There is a fine art to thriving in chaos.
Some of us are just grateful to survive, but there are others who relish a situation where you don’t know what’s coming, and you have no way of preparing for it.
As the Kangaroos walked to the quarter time huddle, they did so with confidence. They’d just taken West Coast to the cleaners, piling on seven first-quarter goals to establish themselves as the better team.
One could argue that they felt they were completely in control.
Ah yes… control, the old nemesis of our friend, chaos.
What happened when the teams re-emerged from those huddles was brilliant.
When I say brilliant, I don’t mean in terms of skill, or even in terms of aesthetics. Some could convincingly argue it was anything but beautiful. However, chaos has a beauty all of its own, and you only see it when you love it.
And West Coast loved the chaos they created over the next three quarters.
You think about the way the game played out. North would win the footy, kick their way through the wings or down the guts, and find the chest of Nick Larkey. He’d goal, or dish off to Cam Zurhaar, and the goals would pile up.
Predictable.
Controllable.
West Coast had to start doing things differently. They had to be unpredictable and uncontrollable. Over the next ninety minutes of football, their chaotic beauty was on full display, as they turned a 30-point deficit just after quarter time, into a stunning 17-point win.
They’ll call it the drought-breaker. They’ll call it inevitable.
I called it magnificently chaotic, and in embracing their wild side, West Coast may have given the best indication that they have finally… yes, finally, turned a corner.
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Big Questions from this one.
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