Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

[westdog54]

I know I'm being a tad premature when I say this, and I know that there's a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go, but not even in '98 did I feel this much optimism at this stage of the season.

After the StKilda game I said that if we were 6 and zip after we played West Coast I'd get excited. That was before it turned out that West Coast are rubbish without Judd and Cousins.

Now that we're 6 and a half after a win on the road against a team that by rights could call us their 'bitches' over the last few years, its hard not to walk around with a smile on your face at the moment.

I know we've got a lot of work to do to catch Hawthorn and Geelong, but against Sydney we showed that we will not be ignored, nor taken lightly this season.

[1eyedog]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Yes agreed, it's a very nice feeling, kinda like being in love all over again.

[1eyedog]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

The media is on us like ants on candy

[LostDoggy]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

I am trying to remember that there is a long way to go yet, but each week I it is becoming a bit harder. If we continue to improve, who knows what we could do in the finals this year. But at the moment it is to early to tell.

[Big Dog]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

A fit and firing West and Ray will definetely bolster our midfield stock (with fingers crossed we wont sustain too many more injuries) in the coming weeks

Plus there are a couple of fringe players who i'm hoping will be playing their hearts out to Williamstown over the next couple of weeks (Harbrow, Williams, Everitt)....plus some youthful depth in Ward and O'Keefe....

Providing we can maintain their concentration, aggression, attack on the ball and run, then hopefully we should have a very successful H&A season...

"It might not be our year, but it just might be our premiership" ;-)

[Twodogs]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Scary, aint it?


Yesterday was a huge test for us. I was keeping my powder dry until we'd played a side that always troubled with and beat them on their own terms. Closing the game up at the end, locking the ball, forcing contest after contest and backing ourselves to win against Sydney has got me thinking all sorts of things.



Looks like I picked the wrong season to quit sniffing glue-things are only going to get more intense each week.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

It is very exciting and I hope that the club can get a heap of milage out of it and get the membership up and going.

what are the thoughts out their to get a few more wanting to sign up,

The prospects of getting Grand Final tickets?

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Scary, aint it?


Yesterday was a huge test for us. I was keeping my powder dry until we'd played a side that always troubled with and beat them on their own terms. Closing the game up at the end, locking the ball, forcing contest after contest and backing ourselves to win against Sydney has got me thinking all sorts of things.



Looks like I picked the wrong season to quit sniffing glue-things are only going to get more intense each week.

Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

[Mantis]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Scary, aint it?

Yesterday was a huge test for us. I was keeping my powder dry until we'd played a side that always troubled with and beat them on their own terms. Closing the game up at the end, locking the ball, forcing contest after contest and backing ourselves to win against Sydney has got me thinking all sorts of things.

Looks like I picked the wrong season to quit sniffing glue-things are only going to get more intense each week.

But they were ripe for the picking yesterday, with no Hall in the team we had no excuses.

Yes Sydney are a good team, but they aren't the team they were 2 or 3 years ago. And yes we had to prove to ourselves that we could match it and beat a team who play a foreign style, but realistically Sydney will not challenge for the flag this year.

Our real challenges will come over the next few months, if we can answer them as well we may let ourselves to become a little excited.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Mantis, we could also say that we had players missing. i think that brian Lake is a good matchup for Hall and their would have been no change in result.

Yes fully agree with the challenges of the up coming month but IMO the side looks more confident and a hardness that I haven't seen since the days of Romero, Libba, Dima and Smith.

Bring them on I'm sure we will win more than we lose.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Our real challenges will come over the next few months, if we can answer them as well we may let ourselves to become a little excited.

Spot on.

In the next 5 or so weeks we have 3 away games and a game against North.

Of those 3 away games 2 of them are against real contenders, Port and Hawks.

North have had the wood on us of recent times and it will be very interesting to see how we respond to yet another game of hard in contested footy.

If we come oot of this block in good form, then I will get excited, possibely sniff some glue with 2 Dogs....

[Mantis]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Mantis, we could also say that we had players missing. i think that brian Lake is a good matchup for Hall and their would have been no change in result.

Hall always gives us trouble, Lake has certainly improved, but Hall is an extremely important player for Sydney. Yes West was missing and he is still a good player, but less important than he was a couple of years ago.

Yes fully agree with the challenges of the up coming month but IMO the side looks more confident and a hardness that I haven't seen since the days of Romero, Libba, Dima and Smith.

Don't make me laugh.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Don't make me laugh.

Dimma was hard at it, maybe not great in the skills department but never took a backward step

Smith I agree.

[Twodogs]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

Bugger the calm rational approach. It's sooner than you think boys.


I understand that we all want to keep a lid on expectations and we dont want to get ahead of ourselves but this start has been almost perfect. I go to a lot of preseason training and the build up went better than it has since Wallace's days. The increased size of the players was very noticible and the players adapted to the more physical and patient gameplan pretty quickly. I saw them do what they did at the end of the game a heap of times a lot in January, febuary and march and I've been hanging out to see if they could choke a side effectivly. Yesterday we did and I'm big Kev excited about it.


I could also write a thousand words on how important it is that Hahn and Murphy play two contrasting styles in the forward line that are both mega important, how Will Minson is playing the role he was born for and why Tim Callan and Cam Wight are essential to our chances but it's time for bed.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: Ok, now I'm starting to believe...

I think we are good. An unbeaten start to the season is fantastic.

BUT - I don't think we are quite as good as the Hawks or the Cats. I think they are still the yardsticks this season so for us to win a flag we need to be better than them.