Drawing a line in the sand for Ratts.

[Waltzing St Kilda]

Ladder position irrelvant. It's those hammerings that will kill Ratts (justifiably) if they happen again.

[mad saint guy]

Ratts has done some good things and done some things poorly.

It's easiest to point out the flaws:

- Completely stuffed up last year's pre season. Reports were that a lot of ownership was given to the players and in the end they weren't fit enough. The squad probably got very comfortable after the finals win
- Didn't give Hind a chance to play his natural position and let him go for basically nothing
- Gifted games to underperforming senior players (Ross, Hill, Kent, Long)
- Confused some younger players by not settling them into a role (Battle, Clark, Coffield)
- Didn't adjust well to the last-minute change to the 'stand' rule
- Hasn't yet been able to get the group in the right mindset to perform consistently week after week
- This one is my opinion, but I think this structure of one key back and then Wilkie/HIghmore/Coffield taking the second tall doesn't work. Hoping that Battle can become that second key back
- Involved in some mature age recruiting flops (Hunter, McKernan, Frawley)

On the positive side:

- Made finals
- Clearly managed the group well up in Noosa
- Players seem to be much happier with this coaching style, often mentioning that he encourages players to build on their strengths rather than fixate on weaknesses
- Has cleared a lot of deadwood from the list and brought in a lot of youth
- Steele, Sinclair have gone from good to elite - this seems to be related to the point about focusing on strengths rather than limitations
- Kept the group well behaved and out of the news
- Seems to be recognising some errors and correcting them - case in point being Battle who appears to be settling into his best position this year
- I respect that he didn't cave to Dunstan and offer him a big contract on the back of his 6 or so solid games. I'm glad that we're finally moving on
- Turned things around fairly significantly in the second half of last season in terms of competitiveness each week


If we go backwards again this year there's a case to be made for finding another coach. But I think the odds would be in favour of Ratten coaching us beyond 2022. The big thing in his favour is that he doesn't seem to be a pig-headed arrogant type like many of our previous sacked coaches who refused to recognise fault and make improvements. Or of course the ultra conservative Richo who was terrified of taking a big loss above all else.

[shanegrambeau]

Ratts has done some good things and done some things poorly.

It's easiest to point out the flaws:

- ….last year'..weren't fit enough…
- ….Hind…
- Gifted games…. (Ross, Hill, Kent, Long)
- Confused …(Battle, Clark, Coffield)
- Didn't adjust...'stand' rule
- .. yet been able to get the…right mindset to perform consistently….
- ….my opinion…..one key back and then Wilkie/HIghmore/Coffield taking the second tall doesn't work…..
- ….mature age recruiting flops (Hunter, McKernan, Frawley)

On the positive side:

- …finals
- …managed.. group well in Noosa
- Players…. happier….encourages…build on strengths…
-…cleared…deadwood…brought.youth
- Steele, Sinclair… from good to elite -
- Kept the group well behaved….
- …..recognizing …errors and correcting them point being Battle who appears to be settling…
- …didn't cave to Dunstan….
- Turned things around… second half of last season …


If we go backwards again this year there's a case to be made for finding another coach. But….

Good points all round..

In 2020
The loss of Brown, mid season, on contract, as a backup defender, a tragedy
Ross not wanting to play with his mates bad for team… boo…

Big Yes to all others..except Battle

Agree with defense structure weak.. yes, but
and don’t think Battle has settled at CHB either

Charlie Curnow, had four gettable shots at goal yesterday and fluffed them. He easily got away from Battle. At one point 150 meters away as he ran to clog their defense.

I’d say our defense is not settled but pretty good. But the mid field is very average.

[Impatient Sainter]

I must say after watching yesterdays practice match, I couldnt see any improvements in our game style. Remembering it was a practice match and we may have been trialling differing setups, but there were concerns. It left me wondering where our organic improvement was going to come from?

Without Ryder/Marshall rucking, our midfield got owned at centre clearances and around the ground at stoppages.

