Who would have thought a Friday 6pm game could be so much fun and have such a wonderful atmosphere. I don’t support this kick off time but the packed stands just goes to show how much support our team gets when the fans can see that our players are putting in.
From the stands there were a few things to really like and a few things that disappointed me.
I’ll tear off the bandaid and with the disappointing – our start to the second half.
We lost composure and dropped simple balls. I accept that offloading is a part of our game and if we want to progress in this finals series we must play to our strengths and accept the danger that comes with offloading but our poor completion to start the second half came from simple drops in the tackle. We must fix this. The individual players must take responsibility for this as the Broncos will not throw it around, they will hope we invite them down to our end through simple errors.
Si-vo Si-vo Si-vo
But to focus on the negative is to ignore many of the wonderful highlights that came from the night.
I could talk about the wonderful ball movement for our tries and of course Sivo and his barnstorming runs but they are the obvious.
Instead I will talk about our scramble defence.
At times we fell off tackles and got caught around the ruck but we managed to scramble and cover the missed tackles.
At times Moses got beat but he chased and made the tackle with the help of others.
At times Reed got beat but others helped him and they made the tackle.
And of course we all saw the wonderful decisions in defence made out wide by Jennings, Blake and Ferguson.
They say defence is attitude and our attitude this year has been more aligned with helping each other and digging in. We have not been perfect and in some games we have been disappointing but anyone watching our games and comparing it to last year needs to look no further than our attitude towards scramble defence to see that our players have found that elusive team chemistry and desire that was so lacking last season.
I cannot wait for this Sunday.
I don’t want to predict how we will go because in truth I want to look forward to the game and not worry about it. Of course I want us to win and think we can.
I hope for three things from the first finals clash at BankWest.
First is almost a guarantee- a wonderful atmosphere and a deafening roar as the team runs out.
Second that we have the courage to play our game, to take calculated risks.
Finally I hope that the best team wins. If I walk away from BankWest saying we played well but the Broncos were better, I will be disappointed I will accept it.
Good luck to our team, play well and enjoy the day. The way the team has collectively rebounded this year has been rewarded with the wonderful opportunity that awaits our club on Sunday.
Enjoy the day everyone, I know my family will.
Shelley
