When the side is not winning you leave yourself open to criticism, it’s part of the job. People are entitled to an opinion. At times, they are off the mark and publicised with very little fact, but even when we have enjoyed success the naysayers have written us off, so we don’t let opinions sway us. We welcome them, take them on board and move on.

But when we make comments, they are not just clichés or throwaway lines. Comments such as ‘working our backsides off to improve’ are true to our words. Our club as a whole is doing all we can to turn things around for today and the future.

It doesn’t take much to know our season has thus far been well below the standard we wish to set, however, the beauty with footy is you get another opportunity each week to get a win. Again, this weekend we get a chance to turn things around. Reality is, finals are still not out of the question, and the group is motivated to give all they can to keep us in the hunt.

Another talented Territorian will pull on the NT Thunder jumper against the Demons on Saturday. Matt Green gets his opportunity off the back of an impressive NT Academy series and his Allies duties. Greeny grew up moulding his talents in Tennant Creek, playing town senior footy at a young age. It will now be exciting to see those talents running around in the NEAFL.

Internally we know the direction we are heading, yes, we have not performed this season, and we don’t accept the performances put out. I can assure our supporters that we are leaving no stone unturned in our endeavour to return to the level we know we must be at. We are staying focused on our chartered course on and off the field. We will be relentless in our pursuit to holistically improve as we move forward.

Go Thunder!