Troy Chaplin's glare after Mundy's mark and Jack's anger after the siren were focussed, we threw away four points through one stupid mistake. It sucks, but it's better than everyone standing around looking bewildered and glum. Of course this is terribly unfair on Bachar - Dusty, Jack and Cotch all had chances at kicking goals that would have made the difference, Lloyd has one single job but couldn't see it through and Griff missed the most Griff miss of all time. All of these things would have made the difference, and that in fact is the difference, this was on us through mistakes rather than breakdown. Those things are all eminently fixable and I'd be surprised if they happened again this week.
It's obvious now that no matter what the ladder looks like, everyone is chasing Hawthorn. And unless they have an off-day in prelim or grand final then we are likely all playing for second. That's the thing though, it's sport and sport has a knack of throwing up the unexpected. Who is to say they won't have an off day at a really bad time? It happened to Geelong in 2008. They could kick like we did on Saturday or they could ping a couple of hamstrings early in the prelim, it's just about making sure that you are still live and kicking to take advantage of that if or when it happens.
Fourth would have been easier had Bachar not gone for the glory kick to Lambert, but it would also have been easier had we not inexplicably lost to Melbourne. If we miss out on fourth by a game, that's the one I'm looking at. Weirdly though, fifth feels about right, we have unfinished business with fifth. I don't know about you but 2013 still stings me, win or loss I'm generally pretty good at moving on but that actually made me feel ill. It was the day when a decade of dull disappointment became genuine hurt. This squad seems to need to be lined up against the wall waiting for the firing squad before they perform at their best and what what better way to deliver retribution than in front of a full MCG in a win or go home situation?
For a glorious hour the dream Hampson-Maric ticket looked the goods before an ankle injury put a stop to the fun and games. Hampson's presence seems to have lit a fire under Maric and even when we was forced back to first ruck he took it up to Sandilands far more successfully than the last time around.
Since the game we've learned of an unfortunate injury to Griff, which is terribly timed for him but gives Vickery the opportunity to put his stamp on his position in a way that he hasn't since 2013. Hampson seems to be able to find an injury better than anyone, but if we can get a good run at the Hampson-Maric-Vickery tall trio then I reckon that'll go OK.
Our terrible conversion and Bachar's mistake have somewhat covered up the fact that we played really well. Hawthorn are on another level but I suspect that level of play will hold up well against most others and might even give them a shake on Friday night.
I've left this post so long that there isn't really much left to say about the game that hasn't already been said 100 times in the media breakdown. And given the shitstorm that has since engulfed footy it's another week where there hardly seems much point. Protip: don't boo anyone, it's dumb. Especially don't boo people when the origins of said booing are questionable at best and disgusting at worst.
And how cool that we are taking the lead?
Changes for next week
Hampson was hobbling around like I do after a job so I really can't see how he gets up before Friday, especially dragging that rig around.
In: Vickery and McBean
Out: Griffiths and Hampson
Lucky: Lloyd, so very lucky.
The votes
5: Troy Chaplin
4: Brandon Ellis
3: Anthony Miles
2: Kane Lambert
1: Ivan Maric
Leaderboards
The Benny:
24: Dustin Martin
22: Trent Cotchin
18: Bachar Houli and Anthony Miles
17: Jack Riewoldt
16: Shane Edwards, Shaun Grigg and Alex Rance
15: Brandon Ellis
14: Brett Deledio
12: Taylor Hunt
8: Nick Vlastuin, Dylan Grimes and Troy Chaplin
6: Ivan Maric
3: Kamdyn McIntosh, Chris Newman, Ben Griffiths and Jake Batchelor
2: Sam Lloyd and Kane Lambert
1: Steven Morris, Ty Vickery, Shaun Hampson and Ben Lennon
Blair Hartley Appreciation Award:
18: Bachar Houli and Anthony Miles
16: Shaun Grigg
15: Anthony Miles
12: Taylor Hunt
8: Troy Chaplin
6: Ivan Maric
1: Shaun Hampson
Anthony Banik Best First Year Player:
3: Kamdyn McIntosh
2: Kane Lambert
Joel Bowden's Golden Left Boot:
18: Bachar Houli
16: Shaun Grigg
8: Troy Chaplin
3: Jake Batchelor
Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal:
2: Kane Lambert
No comments:
Post a Comment