A healthy percentage often seems to point to a competitive team. And I think our percentage reflects the fact we have a team that is in re-building mode, which has been able to do better than many would have expected. I don’t know how it reflects that, it just does, ok. Just humour me.
In the Port game, which we won, there were some really good signs, but there was also a passage of play where it seemed to me that we resembled a bottom 4 side.
Even though Melbourne didn’t make us pay, it felt like an 8 goal loss to me, just because of how the ‘team’ went about things on the night.
Guess we can dissect all our wins and losses, but the extremes of form from one game to the next tell a story and even though we haven’t had any really convincing wins, we have copped some shellackings.
It also tempers things a bit when you consider that we play the style of footy we do because we have to, in order to get a win and to just be competitive. Had TW not implemented the different game styles then chances are we wouldn’t still be in contention to play finals this season. You could say that the way the game is now played is contrived and has the ability to hide or distort the reality of a team’s true ability.
If we don’t know what that ability is, then we do know that when we have the footy and are able to dictate terms we look ok, without dominating, but it’s when we give up possession to a skilful team where the concern has been and still remains. Good luck then trying to get the footy back, without them kicking goal after goal.
I guess that says we are a middle of the table team, at best. If effort is anything to go by then our players deserve to play finals this year. But, basically, I think that in the hurly burly of up-tempo, full on finals footy, we still have a way to go, and our percentage simply reflects that.
