A right royal motivator
CHRIS Scott needs to get the Cats to play like Queen Elizabeth II.
Our Queen has demonstrated she is the epitome of grace under pressure. She never gets rattled. Never shows emotion and has a lifetime commitment to playing by her own rules.
The Queen has been on top of the pile for generations, but she’s not giving up the crown for some sorry-faced second placegetter. She is the boss and everybody knows this. The Queen is more than a monarch, she is a royal parable of motivation for success. Let’s roll back a week for a second. Seven days ago the world was warm and fuzzy.
Geelong was scheduled to play Essendon late in the afternoon and then we were promised the spectacle of a jolly royal wedding. This was programming to keep the whole family happy. But history shows that even the best wedding planners cannot predict the unpredictable.
In mid-afternoon in downtown Belmont you could feel the love and fire in the air. Bombers supporters were friendly and subdued with the knowledge that there was no way they could possibly beat the Cats.
They were hoping for a promising showing from young players. Putting up a fight was all they could imagine, especially after the turmoil at the club at the start of the week.
The sacking of Mark Neeld, the calls for retribution, the suggestions that the leadership group was not pulling its weight, the revelations that their star full forward had been playing injured all year, (plus the James Hird and Mark Thompson smokescreen that just won’t disappear) — these were the obvious markers on the battlefield that told independent observers Essendon was “in disarray”.
Only true Geelong supporters knew the signifiers were pointing to a Geelong defeat.
Yes. True Geelong supporters remember all the second-place efforts.
Who can forget when the Saints sacked Tim Watson? He was a useless coach and he had one more game. The Saints were on the bottom of the ladder but they put the Cats to the sword. They played like premiers for four quarters and spent the rest of the year in last place.
Other clubs get out of shape and feel the need to make a grand statement. For some reason we are always on the wrong ground at the wrong time. Like a bride left at the altar, true Geelong supporters know the real meaning of “utter embarrassment”.
And so this time last week, we braced ourselves for disaster.
The Bombers came out fighting. Laying tackles and winning clearances. Halfway through the second term the Cats were folding like a cheap deck of cards.
This is what happens. Nobody knows why. But by half-time the royal wedding was looking like the most exciting part of Saturday for Geelong supporters and it was clear that we needed a revolution.
An aberration is not an aberration if it happens all the time. It is a pattern and patterns like this must be changed.
It is time for the Cats to write a new manifesto.
They must commit to playing like the Queen.
The Cats are at home to Carlton tonight. History says this should be an easy win.
If Geelong plays like Elizabeth (while adhering to the advice of Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry), it will be fine.
But it has to happen now. Even the royal wedding was devoid of bridesmaids. It’s time to commit. Let’s bring the “fire” and the “love” to the Cattery tonight.