I do fully intend to do the Sydney West Coast rivalry piece, but I thought today I'd stray away from the local form of football - and focus on the international one.
By all accounts Euro 2008 has been one of the most successful and captivating major soccer tournaments in decades. Lots of goals, free flowing games and dramatic finishes have dominated the second biggest round-ball tournament in the world. This is in stark contrast to the dull and abysmal Euro 2004 which saw Greece win the tournament by virtue of boring the opposition into defeat. The tournament has seen some remarkable goals and an amazing amount of last minute drama. I don't think it can be captured in words what the Turkish team accomplished in this tournament. I mean, THREE matches won in the final minute? That's incredible. The Turkish team really did personify the tournament. The Turks may have personified the tournament, but Euro 2008 will obviously be remembered for the Spanish, and the way they ended their title drought.
You talk about underachievers and chokers, and you've got to figure the Spanish national football team is going to be up the top. Major tournament after major tournament they bring in one of the elite talented squads, and time and time again they fall on their faces. It's become tradition. Fate seems to be against the Spaniards as well though. In the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup they had two perfectly legal goals disallowed, and went on to lose to South Korea on penalties. This could only happen to Spain. Or maybe England. Definitely England.
I think we reached the stage where expectations have to start at zero for Spain, and remain there until they actually hold the winners trophy above their heads. Not a moment sooner. I remember quite clearly after the group stage of the 2006 World Cup how people were labeling Argentina and Spain joint favourites for the Cup. The fact is, you can draw absolutely zero conclusions from the Group stage of a tournament. Rarely will a group stage match-up prepare you for what you're going to encounter in later rounds. It's a completely different ballgame. Spain were the ultimate 'Group-stage team'. They were simply too talented not to decimate weaker teams and progress, but when the going got tough, the Spaniards got going. (out the door).
In the past two World Cups Spain lost to a team buoyed by its crowd (South Korea) and a veteran team with a steely confidence about it (France). That's why it was such a shock to see Spain topple (maybe not the best word) Italy in the quarterfinals. Italy are one of the mentally toughest teams going around, and to see the young choke-happy Spaniards defeat them in a grinding match that went to penalty shootouts (!) was incredible. The moment they beat Italy there was simply no way that Spain was not going to win this tournament. They had conquered their demons. Not only were they the now the most talented team, they had the mental toughness to back it up. You can't beat that.
Russia never stood a chance. Spain simply waltzed past them in Group-stage mode. Germany were a threat though. They were the ultimate obstacle. They personified everything that Spain had not been through its history. Calm, cool under pressure, successful, and renowned for coming through in big moments. But aside from a shaky opening 15 minutes, Spain simply dominated their opponents all day. They played aggressive football, and created four scoring opportunities for every one that Germany had. 1-0 did not reflect Spain's dominance in any means. Fernando Torres hit the post with a header and the rebound didn't work to Spain's advantage, and Marcos Senna was a split second away from what would have been a magical goal in the 81st minute. The game could have just as easily been 3-0. Germany didn't have one genuine chance where they SHOULD have scored. Spain had 3 or 4.
A few notes about the game:
-How cool is Cesc Fabregas. He's a player that every time he gets the ball you know he's going to do something good with it. Can we call him the best passer in the game yet? He personifies Spain's free flowing passing game better than anyone else. I'm sure glad he plays for my team.
-Say what you want about Iniesta or Xavi, but Fernando Torres was hands down the player of the match. For impact, influence or sheer excitement, he was the best player on the ground. With David Villa out, Torres had to step up and he did. His blinding speed (and the way he backed it) was amazing. His goal was fantastic too.
-Poor effort Phillip Lahm. I'll never forget his goal to start the World Cup a couple of years ago, but that memory has been smeared by the pathetic manner in which he let Fernando Torres outmuscle him en route to the game-winning goal.
-Has Michael Ballack become losing's new poster boy?
