Rate the 2013 season

[Greystache]

8 wins 14 losses
15th on the ladder
85.15%

Won 4 of our last 6 games.

Beat teams finishing 7th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th, and 18th

We saw quite a lot of improvement from many of our younger players, while many of our senior players still performed consistently, and the group of first year players we brought in look to be the best in a very long time.

Overall I think we exceeded many people's expectation, showed a rapid improvement in our ability to move the ball and to score freely, and enter 2014 with quite a bit to be optimistic about.

7.5/10

What does everyone else think?

[LostDoggy]

I had us down 2nd bottom and would struggle to win more than 4 games. Exceeded my expectations. Really impressed with the youngsters coming through, which really is what the season was about. The reliance on Cross and Boyd diminished. Grant and Roughead showed a bit. Looking forward to seeing Prudden next year. Libba has been a revelation.

Just hope this trade or draft period brings some silk at least.

[Ozza]

Agree with your assessment Greystache. 7.5 out of 10.

Really encouraging to beat some sides unexpectedly, and some (St.Kilda!) that we haven't beaten in a while.

Positive signs from - all new players (draftees and new additions all had good games), the improvement of Grant, opportunities to see more of Tutt, the improvement of Wallis & Campbell.
Plus Griffen, Libba, Minson and Murphy having great seasons.

Negatives are Higgins and Williams' injuries, Roberts' interrupted year, Howard showing no improvement - possibly going backwards, and having not a great deal further clarification on whether Jong or Pearce can play.

[bulldogtragic]

The end is here.

I'm optimistic for next year.

We get the 4th best youngster in the country.

[Bulldog4life]

The end is here.

I'm optimistic for next year.

We get the 4th best youngster in the country.

Who would you like that to be BT? Or should I say who do you think that will be?

[bornadog]

I think we finished about where I thought we would, although I had us down for about 6 wins but still bottom four.

Rating wise, I guess we get a pass mark.

[Bulldog4life]

I think we finished about where I thought we would, although I had us down for about 6 wins but still bottom four.

Rating wise, I guess we get a pass mark.

We actually had over 30% more wins than you anticipated BAD. I wouldn't say you would guess it was a pass mark I'd say it was a definite pass mark.

[bornadog]

We actually had over 30% more wins than you anticipated BAD. I wouldn't say you would guess it was a pass mark I'd say it was a definite pass mark.

When you finish bottom four its not good in any season. I guess it depends what you are rating, is it development on course - 8/10? Is it where you finished 3/10? Number of wins 4/10?

[Bulldog4life]

When you finish bottom four its not good in any season. I guess it depends what you are rating, is it development on course - 8/10? Is it where you finished 3/10? Number of wins 4/10?

I think it would be development irrespective of where we finished. I would say 8/10. The dramatic improvement we showed in the last third of the year was extremely encouraging.

[Maddog37]

Early form apart from Brisbane game culminating in some real poo against the Dees, GCS and GWS would see a rating of 3/10. Late wins and good form against some strong teams I would rate 8/10.

Therefore I will combine the two and go for 5.5/10. Just better than average with much work to do.

[Twodogs]

When you finish bottom four its not good in any season.



I don't know about that. I reckon that showing a lot of improvement in game style and individual players but still finishing in a position where we can snare the fourth best youngster in the land is pretty good.

[bulldogtragic]

Who would you like that to be BT? Or should I say who do you think that will be?
Personally, I love Kelly, but I think I'm in the minority. On the other hand, Billings was a perfect replacement for Gia, but Gia is staying for another year... And If we're looking at Marsh or trading for another tall forward with pick 22, a pure mid would be my preference. Not sold that Sheed or Bontempelli are rated top 4, despite their talent.

Boyd, Aish and Scharenberg are locks for top 3 IMO. I hope someone, us if need be, makes Norf bid their first pick for McDonald.

