Tarquin Fuego wrote:Our minds are 100% on CC semi final. Simple as that.
We don't have the big team mentality yet where we believe it's normal to make CC semi finals and still play like a top of the table team.
On a big picture basis we need to WIN a trophy and that will help the team believe we deserve to be at the top.
I want the CC ten times more than the hub cap or GF trophy but I also want Melbourne Storm LOL
Well it shouldn't and that would be down to the coach if our focus is other than on the next match and I don't believe that is the case, just that we aren't mentally prepared well enough.
This 'big team' mentality is just guff, I've watched plenty of times as 'big teams' or great individual athletes whom have imploded because mentally they weren't prepared.
Yes the mentality comes from within to a degree but it's predominantly down to the coaches and one would hope sports pschologists just as all professional outfits do, players are just tools. It's the same in a family group, your parents teach you about how to deal with scenarios, sportspersons are no different at all.
You prepare them to act out your plan, you instill in them everything you want along with the right attitude/mental fortitude and target those players that are more experienced and/or leaders to help you as the coach on the field. We lacked leaders tonight, Ellis is always a big miss and losing Mini too compounded that.
We are clearly a confidence team more than most in this league and it has nothing to do with 'believing' in how we derserve to be at the top or a top team, that's complete rubbish. It's about being mentally focussed enough to carry on acting out the plan that you've trained for when under duress, carry on targetting your mini goals in each given period of time etc.
A game is a game is a game is a game, labelling it as 'x' and giving it more importance than any other has negative consequences, a semi final, a final should be no different to the first game of the season, trying to say having a big team mentality just because you have been to a final before (or half a dozen finals) doesn't equate to not cracking under the pressure/performing well because invariably that isn't how we deal with things.
Ask any of the top sports coaches/sports psychologists.
