We're half way there

[HH3]

Surprises for me are

Salisbury
Brahma
Golden Grove
PNU

Golden Grove you thought would do better, or worse?

No one has mentioned Havens?

We like to fly under the radar. Very humble bunch of blokes.

[Mr Beefy]

Surprises for me are

Salisbury
Brahma
Golden Grove
PNU

Golden Grove you thought would do better, or worse?

No one has mentioned Havens?

The only surprise there was the premiership t-shirt printer not getting the go ahead until round 1

[Arch44]

Havens usually mention Havens its a given.

[Footy Chick]

Do you have anything constructive to add?

The Raggies were always going to be competitive but i'm not sure anyone expected them to sit on top with no losses.

[HH3]

Constructive Post incoming.....

Personally, I thought going from 5 to 4 would bring a bigger challenge than we've faced so far. After that GF loss last year, I thought we had the strongest team in Divvy 5, and was pretty surprised we lost how we did. (Missing a key back pocket in the A's hurt I think).

So, then I rock up to preseason and see this bunch of players that have come to play with Andy Lipson (all guys he coached at Port Maggies) and mates of Matt Reed, etc. And knew straight away I was a full-time B grader at best.

These young guys trained harder than I've ever seen someone train before, and the way they go about their footy is as close to professional as I'll ever come.

People rag on Tom Lipson, but for the obvious wanker he is, he has a good footy mind, and adds heaps to the team from the sidelines. I would have loved to have played some footy with him, but our injuries happened at different times, meaning I never got to.

You would think bringing guys into the As would push a few guys down, but with injuries, etc, the Bs are mostly the same blokes that played Bs for the last 3 or 4 years. Lots of natural ability, and we go out there aiming to enjoy ourselves. As a backman, the last 4 games have been shithouse, because we've kicked something like 110+ goals in the 4 games, meaning not much ball down my end.

[The Dark Knight]

Constructive Post incoming.....

Personally, I thought going from 5 to 4 would bring a bigger challenge than we've faced so far. After that GF loss last year, I thought we had the strongest team in Divvy 5, and was pretty surprised we lost how we did. (Missing a key back pocket in the A's hurt I think).

So, then I rock up to preseason and see this bunch of players that have come to play with Andy Lipson (all guys he coached at Port Maggies) and mates of Matt Reed, etc. And knew straight away I was a full-time B grader at best.

These young guys trained harder than I've ever seen someone train before, and the way they go about their footy is as close to professional as I'll ever come.

People rag on Tom Lipson, but for the obvious wanker he is, he has a good footy mind, and adds heaps to the team from the sidelines. I would have loved to have played some footy with him, but our injuries happened at different times, meaning I never got to.

You would think bringing guys into the As would push a few guys down, but with injuries, etc, the Bs are mostly the same blokes that played Bs for the last 3 or 4 years. Lots of natural ability, and we go out there aiming to enjoy ourselves. As a backman, the last 4 games have been shithouse, because we've kicked something like 110+ goals in the 4 games, meaning not much ball down my end.

Well said mate.

Massive test for us this Saturday against HV, it'll really show us where we're at.

[carey]

Surprises for me are

Salisbury
Brahma
Golden Grove
PNU

Golden Grove you thought would do better, or worse?

No one has mentioned Havens?

Thought Brahma and GG would be better and thought PNU and Salisbury may struggle.

I guess with Salisbury it's a common theme they do ok go up but being a club who don't pay they come straight back down bit of a roller coaster. Brahma is well documented. PNU up to Div 1 new kids on the block and going very well. And I guess with GG I just thought they'd go very well.

I'm not surprised with Havens, Already had a good list added some quality lads.

[FOURTH ESTATE]

Was very impressed with Unley Mercedes in both their A's & B's when they played us . Very well structured and ran the ball well a good mix all over the board.

PNU have surprised me in D1 but it is a long season in the top grade when coming from D2 hope they can do well in the second half could well be the surprise packet of the year.

[jo172]

I have said this elsewhere on the site, but I think a few factors, (mainly the points system), has seen the gap between the top three divisions diminish significantly relative to what it was 5 years ago.

I suspect the days of a promoted team significantly struggling or a demoted team winning easily are a lot more rare than they once were and this pattern will continue.

I'd like to check the box for TTG to be the big surprise. All the pre-season scuttlebutt on here had them in a Kilburn/Mitchell Park/Brahma position. Doing very well, particularly without bringing in many "mature" recruits, but instead relying on some very talented Under 18s to come in and play.

[Burras]

Hope Valley is a big surprise to me. I would have had them top 3 at the start of this year...