Our forward line was totally dysfunctional, but so was the delivery into F50. Bombing to the 20 metre zone or kicking to a dead pocket to get a restart becomes comical when our players ignore good leads and the opposition are allowed to flood back and out number our forwards. We might as well just hand the ball back to the opposition, because that is the result. Its almost as if Ratts & co dont trust our mids etc to hit a leading target, so they wont take the risk of turning the ball over in the 30-40 metre zone? Thats possibly the result of teams being able to rebound too easily against us when the ball is turned over in those areas.

Either way its something that needs to immediately be addressed because we have become far too predictable and opposition teams dont even bother guarding the leading channels because they know where we are kicking it on every occasion. It also becomes counter productive because our players stop leading and others stop looking for leads. We need to start leading at the ball again to draw the opposition out. Mix it up get the entire F50 working in unison and honouring free leads even from our smaller forwards. It also defies good sense when you have reliable leading, marking and set shot players like (Sharman, Membrey & Woods) in our F50.

Our lack of leg speed and spread was exposed through our midfield but also our small forwards Gresham, Higgins and Billings. All were exposed for a lack of pace and defensive effort when Carltons small defenders continually ran through the centre without pressure.

Our defensive group held up really well, but we are not going to trouble the top sides playing the way we did yesterday.

With the above in mind I still back Ratts, but he and his assistants (namely Rath) had better start getting the fundamentals right or they wont deserve a contract extension.

[Laurie]

Why is it always the coach at St.Kilda that seems to be the issue?
Maybe we expect too much from the cattle we have at the club wich are overrated by some at the club.
BOOM BOOM

[mad saint guy]

Big Yes to all others..except Battle

Agree with defense structure weak.. yes, but
and don’t think Battle has settled at CHB either

Charlie Curnow, had four gettable shots at goal yesterday and fluffed them. He easily got away from Battle. At one point 150 meters away as he ran to clog their defense.

I’d say our defense is not settled but pretty good. But the mid field is very average.

I'm not saying that Battle has actually cemented himself in that role but at least we know that he has played well in defence before, and this year the messaging coming out is that he is going to get an extended crack there. This will no doubt help him immensely compared to not knowing whether he'll be playing wing, forward, back, ruck or all of the above on any given week. Charlie Curnow is going to be getting shots at goal against most defenders in the comp as well - particularly if the opposition midfield is treating the game like a training drill.

[wally]

Fox footy had a season review a couple of nights ago . Joey Mark Robinson and David King reviewed the saints.All said , might go better with some luck but No Finals. If that is general perception of the media / experts then that is more about the cattle than the coach. Age old question is who chooses recruits coach or admin?

[Gershwin]

Fox footy had a season review a couple of nights ago . Joey Mark Robinson and David King reviewed the saints.All said , might go better with some luck but No Finals. If that is general perception of the media / experts then that is more about the cattle than the coach. Age old question is who chooses recruits coach or admin?

I cannot in my wildest dreams believe that the coach does not give the thumbs up on recruits.

[realdeal]

There are so many variables that go into a season so it's not a cut and dry decision however, we need to continue to see player development and all around execution of a solid game plan...

The reports of our haphazard game plan from the first practice match (albeit, a practice match) is a bit concerning. If we get another season of bombing into our fwd line, missed kicks to leads and coming to a halt if our rucks dont dominate or we dont get goals on the rebound il be face palming.

We have enough talent that we should be right up there around the 5-8 mark... anything else and there will be a feeling of Richo mediocrity about things...

[Impatient Sainter]

Fox footy had a season review a couple of nights ago . Joey Mark Robinson and David King reviewed the saints.All said , might go better with some luck but No Finals. If that is general perception of the media / experts then that is more about the cattle than the coach. Age old question is who chooses recruits coach or admin?

I can understand the experts ratings as we didnt look like it last year and have another relatively tough draw again this year. We play Geelong, Brisbane, Swans, Freo & Hawthorn twice so its going to be a challenging year. We should have beaten Geelong at Marvel last year, and we go okay against Freo & Brisbane. We play the Swans at home also so we should be able win one of those games & Hawthorn should be 2 wins.

