LEADING from the back. 

Co-vice captain Jacob Weitering was elevated to captain in Round 19, covering the hole left by Patrick Cripps who missed due to injury. 

Weitering was his usual dominant self down back - assisted by Brodie Kemp and Mitch McGovern - using his aerial threats to keep the defensive 50 tight. 

Praising the team's selflessness and the first half of their game on ABC post game, the defender was bullish about their structure and how they want to move the ball – but notes there is always room for improvement. 

“No matter who we play and regardless of how they’re going, we wanted to bring a consistent game of football,” Weitering said. 

“Our first half was very, very good – to concede 16 points against and the way we moved the ball, we were selfless and worked for each other. 

“From the second half, there’s a bit to work on, but overall, it was a great win.”

From Weitering and the Club’s perspective, the pieces were all there in the Blues’ six-game losing streak, they just had to put them together consistently to turn the tide. 

Now winning their last five games by over 50 points, Weitering feels vindicated that their method has now started to produce results on the field.

“From the outside, everybody was looking at our ball movement and how many points we were scoring and our defence, but it came down to our contest: if you’re not winning it out of the middle, you’re not getting your hands on the ball,” he said. 

“I’ve got to give credit to the mids over the last 5-6 weeks and the way they cracked in, even without ‘Crippa’ and ‘Cez’ today – they did a terrific job. 

“Off the back of that, we can play some front-half footy and intercept in our front half – that’s how you win games.” 

On Cripps and Cerra missing the Eagles clash, Weitering said it highlighted their depth and ‘next-man up- mentality that the Blues have been carrying since Michael Voss took the reigns at the end of 2021. 

Whilst having your two star midfielders missing at the same time is less than ideal - then losing another mid-game in Walsh - the group was still able to get the job done.

Weitering pointed out that thanks to the comprehension of their game plan and the work they’ve put in at training, everyone knows what role they have to play. 

“There were some opinions out there that we’ve got too many big-bodied mids, but it’s nice having that depth – ‘Crippa’ and ‘Cez’ were out and we had the next man up,” he said.  

“‘Dowy’ has been working away and has been unbelievable from a leadership perspective in the way he’s contested down at VFL level. 

“We’ve got guys doing a job like ‘Fogs’ and ‘Cunners’ coming in, it was a good day for guys to go in and get some time [in the middle].”