-After the horribly depressing Italy vs. France World Cup final, where good faced evil and lost, it was refreshing to see the better team win today. Spain played better, more aggressive and ultimately more effective football and won. And for once in soccer, it was great to see the better team actually win.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
THE rivalry
Over the next week I'm going to look at the greatest sporting rivalry of our times - West Coast vs. Sydney. I'll take a look at each game and offer thoughts on a number of things including who actually won the rivalry?
It comes very much in spirit of tonight's game, which I think will be closer than what everyone is predicting.
So from the perspective of a Collingwood fan, factoring in placement in the 8, GO EAGLES!
It comes very much in spirit of tonight's game, which I think will be closer than what everyone is predicting.
So from the perspective of a Collingwood fan, factoring in placement in the 8, GO EAGLES!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Round 11 tips
Wow Round 11 already. Here we go...
Geelong vs. North Melbourne by 45 (North were never going to win WITH Thompson and Jones, so without them things could get ugly. Too much heart for an absolute demolition I think. Then again, Qualifying Final 2007...)
Richmond vs. Adelaide by 6 (Very close match-up. Crows have legitimate finals aspirations, Richmond don't. That should be the difference.)
Essendon vs. Hawthorn by 35 (Hawthorn clearly too good, but Essendon will show some spirit. Don't write off a 100 smashing though, especially after the hangover of Essendon's 'honourable loss' last week.)
West Coast vs. Sydney by 1 (Why not!? In Perth and revenge after the Barry Hall incident. Can't you just see Brent Staker playing like he's possessed and kicking a bag of 9? Oh, wait.)
Brisbane vs. Fremantle by 18 (I have a sneaking feeling Fremantle could steal this. They're good enough, and maybe getting away from Perth and the chance to knock off a good-but-not-great team is just the opportunity they've been waiting for. But I don't think Simon Black and Jonathan Brown will let it happen.)
St. Kilda vs. Western Bulldogs by 12 (Hopefully St. Kilda have learned something from their last loss against the Dogs. Slow the pace, isolate Riewoldt and Koschitzke. It's that easy. I just don't think they're that smart.)
Port Adelaide vs. Carlton by 18 (Chad Cornes' comments make this one a little interesting, but he's right, Port shouldn't have too much trouble here.)
Melbourne vs. Collingwood by 40 (If Collingwood lose I'm taking up smoking.)
Geelong vs. North Melbourne by 45 (North were never going to win WITH Thompson and Jones, so without them things could get ugly. Too much heart for an absolute demolition I think. Then again, Qualifying Final 2007...)
Richmond vs. Adelaide by 6 (Very close match-up. Crows have legitimate finals aspirations, Richmond don't. That should be the difference.)
Essendon vs. Hawthorn by 35 (Hawthorn clearly too good, but Essendon will show some spirit. Don't write off a 100 smashing though, especially after the hangover of Essendon's 'honourable loss' last week.)
West Coast vs. Sydney by 1 (Why not!? In Perth and revenge after the Barry Hall incident. Can't you just see Brent Staker playing like he's possessed and kicking a bag of 9? Oh, wait.)
Brisbane vs. Fremantle by 18 (I have a sneaking feeling Fremantle could steal this. They're good enough, and maybe getting away from Perth and the chance to knock off a good-but-not-great team is just the opportunity they've been waiting for. But I don't think Simon Black and Jonathan Brown will let it happen.)
St. Kilda vs. Western Bulldogs by 12 (Hopefully St. Kilda have learned something from their last loss against the Dogs. Slow the pace, isolate Riewoldt and Koschitzke. It's that easy. I just don't think they're that smart.)
Port Adelaide vs. Carlton by 18 (Chad Cornes' comments make this one a little interesting, but he's right, Port shouldn't have too much trouble here.)
Melbourne vs. Collingwood by 40 (If Collingwood lose I'm taking up smoking.)
Mentality of a doormat
One of the bigger stories in the AFL this year has been Fremantle's seeming inability to actually win a game of football. You've heard all the stats - a 1-9 record, 7 losses in a row, 5 consecutive losses having led at 3/4 time (3 of which were at home, the other 2 were against Melbourne and Carlton) and a shockingly respectable percentage of 85.14% despite the one win. On top of that, you've heard all the possible reasons for the failure - a list too old, too many recycled players, lack of fitness, Chris Tarrant, bad luck (supporters of this one have died down recently), and simple choking. The real reason for Fremantle's failure this year, and every other year of their existence, is simple - they don't know how to win, and no one has ever taught them how.
Fremantle have five players on their entire list that have played in premiership sides. Two of them (Dean Solomon and Mark Johnson) are very possibly washed up, one of them (Des Headland) is mentally unstable, another can't keep a cool head or make the most of his talent (Josh Carr), and the other (Peter Bell) despite his inspirational qualities, doesn't even train with the team. A successful team generally needs either a transcendent leader or a very solid veteran core. Having both (Essendon 2000, Brisbane 01-04, West Coast 06) will more often than not will culminate in a premiership. Fremantle have never had a bona fide superstar or leader. Ever. (More on Matthew Pavlich later). You know your not in good shape when your club can realistically say that Shaun McManus is one of its 5 greatest players of all time.
The veteran core doesn't lighten matters. Josh Carr, Jeff Farmer, Shaun McManus, Luke McPharlin, Heath Black, Antoni Grover and the injured Paul Haselby. Take out Carr and you've got a bunch of guys that have stuck with Fremantle over the years out of loyalty and comfort. The problem is that over the years Fremantle have done nothing but lose, and therefore losing is really the only thing these guys have experienced. Farmer and Black have both spent time at other clubs. Farmer never won a premiership with Melbourne and Black played with St. Kilda during a re-building phase. The only guy on this team that knows how to win is Peter Bell, and his priorities seemingly lie elsewhere at this stage.
With a veteran core comprised of losers, hotheads and disinterested players, how are the next wave of players supposed to learn how to win? Watching the early-mid 20s guys, this team's immediate future, guys like Byron Schammer, Ryan Crowley, Daniel Gilmore, Aaron Sandilands, Roger Hayden, Steven Dodd and Michael Johnson is mildly depressing. Unless something changes these guys will become the second coming of Shaun McManus or Matthew Carr - decent players, but surrounded by losing. To borrow the saying, unless Fremantle learn from history they will be doomed to repeat it.
OK, so... no great leader, a weak losing-oriented veteran core, an old team, and a history of years of losing. That's what we've established. Surprisingly enough there is a way to bypass this
quickly. A coach that makes you play hard. People underestimate the importance of a coach. A great coach can take a great team to even greater heights (Leigh Matthews with Brisbane), get the best out of his team (Paul Roos with Sydney) or make a team overachieve (Mick Malthouse with Collingwood in 2002, again in 2006 and 2007). Look at the list of recent premiership coaches - Mark Thompson, John Worsfold, Paul Roos, Mark Williams, Leigh Matthews, Kevin Sheedy, Dennis Pagan, Malcolm Blight, David Parkin, Mick Malthouse. All those guys are fantastic coaches. The two exceptions perhaps are John Worsfold (who won simply because of the unbelievable sheer talent on his list) and Mark Williams (whose team won out of desperation).
Fremantle's coaches? Gerard Neesham, Damien Drum, Ben Allan, Chris Connolly and Mark Harvey. Not exactly an elite list. I thought Connolly was unfairly treated last year. He did provide Fremantle with their only passage on any semblance of success in 2006. The poor play of 2007 was as much the result of the players. His successor Mark Harvey came highly touted and delivered improved play in his time in charge at the end of last year. What I don't understand is how he has completely avoided any sort of blame for the failure this year. Maybe it's the bias of the Victoria for one of its own, but Mark Harvey is one of the chief culprits for Fremantle's failure. A coach should inspire hard-work and winning. Mark Harvey inspires apathy. Through the interviews I've seen with Harvey he seems like a bland and boring bloke. Not the kind of the guy that's going to reverse a losing culture that has dominated a team for over a decade. Not even close.
