I'm proud but disappointed. Proud because we pushed the best team in the comp until the final siren. Disappointed as we could have won. We had some bad luck and some subpar performances...and yet we were right there.
I'll start with the positives. Our backline was superb. Glass and E-Mac totally shutdown Cloke and Dawes who only had a goal each. I've criticised MacKenzie alot, but defensively he has been excellent this season. He's a strong mark and great in contests. I still have doubts over his disposal efficiency, though he seems to be less awful than he was. Glass is a champion, the best fullback in the comp. His dominance was no surprise.
Butler and Waters were also solid.
I thought Naitanui showed great persistence and real spirit. He had 31 hitouts, 15 possessions and 8 clearances. The commentators mentioned that Jolly worked into the game, but honestly it was only Cox's injury which changed things.
Priddis, Masten and Gaff were good contributors in the midfield and Lynch was strong up forward with 3 goals.
On the negative side, Cox's injury is massive. Back or ankle or both it didn't look good. Glass and JJK also obtained minor knocks. Needless to say without Cox, especially if against Essendon, the task will be extremely difficult. Though I'm heartened by Naitanui's performance today.
I don't want to criticise Shuey too much. Yes, he was overwhelmed by the occasion. I thought the commentators were a bit cruel in their focus on him. I only wish Kerr could've played. There would've been less pressure on him.
The forward line but was completely beaten. The Pies backline overpowered us in marking contests and killed us at ground level.
But overall, I was very impressed by our fight and determination. Halfway through the third we were down by around 5 goals. I honestly thought we would go down by 10. But our players persevered and fought til the death.
Worsfold was just interviewed by Channel 10 and he said although he was proud it was clear that our midfield doesn't have the polish or experience of Collingwood. Prior to today Collingwood had 250 finals games compared to our players' 90 appearances.
After today's performance I'm really hopeful of what this team can achieve in the long term.
Bring on next week.
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