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Swans are making the GF this year. From there anything can happen.
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Did Mills missing plus a couple others make the difference in the game against GWS in the first final?
Yep......a few key players makes a massive difference come a one game finals outcome
But it is a fair argument less so over a season give that most teams have ad hoc injuries of important players over a whole season - so tends to average out somewhat"be tough, only when it gets tough"
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"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."Comment
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Because of Covid I'm choosing to avoid some of my usual social events, I'm instead watching a few of our winning 2021 games, some for a third time :-)
Not sure if it's just me having a strange aversion or it's the 2016 GF memories but, and I'm serious here, the blue in the Dogs jumper makes me feel a touch nauseous,
I had to stop watching! Put me off the excellent Shiraz I was drinking - true!Comment
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My hunch is that the Bulldogs will go the other way: in a similar manner to the 2020 Giants, after they were humiliated in the 2019 GF by Richmond. I think both the 2019 Giants and the 2021 Bulldogs played with much the same swagger, with the belief that with their talent, a premiership was just a matter of time. After that self belief was knocked out of the Giants by the Tigers, they were a shadow of their former selves and never really looked like contenders. So, let's hope that the beating that the Demons gave the Bulldogs, eats away at their confidence in a similar manner. Also, if the AFL is serious about the crackdown on illegal disposal, that they announced a little while ago; then that could be problematic for the Bulldogs.
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The old Fremantle jumper could make me nauseous at times. Nothing against Fremantle, it's just that I really don't like the combination of purple and green.Comment
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I would add to the comments about Bulldogs possibly being knocked about (rather than inspired) by a Grand Final loss…a certain all conquering Sydney Swans who spent the following season losing the first six in a row, and the well drilled Adelaide Crows who (unbelievably from this viewpoint) were in a Grand Final just a handful of years ago. Their trauma (Abu Graib renditions of the Richmond theme tune, certain still undisclosed goings on at the infamous “camp”) saw them dive all the way to a wooden spoon! So, yeah it’s more likely to be a bump than a bounce."I'll acknowledge there are more talented teams in the competition but I won't acknowledge that there is a better team in the competition" Paul Roos March 2005Comment
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Yes, they are talented. But they are not a prolific scoring team. I thought where Melbourne got them was in the third. There was a lot not going right for the Dees early that quarter. They had plenty of ball but were turning it over and the bounce of the pill was not going their way. The scoring was minimal in that period and Dogs were more dominant. When the Dees finally broke through and then started to score out of the centre, Dogs had no answer. They are not a huge scoring side and like a scrappy, low scoring game. If you give that to them, they will win every time. what Melbourne did was take them out of their comfort zone and made it a shootout. Dogs can't sustain scoring so they were totally blitzed. Dees also cleaned up their disposal, looked for loose players and players worked hard to get free on the lead. They quickened the pace of the game, which did not suit Dogs as they are not a really quick side. The Dees runners totally killed the dogs. Petracca was wonderful, but players like Rivers were sensational in running the ball.Comment
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Predictions for 2022
Top 6 (In no specific order)
Brisbane
Port Adelaide
Western Bulldogs
Geelong
Sydney Swans
Melbourne
Next 6 (In no specific order)
GWS Giants
Richmond
Essendon
Fremantle
Carlton
St Kilda
I reckon, we need a few things to go right in the first few weeks to give us the confidence to make it to top 4 as the other contenders are pretty loaded.
I would be happy if a couple of the top 6 teams like Bulldogs and Melbourne or Geelong fall away this year and are replaced by Essendon or Fremantle.
As always, there are going to be a couple of surprises as the competition is pretty even.
I have Swans finishing 5th just missing out on the top 4 but would absolutely love it if the young brigade take it over in the middle from Joey Kennedy and Mills and smash the opposition. Stephens, McInerney, Gulden, Chad, Rowbottom, Florent and Campbell - a lot riding on these young shoulders.Comment
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I don't disagree with much of this, including the implications for the bottom six.
The Dorks, Collingwood and Adelaide have a long way to go on their rebuilds, North are rebuilding well and improving but still a year or so and good key defenders off making a real jump, Gold Coast will suffer again with King's absence hurting badly, and the Eagles have hit a cliff. They might win enough games at home to sit a bit higher on the ladder, but struggle to see it and will be amazed if they make the eight.
The three interesting ones for me are the Cats, Richmond and Carlton.
Geelong probably still have enough talent and a big home ground advantage to do well and make the eight. But so what? They won't win the flag and will need serious regeneration in the next year or two.
Richmond were flat out cooked last year after their stellar run, and suffered terribly with injuries. If they have a decent run at it, I can easily see them jumping back into the top six with one proviso - they need a couple of their youngsters in the midfield to jump up.
I've been highly critical of Carlton, and will believe it when I see it. But with good recruitment (class in Cerra and a two-way worker in Hewett), a returning Charlie Curnow, a good young ruckman in De Koning and fresh direction under Voss, they have the potential to improve. Not make the eight, but improve. Then again, the loss of Jones hurts, they have no small forwards with Eddie retiring and they could remain the laughing stock we all love to ridicule, and Jones' loss hurts, so let's hope it's another season of misery and comedy capers.'Delicious' is a fun word to sayComment
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