Fitness??

[StPeter]

Last week against Melbourne we were massively over-run in the second half.

This week the same story in the last quarter.

Seems to me our inability to run out games has cost us both matches.

[Con Gorozidis]

Last week against Melbourne we were massively over-run in the second half.

This week the same story in the last quarter.

Seems to me our inability to run out games has cost us both matches.

Because the entire game plan is built on manic pressure and no skill.

This is an unsustainable game plan and eventually Richo will be held to account for this.

We are highly inefficient and we waste too much energy running like headless chooks. This will win us some games sure - but the season is a marathon not a sprint.

The notion that pressure wins finals is true to an extent - but you have to actually make the finals first - which means winning some games on efficiency and conserving energy yet still collecting 4 points. We cant do this. We have to spend all our chips to get 4 points. You cant play this way for 26 weeks.

[Moods]

Last week against Melbourne we were massively over-run in the second half.

This week the same story in the last quarter.

Seems to me our inability to run out games has cost us both matches.

Because the entire game plan is built on manic pressure and no skill.

This is an unsustainable game plan and eventually Richo will be held to account for this.

We are highly inefficient and we waste too much energy running like headless chooks. This will win us some games sure - but the season is a marathon not a sprint.
The notion that pressure wins finals is true to an extent - but you have to actually make the finals first - which means winning some games on efficiency and conserving energy yet still collecting 4 points. We cant do this. We have to spend all our chips to get 4 points. You cant play this way for 26 weeks.

I actually reckon that's a bit harsh. I thought our structures yesterday were fantastic. WC had no idea how to get through our zones and this often caused them to take the wrong option. We weren't tired in the 1st quarter(well I hope we weren't) but we still executed poorly. I hate to say it, but I feel most of us have overrated our team. The reality is we still have a way to go, and composure under pressure is what the elite players can execute. Sadly we're not elite. So you're right. We will win some games this year, just not as many as we had hoped. Pre-season is the season of hope. Now we're in the season of reality

[Bluthy]

Or are we too fit?

We might have smashed it over the preseason right upto the limit of the season and got the taper wrong. If that's the case it may pay off later in the season.

Or...remember Richo came out of the Port Adelaide system where they possibly were over-training - Hinkley was bragging constantly about fit they were. That worked really well for one season - but perhaps ended up burning out the players. Richo strikes me as huge on fitness - he loves to show off his biceps. He loves the likes of Geary, Mav & Demps who train the house down as super-fit nerds. Poor old Brandon White came back with a slight muffin-top and now he's person non-gratis with Richo.

[tony74]

Nothing wrong with our fitness or our tapering. When you have the ball the team looks fit. When the opposition has the momentum you look slow, sluggish and unfit. Simple.

[Con Gorozidis]

Nothing wrong with our fitness or our tapering. When you have the ball the team looks fit. When the opposition has the momentum you look slow, sluggish and unfit. Simple.

Well I feel safe and secure in the knowledge a flag is a mere formality this year!
We are the fittest, hardest working, best coached and most talented team in the comp! Bar none.
It is just a matter of making sure we turn up in time for the bounce and the rest is a fair accompli.
I assume the engraver has already been given instructions.

We can all relax.

[CURLY]

Nothing wrong with our fitness or our tapering. When you have the ball the team looks fit. When the opposition has the momentum you look slow, sluggish and unfit. Simple.

Well I feel safe and secure in the knowledge a flag is a mere formality this year!
We are the fittest, hardest working, best coached and most talented team in the comp! Bar none.
It is just a matter of making sure we turn up in time for the bounce and the rest is a fair accompli.
I assume the engraver has already been given instructions.

We can all relax.

You must be a delight to be around at the local football club. You seem to know everything after the result.

[Griggsy]

Last week against Melbourne we were massively over-run in the second half.

This week the same story in the last quarter.

Seems to me our inability to run out games has cost us both matches.

Because the entire game plan is built on manic pressure and no skill.

