Opinion Bloods Culture - myth ?

[bedford]

It came up on radio today from Patrick Smith who has pumped us up a bit, said its a myth. Rightly or wrongly after Saturdays pathetic effort he might be right. Love it or not we were bad and our standing in the AFL as the club that always has a crack has gone. That was soft.

 

[mtooler]

I agree. There was nothing about the bloods on Saturday.

 

[Jack2Jack]

Since the 2012 GF when was the last time we've overhauled a 20 point deficit against a decent team, there was a fight back against (a non finalist) in North last year and a couple games against Richmond this (who weren't really that great only finished 8th).

Certainly feels like we've rolled over a lot easier when the good teams have gotten 4-5 goal leads against us, certainly don't remember a 'come-back' style win of late. Obviously the GF and round 4 game were the only times we were in that position this year, but there were quite a few last year. There were a few papering over a few cracks type fight backs, but don't recall any genuine ones in the last couple years.

 

[YorshireSwan]

For me there has become to much focus on outside run or 'speed' and I think the 'balance' of the team has gone to far away from what was the bloods culture. With the exception of JPK and Parker to a certain degree our none of other midfielders are not hard at it like Bolton and ROK were and this is where Mitchell is critical and must come into the team.

 

[alanlau34]

Bloods culture isn't just what happens on the field - it's what happens behind closed doors and on the training track. Hard to see us losing that just because of this one game.

I think the problem was the line between confidence and overconfidence was crossed pre-game. We had a good game plan, gun forwards to kick to, solid team defence - then it all fell apart when Hawthorn brought the pain. Probably overconfidence in the team and game plan meant that not much changed quarter to quarter as Horse backed our boys to get on top eventually.

I think it'll be a matter of getting the personnel right, as well as a few more coaching plans in place, rather than any change in the culture going forward.

 

[Horts]

It does exist, but it might be laying dormant right now.

I haven't seen any evidence of it since the 2012 GF.

When I think Bloods through the generations I think Skilton, Kelly, Maxfield, Kirk, Bolton etc..
I can't really put the word "Blood" to a current player.. yet.

We need blokes like Kirk back at the club, for us I think he's worth his weight in gold and I'd be definitely be enquiring about how settled he is in Perth, or even just for a one off talk with the boys, although I'm not sure how possible that would be while under contract at another club.

 

[bungwahl]

For me there has become to much focus on outside run or 'speed' and I think the 'balance' of the team has gone to far away from what was the bloods culture. With the exception of JPK and Parker to a certain degree our none of other midfielders are not hard at it like Bolton and ROK were and this is where Mitchell is critical and must come into the team.

Yep I agree - we're too reliant on Kennedy to win the ball. The media generally use the word "culture" to describe a footy club that is run well - then they hype it up to make it sound like the management team are gods, coaches are wizards and the players are all monks.

The reality is that there is a good set up at the footy club and that Sydney don't have the level of internal bitching and politics that some other clubs face. One bad game does not change the club, particularly if they come out next year and avenge that performance.

The sky is not falling. Can you all calm the **** down please?

 

[bungwahl]

When I think Bloods through the generations I think Skilton, Kelly, Maxfield, Kirk, Bolton etc..
I can't really put the word "Blood" to a current player.. yet.

We need blokes like Kirk back at the club, for us I think he's worth his weight in gold and I'd be definitely be enquiring about how settled he is in Perth, or even just for a one off talk with the boys, although I'm not sure how possible that would be while under contract at another club.

I'd say JPK is definitely worthy but agree many of the young guys are yet to prove themselves. Definitely agree with sounding out Kirk!

 

[SilentHunter_]

Well if it has disappeared, that loss should be the spark that re-ignites it! If not then this team has truly lost its roots.

 

[The King!]

its no different to any culture at any club, its just BS that its some mystical thing no one else has.

if they are bloods or whatever then they let arguably the greatest blood down in his possible last game

 

[McRobie]

Geez there are some irrational posters at the moment, I hated the game on sat like everyone else and yes it was soft and yes it was pathetic and all the rest of it but one game albeit the biggest game of the year doesn't overnight make this squad a bunch of weak chokers. The players will be gutted and ashamed no doubt but with the amount of talent in that squad I assure you that come next year you will all be singing a very different tune.
I'm happy to go out on a limb and say that this will sting the side so badly that it will take them to another level next season, it's a loss that might give us that campaigner edge that we lacked on Sat.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

We don't become a culture less rabble in 3hrs of football.

 

[The King!]

