Perspective

[Redford]

It's good to see most people on this site are generally keeping things in perspective with regards to our performance so far this season.

There's a few people however, who are talking about finals footy etc. which is very premature. At the end of the day, there's a number of positives....but there's also a few negatives or reasons to be cautious. What does everyone think ?

Some of the positives (there's probably a few more):

1) Big Dud Frawley (probably because Brittain has made him aware) has finally recognised that playing Coughlan and Rodan on the ball more will improve our performances at stoppages and in the centre. Hooray !
2) Stafford is having a real impact. At last, someone with a bit of nastiness. We need two more nasty players...
3) Tivendale has gone up a level.
4) We are much more aggressive at the opposition when they have the ball than we were last year.
5) Johnson has been valuable and freed up Campbell.
6) Newman has been as solid as a rock.
7) A couple of additions at around the half way mark of the season will give us added flexibility.

Some negatives:
1) Whilst we can only beat those we're drawn to play, the fact remains that our 4 wins have come against mediocre sides. The only good side we've played so far flogged us. We'll TRULY know where we are once we've played Port Power Nap and the Bummers.
2) We are still persisting with duds. Rogers and Pettifer should not be in the team. Fiora is an absolute deadsh*t who makes mistake after mistake.
3) Granted, he's got a big job at the moment but Ray Hall is struggling. His kicking is getting worse and worse. I've watched him at training a heap lately and ultimately, I don't think he's up to scratch.
4) We're putting too much pressure on Kellaway and Gaspar. They can't keep this up.
5) We keep talking about Holland being a saviour for the backline. Garbage. He's played half a good season in 6 and is coming off a knee reco. No way. We should be trying out Schulz - no matter how young and inexperienced so as to get a long term solution.

 

[TigerFurious]

You're a breath of fresh air Redford.
;D

Couldn't agree more particulary in regards to Fiora. It makes me sad every time I watch Pavlich going around with Freo. We really lost out big time on that whole deal.

 

[Harry]

Agree. Especially about Rogers and Pettifer. They need a definate spell at Coburg.

Playing Coughlan and Rodan mainly in the middle and the acquisition of Johnson has made the big difference.

If we can show good performances in the next 2 weeks against Port and Essendon, win or lose then we can talk finals, until then lets all wait.

My concern with Holland was that he was slow enough before his reco, (his nic was cement as it looked liked his legs weighed like cement) now he will be slower and might be caught out.

 

[MC24]

I agree Redford, that there's still a long way to go. If Saturday's win is to become the turning point for our players, then the next few weeks will tell whether we've taken the next step or not, because the only way we can truly measure how much we have improved, if any, is over a considerable number of weeks and particularly against quality opposition.

There are many factors that contribute to why a team performs the way it does. And the inclusion of Johnson and the development of Coughlan, Rodan and Newman have provided us with some real hope for the future, because of what they bring to the team. The win against Hawthorn is perhaps a watershed game for our Club. However, we have had such games in the past, only to quickly learn that they were a false alarm.

It's in the big games where flaws are exposed and, as far as big games are concerned, Brisbane's recent record is hard to falter, while ours has been nothing to be proud of. I doubt that 'individuals' or selfish players could survive in their team structure. Indeed, any team consisting of players who play as individuals is going to be hard pressed to get anywhere near being good enough to challenge for a top 2 or 3 position, regardless of their line up. It only needs one or two selfish 'individuals' to undermine the efforts of the other players, particularly in a big game.

One of the defining qualities that separate the best from the rest is that the good teams have several 'gears' or can raise their level of intensity throughout a game, perhaps at will. For many seasons, to me, we seem to be a team that has never been able to get out of maybe third gear, at best. A team such as Brisbane, however, can seemingly pick up the tempo as and when required. That ability puts them far and above most other teams. This requires a level of faith and trust in teammates, because without that it just couldn't happen. My view is that until we develop such a capacity then we will continue to make up the numbers.

The football world hasn't rated us all that highly over the years, and why should they. I suspect that some of our harshest critics are just sitting back waiting to see what unfolds over the next few weeks. They can wait, but for me, for the first time in our recent tragic history, I'm actually starting to believe that things are really changing for the better. It's way too early to tell, but it's never too early to hope. Only time will tell, of course, because we've all been disappointed too many times in the past to want to get ahead of ourselves.

To be convinced of any improvement, we all need to see our efforts against the top teams, which is where we have been shown up in the past. I think there will be an improvement in these 'big' games, from what we have seen recently, but time will tell on our ability to be able to go with a Brisbane for a sustained period of a game. These are the games where we find out about certain players and whether we have improved and how much more we still need to do to be considered contenders.

Brisbane's confidence, self-belief and belief in each other is what puts them ahead of others and as long as they can maintain that and their overall team structure, they will be hard for any team to stop, but nothing's impossible.

As you say Redford, we still have some obvious weaknesses, but, for now, I'll be content watching the continued improvement of the young guns and development of the team as a whole, so long as I can see that we are improving.

 

[Tigerdog]

MC that eloquent post described it all... PERFECT... very well said!

 

[Rampaging_Richo]

All very good points.

One of the most pleasing things is our attack at the ball and the man which was virtually non existant last year.

The addition of Fleming has really helped in that it has shown some of the younger guys that they can put there body in and not get hurt.

I also think a few people have been caught out with our physicality. Especially the Hawthorn Netball Club.

One thing I hoped that Johnson would do was to free up Campbell, Rodan, Coughlan etc.. and to an extent we have seen this happen.

After much thought, I am very happy with Richo. While he isn't kicking huge bags, he has helped bring his team mates into the game, which I think has really fostered a strong team spirit.

The worry on Ben Hollands mobility has been noted by a few of my mates. He moves like a Pomeranian Dancing Horse (High knee lifts but limited forward motion) however, he is a big man who will put himself into a contest.

Fiora ??? Pettifer ???

 

[Rosy]

Redford, I'll enjoy the positives. I'm looking forward to a good season, not worrying about things that could possibly go wrong. I'll worry about them when/if they happen.

We've all seen the many moods of the Tiges so who knows what's ahead.

It's a matter of strap ya seatbelts on and hop on board for the ride.

To me a big positive is that we've got these wins in the bank with 5 of our top 22 missing from the team.

Hopefully if things go well and we can hold our own, the second half of the season should see our top team gel together. There should be no passengers at all in the side then.

It's good to see some passion and spirit again. Add that to added toughness and determination and I can't help but think things will be a lot better than in recent years.

There's no doubt our list is gradually improving.

Go Tiges...Eat Em Alive.