IN THEIR WORDS – MAX DUFFY ROUND 17

SATURDAY'S win against Peel in some of the coldest and muddiest conditions I've played in was huge for us as losses for South Fremantle and Subiaco has given us the opportunity to draw level in top position on points if we are able to get up this week.

After a disappointing display against South Fremantle a couple of rounds back we have been able to respond well with some solid performances against the Sharks and Thunder respectively. After sitting 1-4 earlier in the year I think most had ruled us out for the year but the group's ability to remain positive and stick to process has served us well and we now reaping the rewards of sticking to the process.

While everyone is a part of this I think one key element was how some may have most underestimated the importance of Shane Nelson to our team. Coming from another club I was probably one of those people but I've now marvelled at his ability to win the ball and contribute so consistently each week. With an average over 34 possessions he is flying at the moment and I look forward to him and the rest of the mids supplying us forwards with as much ball as possible in the weeks to come. 

The mood around the group is as good as I've experienced since I've been here. With the inclusion of the tackles/lip sync challenge it has made for a lot of energy on the training track come Mondays and Thursdays and a lot more boys looking for tackling opportunities come Saturdays. It has brought about some interesting performances with the highlight for me a Michael Jackson rendition from Mike Ashfield.

Its derby week this week and a really important game for us not only to keep us in contention for top spot but to keep a finals competitor out of the five.

I'm really looking forward to playing in my first derby this week. After missing the first two this year I've been waiting for a chance to experience derby day. The first two this year have been quite one sided and the ledger is square at one-apiece and we look forward to hopefully getting that back in our favour come Saturday.

We go into the game with an almost full strength squad and we should be able to get a gauge of where we are at with five rounds to go for the regular season.

With all the guys fit and healthy and fingers crossed staying that way it has made the competition for spots at an all-time high and everyone is on edge to perform.

With five rounds to go I'm really looking forward to the back end of this season and seeing how good we can be as things heat up at the business end of the season.

Go Falcons