A decent run with injuries will be our key if Jones, Gresham, Ryder, Marshall, Paton and Hannebery can play most of the year we will be thereabouts. We only missed out by a game and percentage last year, so we wont have to improve a lot to make it. If we can have a year with no blowouts like 2021 our percentage should improve significantly.

I have us with around 14 wins which on last years ladder would have us finishing 7th.

[Vortex]

Fox footy had a season review a couple of nights ago . Joey Mark Robinson and David King reviewed the saints.All said , might go better with some luck but No Finals. If that is general perception of the media / experts then that is more about the cattle than the coach. Age old question is who chooses recruits coach or admin?

I can understand the experts ratings as we didnt look like it last year and have another relatively tough draw again this year. We play Geelong, Brisbane, Swans, Freo & Hawthorn twice so its going to be a challenging year. We should have beaten Geelong at Marvel last year, and we go okay against Freo & Brisbane. We play the Swans at home also so we should be able win one of those games & Hawthorn should be 2 wins.

A decent run with injuries will be our key if Jones, Gresham, Ryder, Marshall, Paton and Hannebery can play most of the year we will be thereabouts. We only missed out by a game and percentage last year, so we wont have to improve a lot to make it. If we can have a year with no blowouts like 2021 our percentage should improve significantly.

I have us with around 14 wins which on last years ladder would have us finishing 7th.

Avoiding injury will be key to our finals chances, our list is very fragile and delicately balanced. A deck of cards almost.

Last year's big losses to the Bombers, Tigers and Dogs were troubling signs of the players attitude and general spirit. The way they gave up so easily still concerns me. Was that a sign of a side that had been cobbled together in quick time with many high priced recruits that lacked passion and respect for the jumper.

We need luck as much as anything else this year. It is that simple from the view of my cheap seat.

[spert]

Like most other sports, if the team doesn't succeed, the coach gets the chop. Our recruiting and development in recent years has been questionable, but at the end of the day, results are what counts and it's the team that runs onto the filed, and the coach who have to get a win.

[Impatient Sainter]

I totally agree Vortex the injuries last year exposed the fragility in our list. But the severity of the injuries also wore us down.

I think losing Paton the way we did, with his team mates not knowing if he would play again psychologically effected the group. Then Gresham and the injuries kept coming, our blokes basically struggled to recover and get any momentum. On top of that, our lack of fitness early on really exposed us.

The beltings were the result of a group of players who without recognising it, had mentally switched off or were exhausted.

[Vortex]

I totally agree Vortex the injuries last year exposed the fragility in our list. But the severity of the injuries also wore us down.

I think losing Paton the way we did, with his team mates not knowing if he would play again psychologically effected the group. Then Gresham and the injuries kept coming, our blokes basically struggled to recover and get any momentum. On top of that, our lack of fitness early on really exposed us.

The beltings were the result of a group of players who without recognising it, had mentally switched off or were exhausted.

I read somewhere that one of the ingredients to Melbourne's success in 2021 was a program focused on mental toughness and specifically increasing the players ability to train and play through injury and pain. I think we will need to improve in this area too and maybe not so much of the cuddles and meditation malarkey Ratts has been promoting. Dare I say it this lift comes across as being a little bit too soft and comfortable.

[D.B.Cooper]

I totally agree Vortex the injuries last year exposed the fragility in our list. But the severity of the injuries also wore us down.

I think losing Paton the way we did, with his team mates not knowing if he would play again psychologically effected the group. Then Gresham and the injuries kept coming, our blokes basically struggled to recover and get any momentum. On top of that, our lack of fitness early on really exposed us.

The beltings were the result of a group of players who without recognising it, had mentally switched off or were exhausted.

I read somewhere that one of the ingredients to Melbourne's success in 2021 was a program focused on mental toughness and specifically increasing the players ability to train and play through injury and pain. I think we will need to improve in this area too and maybe not so much of the cuddles and meditation malarkey Ratts has been promoting. Dare I say it this lift comes across as being a little bit too soft and comfortable.

