I’ve been away and also busy at work recently so haven’t had time to contribute. How exciting was that yesterday?! Even an eternal optimist like me had given up at 6-26. It wasn’t just the deficit, it was the way in which three players threw their arm out at Lewis as he went through to score without paying the toll.
My thoughts from the day were,
 I’m starting to become convinced by the argument of using Monas as a hooker and going for another half. It all comes down to who is available and how much they will accept. Putting a premiership winning team jigsaw puzzle together usually takes a couple of years – and that was before the salary cap. I think that Des would love to have a good chat with Monas about moving to hooker down the track but he can’t really do it yet for a number of reasons. It may upset the current harmony and it openly flags that we probably have made an indirect approach to another half.
 Mr King is hanging on to this supporter by a very thin thread. Injuries or not, he must do better.
 The Panther support (or lack thereof) probably totalled a couple of hundred and left us with a solid crowd instead of a good one. It’s a shame we don’t have Parra and Easts at home this season.
 My two nieces and my nephew were at the game yesterday – 8 to10 years old. It was great seeing how excited they were with the comeback and crowd noise. It is also amusing to see them staring at my wife and I (& others) when we react to poor decisions, bad defence etc. Geez it’s hard to watch your language.
 The passion and belief that was shown and then rewarded will take us a long way. I think that our defence will take us to the finals but it is improved attack that will determine how far we get once we are there. Barring injuries it will be interesting to see what we can achieve in that area over the second half of the comp.
 My long term goals for measuring our progress to once again being a force are,
1. Showing backbone at Brookie and improving our home record - done
2. Avoiding capitulations in general – done, (so far)
3. Beating a good team that has played well – done, Melb 2005
4. Winning three in a row – done 2005
5. Being awarded a Ch 9 TV game when it is a full round - done
6. Winning a Ch 9 TV game to prove ourselves to a wider audience - done
7. Being awarded a Friday night match of the round - done
8. Winning a Friday night match of the round
9. Making the top 8
10. Having a home final in front of 24,000 screaming fans
11. Winning the Comp.
We've made quick progress but Items 8-11 are yet to be achieved leaving plenty of motivation for the rest of the year.
 When 2GB did the betting round up before the game they said that one punter had taken a five stage bet that ended with Brett Stewart being the last try scorer in our game yesterday. I don’t know what the first 4 legs were but they must have been at good odds and had already come through on Friday/Saturday. Supposedly he was set to win $10,000 for a $10 bet. Imagine how tense he would have been between the 66th and 76th minutes yesterday and how shattered he must have been when the Duck waddled over in the corner. As a very sharp coach once said, "That's footy!".
My thoughts from the day were,
 I’m starting to become convinced by the argument of using Monas as a hooker and going for another half. It all comes down to who is available and how much they will accept. Putting a premiership winning team jigsaw puzzle together usually takes a couple of years – and that was before the salary cap. I think that Des would love to have a good chat with Monas about moving to hooker down the track but he can’t really do it yet for a number of reasons. It may upset the current harmony and it openly flags that we probably have made an indirect approach to another half.
 Mr King is hanging on to this supporter by a very thin thread. Injuries or not, he must do better.
 The Panther support (or lack thereof) probably totalled a couple of hundred and left us with a solid crowd instead of a good one. It’s a shame we don’t have Parra and Easts at home this season.
 My two nieces and my nephew were at the game yesterday – 8 to10 years old. It was great seeing how excited they were with the comeback and crowd noise. It is also amusing to see them staring at my wife and I (& others) when we react to poor decisions, bad defence etc. Geez it’s hard to watch your language.
 The passion and belief that was shown and then rewarded will take us a long way. I think that our defence will take us to the finals but it is improved attack that will determine how far we get once we are there. Barring injuries it will be interesting to see what we can achieve in that area over the second half of the comp.
 My long term goals for measuring our progress to once again being a force are,
1. Showing backbone at Brookie and improving our home record - done
2. Avoiding capitulations in general – done, (so far)
3. Beating a good team that has played well – done, Melb 2005
4. Winning three in a row – done 2005
5. Being awarded a Ch 9 TV game when it is a full round - done
6. Winning a Ch 9 TV game to prove ourselves to a wider audience - done
7. Being awarded a Friday night match of the round - done
8. Winning a Friday night match of the round
9. Making the top 8
10. Having a home final in front of 24,000 screaming fans
11. Winning the Comp.
We've made quick progress but Items 8-11 are yet to be achieved leaving plenty of motivation for the rest of the year.
 When 2GB did the betting round up before the game they said that one punter had taken a five stage bet that ended with Brett Stewart being the last try scorer in our game yesterday. I don’t know what the first 4 legs were but they must have been at good odds and had already come through on Friday/Saturday. Supposedly he was set to win $10,000 for a $10 bet. Imagine how tense he would have been between the 66th and 76th minutes yesterday and how shattered he must have been when the Duck waddled over in the corner. As a very sharp coach once said, "That's footy!".
