FFC: Established 1883
Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.
Western Bulldogs: 2016 Premiers
It's been great to watch older opponents try to burn him off only to be chased down by Granty.
You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. ― Epicurus
Sp what are you saying: if you tighten up the defense you automatically lessen your scoring opportunities? This season, we WERE too one dimensional going forward. Maybe that was due to injuries to key forwards from the previous season (IMO both Aker and Johnno played one season too many, and we missed their goal scoring when their older bodies predictably broke down). Maybe. But I reckon it was a change in the players mindset with Hall now in the forward line.
I reckon we have supporters who first look at WHO is saying what about us, instead of WHAT it is they are saying and why.Now let me get this straight. Grant's article says we didn't win because we weren't good enough. I am not too sure there are many supporters who don't accept that.
Thomas may not have a very endearing personality, but the guy coached one of the lesser AFL clubs and made it two straight prelims and three finals series. More than most of us (indeed more than most AFL coaches) will will ever achieve in football. He's right: We DID play the season with too many veterans. The senior players DIDN'T lead by example with applying tackling pressure in the finals. All valid points he makes. If this came from one of our own, we'd nod and agree.As for his explanation for why we were not good enough, he may be right or wrong. Last year it was because we didn't have a power forward. This year it is supposedly because we played too many veterans and didn't tackle enough. And if we go close next year, it will be something else. It is so easy to be an expert when all you are doing is describing the past. If Grant is so knowledgable why couldn't he win a flag with a team which (if memory serves me right) won 13 games in a row under his tutelage.
People have already contrasted the way Malthouse left out established players who weren't performing. We need to be THAT ruthless to take the next step. That means casting a critical eye over the club and players. And if we don't do it, outsiders like Thomas will. Instead we got Eade sounding not too disappointed.
I didn't criticise anyone in particular. Just a point about a culture in many of our supporters-and even the club-that we dismiss outside criticism(and making the hard call)-even when its accurate.BTW Stefcep, I am happy to hear your opinions on anything Western Bulldogs, but I am not interested in hearing others criticised because they may not share those opinions.
Wow, hammered the “Multipost” button…
Round 11: Collingwood
Round 12: Brisbane
Round 13: West Coast (though this one, on a personal note for me, was pretty sweet )
Round 14: Hawthorn
Round 15: Carlton
Round 16: Port Adelaide
Round 17: Fremantle
Round 18: North Melbourne
Round 19: Adelaide
From those games, we lost to Collingwood and Hawthorn — the Hawks game we were just unlucky, I'll concede. But the only games I'd be happy about in terms of the team progress were the Fremantle game where we showed some pride in the club, and the Adelaide game when we fought it out sick. The rest were against the cellar-dwellers of 2010. Nothing to brag about, really. None of those games improved our perception as finals contenders.
I agree 100%. Those who don't learn from history, see it repeated. I don't agree with taking history across that white line come game day, but if the club doesn't pull itself out of that culture we'll never see the light of day, no matter how well we do off-field. Never. Not in a hundred years. It doesn't matter how much we improve on where we were, we need to improve on where the other 15 (and soon 16 and 17) teams are, and be better than them in everything we do.
The motto at the Dogs needs to be: You are here to win. You are here for the team. If you can't hack that, leave.
That said, I do believe the Dogs are getting there, and are on the road to fixing this issue. Unfortunately the best way to fix any corporate culture is led from the top, and perhaps the top guys are just too ingrained to push much harder. Perhaps some new board leadership is needed (I'm talking about a gradual turnover, not an outing of the board) to drive that improvement even further?
The way we dealt with Akermanis, although criticised by external parties, does show that improvement in culture and I take it as a good sign and will retain the faith we're making progress in this area.
Before we get all cocky and dig at the Saints for only having one premiership same as us, stop for a minute and compare these two teams. The Saints are at the same level, perhaps even better across the team in general, as last year. They certainly haven't fallen away.
Now compare last Saturday night to 2009's prelim. Yeah — we've dropped away. No other way to look at it. If it's injuries, fine, but we can't see a drop in results as acceptable if we want to be successful.
No, we're not. They're playing for the ultimate prize tomorrow, as they did last year. We haven't since ’61.
Hear, Hear! 100% on the money!
We need to strike that balance between faith and support. Have faith they'll get better, support your team, but make damned sure you keep the bastards honest and let them know we expect our faith to be repaid.
If you give your faith away for nothing, what does that say about you?