Interesting interview with Hamish McG and Jakara Anthony.
Amazing how much mental work has gone into harnessing this girls incredible talent and how she was almost crippled by doubt and fear.

Jakara Anthony went to her first Olympic Games as a 19-year-old. She finished fourth in the moguls. Four years on, at her second Winter Games, she has just left with an Olympic gold medal, having shown the world she is the most dominant female mogul skier in the world.

Jakara was born in Cairns, lives in Barwon Heads and is a low key, humble Aussie who loves to surf. But it hasn’t all been easy. She has battled through self-doubt and anxiousness and hidden tears along the way.

HM: Jakara, if it wasn’t for the snow, you wouldn’t be born?

JA: Yeah, you could put it that way. Mum and Dad met at Mt Buller when they were both skiing. Our family started there, and we’ve done the full circle because when my brother and I finally got to school age, they started us at the primary school up there during the winter. We got exposed to all the winter sports there are. That was the beginning.

HM: Term three?

JA: Yeah, exactly. I would do the bulk of the year at home in Barwon Heads, and do term three at the primary school at Buller. My brother and I would go there. You get to do school skiing on a Friday and go skiing on weekends. It’s a cool life and that’s where the dream starts, I guess.

HM: How old were you when you first put on a set of skis?

JA: I was four when I first started skiing. By the time I was eight I was doing absolutely everything, especially at interschools, which is how Australians are exposed to most of the Olympic disciplines. You get to compete in moguls, ski cross, alpine, border cross, cross country.

HM: How do you end up specialising in moguls?

JA: It just stood out to me as ‘the one’. I think the fact that every run is different keeps it very challenging and exciting. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and there’s a lot of different skills that go into mogul skiing. You have the turns and the jumping and the speed - there are so many different technical aspects. Trying to get them all perfect really appealed to me.

HM: For the moguls you need to be an unbelievable skier, but also an extraordinary aerialist. How many times do you think you’ve been up in the air and landed in a reasonable amount of pain?

JA: Well, I could count it on both my hands, luckily, and not have to use my toes. It does go wrong sometimes. When I was younger, that led to a lot of fear. I had couple of backflips where I landed on my face as a youngster, and I struggled with fear a lot after that.

HM: How badly?

JA: Terribly badly. There is a water ramp facility about two-and-a-half hours from my house, and Mum would drive me there for training. We’d get there and I’d be so terrified I wouldn’t be able to get out of the car. On the third day of driving there, I finally got out.

HM: You would drive to Lilydale, do two-and-a-half-hours in the car from Barwon, get there, be too scared to get out and jump, so you’d turn around and drive all the way home again? A five-hour round trip?

JA: Yep. It seems insane, but it shows you the power of the mind.

HM: How old were you when that was happening?

JA: 14.

HM: And you make a world cup debut two years later?

JA: Yep. It’s wild. Up until 2019, I wouldn’t even do a backflip on snow without having my coach there on the jump with me. I was too scared. It was something I struggled with. Over the last year we have worked on some mental skills to overcome that and got to the point where I know I can challenge that fear. That’s where I’m at today.

HM: You say until 2019. A year earlier you had finished fourth at the Olympics. That was all with no confidence, not wanting to do jumps really at all?

JA: Pretty much. I struggled a lot with confidence in myself and in my capabilities. At that Olympics, I would stand behind my coach on the side of the course leading up to the start of that season, too crippled with anxiety and fear. Even at the Games, before Q2, I was bawling my eyes out.

HM: In PyeongChang?

JA: Yeah. At the Olympic Games. Completely terrified.

HM: That’s unbelievable – riddled with fear and anxiety and uncertainty?

JA: It sounds odd saying it, but that’s what was happening. I haven’t spoken about it before. On finals day, I was so worked up. I was scared and anxious, not confident in myself at all. I had a bit of a meltdown.