[Bulldog4life]

Personally, I love Kelly, but I think I'm in the minority. On the other hand, Billings was a perfect replacement for Gia, but Gia is staying for another year... And If we're looking at Marsh or trading for another tall forward with pick 22, a pure mid would be my preference. Not sold that Sheed or Bontempelli are rated top 4, despite their talent.

Boyd, Aish and Scharenberg are locks for top 3 IMO. I hope someone, us if need be, makes Norf bid their first pick for McDonald.

Thanks for that BT. Being someone who doesn't follow the TAC closely it is good to know what others think about selection 4.

[Remi Moses]

I give us 7/10. Much better year than most thought, as I thought we'd win 3 to 4 games.
Pick 4 would give us one of Kelly, Scharenberg, Billings and maybe Aish.
Interesting to see how the dees go if Roos is coach

[Murphy'sLore]

Didn't Macca say in the presser after the game that he considers we are about a quarter of the way there? So should we pencil in a premiership for about 2019?

I couldn't be happier with the considered, steady progress we seem to be making, on and off the field.

[bornadog]

I don't know about that. I reckon that showing a lot of improvement in game style and individual players but still finishing in a position where we can snare the fourth best youngster in the land is pretty good.

All depends what you are rating. as Macca said:


The Bulldogs won four of their last six games for the season and showed positive signs that they may be emerging from a tough period.

But coach Brendan McCartney was under no illusions and reminded his players after the win over Melbourne that the club still finished 15th.

[LostDoggy]

Player Finds: (Improvement/Discover/regain form)

Libba, Wallis, Smith, Grant, Goodes, Talia, Roughead, Hrovat, Cooney, Morris, Young

Predicted improvements due to exposure this year:

Tutt, Macrae, Stringer


- McCartney the right man? - Resounding yes (eventually, after some match day problems) from me.

--------------

8 wins when i thought we'd get 5 at best. The good thing is that even though we finisjed 15th we were three games clear of the garbage below us, including a strong finish to the season.

5 wins and a player or two who improved and i may have said 4.5 / 10. Per the above i'm very pleased therefore 8.5 / 10

[bulldogtragic]

Player Finds: (Improvement/Discover/regain form)

Libba, Wallis, Smith, Grant, Goodes, Talia, Roughead, Hrovat, Cooney, Morris, Young

Predicted improvements due to exposure this year:

Tutt, Macrae, Stringer


- McCartney the right man? - Resounding yes (eventually, after some match day problems) from me.

--------------

8 wins when i thought we'd get 5 at best. The good thing is that even though we finisjed 15th we were three games clear of the garbage below us, including a strong finish to the season.

5 wins and a player or two who improved and i may have said 4.5 / 10. Per the above i'm very pleased therefore 8.5 / 10
If a premiership is 10/10, and you are at 8.5/10, it makes for an interesting 1.5 differential make up.

A lot to be happy with, but we finished 4th last behind 3 god awful teams who all had chances to beat us themselves.

We have a really, really long way to go, I hope we don't believe our own hype and think we're further along the path than where we are. We are on the right track, sure, but there is a lot of development and list management required.

[LostDoggy]

I'd have given us 10/10 if we'd grabbed an extra two wins against Melbourne (mid season) and the Brisbane game (just gone) as 10 wins would have been 200% on where i thought we'd be this year - coupled with the player's aforementioned and Bmac.

[LostDoggy]

Depends on what your rating scale is.

Premiership: 2/10
Development for the future: 8/10
Overall: 4/10
First half of the year: 0.5/10
Second half of the year: 6/10
Compared to my expectations in February: 12/10.

[LostDoggy]

6.5/10

6 wins was a pass for me.

Would be 7/10 if we'd beaten Melbourne the first time and 7.5/10 had we snared another win against a Gold Coast or North type side.

[G-Mo77]

It's a development year one I thought we'd be lucky to get 5 wins. Big tick from this end not just because of a few extra wins but the signs our players have shown as the season has gone on, the way the team has gelled and desire to win a contest. We've taken huge steps since the start of the year.

[GVGjr]

The 2nd half of the season told the story for me. There was a couple of poor games (Melbourne and GWS) but we started to push good sides and beat the teams hovering around the eight.
When Sydney acknowledged that we really pushed them and played their style of contested football then I started to realise that things were coming together.

We were very poor in the first half of the season but overall there was certainly some encouraging signs not only on the field but also in the coaches box.

The way so many of our younger players developed this season is a credit to the vision of the coach and the development work done by the assistant coaches. Lets also not forget that the fitness team kept us in games right through the 4 quarters rather than the way we constantly faded throughout 2012.

This was all done on a number of long term injuries to key players like Boyd, Dickson, Williams and Higgins plus the cruel blows to the emerging careers of Johannisen and Smith.

Hard to put a number on it because there is so many variables but when you consider that this time last year I was relieved that the season was over and concerned for the year ahead.
Now I wish there was a couple of more weeks to play and I'm really looking forward to 2014.

It's just very hard to put a value on the optimism I and so many others now have.

[Ghost Dog]

2/3 of the year we played very well. I'm just so pleased we did it at the end, not at the start. It would have been cruel to send Gia and Crossy off in any other fashion. When Daniel raised his fists in the air at the final siren, then drew his hands to cover his face in the next moment - wow, what an emotional moment.
However, let's not get carried away....yet.

[Twodogs]

I'd add an extra credit for the way we won a couple of games too. We really did it tough in some stages of games we won but hung in and got he result. We would have been smashed in those circumstances last year.

[1eyedog]

I'd add an extra credit for the way we won a couple of games too. We really did it tough in some stages of games we won but hung in and got he result. We would have been smashed in those circumstances last year.
We also went 3 quarters against the best sides in the competition and were up to our eyeballs against Sydney but for those 3 horrible minutes at the end of the third.

[always right]

I reckon we didn't get the balance right in the last few games between defence and attack. Sure it was attractive to watch but other teams were able to slice us apart too easily. If nothing else it helped us develop our run and spread but I reckon Macca would be focusing on re-establishing our defensive mindset in the off season and getting our defensive structure right so we have a solid platform to build the rest of our game on.

I rate our season a 7.

[Throughandthrough]

in one word.....unexpected!

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

The 2nd half of the season told the story for me. There was a couple of poor games (Melbourne and GWS) but we started to push good sides and beat the teams hovering around the eight.
When Sydney acknowledged that we really pushed them and played their style of contested football then I started to realise that things were coming together.

We were very poor in the first half of the season but overall there was certainly some encouraging signs not only on the field but also in the coaches box.

The way so many of our younger players developed this season is a credit to the vision of the coach and the development work done by the assistant coaches. Lets also not forget that the fitness team kept us in games right through the 4 quarters rather than the way we constantly faded throughout 2012.

This was all done on a number of long term injuries to key players like Boyd, Dickson, Williams and Higgins plus the cruel blows to the emerging careers of Johannisen and Smith.

Hard to put a number on it because there is so many variables but when you consider that this time last year I was relieved that the season was over and concerned for the year ahead.
Now I wish there was a couple of more weeks to play and I'm really looking forward to 2014.

It's just very hard to put a value on the optimism I and so many others now have.

This year was a big improvement on 2012. Our recruiting has been much better although I thought players from other clubs in Lower, Stevens and to a lesser extent Young faded as the year went on. The upside was the injection of talented youngsters in Macrae, Stringer, Hrovat and Hunter. The fine form of Minson and Liberatore has probably given us equal to the best ruck/ rover combination in the League. The decision to recruit Campbell and Dickson from Bendigo Bombers has been a positive. The downside is that we still lack two quality key forwards and were forced to rely on the likes of Dahlhaus, Gia and in the latter half of the season, Grant and Dickson to kick goals.Campbell is a ruckman trying to play at FF, which should only be a stop gap measure. The improved play of Cooney in 2013 was a bonus as was the emergence of Griffen as an elite player. I also thought that the decision to use Wallis as our number one tagger was a real winner.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

I give our season a 6.5/10 in terms of where we are headed and the improvement we showed. The 2nd half of the season is where the 6.5 all comes from though. If we had continued on first half form it would be a 1/10.

