Release the shackles.

[MadSaintFan]

Listened to SEN after the game last night and our man Finey. Hes as passionate Stkilda supporter as they come, and really wears his heart on his sleave. Sometimes I take what he says with a grain of salt and sometimes I listen - last night I listened. And personally hes spot on. 2 main concerns last night were that Richmond kicked 14 goals against us mainly due to defensive errors and that Richmond just looked like they wanted it more.
The symptoms and causes are obvious:

> This tough/dour/ugly brand of footy we're reknowned for is starting to takes its toll on the players. Jason Grams comments which have already been discussed prove this.
> The players are becoming frustrated, and from watching last night they just dont look like theyre having fun. Richmond last night were doing torpedos down the middle from kick outs - we were defensively chipping short to the pocket. Take a risk!
> Theyre still wrestling with the demons of losing 3 GF's in 2 years - this may take a long time to get over.
> Ross has squeezed every last drop of talent out a group of players (Blake, Bakes, Jones, Dempster).
> Raph Clarke - back to his usual self last night. No help for Roo going forward. Players fumbling. etc etc

Our midfield is unbearably slow. Dal looks like hes running in quicksand sometimes, Armo isnt lightening, Jones runs with duck feet, Rays elite endurance but not a sprint king, Goddard is a freak but uses his football brain more than speed. Id love some kids in the VFL today to have big games - Winmar, Steven and Cripps in particular. I hope we inject them into the side soon.
Cahill and Stanleys time is now. Cahill kicked 6 last week - back it up again and he might be a chance. Stanley needs to rediscover his spark big time.
Its time to release the shackles! Expect some pain in the short term, especially against Essendon next week. But inject some youth, allow the players to play with some flair and lets have some fun.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Agree with a lot of that, especially the fun part.
We've looked like we're just playing footy as a chore for quite a while, IMO.
There's no law that says you're not allowed to enjoy what you do for a living and there's no doubt that those who love what they're doing and are passionate about it are more likely to succeed at it than someone who's just going through the motions (everything else being equal).
As I said last week, it was clear that Geelong wanted it more than us last week and it was very evident that Richmond wanted it more last night. It was probably only our extra talent and experience that got us a draw in the end.
They were playing to win, I reckon, while we were playing not to lose, or at least because they were scared of what losing would have meant. That's surely no way to go about it.
They need to find their passion and spark and love for the game and they need to find it fast.

[asiu]

i'm on board this train


start by getting rooey away from being the focal goal kicker / forward

[GSG]

, and from watching last night they just dont look like theyre having fun. ........... But inject some youth, allow the players to play with some flair and lets have some fun.

Yes, I had the same feeling ..... just another day at the office!!

Bringing younger players into the side might hopefully do the trick, but if the senior players cannot get enthusiasm and fun back into their game, it will be very difficult. They're the leaders. A bad attitude will permeate down to the second tier players.

[skeptic]

> Raph Clarke - back to his usual self last night.

I thought he was pretty good

no obvious mistakes, not a lot of possessions

[Solar]

> Raph Clarke - back to his usual self last night.

I thought he was pretty good

no obvious mistakes, not a lot of possessions

he is th least of our worries!

[MadSaintFan]

His drop mark at CHB with no one near him was really ordinary. Turn over resulted in Richmond goal. Really missing his dash from Half Back. Look hes probably the least of our worries, but hes a 5th/6th year player now, needs to become alot more consistent.

[jroberts:)]

They seem to have no confidence in anything they are doing!! Its going to take a massive win to start to get that back!! I hope they do, but until they do they are not a premiership contender?

[matrix]

im not a raph bagger by all means
but he did drop an uncontested dolly that result in an immediate goal to the tiges

but by all means he should not be touted as one of the worst

some players look like they are going thru motions, others have a crack

dempsters disposal was shocking last night
grammy again with plenty of touches, but not overly effective with it


should be three changes this week imo
someone else in for lenny to help with rotations, and rhys needs a crack otherwise, he's an option forward, back flank or ruck imo

give ledger a crack maybe


and this rotating chips thru the forward line stuff i dont like either
the guys a backman
the guys an aa backman
leave him as a backman, who else reads the play better than him?..maybe bj thats it, so leave him down back please.

either they better toughen up and start backing themselves or bombers fans will be the ones clapping their team off this week

its time to stop fakring about and going thru the motions

(2cents)

[saintspremiers]

Maybe Ross should take a week's annual leave starting Monday returning Sunday morning.

Let the leadership group and assistants sort themselves out and come up with a plan - including selecting next week's team.

Give them back the power and responsibility for just one week, but let Ross take control again come Sunday morning.

Would be a great way to straighten up a few heads and re focus.

[asiu]

ahhh the serenity

the side could secretly meet grant at 'the lake' for 'the day before tomorrow talk'

essendon by 11 goals.

[fingers]

as posted in another thread I think this year should be about letting the guys find the fun again in football. Blood 5 young players. Let them refresh mentally. Experiment with the game plan. Prepare for a massive assault in 2012 and 13.