win banked and move on

[older saint]

I think we all agree Saturday was an odd feeling - got a win , which is a new thing of recent times, however the expectation based more on North's poor performances rather than St Kilda's expected a bigger more dominant win.

North have a good midfield and solid ruck, Larky can be good and Sheezel is quality as is Wardlaw.
That said we did what we needed to , banked the win, got game time into some and move now to a danger game next week in TAS - was wrapped they won by the way as opposed to a close loss ( remember they got smashed the week before by Sydney).

Observations:
- Battle is having a very good year flying under the radar HOWEVER surely there needs to be a team rule that he is banned from trying to pinpoint a 20-25 metre kick in defence. For the last 2 years I have watched so many games where he tries to pick off something into the middle from the flank and turnover goal - Its like clubs are almost sucking him into it knowing the likely outcome.

- Forward craft across the AFL is not practised enough and too many players - King being one- try to play the over the back option due to there being more space there , rather than leading hard at the ball carrier. Hayes did this well, Sharman does it but not in best 22. Membrey with his 2 foot jump is a unique type player. King looked like he got sucked in because he had height on his opponent so thought he would stand and outreach Corr. Perhaps he didn't have full faith in the knee. The other option may be the forwards are sick of it flying over their heads when they lead they say stuff it i will stand and wait. King, Membrey and Hayes/ Marshall is a danergous set up

- Foot Skills - This is the one thing as a mug in the stands that is the big difference between StKilda and the top sides - we miss way too many kicks inside 50, and it is often some of the better kicks.Hill was a prime example in the 2nd or last qtr streaming out of the middle , kicks over the head of the leading forward by 10 mtr out on the full, 3 min later dodges 2 in traffic at 50 and drills a goal on the run from 40. The amount of times my fist crashes into my couch watching our kicking almost sees me need a new couch.

- We have recruited in the last 2 years players with specific attributes - speed (especially this year) and Skill. Poo is having second year blues there are 100s have had this before, but has X factor talent we lack. Windy ( was great on Sat) and Owens are hard at it. Wilson, Hasite, Garcia all look like smooth movers.

[66Iwasthere]

Totally agree and a tough win at Sandy as well. No reports and only injury was to Clarke, who whilst sad for him, hasn’t featured much this year but has given a young player an opportunity.

[Life Long Saint]

The game didn't bookend well for mine.
They jumped us at the start, even though we did kick the last three of the quarter, and they went on a run of three unanswered goals in the last quarter before we got the last one.
I wanted to see us mainain the pressure until the last siren, but we dropped off.

We have lacked a killer instinct for some time now...We need it back.
We fight when we're behind and go down swinging, but we don't land the knockout blows when we're in front.

[spert]

I think we all agree Saturday was an odd feeling - got a win , which is a new thing of recent times, however the expectation based more on North's poor performances rather than St Kilda's expected a bigger more dominant win.

North have a good midfield and solid ruck, Larky can be good and Sheezel is quality as is Wardlaw.
That said we did what we needed to , banked the win, got game time into some and move now to a danger game next week in TAS - was wrapped they won by the way as opposed to a close loss ( remember they got smashed the week before by Sydney).

Observations:
- Battle is having a very good year flying under the radar HOWEVER surely there needs to be a team rule that he is banned from trying to pinpoint a 20-25 metre kick in defence. For the last 2 years I have watched so many games where he tries to pick off something into the middle from the flank and turnover goal - Its like clubs are almost sucking him into it knowing the likely outcome.

- Forward craft across the AFL is not practised enough and too many players - King being one- try to play the over the back option due to there being more space there , rather than leading hard at the ball carrier. Hayes did this well, Sharman does it but not in best 22. Membrey with his 2 foot jump is a unique type player. King looked like he got sucked in because he had height on his opponent so thought he would stand and outreach Corr. Perhaps he didn't have full faith in the knee. The other option may be the forwards are sick of it flying over their heads when they lead they say stuff it i will stand and wait. King, Membrey and Hayes/ Marshall is a danergous set up

- Foot Skills - This is the one thing as a mug in the stands that is the big difference between StKilda and the top sides - we miss way too many kicks inside 50, and it is often some of the better kicks.Hill was a prime example in the 2nd or last qtr streaming out of the middle , kicks over the head of the leading forward by 10 mtr out on the full, 3 min later dodges 2 in traffic at 50 and drills a goal on the run from 40. The amount of times my fist crashes into my couch watching our kicking almost sees me need a new couch.

