Players' meeting

[WellardSaint]

Remember after a bad loss a coupla months ago, tony said players had a meeting without coaches or staff?

Well, here we are, one goal in a half.
Steele, Crouch getting zero touches in the last qtr.

Club is effin cooked

[Yorkeys]

Just circling the wagons. Understandable defence tactic. Only have to hang on a few more weeks. And then no one expects anything from the BNE game. Bali and Europe here we come!

[WellardSaint]

I get the feeling the club knows it can't run with the big dogs, like Pies, Port, Lions.

They know their place, and it's perennial mid-table or bottom 4.

Bulldogs getting a flag was just all the ducks lining up, fluke.

Saints next flag is a unicorn.

Won't even be top 4 in the next 5 years, or longer

[66Iwasthere]

You can’t have been in the top 8 all year without doing something right. We can’t be too far off.

[WellardSaint]

You can’t have been in the top 8 all year without doing something right. We can’t be too far off.

Our early wins were a shock to everyone.
I suggest we caught teams napping, and they were a combination of unable to counter us, and off their own games. Play Bombers, Dogs etc now and see how we fare.
We beat the Suns nicely early season, yet they hit their straps and beat us, while showing us where our real level is.
Our early wins, we were playing above ourselves.
We aren't really that good

[Waltzing St Kilda]

Melbourne also did a Bulldogs . And might win it again this year.

No reason we can't win a flag if we do everything right. Unfortunately, making dumb decisions seems to be something of a contagion.

How many times over recent years have I said to myself, "I hope they know what they're doing..." (Overlooking Petracca for McCartin being the prime example.)

[B.M]

Crouch was probably fkd from his first 3 quarters

[Mr Magic]

You can’t have been in the top 8 all year without doing something right. We can’t be too far off.

Our early wins were a shock to everyone.
I suggest we caught teams napping, and they were a combination of unable to counter us, and off their own games. Play Bombers, Dogs etc now and see how we fare.
We beat the Suns nicely early season, yet they hit their straps and beat us, while showing us where our real level is.
Our early wins, we were playing above ourselves.
We aren't really that good

Interesting perspective from you.
How do you explain the turnaround against Hawthorn?
The Bombers beat WCE (in Melbourne) with the last kick of the day - I would humbly suggest that what we produced on Sunday would have comfortably account ed for them.
IIRC Hawthorn easily accounted for Collingwood a week after we comfortably beat them.
I might also humbly suggest that your view is jaundiced by the narrative you want to tell?

[Devilhead]

We need a néw midfield ...... and fast

FA pick for Gresham - hopefully something decent - and use all our ND picks on best mid available

[Scollop]

You can’t have been in the top 8 all year without doing something right. We can’t be too far off.

Our early wins were a shock to everyone.
I suggest we caught teams napping, and they were a combination of unable to counter us, and off their own games. Play Bombers, Dogs etc now and see how we fare.
We beat the Suns nicely early season, yet they hit their straps and beat us, while showing us where our real level is.
Our early wins, we were playing above ourselves.
We aren't really that good

Interesting perspective from you.
How do you explain the turnaround against Hawthorn?

Hawthorn are the second worst team in the AFL for defensive pressure on the ball carrier. They don't defend ball movement. Only Essendon is worse.

We had a total of 136 marks(122 were uncontested) against Hawthorn. We controlled the footy against Hawthorn. Not so yesterday. We only took 103 vs Carlton. They took similar numbers- total of 104.

Hawthorn is bottom 2 when it comes to goals conceded per opposition inside 50 entries.
Carlton is top 2 in this area over the last 6 weeks

We beat Hawks at centre clearances. I think they edged us at stoppages around the ground. For the year we are 17th when it comes to total clearance numbers (i.e. centre clearances and stoppages around the ground).

Carlton is top 6 for clearance work and we got smashed 46-22 for overall clearances against them yesterday

https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_stats ... ?year=2023

[Life Long Saint]

We need a néw midfield ...... and fast

FA pick for Gresham - hopefully something decent - and use all our ND picks on best mid available

That's not going to help us in the short term. We need a clever combination of ready made midfielders and draft picks to inject into the 2024 team.
We need a strong clearance player with some speed now. We can't wait the 3-4 years it takes for them to develop from an 18yo.
De Goey would have been huge for us this season.

