This season will always have an asterix against it for me, the players from all clubs whilst taking pay cuts have had to live a pretty stingent life compared to most, except for us living in Victoria, don't under estimate how tough it is mentally to basically be told you cant go anywhere or doing anything, even after last nights loss they now have to go back into quarantine for a week because they played for 2 hours against another team who like the Eagles have been under strict conditions and were being tested regularly, that is a ******* ridiculous decision by the government in WA. Such a shame the state premiers around the country have decided to use the virus for political gain.
Personally i have struggled to watch a lot of the footy this year, and for the first time in a long time, found myself not watching games due to the poor quality, and the compromised season.
Our players particularly struggled with challenges of the season mentally more than other clubs, we have been hero's at home, and mice away, our visits to QLD have been poor, their is no getting around that, the first trip was terrible, we only beat crows, Freo and Swans, came home and had a winning streak, but other than the Pies and Freo games, we were hot and cold during the rest, Giants game was an unconvincing win and the writing was on the wall where this season was going, we had quite a few games were we didn't bother the scoreboard for a quarter, the second trip to the hub was not much better, the win against the Saints showed what we were capable of if we wanted to put the effort, but far to often we were only interested on the odd occasion when it suited us, it has been like that now for two years, and the last game against the Roo's was a terrible way to finish the regular season.
Once injuries hit our depth was shown for what it is poor, especially in the midfield, our midfield is ageing , with most near or around 30. We have zero speed in there, and the only bloke that has any speed-Petch could not get a kick at the burley factory, even the next ones through do not seem to be quick. That should be our priority over the next few years, looking for some speed. The only real speed we have in their right now is Shuey and his hammies are starting to let him down. Sheed-Redden-Gaff and Kelly are not quick and whilst they can accumalate they can get burnt once we turn it over.
It's not all doom and gloom however, and i'll be the first to admit i did not see Ryan being as good as he has become, if he is not top two in the B&F this year, something is drastically wrong. He would be great in the middle if he could build a tank to play there full time, but then we would be robbing our forward line of his talents.
Waterman could be the next Adam Hunter, switching between back and forward, he also has some spunk about him, Oscar is going to be a superstar in the years to come, and it might go against popular opinion but i also think Brander will be a very good footballer in time, just need to find the right spot for him. Rotham will be a good replacement for Hurn eventually.
Duggan should be our next captain, and i was disappointed he was not in the leadership group this year, kid is tough as hell and that is how a leader should be.
One thing we do know our club won't settle for being middle of the road for to long.
So in short " * covid ", and let's hope 2021 is a better year.
Personally i have struggled to watch a lot of the footy this year, and for the first time in a long time, found myself not watching games due to the poor quality, and the compromised season.
Our players particularly struggled with challenges of the season mentally more than other clubs, we have been hero's at home, and mice away, our visits to QLD have been poor, their is no getting around that, the first trip was terrible, we only beat crows, Freo and Swans, came home and had a winning streak, but other than the Pies and Freo games, we were hot and cold during the rest, Giants game was an unconvincing win and the writing was on the wall where this season was going, we had quite a few games were we didn't bother the scoreboard for a quarter, the second trip to the hub was not much better, the win against the Saints showed what we were capable of if we wanted to put the effort, but far to often we were only interested on the odd occasion when it suited us, it has been like that now for two years, and the last game against the Roo's was a terrible way to finish the regular season.
Once injuries hit our depth was shown for what it is poor, especially in the midfield, our midfield is ageing , with most near or around 30. We have zero speed in there, and the only bloke that has any speed-Petch could not get a kick at the burley factory, even the next ones through do not seem to be quick. That should be our priority over the next few years, looking for some speed. The only real speed we have in their right now is Shuey and his hammies are starting to let him down. Sheed-Redden-Gaff and Kelly are not quick and whilst they can accumalate they can get burnt once we turn it over.
It's not all doom and gloom however, and i'll be the first to admit i did not see Ryan being as good as he has become, if he is not top two in the B&F this year, something is drastically wrong. He would be great in the middle if he could build a tank to play there full time, but then we would be robbing our forward line of his talents.
Waterman could be the next Adam Hunter, switching between back and forward, he also has some spunk about him, Oscar is going to be a superstar in the years to come, and it might go against popular opinion but i also think Brander will be a very good footballer in time, just need to find the right spot for him. Rotham will be a good replacement for Hurn eventually.
Duggan should be our next captain, and i was disappointed he was not in the leadership group this year, kid is tough as hell and that is how a leader should be.
One thing we do know our club won't settle for being middle of the road for to long.
So in short " * covid ", and let's hope 2021 is a better year.
Last edited:
