Who will Challenge Collingwood

[MrPresident]

Seems the mighty pies have timed their run to absolute centimeter perfect perfection.

Dogs, Cats and Saints will all slide a little.

Carlton are average with no key forward or dominate backs.

Bombers are bottom 4?

Ds are too young to challenge and lack size strength and the fitness base?

North don't have enough money to keep washing clothes and pay the bills during September?

Could it be Freo with the circus freak, but can they win it on the MCG?

Sydney has not beaten the pies since Carlton got done cheating?

Gold Coast? Too young, no set game plan unfamiliar list.

Brisbane is run by a lunatic who is suffering some form of psychosis.

West Coast, yeh naa.

Adelaide just cleaned out 60,000 years of experience and have the shitiest looking jumper in the AFL.

Port Power have the Chad? is the Chad enough?

Who on earth has the talent to compete with the pies when they're on song?

Early in the season it will be a 1st V 2nd top of the ladder clash, both the Pies and Swans will be undefeated, the game will be in Sydney...and we'll get smashed. People will think we can't possibly beat you. We'll finish 3rd and beat the Saints in the qualifying final. You'll finish 1st with 20+ wins. You'll win your qualifying final.

We both get to our own preliminary final. We'll both beat whoever gets to us to set up a classic David and Goliath GF, we'll be the longest odds in years. At three quarter time we'll be down by 20 and get a miracle performance by someone along the lines of Nick Davis in 2005 v Geelong. Swans win by 1. Swans victors in two of the greatest grand finals of the 21st century.

You heard it here first. Put some money on it. Don't say I didn't warn you.

 

[davis_756]

I think the Hawks will win the flag in 2011.

The pies gameplan is based around a high intensity tackling game, players will drop off on this next year and collingwood without that are easy beats for the hawks.

It will be good for the pies as it will make it easy to move on malthouse and then come back for a better year in 2012 unless of course Buckley changes the game plan which will screw them up completely.

 

[Jonno_]

we do have issues but on top of our game we can match it with anyone.

I love this. We have now accomplished what you accomplished - a premiership. Except yours was with players like Dew (who won that game for you), Croad, Campbell and Crawford who no longer play. Except yours was not expected - you were not the best side all season, maybe in the finals series, but not all year. Except given all the talk about how young you were, we were, and are now still, younger. Except yours was two years ago.

I admire Hawthorn, but I've never quite understood why their fans somehow still believe everyone is still afraid of them - they weren't in 2008 - they all feared Geelong a lot more - they surely weren't in 2009, and they definitely weren't in 2010. What makes you people believe everyone is still scared of you?

Hawthorn supporters have more excuses than anyone.

The prosecutor.

Lol.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

Hopefully anyone (except Carlton).

The prosecutor.

I like it

 

[Bozo]

It will be good for the pies as it will make it easy to move on malthouse and then come back for a better year in 2012 unless of course Buckley changes the game plan which will screw them up completely.

Buckley has to make changes to the gameplan and if he doesn't he will royally screw the club up. Maybe that is Ratten's problem, watching other clubs and trying to replicate what he sees rather than trying to get ahead of the game.

 

[stainedclass]

Wouldn't write off the Saints. Collingwood are now the hunted, a couple of teams will become the pies achilles heel. Has everyone written off the cats too early? The crows perhaps will rebound back to outperform their 2008 efforts. Hawks? They certainly have the mids and FWD's to mix it with the best, we'll see how this drafting period works out for them.

 

[bulletproof]

The fact you only won 17 home and away games and needed a Grand Final replay to edge out St Kilda suggests you have a very narrow lead over the competition. I reckon the Bulldogs can win it next year if they pull something off this trade week. Hawthorn could. Maybe St Kilda, even Freo. Geelong, would take a miracle, I'll admit that.

 

[SM]

Sydney's biggest problem going into next year will be mental, and hopefully with a win over Adelaide last season, and towards the end of the year the playing group getting the confidence to start winning close matches again, we'll have the mental ability to contest it with the bigger teams. Of course, if Sydney were to win the Premiership in the next few years it would have to be akin to their 05 triumph with a team like Hawthorn taking the Pies out along the way for us as we play a lot better against the Hawks.

 

[Grumpy Bum]

Hawthorn are the team most likely. But they lack in pace in some areas, but potentially have a great forward set up.

 

[Alfonz]

If we can get our best team on the park then we might stand some kind of chance. But we can't really cover for the inevitable mishaps; it would have to be a dream season where everything falls into place, i.e. Barlow comes back as good as last year, Palmer magically returns to form and learns to kick, McPharlin, Sandi and Pav play to their best, etc.

 

[HolyRioli]

I love this. We have now accomplished what you accomplished - a premiership. Except yours was with players like Dew (who won that game for you), Croad, Campbell and Crawford who no longer play. Except yours was not expected - you were not the best side all season, maybe in the finals series, but not all year. Except given all the talk about how young you were, we were, and are now still, younger. Except yours was two years ago.

Surely you'd agree that's when it's important to be the best? Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Geelong and St Kilda fans can all attest to this.

I admire Hawthorn, but I've never quite understood why their fans somehow still believe everyone is still afraid of them - they weren't in 2008 - they all feared Geelong a lot more - they surely weren't in 2009, and they definitely weren't in 2010. What makes you people believe everyone is still scared of you?

