Fascinating. 

No Max Gawn. No Christian Petracca. 

A handful of young, energetic kids breathing life into this group, an opportunity for a 22 y/o half-bank flanker to flourish as a starting mid and a ferocity and desire to compete from the majority of the side that hasn't been seen in how long? 

What is it? 

It's a godsend is what it is. 

Forget the stats, game-plan alalysists, 'loading' theorists. This is a simple game.

Galvanise a group, ignite their spirit, and anything is possible. 

We are playing with a will to win and an 'anything is possible' mentality in-part because we're without Max Gawn and Christian Petracca and in-part because the weight of expectation is off us. Think about that for a minute. 

Some may laud Goody for his selection to play the kids, I would say it is more happenchance given injuries to key players and the change of positions that has forced. Rivers to the middle. Moniz the Wiz in defence. And now that they're in, they are breathing life into this group and energising the team, just as Melksham said last night. 

It has opened up a world of possibility to Simon Goodwin, a coach who is universally known for playing it safe. The very thing that has sucked the life and personality out of this group for the last couple of years.

But you can see it. The group has clearly been pining for 'fun' and exciting football. And our fans have as well. Aside from conceding the last four goals of the match, we did not play it safe. We played with the flair, energy and winning mentality that I haven't seen for a long time. 

Pair this new zest with the unpredictability of not having THE key pillar in your side and it makes you wonder what is possible. It brings me to team balance. 

Long have I said that our list has lacked balance. And that whilst we've been blessed with some A-grade mids and an A-grade ruckman in their own right. Rarely do we see a consistent performing midfield unit. Last year with Oliver missing, we functioned much better. With Petracca out, we've blooded rivers, Kosi's midfield minutes are up. We look dynamic, we look great. With Gawn out last night, we actually blitzed them around the ground and at centre bounce post the first quarter. Arguably our best midfield performance of the year without Max Gawn?

Why and how does this happen? 

Less reliance on Clayton (who is hardly influencing this year anyway), Petracca and Gawn is what this team is crying out for. Predictability is a double-edged sword that has been troubling us in recent history. 

The rest of this season is wide open and with the way we're playing and the team we're putting on the park, I'm back to thinking anything is possible. Especially so given the evenness of this year. 

The flag is there for the taking. 

Harness this spirit, enthusiasm and proactive football. Let it manifest. 

And let's see where it takes us. 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 20241 yr by middleagedemon

The children yearn for midfield McVee

love the enthusiasm

personally i think it's sydney vs the field

they're as dominant as puddy tatts in 2022 and us in 2021

if they have a clean run with injury for the remainder of the year, i struggle to see anyone beating them anywhere, anytime, anyhow...but it's a funny ol' game, football...

if gc17 win today that's 2 wins separating 2nd and 13th

season is crazy even

Edited July 14, 20241 yr by whatwhat say what