A MESSAGE FROM BRENDAN MCCARTNEY - Round 14 2 July 2013 If you watch the last two and a half minutes of the game on Saturday night, it was clear the game could still have been won. We were very close to kicking another goal and they were probably not going to kick one. Yet we did so many things for so long on the night, that were against what we want to be as a footy team. And I know a lot of people talk about kicks that go out on the full, kicks that get turned over — every team has that. Melbourne had it as well. It was our inability to put defensive pressure on at times in the game where we weren’t having a great patch, and that is an area of improvement for our players. Our young players have the unique opportunity to build a career together and play together for a long time. And those youngsters will only ever become the best player they can be when they fit the team. And what does fitting the team look like? Fitting the team looks like whatever their position is on the ground, they do what that position requires and then out of that, execute their natural ability to play. We saw that in the last quarter on Saturday night where things happened, and they happened because every time there was a stoppage we set it up well, we got out of each other’s way in the forward line and our mids and defenders gave their opponents no room — so we ended up playing some pretty good footy. This game is still about the basics and fundamentals. It’s one thing to talk about the basics and fundamentals but it’s another thing to do them when the scoreboard is not what you want. Most people can do them when they have momentum. We are disappointed with the performance on the weekend. The only way players can mature through results like this, is to have strong people around them in the footy department that help them learn from it; learn from the experience and not hang them out to dry but actually coach them through it — and that’s why a resilient, clear, coherent footy department is crucial — we won’t accept average effort and we will continue to face daily the brutal reality of where we have to get better. And we will do this together, as one. We are very clear about the type of players we want here and just as importantly the type of people we want here. The smart clubs don’t fall in love with talent and just forget about the character. They fall in love with people with solid character traits, who also have a lot of talent and are team people. And that is our responsibility. Internally, we have seen some good young people take some formative steps in challenging situations, and they are the people that are worth investing in — because AFL footy is not for everyone, it’s a tough business. See you at the game. Brendan
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 09:52:50 +0000
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