Keep Hope Alive

[GilG]

I must've set a world record last night (US Pacific Time) watching the game v North Melbourne for how much I cursed at the TV in the second half. Even the Aussie mate I was watching with — a former Collingwood player at that — took the piss out of me by yelling at me to relax and sit down, saying the players and umpires couldn't hear me yelling at them.

Believe me, I was super-pissed at that loss, especially after the ripper first term we had. Like all of you might've thought after that first quarter, I was thinking: "We're officially back. Our mojo's back. We're gonna smash them and kick 100 points and shut up all the haters."

Then, as we got overrun by the Kangas, my superstitions stopped working! That last Roos' mark of the game pushed me over the edge and I stormed off to the bathroom, not wanting to watch the inevitable goal being kicked.

Next, I decided to inflict more torture on myself. I turned on the West Coast-Bulldogs match, hoping for a Doggies upset. We all know how that worked out for us. West Coast's success — except for that of Nic-Nat, who I admittedly have a soft spot for — made me sick to my stomach and further soured my mood. Seriously. I stopped watching midway through the fourth, thinking of how the pundits would gush over the Eagles, say they'd overtake our ladder position and tip them for the flag. Even my cat felt my wrath as my frustration with her insistence on running behind the TV to play near the electrical power strip led me to repeatedly yell at her.

Then I looked at the ladder. And thought about our last two matches. Then I reflected on the season and what lies ahead. And I thought about reality.

We're still on top — even if by a 1/2 game, with two left. Beat Melbourne at home and it doesn't matter what West Coast or Hawthorn do — we lock in a Top 2 spot. Beat Melbourne at home and West Coast loses to Adelaide on the road (entirely possible, with Adelaide fighting to make Finals and motivated by its desire to honor its recently deceased senior coach) and we clinch top spot. Even splitting the last two games will give us a club-record 17 wins in a home-and-away season.

Know what else? This is the only time this year we've ever lost two in a row. And we're still on top. That got me thinking. It actually seems very uncomfortable and dispiriting to lose two games in a row. That's a feeling we haven't had in a long time. And the four losses seem like many more, when in actuality, this is the best win-loss record we've ever had.

My point? This club has been in MUCH worse spots than the one we're in. You guys who've been down since Day 1 would know better than me, since I came on board in '03. We expected to lose many more matches in a row than two. If we hate losing now, how do we think our boys feel? Hopefully, we can just tune out all the West Coast hype, as I'm sure our boys are doing.

This is a rough patch and the footy gods are testing the club.

Even with our recent poor form and many of us not seeing a way out of the malaise, this crisis will pass. I believe in our chances of winning a flag. I have hope.

How 'bout you?

(By the way, after posting this, just saw the MRP dismissed the umpire's report on Nat Fyfe. Things looking better already!)

 

[Purple Lad]

Good post. Lots of negativity been thrown about on this board. I will keep the faith - but I won't be blinded by our poor form. We just aren't looking anywhere near as good as we did in the first nine rounds. Backing the players and coaches to turn it around.

 

[Cobbler]

Our excellent early season form has given us an opportunity. Our ability to grind out wins has given us an opportunity.

All the good form in the world means nothing for teams placed 5-8, they will struggle to make an impact.

Hawks could also enter finals hot but have to travel first week and run out of puff.

I'm not blinded by the fact our form has been down but I'm certainly very pleased with where we're at and confident that our game will hold under finals pressure.

 

[Freodoc]

I want a bit of whatever you're on GilG... makes the world look a better place for sure!

 

[beetz]

The disappointing thing is, they show so much talent and skill. They kick goals, hit targets and superbly..but then the 2nd qtr starts....

