I am feeling disheartened about my football team. They lost another game today, making it four losses in the last five games. After the exhilaration of premiership success three of the past four years, their current losing streak is a stark contrast to the team that has been so successful.

Injuries to key players haven't helped. Our best player is out for the rest of the season with a lacerated kidney, and our backline is in tatters after four of our premiership players succumb to long term injuries. The players who have replaced them are not at the same level, so the whole team performs poorly.

Most commentators are now writing the team off this year. It is unlikely we will make finals, and even if we did, we would be unlikely to win enough final matches to be there on the last Saturday in September.

As an enthusiastic Richmond Tigers supporter, this rapid decline in performance is hard to watch. I have turned the television off in the last quarter several times in the recent weeks, as I can't bear to watch it. I hope this decline is short-lived and that next year, we can recruit new players to help lift the team again. Unfortunately, it's going to be a long off-season.