One last thing needs to be touched on, and it's probably the most tragic element of the trainwreck. This of course is Matthew Pavlich. Since he was drafted 4th in the 1999 draft Pavlich has basically become Fremantle's saviour. He's hands down the best player ever to play for Fremantle. 5 time All-Australian, 4 time best and fairest and 312 career goals. He's a presence on the field, a superb mark, a usually reliable kick, and is generally regarded as one of the 10 best players in the league. Aside from the youth, Pavlich is the only reason to watch Fremantle right now. But he has to go.
In the past five weeks he has had three very makable shots on goal which would either win the match (against Geelong), seal the match (against Carlton), or give his team hope (last week against Port). On all three occasions he has hit the post. A captain, a leader, makes all three of those shots. Sure, he hit the post but it doesn't matter whether you miss by a metre or a mile, a miss is a miss. And Matthew Pavlich missed. Three times. In five matches. That's bad enough, but there's something worse - the look on his face after each miss. When Brad Johnson tensed up and missed after the siren a fortnight ago he was absolutely furious. Uncontrollably. He had a look of anger on his face walking off the field, then broke down when he got into the room. Johnson was plain disgusted with himself for letting his team down like that. That's the reaction of a leader. What was Pavlich's reaction to each of his three misses? A sigh, shake of the head, and then... acceptance. He accepts that he's the leader of his team and he just cost them the match. You don't accept things like that. You hate yourself, then you do whatever you can to improve yourself and make sure something like that never happens again. You go to that same spot you missed and practice until you make the shot 100 times in a row. Ultimately that's the difference between Brad Johnson and Matthew Pavlich - one is a leader, the other is not.
That's why I think Matthew Pavlich has to go. Trade him to Adelaide or Port and get back known youthful commodities and draft picks. On the surface you might think that the idea is stupid. Trade away the best player on your team, an elite player at that, who happens to be in his prime, young, and a virtual lock to kick 60 goals a year? OK so maybe it does sound stupid. But still, it has to happen. Barring any radical move, Matthew Pavlich will be the captain of Fremantle until retirement (or close to it), and it's simply not something that he's a) good at, or b) can handle. It impedes his game. He not indifferent to leadership like Josh Fraser, he does seem to genuinely try to lead, it's just not in his make-up.
I sympathise with Fremantle's situation, I really do. I see what they were doing by trying to bring in experienced players and 'win now' (kind of funny in retrospect considering they've won a wopping 1 game through 10 matches) but not everything is bleak. This ploy has worked in the past. Sydney have used it to great effect, and the arrival of Damien Hardwick and Byron Pickett at Port Adelaide contributed more to the 2004 premiership than people realise. The plan was brave, but it backfired. Horribly. But alas, not all is bleak. The youth in the team is filled with potential. Chris Mayne and Garrick Ibbotson could turn into very good players. And I guarantee, GUARANTEE, that Rhys Palmer will be a multiple All-Australian. He's that good. Then again on the flipside Fremantle have a list backloaded with old players who now can be found aspiring to the 'decline phase' of their career, the new wave of core players is unremarkable, their captain and star player is unhappy and could move elsewhere (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing though) and Chris Tarrant calls Fremantle home. Add to the fact that they've won 1 final in their entire existence, coincidentally the same number of wins they have this year, a year they were expected to contend for a premiership. Wow, maybe things are that bleak.
Fremantle have five players on their entire list that have played in premiership sides. Two of them (Dean Solomon and Mark Johnson) are very possibly washed up, one of them (Des Headland) is mentally unstable, another can't keep a cool head or make the most of his talent (Josh Carr), and the other (Peter Bell) despite his inspirational qualities, doesn't even train with the team. A successful team generally needs either a transcendent leader or a very solid veteran core. Having both (Essendon 2000, Brisbane 01-04, West Coast 06) will more often than not will culminate in a premiership. Fremantle have never had a bona fide superstar or leader. Ever. (More on Matthew Pavlich later). You know your not in good shape when your club can realistically say that Shaun McManus is one of its 5 greatest players of all time.
