Zac and that moment.

[digswell]

My first real post after being an avid reader for many years, so here goes.

The pivotal moment of the GF.
Only minutes to go scores are level.
Ater all our domination and missed opportunities I was still confident we would win.
Zac shows bravery and anticipation to leave his man to spoil Ablett sitting under a pass from Jhonson.The ball falls at Scarletts feet, then onto Ablett and Chapmans goal.
Zac's closing speed on Ablett to spoil was incredible and shows why he has been a great addition to the best defensive combination in the competition.

HOWEVER!!
if Max Rooke or Matthew Scarlett had been bearing down on Lenny Hayes sitting underneath the same ball in the last few moments of a GF then Lenny Hayes would have woken up in hospital. Zac needed to take Ablett out as well as spoil the ball so that Ablett could not have been involved in the next play.
Zac needs to get some MONGREL in him.
Maybe Bakes can take him under his wing or get Robbie Muir back as mongrel coach but Zac needs to learn that it is okay to go through someone to get to the ball

[#1GILL]

been listening to SEN?

[bigred]

lol, that was just discussed on SEN...almost word for word.

Zac did the right thing. But yes, he should have killed him.

[degruch]

So, he smashed Buddy's front teeth into the crowd, belted a playing into next week (for which he got suspended), crucnhes at least one player in a feirce tackle per game and he STILL needs to get some mongrel in him? We're after Robbie Muir then? IMO, if he'd so much as touched Gablett it would have been a free against him, at his closing speed it would have been easy to stuff it up. He did the right thing, just unlucky.

[digswell]

No haven't been listening to SEN, but doesn't suprise me that this has been discussed as I have thought about it since GF finished and it seem so obvious. Just wonder why so many experts on here failed to bring up what was obviously the turning point. Oh yeah and thanks for the the great support for a new poster guys.

[Schillaci]

My first real post after being an avid reader for many years, so here goes.

The pivotal moment of the GF.
Only minutes to go scores are level.
Ater all our domination and missed opportunities I was still confident we would win.
Zac shows bravery and anticipation to leave his man to spoil Ablett sitting under a pass from Jhonson.The ball falls at Scarletts feet, then onto Ablett and Chapmans goal.
Zac's closing speed on Ablett to spoil was incredible and shows why he has been a great addition to the best defensive combination in the competition.

HOWEVER!!
if Max Rooke or Matthew Scarlett had been bearing down on Lenny Hayes sitting underneath the same ball in the last few moments of a GF then Lenny Hayes would have woken up in hospital. Zac needed to take Ablett out as well as spoil the ball so that Ablett could not have been involved in the next play.
Zac needs to get some MONGREL in him.
Maybe Bakes can take him under his wing or get Robbie Muir back as mongrel coach but Zac needs to learn that it is okay to go through someone to get to the ball

You're right about Dawson being a great player for us this year. The spoil that you talk about was brilliant. Unlucky that it ricocheted back to the Cats.
I don't buy into the mongrel talk though as he is a ferocious tackler and has been rarely beaten this year.
Robert Walls commented after the match that the Saints may have to get a bit stronger to win the big one next year. Singled out Raph and one other, Dempster I think, as being examples. I don't agree with that either. Can't recall us losing too many games this year because we've been soft.

[undecided]

I can't see how an free kick to Geelong would help us with 5 mins left. If we wanted to take ablett out it had to be at the start of the game.

[bigred]

The discussion on SEN was that he should have taken the man out as well.

The spoil was, honestly, really well done and a move that was gutsy as hell from the Cougar. He backed himself. Was unlucky in the end.

Ablett should have been seeing canaries though.

He is gonna be a good player Zac. Really good player I think.

Funny how we seem to have a steady stream of key backs come through.

[degruch]

Just wonder why so many experts on here failed to bring up what was obviously the turning point. Oh yeah and thanks for the the great support for a new poster guys.

The obvious turning point was shortly before that, when Roo cleaned up Blake (?) in a marking contest. I believe that's how the ball made it in Ablett's direction in the first place. At that point, we'd run out of legs.

[Ghost Like]

Just unlucky, great act of anticipation but if the ball had bounced to the left instead of the right (to Scarlett) we would have been off.

IMO, would have made no difference if he'd cleaned Ablett up as this still left Scarlett running forward with the ball.

Who really knows, all the ifs and buts could go on forever. If BJ had shepherded Joey so he could have had a less pressured shot at goal, much like Rooke shepherded for Chapman so he could have his snap.

