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Take a breath & Debrief - Round 14
It’s always nice and refreshing to watch a game where the boys maintain their tempo all game, win comfortably and just don’t cause me any unnecessary stress. I’m ever the optimist, however I do have some concerns still that I will raise from what i saw tonight, and throughout the season but first things first.
Sam Darcy. Just wow. Last week I mentioned the Dogs needed that 1% improvement to challenge the best teams and well… is he that 1% I referenced last week? Looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. Competed hard all night and even passed off a few opportunities, I love that he is ours and only 21. We have a lot to look forward to.
Not to mention, Naughton just looks so much much better with him there to take the best defender. When Darcy competes/leads he draws 3-4 defenders and it gives Naughton so much more freedom. I think the pair will only get better with more time together to build chemistry but they looked fantastic tonight.
Speaking of pairings, I have been loving the Lobby & O’Donnell pairing in the backline, both compete so hard and show absolute bravery constantly. There will be opponents we need to bring in a 3rd defender, I think Jones provides comfort and experience, or Busslinger would be a great time for him to build that experience, especially when they can arguably take the 3rd forward.
While I’m on the defenders, quick shout out to our Baileys in defence, Dale and Williams. In particular Bailey Williams for tonight, feel like his season has gone under the radar, he does his job every single night and imo was best on last night, just a fantastic 2-way player, dare I say, eerie similiar to his 2021 season
Now to the not-so-good. Unfortunately for us, past results won’t disappear and the narrative will continue that we beat up on lower sides and struggle against the top sides. If I’m honest, I can see exactly why. Even tonight there were more than a few unforced, silly turnovers which will only amplify against the best teams and be even more costly. While it’s great to have these wins, I think it can definitely be wallpaper over cracks and I just hope the boys know there is still plenty of improvement needed to finish off the season strong and win some finals
Now to my last point, the run home, we have a much easier run home than how it started, however we still have four games remaining against the top 8 sides (including Fremantle in this) and early season results means we really can’t afford any more slip-ups from here if want to finish top-4. Which means we need to continue beating the lower sides and steal at least 2-3 minimum against those better sides. Do that and we should finish top 4. Definitely achievable, so let’s continue to back the boys in and hey, even if they do slip-up and miss the top-4. That isn’t the be all and end all like it used to be. Since 2016, 4 teams have at least made the grand final from outside the top 4, us twice. Just makes it that little bit harder, although also that little bit sweeter
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