If someone had have told me prior to the start of the season that this clash would be the most anticipated of the round I would have reacted with scorn, irritation and a little hunger.
But things have changed. The Eagles are playing like a professional football team once more, with a resurgence led by both past and future stars.
However, I am still resistant to label the Eagles a top 4 contender. Win this week and my resistance will be futile.
The question is: Can we win?
It's almost inconceivable: The wooden-spooner to knock off the reigning premier at the MCG.
Yet, form wise, we have a shot. If we continue to play this kind of football we will be close.
However, our away games have been inconsistent. In both losses against the Hawks and Bombers we went missing for almost entire quarters. We only narrowly lost those games, but if we stop playing for any time against Collingwood we will lose big. Ask Adelaide if a 3 quarter effort will give you the points against the Pies. They were almost 5 goals up at 3 quarter time last week, only to be pummeled in the final term.
I'm also concerned about the intimidation factor; best team, best ground on national TV on a Sunday afternoon.
There's not much to report in terms of team news except that Butler is out. He suffered an 'injury' whilst 'training'. It sounds strange, but it's no big loss. Some people talk of Butler like he is an integral part of the team. A 'Premiership Player'. Yeah, well, he really didn't do much during that time and he's been injured for most of the time since. But I do like him better than his replacement, Brad Sheppard. If you took Sheppard, Masten and Ebert and put them together you would have one hell...of a semi-decent...WAFL player. It's a bit harsh, I know, but they are 3 massive liabilities.
This will only be the 3rd time this year that I will tip against the Eagles, but I can see an upset. But to be honest, I'm more interested in the performance. If we play our game for the entire match and get close, that's almost as good as a win.
But a win is better.
M.E
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