THE DARKEST HOUR

by Grazman

"They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn

And in the hour of greatest slaughter the great avenger is being born

But who then could have seen the shape of things to come" - Paul Kelly (lyrics from "Bradman")

I'm driven to write this in pursuit of balance. I know some people have sought to put our situation in perspective and I also know people will be outraged that there could be any justifiable defence for the performances of the club to date. I'm not making excuses and I'm not telling people they shouldn't express their opinions. I'm just asking for people to think before posting and not vent and rant. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been happy with the way things have gone and thought we would have started the year a lot better than we have. I also suspect that not only are the performances not in keeping with the expectations of the majority of the supporters, but of the football department and players themselves.

Depending on which poster you read, everyone on the list (with the exception of McLean and Rivers) should either be traded or delisted, the coaches can't coach, the football department has been negligent in its trading and drafting and the entire culture and ethos of the club tolerates mediocrity and second-rate performances.

Such comments are both ridiculous and frivolous. They are made by people whose expectations of achieving a premiership this year have plunged them into a cycle of despair, a despair that "turns imagination into fact" (Paul Kelly again) The club's last ten years have been its most successful since its last premiership. We all crave the achievement of the Holy Grail.

I'm not quite sure why people believe that the list is so bad. Last week we didn't have our best forward, midfielder or backman. (Neitz, McLean and Rivers) Throw in another three starting 1st XVIII in Bartram, Robertson and Pickett as well as three of our most promising juniors in Sylvia, Dunn and Frawley and that's a third of the side missing.

We are like a heavyweight boxer with one arm tied behind his back at the moment. People are happy to overlook that players like Bell and Jones are developing into outstanding talents, because some can't see past the forest for the trees. The list is in good shape in my opinion, and probably that of many others too, but there are those who are willing to believe the worst, because they lack the essence of moderation. It is all or nothing. Players are either stars or duds.

There are even some who openly decry the current state of affairs; that the club is doomed and we will never succeed. Not surprisingly a lot of these people also appear to have all the answers to turn things around. They point to a continued lack of leadership, yet ignore both Bruce and Miller have been working their collective arses off to try and lift their teammates. They say the players are soft and timid, yet ignore that it hasn't been a lack of effort as much as lack of skill and poor awareness that has led to our defeats. They say the players and coaches don't care and are clueless - well such comments are all well and good coming from the anonymity of computer terminal. The game passes by very quickly its not only inconceivable, but the complete antithesis of those driven to succeed that this could be true. I dare say the naysayers rarely take the time to make constructive comment or find ways to assist the club; after all it is easier to blow up a bridge than build one.

Occasionally playing footy you are good enough to challenge for a premiership, most of the time you may not be. I think the list is a lot closer to a premiership now than at any other stage since I first started following football in 1981.

As supporters we yearn - like players and coaches - for premiership success. For some of us it validates the time and effort we invest in watching and supporting the club, for others it is the very essence of the sport itself - no one wants to follow a loser. If however, the only way we measure success is by adding up the tally of premierships, then I think we will have missed something intrinsically beautiful and magnificent about this game and this club. It is the competing that is the most important element.

There is a team that symbolises everything I believe that is good and honest in sport, a team with the likes of Flower and Barassi, Norm Smith and the Cordners.... I am proud of a club whose football department and coach were big enough to put the club before their own self interests, I am proud too that we aren't like the Eagles... as Caro made the point "They may be the best team in the competition but are winning few friends in the process. Not that they seem to care. "

I will cheer as loudly as anyone when we win that premiership - and we will, because it won't be a matter of luck, it will be a matter of hard work and determination. For all those bagging the club and its players have a good look around you and ask yourself ten years on is our club in better shape to not only survive on the field, but off the field as well? I think the answer is yes. Injuries are cruel and they threaten to destroy our entire year, that's not an excuse it is reality. Adversity can be a spur that drives you on or drives you under. Don't give into your fears and frustrations.

The following quote from Winston Churchill is worth reflecting on, not for the coach or the players, but for us as supporters.

"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. "