So the 2nd half holds A LOT of promise IMO. It appears as though Maccas game plan has at least sunk into the players heads. They now have a decent understanding of what is required of them, where they need to position themselves, when to block, when to get the ball, when to spread etc. Its by no means 100% comprehended but the players now have that understanding which i think is huge for next season. The coming preseason no longer needs to be about learning those fundamentals and the players can build of the learnings from the 2nd half of the season. I expect next season we will have dramatically improved as a result

[Twodogs]

Campbell is a ruckman trying to play at FF, which should only be a stop gap measure


Do you think? I thought at times he looked pretty imposing at full forward. He timed his leads nicely and demanded the ball. If he can keep improving and learn to kick straight I don't see why he couldn't carve out a good career at full forward.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Do you think? I thought at times he looked pretty imposing at full forward. He timed his leads nicely and demanded the ball. If he can keep improving and learn to kick straight I don't see why he couldn't carve out a good career at full forward.

Agree with this. He's pretty smart in contests too, ie. not taking possession of the ball and instead flicking it on to a nearby team mate.

He's still really green and has much to learn (often stands 60-80m away from the play when he needs to move up and provide that target) but there's a lot of promise.

I remember when I spoke highly of Campbell a year or so back, Chops found it necessary to keep having a dig and proclaiming myself and a few others hailed him as a messiah. I'd like to see what he has to say about it now ;)

Ultimately, I think Campbell can develop as the perfect ruck/forward option -- not dissimilar to Pyke.

[Remi Moses]

Not sure about the two key forwards, but we probably need another forward 50 hit up target.
Campbell was impressive in the back end, he looks fitter as well.
Can clunk a mark and isn't shabby on the ground. His deft touch to Cooney on Sunday was duly noted.

[LostDoggy]

Western Bulldogs 2013 Report Card by: Sam Landsberger •From: Herald Sun •September 06, 2013

SNAPSHOT - SEASON
Wins: 8
Losses: 14
Draws: 0
Ladder position: 15th
%: 85.1

WHAT WENT RIGHT
PLENTY. The Dogs’ final two months was as good as any non-finalist, North Melbourne aside. They turned flair and spark scarcely seen previously under Brendan McCartney into the norm, averaging 110 points across the final six rounds. In that time they rolled the Blues, West Coast and Adelaide – the latter two they lost to by a combined 122 points in the first six weeks.

The kids stacked away showed stunning potential. Ferocious onballer Nathan Hrovat looks a ripper both on and off the field, Jack Macrae’s got some silk, Jake Stringer already looks a beast and Lachie Hunter improved out of sight with his deadly left foot and goalkicking nous showcased to perfection in Round 23. Add to that the rebirth of Jarrad Grant, Tom Liberatore leapfrogging his way into the game’s elite (even if the All-Australian selectors didn’t notice), Will Minson announcing himself as one of the premier ruckmen and Adam Cooney regaining his devastating speed and there is a lot to like about the Dogs.

Oh, and then there was the form of a bloke named Ryan Griffen, who looms as a chance to finish on the Brownlow podium. Individuals aside, the stats showed this playing group now has Macca’s gameplan down pat. Remarkably, the Dogs ranked No. 1 in contested footy and No. 2 in clearances for the year - and that’s a brand of footy proven to stand up in September.

Follow Sam Landsberger on Twitter @SamLandsberger


WHAT WENT WRONG
THE Dogs recount the Gold Coast loss in Round 8 as a watershed moment, but it was six weeks later when they flopped against Melbourne that the pitfalls were laid bare to the footy public. Again, the major hole in this outfit lay forward of centre.

The lack of a power forward again hurt – the Dogs again ranked last for scores once inside 50. That looms as the key area to fix over summer, although Tom Campbell provided a strong target late in the year and Liam Jones still gives McCartney a lot to work with as a centre half-forward in progress.