This is an unsustainable game plan and eventually Richo will be held to account for this.

We are highly inefficient and we waste too much energy running like headless chooks. This will win us some games sure - but the season is a marathon not a sprint.

The notion that pressure wins finals is true to an extent - but you have to actually make the finals first - which means winning some games on efficiency and conserving energy yet still collecting 4 points. We cant do this. We have to spend all our chips to get 4 points. You cant play this way for 26 weeks.

Been thinking this for a while, almost all the top teams of late have quick clean ball movement all game and we ooo and ahhh if we do it once from end to end.

We are more like buck-shot, some of it will hit the target and the rest is a waste.

[Devilhead]

Pretty amazing that such an uncoordinated unskilled side can have 32 shots at goal

[Griggsy]

Pretty amazing that such an uncoordinated unskilled side can have 32 shots at goal

And lose 3 out of 4 quarters, it truly is.

[Devilhead]

Pretty amazing that such an uncoordinated unskilled side can have 32 shots at goal

And lose 3 out of 4 quarters, it truly is.

s*** sides don't have 32 shots on goal against West Coast in Perth - last time that happened was in 2013

[Bluthy]

Nothing wrong with our fitness or our tapering. When you have the ball the team looks fit. When the opposition has the momentum you look slow, sluggish and unfit. Simple.

That's true Tone, so logic then says "Keep da footy". Not sure we are great at that.

[magnifisaint]

WTF??

Unfit...you have to be joking. How about out umpired. Do you want to look at Fremantle, Gold Coast, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Brisbane Lions and tell me what's wrong with them????

[Johnny Member]

Last week against Melbourne we were massively over-run in the second half.

This week the same story in the last quarter.

Seems to me our inability to run out games has cost us both matches.

Because the entire game plan is built on manic pressure and no skill.

This is an unsustainable game plan and eventually Richo will be held to account for this.

We are highly inefficient and we waste too much energy running like headless chooks. This will win us some games sure - but the season is a marathon not a sprint.
The notion that pressure wins finals is true to an extent - but you have to actually make the finals first - which means winning some games on efficiency and conserving energy yet still collecting 4 points. We cant do this. We have to spend all our chips to get 4 points. You cant play this way for 26 weeks.

I actually reckon that's a bit harsh. I thought our structures yesterday were fantastic. WC had no idea how to get through our zones and this often caused them to take the wrong option. We weren't tired in the 1st quarter(well I hope we weren't) but we still executed poorly. I hate to say it, but I feel most of us have overrated our team. The reality is we still have a way to go, and composure under pressure is what the elite players can execute. Sadly we're not elite. So you're right. We will win some games this year, just not as many as we had hoped. Pre-season is the season of hope. Now we're in the season of reality

Agree with this.


I think people looking at a bunch of B-Grade players making skill errors, and drawing the conclusion that it's the coaches directive to do that, is just emotive and illogical.

It's like the old geezers at thew footy who scream 'just kick the bloody thing!' every time their team has the ball. It's an outdated and naive viewpoint of a game that is nothing like the game most of us played in the park years ago.


This is our coaching panel:

Aaron Hamill Snr Assistant Coach- Forwards Performance & Development
Adam Kingsley Snr Assistant Coach- Midfield Performance & Development
Adam Skrobalak Assistant Coach
Alan Richardson Senior Coach
Andrea Farrow Player Development Coordinator
Ben McGlynn Assistant Coach
Callum Willis Perfomance Analyst
Chris McKay Football Technology Assistant
Danny Frawley Assistant Coach
Danny Sexton Director of Coaching & Development
Jamie Cox General Manager - Football Performance
Josh Low Strength & Conditioning Manager
Lindsay Gilbee Sandringham Head Coach/Assistant Coach
Luke O'Brien Football Services Manager
Marcus Krygger Strenght & Conditioning Coach
Matt Hornsby High Performance Manager
Mitch Anwyl Sports Science Assistant
Peta Searle Assistant Coach
Robbie Chancellor Manager Performance Analysis
Rohan Welsh Snr Assistant Coach- Backs Performance & Development
Simon Kearney Manager Sports Science & Innovation
Simon McPhee Assistant Coach
Tony Brown Player Development Manager



Do we really think that Richardson sits there with his coaching staff that include recent premiership players, and after working as an assistant coach at Essendon, Carlton, Port, Bulldogs, Collingwood and being head coach at Coburg himself - and all they come up with is 'let's go out and put on lots of pressure and don't worry about anything else'?

