For The Optimists

[top40]

Although unfortunately there are a couple of big differences between Collingwood 02 and Swans 08.

You are clearly influenced by the Finals/Collingwood team of 2002, not the home and away/Pies team of rounds 15-22 of that year.

Bare in mind that they lost 5 times in that period of just 7 weeks to teams ranked 7th to 13th, and only narrowly beat a team ranked 15th.

Their turnaround game was an upset victory at Football Park over Minor Premiers Port in week one of the Finals. (A precuser to the Swans' 2003 victory exactly twelve months later).

[hammo]

Bare in mind that they lost 5 times in that period of just 7 weeks to teams ranked 7th to 13th, and only narrowly beat a team ranked 15th.

Beating teams ranked 8-16th hasn't been a problem for the Swans, but getting close to anyone in the 8 has been.

[Lohengrin]

You are clearly influenced by the Finals/Collingwood team of 2002, not the home and away/Pies team of rounds 15-22 of that year.

Bare in mind that they lost 5 times in that period of just 7 weeks to teams ranked 7th to 13th, and only narrowly beat a team ranked 15th.

Their turnaround game was an upset victory at Football Park over Minor Premiers Port in week one of the Finals. (A precuser to the Swans' 2003 victory exactly twelve months later).

I was thinking more in terms of the potential - Collingwood finished fourth, hence had a double chance and were lucky enough to play perennial chokers Port to get a quick birth in the prelim at home. The Swans won't get any of those benefits.

It is more likely we can find parallels to teams just falling into the eight and doing not much while there.

The most reasonable optimistic outcome is for us to meet StKilda first, beat them and then face North, beat them and then get a prelim birth against Haw/Bulldogs. That would be a fantastic outcome. Not sure if that is feasible given the ladder as it is though.