Good or Bad?

[bulldogtragic]

How do you see it?

Does the shattering loss last night give the players intense motivation which will assist them to propel to a GF next year?

OR

Does it re-confirm self doubt that this club cannot make it past a pre-lim and start to reduce belief and become a significant monkey on our back?


Right now, i'm not sure. I hope it's the former.

[Rocco Jones]

It's a hard one. I was speaking to my partner about it after the game, she was going on about how teams need to serve an apprenticeship. I think it's very overrated.

I think last night will give us more doubts going into a prelim (if we are going to make one in the short term) than it will give us hope. Just so very disappointed at the moment, so that might mean I am being negative.

[LostDoggy]

The experience of 08 seemed to really drive the team this year. They seemed to have more belief in themselves and throughout the season were consistantly talking about the goal of making the GF in 09. I think the disappointment of last year did motivate the team to work harder this year.
Come finals, this year we were a better team (fitter, harder, more belief) with fewer injuries, yet we made it to exactly the same position....

No one can know what affect this year's result (failure?) will have, but hopefully it will make the team stronger and drive them to go further in 2010.

[LostDoggy]

Very hard to make it this far, even harder when we lose the very winnable. Its a steep mountain to climb and you need a lot to go right to get to a prelim.

Proud of the boys, if things fall into place we we will be there again next year, we have the cattle.

[SonofScray]

Of course it is bad. We're still losers, and until we make the luck, until we provide a match winner in a final like that we will always be losers.

Sick of every other ****ing prick having their day in the sun while we continue to fail. There is no solace to be had, our time was then and again we've come up short.

What hurts the most is that we've been done in by the only team you could really hang your hat on and say "we might be born losers, but at least we aren't that bad."

Essendon, the Lions, Carlton will all be hurting from their taste at finals - they'll probably over take us next year and we'll spend the next 5 to 10 ****ing years wallowing, trying to keep the club alive before another false dawn.

[LostDoggy]

Of course it is bad. We're still losers, and until we make the luck, until we provide a match winner in a final like that we will always be losers.

Sick of every other ****ing prick having their day in the sun while we continue to fail. There is no solace to be had, our time was then and again we've come up short.

What hurts the most is that we've been done in by the only team you could really hang your hat on and say "we might be born losers, but at least we aren't that bad."

Essendon, the Lions, Carlton will all be hurting from their taste at finals - they'll probably over take us next year and we'll spend the next 5 to 10 ****ing years wallowing, trying to keep the club alive before another false dawn.

mmmmm Nothing like negative thinking - geesh! Think like a loser and you'll always be one.
Move on, stand tall and work harder for 2010. It's called motivation and it's not always an instant result - Belive & Receive will eventually happen I have no doubt.

[AndrewP6]

Of course it is bad. We're still losers, and until we make the luck, until we provide a match winner in a final like that we will always be losers.

Sick of every other ****ing prick having their day in the sun while we continue to fail. There is no solace to be had, our time was then and again we've come up short.

What hurts the most is that we've been done in by the only team you could really hang your hat on and say "we might be born losers, but at least we aren't that bad."

Essendon, the Lions, Carlton will all be hurting from their taste at finals - they'll probably over take us next year and we'll spend the next 5 to 10 ****ing years wallowing, trying to keep the club alive before another false dawn.

You're kidding aren't you?

[frank863]

I was trying to put myself in the players position and there is no doubt that some of them will take the attitude that ultimate success just isnt going to happen as they could not have worked any harder than they did last night. Eade and his team need to weed those guys out and get some fresh blood in. Eade has a big job over the off-season to make the required changes to the list to get the right players in and out. If he gets the mix right and the right focus in the playing group - we will get another chance to make it next year. If he doesnt make the required list changes (i have no idea what the right ones are) then we may go backwards because of this prelim loss.

[BulldogBelle]

You're kidding aren't you?



Essendon, the Lions and Carlton arent going to overtake us... :confused:

There is plenty of improvement in younger guys like Harbrow, Hill, Reid, Williams, Picken, Minson, Ward, Addison, Higgins, Griff, Cooney....all of them are under 24 I believe....

Mitch, Shaggy, Lake, Morris, Gia, Boyd, Cross, Gilbee and Murphy will all be back next year

If Johno, Hudson and Aker all maintain their 08/09 form I would be happy

Look at all of those names...we have a much larger group of guys that are sub 23/24 then we do who are over....

