article on the rookies

[stinger]

ST KILDA has called on its bulging list of rookies to act quickly in the scramble for spots this season.

Defender Sam Fisher said it was not good enough for the young players coming into the squad to wait and hope for selection, warning competition would be fierce.

St Kilda signed seven rookie-listed players at the end of last year, led by ex-Hawthorn defender Zac Dawson.

"We've got a lot of young guys here, a lot of new players and we've got one of the biggest lists in the comp I think now, so there's a lot of competition for spots," Fisher said yesterday after the Saints trained at Moorabbin.

"They've all shown promise so far and they're exciting. They've really put their head down and they've been willing to learn and willing to train hard.

"That's what we've encouraged as senior players when they got here -- really to sort of attack it and not wait for anything to happen, and they've all seemed to do that so far."

The Saints were crushed by 2007 premiers Geelong in the qualifying final last year, rebounded to beat Collingwood and then bowed out to eventual premiers Hawthorn in a lacklustre preliminary final.

Fisher said the club could step up to challenge the two dominant sides from 2008 with an injection of self-belief across the board.

"I think we can improve massively. Judging by the two finals, we were a little bit off the top sides in that finals series," he said.

"So improvement's got to come from within and young guys taking their chances and stepping up to the plate.

"That's what this pre-season's all about and hopefully we can bridge the gap pretty quickly on those two top sides.

"I suppose we took out of last year and the finals that we did beat at least one of those sides last year (Hawthorn in Round 16) and we played reasonably well throughout the year against Geelong also.

[degruch]

Hey Stinger, don't mean to be a party pooper, but this one's been posted under the 'Saints Can Be Flag Contenders' thread...and quickly deteriorated from there. Check out the responses.

[stinger]

some more on the saints


"Saints feeling fine

Nick Sheridan | January 9, 2009

WITH a virtually injury-free list to choose from and no players coming back from the Christmas break with a little too much pudding under their belts, St Kilda defender Sam Fisher is feeling confident about his team's prospects in 2009.

The Saints tantalised fans and flummoxed critics last year with a barnstorming second half of the season which earned them a berth in the top four and a genuine chance at just their second premiership cup.

But demoralising losses to the eventual grand finalists in the first and third weeks of the finals put an end to that dream, though Fisher said that experience has given his teammates the determination to pursue it again this year.

With a host of new faces, including former Brisbane Lions defender Colm Begley and Bulldog Farren Ray, joining the side, Fisher said he believed squad will be able to improve on last year's result.

"I think we can improve massively," Fisher said at a training session at Moorabbin yesterday. "I think judging by the two finals we were a little bit off the top sides in that finals series so improvement's got to come from within, and young guys taking their chances and stepping up to the plate," he said.

Fisher was full of praise for the Saints' new recruits, which include local key-forward prospect Tom Lynch who was taken with the Saints' first pick in the national draft, though he refused to single out any particular youngster for individual praise.

"They've all shown promise so far and they're exciting — they've really put their heads down and they've all been willing to learn and willing to train hard and that's what we've encouraged as senior players when they got here, to really attack it and not just wait for things to happen and they've all seemed to do that so far, so that's good," he said.

With Begley and Ray coming into the side, Fisher said he hoped the extra options in defence would allow him to spend a bit more time in the midfield this season.

"It would be nice, instead of chasing around those big key forwards," he said. "I suppose the recruitment of Begley and those other defenders may result in an opportunity of a little bit more in the midfield but I can't see my role changing too much."

[saintbrat]

Morning Stinger

for a change I agree with degruch
in fact saints-media has saved you some time and posted the variations on the theme

http://www.saintscentral.com.au/Message ... osts&t=663