The veteran core doesn't lighten matters. Josh Carr, Jeff Farmer, Shaun McManus, Luke McPharlin, Heath Black, Antoni Grover and the injured Paul Haselby. Take out Carr and you've got a bunch of guys that have stuck with Fremantle over the years out of loyalty and comfort. The problem is that over the years Fremantle have done nothing but lose, and therefore losing is really the only thing these guys have experienced. Farmer and Black have both spent time at other clubs. Farmer never won a premiership with Melbourne and Black played with St. Kilda during a re-building phase. The only guy on this team that knows how to win is Peter Bell, and his priorities seemingly lie elsewhere at this stage.
With a veteran core comprised of losers, hotheads and disinterested players, how are the next wave of players supposed to learn how to win? Watching the early-mid 20s guys, this team's immediate future, guys like Byron Schammer, Ryan Crowley, Daniel Gilmore, Aaron Sandilands, Roger Hayden, Steven Dodd and Michael Johnson is mildly depressing. Unless something changes these guys will become the second coming of Shaun McManus or Matthew Carr - decent players, but surrounded by losing. To borrow the saying, unless Fremantle learn from history they will be doomed to repeat it.
OK, so... no great leader, a weak losing-oriented veteran core, an old team, and a history of years of losing. That's what we've established. Surprisingly enough there is a way to bypass this
quickly. A coach that makes you play hard. People underestimate the importance of a coach. A great coach can take a great team to even greater heights (Leigh Matthews with Brisbane), get the best out of his team (Paul Roos with Sydney) or make a team overachieve (Mick Malthouse with Collingwood in 2002, again in 2006 and 2007). Look at the list of recent premiership coaches - Mark Thompson, John Worsfold, Paul Roos, Mark Williams, Leigh Matthews, Kevin Sheedy, Dennis Pagan, Malcolm Blight, David Parkin, Mick Malthouse. All those guys are fantastic coaches. The two exceptions perhaps are John Worsfold (who won simply because of the unbelievable sheer talent on his list) and Mark Williams (whose team won out of desperation).
Fremantle's coaches? Gerard Neesham, Damien Drum, Ben Allan, Chris Connolly and Mark Harvey. Not exactly an elite list. I thought Connolly was unfairly treated last year. He did provide Fremantle with their only passage on any semblance of success in 2006. The poor play of 2007 was as much the result of the players. His successor Mark Harvey came highly touted and delivered improved play in his time in charge at the end of last year. What I don't understand is how he has completely avoided any sort of blame for the failure this year. Maybe it's the bias of the Victoria for one of its own, but Mark Harvey is one of the chief culprits for Fremantle's failure. A coach should inspire hard-work and winning. Mark Harvey inspires apathy. Through the interviews I've seen with Harvey he seems like a bland and boring bloke. Not the kind of the guy that's going to reverse a losing culture that has dominated a team for over a decade. Not even close.
One last thing needs to be touched on, and it's probably the most tragic element of the trainwreck. This of course is Matthew Pavlich. Since he was drafted 4th in the 1999 draft Pavlich has basically become Fremantle's saviour. He's hands down the best player ever to play for Fremantle. 5 time All-Australian, 4 time best and fairest and 312 career goals. He's a presence on the field, a superb mark, a usually reliable kick, and is generally regarded as one of the 10 best players in the league. Aside from the youth, Pavlich is the only reason to watch Fremantle right now. But he has to go.
In the past five weeks he has had three very makable shots on goal which would either win the match (against Geelong), seal the match (against Carlton), or give his team hope (last week against Port). On all three occasions he has hit the post. A captain, a leader, makes all three of those shots. Sure, he hit the post but it doesn't matter whether you miss by a metre or a mile, a miss is a miss. And Matthew Pavlich missed. Three times. In five matches. That's bad enough, but there's something worse - the look on his face after each miss. When Brad Johnson tensed up and missed after the siren a fortnight ago he was absolutely furious. Uncontrollably. He had a look of anger on his face walking off the field, then broke down when he got into the room. Johnson was plain disgusted with himself for letting his team down like that. That's the reaction of a leader. What was Pavlich's reaction to each of his three misses? A sigh, shake of the head, and then... acceptance. He accepts that he's the leader of his team and he just cost them the match. You don't accept things like that. You hate yourself, then you do whatever you can to improve yourself and make sure something like that never happens again. You go to that same spot you missed and practice until you make the shot 100 times in a row. Ultimately that's the difference between Brad Johnson and Matthew Pavlich - one is a leader, the other is not.
