The dark shall soon pass
FOR the night is dark and full of terrors.
So it seems, now the winter solstice is upon us.
As the nights have become longer, the daylight less, the energy within the AFL landscape has become dark.
There’s fighting, so much fighting, it reflects an episode of Game of Thrones, without the ghastly bloody murder.
Why is this darkness upon us?
One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth to be found.
This is the situation at the Western Bulldogs. Plenty of whispers, no one willing to give the facts. I will.
Fact. The players aren’t united.
Fact. Relationships once tight are now broken.
Fact. Some players enjoyed the post-premiership celebrations so much the club was uncertain if a return to football was a priority.
The win of the Doggies last year brings me to another Game of Thrones quote.
Every man should lose a battle in his youth, so he does not lose a war when he is old.
Did they rise too soon before maturing enough to accept the pressure to come. Suggestions of a premiership hangover have been repeatedly smacked down, but the truth is their game is different at this point in the year compared to last year.
They deserved the flag last year. The battle for the club is to repair the splinters and tape up the internal terrors threatening to derail its tilt for back-to back.
It’s not the first time a fresh-faced team climbed the highest.
Did Essendon’s “Baby Bombers” reach the heights too soon in 1993? Maybe. They learned from it and rose again seven years later.
I’d like to think Tomas Bugg posting a cheeky clip to Jason Johanissen before Sunday’s game would do nothing but fire up the Norm Smith medallist, but it didn’t even add kindling to his burn for revenge.
He gave not a whimper, his teammates barely a growl and if it doesn’t turn around this weekend against North Melbourne, more dark clouds will roll over Whitten Oval.
We choose light or we choose darkness. We choose good or we choose evil.
Media types are looking for angles of analysis and rather than looking at game style they are looking at people.
The focus of discussion has been around the negative assessment of an expert about the playmaking of a champion.
Last week St Kilda hero, Leigh Montagna was highlighted by Dermott Brereton as not adding much to the team any more.
Maybe Derm needed to phrase his critique the other way around, given the lack of light shining he should have explained what Montagna could do to get back in the spirit of football, rather than offer a low blow. Choose the light.
History is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging.
If the nature of man doesn’t change, then the angry Richmond fans have a lot more disappointment ahead.
Tiger faithful are furious that again the players lost a close game after leading for so long. They’re in the eight, but mental demons from these narrow losses will play on the minds of the chosen few when it comes to the finals. The wheel must turn now, or it’ll be too late to save the season.
If half an onion is black with rot, it’s a rotten onion. A man is good or he is evil.
Nathan Buckley called out the invasive media for wanting access to players on arrival to training.
TV host Craig Hutchison said it was necessary to continue following a developing story and if the club wasn’t forthcoming with access then they should butt in and get it themselves.
Solutions were raised, nothing was resolved, but pot shots were thrown and veiled attacks on media persons were noticed and banked.
Slowly, the days will regain their light and hopefully the negativity swallowing parts of the game slips away.