Geez there are some irrational posters at the moment, I hated the game on sat like everyone else and yes it was soft and yes it was pathetic and all the rest of it but one game albeit the biggest game of the year doesn't overnight make this squad a bunch of weak chokers. The players will be gutted and ashamed no doubt but with the amount of talent in that squad I assure you that come next year you will all be singing a very different tune.
I'm happy to go out on a limb and say that this will sting the side so badly that it will take them to another level next season, it's a loss that might give us that campaigner edge that we lacked on Sat.

i agree but its hard to stay in that line of thinking only a few days later

i just think even prior the grannie the whole bloods culture thing is overplayed in the media

just my view

but i dont see the inner workings of the club

 

[McRobie]

i agree but its hard to stay in that line of thinking only a few days later

i just think even prior the grannie the whole bloods culture thing is overplayed in the media

just my view

but i dont see the inner workings of the club

Yep fair call. Everyone is irrational for a bloody good reason.

 

[Tedeski]

It came up on radio today from Patrick Smith who has pumped us up a bit, said its a myth. Rightly or wrongly after Saturdays pathetic effort he might be right. Love it or not we were bad and our standing in the AFL as the club that always has a crack has gone. That was soft.

Couldn't agree more Bedders.

At half time, I mentioned to my son that in 2006 we were in a similar position against a drugged up West Coast.
Brett Kirk single handedly dragged us back into the contest & we unfortunately went down by a point.

I said who will be the one to stand up & show some fight to drag us back into the game?

That was the most disappointing thing for me Bedders. There was no one. In fact the only players that showed some fight that resembled the Bloods were Kennedy, Buddy & Goodes!

The Bloods died when Jude retired last year as far as I'm concerned. It is still a strong culture but a very different one to that of the Bloods.

Until we win a flag with this group of players in a hard nosed manner, then the Bloods is a thing of the past, as it was when Roos & Kirk took over the group!

I now strongly believe that Kennedy should be a Captain with Buddy made part of our leadership group as it will help make Kennedy a life long Swan & it will help further stabilize Buddy as a person off field than he was in Melbourne.

Not interested in watching that game again because I didn't recognise most of those players wearing the Red & White.

I still love them but not on GF day 2014!

 

[V9x18]

september 27th 2014 will forever be remembered as the day the bloods culture died

 

[The King!]

what is the bloods culture really?

 

[bedford]

Yep I agree - we're too reliant on Kennedy to win the ball. The media generally use the word "culture" to describe a footy club that is run well - then they hype it up to make it sound like the management team are gods, coaches are wizards and the players are all monks.

The reality is that there is a good set up at the footy club and that Sydney don't have the level of internal bitching and politics that some other clubs face. One bad game does not change the club, particularly if they come out next year and avenge that performance.

The sky is not falling. Can you all calm the **** down please?

No

 

[bungwahl]

No

Bunch of pea hearted fans here. I usually say "supporters", but not sure that word is warranted in this morgue.

 

[bedford]

Well don't look at it. Anyone that excepts that has no idea and probably should be going for GWS.

 

[skipper kelly]

Geez there are some irrational posters at the moment, I hated the game on sat like everyone else and yes it was soft and yes it was pathetic and all the rest of it but one game albeit the biggest game of the year doesn't overnight make this squad a bunch of weak chokers. The players will be gutted and ashamed no doubt but with the amount of talent in that squad I assure you that come next year you will all be singing a very different tune.
I'm happy to go out on a limb and say that this will sting the side so badly that it will take them to another level next season, it's a loss that might give us that campaigner edge that we lacked on Sat.

Great post.

Supporting an AFL club to the extent that most of us do is irrational at best anyway. But that's for another day.

We all saw what happened on Saturday so for me the the analysis of why comes down to preparation. Something has obviously gone wrong. I don't believe it was over confidence but if it was then that is about preparation. Why would they be over confident? Did they read and listen to the media throughout the week and take that on board. If so then that's bad preparation by the leaders of the club.

To me they looked fatigued from the start. Was the fatigue due to nerves? Was it physical or mental fatigue? Did they underplay the importance of the GF to keep the players relaxed and they never switched on? Did they overplay the importance causing mental fatigue? Did they train hard enough or too hard throughout the finals?

These are the things the club will be looking at. No doubt. Players like Hannebury and Parker are maniacs and don't lose that for no reason.

They can sift through the tape a million times but they won't find the answers. They will find that Hawthorn played an amazing game of physical and precision footy. They won't find why we didn't respond or why we had to respond. It will all be found by reviewing the preparation.

Like you McRobie, I have no doubt these players will be back bigger and better next year. And it won't involve trading players like Hannebury or starting pre season training on the Monday after the GF. And it certainly wont involve shaming the players and telling the world what went wrong.

Go BLOODS.

BLOODS forever.

 

[BruceFromBalnarring]

I often read Bedford's contributions and think he's a bit harsh. And one thing I hate is when Victorian based and Sydney based supporters get into this "who is the better supporter" crap. But can I say this?

