I don’t think the club is taking the pi** with reporting injuries, but not wanting to risk a scolding from Shane, I’ll add that I can understand why some supporters might believe they are.
I chose not to ‘donate’ to the club. I was prepared to use the opportunity to carry out what my wife says is a regular end-of-season threat not to renew membership, but, when push came to shove, I couldn’t, because I enjoy the whole going to the footy experience too much.
I think the disliked and unlamented combo of ex-CEO, ex-Football Manager and ex-Head Coach left behind a deep-rooted legacy that will, unfortunately, take time to get rid of, but, fortunately, contracts are up at the end of this season. I have reason to hope that fans concerns are being heard and understood, and changes will be made among support staff in the critical areas of injury diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, that seem a bit lacking at the Dockers, at least compared with other clubs.
I went to the game last night and was a bit surprised by how many loudmouth WCE ‘supporters’ were in the crowd. As always, the widespread one-eyed ignorance on display was a bit much. With few exceptions, those wearing yellow and blue are shockers. They sneer, they jeer. As often as not, at their own. Their only interest seems to be in seeing the opposition (the Dockers were constantly referred to as “muppets”) humiliated. I don’t think that this is the attitude of the average Dockers fan. I think, maybe, most of us go along to the footy in the hope our team wins, but just as importantly, watching a good quality game.
Considering that Freo has a new, untried coach with a new approach and a significant number of experienced 1st choice players injured, the team isn’t doing too badly. There was plenty to enjoy, plenty to groan at, some outstanding moments, but also the sort of unintentional comedy (from Taberner) that a Dockers game wouldn’t be complete without. I actually enjoyed it, despite losing to the other mob, which is something I can’t say was true after a lot of Ross Lyon coached games, even with a win.
So glad I didn’t walk away.