The guys who are in the 24-30 year old age bracket should all be better and hungrier after 08 and 09

A gut runner to replace Eagleton, and big bad bustling bruising bullish Barry Hall will be a nice addition at CHF/FF

[AndrewP6]

Essendon, the Lions and Carlton arent going to overtake us... :confused:

There is plenty of improvement in younger guys like Harbrow, Hill, Reid, Williams, Picken, Minson, Ward, Addison, Higgins, Griff, Cooney....all of them are under 24 I believe....

Mitch, Shaggy, Lake, Morris, Gia, Boyd, Cross, Gilbee and Murphy will all be back next year

If Johno, Hudson and Aker all maintain their 08/09 form I would be happy

Look at all of those names...we have a much larger group of guys that are sub 23/24 then we do who are over....

The guys who are in the 24-30 year old age bracket should all be better and hungrier after 08 and 09

A gut runner to replace Eagleton, and big bad bustling bruising bullish Barry Hall will be a nice addition at CHF/FF

Think I misunderstood... your comment about "we might be losers but we're not that bad"...sounded to me like you meant the Saints...

[Jasper]

the lions lost 2 prelim before they made the big dance and that was the saints 4 prelim before they made it. We have a good team and we will be playing in finals their for a long time to come.

[SonofScray]

Think I misunderstood... your comment about "we might be losers but we're not that bad"...sounded to me like you meant the Saints...

I did. We had them comfortably covered last year. They've been in the same boat as us, and worse for just as long. 1 flag, plenty of wooden spoons, perennial failures. A shit club, with a shit history and a shit culture.

They've had a cracking season and will be playing in a GF with a huge chance to win when it should be us.

We've been leap frogged, and it ****ing hurts. I'm not kidding.

[AndrewP6]

I did. We had them comfortably covered last year. They've been in the same boat as us, and worse for just as long. 1 flag, plenty of wooden spoons, perennial failures. A shit club, with a shit history and a shit culture.

They've had a cracking season and will be playing in a GF with a huge chance to win when it should be us.

We've been leap frogged, and it ****ing hurts. I'm not kidding.

Fair enough..not sure I agree completely, but anyway..

They're a bit different to us in that they have two big blokes up forward, and a couple who they can throw down there if need be...and I think we've got deficiencies we haven't yet got answers to. IMO, they should've been in this position a few years ago, they just never lived up to the potential. Now they are. The bastards. God I hope they get flogged next week

[Mofra]

the lions lost 2 prelim before they made the big dance and that was the saints 4 prelim before they made it. We have a good team and we will be playing in finals their for a long time to come.
Yep, some questioned whether they missed their window. Just like the Saints in 07, their window was supposedly shutting.

[bornadog]

The players made a video after last years prelim loss and they showed it to the group the other day. In that video the players expressed how disappointed they were to lose and how they felt. Last year they felt they should have won, and no doubt they feel they really let go a huge opportunity last night to make it to the GF. I think they are going to be even more determined now to succeed.

[lemmon]

Hopefully this is a catalyst for next year and gives the players that extra motivation ala Geelong missing finals 06 winning the big one 07

[LostDoggy]

My bitter two cents:
On the future:

The club needs to win something, anything. I would like them to aim to win the NAB preseason cup in 2010. We need to start having success wherever we can find it. Start there. Spare me the 'rather win the real flag' cant. Aim for success wherever its on offer. Build a club with an off-field presence like the Pies.

On last night:
We got beaten by Riewoldt and strange mistakes (inevitable in finals) at the worst time. No shame in it.

Over and out.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

The players made a video after last years prelim loss and they showed it to the group the other day. In that video the players expressed how disappointed they were to lose and how they felt. Last year they felt they should have won, and no doubt they feel they really let go a huge opportunity last night to make it to the GF. I think they are going to be even more determined now to succeed.

Whilst I agree in theory, we've been saying this every year since 1997 and I am yet to see the results of change. Each and every time a QF rolls around - we blow it. We do well enough the next week, and then go down in the PF. The group has courage and heart - we actually seem to play OK in PF's but unless you win one then it counts for nothing. That includes all the talking.

I won't be convinced this group has taken the next step until they actually do. Tired of hearing the same old talk after each season.

[AndrewP6]

My bitter two cents:
On the future:

The club needs to win something, anything. I would like them to aim to win the NAB preseason cup in 2010. We need to start having success wherever we can find it. Start there. Spare me the 'rather win the real flag' cant. Aim for success wherever its on offer. Build a club with an off-field presence like the Pies.

