We're in the finals!

[Flamethrower]

We are about 320 points ahead of Geelong. We could lose our last 3 games by 10 goals, and Geelong win their last 2 games by 10 goals, and we would still be ahead of them.

[1eyedog]

I think we are saying that who cares, finals baby? Let's just keep winning and the roller coaster finishes wherever it finishes.

Nope. We are too long suffering to accept mediocrity, Bevo wouldn't, neither would the players and neither should we. Go for the jugular and beat WC tomorrow get top 4 go over week 1 and do it again. I'm starting to think anything is possible with these blokes to be honest.

[bulldogtragic]

Nope. We are too long suffering to accept mediocrity, Bevo wouldn't, neither would the players and neither should we. Go for the jugular and beat WC tomorrow get top 4 go over week 1 and do it again. I'm starting to think anything is possible with these blokes to be honest.

Too serious. But it's hardly mediocrity, as if we keep winning we win a premiership...

[1eyedog]

Too serious. But it's hardly mediocrity, as if we keep winning we win a premiership...

Being happy with an EF over a QF is accepting mediocrity IMO. We've been great this year no two ways about it even if we lose the next three, but I'm expecting to win them.

[Remi Moses]

No ceiling

[LostDoggy]

Worth reflecting that this will be our 12th season of finals in the past 24 seasons.

So for a quarter of a century we are a 50/50 chance of finals, better than most clubs.

We all know the 60s/70s/80s history where finals were all too rare. Like a lot of us, I grew up through a lot of it.

The football world still has us in that box of strugglers for whom finals are an anomaly.

We are no longer that "struggling" club. We are a club that has, against the odds, achieved a period of sustained competitiveness.

These next few years are our time to turn that competitiveness into ultimate success.

[1eyedog]

No ceiling

No ceiling. No better time to knock these guys over.

[ratsmac]

Well done doggies. It's time we can now officially blow that lid right off!
Now lets celebrate by handing those eagles a right belting.

[Twodogs]

Worth reflecting that this will be our 12th season of finals in the past 24 seasons.

So for a quarter of a century we are a 50/50 chance of finals, better than most clubs.

We all know the 60s/70s/80s history where finals were all too rare. Like a lot of us, I grew up through a lot of it.

The football world still has us in that box of strugglers for whom finals are an anomaly.

We are no longer that "struggling" club. We are a club that has, against the odds, achieved a period of sustained competitiveness.

These next few years are our time to turn that competitiveness into ultimate success.

I reckon it was 83 and the debut of about ten really good footballers and a few real champions like Royal, Foster, Wallis, Purser and the build up to 85 adding good players again each year until we had a gun team. Even though we had a few lean years after that in the early '90s we began making finals more regularly.

[LostDoggy]

I remember 83 well TD, was a ripping year after the horrors of 81 and 82.

I remember us stringing together a bunch of wins early on that just felt ecstatic.

In the first few rounds we beat both of the previous years grand finalists, Carlton & Richmond.

That Richmond game was one of my faves. Massive build up, MCG, biggest Dogs crowd for years and Jimmy Edmond comes out to kick 5 goals in the opening 10 minutes. We have a 10 goal to 0 1st quarter and end up winning by 2 points!!

Great memories.

[Eastdog]

What a great achievement for our team and first year coach Luke Beveridge. His done a remarkable job with our team. We did the right things looking back now in the off season cutting deep and going for youth and still also keep some experienced heads around (M Boyd, D Morris, R Murphy, L Picken etc) which is very important.

[Twodogs]

I remember 83 well TD, was a ripping year after the horrors of 81 and 82.

I remember us stringing together a bunch of wins early on that just felt ecstatic.

In the first few rounds we beat both of the previous years grand finalists, Carlton & Richmond.

That Richmond game was one of my faves. Massive build up, MCG, biggest Dogs crowd for years and Jimmy Edmond comes out to kick 5 goals in the opening 10 minutes. We have a 10 goal to 0 1st quarter and end up winning by 2 points!!

Great memories.

It was a good year. We started with a close loss to Geelong then beat Carlton (Grand Finalists the year before), Melbourne, Hawthorn (premiers the year before) and richmond (premiers and Grand Finalists in 80 and 81). We'd won more games in the first five rounds than we had won for the previous two years combined!

[Eastdog]

It was a good year. We started with a close loss to Geelong then beat Carlton (Grand Finalists the year before), Melbourne, Hawthorn (premiers the year before) and richmond (premiers and Grand Finalists in 80 and 81). We'd won more games in the first five rounds than we had won for the previous two years combined!

Was born in 89 but I think we also started well in the 90 season the year after the great Footscray fightback. I think we were doing ok in 93 as well. 92 will made the finals.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

It was a good year. We started with a close loss to Geelong then beat Carlton (Grand Finalists the year before), Melbourne, Hawthorn (premiers the year before) and richmond (premiers and Grand Finalists in 80 and 81). We'd won more games in the first five rounds than we had won for the previous two years combined!

I'd come back from 9 months in Europe, where I'd heard Carlton won the premiership after I hated them because the AFL had allowed them to cheat by breaking the rules to buy Bradley, Motley and Kernahan from SA. I came back to see us play Richmond at MCG and Edmond kick four or so in the first quarter and us eight or so and we were alight, dynamic and potent. It was dream like.
This time around it's more reality like, our time has come I reckon.

[1eyedog]

I remember 83 well TD, was a ripping year after the horrors of 81 and 82.

I remember us stringing together a bunch of wins early on that just felt ecstatic.

In the first few rounds we beat both of the previous years grand finalists, Carlton & Richmond.

That Richmond game was one of my faves. Massive build up, MCG, biggest Dogs crowd for years and Jimmy Edmond comes out to kick 5 goals in the opening 10 minutes. We have a 10 goal to 0 1st quarter and end up winning by 2 points!!

Great memories.

It was a good year. The away win to Hawthorn one of the best considering how strong they were. I think they went on to win 8 or 9 on the trot. We lost a string towards the end which really put the breaks on a top 5 result. Imagine what a fit Templeton would have been able to achieve that year! Pity things turned out the way they did re. his injury and the timing of his injury. Even in 1985 a combination of Beasley and Templeton may well have been the difference.