Bulldogs vice-captain Jordan Roughead writes a fortnightly column for the Ballarat Courier. The following excerpt is from a piece published on 26 June 2015. For the full column, visit the Courier website.
On Monday afternoons, all 44 Doggies players along with a dozen or so coaches and support staff gather in the theatrette at Whitten Oval. As part of the weekly review we discuss how our game plan and style were implemented, what worked and what didn’t and watch vision to back up the analysis.
Last Monday the atmosphere was one I hadn’t experienced before. Despite having a 12-goal victory over the Brisbane Lions - our largest of the season – there was a feeling that we hadn’t achieved what we were capable of. In what I see as a sign of maturity, we weren’t satisfied just by looking at the scoreboard at the end of the game. We wanted more.
However as coach Luke Beveridge finished his address, the mood lifted. It changed from a playing group hungry to learn, to a playing group that was ecstatic for our mate. After being the subject of intense scrutiny and expectation, our hulking full forward Tom Boyd was announced the round 12 NAB Rising Star.
Since walking through the doors of the club in November last year, ‘Boydy’ has been under the microscope of the media and footy pundits across the country. To see him receive the well-earned recognition brought a smile to many a face.
Marking the walls of the hallways at the Kennel are the names of the 986 players who have pulled on the red, white and blue. Every one of those players has felt the stress and pressure of expectation, and with the increasing analysis of players, that pressure continues to grow.
Perhaps the only players who can approach a season without expectation are the draftees. They feel the pressure of finding their place in an environment which is welcoming yet cut-throat, but are generally given time to settle in.
But, after their first season the expectations grow.
If you don’t play in the first season, when will you get your first game? And when you do, can you play your role well enough that you get a game the following week?
The challenge becomes to play 10 games, then you set your sights on 20, and on becoming the player you dreamed of being as a child. All the while there is the pressure of maintaining a level of performance and contributing to the team.
This is what keeps you in the team and earns you the respect of your teammates and coaches.
When finally you feel like you belong at AFL level, the expectation shifts from your own performance to how you perform as a team.
Predictions are made during the pre-season as to how many games each team will win and where they will finish on the ladder.
One of the things I love about this brutal competition is when teams and individuals exceed those expectations - Port Adelaide in 2013; the Bulldogs beating the undefeated Bombers in Round 21 of 2000; and the pride in our teammate Boydy who has stood up under the spotlight.
