But Stripes, you still haven't shown how it hurt us or changed the result. We played crap and crap at the 'G' or Etihad or Marrara or Cairns is just that - crap. We even had the majority of the crowd on our side in Darwin so we can't play the "nineteenth man" card either. Did playing in Melbourne make a difference to the way we played vs Carlton or Essendon?
You're right smokey. If we had of served up what we did against Carlton we would have lost regardless of the venue but the venue's, while not the exclusive reason, we contributing factors to both our losses. If we were a good team we would have adapted and won regardless but as a young, mentally fragile and inconsistent team, we couldn't.
In Darwin we could not handle the slippery conditions and did not prepare adequately for them like our opponents did. Our game is a highly skilled and pace style where quick and, most importantly, clean ball use can cut opponents to pieces. From the start of the game we were fumbling the ball, dropping easy marks, crumbing and lost our link up play. Subsequently we lost the confidence to play our normal game. Port were better prepared and used to the venue having played their before, using gloves and training in the same conditions before the game. The conditions were no shock to them. If we were a stronger team the conditions would have been less of an influencing factor but for us they were enough to tip us off our game.
Similarly in Cairns, the conditions magnified our weaknesses and highlighted GC. The strong wind game us a great start with our long kicking to contests breaking the game apart but when the tide was turned our backline was serverly exposed. In particular our backlines ability to run the ball out of defence and have the confidence to take risks. Our inexperienced defenders were fearful of losing the game in the 2nd and 3rd quarters instead of trying to win it. Gold Coasts defence had no such fear and were far more experienced than our own. They had nothing to lose. As soon as I saw they had rested Hunt, I knew they believed they had a real chance against us and this would be a huge challenge for a Tiger side who was even younger than themselves.
As I have stated, the venue was not the only reason for the loss - far from it, but it was undeniably a contributing factor and may well have been a factor large enough to make a difference to both results.