True grit: Panthers second-rower Adam Docker grapples with Sam Burgess at Centrebet Stadium on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images
''Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.''
- Author unknown
Attitude will win you a lot of football games. Lack of self-belief will never win you a thing. There are times in a match when it can all seem too hard. The opposition is powering away. Everything they do turns to gold. You can't seem to do anything right.
Suddenly the scoreboard is running away from you, and you're praying for the match to end. You start thinking, ''This just isn't going to be our day.''
You don't necessarily give up, but in little moments you don't come forward and tackle with the conviction you should. You stop communicating positively with the people around you, and everyone gets isolated in their own negative thoughts. Your team gets away from the pre-match plan, and you start to invent new ways to make mistakes.
Experience tells us, though, that if you can just hang in there for a little while longer; if you refuse to give up on a run, a chase, a tackle; if you can stick together as a group in mind, body and soul, things can change.
The game comes back to you. Things start to fall into place.
Your opponents don't seem like giants any more. You string together some positive football, get on a roll, score some tries and before you know it, you're back in the match with not long left on the clock.
When the comeback falls short of the mark, you sit in the dressing room feeling defeated but hopefully a valuable lesson has been learnt.
In the final wash-up, you weren't that far away from victory. Yet during those dark periods of the first half, you felt as though you could get beaten by a thousand. Then you start with the personal analysis.
''If only'' we didn't drop those balls on tackle one. ''If only'' we hadn't kicked out on the full. ''If only'' I hadn't tried to force that pass. ''If only'' I went in harder on that tackle. ''If only'' I hadn't walked, I would've covered that inside pass. In the end, you realise just how close to victory you came - despite feeling at one stage you had no chance at all.
This was pretty much the story of the game at Penrith yesterday, where South Sydney defeated the Panthers 44 points to 32.
The first thing that needs to be said is that the better football team won this match. The Rabbitohs are quite the professional outfit these days. They are definitely one of the top two or three contenders for a title this season.
They were heavy favourites leading into this encounter, and in the first 40 minutes they blew the Panthers off the park, showing just what a powerful unit they have become. Was it all South Sydney? Or had the Panthers played their part in delivering this Rabbitoh exhibition?
If you are playing the best (and I'm sure the Panthers had paid Souths that respect in pre-match preparations), then you need to be at your best. Unfortunately for the home side, they were anything but perfect.
There was an uncertainty and nervousness in the Panthers' execution with the ball. Poor fifth-tackle options meekly handed the ball back to their opponents, failing to apply any pressure whatsoever.
Soft penalties and first-tackle turnovers gifted South Sydney field position and possession. At times it looked like men against boys, so easily were the big Rabbitoh players busting tackles and making massive metres with each carry of the ball.
The 34-16 half-time lead indicated their dominance, and they started the second half in the same aggressive manner, pounding relentlessly at the Panthers' goal line.
To the Panthers' credit, though, they stood their ground. They clawed their way back into the contest, and more importantly, gained credibility with themselves and each other. The fightback was stirring.
With the score now at 34-32 and only eight minutes to play, the home side was in reach of a remarkable victory. Had flying centre Brad Tighe grabbed a difficult catch at a vital stage, he might've been off for the prize. The ball went to ground and with it, the wind in the Panther's sails.
South Sydney professionally won the final few minutes, posting a couple of tries to secure the win they deserved.
For the Panthers:
''And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.''
Phil Gould is the general manager of the Penrith Panthers.
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