's Murphy and Kreuzer that are the most damaging. You can stop the others with work rate and tackling pressure (as we have done numerous times in the past).