If someone said to me

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

after round 1 that when round 5 is completed we'd be percentage only from top 4, I would have laughed in their face.

Who honestly thought we'd win 3 of the next 4 and narrowly go down to a flying Geelong, in a game we almost had won.

All this with at least 3 or 4 of our best 22 to come in and yet to see a handful of 1st round picks from past 2 years.

Well done Pies, there's a long way to go but things are definitely on the up. I'm excited!

[collie dog]

I fully agree with you Frankie. Our improvement has been startling after that shocking Round One clash. But the whole season is topsy turvy. Freo and West Coast are both in trouble. The Bombers aren't even in the eight, and St Kilda (yes, that perennial underachiever) is 3 and 2 when we ALL had them pencilled in for wooden spooners. Now you can raffle it between Carlton and Brisbane. Take your pick I don't care.

This season is crazy! The standard of footy overall leaves a lot to be desired, but like you Frankie I can't knock what we are achieving at the moment. Wins against two mortal enemies in the next two weeks will turn this into a stellar start. Go Pies!

[Johnno75]

Defensively over the past month we rank right up there - tackles, time in F50, scores from turnovers etc...

That has been the biggest change the pressure and harrassment of the opposition. It's great to have that part of our game back.

[Pies4shaw]

People were unnecessarily negative about the round 1 performance. As I said before that game, a good or bad performance at Etihad says very little about a team's prospects. It really is the last place on earth you'd want to play against a Ross Lyon team. I still don't think Collingwood is top 4 material - although there is still a lot of room for development and improvement in this playing group - but I never thought they were bottom 4, either. The performance yesterday was outstanding and when they are able to bring that intensity consistently, they will be serious contenders.

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

^ Admittedly, I was. Didn't see much in the preseason to suggest we'd get close to Freo even if we had a full list to pick from. The way we capitulated suggested we were in for a long season. I know, rd 1 and all that but the lack of fight was alarming. Credit to all involved for turning it around. It feels like 2006 again and I'm excited about the future.

[Stinger]

[Pies4shaw]

I don't know why "supporters" say this. I say it because the team is young, developing and will likely be inclined to inconsistency. It isn't intended as a criticism, just as a fair acknowledgement of where I think they're at. If they make top 4, I will be pleased and surprised. If they do, it just means that they will have developed more swiftly than I expect. There is a consistent tendency on this board to underrate the opposition and then denigrate Collingwood's performance when they do lose. I try to avoid both extremes.

[Big T]

Agree with the dog, standard of footy is crap which opens it up for us.

[Jezza]

I must admit that after low expectations heading into the season I've been pleasantly surprised by how well the Pies have played so far this season barring the first game against Fremantle. The youngsters are emerging and developing nicely, our experienced guys are beginning to stand up and Buckley's game plan is starting to become clear and succinct. I like the fact that there's more emphasis of man on man footy as opposed to zoning which I found was a problem with Bucks in 2012 and 2013 so it's a good sign that he's learning that man on man football is the way to go in most cases.

My excitement levels for this season have lifted greatly after a very pessimistic summer. I like what I'm seeing with the boys and I hope we can continue to keep this up for the remainder of the year. I can't wait to play Essendon now and they seemed to be out of form so we've got a great chance here but we better make sure that we play with 100% commitment and intent and we don't get complacent. Essendon will come out to play on the big day, but I'd like to think we can rectify what happened last year on ANZAC Day!

The side is young so I don't think we should get ahead ourselves but there's plenty of reason to be excited as well!

[melliot]

Start of the year I had a big bracket open for us. 10th to 4th. With so many young players inconsistency tends to be consistent. But if we have a lot go our way like injuries and form and game plan clicking, we could do a lot of damage. We still have a lot of A graders. It's a matter of them being healthy and then if our fringe/young players can give enough and not be exposed. Especially in a long season.

My opinion hasn't changed. We are only a few injuries away from being exposed for depth. Especially our backs.

But must say it's the first time under Bux that I've enjoyed his game plan.

[yin-YANG]

We have Brown in the 2's and Reid to come back.. with Frost and Keefe playing well we have 4 good bigs that can play back - how could you think we are potentially exposed down back melliot? Because of our depth Reid can go forward when he returns from injury!

Most teams would struggle with 2 young backs filling the roles of injured more experienced players - our guys have done extremely well!

No way there is 9 teams ahead of us - ridiculous pessimism - we are in the mix and I would suggest could easily account for the cats later in the season. We are a big shot for a top 4 spot this year and if we can do that we are chance for the flag - young list or not! There are quite a few quality players in the team that know how to win a flag!

[John Wren]

... i'd look like a goat, i'd say "who are you kidding?!"

i agree with melliott's summation of the situation. i am quite buoyant about our prospects. without inspecting the fixture too closely i think the ladder is not a true reflection of where things will end up by year's end. convention suggests the final 8 is sorted by rounds 8/9. i think this year might be an exception.

the biggest thing for me now is how great the gap is between best and worst performances and whether it narrows.

[jackcass]

[AN_Inkling]

[melliot]

I guess my point is that the injuries haven't been to our A graders (other than Reid). Just our back line and fringe players.

No doubt we haven't been lucky in terms of injury numbers. But lucky in terms of talent missing.

Imagine, instead of Brown, Sinclair, Seedsman & William, we were missing Pendles, Beams, Cloke, & Swan.