FEELING THE FINALS FEVER
THERE is no better feeling than being around a club that’s involved in finals.
Everyone walks around with a bit more of a bounce in their step, especially when both of our AFL and VFL teams are involved in September action.
We know it’s business time and everyone is pretty serious, but you can just see how excited everyone is.
The coaches and leaders have been really big on us continuing to bring the intensity to training that we have brought over the past couple of weeks.
That’s the standard for us for the rest of the year and we really have to keep hitting those benchmarks to keep playing our best.
We’ve hit this time of year in good form with not many injuries and our AFL team heads into next Friday’s clash against Melbourne on the back of two 100-point wins.
The Demons are a very strong team and they’ve pushed us in both of our wins over them this year.
I’ve got no doubt they’ll go into the game confident they can get us, but we know that we’ve got them too.
Obviously my foot injury means I’ll play no part in finals this year.
It’s so frustrating but I will make sure I get around the boys who are available to play and give them whatever help they need.
I know I can really help the team just by being positive around the place and that’s what I’ll continue to do.
Esava Ratugolea and Lincoln McCarthy are back playing VFL too and the prospect of them maybe making it back to the AFL team at some stage during finals is exciting for everyone.
They’ve both missed large chunks of footy so they are just trying to put their best foot forward.
It would be incredible for them if they manage to play AFL again this year.
The other great part of this time of year is that we honour the guys who have played some phenomenal footy this year.
It was no surprise to see Patrick Dangerfield earn another All-Australian crown. He has had another great year and truly deserves his spot in the team.
Everyone was really excited to see Tom Stewart get selected as well. He’s been in the AFL system just two years, so to be an All-Australian so quickly is nothing short of unbelievable.
It’s a massive achievement for him and he still has a long career to go, so hopefully he can get in there again soon.
Tim Kelly was also crowned the AFL Players’ Association’s best firstyear player.
Tim is an absolute freak and I’m sure anyone you talk to will say the same. In my eyes he is a future Brownlow Medal winner.
He has settled into the Geelong way really well and is just a great person who’s really down to earth.
It’s a great reward for him because he has done so much hard work over the past six years to get a spot on an AFL list.
Jack Henry also finished top five in the AFL’s Rising Star award yesterday.
A few people outside of the club would have been shocked when he came into the team in Round 2. But no one inside the club was surprised. He’d had a great pre-season and he has done everything right this year.
He is a quiet achiever and is starting to come out of his shell.
I’m certain Tom, Jack and Tim will all play a big role in our push through September.