Guelfi, Saad, Stringer, Smith, Begs have only played a handful of games with the group. Parish and McGrath are trying to learn to go to the level beyond being a talented kid.
I think they will have ups and downs.and hopefully they keep getting stronger, wiser, less over awed, experienced in big moments, experienced with handling disappointment, learning to get up when they are flat and.changing the course of games.
I look for the positives of them learning as a group. They simply will improve if we support them.
Our supporters I think have a bit of psychological baggage and it can be a bit of a negative weight.
The mindset of thinking āwhat if this happens againā is a losing mindset. Eg look at Melbourne today.
This Ess team are an utterly different bunch of players basically untouched by the past.
This is the new future. We have to think that way. At least they do. The less people around them trying to drag that vibe down the better IMO.
It doesnt mean we have to clap ā ā ā ā like last week. Or some of the ā ā ā ā Joe dished up in rounds 1 - 3.
But speaking about certain players or coaches like they are utterly useless is not a good thing to spread.
Effort and toughness should be a value we respect eg Baguley should be spoken of with respect. (Not saying you. But he is just an example of someone who cops it. )
I will generally only knock a player for lack of effort unless they are utterly horendous.
With apologies to Edgar Allan Poeās A Dream Within A Dream
and with thanks to @Westing_Wuckman
Take this win upon the brow!
And celebrate it all for now,
This much let me avow-
You may be wrong, if you do deem
That this game has been a dream;
Yet if hope had flown away
Against Fremantle, or the old Footscray,
In a game plan, or in none,
Will Matt Guelfi be a gun?
All that we see or seem
Is but a win within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a Docklandās happy score,
And I hold within my hand
A winnerās ticket in the stand-
How few flags of late and yet
Although the Saga made us sweat ā
The Pies and Blues have their regrets.
O Blitzers! can I not clasp
My hopes with a tighter grasp?
O Blitzers! think not of our defenceās holes
But savour the thrill of Stringerās goals.
With Hurles and Hooker in this team
I see a flag within a dream.
We were told to be patient, with new players it would take a while to click etc. Then we actually play them in their correct roles and it all just worked. It wasnāt perfect, but for Stringer to score 4 goals in his first outing in the forward line is fantastic. He didnāt detract from our other forwards and they all seemed to work well together. Hooker moving back as well. Hurley looked happier, Hartley seemed I have more confidence and the backline had more structure.
Still lots of work to be done but it can only get better from here. Especially in the later half when we get players like Gleeson back. And Colyer (who I still rate despite a rough return season).
JD is out of form. That isnāt helped by playing onecofcthe toughest positions on the ground. I think ppl should watch the replay closely as this was his best game this year by a mile.
Iām sure you were tongue in cheek but I have no doubt that over the next ten years of his career he Iāll have many dominant days.
Look only time will tell if this approach has worked. It is not about one win, it is about really turning a corner as a club and becoming consistent. That is what so many are frustrated by. You are completely right in that four changes (particularly if they were senior players) would have resulted in a loss but it is about setting a standard and demanding buy in week in and week out not just occasionally.
Great news, we won! We did a lot of things right, we got off to a great start, we kicked some really nice goals and we outplayed a team that had won 3 in the trot and never gave up.
The intensity was there and a few blokes found some form and built some confidence.
Even better is the room for improvement. I think our end game could have been a lot more clinical, we wasted quite a few opportunities. Iām not angry about that, Iām excited.
I was devastated last week but Iām much more optimistic about the season now, but it can only unfold one week at a time, history suggests we will be up and down and maybe just scrape into finals, so we need to improve in a lot of areas if we want to be a successful club.