‘Winning is not the most important thing, it’s everything’.
‘If you can accept losing, you can’t win.’
These two quotes came from the legendary Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest leaders in the history of sport. Lombardi led the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships as head coach, including the first ever Super Bowl in January 1967.
Queensland AFL clubs could learn a thing or two from Vince’s approach.
The Brisbane Lions have had seven consecutive losing seasons, winning 46 of a possible 158 games since the start of 2010. That’s a paltry winning percentage of 29 per cent.
Down the road, the Gold Coast Suns are faring even worse. Since entering the AFL competition in 2011, the Suns have won just 36 out of 136 games, which translates to a 26.5 per cent winning record.
There were always going to be some growing pains at Metricon Stadium, but after seasons of 3, 3, 8 and 10 wins, 2015 was the year the Suns were going to shine and make finals for the first time. It was nearly a foregone conclusion.
Instead, they won just four games under new coach Rodney Eade, and have looked a long way off the pace ever since, plagued by ongoing injury issues and a raft of off-field cultural problems which had led to the AFL installing their own man in Mark Evans as CEO to put a halt to them.
What does the future hold for the two Queensland sides, who simply right now make up the numbers in the 18-team competition?
Brisbane seem to be on the right track under the guidance of new coach Chris Fagan.
The Lions led last year’s premiers the Western Bulldogs by 32 points at half time, showing the inroads the young side are making in 2017 with a different set of hands at the wheel. Despite a 64-point turnaround in the second half and plenty of positives, Fagan was pragmatic in his post-match review and emphasised the positives.
The Gold Coast, on the other hand, trailed ladder leaders Adelaide by 34 points at quarter time, eventually going down to the Crows by 67 points. The message from their coach after the game was the need for his ‘young team’ to get stronger.
However Brisbane had the youngest team of Round 5 with an average age of 23.52 and average games played of 66.7, while the Suns were just ahead of them with averages of 23.9 and 74.1. But look at the contrasting approaches of the two coaches post-game.
Which one reflects the winning mentality better? Fagan or Eade?
While the Lions might well finish below the Suns in 2017, their outlook for the future seems to be much brighter. Fagan is installing a winning culture at the Gabba and his players are responding and playing for one another.
At the Suns, losses seem to not only be tolerated but expected whenever they come up against quality opposition. Something drastic needs to change if they’re to not only change their mentality, but stay afloat as a football club.
But at least if you’re down by seven goals midway through the second quarter with the game all but over, you can celebrate being able to take the kids to Timezone. Are premierships are an ancillary objective on the glitter strip?
The crowd at Metricon Stadium love Lynch- his second of the evening which means our members are going to Timezone!
— GC SUNS (@GoldCoastSUNS) April 22, 2017
When you’re already accepting losing, there’s no way you can win.
The Suns should print off a few of Vince’s quotes and stick them to the locker room walls and have a good hard look at themselves before they take on North Melbourne in Round 6.
It’s little wonder they dropped the ball against the Lions in the opening game of 2017 when they cannot instil a winning mentality.
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