Being Freo supporter for so long I have seen this time and time again. They're unstoppable 1 week (or in yesterdays case, 1 quarter) and then they're easy beats the next. It is so frustrating. The team has so many great players and have proven that they can actually play exciting, unbeatable footy and are obviously in a position to set themselves up for the best possible run at the flag in the history of the club! Then, as they do time and time again, drop their bundle. I could give you at least 10 examples of possibly the shittest skills I have ever seen, most of them handballs. It's not just this Freo squad either, I have seen it for the last 20 years. I just don't understand it. It was hard being a Freo supporter when we were floundering in the bottom 8 but for some reason I have been tearing my hair out even more when we sit top of the ladder!

I will support them until the day I die but ffs GET IT DONE, BOYS.

 

[XXRL]

Love your work Gil!

Last night I was thinking how unpleasant it must be for the players to travel home after a loss, especially after a loss like that, with all that time on the plane to re-live the game. Maybe the loss will provide a little spur of motivation when the real season starts.

Our hard work and ability to grind out wins have given us a top two berth (assuming we beat Melbourne) and with that comes an excellent opportunity to make the Grand Final. We are in this thing up to our eyeballs, and no team is infallible - not Hawthorn, not West Coast, not anyone.

I'm hopeful, but not as confident as I'd like to be, but there's still some time for that to change. #foreverfreo

 

[Kram]

The team's form is obviously very concerning but I'm finding it quite funny how many on here are borderline suicidal and almost resigned to bombing out in straight sets next month. It's not over yet.

 

[Freoforever86]

Only 1 qtr ruined us in the derby & poor skills in the north game.
I don't see us turning the ball over that badly again.
Back line is at full strength as is the mid. Forward line is a work in progress.
D Pearce is the one who needs to step up IMO. Been down for weeks now. When he kicks goals & gets 20+ we don't often lose.

We will be ok. Will beat Melb by over 8 goals. Then focus to a good win v port.

 

[Grandstan]

Fantastic post. A shame so many here want to shoot the dog when, yes, there are worries, but there's also plenty to celebrate and reasons to hope.
You would think that we entered the season as unbackable favorites and had failed horribly, like, say Port, when we've far outperformed expectations.

 

[Okinakashi]

It's a game should've won, but didn't. We've been on the opposite side of the ledger at least a couple of times this season - we're still on top with 2 games to play. Plenty of water to go under the bridge until October.

Remember Hawthorn got pantsed on their home deck.

"It's never as good as you think it is and it's never as bad you think" - R. Lyon

 

[Tbonefreo]

I was going off in the gameday thread. Only because my toddler was asleep next to me and i couldnt yell, so i vented here lol. Lifes a holiday

 

[Pusswah]

Sorry Gil, love your work but we're playing like shit.

Lot of work to do.

 

[SHill Shall]

Its the weirdest thing being on top of the ladder and yet feeling like the sky is falling on your head!

 

[UFO Tatsu]

Call me optimistic but I will keep believing as long as we are still in it. But I will not begrudge anyone for being pessimistic.

 

[clivenator26]

Probably the most frustrating game of the Lyon era. I feel like an over entitled tosser picking faults with us being on top but truth is our form is shaky and I just can't see how it will turn before September starts.

 

[rgauci]

Form is fleeting. I'm so optimistic. We'll not go out in straight sets. At 9-0 it must be so hard to stay motivated. You've essentially locked away top 4. For a few weeks we've been close to having top 2 locked away and will probably get that done this week. The motivation to smash in, just can't be there. I'm expecting we'll grow a leg come finals. I wouldn't mind seeing some better kicks make their way back in. Clancee Pearce and Duffield would be the two I turn too.

 

[PapaJ]

Probably the most frustrating game of the Lyon era. I feel like an over entitled tosser picking faults with us being on top but truth is our form is shaky and I just can't see how it will turn before September starts.

Essendon game couple of years back still is the one for me (GF aside of course), that was frustrating to the extreme that game for slightly different reasons. This had a bit more at stake and we should really have comfortably won it ... so yeah, maybe worse in that sense.