HM: What was the anxiousness, the fear and the self-doubt manifested from?

JA: Some of it is because there’s a big physical risk in our sport, it’s an extreme sport. There are big consequences if things go wrong. Some is to do with the lack of confidence I had in myself, from previous experiences of things going wrong, and then a bit of performance anxiety too. As I said, being a perfectionist, that has worked in my favour a lot – and then, it has worked against me.

HM: Does the fear and the anxiety come from one specific moment, or does it creep in over time? I would assume the longer you do it, the better you get, the less anxious, but that’s clearly not the case given you started at eight, got into a world cup at 16, and you’re at an Olympics, terrified.

JA: It’s a good point. I haven’t really spoken about it before, so let me try and articulate it well. I guess it was mostly to do with the lack of confidence in myself. I had people around me who believed in me so much, but I didn’t believe enough in myself much at all.

HM: Why?

JA: I’m not so sure – self-doubt just crept in. After the PyeongChang Olympics, I came away with fourth place after having skied a run I was proud of. That was a big confidence boost for me. For the next four years, the plan from my team was to be the best that I could be. We put a strong plan in place for that first year on the world cup tour, and we focused on achieving skiing goals, and the whole season, even at the events, the focus was on training, trying to progress myself as much as possible. That was the first season where I really saw success. For the entirety of that next season, my worst result was a fourth. That was spectacular!

HM: But?

JA: But then I started to get performance anxiety because I started focusing a bit more on the results and not the process. The more I focused on the results, rather than the process, the more I saw a decline in the performance. And then after that, I let the results have too much of an impact on me. I worried about the results, and then it became a negative spiral.

HM: You are on top of the mountain in PyeongChang at the Olympics, crying in between runs. Self-doubt riddled your body, your mind, still needing to be consoled by your coach, and you end up fourth in the world … but then … still doubt yourself?

JA: For a period after that I didn’t doubt myself so much, but there was still not as much confidence there as I would have liked.

HM: Between 2018 and ’22, the view was you’d become a much more confident, much more bullet-proof aerialist. But seemingly that’s not what happened internally, that was only an external view.

JA: What was happening internally and what people were seeing were two very different things. I’m sure if you’d been at training, you would have seen glimpses of that. I was hiding what I was feeling. I was trying to show a bullet-proof performer to the world, but that wasn’t really the case.

HM: Hiding the fear and terror?

JA: Yeah. There were training sessions after those Olympics where I wouldn’t ski, I’d just stand behind my coach on the course, waiting for him to reassure me that everything was okay. I wasn’t in a place where I was confident enough nor believed in myself enough to do the run.

HM: This is in the last few years in between world cup events, where you were too scared to train?

JA: Yeah. When I started to let results have an impact on me and what I was doing and feeling, I hit a low point, and I was questioning myself, and the sport, and wasn’t training how I wanted to. The first season we skied with Covid, the 2020-21 season, I don’t think I skied a single run in competition at my full potential.

HM: What did you change to become who we saw in Beijing?

JA: I changed how I viewed things. The last 12 months have been very different. I have become confident in myself. We made a big push to work on the mental side of things, getting more and more belief in myself. That has really showed in these last 12 months, and I’m a happier and far more confident person because of it. That’s the greatest thing that has come out of this whole Olympic journey. For me to become a strong person with a sense of belief and purpose.

HM: Now, talking a week after you have become the most dominant moguls gold medallist in the history of the sport, because no one has ever led from qualifying throughout, are you completely confident in your ability? Or does your mind get the better of you every now and again?

JA: I still have my doubts at times, but I’m much better at managing that and challenging my fears. I still get scared every day at training, but I know I’m a capable skier.

HM: It’s hard to believe; do you think that will ever go away?

JA: I’ll always be scared. If you are skiing in your comfort zone, you’re taking it too easy.

HM: You’re scared, but you love it?

JA: 100 per cent. I don’t love the feeling of being scared, but the feeling when you are able to overcome the fear is a cool one. A sense of bravery and accomplishment and success.

