by Mick Ramsdale
Time : Thursday 08.49am, ( 19/08/2010 ) . Situation: Pies are 6 points clear on top of the ladder.
A call from Floreat Pica HQ. I Click on SEND and I’m the report writer for the Crows Clash.
Winning has become a habit lately, and the margins have been comfortable. Going backwards its been 98,22,48,82,48,26,83 and 25 taking us back to the draw with Melbourne .
Only a depleted Crows line up stands between us and the minor premiership .
No money around for Adelaide , not one tipster has picked them, the media is on the Pies. Collingwood are set for another big win. Its all about “will they do the right thing by Josh Fraser and let him play his 200th for the Pies.” It would be too cruel to have a 200 th banner to run through at a new club in game ‘one’ .
Alas by nightfall we learn Josh is still stranded on 199 games and Jack is back.
There was no real sense of urgency before the bounce . Had we become complacent , too used to winning easily ? Had we all got ahead of ourselves, it was time for a reality check as Maric rolled one in from a distance, just like last week we got jumped at the bounce.
Daisys fingernail intercept and goal evened it up , but the Crows weren’t to be rolled over like Essendon . The Crows were on.
Adelaide tackled hard and broke up our ball carrying around the wings.
They checked Swanny and Harrys’ influence. Travis was wearing the ‘Cloke of Invisibility ‘, where are you Trav ? We trailed by 2 goals at quarter time, and Mick went off at the huddle.
Start again. The Pies started full of running trying to get their mojo back. Didak hacked it out of the air and Leroy converted .Daisy took a strong mark but missed , out on the full.
Shaw missed , Daisy gets one . Pendelbury untaggable is brilliant in traffic. Wellingham takes another strong mark but missed the goal. Trav is sighted in the lefties pocket on Brunton , he marked and kicked truly, it put us within a goal but its his only goal for the night.
The Sack tries a torpie , it wobbles like a grade six flat punt and goes straight back over his head for a goal. I can only remember one that came off and that was two months ago , its got to stop.
At three quarter time its 4.10.34 to 6.8.44 , 14 shots each folks and that’s not counting ‘out on the fulls’ and ‘the didn’t quite make its ‘.But we,re only 10points down. better sides would make you pay dearly.
To get out of this mess six goals straight would do a bit of good . Instead we get 2 goals 8.
You have to admire the teams’ fight and will to win , they never dropped their bundle
The backs keep throwing themselves at the fight to set up the squandering forwards.
Trav has a further four shots at goal to save the game and returns four points, which you could argue got us over the line, but that would be missing the point.
Didaks’ pass to Leroy who converted an arm chop free , was a huge goal in the context of the season . And moves Leroy up to ‘Reliable in front of Goal ‘ status along with um er…………..Peter Mc Kenna .
We’re now only a point down.
Now for the lead, Trav another miss, scores are even. Newster backman Jack Anthony the hero of last years semi gives away a holding free. Irony ? A goal down, not long to go.Time for a genuine star to step up.
Alan Didak slides one through from the pocket , all tied up again.
Didak again to Trav who misses yet again but puts us one point up . A huge intercept play by Leroy eventually gets it to Daisy who takes a screamer and misses from the goal square, Wellingham runs in another point. aaaaah Stop it.
Dawes marks , were home .
A final quarter dominated by resolute defence , albeit our ‘ C team’ of defenders and inept forward conversion has returned 2 goals 8 points, for a scoreline similar to the one produced first time around against St Kilda.
The crowd were a bit stunned , usually a 3 point come from behind win brings joy and celebration.
Top spot is secured but such a narrow win against unrated opposition. Such wasteful use of the ball in front of goal after such a lush period leaves a bitter taste and concern for how a better side might have dealt with us.
Time for introspection. Has the media induced ‘confidence bubble ‘ gone Phhht.
Is that the end of the dream run?
Or is it just a timely reality check , out of jail free with no price to pay ? Is this just what we needed with time to fix it. In fact is it all falling for us?
Could this indeed be ‘ The year of the Magpie. ‘
Floreat Pica
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