Reminder - we came 16th out of 16 last year.
No shit sherlock, thanks for that. In other startling news, water is wet.
There were numerous reasons for that result which have been addressed ad naseum, but just for your benefit, here we go again:
1. We had a horrific injury toll and in key positions - hopefully with a bit of luck that will not be the case this year.
2. The entire competition shut down for an extended period - hopefully that will not be the case this year.
3. We did not handle that break in the competition at all well and in my view our players did not come back fit or motivated - it goes without saying that hopefully that will not be the case this year.
4. The governing body saw fit to substantially change the rules and the way that the game is played, after the competition had started and toward the end of that break in the competition - given we had one of the youngest squads with the most inept coaching squad those changes impacted upon our club significantly. Once again, it goes without saying that hopefully this will not be the case this year.
5. Did I mention that we had one of the youngest squads and a heavy injury toll? Well guess what, the shut down of the Qld Cup competition meant that our younger players and development players were not getting any game time. Hopefully that will not be the case this year.
6. The players had to adhere to strict rules regarding how they lived. Once again, having a much younger squad apparently full of entitled asswipes, also adversely impacted upon us. Hopefully, the competition as a whole will not be subject to the same rules this year - and if they are, our team will be better placed to manage this.
7. Did am sucI mention our coaching team sucked? Well that has been completely changed and although Kev is unproven at this level, in my view we have a far better balanced and experienced coaching team. A significant change from last year.
8. Our less than stellar coaching team was further weakened by forced redundancies and other part-time members like Parker and Hodges not being able to be involved because they were not in the bubble. This will not be the case this year.
9. It was clear that our coaching team were not able to adjust to the rule changes and were apparently incapable of teaching our squad basic attacking and defensive structures. Hopefully that will not be the case this year.
10. It was relatively clear following the first two games after resuming from the break in the competition that the morale within the club had hit all time lows and did not improve. From the outside looking in, there seemed to be a split in the squad for some reason - once again, hopefully this will not be the case this year and Kevvie can address the issues and make training and club time a more enjoyable experience again. Having Kevvie, Langer and Steve Walters around the squad, I cannot see how this will not be the case.
11. The team were not playing for their coach or each other last year. Once again, hopefully this will not be the case this year in light of the ten preceding points.
So, in summary, I think there is a hell of a lot to be positive and optimistic about and I believe you will see a marked improvement in our performances and our table position by the end of the season.