Must Win 3 of The Next 4

[Johnny Member]

Improvement isn't about ladder position when you're not genuinely in the 'premiership window'. Due to fixturing, you can have a better year than another team - but finish below them on the ladder.

We could improve on last year - but not improve our ladder position.


To simplify it, last year we beat all the teams below us, most teams around us, and the odd scalp above us. That's actually a pretty good year for an up and coming team.

To take the next step, to improve, we need to beat all the teams below us, all the teams around us and most of the teams above us.

Losing to Melbourne was a setback in that regard, ditto West Coast to a lesser degree.


For mine, the next month will tell the tale.

GWS, Carlton, Sydney and the Bulldogs.


We need to beat Carlton and Sydney as a non-negotiable, but I feel we also need to beat one of the also two also.


If we don't, that would losses to West Coast, Geelong, GWS and the Bulldogs in the first half of the season. We could still sit at 5-5 and be patting each other on the back, but I think without at least one of those scalps in the next month, we'd be kidding ourselves.


Thoughts?

[Beno88]

While I agree that we need to win 3 of the next 4, if you beat all the teams below you, all the teams around you and most of the teams above you, there's probably not going to be any teams above you.

[White Winmar]

The next month will tell the story of our year. Don't forget we have a trip to Adelaide to play the Crows as well. We need a scalp to be able to say we've actually progressed. We haven't beaten anyone of real quality yet. I think we can get over the Bulldogs, but tomorrow night will really tell us where we are. Assertions of significant improvement are premature ATM.

[Saint wagga]

I think we could go 2-2 over the next month and still be in a very good position to launch. It depends of course on how we play and how any losses look. There is nothing massively weong with losing to GWS or the doggies, heck even the swans if they unfortunately happen to click into gear on the wrong day for us, as long as we play well and dont get blown away and loose momentum! As Richo said, we want to keep our win:loss as close to even ledger as possible to be a in a position to launch and get some momentum if and when we are good enough to mount a serious campaign. I've said from a couple of weeks ago, getting to the bye with an even ledger is probably more important than claiming a scalp right now...and our draw accomodates that if we play to our potential! A scalp and positive win loss before the bye would be a big bonus in my expectations!!

[Johnny Member]

There is nothing massively weong with losing to GWS or the doggies, heck even the swans if they unfortunately happen to click into gear on the wrong day for us, as long as we play well and dont get blown away and loose momentum

It's all about context though.

Last year, honorable losses might have been a tick.

But if we're serious, and consider ourselves to be on track for the club vision of 'top 4 by 2018' then losses to 5 top 8 sides in the first half of the season is surely totally unacceptable.

[dragit]

It's all about context though.

The context is last years premiers and this years flag favourites… both better sides than us, so suggesting that we MUST beat them is probably just setting yourself up for disappointment.

[saintspremiers]

Imagine making the finals AND winning a final even!
That's something Ninthmond can't do!

[Johnny Member]

It's all about context though.

The context is last years premiers and this years flag favourites… both better sides than us, so suggesting that we MUST beat them is probably just setting yourself up for disappointment.

The real context is though, that we've already lost to Melbourne, West Coast and Geelong. So losing to GWS and the Bulldogs means were 0-5 against the top teams.

You're right though, in isolation dropping a game to GWS or the Bulldogs isn't the end if the world, but in the context of our season and whether we're 'on track', it is a very big deal.

[dragit]

If we're good enough to play finals we should win most of the eleven games after Adelaide in round 12…

North, Suns (H), Dockers (A), Richmond, Essendon, Sydney (A), Port (A), WCE (H), Melb, North, Richmond.

Three interstate trips will be interesting, we need to win two of those and beat sides around us like Richmond, Essendon & Melbourne.

[saintsRrising]

Thoughts?

While 3 out of 4 would be wonderful, that would involve knocking off a likely Top 4 team. If we do that would place us ahead of the curve.


We must beat the improving Blues and underachieving Swans. To be the team that allows the Swans to re-emerge would not be good.

2 out of 4 would have us still on track to play finals as the remainder of our year is not to and with games against the Tiger and Demons being the ones that will most decide our fate.

[Johnny Member]

Thoughts?

While 3 out of 4 would be wonderful, that would involve knocking off a likely Top 4 team. If we do that would place us ahead of the curve.


We must beat the improving Blues and underachieving Swans. To be the team that allows the Swans to re-emerge would not be good.

2 out of 4 would have us still on track to play finals as the remainder of our year is not to and with games against the Tiger and Demons being the ones that will most decide our fate.

It's not so much our fate this season as such, but are we improving?

My view is, that regardless of ladder position, if we can't beat a top team by the half way mark - we haven't improved.

[thejiggingsaint]

No better time to start than Frideee! Go Saints! GO! ( to hell with the rest! )

[Johnny Member]

Still need 2 of the next 3!

[Sainternist]

Let's take it one week at a time, starting with Carlton this Saturday!

[thejiggingsaint]

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000 ABSOLUTELY! One week at a time is precisely the way to go! (incidentally Sainternist, well done to Southampton over the weekend!)

[Sainternist]

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000 ABSOLUTELY! One week at a time is precisely the way to go! (incidentally Sainternist, well done to Southampton over the weekend!)

Hahaha I think that was Soton's second 0-0 draw in as many weeks. Good to keep a clean sheet at Anfield, however!

[thejiggingsaint]

More than MY team could do! Though I think we'd better keep on topic mate, Or we'll be told to move to the "opposition/General sport" section

[Selhurst Saint]

More than MY team could do! Though I think we'd better keep on topic mate, Or we'll be told to move to the "opposition/General sport" section

And your team let my team down.

I noticed watching the replay from Friday that you got a fair bit of airtime jigster.

[Sainternist]

More than MY team could do! Though I think we'd better keep on topic mate, Or we'll be told to move to the "opposition/General sport" section

And your team let my team down.

I noticed watching the replay from Friday that you got a fair bit of airtime jigster.

Ah, the joys of the relegation dogfight. Palace just needs to beat Hull this weekend and they should be safe then.

[thejiggingsaint]

Selhurst Saint; yes mate, the replay carries an MA15+ rating! Scenes that some viewers may find disturbing? what a thumping good game of footy! The adrenaline was PUMPING! But gee, I paid the price upon waking up on Saturday morning my knees and joints were giving me "the bells of Shannon" and the Jiggster felt EVERY second of his 72 years! still, we had fun, did we not?

[Otiman]

You don't need to be around long to know that anything can happen on a given week. 6-0 plays 1-5 and gets smashed for 10 goals in the first quarter.

One week does not make a finals team, but it would be nice to be a bit more ahead of 4-3 at this point.

[saintspremiers]

You don't need to be around long to know that anything can happen on a given week. 6-0 plays 1-5 and gets smashed for 10 goals in the first quarter.

One week does not make a finals team, but it would be nice to be a bit more ahead of 4-3 at this point.

4-3 is pretty decent.

If we were 10-9 with 3 games to go we'd be looking good for playing finals

[Johnny Member]

Lose to the Dogs, and as per the OP - it'd be very hard to mount a case to say that we've improved.