The first quarter of last year’s season opener was a heart-pumping, hard-running goalfest. Last night’s 2014 season opener began in gripping style, but wasn’t a goalfest in any sense. The Barcodes and the Dockers armwrestled for 30 minutes before the Barcode defence burst asunder like a dam wall and the Docker goals flowed freely.
Over recent years we’ve become accustomed to a Blues-Tiggers opener, and these too have mostly failed to live up to the hype.
After a five-month hiatus, it’s unsurprising that our expectations get ahead of reality. But 2014 has had an extra dimension with the pre-season “challenge” offering few clues as to which teams are up and running and which are foxing.
After game one, one thing is certain. The Dockers are looking ominous.
For the Barcodes, on the other hand, it’s a hard ask to believe that Didak, Thomas, Shaw and Jolley would have kept the dam wall in one piece. Reid and putative Barcode-debutant White wouldn’t have made the difference either.
And it’s clear the Barcode faithful don’t have Foxtel, because they were incensed that the umpires weren’t umpiring to the 2013 “Gieschen” interpretations. The trend begun in the pre-season, with umpires umpiring games as though they are Grand Finals, continued into game one of the home and away rounds.
What a refreshing change to enjoy the football rather than rant and rave about over-zealous umpires!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment