Johnsy posting for the mighty Dragons. 750 words via the official F7's word counter. he's the only person getting off the bus & says to the media contingent swarming around him.
"I thought everyone else was organising a lift to the game."
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Faith
George Michael said it best, “Well you gotta have faith”.
What exactly must we have faith in? That depends on what kind of faith we are talking about.
Richard Packham (1) wrote a book, What about faith ? He believes there are three types of faith;
1) Necessary Faith – unavoidable, or that which is supported by evidence which is generally considered indisputable by most reasonable people.
2) Harmless Faith – faith in things that cannot be proven or disproven.
3) Dangerous Faith – faith held in spite of abundant evidence to the contrary.
To me, necessary faith is all we really have, that the sun will rise, the oven will heat the food. Harmless faith can be a good thing, it makes people want to be better, aspire to be more than they already are. I liken dangerous faith to blind faith, I have never had it, or had a need for it before.
Let’s take a look at my beloved St. George Illawarra Dragons.
Minor Premiers 2010, Premiers 2010, World Club Challenge Winners, what a year. Looking at 2010 retrospectively they rarely got out of 3rd gear in the finals series.
Semi Final Week 1 - 10 September 2010.
St. George Illawarra 28 – Manly 0
Manly enjoyed a better completion rate of 74% compared to 69%, Manly made less errors 10 to the Dragon’s 15. Manly could not even muster a solitary point.
Semi Final Week 3 – 25 September 2010
St. George Illawarra Dragons 13 – West Tigers 12
At half time the Tigers held the lead 12-6. The Dragons committed twice as many errors as the Tigers did in the first 40 minutes. In the second 40 minute period the Tigers had 20 sets compared to the Dragons 19.
The Tigers, who possessed one of the most feared attacking units in the NRL were unable to score a point in the second 40 minute period.
Grand Final – October 2 2010
St. George Illawarra 32 – Roosters 8
At half time the Dragons had made 10 errors to three, Had completed only 58% of their sets compared to the Roosters impressive 89%. Not surprisingly the Roosters were up, but only by two points 8-6. The second half had some amazing statistics, the most impressive one being that the Dragons defensive brick wall kept their opponents scoreless again. Not one opponent had scored against the dragons in the last 40 minutes of any final game.
Each and every Dragons fan had seen, possibly the most controlled ruthless modern day NRL side dismantle each and every contender when it had mattered most. I can assure you this is a trait that I cannot ever remember with a Dragons team in my lifetime.
Lets move forward almost twelve months and the picture is not so rosy. To be brutally honest it is a black montage with dark grey highlights. It’s a story that does not make for enjoyable reading for those who don the big red V.
2011
The Dragons have not won a game in the previous 4 weeks. Over this period they have made more errors than each side they have played. In fact they have won only two games since round 12. The last time they won a game was on the 29th May 2011. That is two wins in almost three months of football.
Lets compare the Dragons second half defense over last four weeks of football to their last four weeks of 2010.
Average points conceded in second half over last four matches in 2010
(Manly 0, Tigers 0, Roosters 0, Wigan 0) Average = 0
Average points conceded in second half over last four matches in 2011
(Canberra 18, Souths 28, Tigers 14, Roosters 10) Average = 17.5
To an outsider looking in, it appears the dragons are done and dusted for 2011. I disagree, why ?
A great, effective football side does not suddenly become an average ineffective one. A great defensive unit with a better attitude does not suddenly forget how to defend. I believe they’ll come back and make a run at this years Premiership. They’ll beat Melbourne by 14 points this Friday night.
I can hear what you are thinking,
"This bloke is crazy, he's ignored all the facts and evidence. Any moron can see if you put the facts and evidence together. They're done this year, they'll do nothing".
Well it seems for the first time, much to my surprise, against my better judgement. I am the now the proud holder of a large chunk of blind faith.
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References
(1) -
http://home.teleport.com/~packham/
Stats courtesy of -
http://www.nrlstats.com/