Blindly arrogant supporters aside (we all have them, let's move on) I don't think that we genuinely believe that anyone is "afraid" of us, as it were. It's that we have a belief that our playing group can genuinely challenge any team going around on its day. The problem is that our team has a few deficiencies which need addressing, which leads to inconsistent performances. It's more that we are a potentially hazardous fixture, such as no one really likes playing Sydney at the SCG because it's always an annoying game which you can never be 100% sure about.

 

[Swooop]

Every team in the comp will challenge Collingwood.

And unless we see it that way, we are indeed headed for a hangover year

 

[xraycat]

Seems the mighty pies have timed their run to absolute centimeter perfect perfection.

Dogs, Cats and Saints will all slide a little.

Carlton are average with no key forward or dominate backs.

Bombers are bottom 4?

Ds are too young to challenge and lack size strength and the fitness base?

North don't have enough money to keep washing clothes and pay the bills during September?

Could it be Freo with the circus freak, but can they win it on the MCG?

Sydney has not beaten the pies since Carlton got done cheating?

Gold Coast? Too young, no set game plan unfamiliar list.

Brisbane is run by a lunatic who is suffering some form of psychosis.

West Coast, yeh naa.

Adelaide just cleaned out 60,000 years of experience and have the shitiest looking jumper in the AFL.

Port Power have the Chad? is the Chad enough?

Who on earth has the talent to compete with the pies when they're on song?

So you're saying collingwood are on the verge of a "Bradbury" dynasty? that any flags from here on in are tainted because of weak opposition?

 

[favourites]

The fact you only won 17 home and away games and needed a Grand Final replay to edge out St Kilda suggests you have a very narrow lead over the competition. I reckon the Bulldogs can win it next year if they pull something off this trade week. Hawthorn could. Maybe St Kilda, even Freo. Geelong, would take a miracle, I'll admit that.

I thought you would remember but we won all our finals by around 10 goals. The draw showed we got ahead of ourselves. We were lucky to get a second chance, but when we did we showed how far ahead of St Kilda we actually are.

The real issue is hunger, such a young side winning and celebrating a premiership, Mick is going to have his work cut out trying to get them up and going again. Not just that the depth could also be an issue. We will be turning over 10+ players many of whom are experienced footballers.

 

[Didak_attack]

Melbourne, we were the closest this year

Actually, Brisbane were the only team we didn't beat this year!

Lions premiers 2011!

 

[Zeke]

Biggest challenger to Collingwood will be Collingwood.

It's very very hard to get every player in your side up and playing with the same intensity two years running. Almost impossible in fact.
Collingwood supporters will learn this lesson next season.

So because Hawthorn couldn't do it, it's suddenly 'almost impossible'?

 

[Dalphonso]

Melbourne, we were the closest this year

I think Melbourne too.
Another summer of weights on the young blokes will bring them right up there.
Still don't write off the cats.

 

[Furn]

Seems the mighty pies have timed their run to absolute centimeter perfect perfection.

Dogs, Cats and Saints will all slide a little.

Carlton are average with no key forward or dominate backs.

Bombers are bottom 4?

Ds are too young to challenge and lack size strength and the fitness base?

North don't have enough money to keep washing clothes and pay the bills during September?

Could it be Freo with the circus freak, but can they win it on the MCG?

Sydney has not beaten the pies since Carlton got done cheating?

Gold Coast? Too young, no set game plan unfamiliar list.

Brisbane is run by a lunatic who is suffering some form of psychosis.

West Coast, yeh naa.

Adelaide just cleaned out 60,000 years of experience and have the shitiest looking jumper in the AFL.

Port Power have the Chad? is the Chad enough?

Who on earth has the talent to compete with the pies when they're on song?

Cut and paste from a hawthorn 2008 post ? or was it an Eagles 2006 ? or Essendon 2000 ?

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Looking forward to going back to back on the Ball deal, and beating Freo on GF Day next year with Taz playing for the Pies!!!

Its an interesting question neverthless as to who will challenge next year. But these same questions pop up every year. I dont see many teams in the top eight ready to make the next step within 12 months - but somebody will do it. Sydney or Hawthorn are two that could surprise.

 

[HeHateMe]

Fremantle
St.Kilda
Hawthorn
Geelong

and any one else who could make the top 4.

 

[4#Didak#4]

The top 4 this year were very good and before the finals it was tough to pick a winner. They will all be there abouts again, they all need luck with injuries to win it & be on their game during the finals. There really is little between them all. Ablett may step the Cats back a little to the pack, but new coach will freashen them up & do a world of good.

Outside of the top 4 there is not much except for Hawthorn, purely because they have some big name stars that can win games for them. Their achilles heel is the bottom half of their list is just terrible.

 

[wicksy]

Collingwood bandwagoners out in force already, going to be a great off season.

I have a question for you....

Why are you still here?!!

 

[Falchoon]

Collingwood fans are big on history.

1991 tells a story.

 

[Pessimistic]

Enjoy it guys but winning a flag is 50% gameplan and 50% luck with injuries.

We (hawks) suffered on both counts and you could too

 

[pies_this_year]

Collingwood fans are big on history.

1991 tells a story.

lol. saints fan talking about history.