For me there was one moment, among many, where I felt a sense of relief. Finally it all seemed to be coming together.
The scoreboard read Adelaide 9.12 66 to Brisbane 9.11 65. It was anyone’s game to be won on a wet, windy and wintry afternoon at AAMI Stadium.
Lion’s ruckman Mitch Clark won the opening hit out of the term but Richard Douglas managed to gather the ball. Instead of looking to pass off responsibility by handballing to a nearby teammate he kicked long and goal ward.
It was a simple piece of play that had reappeared in a rejuvenated Crows outfit.
Walker marked 55 metres out from goal. With a strong wind behind his back and the crowd willing him on to have a shot the young man from Broken Hill didn’t disappoint.
He backed himself! There was no second-guessing and looking around for a ‘better option’. He did what he and the crowd knew he could do and that was to load up and go for home.
From inside the centre square he kicked long, very long and straight over the goal umpire’s hat.
His following celebration showed immense passion and jubilation. Maric, Dougie, Porplyzia, van Berlo, Goody, Danger, a whole group of Crows got around him, the crowd were behind him and for once there was just such a strong sense of belief in the air.
In fact it was with us all game.
A five goal opening quarter was a welcome change. The one and only Andrew McLeod was up and about early with three shots on goal and two majors to his name. Douglas was bobbing up everywhere, David Mackay was providing some run towards goal, Scott Stevens was filling every gap forward or back, and Nathan Bock had the crowd wondering Jonathon who?
Brisbane managed to provide a competitive second and third term and was kept in the game mostly thanks to Brendan Fevola and his never-ending bag of tricks.
But we stuck together, persisted and it payed off in the last quarter.
Walker pulled a goal from his very own growing bag of tricks shortly after his first. A left foot round the body shot from 50 metres out in a challenging wind that was just as impressive as that long bomb.
Last but not least debutant Jack Gunston kicked the perfect grubber off the ground to nail the first goal of his career. It was the icing on the cake. There’s nothing more I love to see than a player kicking his first goal and having half the team run up to him and give his hair a good ruffle.
So what went right against the Lions?
The boys carried some confidence with them right from the start to the final siren. They never gave up. Their heads didn’t drop when the opposition got a couple on the run nor did they revert back to old habits when the going got tough.
The passion that I was longing for last weekend, a hardness and willingness to get the ball, was back. The team were working as just that, a team, as was evident in the reduction of costly errors, poor use of handball and easy opposition goals.
I could see a change. A change I almost thought would never arrive.
And wasn’t it a great feeling?
