BuzzerBeater Forums

It's pre-season which rates only one level higher than a scrimmage in our game.

It only rates one level higher, because unlike our scrimmages, they actually make money out of them :D

The afl would be about the only league in the world, where they have a pre-season comp and a trophy... what a wank..

scrap the pre-season and extend the season so they can find some way of making the draw somewhat fair as opposed to the joke it is now.

I'd like to know from the Collingwood believers how they think Collingwood will improve this season. Who are the young players that will carry them back to the top? Guys like O'Bruen, Maxwell, Reid etchave been exposed as average players only who all had a good season at the same time. One on one they are all weak defenders. People even talked Dawes up as a great player. He's just average and certainly behind somebody like Podsiadly.

Why are they going to fall though - remembering that they did make the grand final last year after all...?

They've lost two players for the season yes, but they were hardly vital players.

Its easy to forget that the likes of Pendelbury, Thomas and co are still pretty young, and may have improvement left in them. And they don't really have and super important 30+ yo players, aside from Jolly.

The jury is out on Buckley though - I'm not convinced by this whole he was a superstar player and captain at our club, so lets bring him back as a coach trend that seems to be going on with Buckley, Hird and Voss. Especially not when you have a coach as proven as Malthouse already there.

I'd still back them for top 4 pretty comfortably though. As much as I would really really like to see them fail.

Malthouse has a habit of getting far more out of a list than is really there. It's a huge loss.

There's been a recent trend of players getting straight into coaching at their old club after retiring (Hird, Voss, Buckley) and I'm really not convinced by it. Playing is not the same as coaching and your experiences as a player, whilst very valuable as a coach, are not the be all and end all. These guys should be going away and learning their craft as an assistant for 5 or so seasons, then entering head coaching. It's going to end badly for probably two out of those three, I think. Law of averages says one will strike it lucky :P

As for the Crows - I've been saying this way before the pre-season. We have had a talented list for a while, but our coaching was outdated and we were very soft. The training etc has been very different this season under a new coach, and they've looked the best they have for years. We won't win a flag, but write us off as finals contenders at your peril :P

I'm with you on the crows getting better. Dangerfield into the midfield can only be a good thing.

There is a competition on the AFL website where u can win a share in a million dollars. All you have to do is pick the 18 teams in their correct finishing order. So nothing too hard!

Agree with Maxwell and O'Brien and to an extent Dawes, but Reid was injured (shouldnt have played gf) and still has improvement in him at 22. Actually all those players you listed had poor seasons in 2011 so there will be some improvement there (maybe not Maxwell) and Shaw missed half the season. Our gun core is still reletively young with Pendles, Thomas and Cloke all 25 and under. I think we will see improvement from Sidebottom and Beams. There is still plenty to like.

As a non Magpie supporter i rate Dawes. He never really recovered after he broke his knuckle.

As for Collingwood - Didak, O'Brien, Macaffer, Johnson, Reid, all injured already, Krakouer gone, new coach at the helm... they're really going to struggle to go 2nd. Nathan Buckley is on a hiding to nothing, particularly after Eddie came out and said he expects a premiership. It'll be tough for them.

Hey you missed no Brown, Tarrant, Swan and down a player in the last quarter. This thread was always bound to be re-opened. Go Pies

As for Collingwood - Didak, O'Brien, Macaffer, Johnson, Reid, all injured already, Krakouer gone, new coach at the helm... they're really going to struggle to go 2nd. Nathan Buckley is on a hiding to nothing, particularly after Eddie came out and said he expects a premiership. It'll be tough for them.

Hey you missed no Brown, Tarrant, Swan and down a player in the last quarter. This thread was always bound to be re-opened. Go Pies

You guys played well, no question. You're still below us on the ladder though... what I said still holds, every word of it :P

I doubt many people tipped the ladder to look like this after nine rounds...

1. West Coast Eagles (32)
2. Essendon (32)
3. Adelaide (28)
4. Collingwood (28)
5. Sydney Swans (24)
6. Carlton (24)
7. St Kilda (20)
8. Hawthorn (20)

---

9. Geelong Cats (20)
10. Fremantle (20)
11. North Melbourne (16)
12. Richmond (16)
13. Western Bulldogs (16)
14. Brisbane Lions (12)
15. Port Adelaide (12)
16. GWS Giants (4)
17. Gold Coast Suns (0)
18. Melbourne (0)

My thoughts:

WCE: unlikely to fall from the Top 4 with home games to come against Carl, GC, Bris and away games against Bris, Port and NM - that's a minimum of 14 wins, with 7 games remaining.

Ess: need to take advantage of their great start and not drop any 'should win' games to secure a Top 4 finish - games against Geel, Haw and Adel (away) in consecuitive weeks might be a danger period, with games against St K, Carl, Rich and Freo (away) and Coll in there as well.

Adel: big game next week, against Freo in Perth. If they lose they'll be in danger of slipping back to the pack, with games against St K, NM (away), Port (showdown), WCE, Geel (away) and Ess to come.

Coll: decent draw in the next month with consecutive games against GC, Melb, WCE (home) and Freo (home), should see them secure a Top 4 finish. Also have easy games against NM and GWS later in the season.

Syd: four more games in Melbourne, where they are 0-2 so far this season. If they can't win in Melbourne they will need to win all their home games, I'd say a 5th or 6th finish is on the cards.

Carl: consecutive games for against Port (away), Geel, WCE (away), Haw and Coll in the next five rounds will probably decide their season. Need to win at least three of them to maintain touch with the Top 4.

St K: fairly favourable draw, if they win those 'should win' games a 5th - 8th finish is on the cards. Top 4 is probably unreachable at this stage.

Haw: 5-4 isn't what they were expecting, but games against Port (twice), NM, Bris, GWS, WB, GC and WCE (home) would give them 13 wins with five games remaining. Consecutive games against Coll, Ess and Geel in rounds 17 - 19 will be crucial to their Top 4 chances.

Geel: I don't like saying this, but Top 4 is looking unlikely at this stage, with games against Carl, Syd (away), Coll, Ess, Adel, Haw, WCE (away) and St K to come. Unless they get on a big winning streak, 5th or 6th is looking more likely. Having said that, I'd still hate to play against them in a final.

Frem, NM, Rich and WB: not impossible, but unlikely to make the Top 8.

Bris, Port, GWS, GC and Melb: no chance of making the Top 8.