Week 3, 2007 finals series

[Dry Rot]

IIRC the Pies held the cats to a 16 point win last time they played. Anyone give the Pies a chance?

Port look really good this year and North won a very ordinary game last night. But IIRC North have a good AAMI record?

[southerncross]

It's looking like a Port and Geelong GF for mine.

[Go_Dogs]

Agreed. The Collingwood v Geelong game promises to be closer on paper, but Geelong could just as easily blow them completely out of the water. Port seem a sure thing too, imo.

Should be a good GF.

Interesting side note - both the teams that could be competing in the GF were the teams that spent time over summer O/S learning from other sporting clubs in conjunction with their Exhibition game. Just thought it was an interesting tid bit.

[Twodogs]

I want North to get through but then I backed them at long odds to win the flag in week 1 of the finals series.

[BulldogBelle]

Should be a great couple of games this week...I am going to the Collingwood v Geelong game on Friday night courtesy of a good friend of mine. It will be good to go and watch a game without any stress attached to it. I am on the Geelong bandwagon during the finals.

To get through this week's games - Geelong and Pt Adel although it would be nice to see an all VIC Grand Final - it has been awhile since that has happened.

[LostDoggy]

Port V Geelong seems the logical tip for the GF, I wouldn't mind seeing that, and if Port hadn't recently won it already I'd be quite happy, Port are my favourite interstate team. I hope North get up because they're a Victorian team, but that could make for a very boring Grand Final, I think Port would be a much more deserving team as they'd go close to winning and provide a good contest on Grand Final day, as we've seen in the last couple of years.

[Dry Rot]

Any significant ins and outs for North and the Pies?

Presume Fraser will be back?

[Dry Rot]

Has the whole Judd thing overtaken the finals this weekend in the media?

Can't wait till tomorrow night - I reckon the Pies will give a good account of themselves.

And there's only 3 games left. :(

[Go_Dogs]

Should be a good game. Just think Geelong will be too powerful, and too fresh. In saying that, they have enough game breaking players to do well.

[dog town]

I am barracking for the pies. I have plenty of mates that barrack for either side but the cats fan has been unbearable this season. Just rings me and starts meowing after every win.

Collingwood might have the forward line to give the cats something different to think about. The cats love helping each other out and zoning off but Cloke and Rusling will work hard and split up their leads which will make it harder for them to team together. North were terrible in that they had only 4 forwards for alot of the day and were all leading to the same spot. You have to chop up your leads and lead on an angle away from traffic which the pies are pretty good at. Guys like Medhurst and Didak will make them accountable as well. Geelong still big favourite though because of midfield dominance.

I think North will beat Port which is terrible for footy. North is the single most boring footy team I have ever watched. If its a bit windy or wet then the roos will be a bit too tough for Port.

[LostDoggy]

I wish they all could lose, I dislike all of them.
Pies are my most hated club.
Geelong was my ex's club, though I do know other nice supporter who follow them
With North there is a bit of jealously there as I think they are at our level.
I'll probably go for Port.

[dog town]

Can anyone believe that the roos were seriously contemplating playing Nathan Thompson? Put aside the injury concerns which are significant how can you justify bringing in a guy to play a cut throat preliminary final when he hasn't played a game all year? They cant be serious.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Can anyone believe that the roos were seriously contemplating playing Nathan Thompson? Put aside the injury concerns which are significant how can you justify bringing in a guy to play a cut throat preliminary final when he hasn't played a game all year? They cant be serious.

I'm sure they weren't. You simply wouldn't do it.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I'm sure they weren't. You simply wouldn't do it.

It would be a bold move, but I guess if they played him and won the flag everyone would laud them with praise

Hes certainly a talent and the type of player you need in a final, someone who can just jump at the ball and make things happen

But they'd have Darcy in the back of there heads - two knee recos and the guys career is over

[LostDoggy]

It would be a bold move, but I guess if they played him and won the flag everyone would laud them with praise

Hes certainly a talent and the type of player you need in a final, someone who can just jump at the ball and make things happen

But they'd have Darcy in the back of there heads - two knee recos and the guys career is over

They would be crazy to even consider him wouldn't they considering what he went through. Im sure it was a full knee reconstruction not just the standard knee recostruction.

And how much game time could they expect him to play considering he has only had about 1 month of solid training? They have done alright to get this far in finals and if they have him fully fit next year they will bebefit from that and could go a step further.

I think alot of teams have learnt from Darcy and now they take it extra cautious. Its not worth the risk in my eyes.

[BulldogBelle]

Went to the Geel v Collingwood game, what a great game. It was good to go to the footy and be the 'neutral supporter' not following a team but just to watch two teams having a go, it was such a tight, pressure packed game. The crowd was around the 92,000 mark and people everywhere. Glad I went early as I heard that a lot of people were still trying to get in way into the first quarter.

[The Coon Dog]

Credit where credit's due. Collingwood just continue to amaze me. They just never give in & really throw themselves into every contest as tho it really means something.

At the start of the season most pundits had them languishing in the bottom half of the ladder (a bit like North). They just seem to get so much out of their younger kids.

Does anyone know exactly what Brad Scott's role is with the Collingwood youngsters, because from the outside it looks like he's doing a bloody good job, they just step straight in & step up?

[GVGjr]

Given the AA selections it was interesting to see the All Star team struggle to put away the nobodies. Why can't we play a similar disciplined brand of football?

[Go_Dogs]

A lot of clubs draft the kids and nurse them through. Some throw them straight in the deep end. Those that do that, seem to get more out of the younger guys, much more quickly. It's interesting too, because a lot of the kids who get drafted these days have already spent a few years in the gym and are ready to step up, however they get nursed through and don't have their boundaries pushed like they should.

[The Underdog]

Credit where credit's due. Collingwood just continue to amaze me. They just never give in & really throw themselves into every contest as tho it really means something.



I've struggled with this all season.
I feel about Collingwood the same way that most do. Hate Eddie, supporters shit me etc.
However I've loved watching them play this year. Apart from the odd game, they've totally got the maximum effort out of themselves. They've got a great mix of real class players and super hard workmanlike types. I think if they can finally get Didak and Davis fit enough to play in the midfield they might be able to cover for the fact that some of their mids are getting older. They've also done a great job of drafting in the last 2 years (making up for some questionable efforts before), and bit the bullet on Tarrant and made it work for them.

[Go_Dogs]

Ed Lower was terrific yesterday for the Roos. I really want us to chase Nick. Please, just a little?

[LostDoggy]

I'm upset.
Upset the pies didn't lose by 1 point or by a goal after the siren.
Fair dinkum they might play with all their hearts but they do it knowing they are guaranteeed a great run with the umps.
The first quarter 50 to O'Bree and the last quarter free to Rocca just 2 examples.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Given the AA selections it was interesting to see the All Star team struggle to put away the nobodies. Why can't we play a similar disciplined brand of football?

Thats a very poingnant comment and one that really should be echoing over the construction site that is the Whitten Oval

The list of players we have is still talented - but we clearly do not have enough guys prepared to do the team stuff often enough.

[dog town]

This weekend just confirmed the brilliance of Mark Williams and Mick Malthouse in my mind. Funnily enough I think the greasy conditions in Melbourne on friday night actually hurt the pies which would be against popular opinion. The pies look like they went in with a plan to keep possession and deny the cats the ball for long periods and the rain made that pretty hard. Much the same way as the swans struggle in the wet despite being a very tough side.