The draw

[Rohan Coventry Tateson]

I am sorry if I have copied this post, but it is pretty spot on. This is courtesy of Dynamo in Hotrods.

It's now Tuesday and I still have dark thoughts about Saturday and dreams of torturing Lane to death so that he will know what pain is. Now let me say that I'm pro-Eddie, I think he has done a great job for The Club but I'm struggling with something I read this week. Firstly I read that Bitchmond have secured an opening blockbuster with the mighty Pies next year. Hmmmm certainly not my choice but ok. Then somewhere else I read that Hawthorn & Poos have agreements to play us twice each season. Add to that Carlscum & Essenscum. That is 5 hard matches out of 7 twice!!! Now put away all the burble about wanting to beat the best & be worthy finalists, this is ridiculous. Then we supporters havre the gall to complain about ordinary performances against Swans, Cats etc Anyone noticed lately that Josh is exhausted, Cheesy is hardly raising a wimper, bucks has struggled with form etc ?

We are asking our team to play 10 matches against 5 of the toughest teams in the comp. How many can we reasonably expect to win? 5? We need to win another 7 at least to make the Finals with games against Lions, & Port plus Sydney (almost certainly away). Take other interstate travel and we're right up against it again. It's good to be a financially viable club but I look at some of the poorer clubs and their lists and I'm downright jealous. To be frank I don't think Finals next year are guaranteed at all. With another hard run home even if we make it we'll be carved up first week in.



In Skob We Trust

[MarkT]

I could not agree more.
As I have a few times here, clubs do deals with the AFL to play us because of the financial rewards but what do we get out of it? Nothing but a September holiday.
Do we get a say?
Do we get any $?
What if there are new gate sharing arrangements next year. Does that mean the gate receipts go into the equalisation fund? If so, what is the point from the other cubs perspective?

OK AFL - what is in the best interests of football?
Collingwood helping clubs unable to suvive on their own or letting us make the finals on our merits? If we miss the finals by a game next year after closing the season with yet another group of hard games against top sides will we sit by and quietly curse our "luck" once again.

Can SOMEONE please tell me how the AFL can continually screw us like this without ANY regard to OUR interests!!!!!

[pants42]

Didn't we ask for the blockbusters from the afl, maybe to increase revenue?i could be wrong on this, so i am happy to be corrected.

[MarkT]

Ask for them?
We invented 'em!
As far as I know we have asked the AFL for ANZAC day along with Essendon. We (and Carlton) may have requested 2 Carlton games, I don't know.

What really gets up my noise is the fact that clubs do deals with the AFL involving us. Hands up who wants to play the pies. Shut up Eddie you don't get a vote. Do what you're told -
we're the AFL.

I only hope the AFL don't come up with the idea of promoting the game in teh Middle East. We'd end up playing there!

[JLC]

It is important to note that Carlton Collingwood Richmond and Essendon all participate in the blockbuster matches, yet out of these clubs Collingwood manages to still get the hardest draw.

The problem is the draw is done before the season finishes. So if it was done a few weeks ago Collingwood will get a tough draw as we were still in the final eight at that stage.

So we play four of the top eight teams twice and four of the bottom eight teams twice. Based on that we will play the following teams twice

Top Eight teams
Carlton
Essendon
Richmond
Hawthorn

Bottom Eight

Kangaroos
StKilda
Fremantle
Bulldogs

I also predict road trips to Brisbane and Sydney for sure as well as one road trip to Adelaide and at least one road trip to Perth.

Next years draw will be even harder in my belief

APA

EVERYONE IS A COLLINGWOOD SUPPORTER ITS JUST THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE IN DENIAL

[Rohan Coventry Tateson]

I propose we play the blockbusters against Carlton and Essendon.
But not against Richmond, Hawthorn etc. (all finalists).

Look at Carlton for example. They play blockbusters against Collingwood and Essendon.

However they play return games against Fremantle, West Coast, St Kilda etc.

The net result is 6 wins.

In Skob We Trust

[stik35]

Unfortunately, I don't think that where we finish has any bearing on which teams we play twice. Look where we finished
last year and we still had the toughest draw.

[JLC]

it does have a bearing as the AFL has a cut off point when they develop the draw for the next year.

APA

EVERYONE IS A COLLINGWOOD SUPPORTER ITS JUST THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE IN DENIAL

[Fradam]

One day we will be strong and these clubs will be weak and the draw will be to our benefit so in the end all we have to do is start winning games of football and then you dont worry about things like the draw.

Fradam Wrote This

[CQ]

every year collingwood ASK for blockbusters against the hard teams like carlton and essendon, then they whinge that we have a hard draw. maybe they should request to play freo and wet toast twice.

249

[ed healey]

Well thats something new rohan
Plagiarism with a credit to the author.
As for the draw,i think i have said this before,but here it is again.
We have to get to the stage that other clubs fear playing us.
not us feared to play them twice.
That is the goal that we all should aim for.
MM has that goal Im sure.
Lets stop drivelling about the draw and get on with the building of a great team.

[NICK THE PIE MAN]

Asking for blockbusters againist Essendon, Carlton, Richmond, Hawthorn, and to play them twice?

It sounds to me that Collingwood prefer revenue over good results.

"Good 'Ol Collingwood Forever"

[Northern Pie]

I like everyone else lament the fact that we have the hardest draw (not really a draw, in the strictest sense) but really it can be so fickle these days with teams getting harder to beat and an evening out of the talent at each club etc...I don't see that it would be better for us to play teams like West Coast and Freo or even Saints because next year they may be like us and be finals contenders then we might be complaining about having to play them twice..especially since all three look like getting priority picks..I am not really worried about our road trips, we are the best in the league result wise this year, plus I really wanna see the boys come up here and hand brisbane a belting....It may be a revenue building exercise for us and we complain that we lose them, but to be excellent you have to be around excellence, if we start beating these teams (which we will once we get the couple of players we need)then I would feel alot more comfortable come september and it will be great to see the looks on the faces of the team that have to face us first up in the finals, especially if it one of the blockbuster teams and we gave them a belting during the season..I think if we concentrate on putting the best team out on the field, week in week out then it doesn't matter who we play, we will be up in the finals..and i believe that will be next year.

[Spidergirl]

I still regard Collingwood Carlton and Essendon as being the big three power clubs but definately not in terms of performance only in the hype that surrounds it all. I think Collingwood needs to live up to their name for these games to still be considered blockbusters because over the years they have let us down in this regard compared to the other 2 clubs. Richmond r also approaching and with their massive Tiger Army and now finals campaign they could steal Collingwoods limelight for blockbuster games.

[Dantheman]

Yeah thanks for posting that Rohan.

I agree, it's bloody ridiculous. As part of Hawthorns deal to leave Waverley, they get to have a home game against the Pies in round 1. That is the biggest bullshit I have ever seen.

Did Collingwood receive compensation to leave Vic Park?
And Hawthorn got PAID to leave Waverley (which is a dump) at our expense, AND they get $400,000 to play in Tasmania (fair enough) but we get $zero to have to play Kangaroos in Canberra.

The draw is bullshit and I'm sick of it.

Why do we always have to play certain teams twice?? Who cares about the crowd - what about the crowd at a Collingwood semi-final if we are ever given a half decent fixture?