Towards the end of Saturday night’s tense match at Bluetongue there was a welcome moment of comic relief when Dylan MacAllister was subbed off.  With his mind possibly still focused on the intensity of play, DMac made his way towards his former spot on the Mariners’ bench and didn’t realise his error until alerted by an official. 

As DMac laughed and the crowd joined in some good-natured heckling I thought about how easy it is for the human mind to play tricks on us.  Even the physically strong, skilful and toned bodies of top athletes can be seemingly in thrall to the far superior powers of the mind.

That’s a good thing for athletes when their minds are focused and positive and they feel good about themselves.  A positive mindset means they are prepared to take the risks necessary to succeed.  On the other hand, it’s a terrible thing to see a talented athlete struggle with a lack of self-belief.  It can affect performance in ways that are unfathomable and often crippling. 

Despite all rational indications to the contrary, the mind can convince us of just about anything once it drags us into the bottomless pit of insecurity. This week, for example, the most charismatic man in Australian football seemed convinced he needed some assistance from Elton John’s hair stylist (why, Bozza, why ?!)  Similarly, the Mariners seemed convinced they’re not the same team that played such positive, attacking football and thrilled spectators last season.

How else can we explain such a negative performance in front of a great crowd for their first home game?  Sure, there are other issues right now, such as the lack of key squad members Musti and Wilko, not to mention whether Pellegrino really looks comfortable as a Number 10.  But this is a squad described by pundits before the start of the season as having “mouth-watering depth”; a couple of weeks without “the fro” and Captain Sensible surely shouldn’t make such a difference, should it ?

Don’t get me wrong, it was a glorious thing to be back at Bluetongue at last and finally enjoy everything I’d missed so much : the Yellow Army’s singing, Marvin’s psychotic dancing, the ground announcer who randomly changes the names and sexes of visiting teams, those electrical safety ads where Matt Simon wisely advises “hey kids, never put a fork in a toaster!”  It was bliss to hear Lawrie’s unmistakable voice by the coffee stand and feel truly at home once more.  

Was it too much to expect that the Mariners would put on a good night’s entertainment as well?I know it’s only our first home match but I didn’t expect to watch my team struggle against Miron’s teenage wonderboys. Let’s be honest, in the end, we were lucky to get a point.  Sure, it showed an ability to fight back but this is not  a team that should be looking to our opponents for inspiration. 

We want to see the Mariners of Season 6 again, please.  The team that lit the fire, not waited for others to provide a spark. 

As fans we can sometimes feel a pathetic need to try and assist our team’s performance. We attend games religiously, follow lucky match day rituals, create chants, bang drums and wave banners.  (The truly desperate even resort to writing blogs.) But the sad truth is, while a noisy crowd can help a team, unfortunately we can never get inside the players’ heads.

If I could, I’d try and find out how a team with so much quality can not be brimming with self-belief.  Having seen them put on some great performances in the off-season I start to wonder what’s changed.  Are the players distracted by off-field financial issues ?  Pretty hard to concentrate when you don’t know where your next pay cheque’s coming from.  Or is it a case of high expectations causing high anxiety ? 

Perhaps it might help them to know just how much last season meant to me and my family.  It was not simply about results, although these were outstanding, but about the wonderfully entertaining football we enjoyed week after week.  Every match seemed to bring us another sparkling, controlled and sustained performance to savour.  We were beyond proud to wear the yellow and navy and lived and breathed every moment of that beautiful season with them. We shared the highs and yes, we shared the pain of that cruellest end. 

But right now we’re not dreaming big dreams or wasting time on regrets.  We want nothing more than to see them play another season of quality football.

It’s well-known that in the past, the Mariners have used their under-rated status as a motivating factor.  What can motivate them now they’ve been so highly rated and successful ?  Just like Bozza, perhaps the Mariners need to look in the mirror and simply feel proud of who they are : a team that has always lived by its own values, a team that has never been intimidated by outside expectations.