3rd quarter, 20 minute mark - looked beaten

[Enrico_Misso]

The Eagles had just scored back to back goals and extend their lead to a match high 33 points.
Up forward they looked dangerous with multiple goal scoring options.
Up forward we looked disfunctional. Slow ball movement led to a congested firward line with no apparent system.

Then ...
Something clicked

Butler had 2 shots in a minute.
Dmac kicked a ripper.

Suddenly there was belief.
Suddenly there was intensity.
Suddenly there was a sniff.
Suddenly the fans were excited and we stood as one at 3/4 time to urge them on.

Then in the 4th the Eagles wilted under a relentless onslaught that saw 5 goals to nil and a 53 point turnaround to give us a 20 point win.

My question is ...
"What happened at Q3 20min that triggered this magnificent turnaround?"

[ace]

Don't ask me, ask the Butler.

[Yorkeys]

Eagles put the cue in the rack, under estimated Saints and took some of their earlier soft goals for granted. As you say Butler suddenly got and took opportunities, DMac's efforts for whole game really paid off - momentum time, team surfed it and Eagles could not turn tap back on. However it is the myriad of small efforts that everyone contributed that just made the momentum irrepressible. The clicking in of confidence and belief are wonderful to see in action when its your team - and they deserved it because really they tried hard from the first bounce and persisted.

[samuraisaint]

Maybe because Petrocelli went back home to finish off building his house

[Teflon]

Yeah fascinating to see that unfold like that almost like a switch was flicked

I think in reality the effort was there all day but desperation went up a notch one thing for sure as good as the Eagles skills are....when we applied pressure they made mistakes ....no pressure last week we made Bombers look like flag contenders....from midway through the 3rd today we made a genuine contender look lost and tired....it’s all pressure

[SaintPav]

Maybe because Petrocelli went back home to finish off building his house

Did he ever finish building that house?

[samuraisaint]

Maybe because Petrocelli went back home to finish off building his house

Did he ever finish building that house?

Not that I can remember.
But I do remember that weird soundtrack they'd play on that show when Petrocelli was recreating the crime and they'd use the old 'flashback dramatic device'.

[samuraisaint]

Yeah fascinating to see that unfold like that almost like a switch was flicked

I think in reality the effort was there all day but desperation went up a notch one thing for sure as good as the Eagles skills are....when we applied pressure they made mistakes ....no pressure last week we made Bombers look like flag contenders....from midway through the 3rd today we made a genuine contender look lost and tired....it’s all pressure

It was there all day. They showed on the main screen the match stats and we were leading in all of them - except the scoreboard.

[mr six o'clock]

Maybe because Petrocelli went back home to finish off building his house

Did he ever finish building that house?

When he kicked that goal off the outside of his boot l yelled geez petrocelli why don't you eff off and finish your bloody house .
The bloke next to me had no idea what I was talking about.

[samuraisaint]

Maybe because Petrocelli went back home to finish off building his house

Did he ever finish building that house?

When he kicked that goal off the outside of his boot l yelled geez petrocelli why don't you eff off and finish your bloody house .
The bloke next to me had no idea what I was talking about.

Haha classic! Wish I'd heard it!

[Scollop]

The other thing that happened was that the Eagles started making uncharacteristic mistakes. Just before that little barrage of goals from the Saints before the end of the 3 quarter there was a sliding doors moment. They were 33 points up after the goal to Petroccelle and it could have gone to 39 points.

Liam Ryan marked in front and had a chance to put the game beyond us...he was only 40 metres out and he shanked it out on the full. Then there was another clanger, and another and more mistakes from them and after Goals to Butler and McKenzie we had a sniff

[Teflon]

Yeah fascinating to see that unfold like that almost like a switch was flicked

I think in reality the effort was there all day but desperation went up a notch one thing for sure as good as the Eagles skills are....when we applied pressure they made mistakes ....no pressure last week we made Bombers look like flag contenders....from midway through the 3rd today we made a genuine contender look lost and tired....it’s all pressure

It was there all day. They showed on the main screen the match stats and we were leading in all of them - except the scoreboard.

It was but interesting hear Eagles coach suggest it went into overdrive second half and they couldn’t handle it..
Then the mistakes came from them....no surprise

[StPeter]

The influence of the umpires cannot be overrated.

The lopsided free count (7-14) in the first half reflected their big impact on the West Coast score with some very iffy decisions their way.

I thought the Saints got the rub of the green from mid way through the 3rd term and that certainly helped our score along.

Interesting that the free kick count is no longer included in the stats showing on the big screen at the ground. I think there may have been some reaction by the crowd if they had gone up at half time.

[MickThomas]

I am torn, I think Butler and Crouch set fire to our guys, or did our coach change something?