Shaun Higgins’ body again failed this year with a nasty navicular blow killing his season, while Easton Wood’s hamstrings took a massive chunk out of his year. Added to that was Clay Smith’s ACL, but in a positive spin he looks likely to be available close to the start of next season.



BEST-AND-FAIREST

CHARLES SUTTON MEDAL
1. Ryan Griffen 273 votes
2. Tom Liberatore 242
3. Will Minson 184
4. Robert Murphy 176
5. Dale Morris 166


THE LIST

ELITE: Robert Murphy, Matthew Boyd, Adam Cooney, Tom Liberatore, Dale Morris
BIG IMPROVERS: Jarrad Grant, Mitch Wallis, Clay Smith (pre-injury), Michael Talia, Tom Campbell
GONE: Daniel Cross, Nick Lower, Lukas Markovic, Patrick Veszpremi
TRADE BAIT: Christian Howard


WHAT THEY NEED
A POWER forward would be the icing and another Rolls Royce midfielder isn’t far behind on the shopping list. Experts believe GWS won’t let Tom Boyd slip out of its clutches at this year’s draft, but with pick No. 4 the Dogs could well add another classy young midfielder to their growing band.

Next year’s draft is sprinkled with key targets as well, but expect the Dogs to attack next month’s trade period a lot more vigorously than last year. Their interest in Essendon duo Scott Gumbleton and Stewie Crameri is well known, and while Gumby looks the most realistic target, don’t underestimate the influence of the strong relationship Crameri and McCartney share.


PREMIERSHIP CLOCK
THE Dogs skipped a time zone late in the season and would suddenly fancy themselves to give the top eight a shake as early as next season. McCartney said at the best-and-fairest he expects the Dogs to enter a “cluster” of sides pushing into contention, and with a talented and developing list they now look capable of entering the flag frame a lot sooner than many expected six months ago.

STATS THAT MATTER

CLUB LEADERS

Kicks: Ryan Griffen (304)
Handballs: Tom Liberatore (286)
Contested possessions: Tom Liberatore (319)
Marks: Jordan Roughead (105)
Contested marks: Liam Jones (35)
Clearances: Tom Liberatore (184)
Inside 50s: Ryan Griffen (121)
Rebound 50s: Robert Murphy (65)
Frees for: Ryan Griffen (41)
Frees against: Will Minson (50)
Goals: Daniel Giansiracusa (36)
Goal assists: Luke Dahlhaus (18)
Time on ground: Dale Morris (2562 mins)
Players used: 38

TEAM STATS (total/percentage + AFL rank)

Disposals: 368 avg (8th)
Contested possession differential: +12.5 (1st)
Tackles: 66.1 avg (5th)
Clearance differential: +5.2 (2nd)
Inside-50 differential: -0.7 (12th)
Scoring % inside 50: 45.6% (Last)
Av points for: 87.5 (13th)
Av points against: 102.8 (16th)
Av winning margin: 22
Av losing margin: 36

DID YOU KNOW?
The Western Bulldogs won a clearance 50.3 per cent of the time Tom Liberatore attended a centre bounce this season - ranked No.1 of the top-50 centre bounce attendees in the AFL.

ROBBO'S VERDICT
One of the feel-good stories of year. Won four of six coming home, giving the Dogs a surge of hope and expectation under coach Brendan McCartney. All up, won eight games in 2013, up from five in 2012, and will enter 2014 with the belief a finals a spot is not beyond them.

[KT31]

^^^^
Think he forgot to put Griff in the elite section.:eek:

[Mofra]

^^^^
Think he forgot to put Griff in the elite section.:eek:
Ditto Will - the likely AA ruckman.

[Bulldog4life]

Reinforces how much we can look forward to next season with confidence and anticipation.

[F'scary]

The 2 stats that matter the most show how well this season has gone.

2012: 5 wins. Percentage: 67

2013: 8 wins. Percentage: 85

60% more wins. Percentage up by 27%.

