There's Dees, there's Tigers, but we are COLLINGWOOD

[RudeBoy]

Other teams outside the top 8 like the Tigers and Dees got absolutely smashed by 20 odd goals to top 4 teams this weekend, yet we, with 11 of our best players unavailable, came within a point of beating the reigning triple Premiers. I urge everyone to believe in where we are going, because the next few years are going to be god damn exhilarating. I've never been so excited by a loss in my more than 5 decades of following the Pies. It's been a painful journey, and at times, this year was perhaps the worst of all, but finally, when all's said and done, today demonstrated beyond all doubt, that we are on the right track and the good times are about to roll.

Add Moore, Scharenberg, Elliott, Langdon, Adams, Fasolo, Sinclair, Broomhead, Reid, Ramsay, young Daicos and Brown, plus a few other trades or draftees to our list and we will have a team capable of beating anyone next season. Go Pies. Le bon ton (let the good times roll).

[eddiesmith]

Is it really something to celebrate? Another close loss? Beating GWS, Geelong and West Coast but being utterly humiliated against most of the bottom 8?

How can you use injuries as an excuse when you can beat or push the top teams but get done by shit teams? It seems bad coaching or leadership at the club and yet what will change next year? Oh, we will sack a couple of assistant coaches, that should fix it...

[Mossi]

I'm with you Rudeboy, we are on the way up, pity we have to wait 6 months for the action. Sad to see the past go by, lead by Swanny but the young blokes show a lot of promise. Without the umps keeping the Hawks in the game early, if we we didn't loose Aish we looked like we could run em off their feet. Anyway all for next year!

[Mugwump]

Hell yeah. I'm still hurting that we didn't close down that backline in the last two minutes because it would have been such an epic win. That fight back was incredible.

But make no mistake,this team would worry any opposition coach in a final right now, and it has positive development runway all over the ground. That list of the missing includes some of the most exciting emerging names in the competition. Moore, Elliott, Adams Aish and Sinclair are all outstanding talent who were not on the park today, and there is development to come in Marsh, Maynard, Crocker, Phillips, Ramsey and more. Plus, we can expect a new first round draft pick in Matty Scharenberg to take up a slot next year, with both break points fixed.

I think the sky is the limit for us from here, and today made that plain. We need Treloar and Pendlebury and Sidebottom to stay fit, but if they can do that, we have cover for nearly anything fate can deal us. I can't wait til April 2017.

[Donny]

[Pies4shaw]

A loss is a loss. Just a dismal end to another dismal season.

2016 was over as a competitive prospect at the 20-minute mark of the first quarter of round 1 against the Swans, when it became tragically clear just how far behind the opposition our team actually is.

Let's hope that the 2017 edition of the team burns a little brighter for a little longer.

[woftam]

While I see your point RB, you are essentially forgetting about the loss to Carlton & the 2 losses to the Dees & the poor loss to Richmond just a couple of weeks ago. You have to look at the season as a whole, not just isolate the last game because it was one of our best. Great effort yesterday & I was proud of the boys. But season 2016 is a failure & we have no guarantee the injury curse will be any better next year.

[Mugwump]

[Presti35]

So as we finish off 2016, we finished 3 wins out of the 8.

Prepare yourselves for the bunch of shouldas about to come up:

By quarter time in round 1 we knew it was going to be a tough season. Collingwood were flat. We'd lost Swan. The media was on our back. And we went on to suffer an 80 point loss. Our worst performance for the year.

Looking back, you can accept a loss to Sydney, especially up there. But not by such a margin. Maybe things would have been different if Swan didnt get hurt, but I guess there was no way that we were getting within 10 goals that night.

We should not have lost to Melbourne twice. Have they really over taken us? Gee wizz!

We should not have lost to Carlton or Richmond. Thankfully, we at least end the year 1-1 against both.

We were very unlucky against the Dogs both times. And against the Hawks yesterday. (All these could have been wins).

We should have done better against North. Much, much better. Also against Port, especially at the G. Both 50-60 point losses. Both these games were huge nails in out 2016 coffin. And both were gut wrenching, disappointing, disgusting, unacceptable.

I still think we're not a top 8 quality team, but it could be argued that we're at least on par with North (Who are not that great). However, Saints and Demons might also be in this discussion. (Can we jump North, Saints and Dees in 2017?).

Simply, we were our own worst enemies in 2016. We should have been in finals discussions, but put ourselves out of it. Sure, the injuries didnt help, especially in the Dogs game, but we had other problems as well.

I do believe we can become one of those teams that rounds out the top 8, but we are some way off becoming a top 4 side. And even further from a premiership threat.

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

Our season went belly up when Swan went down in the first minutes of the Swans game. You never want to blame individuals for your woes, but our preseason was based on certain structures and planning into the season including Gault and Swan in the forward line and Witts as our main ruckman. To radically have to revamp your plans, when your numbers are disintegrating around you on the field due to poor form and injury, is a credit to the staff who managed to right the ship and salvage something out of the season. I think we learned more about the side this year than any other of the five years of Buckley's coaching, which should hold us in good stead for next year.

[GoWoodsmen]

[AnthonyC]

[What'sinaname]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Hawthorn had two ruckman with 2 games of experience between them.

We should have smashed them in the clearances all day long.

[woftam]

[jackcass]

^^ Maybe if we'd played the ruckman who beat them 62 - 23 hitouts (combined Fitzpatrick & Pittonet) a couple of weeks ago rather than the guy who has struggled in this area all season things might have been different.
Just unfortunate that Grundy chose yesterday to have a quieter day than what he's been producing of late. His around the ground work was very good but 3rd man up pretty much nullified his ruck advantage. That aside, Grundy off course did have more possessions and hitouts than both combined.

And off course Grundy himself is still a developing kid, no where near his peak. But you weren't interested in any real discussion about this, just scrounging for any negative you can find.