The Draw

[kegs 0]

What I want to know is was the draw on the weekend a good result or a bad one. Now obviously 2 points is better then none but is the continueing pattern of us not being able to hold onto these close games goimg to have an effect on our confidence going forward, or do professional athletes specially young confident ones have the ability to brush it of as a learning experience. I ask thing because I have played a fair bit of sport and some of it at state level ( not football ) and having experience close games and loosing a lot of them it does effect your confidence, is this a problem the club has or have we simply been unlucky and that is how the players think of it???

[Guest Rojik of the Arctic]

What I want to know is was the draw on the weekend a good result or a bad one.

Good. Sydney lost 2 points and we stole 'em is the way I see it. I heard one commentator say after that we had a lot of improvement to come but Sydney played at, or near, their best.

I'll take the 2pts.

[kegs 0]

I do agree we piched them points big time which is always a good thing. Sydney out played us prob 70% of the game but does the fact that we were able to get back into another game but again to not walk away with the full points will that play on their minds the next time a game gets tough??

[The Chazz 4,077]

What I want to know is was the draw on the weekend a good result or a bad one. Now obviously 2 points is better then none but is the continueing pattern of us not being able to hold onto these close games goimg to have an effect on our confidence going forward, or do professional athletes specially young confident ones have the ability to brush it of as a learning experience. I ask thing because I have played a fair bit of sport and some of it at state level ( not football ) and having experience close games and loosing a lot of them it does effect your confidence, is this a problem the club has or have we simply been unlucky and that is how the players think of it???

We were in front for the final 4-odd minutes of the match, the only time for the whole game that we were. Yet, some people still think we managed to lose it?

As Bailey said in the presser, 12 months ago we would have lost that game, especially considering how much pressure the whole team were under in that last few minutes. The fact we drew is great sign of further development. But, there will still be the idiotic ones saying how we smashed them last year so what's changed this year.

If we were a realistic top 4 team this year, the draw would hurt. It may end up being a blessing come round 24.

[Guest Rojik of the Arctic]

I do agree we piched them points big time which is always a good thing. Sydney out played us prob 70% of the game but does the fact that we were able to get back into another game but again to not walk away with the full points will that play on their minds the next time a game gets tough??

If anything all these close results will help us. We've 'been there, done that' a few times so the nerves are less jumpy and you know what works and what doesn't in those last couple of minutes. Anyway, if the players don't like draws they could always come out of the blocks better and put it beyond doubt at 3/4 time.

[Range Rover 1,935]

Happy with the two points.

What I liked most was that our best was better than their best.

[Roost It 1,434]

Left the game happy, almost felt like we won it. They should have buried us in the 3rd quarter. They completely dominated. Great effort by the team.

[kegs 0]

If anything all these close results will help us. We've 'been there, done that' a few times so the nerves are less jumpy and you know what works and what doesn't in those last couple of minutes. Anyway, if the players don't like draws they could always come out of the blocks better and put it beyond doubt at 3/4 time.

HAHA that is a very good point the only thing better then one good exciting quarter is 4 of them

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

What I liked most was that our best was better than their best.

I like it, RR.

Left the game happy, almost felt like we won it. They should have buried us in the 3rd quarter. They completely dominated. Great effort by the team.

Well. Maybe not a "great" effort... that would have been four quarters. But that last quarter was certainly a HUGE positive. The Swans couldn't play like that at all (on the G). And yeah, I didn't leave the ground devastated like I should after a draw. Just a bit more relieved.

Personally, I reckon it was a great effort to get the lead back, but I thought with 3 and a half minutes to go, they'd take it back and that we'd have to do something extra to win it again. The fact it was inside defensive fifty for a full 3 minutes with ONLY 2 points going through was extraordinary. We couldn't get the pill cleanly. Couldn't wax the clock down... 3 minutes of nothing but resisting them. Jurrah taking it on the goal line... It was actually pretty amazing. When the first point happened I said to myself I'll take a draw. We were cooked. We had to work SO hard for the first 25 minutes of the quarter just to get the lead, I didn't think we had it in us to get it back again...

And there were just SO many good signs to go along with it. Petterd, Tapscott, Martin all did so much.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Dappa Dan

[loges 6,767]

Sydney were top 6 last year so a plus in my mind

[Sir Why You Little 36,587]

I do agree we piched them points big time which is always a good thing. Sydney out played us prob 70% of the game but does the fact that we were able to get back into another game but again to not walk away with the full points will that play on their minds the next time a game gets tough??

Colin Garland kept Goodes to zero possessions in the last Q.

Luke Tapscott played a senior role in his debut game.

Yes if we had kicked straighter in the last we would have won (Watts, Green, Jamar)

But we denied sydney scoring a goal in the last 3 minutes, whilst 36 players were absolutely Hurling themselves at everything. It was awesome, That was GF stuff.

I will happily take the 2 points, and i hope it makes them more hungry to get a win next sunday. It might just help us beat the Dawks.

[Demon Disciple 11,607]

When there's a draw, millions of plays re-run through the head, wondering if we could have done it better, if we did it better, what if? What's done is done, no point harping on about the past.

I still have a bone to pick though. Jared Rivers was diabolical early in the 3rd quarter for us. In that period of play, his mistakes/turnovers directly gifted the Swans 2.2 by my count. Very costly indeed.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Sydney were top 6 last year so a plus in my mind

And last year we smashed them by thousands at the same ground.

I'm all for the draw, and I'm glad we got the points and proud of the way we went about it at the end... but I had us pencilled in for a solid win. The different coach and different opposition names in a few places was a contributing factor and all... but I won't be taking anything out of how good they were last year. They weren't even playing at their home ground...

[rpfc 28,045]

Long lasting effects of a draw??

Does anyone recall the arguments we had on here about the lasting effects of losing by sh!tloads every week?

We have come this far...

[jnrmac 19,890]

Sydney were 1 kick from a prelim last year.

[Pates 9,624]

Sydney were 1 kick from a prelim last year.

Short but very true, we were bloody good when we belted them last year and they weren't on their game. This game they were much more switched on, but we still managed to keep in touch the whole match.

I've been reflecting on it and much as it pained me missing out of the full four points, it felt kinda good to know that we didn't let the game fully slip away from us and when they started to kick away we dug in and fought back. Would've been a sweet and memorable win but it's a truckload better than a loss!

Edited March 30, 2011 by Pates