Great article

[Cameron_K]

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19057348-23211,00.html

Dockers turn the corner
By Courtney Walsh
May 8, 2006

FREMANTLE's stirring derby win, following a dramatic week for the club, will be marked as a turning point for the Dockers, should they make a rare finals appearance in four months.

The Dockers' administration and coaching staff talked tough in the build-up to the West Coast match, saying the club would no longer be pushed around, and its playing group responded with an outstanding win.

But buried in the background of the past week is a low-key players' lunch that could have a significant bearing on the Dockers' season.

Heath Black, a key last-quarter contributor for the Dockers in their thrilling five-point win, organised a players' gathering at a Fremantle cafe on Thursday.

The date was chosen well before the controversial St Kilda game but Black said it gave the players the chance to discuss, and put behind them, the bizarre happenings of the previous Sunday.

Black's reason for organising the lunch was sound. He wanted to strengthen the social fabric of the club.

"It was something I really pushed for. I'll pump my tyres up there," Black said.

"We are not talking every week but I think it is something that will bring us closer together."

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Whispers of splinters within the Fremantle playing group have grown louder in two fruitless years since the Dockers' last and only finals appearance in 2003.

Black, 26, admitted he was surprised by the lack of interaction between players away from Fremantle Oval when he rejoined the Dockers at the end of 2004, after a stint at St Kilda.

"It was something I really missed (because) it was something we did a lot at the club I came from. We are not talking about going out and getting blind drunk but things like this are important," he said.

The left footer joined his teammates in stressing the significance of their win in the derby.

"I felt that this game, and last week, was a turning point off the field for this club, and a turning point, if we won the derby, that we could really build on to galvanise the club," Black said.

"I think that clubs that go on and have great years have something through the year that they go, 'Yep, that happened, and we were better for it'. In my view, this could possibly be it."

Dropped, but given a reprieve as a late replacement early in the season, Black said he was working hard to show he was never beaten.

"It's really been a focus in the past few weeks to look upbeat, so to speak, even if I am buggered. I think sometimes I've tended to drag a little," he said.

That attitude featured in both teams in a ferocious contest on Saturday.

When the Eagles and Ross Glendinning medallist Chris Judd threatened to sprint away in the final term, the Dockers refused to yield.

That the Dockers overcame the premiership favourite without Aaron Sandilands for the second half added merit to the win.

Sandilands had surgery for a fractured jaw yesterday and will miss at least a month of football.

Josh Carr, in his best form since joining the club from Port Adelaide in 2004, said it was indicative of the Dockers' growing maturity.

"I think the whole team showed a lot of heart. In the past, maybe we might have gone (away)," Carr said.

"The club handled it really well. I think it is a big step for us. I think it is about growing up as a club.

"Every club that has a good season always has good wins."

Aside from Sandilands, the only low point for the Dockers came not from the players, nor the administration, but rather from their fans, who booed Judd during his acceptance speech for winning a third straight medal for best player in a derby.

"I think it was a little bit disappointing but I think it was the emotion of the game," Carr said.

"But I don't think he would really care about the booing."

Great article here except for the pic of last years derby being used.

Really good to see Black trying to bring the guys together off the field. I think we as supporters don't see just how much of a leader this guy is

 

[Lach72]

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19057348-23211,00.html



Great article here except for the pic of last years derby being used.

Really good to see Black trying to bring the guys together off the field. I think we as supporters don't see just how much of a leader this guy is

Nice work, Buddy!!

 

[Kapow!!!]

I hate it when people say we turn a corner. We always seem to enjoy "turning the corner" so much that we reverse and the back around the corner

 

[inferno66]

Heath Black has really regained form. Seems like a great bloke

 

[dominguez]

Really good to see Black trying to bring the guys together off the field. I think we as supporters don't see just how much of a leader this guy is

Apparently Black has tried really hard to lead by example since he organised the pubcrawl last year that saw the club receive a lot of negative press.

 

[zero]

after he was traded to the saints but before he left, blackie stood up at a end of season club do and said some really nice things about the club.

hes a genuine class bloke.