Are we a genuine top 4 team ??

[mat073]

For 14 weeks we have sat in the top 4

Ranked number two for defense.

Been very consistent and honest all year .

Thoughts  ??

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Why not?

[YellowandBlackBlood]

If we win this week we will be.

If we lose, we won't be.........

[tony_montana]

If we lose this week we finish 6th and no one will remember that we were top 4 for 14 weeks.

[Eat_em_Alive]

If we win this week we will be.

If we lose, we won't be.........

I like your thinking 

[Tigershark]

Have only played one top 8 team twice this year.(GWS)

[Slipper]

I think our top 4 worthiness can only be assessed after the finals series.

Based on our draw this year, the jury is well and truly out. I think I have this right, as the ladder stands at the moment we have only played 1 team in the top 10 on the ladder twice, that being GWS. Playing St Kilda this week will be the second top 10 team that we have played twice.

Our record against the other Top 10 teams stands at 5 wins, 5 losses, which is not overly indicative of a true top 4 team. If we lose to St Kilda, we likely finish 6th and that record becomes a losing record.

I think we almost certainly need to make a Prelim final, and probably the Grand Final, to be considered a genuine Top 4 team.

[big tone]

if I am to be 100% truthful I would say we are still I pretty average side. We tend to be able to do enough against the average sides to get across the line but even those games aren't really that convincing.
I know i bang on about Houli, Grigg and BEllis but imo they are a massive problem when the pressure comes on and it doesn't matter who we are playing.
I don't think we can go too far with 3 players like that in our side unless our 4 stars have blinders which in finals and against quality opposition putting finals like pressure on is unlikely.

When Grigg went off last week with a sore shoulder I hoped he had done about 6 weeks of damage but it wasn't to be but imo it would have been the best thing for the RFC again imo.

The other thing that goes against us other than those 3 is our coach. He is simply not very good on match day but even more so at selection.

We all hope we can go as far as possible but deep down l think most of us know we are still a fair way off the good sides when the real stuff starts. 

[Hard Roar Tiger]

I don't disagree with your comments about the team BT, the reality though is putting 700 odd players into a competition that is serviced by about 12 million people isn't a recipe for an elite competition. Throw in the socialist nature of drafting, salary caps and equalisation of revenue and you end up enabling mediocrity.
The only team resembling elite in talent are GWS and team are Sydney and possibly the Crows.
You can throw a tarp over the rest with the bottom 4 the next wave to come up thanks to the AFL's rules.
We just have to hope we can try and cash in

[big tone]

I don't disagree with your comments about the team BT, the reality though is putting 700 odd players into a competition that is serviced by about 12 million people isn't a recipe for an elite competition. Throw in the socialist nature of drafting, salary caps and equalisation of revenue and you end up enabling mediocrity.
The only team resembling elite in talent are GWS and team are Sydney and possibly the Crows.
You can throw a tarp over the rest with the bottom 4 the next wave to come up thanks to the AFL's rules.
We just have to hope we can try and cash in

We have got guys on our list ready to go that are better and more suited to finals footy than those 3 I always mention. Finals moreso but you need players that are selfless and courageous and those 3 are not that. 

[mat073]

I think on "paper" we have a fairly unbalanced side . Sure we have our four champions but after that its drops away fairly dramatically........or does it  ???

Astbury is now in AA discussion
Grimes never seems plays a bad game .
Vlastuin since his return has been all class - even my West Coast supporting father has been going - who's that bloke .
Lambert is killing it .
Castagna/Butler/Rioli are approaching 70 goals - who would of thought.
Even maligned players are having serviceable years .
The recruitment of Nank the Tank could not have gone better.

The whole playing group has bought into what ever Hardwick and his assistant coaches are preaching.

[Willy]

This week will be very telling.

[one-eyed]

Bump.

Answer: Yes  .

[mat073]

A David Mundy kick from being minor premiers .

[lamington]

yes we are. we don't deserve to be #1 only because we only had to play GWS twice out of all the top 8 teams but bar the 2 blowouts against adelaide and St. Kilda we have put in  good performances. Well done Tigers for locking in 3rd place!