Swamp, Joondalup Ressies players have barely been turning up for most of the season for reasons best known to themselves. As a committed Ressies player myself, I don't know what their issues are. We lost a few games early in the season, so a few players with weak hearts stopped coming then ('Why turn up if I'm gonna lose?'). Sure, we had a few injuries and a few guys got work away from Perth, but the rest still should've turned up and dug deep. Several players who started the year in Reserve-Grade have also been called up to be playing First-Grade for a fair majority of the season. Again, we had some weak hearts playing Firsts, some players got injured, and some had to leave for work reasons, hence the call-ups. The past 5 or 6 games, us Ressies have been playing with less than 13 on the field every week, and a number of those players have been called in off the hill to pull on the boots just so we can field a team.
This weekend just gone, several First-Graders couldn't make the trip to Kalgoorlie for one reason or another, so the last of the dedicated Ressies players (myself included) were called in to fill in (and even then Firsts had only 2 on the bench). To get minimal numbers against you guys (South West) was a good effort given the circumstances in my books. It's been a very disappointing season for Joondalup as far as these kinda players goes. The mindset seems to be 'I'll just turn up if I feel like it.' If it's cold or wet, a lot 'have work on' and can't come (or just don't bother letting anyone know and just not turn up). I hate that mentality. It needs to change for 2012, that's for sure, and I believe it will.
Good luck in the Finals, South West.