Is that what we're saying?

Do we seriously think that between about 20 coaches, Richo just waltzes in once a week and says 'yeah, nah, don't worry about skills and any strategies. I reckon we just play really hard and put lots of pressure on and she'll be right'?



I'm not saying that the club's necessarily on the right path in terms of their coaching decisions - but to suggest that they don't put any thought or emphasis on anything other than 'pressure' is just naive.

[saynta]

Funny how comments have gone from shitty crap overwhelming soul destroying umpiring to shitty crap under-performing unfit players.

Just saying.

[Linton Lodger]

We started to fade late in the second last week and late in the third this week.

I have no doubt its a tapering issue. Sure Tony74 posted that we're fit and that's no doubt true. However, tapering I understand is a seperate matter. I think we got it wrong last year, remember we ran out of steam Rd 1 against Port and then didn't have the energy to compete with The Bulldogs Rd 2. Quite reasonably we would have put that down to missing a practice game, but perhaps that wasn't the issue.

If my theory is correct, then regardless of our opponents we'll be right as rain and ready to run out 4 quarters this week.

[repta]

Both games fitness has been an issue. The Saints fade terribly in the last couple of minutes of each quarter. Yes we were over run last week in the second half, but if we took our chances the game would have been done, both weeks. Both West Coast and Melbourne got late goals in the first couple of quarters which kept them in touch.

Manic pressure is good. Nothing replaces kicking straight. The team that works out the most important skill in the game is kicking for goal will be unbeatable.

[spert]

I think I have spent enough time in my life in athletics of some sort or another, and playing footy to see players who look spent, and our guys just looked leg-weary in the last quarter of the Demons and WCE games. Not sure how to put it, but our mids are very inefficient runners- can't accelerate very quickly, though Jack Steven is an exception, but seems to lose composure after short sprints or longer runs, and when disposing of the ball is unbalanced and those balls end up in no-mans land or too far from their intended target to gain control of it. I would hate to be a forward with the Saints- you would lead to the ball carrier and the ball would spray elsewhere or over your head or directly to an opponent.

[ace]

Last week against Melbourne we were massively over-run in the second half.

This week the same story in the last quarter.

Seems to me our inability to run out games has cost us both matches.

Because the entire game plan is built on manic pressure and no skill.

This is an unsustainable game plan and eventually Richo will be held to account for this.

We are highly inefficient and we waste too much energy running like headless chooks. This will win us some games sure - but the season is a marathon not a sprint.

The notion that pressure wins finals is true to an extent - but you have to actually make the finals first - which means winning some games on efficiency and conserving energy yet still collecting 4 points. We cant do this. We have to spend all our chips to get 4 points. You cant play this way for 26 weeks.

Our game certainly is based on pressure.
Sort of reminds me of Ross Lyon's game plan based on full team defence.
Both strategies enable a weaker team and list to be competitive BUT they are exhausting especially on the larger grounds - MCG and Domain Stadium.
To win a premiership we need to be able play with more skill but that requires a superior list than our opponents and we are nowhere near that.
We don't have star players who can dominate a match just a team of triers.
Even our number one draft pick plays as well as he can but he is playing handicapped by type 1 diabetes, and does not have an advantage in height by being super tall or super powerful.
He will never be a Tony Lockett.
Other teams have genuine talls who will be his equal but were never a number one draft pick.

[Sainternist]

No, I can't see much wrong with the team's overall fitness. Most of the guys had fantastic pre-seasons.

