After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

[LostDoggy]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

The real downside with yesterdays draw is that there is every chance now that our solid precentage won't come into play later in the season.

Huh??!

Are you serious? We were going to LOSE the game yesterday and was down by 25 points with 4:30 to play. We snatched a draw from nowhere, and the two points that we stole are worth all the "solid percentage" in the world!

The draw, considering that we were going to lose, is an upside, not a downside.. just assume that percentage doesn't come into it anymore as we have essentially booked ourselves infinity percentage with our return from the dead.

[GVGjr]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

Huh??!

Are you serious? We were going to LOSE the game yesterday and was down by 25 points with 4:30 to play. We snatched a draw from nowhere, and the two points that we stole are worth all the "solid percentage" in the world!

The draw, considering that we were going to lose, is an upside, not a downside.. just assume that percentage doesn't come into it anymore as we have essentially booked ourselves infinity percentage with our return from the dead.

While 2 points is always better than none how many teams get a draw for the season? When you have a lousy percentage a draw can work for you, when you have a good percentage like we do the draw can work against you.

[The Dogfather]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

The positive I see from these "come from behind wins/draws" is that the team always seem to have the belief they can win a match no matter how unrealistic the scoreboard looks when in the past they would've hung their heads.

[ledge]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

Draw was as good as a win , as teams below us still have to win 2 games more to catch us

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

Draw was as good as a win , as teams below us still have to win 2 games more to catch us

Seeing our % was so good they still would have needed 2 wins to get ahead of us anyway.


Good % = draw is worthless
Bad % = draw is as good as a win.

It's a bit early in the season to start considering those kinds of things, after all, not everyone has played Melbourne yet.

[LostDoggy]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

While 2 points is always better than none how many teams get a draw for the season? When you have a lousy percentage a draw can work for you, when you have a good percentage like we do the draw can work against you.

I acknowledge your points, G, but follow me rationally here:

We were going to LOSE the game, with five minutes left, no question. Thus, zero points, and the (minimal) loss of some percentage.

Instead, we draw the game. Two points. So we get a boost from essentially getting nothing out of the game, to getting what essentially amounts to infinite percentage.

How can the draw yesterday work against us? We would have to win 12 games (or so) to get into the finals anyway, even if we had lost yesterday. Now we have exactly the same equation in front of us, but with an unbeatable percentage. And if anyone else close to us draws as well then our good percentage comes into play.

---

ps. I don't think our 'good' percentage is going to count for much anyway as it was won mostly on the back of trashing Melbourne. I don't think we will be the only team around the mark that trashes Melbourne this year.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

The difference between us 'contending' might well be due to having a host of players who wouldn't be able to get a game in the top two or three sides.

Eg. Wight, Callan, Addison & Harbrow would be playing in the reserves, yet for us, they play important roles to which we're often let down (mainly due to disposal/decision making for the first three).

The last two weeks we've carried Hill & Johnson too, so that's where the downfall is. Geelong/Hawthorn & perhaps one or two other sides could afford to carry Hill/Johnson, but we can't when we already have those other players. They aren't total rubbish, but they're certainly a cut or two below what we realistically need to challenge.

Obviously a fit & firing Ray & Higgins helps a lot, and ditto Everitt/Williams, but we're hardly ever injury free.

As others have said, our next batch of players are only 18-20 years old, so it's too hard to expect them to fill important voids.

Our first 18 players are probably as good as any other side going around minus a few holes, but as soon as injuries hit like they have - even if they aren't major - it makes a big difference.

Really need Harbrow/Stack/Lynch to come on this season.

[westdog54]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

I think I'm being misunderstood. There is always room for improvement, especially from where we were coming from, last year. But we are 3rd on the ladder, a game and a half clear of the next team. We've scored more than anyone else in the league, and the improvement of the next teir of players at the club is obvious. I think we should be more concerned about these things than constanly looking at the negatives. Thats what the media is for. Leave it up to the 'experts"!

We are 3rd on the ladder and a game and a half clear, and yes, its certainly something to be celebrated.

But the way I see it, we're considerably more than half a game behind Geelong and Hawthorn, who are quickly emerging as the yardstick for the season. Both teams would have beaten us soundly in the last two weeks. This is where my concern lies.

We have the talent on our list to mount a serious challenge for the premiership in the next couple of years but we can't keep relying on our ability to 'get out of jail'.

[alwaysadog]

Re: After 5 rounds undefeated, where are we at ?

IF we don't improve we are not a top 4 side.

This to me is the crucial issue. Call it luck, call it never give in spirit, call it what one wants ... but the fact is we are off to an unexpected flyer. That's worth celebrating as 13 other clubs would like to be where we are.

Have we improved on last year? Well we have shown signs of much greater physical and mental toughness, two key parts of our game that have been problems in the recent past?

Are we playing well? In patches yes, but not consistently, and we are either giving the opposition too much lattitude at times or they are able to pick holes in our game for extended periods, and we become the hunted not the hunters. And I expect more of the same as opposition players and coaches will be lining up to give us the treatment.

Good sides improve as the season progresses, will we? I don't have a crystal ball, but our bigger bodies and better team balance mean we have a chance. The hunger is there, so we'll have to wait and see if we have the skill and capacity to manage to play consistently well through four quarters, or will the self doubt start to set in again.

I don't think we are a top 4 side as I said early last year when the hype was reaching astronomical proportions that I didn't expect us to be a serious threat till 2009 and I still don't. We are certainly showing that we are on an up path but key positions in the spine remain to be properly filled before we can really challenge Geelong etc.