I heard Crouch got most of his 12 tackles in the first half, then in the 3rd, he started hunting his own ball, maybe he turned it.

Or did things start going well for Butler, he was 3rd ranked in pressure acts; maybe he kept pushing and finally he got the luck of the bounce.

Who knows.
But Butler, Crouch n DMack dragged the team up by the bootstraps, and the rest followed, spurred on by 16k screaming fans

[saintsRrising]

My question is ...
"What happened at Q3 20min that triggered this magnificent turnaround?"

Nothing. We had been playing well all quarter. It was just that at that time that WCE broke...

[StPeter]

My question is ...
"What happened at Q3 20min that triggered this magnificent turnaround?"

Nothing. We had been playing well all quarter. It was just that at that time that WCE broke...

We had been ahead everywhere but the scoreboard even to half time where we led in every stat except free kicks (7-14).

[bigred]

Yeah I agree.

We were winning pretty much every key stat across the ground. The issue was how easily WC were able to get quality looks inside 50 every freaking time they went in.

I dont think there was really a key moment that flicked the switch. We were rolling at around the 180 number on the pressure gauge for most of the game. By the end of the third it was pushing 210. The first six minutes of the last that measure went off the freaking chart. With the ball living in our F50 we just needed to keep pushing and the gates were going to open. You could see it coming. I think when Dmac kicked that goal everyone could.

That pressure work, is contagious. And it went through us like covid at a hens night. Make no mistake, the WC mids in particular dont like it up in their face. Those errors, were pressure driven.

We had been doing enough to kick a decent score. But our delivery inside was pretty shabby and the WC defenders did what they are renowned for. The smalls didnt get enough looks. The physical, inferred and scoreboard pressure all combine to make WC shyt the bed.

I dont think this was a comeback. We were in this game from the start.

[Scollop]

It's leadership driven. From the coach, through to the skipper and ably assisted by the leadership group.

They spoke with their actions. It was process driven and their work ethic was what everyone was going to be judged by.

Maybe last week they thought Essendon were going to be an easy kill with all their injuries. Maybe they wanted to save themselves for WC, Richmond and Port?

There were some inspirational plays in that second half from McKenzie and Butler and Max and it energised the group.

I also think that RoMa is so important if we are going to have ultimate success.

Watching him take marks in the 3rd quarter (after nearly calling it a day) maybe his team mates didn't want to let the big fella down

The players bought in and there was a belief that the result would take care of itself in this match or in the coming matches

I think the biggest positive is the players understand they're good enough to beat anyone if they prepare well and work their bums off on game day

[samuraisaint]

The influence of the umpires cannot be overrated.

The lopsided free count (7-14) in the first half reflected their big impact on the West Coast score with some very iffy decisions their way.

I thought the Saints got the rub of the green from mid way through the 3rd term and that certainly helped our score along.

Interesting that the free kick count is no longer included in the stats showing on the big screen at the ground. I think there may have been some reaction by the crowd if they had gone up at half time.

Noticed that - about the free kicks stats not being on the screen at the ground.
But to be fair there is no real reason why free kicks should be close between opposition clubs. I noticed a couple that went their way in the centre which were probably there if not a bit technical, but to be honest they were probably there.
Thought the 50 metre penalty against Marshall was a bit harsh though

[saynta]

[quote=bigred post_id=1895842 time=1618237410 user_id=33.



That pressure work, is contagious. And it went through us like covid at a hens night.
[/quote]

[bigcarl]

The influence of the umpires cannot be overrated.

The lopsided free count (7-14) in the first half reflected their big impact on the West Coast score with some very iffy decisions their way.

I thought the Saints got the rub of the green from mid way through the 3rd term and that certainly helped our score along.

Interesting that the free kick count is no longer included in the stats showing on the big screen at the ground. I think there may have been some reaction by the crowd if they had gone up at half time.

Agree. It took the umpires a long time to catch on that it wasn’t the same team smashed by Essendon the week before.

They love a winner.

Once they realised the Saints were coming ... with a rabid crowd of ferals behind them ... they promptly switched sides.

You can’t be too harsh on them. It’s human nature I guess

[saynta]

The influence of the umpires cannot be overrated.

The lopsided free count (7-14) in the first half reflected their big impact on the West Coast score with some very iffy decisions their way.

I thought the Saints got the rub of the green from mid way through the 3rd term and that certainly helped our score along.

Interesting that the free kick count is no longer included in the stats showing on the big screen at the ground. I think there may have been some reaction by the crowd if they had gone up at half time.

Agree. It took the umpires a long time to catch on that it wasn’t the same team smashed by Essendon the week before.

They love a winner.

Once they realised the Saints were coming ... with a rabid crowd of ferals behind them ... they promptly switched sides.

You can’t be too harsh on them. It’s human nature I guess