For me, this all started in 2012 when we played north melbourne at etihad stadium. North came out and played the physical aggressors in the first half, a trait that spilled over to their fans as I and a thousand others watched on the top tier as a north supporter bashed a stkilda supporter, kids watching and all, but i digress (i posted on the incident at the time...).
We were comfortably smashed by north in that match, and after the game, it truly dawned on me for the first time that we were slowly on the way down from here, that from here, having just played in and just lost 2-3 GF's, we had a long, long way to go before we could finally, as a club and more importantly as a list of players, let go of what we'd narrowly missed out on, not once not twice but thrice, and begin the long climb back up the mountain again in search of that disgustingly elusive second bloody premiership.
To the larger football community we were still quite a good team and a finals threat, but for me from that day forth i was just playing the waiting game - waiting for us to slowly let go of what we had and finally bottom out, and then I could see what the bottoming out would look like and how we were going to go about building our premiership team. Unfortunately for us, for whatever reasons, we had the wrong man as coach for 2 years, and this has possibly had the effect of drawing out the bottoming out period, but at the end of the day, it shouldnt hinder the overall progress of our list, and this leads me to the man who truly shoulders the most responsibility in our quest for glory: Chris Pelchen.
The man has a dual reputation. On the one hand, he comes to St.Kilda as an expert in list management with a wealth of experience including the overseeing of the construction of the Hawthorn 2008 team. On the other hand you have Dermott Brereton and a bunch of faceless men who continually seek to undermine him for unclear reasons, and so far as Brereton is concerned, he's shown nothing but contempt for stkilda his whole life, so flip him.
Now that we are in the midst of the bottoming out, I feel like the football world has now finally caught up to were I was at in the middle of 2012 when north belted us and a north supporter bashed a stkilda supporter continually right there in front of everyone, kids and all.
I back our man. Pelchen's list management strategy has been endorsed by the football dept. at the mighty fortress of football nous that is ye olde geelong, and from what we've all seen of Pelchen's abilities as a list manager its clear that he's willing to make the tough decisions and do whatever it takes to build the list that he believes will be perfect in terms of its being able to open a window on a premiership - the rest is up to the coaches and lets not forget the players themselves. Pelchen and the club have been completely open and transparent in what they're doing and what their aims are: Come 2018, we will have a side entering a time when its chances of winning a premiership are at their highest, and the whole club is backing this list management strategy and pulling in the direction that it outlines for the team. Tears of anticipation well in my eyes as I think of us holding aloft the premiership cup some time later this decade and I outright cry when I think of Chris Pelchen and every stkilda person rubbing dermott breretons nose in s***. Stkilda people wont forgot the clubs stated aims (finish top 4 in 2018) and pelchen, the board, the coaches, the players will all be held accountable for their work. And then we'll see what Pelchen's reputation is.
This leads me to what will potentially be the climax of our bottoming out, I'm sure pelchen strokes himself just imagining it: next years draft. We are locked in to pick 2. As a supporter, I want the team to give it their utmost for the rest of the year and spew their guts up because their trying so hard to win because any notion that it is acceptable to lose must be extuinguished from their soul, but I hope we still lose so that we can get the number 1 pick at next years draft. We're locked into pick 2 and pick 20 presuming its all fair and their are no concessions, which it probably isnt. If 2 top 20 picks isnt enough for Pelchen, he'll get another one somehow. Jack Billings is nothing.
The reason I came on here and posted this is because I was wondering who our number 2 pick is going to be. There are those of you out there who follow these kinds of things, so Im asking if you would please share your expertise and give me a short-list of players, with a short description of each, and I'll read those names knowing, so far as is possible, the name & key attributes of the player who will be the number 1 or 2 draft pick in the team that wins stkilda's second premiership.
Thanks a bunch! and fortius quo fidelius to you all!
2015 draft + my take on our plight
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Re: 2015 draft + my take on our plight
I think we'll go for three or four top 20 picks this year. Unless our first pick is an out and out star key position player, I can't see us taking a KPP. I vision us taking the future gun KPPs that are ready to go in three or four years time through trade or free agency...someone like a Fraser Gehrig would be awesome. I'd move heaven and earth for Talia right now.
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Re: 2015 draft + my take on our plight
Apart from Joey who could land us an extra top 20 pick? And I doubt Joey would give us a top 20 maybe 28ish at best.Munga wrote:I think we'll go for three or four top 20 picks this year. Unless our first pick is an out and out star key position player, I can't see us taking a KPP. I vision us taking the future gun KPPs that are ready to go in three or four years time through trade or free agency...someone like a Fraser Gehrig would be awesome. I'd move heaven and earth for Talia right now.
i am Melbourne Skies - sometimes Blue Skies, Grey Skies, even Partly Cloudy Skies.
Re: 2015 draft + my take on our plight
The only players on our list for a top 20 pick are Armitage and Steven. I don't think they'll trade the latter.