[Yorkeys]

We need a néw midfield ...... and fast

FA pick for Gresham - hopefully something decent - and use all our ND picks on best mid available

That's not going to help us in the short term. We need a clever combination of ready made midfielders and draft picks to inject into the 2024 team.
We need a strong clearance player with some speed now. We can't wait the 3-4 years it takes for them to develop from an 18yo.
De Goey would have been huge for us this season.

I wonder.
Sunday might have shown that there is no point in keeping players like Gresham that are self absorbed downhill skiers and cannot respond in tough games. While they have athletic ability and skills they are taking us nowhere because they are unreliable in important tough games. Or more accurately they can be relied on to go missing when the heat is on and seem reluctant to get their own ball. We can pencil in 11 wins a season as the ceiling with those guys in perpetuity.
Could any other midfield combination from the list have done worse than the first choices in that second half. What if we tried others and you unearthed a revelation or actually found guys that have real fighting spirit by giving a chance to the wider group. The current mob of capitulators under pressure are having a lend. You have to create your own hard men by churning not wishing for other sides cast offs to stiffen the marshmallows.
To see us wallow in mediocrity at the moment is hard to take when the club keeps trotting out the same incapable mids and forwards to see if a miracle might occur. At least if they were giving OK guys in the VFL a chance or switching up there would be some interest left in the season. The selectors give conservatism a bad name. They seem out of ideas - sound familiar Ratts? Richo? And hasn't it shown how much we miss Seb.

[Life Long Saint]

We need a néw midfield ...... and fast

FA pick for Gresham - hopefully something decent - and use all our ND picks on best mid available

That's not going to help us in the short term. We need a clever combination of ready made midfielders and draft picks to inject into the 2024 team.
We need a strong clearance player with some speed now. We can't wait the 3-4 years it takes for them to develop from an 18yo.
De Goey would have been huge for us this season.

I wonder.
Sunday might have shown that there is no point in keeping players like Gresham that are self absorbed downhill skiers and cannot respond in tough games. While they have athletic ability and skills they are taking us nowhere because they are unreliable in important tough games. Or more accurately they can be relied on to go missing when the heat is on and seem reluctant to get their own ball. We can pencil in 11 wins a season as the ceiling with those guys in perpetuity.
Could any other midfield combination from the list have done worse than the first choices in that second half. What if we tried others and you unearthed a revelation or actually found guys that have real fighting spirit by giving a chance to the wider group. The current mob of capitulators under pressure are having a lend. You have to create your own hard men by churning not wishing for other sides cast offs to stiffen the marshmallows.
To see us wallow in mediocrity at the moment is hard to take when the club keeps trotting out the same incapable mids and forwards to see if a miracle might occur. At least if they were giving OK guys in the VFL a chance or switching up there would be some interest left in the season. The selectors give conservatism a bad name. They seem out of ideas - sound familiar Ratts? Richo? And hasn't it shown how much we miss Seb.

I'm not saying that we don't need to do something, but purely investing in the draft won't give us the injection we clearly need now.
It has to be a mix of trade, Free Agency, and draft.
There are players that have to go. There are a multitude of players that can't hit the side of a barn by foot. Let's start with them.

[Teflon]

We need a néw midfield ...... and fast

FA pick for Gresham - hopefully something decent - and use all our ND picks on best mid available

That's not going to help us in the short term. We need a clever combination of ready made midfielders and draft picks to inject into the 2024 team.
We need a strong clearance player with some speed now. We can't wait the 3-4 years it takes for them to develop from an 18yo.
De Goey would have been huge for us this season.

I wonder.
Sunday might have shown that there is no point in keeping players like Gresham that are self absorbed downhill skiers and cannot respond in tough games. While they have athletic ability and skills they are taking us nowhere because they are unreliable in important tough games. Or more accurately they can be relied on to go missing when the heat is on and seem reluctant to get their own ball. We can pencil in 11 wins a season as the ceiling with those guys in perpetuity.
Could any other midfield combination from the list have done worse than the first choices in that second half. What if we tried others and you unearthed a revelation or actually found guys that have real fighting spirit by giving a chance to the wider group. The current mob of capitulators under pressure are having a lend. You have to create your own hard men by churning not wishing for other sides cast offs to stiffen the marshmallows.
To see us wallow in mediocrity at the moment is hard to take when the club keeps trotting out the same incapable mids and forwards to see if a miracle might occur. At least if they were giving OK guys in the VFL a chance or switching up there would be some interest left in the season. The selectors give conservatism a bad name. They seem out of ideas - sound familiar Ratts? Richo? And hasn't it shown how much we miss Seb.

