Good grief

Did you notice? We're second on the ladder. Remarkable. Does this mean that we're the second best side in the competition, are sure to meet the West Coast Eagles on the MCG on that one day in September and will exploit their inability to win over here in order to take the 2005 AFL Premiership? Probably not. But you never know. If it's any consolation I'm less confident about the Eagles being there for the long haul than us, which means there will be no standout side going into the finals.

Think about the last two times we've come close to Premiership glory. In '98 we ran into North, who really should have won the flag, in the Prelim final and got within five goals and in 2000 we had the misfortune of lining up against the side enjoying the most dominant season in the last 20 years. Cameron Bruce late withdrawal for Ben Beams (!), Neitz misses with the first set shot of the game, Brad Green gets gangbanged by the entire Essendon backline, Troy Simmonds gets murdered by Michael Long and you know the rest. Depressing.

But the last 11 rounds will count for NOTHING if we lose to Collingwood on Monday. In the event of that happening - and you know Woewodin will have the traditional "stick it up your old club" 30 possession and 5 goal game - you may as well pull the shutters down now. Later in the week we'll be going back in time and discussing how I spent my 2004 Queens Birthday holiday by losing the plot in the Southern Stand.

This round is crucial. I don't hate Collingwood as much as I'm supposed to - which is probably something to do with everyone I know supporting them and somehow not being complete mutants - but I'm prepared to try given the delicate state of affairs we find ourselves in. Brock McLean MUST return, Nicholson MUST be given the right matchup if we're going to leave Rivers out again, Neitz MUST kick straight, Chris Heffernan MUST be put on the train to Sandringham (platform 10) and Paul Johnson MUST be retained as ruck backup.

I expect the Premiership Liberation Front to be out in full force. I want to see balaclavas all over the ground if we're winning convincingly in the 4th quarter. Now, if only there was a PieBlog to start a meaningless feud and brawl with...

P.S - Good grief could also refer to the fact that I've actually updated in mid-week.