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The Magpies are deserving winners of the minor premiership, having been the most consistent side all season. It will count for little though if Mick Malthouse’s men don’t achieve the ultimate prize – an AFL premiership.
In the past fifteen seasons, the team which finished top of the ladder after the minor round has gone on to win the premiership just five times (Carlton 1995, Essendon 2000, Port Adelaide 2004, West Coast 2006 and Geelong 2007). Of most concern to Collingwood followers will be their side’s poor goal-kicking.
Key forward Travis Cloke has declared he doesn’t want the ball in his hands should a key game be in the balance and Dayne Beams missed a shot in the dying minutes of the Magpies’ final round match against Hawthorn which would have won Collingwood the match.
How the Collingwood players manage their goal-kicking yips this September will have a significant bearing on whether the Pies win their first flag in twenty years.
Will Geelong stake its claim as one of the greatest teams of all-time?
Were it not for Hawthorn’s upset win in the 2008 grand final, Geelong would be aiming for four successive premierships heading into this year’s finals.
If the Cats can take out the big one this year, they will equal Brisbane’s feat at the start of the decade of three premierships in four years. Greatness beckons for the Cats.
Will the scars of last year help or hinder the Saints?
The Saints were narrowly defeated in last year’s epic grand final in a match neither side deserved to lose. It remains to be seen whether the hurt of that loss will inspire the Saints onto bigger things this year.
Faced with another tight finals match, will the Saints rise to the occasion, or will the ghost of their grand final loss last year come back to haunt them?
Can Hawthorn hold their best form long enough to progress deep into finals?
As Rohan Connolly noted in last Saturday’s Age newspaper, there have been two Hawthorn sides this year – Good Hawks and Bad Hawks. If the immensely talented Hawthorn line-up can string together several matches of their best form, the Hawks are capable of going deep into September.
Bring out the tripe they displayed at the start of this season, and it could be curtains at the end of this weekend for the 2008 premiers.
Can the Blues regain their giant-killing form?
If the Blues can win their first final against the Swans in Sydney on Sunday, they will return to Melbourne fancying their chances of causing an upset or two against the top four Victorian sides.
In a purple patch mid-season the Blues defeated Geelong and St Kilda comfortably, and their fellow Victorian sides will be mindful of the Blues hitting form given their giant-killing heroics earlier this year.
Have the Bulldogs run out of puff?
Pre-season fancy the Western Bulldogs stumble into the finals minus Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney and key defender Dale Morris. Compounding their injury woes, the Bulldogs’ form heading into the finals has been poor. Two big losses late in the season to Sydney and Geelong and an indifferent display against a struggling Bombers outfit doesn’t auger well for the Bulldogs’ final chances.
At their best the free-flowing and attacking play of the Doggies can trouble the very best sides but right now that form looks a long way off.
On current form, the Bulldogs risk being the first side since the Eagles in 2007 to finish the minor round in the top four only to lose two straight finals.
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