Putting to one side how badly the effort petered out after half time, I wonder did anyone else see Lids' effort today as a bit of a breakthrough in terms of leadership from the younger brigade?
For the first quarter and prob ten minutes of the second, we looked disinterested, just going through the motions. Put simply, there was no life about the team.
Then suddenly Lids got the ball from a turnover on the half back line, tucked it under his arm and charged through the middle then hit Brown on a lead. All of a sudden it was as though someone had flicked on a switch and it was a completely different team.
For me, this is where our senior players like Johnson and Bowden have let us down as leaders and can never be the players that this club needs. They're solid players and they have plenty of talent, but a truly valuable player is one who not only lifts himself but lifts those around him; there has never been anything intense about the way these senior guys play; never anything inspirational that you could use as a circuit-breaker to get the team going.
Lids was that circuit-breaker today. The team needed a spark and here was a guy who in one moment announced to every player on the field that he'd had enough of the BS, that it was time to take the game by the scruff of the neck and do something about it. And the younger players' enthusiasm clearly feeds off that.
Until now I thought Lids might have fallen behind others as a leader, but I may have to change my tune. His value was worth far more than 32 disposals today.
For the first quarter and prob ten minutes of the second, we looked disinterested, just going through the motions. Put simply, there was no life about the team.
Then suddenly Lids got the ball from a turnover on the half back line, tucked it under his arm and charged through the middle then hit Brown on a lead. All of a sudden it was as though someone had flicked on a switch and it was a completely different team.
For me, this is where our senior players like Johnson and Bowden have let us down as leaders and can never be the players that this club needs. They're solid players and they have plenty of talent, but a truly valuable player is one who not only lifts himself but lifts those around him; there has never been anything intense about the way these senior guys play; never anything inspirational that you could use as a circuit-breaker to get the team going.
Lids was that circuit-breaker today. The team needed a spark and here was a guy who in one moment announced to every player on the field that he'd had enough of the BS, that it was time to take the game by the scruff of the neck and do something about it. And the younger players' enthusiasm clearly feeds off that.
Until now I thought Lids might have fallen behind others as a leader, but I may have to change my tune. His value was worth far more than 32 disposals today.
