saintsRrising wrote:No1 thing is to get the players to want to play again....
Against the dons they were just going through the motions.....and when you do that you are dead in the water.
Agree with that. Although I reckon they've been just "going through the motions" for much of the year. Hence our lack of scoring in most games and huge drop in percentage from last year. I believe we've had some lucky wins, where teams have beaten themselves against us, beaten more by the thought of playing us, rather than us ourselves. I've gotten the feeling on many occasions that our guys have just been doing what they had to get over the line and that's about all.
Now teams are beginning to realise how much we've dropped off from last year (in intensity, especially) and are no longer scared of us. And why would they be, when they only need to kick about 10-12 goals, if that, to beat us.
I get the feeling our blokes are sick of playing such a dull, boring, predictable, safe, grinding, ultra-defensive brand of footy and our recent performances and lack of scoring have reflected that. Some predicted last year that we wouldn't be able to sustain the intensity of our approach and it looks like they're spot on. Our guys may be sick of it. May have been for quite a while.
Geelong, on the other hand, play a much more free-spirited, exciting, positive brand of footy and they just keep on winning, year after year. And why not? It would be fun and exciting to front up and play for them every week. They'd love it, those supporting them love it, those in the media love it, pretty much everyone loves it. It's no wonder they can keep it up. How many on the other hand, love the way we've been playing the game? Genuinely? I realise many love the fact that we've won a lot, but how many would say "this is the sort of footy I'd like to see every week" if we could play our style, or Geelong or Collingwood's style and get the same results? I doubt many would honestly pick ours. Which may explain the pathetic number supporting us there last night.
It looked like "the shackles were removed" in the last quarter, last night, though and our guys were told to just play on and be attacking and take risks and they seemed to come to life. I realise very few of us were there to witness it first hand, but the difference between the first 3 quarters and last was incredible.
I would usually have left at 3/4 time, with pretty much everyone else (that hadn't left during the 3rd quarter), but had the feeling it would be worth sticking around this time, so we moved to the end we were kicking to and the way they played in the last made it almost worthwhile having to sit through the first 3 quarters (being driven mad by the drivel coming out of the mouth of the guy in front of me, who was also watching the whole game by looking at the screen on the scoreboard through binoculars!). It was exciting and great to watch and our guys looked much more alive and had much more spark. It was, from a pure footy point of view, actually worth watching for once.
We kicked 6 goals (could very easily have been 2 more) and, while Essendon still kicked 4, it was a hell of a lot better than what had gone on in the first 3Q. Or inmany other quarters this year.
This season is quickly slipping away from us, and unless they play much, much more of that attacking, positive style of footy, that they (and we) actually enjoy, it will almost certainly be yet another year of heartbreak for the StK FC. Defence is good, but balance is the key. You need to be attacking and positive as well.
YOU GET WHAT YOU SETTLE FOR.
( God help me)