Toast 2017 Positives

[doug85]

Opportune time to reflect on some of the many positives for this season.

I know today was a shit sandwich with a side of diarrhoea, but overall I'll look back pretty fondly on 2017.

Highlights include:
-beating Hawthorne in round 1
-finals
-Nailing pick 1. McGrath is a star
-3 AAs

 

[Duckworth]

Going from spoon to:
playing finals
rising star winner
3xAA players
Saga well behind us
Club has improved financial position
largest ever member base
Unearthing a number of players; McGrath, Stewart, Begley,

 

[Bombermania]

The positives

For me the biggest positive has been the development of a high scoring forward line.

At the start of the season I felt with the draw and good young kids that we could finish between 8th to 12th and with another good draft and trading period we should now be looking to make the finals next season.

 

[CBombers17]

-Walla's first half of the year

-Stewarts consistency and improvement

-Razzle, Mckenna & Mcgrath

 

[westking]

I've never been more proud to wear red and black. It's been a long time and will be a slow build. My biggest positive is I can't wait for next year. Finals or not, this team is building.

 

[Blind Turn]

Aside from those moments mentioned above, I loved having an Anzac Day win and seeing Jobe go out with a H&A win to get us into finals as I watched in the stands with my 2 sons and sang the song strongly.

 

[mike14]

-Daniher, Hurley, Merrett, McGrath, Fantasia
- Zaka's 2nd half to the year
- Having Watson and Heppell back
- functioning forward line
- the emergence of Stewart
- Walla (faded in and out towards the end)
- a few big wins
- playing finals
- Gleeson's improvement
- the membership total
- the crowds

 

[calyam]

1. Our forward line
2. Three All-Australians
3. Rising Star
4. Making the finals
5. Beating a number of high quality teams

Our squad is the best we have had since 2004. We have a number of top-liners (Daniher, Merrett and Hurley), a number of potential top-liners (Fantasia, Tippa, McGrath) and hopefully Heppell will return to All-Australian form. There is a lot to work with moving forward.

 

[craffles]

- ASADA shit done and dusted
- Forward line looks really strong and is relatively young
- McGrath, Begley, Stewart, Tippa, Raz, Joe, Hurley taking their individual games to a new level
- We aren't Melbourne

 

[Yoda_]

Positives;

Biggest positive for mine was the improvement in Marty Gleeson. Went from bit parts/almost best 22 defender in the first half of the year into a crucial and integral part of the senior set up in the second half of the season. Hopefully alleviating any questions on his ability to be an AFL capable player.

 

[citizen-erased]

1-Forward line, it's been a while.
2-McKenna. Didn't think he had it in him. please sign on Conor
3-Gleeson. He is growing into something special down back.
4-McGrath. Loved his composure
5-2018 looks positive if we make the right moves off-season

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

less doom and gloom and much more happy times for supporters and players and staff.

 

[Laverde2Smack]

The biggest positive of the season was the lack of reliance on the more senior players.

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[vast]

We showed great respect to the returning players.

 

[blitzer]

1) Forward line - including Daniher becoming of the true elite key forwards, Fantasia becoming one of the better small forwards, Tippa transitioning from defense and being one of the better small forwards, Hooker proving to be a very effective 2nd key forward and Stewart being a pretty reliable 3rd tall option with scope for development plus Begley starting to make his mark and looking like someone who could do his apprenticeship as a medium forward type.

This to me was the real positive of the whole season. We've had too many years of dour scores where we just couldn't kick a decent score no matter what. Plus I still think there's some upside - Daniher spent over a month unable to kick in the preseason, Hooker came in underdone with a late injury plus he didn't have too much experience up forward, Tippa first time up forward at AFL level, Stewart still inexperienced, Begley inexperienced. This forward line is going to only get better next year.

2) Re-integration of players - Well we've done it now. We took 2 groups of players from 2015/2016 - mashed them together and came out with a reasonable team that was good enough to make finals. It wasn't always fun and not all players came out on the positive side of that re-integration (some careers ended before I expected them to) but its done now and we can move forward with a much better grasp of where we are at.

3) McGrath - As the only #1 pick we will ever draft (fingers crossed) he has been excellent and a true professional from day one.

4) Parish - I see it with him - he's going to be a big part of our midfield answers next year. He's had 2 good years under his belt now and he's approaching 50 games. I reckon next year - new level.

 

[Laverde2Smack]

We showed great respect to the returning players.

That was a big negative.

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[Doss]

How is showing respect to the returning players a negative? Odd comment.

Anyway, for me the biggest positive positionally was our forward line; it's a nice change from previous years.

Loved the development of Parish in particular. McGrath, well say no more. I think the future is bright, just have to fix a couple holes.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Lots of positives this year, we have holes like most other teams. We can now finally start attracting some talent from other clubs in the next couple of years.

 

[daffo]

Anzac day win.
Joe
McGrath
Getting over the saga
Three aa
..

Now we can move into a team pushing for finals again.
The great thing about yesterday is it shows what we need.
We are a couple of inside mids short. This is what we need to target.
Hopefully we trade for one then Clark or someone else comes up to fill the gap.

Swans are an amazing side but that is what we need to get to.

 

[Vindicater]

That was a big negative.

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You can't be serious.

 

[eDPS]

 

[DapperDon]

Positives,

We got a taste of what it takes to be a successful finals team. Was the first final for the majority of the list so hopefully the jitterbugs are now out of the system and the hunger is even more envious.

Our forward line has been our downfall for close to a decade, not any more. It's now full of players that cause headaches for opposition coaches so well done on the coaching staff for turning this around.

Got an absolute gem in McGrath, the progression of Raz, Parish, Irish and Walla has been great.

 

[JayDon]

Very happy!
Big upside.
Would like a few imports but the year spent together can only be positive for the players.
Might just settle nicely next year? After a big pre-season TOGETHER.
In case anyone missed it, I like the idea of G.Ablett Jnr coming in. Trend data suggests it's a chance. Pop, Chappy et al.

 

[eth-dog]

Finishing ahead of Collingwood, Carlton and Hawthorn

 

[Laverde2Smack]

How is showing respect to the returning players a negative? Odd comment.

Anyway, for me the biggest positive positionally was our forward line; it's a nice change from previous years.

Loved the development of Parish in particular. McGrath, well say no more. I think the future is bright, just have to fix a couple holes.

Sorry I should have clarified. I think the returning players were given far too much respect in regards to contracts, which could result in a negative loss over the next few seasons. I think they focused too much on the PR and not enough on making the right list management calls.

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