Happy Easter everyone!! The time of the year where everyone celebrates the Bunnies haha. Boy, aren't we in for an Easter treat tonight?! That's right, here we are, it's game day as we take on the Bulldogs in the annual Good Friday fixture today!! This afternoon is a huge occasion, as it always is on Good Friday. It's always one of the biggest clashes of the year for us. I always love this clash, one of my favourites that I always circle on the calendar. It's Easter and a long weekend so it always brings a large crowd which makes it a big game, as I said, a big occasion, and I'm sure this year will be no different.
On top of that, we're playing one of our biggest rivals in the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs. This rivalry has well over 80 years of history in it now and there's been some huge clashes over the years. Finals games, famous Grand Finals, plenty of incidents, it's had it all. Plenty of feeling in this one and I can tell you right now that I do not like the Bulldogs!
However, despite my dislike for them, I don't think this afternoon is as clear cut as some believe. Good Friday seems to bring out the best in both teams more often than not. Both teams seem to fire up for the occasion. Think back on all the Good Friday games since 2012, how many have we done easy? Only 2013 and last year, 2021, spring to mind. The rest have been very tough, pretty close contests and I'm expecting that today. The Dogs have been struggling a bit but I still think they're looking in better shape than this time last year and a big occasion like this could be exactly what they need. Therefore, I don't think we can under-estimate them at all because if we do, we'll get our pants pulled down. They still have some real stars in their team and some real strike but kind of like us, they've had lots of new combinations to get used to and that takes time. A team that contains the likes of Dufty, Addo-Carr, Burton, Vaughan, Jackson and Thompson is not a side to be scoffed at. If they get things right, they can fire. As always, they'll be super fired up for a Good Friday upset and we need to be wary of that.
I'm sure the occasion will get us up for this game too! If it doesn't, well then nothing will! We need to win this game, there's no two ways about that. We just have to. If you want to be top four, then these are the kind of games you should be winning. I think the boys will know that and for that reason alone, there is no room to be complacent today. I want to see the lads go out there, fired up and focused on getting the job done. We need to show some real signs of improvement today. For me, it all starts with that completion rate. Still, we've only really put it together in one game so far this Season so that really needs to be fixed this arvo. Get it up around 80%. If we can do that and continue to keep our defence tight, then the rest will flow off the back of that. We can win this one if we put it together and get things right.
Time to start climbing that ladder hopefully, we need to win today!! The big Good Friday clash, the big Easter showdown. I'm confident the boys can get the treats and come away with the chocolates. Let's all get out there and cheer the boys on!!! Bring it!!!
