Re: Are we contenders?
Reply #2 –
The articles continues...
King’s Pure Footy counterpart, Champion Data analyst Daniel Hoyne, highlighted the similarities between Geelong’s pre-finals – and eventually pre-premiership – profile of last season, and that of Carlton’s over the last six weeks.
“(In) five of the last seven finals series a team from outside the top four has made it to at least a prelim … they’re going to comfortably make a prelim, and I think they cans go through to a grand final, absolutely,” Hoyne said. “It’s stunning what they’ve been able to do.”
On current standings a top-four finish may be more than two games out of reach, but timing can be everything. King said that while the season may end “just one or two weeks short” for the Blues to push for a double-chance, it might not matter.
“You’re going to have to win it from outside the four, but this profile says they can beat anyone,” he said.
But for the Magpies, the core four could spell disaster.
As coach Craig McRae grapples with how to navigate the absence of star Nick Daicos for at least the next six weeks due to a knee injury, the Magpies have fallen away from first in the competition under the core four formula to be 10th for post-clearance work and ninth for what they deliver without the ball and at clearances.
“We’ve got to get to work on what we are, and not recapture it, but just remind ourselves – re-establish our brand,” McRae said on Wednesday morning.