BigBlog

I’ve just returned from a meeting of the AFL Player’s Association of which I am a proud delegate.

In 2006 I was an alternate delegate and then come 2007 I was offered the role of a full delegate. It was an honour for me to be asked and I jumped at the opportunity to represent my fellow players in the AFL.

The Player’s Association actually does a lot of little things for the game which largely go unnoticed, but our aim is to do what’s right for the players by representing their collective interests.

Today we had a chat about some topical issues in the AFL including the proposed expansion of the league to the Gold Coast and Western Sydney, as well as the issue of drugs and drug testing.

I think it will be a good thing for the game if we can keep expanding. It will certainly provide more opportunities for players to get a crack at AFL footy and that can only help more young players come into the game.

I think the way the AFL handle the potential new clubs will also be of interest; especially in Western Sydney where there are already four NRL clubs to compete with in the Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers, Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers.

I haven’t read Jason Akermanis’ column but apparently Aker opened a can of worms discussing the potential return of Ben Cousins and while I, like Aker don’t really know Ben, I do know he is one of the best players I have ever gone up against on the field.

Whether Ben can come back from what he went through is up to him and I imagine he would have to go through a rather stringent process, but if he can make it back then it’s good for him. He is only 30 and the type of talent he has does not just disappear.

Ultimately whether a club would be willing to take him on could be his biggest problem, but good luck to him.

We have bigger concerns than Ben Cousins at Moorabbin. We failed to play well again in Sydney in what was a homecoming of sorts for me, having been born in Sydney and living in Paddington for the first two years of my life (not that I remember it).

That’s not to say Sydney didn’t play well because they did and they are one of the form teams in the comp at the moment, but we simply need to start doing the simple things right rather than worry about winning games.

If we do those things right the victories will follow. It was disappointing to be beaten in the midfield. It is where games are won and lost and we were soundly beaten. If you don’t play four quarters that happens more often than not.

As I have said all season the beauty of footy is you get a chance to change things the next week and we will look to do that against a very dangerous Fremantle side on Friday night.

Freo may be sitting near the bottom of the ladder but they have troubled many a top side this season so we need to be on our game.

On the up side I finished my exams on Tuesday and reckon I went well. I think I got lucky with the questions they gaveus, as they were from the area I focused on.

Luke

What a difference a week can make in footy! This time last week the media were hammering us. This week there isn’t much happening media-wise for the club.

In a way the media thrashing we received may have been a blessing in disguise. It certainly helped us fire up against the Demons and show them and everyone else we are not a ‘soft’ footy team.

I think I said it last week; the beauty of footy is you get the chance to turn things around every seven days and we did that last weekend.

I am sure there are people who will knock us and say we only beat Melbourne, but they pushed Hawthorn the week before and had been playing some decent footy before our game.

I think we did very well last weekend despite some wayward shots at goal. We were able to commit numbers to the ball and apply the tackling pressure that is so important in modern day football.

I actually think we made more tackles in the first half of last week’s game than we did in the entire game against the Brisbane Lions, which probably explains the turnaround in performance.

The wayward goal kicking is not a major issue and it’s hard to pick on things when you win by 12 goals but if we can improve one area this weekend that would be it.

We will have to as we are taking on a team who I have in my top two form wise at the moment.

The Western Bulldogs did the impossible last weekend by giving Hawthorn a touch up in Tassie. I can’t remember the last time that happened. The Hawks are usually solid down there but the Bulldogs gave them a hiding.

It’s no coincidence the Bulldogs are winning games when Jason Akermanis is in form. Love him or loathe him Aker can play good footy. I would of course prefer it if he didn’t make allegations like he did the last time our two clubs met.

The Bulldogs gave us a touch up in that game as well. It’s not something we have forgotten and we want to beat them this weekend.

The Bulldogs have improved their roster over the off-season and come back as a stronger, better team in 2008 as evidenced by their position on the ladder. At our best we can still beat them. We have belief in ourselves and if we win this game that belief will be strengthened.