That's why I think Matthew Pavlich has to go. Trade him to Adelaide or Port and get back known youthful commodities and draft picks. On the surface you might think that the idea is stupid. Trade away the best player on your team, an elite player at that, who happens to be in his prime, young, and a virtual lock to kick 60 goals a year? OK so maybe it does sound stupid. But still, it has to happen. Barring any radical move, Matthew Pavlich will be the captain of Fremantle until retirement (or close to it), and it's simply not something that he's a) good at, or b) can handle. It impedes his game. He not indifferent to leadership like Josh Fraser, he does seem to genuinely try to lead, it's just not in his make-up.
I sympathise with Fremantle's situation, I really do. I see what they were doing by trying to bring in experienced players and 'win now' (kind of funny in retrospect considering they've won a wopping 1 game through 10 matches) but not everything is bleak. This ploy has worked in the past. Sydney have used it to great effect, and the arrival of Damien Hardwick and Byron Pickett at Port Adelaide contributed more to the 2004 premiership than people realise. The plan was brave, but it backfired. Horribly. But alas, not all is bleak. The youth in the team is filled with potential. Chris Mayne and Garrick Ibbotson could turn into very good players. And I guarantee, GUARANTEE, that Rhys Palmer will be a multiple All-Australian. He's that good. Then again on the flipside Fremantle have a list backloaded with old players who now can be found aspiring to the 'decline phase' of their career, the new wave of core players is unremarkable, their captain and star player is unhappy and could move elsewhere (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing though) and Chris Tarrant calls Fremantle home. Add to the fact that they've won 1 final in their entire existence, coincidentally the same number of wins they have this year, a year they were expected to contend for a premiership. Wow, maybe things are that bleak.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
I don't believe what I just saw
OK it's almost three weeks too late, but I have to have my say on what happened on Friday May 23rd. That, in case you didn't know, is the night that the Collingwood Football Club beat Geelong, the defending premiers - BY 86 FREAKIN POINTS! I mean, come on. Considering how bad Collingwood played against Hawthorn, and how average they looked against St. Kilda, there was no way we were going to win this match. Right? OK I said there was no way we were going to beat Geelong. Not exactly true. Obviously. But for us to beat Geelong, winners of 27 of 28 prior to that match BY 86 FREAKIN POINTS in wet weather too mind you, I would have said that was physically impossible. And I still stand by that.
I'm still not sure how it all happened. Well actually I do. Collingwood had been thinking about that preliminary final loss for eight months, Geelong had doubts over their ability to beat the Pies after that match, and the Cats hadn't played a legit tough opponent. They hadn't played Hawthorn, the Dogs, Collingwood at the G' or Adelaide. Yeah, they played Brisbane and Sydney, but minus Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Tadgh Kennelly and Barry Hall. Adding to that they were both played at Skilled.
So you have to figure that Geelong were thinking 'we simply can't be beaten. We haven't lost since like Round 5 2007. The Port game didn't count, we had like half our team injured and who is Dominic Cassisi anyway? We can be down by 25 points in the last quarter in Perth and still win. Pavlich hit the post, BECAUSE WE ARE GEELONG THE GREATEST TEAM OF ALL (by the way, did anyone EVER actually genuinely believe Fremantle were going to win that game? They were up by 39 points at one point, led by 25 at 3/4 time, and had their captain taking a relatively easy set shot in the final minute of the game to win the match, but never did I think Fremantle had a legitmate shot at winning that match. Even when it seemed off the boot Pavlich had split the middle, there was always the sense 'Somehow, someway Fremantle are going to find a way to lose this match' And surely enough, they did.)
