Regardless if it’s an individual in their sporting discipline or a sporting team in a big competition like the AFL, the one word that makes all the long hours, blood, sweat and tears worth it after extended periods without success is……..vindication.
The definition itself speaks volumes for football clubs like the Kangaroos.“The fact of proving that what someone said or did was right or true after other people thought it was wrong”.
On Sunday the Kangaroo fans finally saw the positives of being resilient, hiring the right people in the coaching box and of course, recruiting the right players to get their team off the bottom.
What we saw from them smacked of the ‘V’ word. The Kangaroos have been the easy beats of the comp for a decade and weren’t exactly shooting the lights out prior to that. They made a huge call and employed someone that many say is the greatest coach of all time in Alistair Clarkson. It was never going to be a quick fix, just because of Clarko’s resume, but the Club now look to have been vindicated for their bold play.
The Kangas made some tough calls on their list in recent years and of course, had the luxury of high draft picks, all of who are displaying the talent they promised as 17-year-olds. The key to their win against the Demons was a combination of that young talent, but their mature-aged recruits are key to feeling vindicated.
Caleb Daniel is a high accumulator and is using it well, which they lacked off half back in recent years. Luke Parker provides toughness and poise, which the latter can’t be expected of the kids. Jack Darling won’t kick 100 goals, but his arrival has been critical to releasing Charlie Comben down back, which has ‘vindicated’ their decision to bring the former Eagle to Arden Street. Charlie looked like an All-Australian defender on Sunday.
Yesterday’s win was an ‘outlier’ for now, but critical for team resolve and belief. There was plenty of vindication in the victory.
