West Coast has delivered on the vision of coach Adam Simpson after a total ‘buy-in’ from his players
THE West Coast Eagles committed to an idea of a kick-and-mark game under coach Adam Simpson this year. And despite being down five goals to nil, they did not splinter. They kept faith.
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IF YOU have ever wondered why Nigel Smart walked over hot coals, or why the Essendon players lined up for injections, or why Bulldog players once jumped out of an aeroplane or why the current Crows didn’t walk out on their camp — it’s called the “buy in”.
The great teams have players who can totally give themselves over to the belief in an idea. And if their commitment is beyond the normal, they believe they can achieve beyond the normal.
The West Coast Eagles totally committed to an idea of a kick-and-mark game under coach Adam Simpson this year. And despite being down five goals to nil in Saturday’s grand final, they did not splinter. They kept faith.
And because of it, they kick and marked their way back from the dead. And more decisively, in the last quarter when they were two points behind and had one roll of the dice left, it was their unwavering commitment to their kick-mark religion that decided the game.
Jeremy McGovern marked in defence and kicked to Nathan Vardy, who marked and kicked to Liam Ryan, who marked and kicked to Dom Sheed, who marked and kicked the goal of his life.
If Ryan had wavered from the plan, attempted some miraculous heroics or blazed away to the goal-square, it’s doubtful the Eagles would have won.
It’s why football clubs often feel like rational churches from the inside, but can look like irrational cults from the outside.
Last season, when Tiger coach Damien Hardwick asked his men to “buy in” to an idea where they would play one key forward in the middle of a swarm of high-pressure tacklers, chasers and harassers, Richmond’s players “bought in”. And they won the flag because of their commitment to their faith.
Collingwood has had a sensational season, rising from thirteenth to one kick away from glory because it’s players also “bought in” this year.
Coach Nathan Buckley; with his job on the line; asked his men to put their faith in his pressure based ideal, and they were almost flawless in their unwavering belief in it.
The exact same pressure that won them a spot in the grand final, hounded and hassled the Eagles into mistake after mistake early yesterday.
Josh Kennedy missed a kickable shot in the opening minutes. Kennedy and Daniel Venebles collided at full-forward to waste a goal-kicking chance just minutes later. Tom Cole dropped a mark to allow a Jaidyn Stephenson goal. And Jack Redden had a shot that missed everything.
And when the Magpies led by 28 points, Buckley looked like a genius. At one stage mid onslaught, Collingwood’s tackle count was double the Eagles, and appeared a blinding statement of finals reality.
But from the moment the Eagles kicked their first goal and the game settled, it became a classic battle of style versus style. And a battle of faiths.
Perhaps in the end, fatigue was a factor. The chase, smother, punch, tackle, harass and attack game style is difficult to relentlessly maintain. And in the last quarter, Collingwood’s tackles started slipping, and spoil attempts started missing.
And then with Collingwood leading by two points with just two minutes left, the Magpies style and the players unified upholding of it, reached it’s breaking strain.
Jordan DeGoey, who had threatened to be the match-winner, trailed pressurlessly behind McGovern, allowing McGovern to mark in a two-on-one contest and start the chain to the winning goal.
It would be ridiculous to blame the win or loss in a more than one-hundred-minute game, on one moment.
But in a decade’s time, it’s the moment I’ll remember.