HM: How long can you continue to be scared, but be brave enough to continue to overcome it?

JA: Right now, I have some good skills to manage it. I’m in a better place. I am confident, I believe in myself, I’m a lot happier, I could go on for quite a while. There’s still a lot more to come, but after putting a solid 12 months of work together, I have some skills that are going to stay with me for life.

HM: How has life changed since you’ve become an Olympic gold medallist?

JA: Well, I don’t know yet because I haven’t seen anyone, or done anything … I’m trying to avoid Covid! I fly out again soon. It has been incredible to see how much of an impact this has had on the community back home, and how it has inspired people. We talk a lot about how medals inspire people, and it’s been a unique and special experience.

HM: Has there been a moment that has blown you away?

JA: So many moments. The opportunities this opens up for me is incredible and hopefully it creates opportunities for people in the future. I have benefited a lot off the success of our past athletes, like Alisa (Camplin) and Lydia (Lassila). We have the new water ramp facility thanks to them. Not only will this change things for me, but it will change things for a lot of people in the future.

HM: It’s a unique club. Australia has 26 million people in it, and there are just six winter Olympic gold medallists.

JA: I didn’t realise it was so few until Lydia Lassila told me I was the sixth gold medallist, and the first in 12 years. It blew my mind. Those five other athletes are people that I absolutely idolise, so to have my name alongside them is surreal.

HM: Who caught your eye initially? Who was the first Winter Olympian, or what was the first Winter Olympic moment where you thought, ‘I’m going to do that’?

JA: Growing up, I read Lydia’s and Alisa’s books, but the first moment was Britt Cox in Vancouver 2010. I would have been 11 at the time. Watching her, I realised, that’s me. That’s what I’m going to do.

HM: Amazing to think that the girl that you idolise becomes a teammate four Olympics later.

JA: I’ve been to two Olympics with Brit, countless world cups, world championships. I’ve seen her win world championships and take out a crystal globe. It’s been really cool to share the journey with her.

HM: Cameron Loftus, chief executive at Barwon Sports Academy, said on the first day you walked in you were shy, and quiet. Were there tears?

JA: Yes. That was just group training in a gym. It wasn’t anything out of the normal, just slightly overwhelming. I’ve always been shy and slightly daunted.

HM: So, how does the young lady who gets daunted feel just before the last run in the super final at the Olympics? As you stand there, is the shy girl from Barwon Heads aware that there are billions of people watching you, about to commentate on the run, and 26 million Australians with their fingers crossed?

JA: I was so in my own bubble that I didn’t know what was going on around me. I was so focused on what it was that I needed to be doing in that moment to give myself the opportunity to put down the run I knew I was capable of. That whole day, I didn’t see anyone else ski a run, I didn’t know what scores other competitors were getting, and I couldn’t fathom how many people were supporting back home.

HM: You didn’t worry about anyone else? You just focused on producing the best possible run you could?

JA: Exactly. I knew what I was capable of, and if I put down that run, I knew the result would take care of itself. No matter the outcome, I would be proud of what I was able to achieve. I just zoned in, and went about producing the best possible run I could produce.

HM: And it was golden. When you look back at it, there were only eight 80-plus scores throughout. Only five 81s. Of the five, four runs were yours. It was a complete domination.

JA: It’s cool when you put it like that.

HM: Better than cool. It’s ridiculous.

JA: It was pretty phenomenal to sit on top after every round. It shows how consistently I was able to ski at that top level. I was able to do it in competition a couple of times, but at those competitions, quite often I would struggle to put down in that last run and finished second to fourth. That was playing on my mind a little bit. But … I did it.

HM: You did it. You skied without any doubt.

JA: There wasn’t any doubt that day. I knew that myself and my team had done absolutely everything possible to be as ready as we could be. We couldn’t have done anything else. I can take a lot of confidence from that, knowing I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

HM: You land, you turn, and we see you looking at the screen. What did you think was going to flash up?

JA: I was so proud of the run, and I was sure that was it. I was going to be happy no matter what the result was. If anyone had beaten that run, I would have been so excited and proud of them, because it would have taken an awesome run.

HM: You produced a cork 720 mute.

JA: Yep. It was big for me. It needed confidence as no woman had ever completed it in an Olympic competition before.

HM: That comes with a huge amount of risk, when it’s your last run, one run only — all other runs are discarded. Cut throat, no margin for error.

JA: It’s been a big project of ours the last couple of years. We have spent a lot of time at the water ramp doing it, and we are lucky to have a new facility in Queensland, the Geoff Henke Training Centre. Twelve years prior to that, it was just the muddy dam in Lilydale. Being there, we were able to train that jump, and it was an interesting lead up. We had big ambitions at the start of that year leading into the games; we wanted to get the cork 720 mute ready for competition. I broke my toe, so I missed a bit of jumping, then when I could jump, it was only a quarter of what I would normally do. It delayed me getting back onto the snow to jump. We finally got back on the snow in Perisher, and the resorts shut down because of Covid. Things kept getting in the way, and these are things that would have really unhinged me in the past, but with the new skills I had mentally, I was able to make every jump count, which is important.

HM: How many times do you think you had done the jump pre-competition?

JA: Hundreds.

HM: Who has the discussion?

JA: My coach, Pete McNeil and I were keen to push the sport, and we knew I had the capability. It was a big goal of ours. We knew I had the jumping capabilities, and we think it’s important to push the women’s side of the sport. The women’s field has seen such a big jump in the degree of difficulty, so to be a part of continuing to push that is cool.

HM: What happens now? You go back onto the tour until the end of the northern hemisphere season?

JA: We head back to Europe soon, there are three more world cups in Italy and France, so we’ll head over for some training and competition.

HM: Is it a lonely existence, something you love, or a combination of the two?

JA: I love it. It is difficult at times. I’m not as close to people at home as I used to be, and I don’t get to see them as much, especially with Covid. Every time I was home, I couldn’t really go and do anything or see anyone. The time I would lose out of training if I was to get Covid would be too large. For me, it wasn’t worth the risk. That was the decision I made, but everything has been worth it. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

HM: There’ll be plenty of coffees later. When you’re home, what do you love doing?

JA: I love getting back to Barwon Heads and going out for a surf, spending time outside cycling, playing tennis and enjoying the weather. I obviously miss spending time with my family so going out to dinner or getting takeaway and eating at home with them is something I look forward to.

HM: What’s your takeaway order?

JA: I usually go for a Simon Says burger from Grill’d.

HM: Best surf break you’ve surfed in Australia?

JA: I love going to Noosa and surfing off the point there.

HM: If you weren’t allowed to go to the snow anymore, you’d like to become an irukandji, and surf with Sal Fitzgibbons and Steph Gilmore?

JA: That’s the dream. It would be awesome. I haven’t met either but I sort of have a girl crush on the whole women’s tour on the WSL.

HM: Dogs. How are we going to address this one with dad? You want a puppy?

JA: I do, but as I speak to you, there are no puppies barking around here yet, so it’s yet to show up.

HM: How has the conversation gone?

JA: “You’re not getting a dog.”

HM: That’s very blunt.

JA: No sugar coating. The reality is I’m never home, and my parents are never home. We move out of our house every summer, rent it out and move into a caravan. We have done that since I was eight. The money they get from renting allows them to afford our skiing and activities. I don’t think dogs are allowed at the caravan park.

HM: Do you find it surreal that kids like mine are begging to stay up late at night to watch you, and at the end of watching you, say, ‘I want to become an Olympic skier’?

JA: That’s the best thing that comes out of it: other kids, other people, being inspired to go out there and chase their dreams. Dream big. If I can be that person for someone else, that means the world and it’s all worth it.

HM: Who did you want to meet in Beijing that you did or didn’t get to meet?

JA: I walked past Shaun White in the hallway. I said ‘hi’, but I kept walking. I would love to have met Ester Ledecká, who won gold in PyeongChang in the snowboard event and the ski event.

