Dear Jimmy_041,
We've come out of last week with a bit of confidence and we rate Melbourne, but for two weeks in a row we've lost that first quarter badly and it's something that we have to address.
We chased from behind against Adelaide, got in front but we know the result of that, and the game against Melbourne, it was a wearing down process, and we had work very hard to get it back to even by half time.
As it turned out, the players had a seven-point buffer at half time, and built on that thereafter, but it's something we have to look at.
Perhaps we've been a little bit reactionary over certain things. Perhaps the boys have been a bit eager to do their jobs, and forgetting that there are jobs to do but you've also got to play the game.
We've traditionally been pretty good stayers, and the good thing is we've been able to finish matches off, and as a consequence, we got a healthy percentage boost out of beating Melbourne.
For a side that finished bottom last year, to have been able to recruit like they have, we had to work hard to win the game against Melbourne, and to win it the way we did, in the end, has given a lot of the players enough confidence now to be able to go forward.
It was great to see Dayne Beams make his debut and contribute the way he did. He has worked extremely hard to get himself ready for AFL football since he was drafted late last year, and fully deserved his chance.
While it was disappointing to lose Dale Thomas late to illness, we will hopefully get him back for Thursday's game, and Dayne took his opportunity and performed extremely well.
Looking ahead to Geelong, you can’t give them a start, as we've seen in the past. They're a wonderful football side. They're two from two, they've got form, and they are still smarting over last year's grand final loss, so it makes it an interesting game.
Regards
Michael Malthouse
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:43 pm