Saturday we really really matched it with the Eagles and they are matured bodied side. Plenty to be said about that in terms of fitness.

The problem with the Melbourne game was their style of game. It would seem they are continuing with the Paul Roos defensive strategy. After the first quarter in round 1, the flood gates were opened up and we got flushed away by it. Look at Melbourne against Carlton yesterday. It was low scoring and the Dees won ugly. Obviously Carlton were prepared for it and matched them well. Meanwhile, Richo has a more exciting, attacking style implemented. I'll take that over a Roos/Lyon brand any day of the week.

[twirlyhair]

Last week against Melbourne we were massively over-run in the second half.

This week the same story in the last quarter.

Seems to me our inability to run out games has cost us both matches.

Because the entire game plan is built on manic pressure and no skill.

This is an unsustainable game plan and eventually Richo will be held to account for this.

We are highly inefficient and we waste too much energy running like headless chooks. This will win us some games sure - but the season is a marathon not a sprint.

The notion that pressure wins finals is true to an extent - but you have to actually make the finals first - which means winning some games on efficiency and conserving energy yet still collecting 4 points. We cant do this. We have to spend all our chips to get 4 points. You cant play this way for 26 weeks.

Nah not the case. The game plan is very similar to that of the swans and doggies. Close the space when they have it, opens the space when you get it back. It works, just needed to kick straight on the weekend and we would have beaten the Eagles on home turf on a large ground as well. Game plan is excellent. The kicking and ball handling skills need refining.

[stkfc1]

Both games fitness has been an issue. The Saints fade terribly in the last couple of minutes of each quarter. Yes we were over run last week in the second half, but if we took our chances the game would have been done, both weeks. Both West Coast and Melbourne got late goals in the first couple of quarters which kept them in touch.

Manic pressure is good. Nothing replaces kicking straight. The team that works out the most important skill in the game is kicking for goal will be unbeatable.

OMG. This. Its been happening since AR took over and something that needs to be addressed pronto. The boys are coming of stuffed after each quarter already and a couple of late goals really takes the wind from the sails. We must learn to play tempo footy better. If possible control the game, give ourselves a 2-5 minute break during each quarter to reset and finish quarters strong. Hawks do this better than anyone, although they had the ball users to do it and I worry we don't.

[Wayne42]

WTF??

Unfit...you have to be joking. How about out umpired. Do you want to look at Fremantle, Gold Coast, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Brisbane Lions and tell me what's wrong with them????

If we had've kicked straight we would've beaten the Umps and the Eagles.

[Bluthy]

Both games fitness has been an issue. The Saints fade terribly in the last couple of minutes of each quarter. Yes we were over run last week in the second half, but if we took our chances the game would have been done, both weeks. Both West Coast and Melbourne got late goals in the first couple of quarters which kept them in touch.

Manic pressure is good. Nothing replaces kicking straight. The team that works out the most important skill in the game is kicking for goal will be unbeatable.

OMG. This. Its been happening since AR took over and something that needs to be addressed pronto. The boys are coming of stuffed after each quarter already and a couple of late goals really takes the wind from the sails. We must learn to play tempo footy better. If possible control the game, give ourselves a 2-5 minute break during each quarter to reset and finish quarters strong. Hawks do this better than anyone, although they had the ball users to do it and I worry we don't.

WE currently have few players who can kick the ball under pressure with accuracy and vision. Unless Richo starts taking a chance on players like White & Rice, puts Acres, Gresh or Sinclair onball more, we get Goddard up and running down back - we aren't going to be able to keep the ball much or be particularly creative with the footy. That's why players need to kill themselves with chasing and harassing. It's Richo's go to game plan at the moment. When it falls over we become a bit of crumbling wall, easy to push through.

Will be fascinating to see how Brissy go against us. They could easily get first use of it in the middle with their strong big mids - unless Hickey has a blinder. If they can keep the footy like Melbourne they will make us chase a lot of tail. But if they don't have the skill to keep it and turn it over we should be able to take big advantage of that.