Seems you captured what many of us are feeling!
I was really tired of footy by the end of last season; so much negative energy, unpleasantness, sadness, distractions, very few interesting games including another one-sided GF as bad as, well, the year before...
I felt something was really different in that first Pies game and it's been the same for the next 3. The youngsters and new signings throwing themselves into it. The new ruck combo. Buddy back in full flight. Everyone heads down over the ball going hard, second, third efforts, playing for each other, helping each other out. Feels too easy to say "Kirk returns and so does the Bloods spirit", but maybe that is a big part of it! I don't doubt that competition for spots is driving a few of them on too.
I'd say the measured response to the Adelaide loss, as a "good loss", says a lot about perceptions of how the team are going about their business. Really looking forward to the rest of the season.
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