Perspectives

[1eyedog]

Last night was horrible there is no two ways about it but if I told you at the start of the year we would be 12/5 after 17 rounds which places us equal second what would your response be? Aside from Mitch the most deflating aspect was how static our ball movement was and how ineffective we were entering F50 but we are still in with a top 4 opportunity and losing Mitch and Red won't change that from an on-field perspective, the mental affect is less clear, it can haunt for the remainder of the year or it can galvanize. And with two of our best players coming back in Dahl and Stringer there are positives moving forward.

We have to move forward now, we have to, or we wallow in self pity and defeat and we're all well versed in that. We have to realize that it is just one game and maybe not try to reverse it completely, but try to be more competitive than we were last night moving forward. That kind of an outcome, where we weren’t even competitive, something went terribly wrong. I'm not saying we should put that totally out of our minds, because we need to learn from it, but we must focus on each game individually. I think all supporters and players are subject to thinking about the past, even though, ideally, you’re not supposed to. It probably does leave somewhat of a scar until you’re able to turn it around.

We need to take the sting out of our loss by reminding ourselves that loss is part of the game, something to be accepted and released. It's not the loss last night that keeps you from being at the top, it's the teams (and our) negative reaction to it that sticks in the mind and undermines confidence.

Feel the pain, experience fully the emotions connected with the loss, and then refocus, like we always have; remember what we have achieved before this loss and that we can be successful again, and we will be.

[Ghost Dog]

Well said.
It was a 2 goal 4 point loss. We were three down on the bench. They played really well.
90% of the players in the league are carrying some kind of injury at this stage of the year.
We were not at our best.

Hopefully our blokes get inspired to get over the line V the Cats.

[josie]

Great post 1eye, we really have nothing to lose against Cats and I am hoping our team have enough self belief to still do well for rest of season.

We still have some good players soon to return: Stringer, Dahl, McLean, Williams.

Hoping TBoyd is left at FF for rest of year and that he starts clunking those marks.

Hrovat, Hamling, Cordy, Dale and Honeychurch might have opportunity to show they should play in finals and help their cause regarding retention on our list.

It is at times of adversity like this that the club and supporters need to dig deep. Go Dogs!!

[bornadog]

I still maintain coming back from Cairns has an effect on the players. Same thing has happened 3 years in a row, ie we lost the week after playing in Cairns.

It is so tight in the top eight that you can be either top or drop to 6, 7 or even 8th with a loss. We have to tackle Geelong hard, put the pressure on and win down there. They have been beaten in Geelong this year and no reason why we can't do it.

[Eastdog]

Good post 1eyedog. Despite the negatives of last night there has been so much upside this season with our team and I'm hopefully the next few weeks will be fine and keep on going.

[1eyedog]

I still maintain coming back from Cairns has an effect on the players. Same thing has happened 3 years in a row, ie we lost the week after playing in Cairns.

It is so tight in the top eight that you can be either top or drop to 6, 7 or even 8th with a loss. We have to tackle Geelong hard, put the pressure on and win down there. They have been beaten in Geelong this year and no reason why we can't do it.

I'm the same, we looked very deflated and we have to remember we are a very young team and perhaps our expectations are occasionally quite high. Lots to look forward to starting this week against the Cats and there remains an opportunity to get our top 4 aspirations back on track by knocking them over. We've enjoyed playing away and outdoors this season.

[comrade]

I still maintain coming back from Cairns has an effect on the players. Same thing has happened 3 years in a row, ie we lost the week after playing in Cairns.

It is so tight in the top eight that you can be either top or drop to 6, 7 or even 8th with a loss. We have to tackle Geelong hard, put the pressure on and win down there. They have been beaten in Geelong this year and no reason why we can't do it.

With the finance director taking over the CEO role, I doubt we'll be pulling the pin on Cairns any time soon.

[Remi Moses]

We've been flat from Cairns twice in a row now ,
Maybe the club ask for an extra day break next season?
Outlook at the start of the year for me was winning a final, but carrying half dozen injuries each week is going to hurt.

[LostDoggy]

AFL would be super keen for Cairns to continue. If we asked for it to be pre-bye round, I'd reckon it could be done.