If we can improve at the same rate again next year:

2014: Wins 13. Percentage 108.

= Finals.

Verdict. Great improvement on 2012. 7/10.

But more work to do.

[AndrewP6]

The 2 stats that matter the most show how well this season has gone.

2012: 5 wins. Percentage: 67

2013: 8 wins. Percentage: 85

60% more wins. Percentage up by 27%.


Something does not compute. 67 to 85 is an increase of 18%

[bulldogtragic]

Something does not compute. 67 to 85 is an increase of 18%
On raw numbers, yes. But the percentage of percentage increase is higher.

I can only assume this is what he meant. Percentage as opposed to points?

[Bulldog4life]

Something does not compute. 67 to 85 is an increase of 18%

I know you have never been a fan of our coach Andrew, it would be interesting to know how you rate our season.

[AndrewP6]

On raw numbers, yes. But the percentage of percentage increase is higher.

I can only assume this is what he meant. Percentage as opposed to points?

Maths has never been a strong point of mine, but.... Huh?

[bornadog]

Maths has never been a strong point of mine, but.... Huh?

Either way, any percentage less than 100% is a fail.

[AndrewP6]

I know you have never been a fan of our coach Andrew, it would be interesting to know how you rate our season.

Depends on perspective... From a purely statistical view, about a five or six. We were rubbish for long periods until the latter part of the season, and picked up markedly at that point.From the 'development' perspective, probably a 7.5. We had some great successes, but I think it took way too long. Still, we won more than I thought we would, so that was good.

Perspective is an interesting thing. The speech from the AA night for example, has been lauded by most here - I thought it went at least five minutes too long, and he should've opened with the 'sweet as' story, it dragged before then. Diff'rent strokes, and all that.

[DOG GOD]

I expected us in the bottom 3 with around 4 wins...
Start of the year was horrific, but we got the game plan together and finished off as well as we could
Libba went to another level during the year where I thought he might just stagnate a fraction.

So with that and the fact we won 4 more games than expected, I'd give our season a 6

[F'scary]

On raw numbers, yes. But the percentage of percentage increase is higher.

I can only assume this is what he meant. Percentage as opposed to points?

Percentage fun! :) I was referring to measurement of the increase in percentage in terms of how much it had grown by. Thanks BT.

[F'scary]

Maths has never been a strong point of mine, but.... Huh?

You were not wrong. I was not clear enough. Percentage fun!:)

[chef]

We beat two teams that won finals on the weekend. Not a bad effort.

[azabob]

We beat two teams that won finals on the weekend. Not a bad effort.

I think this sounds and reads better - we beat teams who finished 5th and 6th.

*Yes I know they can finish higher, but you get the point.

[LostDoggy]

I think this sounds and reads better - we beat teams who finished 5th and 6th.

*Yes I know they can finish higher, but you get the point.

And in Carlton's case, beat them well.

[BulldogBelle]

Just to make sure we are all in agreement. F'scary is absolutely correct.

The percentage increase from 67% to 85% is 27%. Not 18%.
18% is the difference between 67% and 85%. But the percentage increase from 67% to 85% is 27%.

The formula for percentage increase is: ((new number minus old number) divided by old number) times 100.

=((85-67)/67))*100
=(18/67)*100
= 27

[chef]

I think this sounds and reads better - we beat teams who finished 5th and 6th.

*Yes I know they can finish higher, but you get the point.

I like.

[Mantis]

1st half of the season - 3/10

2nd half of the season - 7/10

In terms of wins we exceeded my expectations by 2 or 3, but it doesn't take much improvement to achieve this off a very low base.

Expectations will be higher next year no doubt, big task to achieve an extra 3 or 4 wins. It will be interesting to see how we go.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

1st half of the season - 3/10

2nd half of the season - 7/10

In terms of wins we exceeded my expectations by 2 or 3, but it doesn't take much improvement to achieve this off a very low base.