It’s actually been an interesting week in the AFL with Alastair Clarkson giving a journo a spray, for which he later apologised. Those things happen and Alastair probably wasn’t used to his team losing.

This weekend also sees the Swans travel to Perth to take on West Coast. If Barry Hall was playing I might have predicted some fireworks after the incident with Brent Staker in the last game.

However with Hall not there I think the chances of things getting heated are lessened. I do think West Coast will try and play a physical game though.  They won’t want to let John Worsfold down again while taking on Sydney.

On that note I have been impressed with Sydney and think the Eagles will have their hands full.

Tonight I am going to the St Kilda Hall of Fame dinner. I’m not sure who is being inducted but know it will be a great night. It’s always good to see old blokes who have done so much for the club get inducted and tonight will be no exception.

Luke

Being called ‘soft’ doesn’t sit well with me at all and it shouldn’t with anyone. As an AFL player it is probably the worst thing someone can say about you or your team and we have been stuck with that label after our poor performance against the Brisbane Lions on the weekend.

Bottom line is we didn’t go in hard enough for the ball and the Lions applied plenty of tackle pressure. They destroyed us in a game we didn’t turn up for.

If we were looking for excuses then one could say we struggled with the hot conditions, but there is no excuse and come this weekend we will be looking to dispose of the soft tag which was put on us by our former coach Grant Thomas and our current coach Ross Lyon during the week.

Those comments do fire you up a little bit, but we shouldn’t need outside factors such as those comments to motivate us. We had an off week and are looking to rectify the situation and I expect to see plenty of hard-ball wins against the Demons on the weekend.

The game also gives us a chance to get away from the negative media coverage and out of out streak of two straight losses. If we win I am sure elements of the media will say we only beat Melbourne, but they put up a good fight against the Hawks on the weekend.

While winning is important, so is having the right attitude and that attitude is going to be all about playing good hard footy.

I think the weight of expectation that surrounds St. Kilda in the media every year is amazing. It seems every year we are going to be the next big thing. Not one player at the club has come out and said anything like that to my knowledge and the media pump us up before hammering us like they have this week.

To be honest I am sick of reading about how poor we are.

This two game losing streak started with Collingwood and while we could have won that game we didn’t.

I certainly think it gave their confidence a boost as the Pies then came out and smashed Geelong, and if you look at results in that way you could say we were responsible for their effort against Geelong. I watched that game and have to say their first half tackling was amazing and is the sort of pressure we need to apply.

As for the Brisbane game we clearly had an off day but I also think people tend to underrate the Lions. They are up there in Queensland by themselves and haven’t played finals since their era of dominance but I believe they are a top four side.

They have the two big guys up front in form (Brown and Bradshaw) and then they have a midfield with the experience of Black and Power leading some great young talents. They are solid across the board and a team to be watched.

On a completely different note I went to the Anthony Mundine versus Sam Soliman bout last night and really enjoyed it.

It was my first boxing match and probably won’t be my last; the crowd including myself was all for Soliman but unfortunately he came up short against the very talented and controversial Mundine.

I can’t deny Mundine is a great athlete and from that point of view I am a fan but I’m not always a fan of the things he says in the media or how he says them.

I’m ready to play ‘hard’ this weekend - Luke

The last week wasn’t a break as such but with no game to play I am feeling refreshed before tomorrow night’s game with Collingwood.

The week off not only gave me a chance to relax but to do some community work. The Monday after the Richmond game I was off to Mildura on a light plane in bad weather and was more than excited to get off when we landed. If you have ever been in a light plane during bad weather, you would know it’s not a comfortable experience.

Anyway, so off to Mildura and a skills clinic which was actually a lot of fun and one the kids really enjoyed. They don’t get much of an opportunity to travel to games from Mildura, so to bring a bit of the AFL to them was enjoyable.

