We will improve !!

[pmac21]

I for one am confident we will improve on field in 2010.  The reason is simply this:
We have removed players who were only impeding our performances. Players like Johnson, Pettifer, Coughlan and the list goes on.  The removal of these players will allow others to blossom. Players like Cotchin, Deledio, Connors, Morton, Reiwoldt.
Even Richo, who I love and admire needed to go and or biggest mistake would have been to keep him one more year.
I believe we will have our "transformation" year with 6-10 wins in 2010 and be ready for finals in 2011.

The reason clubs like the Crows, Power, Eagles can rebuild so quickly is that the coreof senior players remain. At Tigerland that core was simply not there. The players listed simpy were never going to allow us to play finals football.  Now they are gone.

Here we come.

[wayne]

Geelong was a practice game and they had a lot of stars out, but we smashed them, we didn't just fall over the line.

Come season proper, Geelong at full strength will probably handle us easy, but if we can apply pressure and have the game plan work against the lesser teams, we'll get some wins.

I also believe for the first time in a while we could upset a couple of top 8 teams.

We will also be thumped occasionally though.

[Stripes]

I share your optimism but I would add an extra year to your timeline pmac21. I would suggest this year we will win around 5 games, 2011 10 games and then make a finals appearance in 2012. This year will be very much an experimental year in terms of player, positions, game plan, development and team culture. I would like to think that we would jump out of the blocks with a new coach but history shows that it is usually the more mature players than improve the most on the back of a new coach arriving at a club. Considering we really don't have many mature players our success will only come on youthful enthusiasm and fearlessness if we are blessed with any this year.

We just have to suck it up once again I fear

Stripes

[Owl]

The beauty of a young team is the only way is up.

[Chuck17]

Yep couldn't think we could get much worse

[mightytiges]

We will improve even if it doesn't show in the wins column this year. We are better off playing youngsters together with talent that are still learning rather than the same old list cloggers who took us nowhere year after year. Like Stripes I'm expecting just 4-6 wins this year. Despite the optimism of the Geelong game we are a very young list and young bodies tire over 22 rounds. The AFL season is a marathon don't forget. A few injuries to senior bigger bodies and it'll expose our raw youth.

I don't see us reaching 10 wins but if by some miracle we did it would be overachieving and a disaster come November. We need one more cleanout and another big dip into the draft. We need a inside top 10 draft pick as a bare minimum plus another around pick 30 and then another in the 40s. Trade a list clogger and we'll have draft picks not too dissimilar to 2009 even with GC17's entry. Our "transformation" year should be about the big picture = 2012, 13, 14 and beyond; not the win/loss columns in 2010.

[the claw]

a simple question macca. how many of the delisted retired  played more than a handful of games.

we didnt have white ant infestation  in just a small area. it was rampant  and the house basically needs pulling down.
i believe the demolition began late last yr. its not due to finish until late  2011.