Expectations will be higher next year no doubt, big task to achieve an extra 3 or 4 wins. It will be interesting to see how we go.

We won one out of our first 8 matches and 7 wins and 7 losses in the remaining 14 games.
Apart from the likes of Griffen, Liberatore and Minson there was huge improvement as the season went on from Cooney, Grant, Giansircusa and Wallis. The lack of quality key forwards remains a problem before we can be considered a genuine finals 8 prospect.

[Ozza]

We won one out of our first 8 matches and 7 wins and 7 losses in the remaining 14 games.
Apart from the likes of Griffen, Liberatore and Minson there was huge improvement as the season went on from Cooney, Grant, Giansircusa and Wallis. The lack of quality key forwards remains a problem before we can be considered a genuine finals 8 prospect.

I certainly don't have expectations that we will finish in the 8 next year. In order to do that - we would have to leap frog Carlton, Essendon, North, Adelaide, Brisbane, West Coast and Gold Coast...and there is the other 7 legitimate finalists - with everyone trying to improve. Finals would be nice - but we're playing the long game with this group.

I just hope we don't have a 'let down' year like 2007....but we saw what can happen with another years experience - in 2008.

[azabob]

I just hope we don't have a 'let down' year like 2007....but we saw what can happen with another years experience - in 2008.

Ozza, great point and one we all should not forget.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I certainly don't have expectations that we will finish in the 8 next year. In order to do that - we would have to leap frog Carlton, Essendon, North, Adelaide, Brisbane, West Coast and Gold Coast...and there is the other 7 legitimate finalists - with everyone trying to improve. Finals would be nice - but we're playing the long game with this group.

I just hope we don't have a 'let down' year like 2007....but we saw what can happen with another years experience - in 2008.

Good post.

Seems like expectations are a little too high already, and that'll only exaggerate if we land somebody like Crameri.

Whilst finals would be possible, we're 2015 is a more realistic target. From the current 8, Carlton and Collingwood are vulnerable. Port Adelaide is a possibility. You would expect Essendon and North to make it, whilst sides like Adelaide/Gold Coast/Brisbane/WC should be close again too.

Makes for a very interesting (and competitive) 2014. Much more than any other season IMO.

[Mantis]

I just hope we don't have a 'let down' year like 2007....but we saw what can happen with another years experience - in 2008.

Point taken, but 2007 was shaping up ok (we were 9-6) until we were hit by a number of injuries in the latter part of the season and really fell away.

[LostDoggy]

We had a number of injuries this year....if we half that number and get Crameri we will play finals.

We have an A grade midfield. The AA Ruckman at his peak, take Boyd out and add an even fitter Cooney. Thats Cooney, Griffen and Libba, Wallis shutting down their best.

An underated backline, Roughead who could even give the AA a shake next year. Further improvement from Talia and get JJ back. I can see JJ, Wood and Murphy all streaming forward from the back half next year setting it all up.

The improvement in the Forward line could be dramatic. Jones, Campbell and Grant all come on together, throw in Crameri and a fitter Stringer with Dahl and Hunter at their feet. Keep Higgins on the park and he all of a sudden gets the 4th defender....

Get Crameri and we will leapfrog 5 or 6 teams. Dont get him and it will be 4. Either way we are pushing hard.

[LostDoggy]

Good post.

Seems like expectations are a little too high already, and that'll only exaggerate if we land somebody like Crameri.

Whilst finals would be possible, we're 2015 is a more realistic target. From the current 8, Carlton and Collingwood are vulnerable. Port Adelaide is a possibility. You would expect Essendon and North to make it, whilst sides like Adelaide/Gold Coast/Brisbane/WC should be close again too.

Makes for a very interesting (and competitive) 2014. Much more than any other season IMO.

I agree with your point in theory — but every year there are teams that disappoint. West Coast was a flag contender in February. All we can control is our own output, and if the boys can back up next year and bring the same attitude and work ethic, we'll make it easier on ourselves to take those opportunities if they arise.

Forgive the cliches. :)