
First of all, well played Bulldogs.
*gritted teeth*
I agree 100% with Daniel.
Why does everyone think this is the loss we had to have ? What rubbish. Of course you don't have to lose.
And why do others (Dutchman) persist in thinking that a loss would be good for us (as opposed to a win)
If a loss is good for you, as opposed to a win, then surely teams would be trying to deliberately lose to take advantage of this new phenomenon.
Nothing good (from Essendons point of view) has come from this loss. Nothing.
We had been playing under pressure all year. The pressure will still be there in the finals, especially if you go 21-1. Nothing short of a GF win will be acceptable, whether you are 22-0, or 21-1, so why not strive for 22-0 ? Same diff. Pressue is good anyway. We have been playing under pressure all year, and it has been good. Pressure makes you focussed.
Carlton were under tremendous pressure to win in 1995 after going 20-2, and they won the Grand Final by 10 goals. Pressure is good. Not bad.
All a loss does is make the players lose some confidence and belief (although there is still plenty of both, I can reassure everyone), and shows people that a team is not as good as they would have been if they won the game.
Forget abourt complacency. There has been a bit of a myth lately that Essendon would have been complacent on preliminary final day if they were 23-0 going into the match. Now after losing on Friday, apparently people think we won't be complacent. Apparently people think that loss will make us more focussed. What rubbish. Success breeds success. Why can't a team that has won 20 in a row, win another 5 in a row ? If anything, our motivation is now less, because the motivation to win every game is now gone. We can no longer strive for that.
And I think Essendons home and awaw win loss record during the 1990's of matches decided by 6 points or less (22 wins, 4 losses), indicates that we handle pressure fine.
If Lloyd had taken that mark in the last 30 seconds when it was 5 points the difference (Lloyd had the "sit" and it looked like he was going to take it), then we would all be saying "Look, Essendon stood up when challenged. They won a close game"
Lloyd didn't take the mark, and the Dogs held on. Remember, it took an incredible goal from Grant to win them the game. He wouldn't normally kick a goal like that from the boundary line.
Make no mistake, we are still premiership favourites and deservadly so (gees it's only one loss.....the second best team has lost 5 games ! ), but this loss make it harder for us to win the flag.
A.) We no longer have the motivation to have an undefeated season.
B.) Lack of confidence from losing
C.) Confidence gained from all other opponents
D.) Form drops two weeks before the finals (although form can be a minute to minute thing, really)
Basically, winning can become a habit, and it is a habit I want to continue. If you lose, it breaks that habit, and we don't want that. We want to continue.
Anyay, I'm still extremely confident that we can win it all, because I think Essendon is easily the AFL's most accomplished team (best attack, best defence), but I am just trying to dispell a few myths about football, that people have.
Sure you can learn from a loss, but why does that loss have to be THIS year. Why can't we learn from last years loss, and use that as a spur to win every game. Or learn from losing the first half against Adelaide in Round 10, and use that experience to win games, for example.
You don't have to lose, and losing is ALWAYS worse than winning. I can't believe some Essendon supporters think there are positives to come out of losses. If there are positives, there are always MORE positives to come out of winning than the alternative.
*gritted teeth*
I agree 100% with Daniel.
Why does everyone think this is the loss we had to have ? What rubbish. Of course you don't have to lose.
And why do others (Dutchman) persist in thinking that a loss would be good for us (as opposed to a win)
If a loss is good for you, as opposed to a win, then surely teams would be trying to deliberately lose to take advantage of this new phenomenon.
Nothing good (from Essendons point of view) has come from this loss. Nothing.
We had been playing under pressure all year. The pressure will still be there in the finals, especially if you go 21-1. Nothing short of a GF win will be acceptable, whether you are 22-0, or 21-1, so why not strive for 22-0 ? Same diff. Pressue is good anyway. We have been playing under pressure all year, and it has been good. Pressure makes you focussed.
Carlton were under tremendous pressure to win in 1995 after going 20-2, and they won the Grand Final by 10 goals. Pressure is good. Not bad.
All a loss does is make the players lose some confidence and belief (although there is still plenty of both, I can reassure everyone), and shows people that a team is not as good as they would have been if they won the game.
Forget abourt complacency. There has been a bit of a myth lately that Essendon would have been complacent on preliminary final day if they were 23-0 going into the match. Now after losing on Friday, apparently people think we won't be complacent. Apparently people think that loss will make us more focussed. What rubbish. Success breeds success. Why can't a team that has won 20 in a row, win another 5 in a row ? If anything, our motivation is now less, because the motivation to win every game is now gone. We can no longer strive for that.
And I think Essendons home and awaw win loss record during the 1990's of matches decided by 6 points or less (22 wins, 4 losses), indicates that we handle pressure fine.
If Lloyd had taken that mark in the last 30 seconds when it was 5 points the difference (Lloyd had the "sit" and it looked like he was going to take it), then we would all be saying "Look, Essendon stood up when challenged. They won a close game"
Lloyd didn't take the mark, and the Dogs held on. Remember, it took an incredible goal from Grant to win them the game. He wouldn't normally kick a goal like that from the boundary line.
Make no mistake, we are still premiership favourites and deservadly so (gees it's only one loss.....the second best team has lost 5 games ! ), but this loss make it harder for us to win the flag.
A.) We no longer have the motivation to have an undefeated season.
B.) Lack of confidence from losing
C.) Confidence gained from all other opponents
D.) Form drops two weeks before the finals (although form can be a minute to minute thing, really)
Basically, winning can become a habit, and it is a habit I want to continue. If you lose, it breaks that habit, and we don't want that. We want to continue.
Anyay, I'm still extremely confident that we can win it all, because I think Essendon is easily the AFL's most accomplished team (best attack, best defence), but I am just trying to dispell a few myths about football, that people have.
Sure you can learn from a loss, but why does that loss have to be THIS year. Why can't we learn from last years loss, and use that as a spur to win every game. Or learn from losing the first half against Adelaide in Round 10, and use that experience to win games, for example.
You don't have to lose, and losing is ALWAYS worse than winning. I can't believe some Essendon supporters think there are positives to come out of losses. If there are positives, there are always MORE positives to come out of winning than the alternative.