Like the 'dons game that time, I can't see us messing around with it that bad again for a while. It's the sort of things you see from good teams 1-2 times a year at most. We got it out of the system, back to honest footy which we can bring and should be good enough for finals if we can stay healthy enough etc.

 

[Freofalcon]

Lovely sentiment, but we look cooked.

Just need to beat Melbourne and forfeit the Port game.

 

[Kram]

Probably the most frustrating game of the Lyon era. I feel like an over entitled tosser picking faults with us being on top but truth is our form is shaky and I just can't see how it will turn before September starts.

This. Was quite confident before the game, dominated the first quarter, wasted opportunities in the 2nd the went to complete poo for almost all of the second half. Sooo frustrating.

 

[FreoGirl]

I must've set a world record last night (US Pacific Time) watching the game v North Melbourne for how much I cursed at the TV in the second half. Even the Aussie mate I was watching with — a former Collingwood player at that — took the piss out of me by yelling at me to relax and sit down, saying the players and umpires couldn't hear me yelling at them.

Believe me, I was super-pissed at that loss, especially after the ripper first term we had. Like all of you might've thought after that first quarter, I was thinking: "We're officially back. Our mojo's back. We're gonna smash them and kick 100 points and shut up all the haters."

Then, as we got overrun by the Kangas, my superstitions stopped working! That last Roos' mark of the game pushed me over the edge and I stormed off to the bathroom, not wanting to watch the inevitable goal being kicked.

Next, I decided to inflict more torture on myself. I turned on the West Coast-Bulldogs match, hoping for a Doggies upset. We all know how that worked out for us. West Coast's success — except for that of Nic-Nat, who I admittedly have a soft spot for — made me sick to my stomach and further soured my mood. Seriously. I stopped watching midway through the fourth, thinking of how the pundits would gush over the Eagles, say they'd overtake our ladder position and tip them for the flag. Even my cat felt my wrath as my frustration with her insistence on running behind the TV to play near the electrical power strip led me to repeatedly yell at her.

Then I looked at the ladder. And thought about our last two matches. Then I reflected on the season and what lies ahead. And I thought about reality.

We're still on top — even if by a 1/2 game, with two left. Beat Melbourne at home and it doesn't matter what West Coast or Hawthorn do — we lock in a Top 2 spot. Beat Melbourne at home and West Coast loses to Adelaide on the road (entirely possible, with Adelaide fighting to make Finals and motivated by its desire to honor its recently deceased senior coach) and we clinch top spot. Even splitting the last two games will give us a club-record 17 wins in a home-and-away season.

Know what else? This is the only time this year we've ever lost two in a row. And we're still on top. That got me thinking. It actually seems very uncomfortable and dispiriting to lose two games in a row. That's a feeling we haven't had in a long time. And the four losses seem like many more, when in actuality, this is the best win-loss record we've ever had.

My point? This club has been in MUCH worse spots than the one we're in. You guys who've been down since Day 1 would know better than me, since I came on board in '03. We expected to lose many more matches in a row than two. If we hate losing now, how do we think our boys feel? Hopefully, we can just tune out all the West Coast hype, as I'm sure our boys are doing.

This is a rough patch and the footy gods are testing the club.

Even with our recent poor form and many of us not seeing a way out of the malaise, this crisis will pass. I believe in our chances of winning a flag. I have hope.

How 'bout you?

(By the way, after posting this, just saw the MRP dismissed the umpire's report on Nat Fyfe. Things looking better already!)

have so much respect for your loyalty

 

[FreoGirl]

The team's form is obviously very concerning but I'm finding it quite funny how many on here are borderline suicidal and almost resigned to bombing out in straight sets next month. It's not over yet.

I've had to block so many people for continuing to ruin my weekends - the same supporters who wont go to a game because it's raining, but can come in here and throw bricks at anybody who doesn't want to give in just yet.

