I must admit, I’ve spent some of the weekend scratching my head as to what I should write for Round 14’s blog. After the Crows' crushing 68-point defeat to Geelong on Friday night, it would be easy to get stuck into them, especially given it was their third defeat in a row.
I may have felt like doing that on Friday night, but after having a couple of days to reflect I have been able to put the game into some perspective.
But anyway, going back to earlier last week, I was able to catch the Crows’ main training session on Tuesday night. Despite some early rain a small handful of supporters turned out to watch the team being put through their paces.
By the time Friday rolled around I was eager to put on my Crows gunersey and get to the game. Around 5 o’clock I hopped in the car to make the longer than usual, thanks to the Friday night traffic, trip down to West Lakes.
However, my journey was made even longer when part way through I suddenly clasped my neck and realised I had forgotten my ticket! The car was promptly turned around and my ticket was hurriedly retrieved from home and then finally for the second time that evening I was on my way to AAMI Stadium.
Arriving a little later than usual, it was pleasant to see the crowd filtering around outside. People hopping off buses, having barbeques, buying the Record, kicking a footy around, everyone was certainly in good spirits.
But by the time the game started and the first quarter was well underway, I’m sure a lot of spirits had started to sink.
Geelong got off to a cracking start and had four goals by quarter time. The Crows on the other hand had one solitary behind which was well received by the outer late in the term.
The second quarter was much like the first, with the Crows struggling to make amends on the scoreboard. Jason Porplyzia and Richard Douglas scored a goal apiece and for a moment the crowd lifted as the Crows looked to be back in the game, but half time couldn’t come around soon enough as Geelong held a 45-point lead.
The Crows appeared to be lacking confidence when in possession of the ball, resulting in turnovers and given Geelong’s calibre they had no trouble finding the goals.
I deflected my attention off the game during the break and instead decided to read July’s edition of The Pride. For a while there the game was forgotten and more positive thoughts about the Crows were running through my head. Such as the Club’s new museum coming with the redevelopment of the training facilities and the Shed, that looks like good fun!
Unfortunately though, once the umpire bounced the ball to start the third term, the nightmare continued before me.
My scribbly game notes in the Record waned as did my enthusiasm as any sort of comeback seemed out of the question. Just two goals were noted to the Crows, courteous of Brett Burton and Kris Massie. Geelong had furthered their lead to 50 points by the final break.
Strangely enough while Geelong seemed to find even more goals in the last quarter, the Crows managed to double their goal tally. Tyson Edwards, Ivan Maric and Graham Johncock all got their first and Douglas chipped in with his second. In the end, the final margin stood at 68 points.
I left the stadium once the final siren sounded, along with around 34,000 people who had stuck it out until the end. A smaller than usual crowd then trickled into the Crows Shed to see the night out.
Amongst some discussion with friends it was decided that Massie, Johncock and Edwards were the better players of the night. Personally, I liked Massie’s modest run down the wing in the first quarter and he finished the match well.
But while the game was a huge disappointment Crows fans should not despair as the future at West Lakes looks bright. It’s easy to lose direction given the past few weeks, but it needs to be said that this year was expected to be up and down and at the moment things may just be a little down.
A strong crop of young developing players are currently making their way through the ranks at SANFL level. Not only that, but Trent Hentschel should hopefully be set for his return to AFL football any week now and players who were in the team earlier in the season, such as Mackay and Griffin, could also be recalled in coming weeks.
To the game ahead this weekend, and I will find myself at the MCG amongst a lot of black and white but with a bit of luck some blue, red and yellow as well. Let’s hope the Club can return to experiencing some more ‘up moments’ and beat a classy Collingwood outfit on Saturday afternoon.