HM: That doesn’t make sense, does it?

JA: Completely mind blowing.

HM:You know there are lots who want to meet you.

JA: That’s cool to think about.

[Scollop]

Ratts has done some good things and done some things poorly.

It's easiest to point out the flaws:

- Completely stuffed up last year's pre season. Reports were that a lot of ownership was given to the players and in the end they weren't fit enough. The squad probably got very comfortable after the finals win
- Didn't give Hind a chance to play his natural position and let him go for basically nothing
- Gifted games to underperforming senior players (Ross, Hill, Kent, Long)
- Confused some younger players by not settling them into a role (Battle, Clark, Coffield)
- Didn't adjust well to the last-minute change to the 'stand' rule
- Hasn't yet been able to get the group in the right mindset to perform consistently week after week
- This one is my opinion, but I think this structure of one key back and then Wilkie/HIghmore/Coffield taking the second tall doesn't work. Hoping that Battle can become that second key back
- Involved in some mature age recruiting flops (Hunter, McKernan, Frawley)

On the positive side:

- Made finals
- Clearly managed the group well up in Noosa
- Players seem to be much happier with this coaching style, often mentioning that he encourages players to build on their strengths rather than fixate on weaknesses
- Has cleared a lot of deadwood from the list and brought in a lot of youth
- Steele, Sinclair have gone from good to elite - this seems to be related to the point about focusing on strengths rather than limitations
- Kept the group well behaved and out of the news
- Seems to be recognising some errors and correcting them - case in point being Battle who appears to be settling into his best position this year
- I respect that he didn't cave to Dunstan and offer him a big contract on the back of his 6 or so solid games. I'm glad that we're finally moving on
- Turned things around fairly significantly in the second half of last season in terms of competitiveness each week


If we go backwards again this year there's a case to be made for finding another coach. But I think the odds would be in favour of Ratten coaching us beyond 2022. The big thing in his favour is that he doesn't seem to be a pig-headed arrogant type like many of our previous sacked coaches who refused to recognise fault and make improvements. Or of course the ultra conservative Richo who was terrified of taking a big loss above all else.

Great post

I’ve been thinking that this thread is all wrong!! Maybe it’s Lethlean who needs to go OR maybe it’s Finnis who needs to go….

Maybe Lethlean is the one who should be retained because he seems like the ruthless one.

I hope Ratts is single minded in his quest to get this team up to the standard and he doesn’t play it safe and I hope he isn’t focussed on individuals or saving anyone’s career - including his own! No more of ‘this guy won’t be dropped’ because it’ll embarrass the recruiters and the CEO

Obviously our young players should be given time to gain games experience and afforded the luxury of a few mistakes from time to time. The senior players have no excuse. When I say ‘senior’ I’m including players who have played 60 or more games. We can’t just continue to offer contracts to people because they are ‘liked’ by their team mates and ‘fit in well’ at the club.

Personally I went to see more changes to the ‘regular’ starting 22. I don’t believe we are currently a premiership threat, but we have some exciting young draftees. An element of ruthlessness and an uncompromising standard of excellence needs to be demanded if St Kilda is serious about aiming for a premiership (and not just making up the numbers in finals for the next 2 years).

I reckon the club took a step in the right direction last year. We must CONTINUE to clear players who are not showing improvement. I hope we continue to renew and rebuild with young talent.

[B.M]

What the hell has Finnis got to do with on field performance?!

Lethlean
Well it’s only his problem if he’s got the the wrong footy dept
Then it’s both a Ratten and Lethlean issue.

I think the midfield is a bit slow and uses the ball poorly
And we rely heavily on a few players - Ryder for eg
That’s about it

[freely]

We are the club that appointed Dal Santo as a head coach. His philosophy is "try your best" and looks.like that's about the size of our game plan across the board. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Dear god - we are St Kilda. Ratten has been mediocre from before day one - he had a mediocre track record don't forget. There is no line in the sand.