The umpiring wasn't good, but as you said WC would rightfully feel slighted by some decisions too even if they seemed to get away with more. I'm not angry about the umpiring and wasn't overly during the game either one or two decisions aside, which supports my feeling that they weren't the reason we didn't win. Others may disagree and that's their right, I just don't share the same opinion.
Brilliant postI dunno if it's:
1) because I grew up in the Hafey era and my brain is just protecting itself,
2) last week was about as good as it gets, or
3) WCE are a team I respect and are not what I consider a bitter rival........but
I am strangely calm about it all despite it cutting deep. From the minute I arrived , to the banner collapsing , the "runner incident" (there's always something.....) and even at quarter time - I just had that rotten feeling that we were going to lose a close one in painful circumstances. And in the end I think that massively over achieving vs everyone's expectations this year softens the blow a bit.
Before I comment on the game I will say that I am proud of the majority of our supporters and how they have conducted themselves both on BF and at the ground. All clubs have their flog supporters but I will also say that the vast majority of WCE supporters that I interacted with were , if not humble, then certainly not abrasive in victory. The Weagles in front of us complemented my son on his footy knowledge and showed genuine empathy when he was in tears at the end.
I think many of us have made a pact with ourselves (win or lose) not to carry on like you know who and from my vantage point that seems to be the case.
The game........well like I said , I had a feeling of dread even after the first five straight. No doubt it's painful to lose any game where you blitz the start and lead for 99% of the game but , given that our mids failed to give us the I50s we needed and we were destroyed in the air to an embarrassing extent , it's an indication of our grit and tackling that we held on as long as we did. On the other hand it seems that our constant bombing up the line was largely against instructions
The umpiring has copped some fair criticism based on what I saw from the stands. I am loathe to comment in detail without seeing the TV replay (if I can take it) but I certainly left with the impression that bad decisions were a big influence on the game in general without going as far as saying they influenced the result. That is never a good feeling to have in a close one. Looking at the stats and ,given that WCE pretty much had our measure for 3 quarters, I would never say that " we was robbed" either. I just had no clue what half of the free kicks were for - especially some of the ruck contests - and bemoaned the lack of consistency with blocks/play on etc. Perhaps it'll be clearer on TV?
One other strange feeling is that I am full of praise for our perennial punching bags like Mayne and Clangers (missed rushed behind aside) along with a first year player like Stevo and yet wondering where players like Pendles and Sidey were. Obviously it can be a case of "you only play as well as your opponent lets you" but it is an unusual scenario to have in a GF and another indication that we weren't dominant enough to ever feel confident of holding on. To me Pendles has looked drawn in the face and clearly not right for weeks but if they cross that white line..........WCE also had plenty out there who may not have played outside of a GF - I can't comment on theirs other than to say they seemed to do well.
The other key one for us was Howe and in hindsight ,I think Reid was needed. If we went in short a tall then it was imperative that Howe was able to jump and spoil like he did in the Richmond game and , to me, he didn't seem capable. It may be that a couple of flubbed kicks luckily fell into WCE forwards laps but for the most part there just seemed to be an embarrassing lack of aerial pressure and way too much space for them at key times.
Another thing that stood out to me was that when there was an opportunity to make one of our players "earn it" that the WCE players took that opportunity whereas (Varcs aside) we seemed not to? The Maynard hit was possibly a bit ordinary, as was the elbow to WHE's head early, but it's the sort of thing that can influence a GF and we seemed to not be interested. It's a fine line between that and giving a silly free away and perhaps we were conscious of how frees were tracking.
Anyway............well done Weagles . I think both sides have a lot to be proud of and throw a few players back in the mix (Nic Nat, Gaff? , Moore, Elliott, etc....) along with other youngsters coming along and, with a bit of luck, both sides can certainly be up there for a while. A lot to like about both teams/coaches.
If I can make it along physically I will try and get back in there tomorrow to show my appreciation for what Bucks and the boys have achieved in 2018 under less than ideal circumstances.
and I had much the same feeling. On Howe I wonder how hurt he was with the ankle as at times he didn't look right, however the same could be said of McGovern especially in the first quarter.I wonder how much a factor four tough finals were verses the eagles who had one tough one, a week off and then an easy prelim. It may put to bed the belief that the end of year bye hurts qualifying final victors.
Yes it is hindsight. It's easy to say that, now that we have lost of course we now know it might have been a different result if we had picked Reid. but it's unlikely, it would be a big long shot that he walks into a grannie without any match touch or fitness for months and is able to clunk lots of marks and spoils against the best marking side in the comp, and in that extreme pressure cauldron. So yours is a very cruel assessment.
Correct call but .Last quarter pendles just watched as a kick out from defence went towards him but he just stood back and let Darling take an uncontested mark.
probably watched a game where his disposals were half his average, had no influential marks, no goals, his opposite kicked a couple of crucial goals and gave away (probably unfairly) 6 frees.