I'm not saying that we don't need to do something, but purely investing in the draft won't give us the injection we clearly need now.
It has to be a mix of trade, Free Agency, and draft.
There are players that have to go. There are a multitude of players that can't hit the side of a barn by foot. Let's start with them.

I think he’s saying the answer is apparently sitting in our twos
Excehe can’t name them ..

[Devilhead]

We need a néw midfield ...... and fast

FA pick for Gresham - hopefully something decent - and use all our ND picks on best mid available

That's not going to help us in the short term. We need a clever combination of ready made midfielders and draft picks to inject into the 2024 team.
We need a strong clearance player with some speed now. We can't wait the 3-4 years it takes for them to develop from an 18yo.
De Goey would have been huge for us this season.

Don't really care if it doesn't help us immediately for next year given our core decent youth are still 22 or under

Thing is we have been cobbling a mid field together for the last decade and its got us nowhere

If we have two 1st round DPs to use this year (one from the Gresh FA .... unlikely but who knows) then use them on best talent mids available .... we could use one on Flanders if he is keen ...... crux here is that they need fit in with our younger guys and need to have good skills, some speed and be healthy

Easier said than done but just my take

Getting kind of sick of a ram shackled put together engine room

[repta]

I hope there is someone questioning the Players.

The second half was awful.

How many broken / missed tackles
Was there a hard ball get at all?
Season on the line. Up by 20odd.
DIdnt turn up after half time.

The mojo was gone.

The mojo is the Saints strength. When it is there they can match it with any team. Collingwood, Port (for a half), Carlton (for a half). Got them over the line in the first half of the year.

The saints are brittle. Once they have a shake or are challenged they go back into their shells. Slow stale ball movement and lack all pressure.
Play like that and they will be embarrassed come September.

[Trev from the Bush]

Remember after a bad loss a coupla months ago, tony said players had a meeting without coaches or staff?

Well, here we are, one goal in a half.
Steele, Crouch getting zero touches in the last qtr.

Club is effin cooked

Ypu and Sydneysainter should start your own thread so you can be in furious agreement with each other.

[WellardSaint]

Remember after a bad loss a coupla months ago, tony said players had a meeting without coaches or staff?

Well, here we are, one goal in a half.
Steele, Crouch getting zero touches in the last qtr.

Club is effin cooked

Ypu and Sydneysainter should start your own thread so you can be in furious agreement with each other.

Trade Crouch and Steele.
Crouch had a brilliant game vs Hawks, but that was one game.
He normally gets over 30 touches but most of them end up with oppo players.
If his Hawks game happened 3-4 times a year, he'd be super valuable.
Steele- I addressed him in another thread

[Saint2]

I hope there is someone questioning the Players.

The second half was awful.

How many broken / missed tackles
Was there a hard ball get at all?
Season on the line. Up by 20odd.
DIdnt turn up after half time.

The mojo was gone.

The mojo is the Saints strength. When it is there they can match it with any team. Collingwood, Port (for a half), Carlton (for a half). Got them over the line in the first half of the year.

The saints are brittle. Once they have a shake or are challenged they go back into their shells. Slow stale ball movement and lack all pressure.
Play like that and they will be embarrassed come September.

I did notice how weak our tackling was in the second half against Carlton

[Vortex]

Crouch was probably fkd from his first 3 quarters

Absolutely he was, he was entitled to think some of his fellow midfielders would help him out at some stage.

Has carried the midfield for the majority of the year and is a genuine star of the comp and has also been kicking goals too, just a shame he's not a few years younger.

[66Iwasthere]

Is the fact that we don’t have a good tap ruckman directing the ball down to our midfield players a major part of the midfield problem.

[Teflon]

Is the fact that we don’t have a good tap ruckman directing the ball down to our midfield players a major part of the midfield problem.

We saw what Ryder did and how it made them look better than they are ….
Gee wish we got him at 25…
Wasted at drugland

[CQ SAINT]

Is the fact that we don’t have a good tap ruckman directing the ball down to our midfield players a major part of the midfield problem.

I get the feeling we are going to find out.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I reckon Marshall could be traded.

[B.M]

Won’t even be considered

He’s probably our best player - with Sinclair and Steele

[Vortex]

I have RoMa as a smoky for the Captaincy.

Agree, he's in our top 5 players, and you'd have to think he is zero chance of being traded.