On to footy and winning the game against Richmond meant a lot. It was one of those really tight encounters and when you win those they mean a lot more. In a way I would prefer to win comfortably but tight victories mean the most as the feeling you get when you prevail is awesome.

I watched the Tribute game on the weekend from the comfort of my living room and was impressed by it. I think the concept was a great one and that if it happens every 2-4 years then it will continue to be successful. Having said that I am for any form of rep footy at anytime.

I think the crowd seemed to enjoy it although I am sure a lot of them would have been torn when it came to who to cheer with clubs having players on both sides. I think a lot of fans would also have just been hoping none of their players got a serious injury from the game and thankfully that didn’t occur.

From my own point of view it was great to see the big ‘V’ triumph. I didn’t expect to be picked for the Victorian side, but having worn the Guernsey in representative games growing up I can tell you it is a special feeling and one all of the players who wore it last Saturday will cherish.

This week we are taking on the Pies at the Telstra Dome. Probably as many people hate Collingwood as love them, but I remember growing up I didn’t really care either way. I wasn’t a fan and didn’t hate them either.

Going into this game we know the Pies will be hungry after their loss to Hawthorn. There is no shame in losing to the Hawks who I rate as the form team in the comp.

It’s not like Collingwood to lose in that manner and we don’t expect them to be an easy opponent. People forget they were 5 points away from a Grand Final last season!

We are treating this game the same as we would treat any other and we go into games with the same attitude every week, no matter who we are playing. It’s a close competition and one in which you can’t underestimate anyone. Fremantle were probably expected to beat Melbourne but they didn’t. At this stage I would say the Pies are probably favourites to defeat us but we are looking at it like every game, one that is there to win.

Off the field I am studying hard for university exams, but am also looking forward to getting out on the golf course. I just bought a new set of clubs and will be keen for a hit this weekend. Brendon Goddard and Sam Fisher are our star golfers and at the moment I would say as a golfer I make a very good footballer.

Luke

Just like 2-up we’re a fifty-fifty proposition this season. After six rounds we have won three and lost three and it’s inconsistency that is continuing to plague us.

Two weeks ago we beat a brave Essendon side and played some pretty good footy. Last week we went down against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in a somewhat scrappy game due to the conditions.

Plenty was said after last week’s game and I think the media are looking for reasons why we are losing games, thus the reason for their focus on our form a few seasons ago when we were in the finals.

We did kick more goals then, but in one of those seasons Fraser Gehrig was in his prime and kicked 100 goals, so that makes a huge difference. The roster was also slightly different.

I also think too much was made of Max Hudghton getting upset at a teammate. Max loves this club and it was just one of those nights when things weren’t going right for us and everyone was a bit frustrated.

There was no real harm done but I’m sure if Max had his time again it wouldn’t happen like that. Max just loves this footy club and wants success for it.

This week we take on a Richmond Tigers team who, despite starting the season poorly, have really turned it around. They should have beaten the Western Bulldogs two weeks ago and narrowly missed out against the form team of the competition in Hawthorn last weekend.

I think their coach bit the bullet early in the season with a couple of experienced guys and brought in a couple of young players, giving them instructions to run hard, take on players and tackle hard and it certainly looks as if it has worked.

Just take a look at Jake King and what he has been able to do so far this season. He is one guy we are going to have to shut down.

Speaking of young guys it looks as if the Riewoldt cousins will have a bit of pride on the line. Hopefully we can get Nick bragging rights, although I think the two will be at opposite ends of the field.

You never know though. I bet there weren’t too many who thought they would see Matthew Richardson on the wing. I love to watch Richo play, he is a champion and to see the guy reinvent himself at 32 just shows what a great player he is.

On the injury front Steven King won’t be back this week and should return after the bye. Kingy is a big part of the team so getting him fit is a priority for us.

I hope we can go 4-3 into the bye round.

See you at the game - Luke