Patrick Dangerfield has revealed he turned to a high-performance psychologist who worked with the Seattle Seahawks to help him deal with finals pressure.
Dangerfield was best on ground as the Cats stormed into the grand final with a 71-point win over the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Friday night.
The veteran Cat set the tempo with 28 disposals, including two goals, and now has a chance for grand final redemption after the disappointment of 2020.
In a bid to ease the pressure that comes with the September spotlight, Dangerfield, 32, said he had turned to Dr Michael Gervais, who worked closely with the NFL’s Seahawks and their Super Bowl-winning coach Pete Carroll.
“I spent some time with a man named Michael Gervais during the week, and he does some work with the Seattle Seahawks. He’s got a podcast called Finding Mastery, and he talks about the moment and not building up to be any bigger than what it actually is,” Dangerfield said.
“At the end of the day, it’s another moment. He’s a US guy and spending time and chatting with him was brilliant, not that you view the game differently, but you view it as just another moment. So, you understand what it is, and we understand as a team and individually it’s a game we want to win, but it’s just another game.
Patrick Dangerfield has sought the help of a NFL psychologist to help him flourish in September.Credit:Getty Images
“So, it sort of grounds what can be perceived and built up to something enormous, but it’s something we’ve done so many times right throughout the year, so it’s sort of connected for me this week.
“It was nice to play well and nice to contribute to that.”
Dangerfield has played in five preliminary finals losses and a grand final defeat in his 302-game career.
Speaking on the ABC, Dangerfield said he noted the pre-game mood in the dressing room had been spot on, the Cats having fielded the oldest starting 22 in AFL/VFL history with an average age of 28 years and 173 days.
“Pre-game, it just felt like we had a real balanced, building sort of mood, the game was tight at the start, but we were playing the way we wanted to,” he said.
The Cats hope that “way” continues on the showpiece weekend of the season. There is no reason to think it won’t, as they have won 15 straight matches, with their revised game plan and personnel shifts of the summer working a treat.
The Cats had a 60-6 advantage in scores from turnovers by three-quarter-time against the Lions on Friday, highlighting how strong they had been on the rebound and how well they had been able to free up loose man and key playmaker Tom Stewart.
“We think we play our best football when we win the ball back … and can get teams on the slingshot,” Stewart said.
“I think a lot of defences around the league have adopted that.”
Veteran forward Tom Hawkins, having booted four goals among his 14 disposals against Brisbane, said the Cats would enjoy grand final week, then narrow their focus.
“I sort of had forgotten about the win streak. The time of the year means the win streak is a little insignificant but you want it to keep going,” Hawkins said.
“We have one more opportunity, as we say internally, to keep our game humming. I am just so excited for so many people across our organisation … it’s going to be special.
“I got to experience it earlier in my career. I look forward to enjoying grand final week as a senior player.”
The Cats are in their sixth grand final in 16 years, highlighting their willingness to do what it takes to remain in the premiership frame.
“This is my 16th season … so the organisation keeps giving us the opportunity to front up. There is a lot of hard work that goes into getting into finals series, and ultimately to getting where we are,” Hawkins said.
The champion goalkicker won flags in 2009 and 2011, and has the chance to share another with skipper and great mate Joel Selwood. The latter will this weekend break Hawthorn legend Michael Tuck’s long-standing AFL/VFL record of 39 finals matches.
“Scotty [coach Chris Scott] said it beautifully – it’s hard enough to play one game of AFL football, and he overtook Michael Tuck with 39. To get to 39 finals is just mind-blowing,” Hawkins said.
“That’s really special for Joel – you just keep seeing him break records.”
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