On last night:
We got beaten by Riewoldt and strange mistakes (inevitable in finals) at the worst time. No shame in it.

Over and out.

Quite a few of those were by men with whistles.

[LostDoggy]

Whilst I agree in theory, we've been saying this every year since 1997 and I am yet to see the results of change. Each and every time a QF rolls around - we blow it. We do well enough the next week, and then go down in the PF. The group has courage and heart - we actually seem to play OK in PF's but unless you win one then it counts for nothing. That includes all the talking.

I won't be convinced this group has taken the next step until they actually do. Tired of hearing the same old talk after each season.

You could always just stop watching AFL football.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

You could always just stop watching AFL football.

And perhaps you could start.

[LostDoggy]

I was at the game, next to the Cheersquad:)

[Rance Fan]

Shit happens...the stars didnt align for us...it sucks....could of, would of, should of, might of....didnt!
We improved as a team and in finals performance from 08 now we need to raise the bar again to improve on 09.
2010 may be our year. We have the team to do it. Lets hope they make it happen.

[LostDoggy]

Shit happens...the stars didnt align for us...it sucks....could of, would of, should of, might of....didnt!
We improved as a team and in finals performance from 08 now we need to raise the bar again to improve on 09.
2010 may be our year. We have the team to do it. Lets hope they make it happen.

*sigh* I'm pretty sure that was the same thing we said back in 08:(

[Sedat]

Bad. There are no guarantees in 2010. Geelong and St Kilda will be at or near the same level. Adelaide are on the improve. Hawthorn will be better for the early start to pre-season. We've got it all in front of us again.

[bornadog]

Whilst I agree in theory, we've been saying this every year since 1997 and I am yet to see the results of change. Each and every time a QF rolls around - we blow it. We do well enough the next week, and then go down in the PF. The group has courage and heart - we actually seem to play OK in PF's but unless you win one then it counts for nothing. That includes all the talking.

I won't be convinced this group has taken the next step until they actually do. Tired of hearing the same old talk after each season.

I didn't say they will succeed, I said they will be determined to take the next step.

[Happy Days]

Bad - we lost a preliminary final we should have won, ffs, how is that possibly good at all?

[dog town]

Hard to say really. Some teams handle it better than most. Geelong lost to Sydney by a point in 2005 after losing a preliminary final against Brisbane that they dominated in 2004. They were in a similar situation to us and had an awful year in 2006 before claiming their well deserved flag in 2007.

The only thing that is certain is teams get better at playing in big finals the more often they are involved in them.

[LostDoggy]

Hard to say really. Some teams handle it better than most. Geelong lost to Sydney by a point in 2005 after losing a preliminary final against Brisbane that they dominated in 2004. They were in a similar situation to us and had an awful year in 2006 before claiming their well deserved flag in 2007.

The only thing that is certain is teams get better at playing in big finals the more often they are involved in them.

Sums it up perfectly. Rocket said after the 2006 loss to West Coast, that the teams that win the flag are around the mark for awhile. Examples, Sydney - how many preliminary finals did we watch before they won the flag? Geelong, even Port Adelaide and St Kilda. I am sure Rocket will be pressing that point with the players, and the fact that we made progress again this year. Two finals we could have won as opposed to being smashed in one final, and the other loosing by 26 points - pretty comfortable win in the end for Geelong last year.

1997 was different, Adelaide won their two premierships thanks to the draft picks the AFL handed them when they entered the competition.

[boydogs]

Rocket said after the 2006 loss to West Coast, that the teams that win the flag are around the mark for awhile.

He said that last week as well I believe

[BulldogBelle]

[/B]

Sums it up perfectly. Rocket said after the 2006 loss to West Coast, that the teams that win the flag are around the mark for awhile. Examples, Sydney - how many preliminary finals did we watch before they won the flag? Geelong, even Port Adelaide and St Kilda. I am sure Rocket will be pressing that point with the players, and the fact that we made progress again this year. Two finals we could have won as opposed to being smashed in one final, and the other loosing by 26 points - pretty comfortable win in the end for Geelong last year.

1997 was different, Adelaide won their two premierships thanks to the draft picks the AFL handed them when they entered the competition.


Works in most cases. Apart from that team that really wasnt that good & wont do it again...Hawthorn 08

The odds of winning a GF get better the more advanced in the season and finals series you get

We will keep improving, and will be better in 2010...there is plenty of upside in our list, which is (apart from Aka + Johno + Hudson + Eagle + maybe Hall) quite youthful