Round 8 Recap: Get off the Field Katich!

Is what some hilarious fans were yelling at the GWS runner as the game ebbed away in the last well...4 quarters.

Apparently Simon Katich is a runner for GWS. He played cricket right?

Anyway, it was one of those days where nothing of note was occurring on field. Yes, we kicked 30 goals for the first time in our history. Yes, JJK kicked 11 straight (although one of them was an atrocious effort which somehow floated through). Yes, we won by over 100 points.

But really, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The game was dull, uncompetitive and generally lacklustre. I know you can't blame us, but it's games like this that make me think 'why bother'? I don't find it fun to watch and the team gains nothing more than maybe some (artificial and temporary) confidence.

The weather was pleasant though. I was in the shade, trapped in the corner, my legs jammed up against the seat in front of me. The old fella in front continually turned to my friend and I and said: "They've got their kicking boots on today...something...something". We couldn't really understand what else he said, so we just nodded, said "yeah" and other general statements indicating agreement with whatever the hell he was saying. Something about the end of days, perhaps?

Anyway, yes, Kennedy was fun to watch. His tenth goal, the anticipation leading up to it, the celebration following it (of both teammates and fans) was almost worth the price of admission. Except not really, because $43 for those seats is a travesty.

But as I wrote, the win, although rather inflated, was to be expected. We are 4-4. We have a bye and then face the Pies, Kangas and Hawks. Um, yeah, so the next few weeks may very well determine whether we play finals. If we can beat the Roos and then somehow snatch one of the others we will be well positioned. Yet it's very difficult seeing us beat either of the Pies or Hawks away from home at the moment.

Round 4-7 Recap: We are Who We are.

And who we are is 'average'.

Firstly, apologies for the absence of posts, but hopefully they will return with a degree of regularity. Do I think that I have so much power that by not posting anything for a month, the Eagles simply folded in response? No, no I don't.

For you see, it's all in the fixtures. How foolish do those commentators look, who after 1 win over the Bulldogs, declared us Top 4 certainties? I thought it was crazy then, it still seemed crazy after 3 wins against minnows and it has been proved crazy now.

Let's recap a horror month shall we?

- A thrashing by the Cats in which we were held goalless for 3 quarters. I know injuries blah blah blah.
- A solid effort against an excellent Port side (but a loss nonetheless at home).
- A loss against (honest to God) the Blues after leading by 4 goals with 10 minutes remaining. This happened folks. It wasn't a bad dream. I mean it was, but it actually happened. A living nightmare perhaps.
- A Derby loss...on which I can't really commentate as I was 'playing' archery (...?)

I saw snippets of the Derby. This is what I gleaned from those snippets- WASTERS!!! We kicked plenty of points. It was mainly in the second quarter. Naitanui looked angry for some reason.

The point is though, we are a 'decent side'. We are capable of playing finals, but not of testing any of the top 4 teams when the pressure is on. The good news is: there are a swathe of mediocre teams this year. The bad news is: there are a swathe of mediocre teams this year and as such we may miss finals.

Is it time to panic? Not really. Unless you believed we were a chance to do anything significant this season, in which case please proceed to panic. If you're like me, you sort of expected this team. The season is young, things may improve, things may deteriorate. 

Winter is coming, and our next 3 opponents are GWS, Collingwood and North Melbourne. I can see us going anything from 2-1 to 0-3. Interesting times ahead.