Underdogs feed off winning spirit
UNDERDOG stories do not come much larger in stature than the Western Bulldogs and Cronulla’s pursuits this weekend in their respective grand finals.
The Western Bulldogs are in their first AFL grand final in 55-years while the Sharks have never claimed an NRL premiership since inception in 1967.
History is not on the Dogs side, but they also have battled adversity this season, finishing seventh after the home and away season and will face the minor premiers Sydney in the big dance.
The Sharks finished third on the table but face an uphill battle against long-time powerhouses the Melbourne Storm.
Locally, the Cairns Taipans in the NBL are perennial underdogs against the bigspending teams from down south, as the FNQ Heat are also in football’s NPL.
Cairns-based mental performance coach Rob Gronbeck encourages underdog teams to embrace the tag and visual their goals.
“I think athletes want to imagine and see what they want to happen,” Gronbeck said.
“On the underdogs side, when you feel like you have to raise your level, you often do.
“Regardless if they are the best team for the last ten years, or they are down the bottom for the last period, they always want to rehearse what they want to happen.
“You always hear athletes say it, ‘I pictured this moment a million times as they win the medal’. That is what gets them there.
“Regardless of how they see themselves against someone else or the other team, they imagine themselves winning and getting on top. They picture themselves as the top dog.
“When the challenge is against you, the external motivation that drives you.”
The FNQ Heat were considered longshots to start 2016 but coach Tim Campbell said what outsiders said was irrelevant if players had the right attitude.
“If a coach is telling his players they’re not as good as the team they’re about to play, they’re not going to win a game, so I think you leverage off that to turn the tide on that and you’ve got to believe when you go out on that pitch that you’re there to compete and if you compete to your best ability, that you’re going to win,” he said.
“If there are any players in there who they aren’t going to have the biggest game of their life and perform at the best of their ability and win that game, they shouldn’t be in there.”
“In those dressing rooms, they won’t be underdogs, they’ll be people who are about to achieve something for the first time ... so that just drives that belief within the team that they can do it.”
Taipans skipper Cameron Gliddon acknowledges the Snakes are being written off by many basketball followers and bookies this season but he is focused on working hard as a team and letting the results work themselves out.
“I think it is pretty obvious that everyone is underestimating us,” Gliddon said.
“We are paying like 30 something bucks to win the championship and the next best is $15.
“We are a small town team that always gets ranked really low. I think it is how hard you play and how well you get together as a team.
“We are doing that quite well at this moment in time.”