RAY BARTHOLOMEW PLAYER COLUMN – ROUND 17

A WEST Perth premiership player will be writing a column for the club's website every week of the 2014 WAFL season. This week's edition is Ray Bartholomew's latest offering.

I HAVE been back playing now for a few weeks and it's been good to obviously get back on the field. It was disappointing to miss three games and have four weeks off with my facial injuries, and to sit down and watch your mates play and not be able to help them. That is frustrating but also built the excitement about getting back out there.

I looked after myself and worked really hard over those weeks to get back and I was fortunate to get straight back into the side. Unfortunately one of the young blokes missed out as a result and you feel bad about that, but I have felt good about getting back out there. The helmet has added a bit of character to me as well and I guess the beard has as well which has gone on since I had the injury. I thought I would try a different look, but the wife doesn’t like it so it will have to come off sooner or later.

In terms of playing, I have felt that I have been going OK. Your hardest critic is often yourself and I expect a lot more of myself than I've been delivering. I have been playing OK but I still believe I can be a lot better. With six games still to go, over the course of that time I hope to still have an impact on the side and going forward, whether finals is in the picture or not, we are just trying to improve and do all we can for 2015.

We are going to still play our best 22 every week and there is pressure on for spots because our reserves are playing well, but we have six weeks to go and we just have to try to see if we can win six in-a-row. We want to try to get a bit of respect back not only for ourselves, but for the whole club. We still are the premiers and we have to try to see if we can at least play like premiers for the last six weeks.

The disappointing thing has been our inconsistent form and at the end of the day, we as players are the ones to blame. Bill takes the rap every time and says it's his fault, but we are the ones who play the game and are the ones who put ourselves in that position. He can only guide us and then we have to carry it out on the field, and at the moment it's not good enough. We know that as a playing group and we just have to get a lot better. We have to go back to the basics and go back to enjoying our footy as a group.

At the moment over the first 14 games, we have gone through flat stages and become individuals, and that’s probably putting it nicely. We would love to get a bit of credibility and respect back, and obviously play some really good footy over the last two months that we have left of the season.

Before that, we have the Foxtel Cup grand final this Tuesday. For us as a club, there's an opportunity to win some money but then again it's also a great opportunity for the playing group to get away to Melbourne. We've been quite fortunate with the Foxtel Cup that we've been able to travel quite a bit both times we've been in it, so it will be great to get this group away and be close again together. We'll just try to enjoy ourselves and enjoy the challenge. Williamstown is a great side and going pretty well in the VFL but it's up to us to live up to the challenge. We are looking forward to having a big crack at it, and hopefully we can win it.

We then come back to play East Perth on Saturday and what better game to come back to than playing them. Some of the boys may be physically tired, but I think in terms of the actual game itself on Saturday, we are playing East Perth, they are on top and we are outside the four so there will be no excuses once we are out there. We have to actually front up on Saturday and put in an actual good performance for ourselves and our supporters.

It's like a grand final for our supporters because they then have the bragging rights of us having beaten East Perth for another six months. If we play well, we can again put a dent in East Perth's preparations for finals. We just have to hit them with everything we've got and know that if we end up playing finals, and are fortunate to come up against them again then we will have had that win over them.

We just have to look after our bodies after the game on Tuesday night. Only having a four-day turnaround will mean that everyone recovers and prepares a little differently because once we get back on Wednesday, it's all about preparation for getting right to play on Saturday.

I've also had another new development in my life and I'm going to be a dad for the second time in November. It couldn’t come at a better time being during pre-season so my pre-season will consist of changing nappies this time around. We have found out the sex and we are having a little boy, so I am very excited about that. We will then have a boy and girl, and it is an exciting time obviously. We can't wait and I can't wait because it's a boy, and I get to have my own little son.

As a parent you do learn from the first time so the second time around won't be easy because it never is, but we have learned a lot. As a male, you do a little bit but probably not as much as the female. For me at that time of year, I will be getting hands on with the baby as much as I can. I will have to sit down with Bill and talk about a schedule for my pre-season, but I am just looking forward to having our second baby. That will be my focus once our season ends.

Elexis, our daughter, knows that mum has a present inside for her so she is looking forward to that. She knows that mum has the baby and she talks to him, and we encourage that. We won't know how she reacts until he actually arrives, but we think it should be all right. For her, it will be like a new toy but she just won't be able to play with it or throw it around like her other toys. We'll see how it goes.

In terms of my football future, I had a chat to Bill at the end of last year after we won the flag and I told him that my intentions are to play for as long as his contract runs. So this is the first year of his three years almost gone and I plan on playing for another two after this. Bill has been a massive influence on my footy career on and off the field, and I respect him a lot as a person both in terms of footy and away from footy.

He is a very knowledgeable man and he is someone you can talk to. If there is anything going on in your life or an issue, then he is always there to lend a hand. He has been there before as a player so he understands what you are experiencing. It's great to have him there. There are things you can talk to your own parents about, but then things you can talk to Bill about because he has been there with football and has three kids of his own so he understands what you are going through at certain stages of your life. While he is here, I plan on hanging around and wait to get the tap on the shoulder from him to tell me my time's up. But until that day comes, I'll keep playing.