You Sydney based supporters don't have to spend every farking day of every farking week copping shit about COLA, the MRP, the Academy, the bullshit about being the AFL's pet etc etc etfknc! You didn't have to suffer the sht about losing your club interstate. You didn't have to cop the shit that came throughout the 2000s. The one thing we have had to come back with is that the Bloods culture represented something that those flipping pissant Victorian based clubs don't have. You got to fly home on Saturday night or Sunday and can get on with your lives.

Not us. Every social occasion, every BBQ, every race day, every Christmas party, every kids' birthday, we are going to cop it because our club turned up its toes at the big dance. You have no idea. It will be relentless. The emails. The text messages. The Facebook memes. The jokes (they haven't even started yet). Hawthorn supporters. Carlton supporters. Collingwood supporters. We'll be stuck in the flipping corner smoking darts with the flipping Bombers' supporters. That's how bad it will be. For at least 12 months.

Now I get that we got jumped and bashed up on Saturday. I get that they got away with murder. What I will never get is our failure to respond in any meaningful way.

Where was the player dragging Lake off Buddy and telling him he was going to get killed if he buried him like that again? Where was the player pole axing Hodge? Where was the player flattening McEvoy and Roughead? Surely they weren't expecting protection from the Umpires? Pretty flipping naive if they were.

We pay in excess of $300 for a membership that might get us half a dozen games shoved into the boondocks somewhere, if we can get in at all. And a cap, sticker, and key ring. The value in that $300 is the chance that we should get the opportunity to pay another $150 for standing room at an all too rare Grand Final.

And our club, the so-called "Bloods", dished up that. Don't tell us to calm down. And don't question our commitment. As supporters, particularly we older ones, we have been through more than you could possibly know. We know, far more than you do, just how rare these opportunities are.

And if anyone from the club is reading this, I do not want to hear one more flipping apology. Don't you dare think that this can be fixed with words. If you get jumped like that again, and protection isn't forthcoming from the umps, and it won't be, then you bloody well fight back. You stand up like the men you are supposed to be and put them back on their arses. I don't care if we lose, providing we stood up.

We have the players. We have the game. There's only one way to fix it. And you'd better bloody fix it.

 

[The King!]

I often read Bedford's contributions and think he's a bit harsh. And one thing I hate is when Victorian based and Sydney based supporters get into this "who is the better supporter" crap. But can I say this?

You Sydney based supporters don't have to spend every farking day of every farking week copping shit about COLA, the MRP, the Academy, the bullshit about being the AFL's pet etc etc etfknc! You didn't have to suffer the sht about losing your club interstate. You didn't have to cop the shit that came throughout the 2000s. The one thing we have had to come back with is that the Bloods culture represented something that those ruddy pissant Victorian based clubs don't have. You got to fly home on Saturday night or Sunday and can get on with your lives.

Not us. Every social occasion, every BBQ, every race day, every Christmas party, every kids' birthday, we are going to cop it because our club turned up its toes at the big dance. You have no idea. It will be relentless. The emails. The text messages. The Facebook memes. The jokes (they haven't even started yet). Hawthorn supporters. Carlton supporters. Collingwood supporters. We'll be stuck in the ruddy corner smoking darts with the ruddy Bombers' supporters. That's how bad it will be. For at least 12 months.

Now I get that we got jumped and bashed up on Saturday. I get that they got away with murder. What I will never get is our failure to respond in any meaningful way.

Where was the player dragging Lake off Buddy and telling him he was going to get killed if he buried him like that again? Where was the player pole axing Hodge? Where was the player flattening McEvoy and Roughead? Surely they weren't expecting protection from the Umpires? Pretty ruddy naive if they were.

We pay in excess of $300 for a membership that might get us half a dozen games shoved into the boondocks somewhere, if we can get in at all. And a cap, sticker, and key ring. The value in that $300 is the chance that we should get the opportunity to pay another $150 for standing room at an all too rare Grand Final.

And our club, the so-called "Bloods", dished up that. Don't tell us to calm down. And don't question our commitment. As supporters, particularly we older ones, we have been through more than you could possibly know. We know, far more than you do, just how rare these opportunities are.

And if anyone from the club is reading this, I do not want to hear one more ruddy apology. Don't you dare think that this can be fixed with words. If you get jumped like that again, and protection isn't forthcoming from the umps, and it won't be, then you bloody well fight back. You stand up like the men you are supposed to be and put them back on their arses. I don't care if we lose, providing we stood up.

We have the players. We have the game. There's only one way to fix it. And you'd better bloody fix it.

post of the bloody year

more passion than the players showed for a start

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

No it's not a myth, but yes, it went totally f***ing AWOL on Saturday.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Everyone is irrational for a bloody good reason.

Might make that my motto from here on in.