I must say I have really enjoyed hearing our beloved club song the past couple of weeks, it has been sang with gusto and heart by the players and fans alike.
Unfortunately I was unable to watch the game live (because of work commitments) but listened to the broadcast on ABC radio, barely able to hear the commentary through the Tiger roar of the crowd but still joined in on the club song to the dismay and discomfort of my colleagues.
There has been a clear change in the mindset and confidence of the players which seemed to have come after the bye in the game against the Eagles. Even though we lost by a heavy margin it was against a top four team and there were periods of the game that we dominated.
The win against Sydney was definitely the breakthrough we needed, an inspiring 43 point victory it was evident that the Tigers had regained that fighting spirit we had seen at the start of the season.
After the win against Melbourne I was sure that our boys were back to their best fighting off the emotional and resurgent Demons. I will admit being very concerned in the 3rd quarter but the boys showed true guts and determination to hit back in the last with 6 goals to win by 7 points.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the last couple of games is that it’s not the same players who have game winning performances. Bachar Houli had an incredible game against Sydney but was unable to repeat that performance against Melbourne, though he still played well.
Trent Cotchin’s leadership in the absence of Chris Newman has also been a feature of recent games. Cotchy managed a great performance against the Dees even though he was heavily tagged, Jake King, Robbie Nahas and Brad Miller all stepped up to help get us over the line, Shane Tucks return to the squad has also been successful and Shane Edwards had great run through the midfield.
In the context of the season, overall, as a club we have a lot to prove. The club has been saying all season that there has been definite improvement in the squad getting game time into younger players.
We have definitely achieved that and found a number of players along the way. Alex Rance has improved in leaps and bounds this season. Reece Conca has been solid and Jake Batchelor has been a good find. There have been individual improvements throughout the team this season and it’s starting to come together.
To show improvement on paper, however, we need to improve on last years win/loss ratio. The club itself has not set on field goals of this nature but a poll at the start of the season suggests that most fans would have considered 8 to 10 wins for the season to be acceptable and with two winnable, albeit difficult, games left it is achievable.
Adelaide has been rejuvenated with caretaker coach Mark Bickley and North Melbourne have been steadily improving under Brad Scott. Both games will be hard fought and with our current form we can come away victors.
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