IN THEIR WORDS – LAINE RASMUSSEN ROUND 4

IT WAS an honour to run out and play my first, but somewhat less extravagant, milestone with the great man Andrew Strijk in our win last Saturday against Perth.

I’ve had the privilege of playing close by him for the majority of my career thus far and have learnt a hell of a lot. I’ve learnt that if I’m ever in trouble I can get the ball in his hands and more often than not he’ll get me out. He’s a great leader for us down back and always happy to suggest new things. He’s introduced many set plays in transitioning the ball out of our defence, all of which revolve around getting the ball to ‘the janitor’ (as he calls himself). As defenders, we are happy to oblige but I think Dan Hunt is still sour he didn’t get a personal mention in Strijky’s Breckler speech. It was great to get a big win to reward him for his loyalty to the club. There’s no better bloke that could become the newest life member of our great club.

Playing my 50th game for a club with such a rich history was a tremendous honour. I go about my football in a pretty simple way, and I have to thank the coaching staff for having faith in me to keep putting me out there. Bill and the coaches have always been really clear about what they want from us as individuals, to simply play our role for the team. I’m sure that phrase gets thrown around a fair bit at clubs but I have great respect for our selectors in rewarding guys who are doing everything they can for the good of the team. 

We play a game style that relies on everyone having a part to play. Every team in the WAFL competition has the talent to be dangerous and kick big scores. We have great belief that if we can limit our opposition’s ability to freely play how they want to play, we have the talent to win every game we play. This relies on our team defence and ability to put pressure on other teams, forcing mistakes. We aim to be the best defensive team in the competition and know that if we can achieve this we will be placed well coming into September.

If there was any doubt for the players that this is the right way for us to play, the proof is in our start to the season. South Freo is playing some good footy and when we came up against them in Round 1 we weren’t up to the contest. Through poor execution and a lack of pressure around the ball we let them play the game exactly how they wanted to. It’s a credit to our playing group that we were able to refocus and have a gutsy win against a strong Peel side. Last week was a good four quarter effort where we were able to keep grinding down our opposition. There was a massive difference in the speed of these games compared to our first. We were able to play it at our tempo, with lots of stoppages. This allowed our midfield to use their strengths around the contest and keep the ball in our forward half. 

Preparing for this week’s game against Subiaco has been really different for me as I haven’t spent any time at the club. I have just started a four-week rural placement in Bunbury as part of the final year of my Dental degree, so haven’t been able to make it to training. The Bunbury Football Club has been generous in allowing me to train with them during my time away and have access to their facilities. It’s been good to get down to their training and have a kick with a new bunch of guys, but has also given me a lot of time on my own to make sure my own body and preparation is right coming into the Subi game.

Speaking to the boys, training has been good all week and there is a good feeling among the group. This week’s game is the most important game of our season, for no other reason than it’s our next game. We’ll focus on what we can control, that is the manner in which we play. What better way to prove we’re one of the best sides in the competition than playing against last year’s premiers coming off a loss. Getting a win coming into the bye is the only statement we need to make regarding our relations with the Subiaco Football Club, and anything else would be an injustice.