Last week I said that a win against the Western Bulldogs would set our season up to give ourselves a ‘nothing to lose’ crack against Collingwood, Fremantle and Geelong in the upcoming weeks.
We did just that, and convincingly so.
It was a very solid outing by the club, just doing what they had to do to get the job done without too much fuss. It’s a great sign going forward which hopefully leads to more consistent performances against those developing sides towards the bottom of the ladder.
Speaking of great signs, Dustin Martin’s performance would have had all Tiger fans in raptures, putting together a consistent four-quarter performance for the first time this year. Martin was at his best against the Dogs, with his trademark ‘don’t argue’s’ and his long kicks inside 50 and at goal being a regular feature throughout the match.
What’s even more astounding is that he managed all this in just 76% game time. The coaching staff managed him well throughout the match to make sure he didn’t run out of steam, so it looks like they may have stumbled on a winning formula to keep Dusty fresh throughout games until he develops and builds on his fitness base.
His partner in crime Brett Deledio also had a standout game. While he didn’t accumulate as much ball as Martin , when he did it always led to something positive. It only took him ten seconds to make an impact on the scoreboard, kicking a 60m goal from the opening bounce which no doubt left the Bulldogs a little shell-shocked.
It’s great to see Lids back himself in more and have a crack at those long goals this season. He has one of the most dangerous kicks in the competition and is always a threat when he gets the ball anywhere forward of centre. If he can continue kicking multiple goals in games there really are no excuses as to why we can’t continue to play consistent footy.
But back to the topic of this week’s blog.
I know there may be a bit of a negative mindset attached to my blog this week, but being realistic I think it’s fair to say that most will be expecting a Collingwood win this coming Saturday. We haven’t beaten the ‘Pies since 2009, but besides that, they are one of the premier teams of the competition.
I say that this match is a ‘free-hit’ because I feel the club has nothing to really lose against Collingwood. It’s a great opportunity to see how we stack up against a top four side, without desperately needing to win to keep our season alive.
As long as the boys go out there and make it competitive, I will come away from the match content.
In saying that though, with injuries to a number of their best 22 and an injury cloud over Scott Pendlebury, we won’t get a better chance to roll them than this weekend. How sweet would that be in front of a predicted 80,000-90,000 strong crowd on a Saturday afternoon at the ‘G?
If we can pinch a win over the next three games against these quality sides it’s going to make things a lot easier come the end of the season as we push for a finals spot. What better way to start than against the ‘Pies in what will be a finals-like atmosphere?
Go Tiges!
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