Modbury and Unley both surprises as well. Going up and dominating the way they are

[The Bedge]

Div 6:
Smithfield - expected to be strong, but I think the big surprise is just how dominant they are after coming up from D7.. A cut above.
Lockleys - Always competitive, but have been probably the surprise side of the competition, going quietly about their business and sitting 2nd.
Trinity OS - No surprises here, expected to be competitive and around the mark after coming down from D5.
Ingle Farm - Plenty of rumours off season of a mass exodus, combined with yet another new coach had the Farmers bottom 2 in most peoples tips.
West Croydon - Pre-season favourite for many, some may be surprised by their slow start, but it's very similar to last year where they started slow.
Fitzroy - No surprises here, mid-table side as expected.
Brahma Lodge - The obvious big surprise, recruited well, new coach, down from D5 most had locked them in for a GF spot... plenty of work ahead of them
Mawson Lakes - Like Ingle Farm were expected to struggle losing a lot of key players and their coach, ladder position is no surprise but their style of play and endevour has surprised - more competitive than expected.
Central United - Same boat as Ingle Farm and Mawson Lakes, a young side but were expected to be well outside the relegation zone.
Bye - no surprises here, always tough to beat, yet to taste defeat.

[Lightning McQueen]

I thought the Units would struggle with their out list.

[S Demon]

Constructive Post incoming.....

Personally, I thought going from 5 to 4 would bring a bigger challenge than we've faced so far. After that GF loss last year, I thought we had the strongest team in Divvy 5, and was pretty surprised we lost how we did. (Missing a key back pocket in the A's hurt I think).

So, then I rock up to preseason and see this bunch of players that have come to play with Andy Lipson (all guys he coached at Port Maggies) and mates of Matt Reed, etc. And knew straight away I was a full-time B grader at best.

These young guys trained harder than I've ever seen someone train before, and the way they go about their footy is as close to professional as I'll ever come.

People rag on Tom Lipson, but for the obvious wanker he is, he has a good footy mind, and adds heaps to the team from the sidelines. I would have loved to have played some footy with him, but our injuries happened at different times, meaning I never got to.

You would think bringing guys into the As would push a few guys down, but with injuries, etc, the Bs are mostly the same blokes that played Bs for the last 3 or 4 years. Lots of natural ability, and we go out there aiming to enjoy ourselves. As a backman, the last 4 games have been shithouse, because we've kicked something like 110+ goals in the 4 games, meaning not much ball down my end.

Well said mate.

Massive test for us this Saturday against HV, it'll really show us where we're at.

I think being 8-0 and top of the ladder might really show you where you are at, rather than a side that's 2-5 and sitting 7th...

[Mr Beefy]

Constructive Post incoming.....

Personally, I thought going from 5 to 4 would bring a bigger challenge than we've faced so far. After that GF loss last year, I thought we had the strongest team in Divvy 5, and was pretty surprised we lost how we did. (Missing a key back pocket in the A's hurt I think).

So, then I rock up to preseason and see this bunch of players that have come to play with Andy Lipson (all guys he coached at Port Maggies) and mates of Matt Reed, etc. And knew straight away I was a full-time B grader at best.

These young guys trained harder than I've ever seen someone train before, and the way they go about their footy is as close to professional as I'll ever come.

People rag on Tom Lipson, but for the obvious wanker he is, he has a good footy mind, and adds heaps to the team from the sidelines. I would have loved to have played some footy with him, but our injuries happened at different times, meaning I never got to.

You would think bringing guys into the As would push a few guys down, but with injuries, etc, the Bs are mostly the same blokes that played Bs for the last 3 or 4 years. Lots of natural ability, and we go out there aiming to enjoy ourselves. As a backman, the last 4 games have been shithouse, because we've kicked something like 110+ goals in the 4 games, meaning not much ball down my end.

Well said mate.

Massive test for us this Saturday against HV, it'll really show us where we're at.

I think being 8-0 and top of the ladder might really show you where you are at, rather than a side that's 2-5 and sitting 7th...

Reckon he was talking about the B grade

[The Dark Knight]

Constructive Post incoming.....

Personally, I thought going from 5 to 4 would bring a bigger challenge than we've faced so far. After that GF loss last year, I thought we had the strongest team in Divvy 5, and was pretty surprised we lost how we did. (Missing a key back pocket in the A's hurt I think).

So, then I rock up to preseason and see this bunch of players that have come to play with Andy Lipson (all guys he coached at Port Maggies) and mates of Matt Reed, etc. And knew straight away I was a full-time B grader at best.

These young guys trained harder than I've ever seen someone train before, and the way they go about their footy is as close to professional as I'll ever come.

People rag on Tom Lipson, but for the obvious wanker he is, he has a good footy mind, and adds heaps to the team from the sidelines. I would have loved to have played some footy with him, but our injuries happened at different times, meaning I never got to.

You would think bringing guys into the As would push a few guys down, but with injuries, etc, the Bs are mostly the same blokes that played Bs for the last 3 or 4 years. Lots of natural ability, and we go out there aiming to enjoy ourselves. As a backman, the last 4 games have been shithouse, because we've kicked something like 110+ goals in the 4 games, meaning not much ball down my end.

Well said mate.

Massive test for us this Saturday against HV, it'll really show us where we're at.

I think being 8-0 and top of the ladder might really show you where you are at, rather than a side that's 2-5 and sitting 7th...

Reckon he was talking about the B grade

Correct.

[westcoastpanther]

We gotta hold on to what we've got.

Don't go all Bon Jovi on us, LM...

Oh come on, how many of you guys didn't break into chorus after first reading the title?

"Woah, oh, living on a prayyyyyyer"

I did, only came into this thread to post, whoah oh, livin on a prayer....