- We have recruited in the last 2 years players with specific attributes - speed (especially this year) and Skill. Poo is having second year blues there are 100s have had this before, but has X factor talent we lack. Windy ( was great on Sat) and Owens are hard at it. Wilson, Hasite, Garcia all look like smooth movers.

I don't think Pou has any X-factor, just has good skills and some potential, and right now, is not doing enough as a senior player in an ordinary forward line. The only player with X-factor is Henry, who I hope we'll see soon. King should have asserted himself much more against that North backline which is ordinary, but I don't think he has a killer instinct- he's a cream on top skillful player and not a key position player.

[Scollop]

Nice cliche heading. Congratulations

I know it helps our sanity having more wins and it makes for happier fans in the short term...but

I'd rather we bank a pick 5 in the National Draft rather than a pick 8 or 9 or 10.

Here's some of the quality that has gone at pick 5 in the last 20 years.

Connor Rozee, Adam Cerra, Darcy Parish, Jordan De Goey, Jake Stringer, Ben Cunnington, Michael Hurley, Travis Boake, Scott Pendlebury...And Lance Franklin

https://www.draftguru.com.au/picks/5

[Scollop]

I'm not suggesting the club and coaches deliberately tank. I just think the long term is more important than banking wins in the short term

Get as many games as possible into our youth and continue to provide decent opportunities to them.

[Life Long Saint]

We also need to be seen as an attractive option for free agents on the move.
Draft picks are not the only option.

[Scollop]

We also need to be seen as an attractive option for free agents on the move.
Draft picks are not the only option.

Are we aiming for top 4 in 2025?

Are we flag contenders in 2026?

I don't think we're either...so let the development occur organically with a core group of youth aided by the experienced senior players and we'll be better off as far as building something sustainable.

The free agents will come in time. There's no urgency to bag a free agent at the end of this year imo.

[Life Long Saint]

We also need to be seen as an attractive option for free agents on the move.
Draft picks are not the only option.

Are we aiming for top 4 in 2025?

Are we flag contenders in 2026?

I don't think we're either...so let the development occur organically with a core group of youth aided by the experienced senior players and we'll be better off as far as building something sustainable.

The free agents will come in time. There's no urgency to bag a free agent at the end of this year imo.

It's not DP or FA. The two can co-exist.
With more players coming back from injury and home games to come against Freo, Gold Coast, Port, Sydney, WCE, Essendon, Brisbane, and Geelong...and winnable away games against West Coast, Richmond, and Adelaide, we should be looking to win as many of these as possible and not worrying which draft pick we end up with.

[Waltzing St Kilda]

We also need to be seen as an attractive option for free agents on the move.
Draft picks are not the only option.

Are we aiming for top 4 in 2025?

Are we flag contenders in 2026?

Why not? If we can beat the Pies at the MCG and come close to knocking off both Geelong and GWS away, why not? With a modest injury list, shrewd recruiting and natural improvement to the younger brigade, why not?

[meher baba]

In order to develop, young players need to feel confident in themselves and their teammates.

Perpetually tanking for the possibility of doing a little better in the draft lottery works against those goals.

I know that praising GT only risks fuelling the unquenchable wrath of Teflon, but GT’s greatest achievement IMO was to get all the players - including young guns like Riewoldt and Kosi - to buy into a rebuilding process that involved being at rock bottom for a couple of seasons. Other clubs have tried to do similar, but have ultimately lost the players and often the club board as well.

I think it would be a bad idea for us to try to do that now. We need to keep trying to make the finals so that the players feel a sense of ongoing improvement.

[Scollop]

We'll see how 2025 unfolds and then I'll let you know if I think we're serious contenders in 2026

[Big Max]

The question of forward craft warrants discussion.

It was encouraging to see Jack Hayes actually lead toward the ball carrier on a few occasions. This has been lacking, by most, possibly with the exception of Jack Higgins. Max King rarely leads, but rather presents himself as a contested marking option, generally with one or two defenders there to spoil.

On numerous occasions, our forwards are 'up the ground', and the opposition defenders are back, as a result we turn it over way too often. Call me old fashioned, but I'm desperate to see a couple of forwards actually stay deep in our forward line and lead out to the ball carrier.