Bottom line for us was one of missed opportunities when we dominated the inside 50s, the game should have been over at 3 quarter time, not hinging on a final quarter act where the ball didn't bounce our way.

[perfectionist]

Zac's skill was to leave his man, sprint to the contest, make contact with the ball and NOT to give away a free. I watched that contest from side on and could not believe that he was able to do it. The gap seemed just too great and the contact had to be perfect. But he did do it. However, he had little control as to the direction that the ball then took. Had the ball gone on just one metre to Scarlett's right, Zac would then have had a clear run to goal as he was the only one with momentum towards our goal, Ablett was stopped and Scarlett and Kosi were running the other way. And then, who knows? Zac made one bad mistake on the day, but that wasn't it. What he did show in that piece of play is why he will become one of our best full backs ever.

It was the cleanest Grand Final I can remember, not something to lament but to celebrate.

Nick's pack crash attempt at the mark was very bad judgement given the position of the contest, but he clearly tried to will himself into the game this way, when a knock to advantage would have been better, easy to see and say from the grandstand of course.

And remember this about SEN. The last thing the producers want from callers is sense - there will be very little follow up to this. But ring up and say something stupid and the 'phones go crazy. There is more football sense talked on Radio National than on SEN.

[Milan Faletic]

Just wonder why so many experts on here failed to bring up what was obviously the turning point. Oh yeah and thanks for the the great support for a new poster guys.

The obvious turning point was shortly before that, when Roo cleaned up Blake (?) in a marking contest. I believe that's how the ball made it in Ablett's direction in the first place. At that point, we'd run out of legs.

That was the turning poing from our point of view too. He should have gone the spoil and put it out of bounds. We had run out of legs.

[mbogo]

Zac smashing Ablett => free kick and 50m = Geelong goal and same result.
Our main chances were earlier and Zac's was actually a brilliant effort that would have come off for us - except Scarlett did the simple and brilliant thing - if he had of picked it up Kossie had him.
Ablett was free of his tag ....
Sad but true!

[undecided]

Zac's skill was to leave his man, sprint to the contest, make contact with the ball and NOT to give away a free. I watched that contest from side on and could not believe that he was able to do it. The gap seemed just too great and the contact had to be perfect. But he did do it. However, he had little control as to the direction that the ball then took. Had the ball gone on just one metre to Scarlett's right, Zac would then have had a clear run to goal as he was the only one with momentum towards our goal, Ablett was stopped and Scarlett and Kosi were running the other way. And then, who knows? Zac made one bad mistake on the day, but that wasn't it. What he did show in that piece of play is why he will become one of our best full backs ever.

It was the cleanest Grand Final I can remember, not something to lament but to celebrate.

Nick's pack crash attempt at the mark was very bad judgement given the position of the contest, but he clearly tried to will himself into the game this way, when a knock to advantage would have been better, easy to see and say from the grandstand of course.

And remember this about SEN. The last thing the producers want from callers is sense - there will be very little follow up to this. But ring up and say something stupid and the 'phones go crazy. There is more football sense talked on Radio National than on SEN.

it would of been soooo good to watch zac run to 50 and bang through the winner. Would of been one of the greatest moments in grand final history

[perfectionist]

...it would of been soooo good to watch zac run to 50 and bang through the winner. Would of been one of the greatest moments in grand final history

It is what Ross meant when he said it was a game of inches. Mind you, from my Saints biased point of view, we seem to have been on the losing side of those "inches" all year, no, make that for the last 43 years! I lost track of how many posters we had this year, not the Hawkins type (just when are those idiots going to have four goal umpires in finals at least?).

We rarely seemed to get the bounce of the ball or the unpredictable ricochet, but maybe I just miss 'em when they go the other way. We need an independent body to established the facts. A body to look at "unfair bounces - the statistics", the number of posters, the number of after the game admitted umpire errors etc. If nothing else, it might put our paranoia to rest. On the other hand, it might validate it.

[matrix]

[Milton66]

Finally made it back home?

[matrix]

yar

good week
sad week
weird week
fun week

rather a mixed bag

[saintbrat]

not coming back again for the B&F matrix>?

[matrix]

ok when is it? (forgive my ignorance)
and how much?

[saintbrat]

http://www.saints.com.au/events/tabid/5426/default.aspx

booking link
ttps://www.clubsonline.com.au/bookingregform/i ... OrgID=1709

[matrix]

shite
cant
have 36ers tickets already

shite shite shtie

[saintbrat]

[ace]

BUT Zac saw that it was the umpires pet and knew that if he made the slightest contact with pet from behind the umpires would not only award a free kick to pet they would report him for hurting pet.