Top eight 'log jam'

[citizen_cub]

Mathematically, every team can still make the eight (except Melbourne).

If we drop a couple of games, we could well find ourselves in the middle of it. Only 2 points separate us from 8th and with a very modest for and against record, this gives us even more reason to keep on winning.

Having a look at our next 3 games, all are definitely within our reach;

Titans (H)

Cowboys (H)

Eagles (A)

Thankfully the Eagles game is at Bluetongue, so I'd call it somewhat of a neutral venue.

Hopefully in the coming weeks, teams like the cowboys, sharks, raiders, dogs and knights are out of contention for the eight, so that 10 teams are fighting for eight spots instead of basically the whole comp.

 

[innsaneink]

Some of those lower teams you mentioned are starting to find a bit of form right now too

 

[T-REXX]

if anything Manly is a home game for us… we always get a great crowd there..

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Some of those lower teams you mentioned are starting to find a bit of form right now too

The dogs stringing two wins against the Raiders and the Sharks together after six losses is hardly finding form.

 

[system]

It is a change not being at the bottom of that log jam at this stage.

There truly is no bigger picture, it is week to week and the only pressure at this stage should be internal.

Hopefully a win over the Titans will get us rolling on again

 

[Tiger_Watto]

If we keep winning, the 'jam' wont be a problem…

I reckon we will score a few points this week also...

 

[innsaneink]

Some of those lower teams you mentioned are starting to find a bit of form right now too

The dogs stringing two wins against the Raiders and the Sharks together after six losses is hardly finding form.

Sort of like us with several ugly wins isnt form?
How isnt it finding form…you can go from 0 to 4 or 5 wind straight away, you need 1 then 2 etc
Theyre all worth two points and the point of the thread is if we drop our load we can be caught :unamused:

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Well you're in some sort of form if you're stringing together "ugly wins" aren't you Ink? The competition is as inconsistent as ever, and to be 9/15 and third place where every side is looking ordinary (including the minor premiers,) would say we're in better form than most. In that comment about the Dogs I was simply stating that beating two sides that struggle to put points on the board doesn't define form. If they continue to knock off teams in the coming weeks I'll gladly retract that statement.

That said, you're right when you say that if we drop our load we're in trouble. Hell, we could lose three games and we'd be out of the eight. The next three games I believe will define our season.

 

[Defiant]

BlueTongue is definately more a home game for us.

We are undefeated in 3 matches there and all the coasties hate Manly.

We will outnumber their supporters 3-1 with any luck.

 

[Spartan117]

9th is still a very big possability for 2010 the way we are going.

Im proud that we are grinding a few games out but the reason we are doing this is because we a making SO MANY Stupid Unforced errors.

The Boys need to up the completions if we are to be any chance of Semis this year.

 

[citizen_cub]

if anything Manly is a home game for us… we always get a great crowd there..

True, I remember the game in 2007 against Melbourne we got great support.

 

[prattenpark]

if anything Manly is a home game for us… we always get a great crowd there..

True, I remember the game in 2007 against Melbourne we got great support.

I'm sure we will outnumber Manly fans easily. But, let's not forget that both teams are undefeated at Bluetongue - Manly 5 from 5 and us 3 from 3.

I don't care if we win 'ugly' again this Friday, just so long as we win. It would be nice to play well, but it could be a slippery track. Hopefully, Lui will be back from injury, but we will still have players missing and combinations and timing a little rusty due to the changes. I'm quietly confident though.

 

[supercoach]

Next few weeks things will start to hot up. The rep season will be over and most teams will start trying to click up a gear. To be coming third after hardly putting a decent game together this year is a miracle but as posted before at least we are not making our run from the back of the field. If lui can keep fit or Sheens actually picks a no7 and leaves the rest of the team alone we could be in for a top four or better finish but if he farts around with the team as he has in recent weeks or should I say seasons we could end up going out the back door!!!

Lets hope our real charge starts on Friday night with a quality win against a quality side

 

[Black_Orange_White]

3 wins needed to make the 8 out of 9\. We are in a fantastic position to not only to make the 8, but the top 4.

I expect us to be 3rd at the end of the season.

 

[BrissieTiger67]

im fairly confident we can make the eight, and im pretty certain panthers and dragons will maintain in the top 4 so we have about 8 teams vying for 2 positions in the top 4, i think we can do it!!!!!

 

[Balmain_Tiger]

3 wins needed to make the 8 out of 9\. We are in a fantastic position to not only to make the 8, but the top 4.

I expect us to be 3rd at the end of the season.

is this a real stat? thats awesome

 

[NJLM78]

This weeks game is very important though. Win it and we are 3rd on our own with 24 point. The alternative would probably see us go back to 5th or 6th depending on other results as out for and against isn't great.

 

[Gobbs]

3 wins needed to make the 8 out of 9\. We are in a fantastic position to not only to make the 8, but the top 4.

I expect us to be 3rd at the end of the season.

If we're fair dinkum, we will be 3rd. Time to talk the talk and prove our worth

 

[Black_Orange_White]

3 wins needed to make the 8 out of 9\. We are in a fantastic position to not only to make the 8, but the top 4.

I expect us to be 3rd at the end of the season.

is this a real stat? thats awesome

Yep, we are on 22 points with 9 games remaining. The cut-off for the 8 is 28 points, so we only have to win 3 games.

It's a big shame if we don't make the top 4.

 

[citizen_cub]

3 wins needed to make the 8 out of 9\. We are in a fantastic position to not only to make the 8, but the top 4.

I expect us to be 3rd at the end of the season.

is this a real stat? thats awesome

Yep, we are on 22 points with 9 games remaining. The cut-off for the 8 is 28 points, so we only have to win 3 games.

It's a big shame if we don't make the top 4.

We may only have to win 3 but we certainly don't want to win just 3.

I don't want to scrape in with 28 points and have to play Penrith or Saints. To give ourselves the best chance possible, we have to finish AT LEAST 5th, but we should still be aiming for a top four spot.

Looking at our upcoming games, this is a really good opportunity to cement our spot in the eight early so that we aren't forced to fight it out in the final weeks like last year. However, if we do wrap it up early, there is no time for complacency. If we become complacent, we'll be out of this comp in no time.

One thing that's certainly improved this year has been our middle round performances. Yes, they weren't against great teams, but every other year this period has ultimately been the costly period where we have been missing out on valuable points (when they've been there for the taking).

Then we're in a position where every match towards the end of the season is a 'must win' and if we lost it was 'season over'. Having a look at our run home, I'd treat every match as a 'must win', not because we're in a bad position but many of the teams we're playing will be featuring in the finals so we can get a better idea of what we might be coming up against.

The Penrith game will be the acid test. Beat them, I'd be very confident running into the finals.