 

[Steinfreo]

Form is fleeting. I'm so optimistic. We'll not go out in straight sets. At 9-0 it must be so hard to stay motivated. You've essentially locked away top 4. For a few weeks we've been close to having top 2 locked away and will probably get that done this week. The motivation to smash in, just can't be there. I'm expecting we'll grow a leg come finals. I wouldn't mind seeing some better kicks make their way back in. Clancee Pearce and Duffield would be the two I turn too.

Thanks man you way you said that made me feel more optimistic.

 

[Van_Dyke]

I must've set a world record last night (US Pacific Time) watching the game v North Melbourne for how much I cursed at the TV in the second half. Even the Aussie mate I was watching with — a former Collingwood player at that — took the piss out of me by yelling at me to relax and sit down, saying the players and umpires couldn't hear me yelling at them.

Believe me, I was super-pissed at that loss, especially after the ripper first term we had. Like all of you might've thought after that first quarter, I was thinking: "We're officially back. Our mojo's back. We're gonna smash them and kick 100 points and shut up all the haters."

Then, as we got overrun by the Kangas, my superstitions stopped working! That last Roos' mark of the game pushed me over the edge and I stormed off to the bathroom, not wanting to watch the inevitable goal being kicked.

Next, I decided to inflict more torture on myself. I turned on the West Coast-Bulldogs match, hoping for a Doggies upset. We all know how that worked out for us. West Coast's success — except for that of Nic-Nat, who I admittedly have a soft spot for — made me sick to my stomach and further soured my mood. Seriously. I stopped watching midway through the fourth, thinking of how the pundits would gush over the Eagles, say they'd overtake our ladder position and tip them for the flag. Even my cat felt my wrath as my frustration with her insistence on running behind the TV to play near the electrical power strip led me to repeatedly yell at her.

Then I looked at the ladder. And thought about our last two matches. Then I reflected on the season and what lies ahead. And I thought about reality.

We're still on top — even if by a 1/2 game, with two left. Beat Melbourne at home and it doesn't matter what West Coast or Hawthorn do — we lock in a Top 2 spot. Beat Melbourne at home and West Coast loses to Adelaide on the road (entirely possible, with Adelaide fighting to make Finals and motivated by its desire to honor its recently deceased senior coach) and we clinch top spot. Even splitting the last two games will give us a club-record 17 wins in a home-and-away season.

Know what else? This is the only time this year we've ever lost two in a row. And we're still on top. That got me thinking. It actually seems very uncomfortable and dispiriting to lose two games in a row. That's a feeling we haven't had in a long time. And the four losses seem like many more, when in actuality, this is the best win-loss record we've ever had.

My point? This club has been in MUCH worse spots than the one we're in. You guys who've been down since Day 1 would know better than me, since I came on board in '03. We expected to lose many more matches in a row than two. If we hate losing now, how do we think our boys feel? Hopefully, we can just tune out all the West Coast hype, as I'm sure our boys are doing.

This is a rough patch and the footy gods are testing the club.

Even with our recent poor form and many of us not seeing a way out of the malaise, this crisis will pass. I believe in our chances of winning a flag. I have hope.

How 'bout you?

(By the way, after posting this, just saw the MRP dismissed the umpire's report on Nat Fyfe. Things looking better already!)

Great post, especially the bolded, as I may have done that myself .

 

[malpaso]

Clancee Pearce and Duffield would be the two I turn too.

I agree especially with Duffield, I believe he would give us more in the midfield/wings than having MDB/Mzungu in the team. For every defensive slip he might make he'd deliver 5 accurate kicks when we go forward. He's one of our best kicks when going forward and consistently hits targets. If we want to retain possession in the finals we need him. Having said that maybe he's hit a wall he can't climb over with fitness/speed etc.

 

[Docker Alyssa]

I'd be fine with playing Hawks first week. If we drop another and west coast don't I don't mind honestly. Being second isn't the end of the world

We need to play/beat hawthorn at some point (likely scenario). Better to be on our home deck and force them to play 4 weeks at a 3-peat.

I still back us to knock off hawthorn at domain over west coast doing it!