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2018 AFL Season discussion thread

Matty76 said:
@Scotty_WCE I think we can say that your blokes are genuine contenders now. No Naitanui, Shuey or McGovern yesterday, yet West Coast controlled a large part of what in the past would have been a difficult assignment. It's the Eagles vs the Tigers next week on Sunday night!!

Essendon and St Kilda look done and dusted already - the Saints additionally have the lowest percentage in the competition right now. The Bombers next win mightn't come until round 12, and even that is a tricky game against Brisbane in Brisbane.

What a breathless, captivating finish to Showdown 44 last night - which in the end has I suppose given disgruntled Crows supporters MORE ammunition to use against their non-South Australian born coach.......
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It's definitely been a fantastic seven weeks to be an Eagles supporter. You'd struggle to find even a West Coast fan who thought we would be doing this well two months in. Huge game against the Tigers next Sunday - they're saying it might be a record Optus Stadium crowd, exceeding the Derby crowd from a couple of weeks ago. Atmosphere will be amazing. Can't wait for it!

That was a remarkable game from Ronke on Friday - I wonder what odds you could have got on him kicking seven before the game!

John Worsfold is starting to come under immense pressure, isn't he. Hope he can turn it around. Very tough draw coming up though as you said Matty.

Big couple of games coming up today. I reckon the Pies are a good chance of knocking off Geelong. And hopefully North can take it up to Richmond at a ground the Tigers haven't played at as much recently, Etihad.
 
Well, we've more or less reached the halfway mark of the 2018 season (Port Adelaide and Gold Coast's game in hand notwithstanding).

How is your team going? Better than expected? Worse? About the same? Which players from your team have become A Graders over the last 11 weeks?

Which teams have surprised you in regards to either rapid improvement or a stunning fall from grace?

Have your end-of-season predictions changed?

It is awfully quiet in this part of the AFL forum, so let's have at it!! :-)
 
Matty76 said:
Well, we've more or less reached the halfway mark of the 2018 season (Port Adelaide and Gold Coast's game in hand notwithstanding).

How is your team going? Better than expected? Worse? About the same? Which players from your team have become A Graders over the last 11 weeks?

Which teams have surprised you in regards to either rapid improvement or a stunning fall from grace?

Have your end-of-season predictions changed?

It is awfully quiet in this part of the AFL forum, so let's have at it!! :)
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My team, of course, is going better than expected. I would say Gaff, Sheppard, Hurn and Darling have gone up to A-Grade level so far this season, with Redden, Duggan, Cole, Rioli and Waterman all providing significantly more than expected pre-season (though not yet A-Graders, but the potential to be in the future).

North, of course, have exceeded the expectations of most. I didn't think Melbourne would be where they are. I thought the Saints would have more than one win to this point, and the Crows and Giants have both been hit hard with injuries which has contributed to their current relatively low positions on the ladder.

Looking forward to the second half of the season - should be a ripper!

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the Hawks Matty; they've mixed good and bad so far, do you think they have a top 8 finish in them?
 
@Scotty_WCE my boys are about where I had hoped they might be, perhaps one win in front to be honest! Looking at the run home, I see 5 or 6 more wins only, given away trips to GWS, Fremantle and Sydney....and a return bout with Geelong. So probably a 10-12 or 11-11 season for the Hawkers.

Outside run and a big beast in defence remain our achilles heel - it’s why natural forwards like Sicily and Gunston are often deployed into backline sweeping roles. Shaun Burgoyne continues to be a player of immense influence, while Tom Mitchell has of course had a prolific ball-winning season to date.

Richmond are my premiership favourites, closely followed by West Coast.
 
Matty76 said:
@Scotty_WCE my boys are about where I had hoped they might be, perhaps one win in front to be honest! Looking at the run home, I see 5 or 6 more wins only, given away trips to GWS, Fremantle and Sydney....and a return bout with Geelong. So probably a 10-12 or 11-11 season for the Hawkers.

Outside run and a big beast in defence remain our achilles heel - it’s why natural forwards like Sicily and Gunston are often deployed into backline sweeping roles. Shaun Burgoyne continues to be a player of immense influence, while Tom Mitchell has of course had a prolific ball-winning season to date.

