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So with all of the accusations, conspiracy theories and border-line hysteria about gameplans, its a good time to take a deep breath and take a look at the rest of the season.
For the pessismists, this is the crunch time for picking up a priority draft pick. The AFL seem to have stalled their decision for another year on the issue (probably because of Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Essendons ladder position at the time). So we could make the most of it.
For the optimists, we are where we probably expected to be at this time when looking at the year. We probably thought we'd drop the Brisbane, WCE, Port and St Kilda games, but either way we are 5-5 right now. Maybe 6-4 was a more realistic expectation, but I doubt most would have been unhappy if told we'd be 5-5 after 10 at the beginning of the season. Even four weeks ago at 2-4 I'm sure lots of supporters would have happily accepted 5-5.
So here's my prediction:
Carlton (A) - Win. They just suck ATM. So do we but not as much
Freo (H - S) - Win. The travel factor to claim them.
Collingwood (H - TS) - Win. We play TS better than the SCG ATM because it forces us through the middle and we have more space. Scene of our most attacking game this year IMO.
Richmond (A) - Win. Maybe. Depends on how the team responds to Brown's injury. He certainly has been our bogey player against them over the years.
Geelong (H) - Win. Thank goodness its at home. We'll stifle their run, and should grind out a win a la WB.
Melbourne (A) - Loss. Too strong, fast and attacking at TD for us.
WCE (H - SCG) - Loss. Maybe. If we switch on we can beat them at home, but it would be a close win as it is. I expect it to be tight.
Adelaide (A) - Loss. We dont play AAMI very well, and Adelaide are travelling well this year.
Essendon (A) - Loss. Maybe. Depends on Hird really. If he is there we will struggle, without him we may just pip them.
Brisbane (H - TS) - Win. We only lose to them in finals or at the Gabba.
Kangaroos (H - SCG) - Win. Maybe. If we concentrate for the whole game we will win. The Roos play the ugliest footy in town.
Hawthorn (A) - Win. But only if the previous run is correcctly predicted and we are comfortably in the 8. Or if we are near the bottom and do it because the season is blown. If we need this to get into the 8, I figure we'll psyche ourselves into a big loss.
So my (rather optimistic) predicitions have us at 12-10 by the end of the season. There are also four games I have trouble deciding on, so we could be as high as 14-8 or 10-12 and just out of the eight. I am rooting for the former, but we DO need to change the way we play for any hope in the finals regardless.
For the pessismists, this is the crunch time for picking up a priority draft pick. The AFL seem to have stalled their decision for another year on the issue (probably because of Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Essendons ladder position at the time). So we could make the most of it.
For the optimists, we are where we probably expected to be at this time when looking at the year. We probably thought we'd drop the Brisbane, WCE, Port and St Kilda games, but either way we are 5-5 right now. Maybe 6-4 was a more realistic expectation, but I doubt most would have been unhappy if told we'd be 5-5 after 10 at the beginning of the season. Even four weeks ago at 2-4 I'm sure lots of supporters would have happily accepted 5-5.
So here's my prediction:
Carlton (A) - Win. They just suck ATM. So do we but not as much
Freo (H - S) - Win. The travel factor to claim them.
Collingwood (H - TS) - Win. We play TS better than the SCG ATM because it forces us through the middle and we have more space. Scene of our most attacking game this year IMO.
Richmond (A) - Win. Maybe. Depends on how the team responds to Brown's injury. He certainly has been our bogey player against them over the years.
Geelong (H) - Win. Thank goodness its at home. We'll stifle their run, and should grind out a win a la WB.
Melbourne (A) - Loss. Too strong, fast and attacking at TD for us.
WCE (H - SCG) - Loss. Maybe. If we switch on we can beat them at home, but it would be a close win as it is. I expect it to be tight.
Adelaide (A) - Loss. We dont play AAMI very well, and Adelaide are travelling well this year.
Essendon (A) - Loss. Maybe. Depends on Hird really. If he is there we will struggle, without him we may just pip them.
Brisbane (H - TS) - Win. We only lose to them in finals or at the Gabba.
Kangaroos (H - SCG) - Win. Maybe. If we concentrate for the whole game we will win. The Roos play the ugliest footy in town.
Hawthorn (A) - Win. But only if the previous run is correcctly predicted and we are comfortably in the 8. Or if we are near the bottom and do it because the season is blown. If we need this to get into the 8, I figure we'll psyche ourselves into a big loss.
So my (rather optimistic) predicitions have us at 12-10 by the end of the season. There are also four games I have trouble deciding on, so we could be as high as 14-8 or 10-12 and just out of the eight. I am rooting for the former, but we DO need to change the way we play for any hope in the finals regardless.
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