With the midfield feeling the loss of prime mover Taylor Adams through injury and the forward line lacking energy and drive without Jamie Elliott,senior players made it clear immediately after the game they were disappointed he did not grasp the opportunity to show the way in their absence.
The senior players have not absolved themselves from the disappointing performances either,accepting they should be performing better too,but they see in De Goey a player with rare talent who needs to prove he deserves the opportunity to fulfil his desire to spend more time in the midfield.
The message was delivered informally,with club sources also saying there was an acknowledgment internally that De Goey’s output on Saturday may have been inhibited by a lack of football,followingthe knock to the head he copped against West Coast, which forced him out of the Anzac Day clash.
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But club sources said the next month presented him with a great chance to prove his worth as an elite mid-forward.
While all the focus has been on the coach Nathan Buckley in recent weeks as speculation continues to rage as to whether he should be reappointed for 2022,the senior players also know a lift is needed from more than one player and spoke post-game about the need to support the inexperienced players during this lean patch.
“We’re throwing them to the wolves a little bit and we’re not supporting them as much as we’d like to,” Buckley said post-game on Saturday.