Richmond are my premiership favourites, closely followed by West Coast.
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Fair enough mate - I wouldn't put it past the Hawks to sneak into the 8 but as you said there's a couple of areas which are a bit light on. I think Cyril being out has been massive - having Willie in our team has emphasised to me how valuable those types of players are. Maybe his return will spark something.

I think Richmond deserve to be premiership favourites at this point. This week is a massive game for them against Port at AO - will tell us a lot about both teams.
 
Very happy north supporter. Provided we can keep Higgins (class), Cunnington (contested beast) and Tarrant (defensive rock) on the ground we actually have very good depth in other positions. With the exception of the Gold Coast game in torrential rain, we missed one of these players in each of our losses. Cant beat the good teams without them.

These 3 along with Brown are our A graders but we can cover Brown somewhat given the make up of our list.

By far the biggest surprise has been the form of Jed Anderson. Thought he was first in line to be delisted come the year's end but how wrong I was.

I think West Coast are the safest bet to make the big dance. Think Richmond still have significant upside given Dusty hasn't got out of second gear all year. Would be a good grand final.
 
Guys and girls, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on this:

I think it's been a pretty ordinary round once again as far as the oft-quoted "look of the game" is concerned. From a purely neutral perspective, I think you could say that there have been maybe 15 games this season that you could classify as great games of footy from start to finish. There has also been a lot of tedious dross.

I am worried that the various and needless committees might not focus on the root of the problem. I think that the single biggest issue afflicting the game is the skill level of the players. Congestion (due to ball-ups or throw ins) mostly occurs because the ball has become stationary - due to a missed handball receive, a dropped mark or a bad kick/handball. We often hear commentators say that "the players look exhausted" half-way through the third quarter of a game.

Has the desire to turn footballers (with a junior history of positional play) into athletes (required to cover all corners of the ground) resulted in a managed workload that focuses too much on physical recovery and not enough on the aptitudes and skills required to be a consistently good footballer?
 
What a win! Slightly tempered by Nic Nat's knee (hopefully it's not too bad) but so good to see the Eagles beat Collingwood at the 'G for the first time in my life :kick: :kick:
 
Scotty_WCE said:
Wow, who saw that coming? Collingwood's first half tonight was the best I can remember.

Can't wait for tomorrow, all of a sudden the flag is up for grabs!
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A flag is always up for grabs. We’ve seen Freo finish 2 games clear on top and not make the grand final in 2015. Also Geelong lost just one game all 2008 and got done. Best part of our game is it’s there for the taking for any team who wants it bad enough. Just hope whoever wins today’s game goes on to win next weekend. Secretly hoping it’s the Dees but don’t mind if it’s the Eagles either.
 
I like this one 😂

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Well, good luck to our West Coast and Collingwood supporters here on the AFL forum. Save for a couple of games it’s been an appallingly boring finals series I reckon, but tomorrow’s winner won’t care about that!

Then of course we are into the trade period....which gets crazier by the year!

Anyway, the footy itself ends tomorrow for another year. How did your team go this season, and what are the prospects for 2019?
 
Good luck to both teams. I hope Eagles by 10. It’s such a bittersweet day, the massive high of the grand final followed directly by the realisation that footy is over for the year. My predictions are the Tigers will be strong again as they’ll add Tom Lynch to their list, Dees will make top 8 again but not good enough for top 4. My Hawks to make the 8 but also not top 4. North Melbourne will move up into the 8, Ben Brown for Coleman medal. I was so pleased with the Hawks year, far exceeded my expectations, could have played better come finals but it is what it is, Tigers and Dees took us apart. And Tom Mitchell was awesome this year, I’m sure he’ll back that up and hopefully O’Meara steps up even more.
 
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Scotty_WCE said:
Extremely happy with the news today that Gaff has re-signed with us :)

Are you guys expecting your club to make any big moves during the Trade Period?
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I always had a feeling he’d stay, great news for you! As for Carlton, I’m just hoping we can manage to snag Dylan Shiel, would really help give our midfield a much needed boost and help out poor Cripps!
 
CaptainCripps09 said:
I always had a feeling he’d stay, great news for you! As for Carlton, I’m just hoping we can manage to snag Dylan Shiel, would really help give our midfield a much needed boost and help out poor Cripps!
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Shiel and Cripps would be a very solid base for your midfield for the long-term future. Would be a great result if you could get him!
 
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