“Have I died and gone to heaven?” I wondered halfway through our match against Collingwood on Sunday afternoon. The reigning premiers had only kicked two goals so far in the match and we held what looked to be a comfortable five-goal lead.
We seem to have a knack for playing our best in our battles against the powerhouse that is the Pies. Although the only problem is, we’re never in front when the final siren sounds.
In the past our matches have been particularly close, the last two games we’ve been beaten by four and five points respectively, however I honestly wasn’t expecting too much of a contest over the weekend given our inconsistent form.
What I witnessed at Etihad Stadium on the weekend was a surprisingly awesome match, for a good two and a bit quarters anyway.
I was so impressed with our start for a change. We were pretty much doing everything right except hitting a target deep inside 50 and allowing the ball to rebound out of the forward line too easily. Our intensity was right up, we were clearing the ball and our shots on goal were finding the middle of the sticks.
Not to mention Scott Thompson had the ball on a piece of string.
Sloane scored first, van Berlo followed and Tippett even managed to snag two majors right on his kicking limit.
The seven-point lead we held at quarter time quickly ballooned in the second term as we played on to keep Collingwood goalless for the quarter.
Our shots were actually going through due to them being taken near the front of goal rather than in the pockets as they usually are. Smith, Dangerfield and Tippett scored from an easy range and Schmidt added to the tally with a running kick in the goal square.
And there we were, halfway through the game with a 30-point lead. Despite having the same amount of scoring shots as the Pies we just looked so much better.
While I was busy declaring my shock and happiness in the score line somewhere deep down in my gut I had an inkling Collingwood would make their way back into the game. As much as I dislike them I respect the way they play their footy and there was no way what we had witnessed to that point was anywhere their finest.
It didn’t take long after the break for our more fancied opposition to bridge the gap as they kicked the opening two goals of the third term.
Dangerfield, who spent the majority of the match in the forward line, got one back but was matched down the other end by Collingwood’s Shaw and then Thomas. We were able to push the lead out again through Gunston, Sloane and a good old-fashioned Knights long bomb but the Pies simply responded again.
In a matter of what seemed like only minutes our solid lead whittled down to a mere two goals at three quarter time.
Need I go on from here?
While I guess it is somewhat reasonable to expect our vastly inexperienced side to be trounced by the team with the latest silverware that last quarter was just terrible and unacceptable.
I don’t know what it is with us but we really struggle to hold on, and have been unable to in most instances, when we have an unexpected lead.
It’s almost as if we think, “Wait a minute this isn’t right, we’re in front! We’ve done our best now let’s call it a day.”
I’m hanging out for us to play four quarters of footy instead of making guest appearances here and there. If we can string together some consistent football quarter-to-quarter and week-to-week we might actually be a half decent side.
I’d like to see some changes ahead of our clash against the Lions this weekend. Surely Taylor Walker has to come in having kicked 12 goals in two SANFL games. I think we missed him on Sunday and I would much rather he was kicking bags of goals for us than Norwood.
As I touched on earlier Patrick Dangerfield was used mostly as a forward. I know he can kick goals and I don’t mind seeing him down there in bursts but our midfield looked mediocre when Collingwood were tearing it apart in the final term. He adds that real hardness and desire for the ball that we at times lack in the centre.
I’m expecting us to win against Brisbane, who have notched up only one win for the season. So let’s do it in style. Let’s play four good quarters of footy.
