Melbourne beats Essendon, Brisbane edge out the Eagles, Parramatta defeats Cronulla. It certainly has been a week of upsets. How much does the mental factor, the coaches perspective and the players belief systems play a part?
Melbourne had established something of a hoodoo over Essendon in past years. They took that into a wet and slippery set of conditions and edged out the Bombers.
On a dry night, I’d see Essendon winning by seven to eight goals. On a wet and slippery night, conditions tailor made for slowing the game up, Melbourne clung on and got more and more belief as the game crawled forward.
They took enormous heart from the fact that Essendon didn’t have a 50-point lead at half time. They could compete as long as Essendon didn’t or couldn’t make a factor of their superior speed and height.
And so it set off a chain reaction.
Brisbane saw what Melbourne did.
In firmer conditions they knew they had to run with the Eagles. They couldn’t depend on mere home-ground advantage. They had to lift well above themselves.
The Melbourne win sewed the possibility of a win into their conscious.
Brisbane clung to the Eagles like limpet mines. Never was the Eagles lead any more than 21 points, in the third quarter. If it had reached 27 or 33, that would have been game over.
But on a ground that was like playing under set conditions – almost like Etihad Stadium under the roof – and with the ball travelling up to 70 metres, Brisbane clung to survival and fluked a winner.
But the effort was superior to even that of the Demons. The Lions have every right to roar their theme song and make this win the basis for many more.
Meanwhile, the Eels beat Cronulla on the back of six straight losses.
Yes, they were at home. Yes, they were due.
Yes, Cronulla were injury and Origin-hit, as were the Bombers and the Eagles.
But seasons are built on wins like this, so long as you believe.
The test now for these three teams is to take these wins and build a platform and a belief system that makes a statement.
‘We will compete for every minute we are on the park; we will work out a system for each game and stick to it; we will not let injuries kill us,’ must be the mantra of these three clubs.
‘We will aim for nothing less than a 10-20 point win every week, no matter who the opposition is.’
Flight of fancy, or grim, determined reality? You makes the choice.
rsingi
Roar Rookie
I agree that a lot of the game is played above the shoulders. Teams get talked up and come out and lose. It happenned to the Crows against Collingwood when they were talked up in Adelaide as premiership hopes last week and this week the West Coast took their eye of the ball. At the end of the day what Geelong did last year peaking in September is the key. This year looks very open and the team in the best form in September will win the flag. Great observation though any team 10% off will get beaten
db swannie
Guest
On any day any NRL side can beat another. Look at the Cows V Tits game .Cows looked mentally tired,& just going through the motions. The Tits were on their game. The result reflected that. The same cowboys team a month ago that played thr Dragons were a completely different team. I think all teams have their patches where it is hard to get "mentally up". 26 weeks is a long season & no team can be switched on for all that period...Although the Storm would come close.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
agreed. belief is a major weapon to wield.
ManInBlack
Guest
Confidence is a huge factor. And getting on a 'roll' both within a game, and within a season - can elevate a team. The opposite happens of course. As said, class is permanent - form is temporary.