DozzyWest Coast clean out
May 2nd 2008 13:42
You could see it in the eyes of John Worsfold at half time in the game against Carlton. His team had just produced one of the worst, most undisciplined quarters of football in their recent history - perhaps in their entire history - and he knew it. It was as close as you'll get to seeing Worsfold throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.
As he trudged across the ground, the bumbling, stumbling stooge-like Ricky Olarenshaw managed to catch up with him for what surely would've been another series of mixed metaphorical questions, but Worsfold's honesty made the situation clear. He placed the onus on his charges, the disappointment evident in his tone. They'd let him down in a big way.
To their credit, the team responded in the third quarter, and the Eagles got into the position to challenge. They played a quarter and a half of inspired footy, and almost pulled the comeback off. Now though, at 1-6, the season is on the brink, if not shot.
With the season looking like a horse on its way to the glue factory, the Eagles will be faced with some tough decisions in the coming weeks. Guys like Michael Braun and Chad Fletcher are there purely for their leadership abilities - of which they showed little tonight. They are in the twilight iof their careers, and with an eye for the future, their involvement in games for the next few weeks would be on a "need to be" basis. If there are other options, the Eagles will just about have to try them.
Mark Nicoski looks as though he is completely lost at times. He is showing nothing to justify the Eagles' belief in him through his injury-plagued seasons of 06 and 07.
The news isn't all bad, though. The team did show a lot of heart tonight, and they do have a lot of key players missing, namely Kerr, Priddis, LeCras, Staker, Hansen and Hunter, but every team has injuries, and every team is forced to cover them - to develop depth. They also have a young CHF who will sit the rest of the season with a knee reconstruction. Mark my words - Mitchell Brown will be a star.
No team can really recover from losing two players the calibre of Judd and Cousins, and the Eagles must face this fact. If they do manage to rally and sneak into the finals, I am sure I'll have this post pointed out to me. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but as it stands, and as it stood as John Worsfold spoke at half time, the Eagles lost the plot tonight, and admitted defeat. They handed the game to a determined and committed Carlton team in the second quarter, and despite the efforts of Josh Kennedy and Dean Cox, were unable to wrest it back.
The eyes in the West should now turn to 2009, and a renewed push into the finals.
As he trudged across the ground, the bumbling, stumbling stooge-like Ricky Olarenshaw managed to catch up with him for what surely would've been another series of mixed metaphorical questions, but Worsfold's honesty made the situation clear. He placed the onus on his charges, the disappointment evident in his tone. They'd let him down in a big way.
To their credit, the team responded in the third quarter, and the Eagles got into the position to challenge. They played a quarter and a half of inspired footy, and almost pulled the comeback off. Now though, at 1-6, the season is on the brink, if not shot.
With the season looking like a horse on its way to the glue factory, the Eagles will be faced with some tough decisions in the coming weeks. Guys like Michael Braun and Chad Fletcher are there purely for their leadership abilities - of which they showed little tonight. They are in the twilight iof their careers, and with an eye for the future, their involvement in games for the next few weeks would be on a "need to be" basis. If there are other options, the Eagles will just about have to try them.
Mark Nicoski looks as though he is completely lost at times. He is showing nothing to justify the Eagles' belief in him through his injury-plagued seasons of 06 and 07.
The news isn't all bad, though. The team did show a lot of heart tonight, and they do have a lot of key players missing, namely Kerr, Priddis, LeCras, Staker, Hansen and Hunter, but every team has injuries, and every team is forced to cover them - to develop depth. They also have a young CHF who will sit the rest of the season with a knee reconstruction. Mark my words - Mitchell Brown will be a star.
No team can really recover from losing two players the calibre of Judd and Cousins, and the Eagles must face this fact. If they do manage to rally and sneak into the finals, I am sure I'll have this post pointed out to me. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but as it stands, and as it stood as John Worsfold spoke at half time, the Eagles lost the plot tonight, and admitted defeat. They handed the game to a determined and committed Carlton team in the second quarter, and despite the efforts of Josh Kennedy and Dean Cox, were unable to wrest it back.
The eyes in the West should now turn to 2009, and a renewed push into the finals.
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