While I would prefer to finish down the bottom this year, I never want us to stop fighting and playing in the manner we are at present.
Can't have your cake and eat it too Stripes. That's what the pro-tankers just don't get - the importance of learning and knowing how to win, how to do the little things that make the difference in games, the things that have set the Sydney and Geelongs apart over the years - the winning 'culture'. You might not like the term 'culture' but it means no compromises, no shortcuts, no second bests from everyone involved - the players, the coaches, the boot studders. You can't have that and tank, and you can't tank and form winning cultures.
No you can't have your cake and eat it too Smokey - so if we come 9th and our first pick is 16, we end up with a wasted draft and we find the best we can ever achieve is a couple of quick finals visits before dropping back down again - I hope the anti-tankers remember that they thought a couple of extra wins at the end of the year was worth it.
You speak of the importance of learning and knowing how to win, how to do the little things in games and creating a 'winning culture' as the most important steps to our future success. I agree...almost
I believe the players need to always fight and strive to win and to learn to do the little things but this can be achieved without winning every game. Would you argue that the Hawks game was not he most important game for us this year yet we didn't win. So is every loss a waste or can they be just as valuable to the growth of the players and team as a win? Which was more valuable, the West Coast win or the Hawthorn loss?
A winning 'culture' is not created from winning but from learning and fighting to win. Anti-tankers don't seem to get it - we are developing, transforming and building for a premiership, not a few meaningless wins or even a finals appearance. To quote you smokey - it means no compromises, no shortcuts, no second bests from everyone involved - the players, the coaches, the boot studders, it means focusing on the big picture and wins don't necessarily equate to a winning culture no more than losses makes teams develop a losing one.
I'm as excited about every win this year as anyone, probably more than most for my son's sake, but I want the wins to last and I want us to win a flag and at present we just don't have the cattle to achieve that. We need to draft well and the better picks we get the better our chance of accomplishing this. I'm sick of the yo-yo ladder rises and falls from year to year - I want to be a consistent contender not a consistent under achiever and if that means a few extra loses this year then that's a pill I'm willing to swallow.
Stripes