Geelong basically coasted through the first eight weeks of the season. Aside from the first two rounds anyway, which were genuinely impressive. But they cooled off and settled for light easy 5 goal wins against teams like Melbourne and Richmond and a depleted Brisbane at home, whereas last year they would have demolished them by 100+ points. Last year the feeling with Geelong was unrelenting. They sent a simple message to their opponents "We're going to kill you, then we're going to bury you, and then we're going to kill you some more". This mentality was very much reflective of what Mark Thompson's mindset must have been after the hell he was put through in 2006. There was simply no mercy for the opposition. This year it's a completely different story. Now the message is more like 'OK, we're going to beat you, but not because we hate you, just because we're better than you and we're expected to beat you'. The team has mellowed. And when Collingwood came out with the greatest ever display of intensity and tackling I have ever seen (Robert Walls will back me up), the Cats simply had no chance.
You get the sense that after the disaster season of 2006 for Geelong and the amazing turnaround of 2007 and how quickly it all happened, the players have a bit of jet-lag. It was an amazing journey for Geelong, emotionally and physically, and after the euphoria of 2007 something dangerous may have overcome the Cats - satisfaction. Are the Cats satisfied with just having disproved their critics? Are they satisfied with the one premiership? The difference between a one-off champion and a dynasty is all about hunger. Do Geelong have it? I guess we won't know until September, and right now I'm guessing that's the one month Geelong won't want to face the Mighty Pies.
I'm still not sure how it all happened. Well actually I do. Collingwood had been thinking about that preliminary final loss for eight months, Geelong had doubts over their ability to beat the Pies after that match, and the Cats hadn't played a legit tough opponent. They hadn't played Hawthorn, the Dogs, Collingwood at the G' or Adelaide. Yeah, they played Brisbane and Sydney, but minus Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Tadgh Kennelly and Barry Hall. Adding to that they were both played at Skilled.
So you have to figure that Geelong were thinking 'we simply can't be beaten. We haven't lost since like Round 5 2007. The Port game didn't count, we had like half our team injured and who is Dominic Cassisi anyway? We can be down by 25 points in the last quarter in Perth and still win. Pavlich hit the post, BECAUSE WE ARE GEELONG THE GREATEST TEAM OF ALL (by the way, did anyone EVER actually genuinely believe Fremantle were going to win that game? They were up by 39 points at one point, led by 25 at 3/4 time, and had their captain taking a relatively easy set shot in the final minute of the game to win the match, but never did I think Fremantle had a legitmate shot at winning that match. Even when it seemed off the boot Pavlich had split the middle, there was always the sense 'Somehow, someway Fremantle are going to find a way to lose this match' And surely enough, they did.)
Geelong basically coasted through the first eight weeks of the season. Aside from the first two rounds anyway, which were genuinely impressive. But they cooled off and settled for light easy 5 goal wins against teams like Melbourne and Richmond and a depleted Brisbane at home, whereas last year they would have demolished them by 100+ points. Last year the feeling with Geelong was unrelenting. They sent a simple message to their opponents "We're going to kill you, then we're going to bury you, and then we're going to kill you some more". This mentality was very much reflective of what Mark Thompson's mindset must have been after the hell he was put through in 2006. There was simply no mercy for the opposition. This year it's a completely different story. Now the message is more like 'OK, we're going to beat you, but not because we hate you, just because we're better than you and we're expected to beat you'. The team has mellowed. And when Collingwood came out with the greatest ever display of intensity and tackling I have ever seen (Robert Walls will back me up), the Cats simply had no chance.
You get the sense that after the disaster season of 2006 for Geelong and the amazing turnaround of 2007 and how quickly it all happened, the players have a bit of jet-lag. It was an amazing journey for Geelong, emotionally and physically, and after the euphoria of 2007 something dangerous may have overcome the Cats - satisfaction. Are the Cats satisfied with just having disproved their critics? Are they satisfied with the one premiership? The difference between a one-off champion and a dynasty is all about hunger. Do Geelong have it? I guess we won't know until September, and right now I'm guessing that's the one month Geelong won't want to face the Mighty Pies.
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