Match thread - Saints vs Bulldogs

[mullet]

anyone know why wright cant get a game

He's out with concussion at present. I'd have him in the team over Mav any time - he gives real forward pressure, and can be guaranteed to get a fluke goal all the time.

thanks loris. see it is possible to have constructive convos on here without ripping heads off.

[SuperSaint]

What a beauty that Caleb daniel is. Smallest player going around but his skill, decision making and hard ball contests are so good. He has killed us today.

But alas .... "the experts" at theorise said too small to make it in AFL....

Yes our recruiters should have listened to 'noddy04' on this site ........ he told us how skilful he was!

He did too. I listened to Kevin Bartlett one day saying that he and his wife were in awe of what a wonderful player he is. Well, today I can see why and 'noddy04' got it completely right from the onset.

I also like Picken too.....his attack on the ball and marking skill is quite special.

[Spud]

Prediction.......... city west will be on this site all week, time for the rest of us to tune out eh?

LOL, how true

[seano1]

Can't keep blaming umpiring we were shite

[shrodes]

What a beauty that Caleb daniel is. Smallest player going around but his skill, decision making and hard ball contests are so good. He has killed us today.

But alas .... "the experts" at theorise said too small to make it in AFL....

Yes our recruiters should have listened to 'noddy04' on this site ........ he told us how skilful he was!

He did too. I listened to Kevin Bartlett one day saying that he and his wife were in awe of what a wonderful player he is. Well, today I can see why and 'noddy04' got it completely right from the onset.

I also like Picken too.....his attack on the ball and marking skill is quite special.

You could tell he was a gun by his predraft video. I was watching him with intent also actually. Heard he would be an early first rounder if not for the height thing. He went in the 40s and made the Bulldogs look very smart.

[desertsaint]

Well according to the stats we had the best five players on the field? And Longer ranked second? We got destroyed. The Carlisle forward desperate move backfired as our defence unwound completely. We have no real structure going into the fifty. Bringing Minch in was a shocker, he and Wright and DMac are not the way forward. Losing Roo meant Bruce should have been playing.
Not sure what we do with McCartin. He needs game time, so best thing is to keep playing him and accept it may cost us games. Next selections will be interesting.

[skeptic]

Prediction.......... city west will be on this site all week, time for the rest of us to tune out eh?

LOL, how true

Oh the horror

[dragit]

Dragit you are one of the more constructive posters here and like reading your thoughts. I know he has had 30 odd possessions today as you pointed out but he has had minimal impact on the game. He should be much better being the senior player he is but often plays like this. He is great at picking up the cheap, easy possessions that look ok on paper but don't make much of an impact on the game.

That is very kind of you SS, but probably a massive stretch

I just think a much bigger problem today was our best midfielder only getting 17 touches (6 kicks) a really poor structure down back after half time and no-one threatening to kick goals at our end.

It might look easy to rack up 34 touches and 9 marks but not many players are capable of doing this… and when we are lacking genuine class from the back half we need a player like montagna transitioning from the back half. He's not a gun inside midfielder, but a pretty handy and skillful player that we can't replace from the VFL at this stage. IMO.

[dragit]

Prediction.......... city west will be on this site all week, time for the rest of us to tune out eh?

Wouldn't it be easier to get rid of the problem rather than everyone else avoid the site?

[SuperSaint]

Well according to the stats we had the best five players on the field? And Longer ranked second? We got destroyed. The Carlisle forward desperate move backfired as our defence unwound completely. We have no real structure going into the fifty. Bringing Minch in was a shocker, he and Wright and DMac are not the way forward. Losing Roo meant Bruce should have been playing.
Not sure what we do with McCartin. He needs game time, so best thing is to keep playing him and accept it may cost us games. Next selections will be interesting.

The very reason why stats can be completely misleading. Tom Mitchell had 50 possessions last week for the Hawks and didn't influence the game much at all. Quality possessions are what get noticed but stats unfortunately often don't reflect this.

[longtimesaint]

We haven't satisfactorily replaced Dempster on the half back line -he was always cool and able to be a general there.
The forward line is a bigger problem and we should give young Marshall a chance.

[loris]

Well according to the stats we had the best five players on the field? And Longer ranked second? We got destroyed. The Carlisle forward desperate move backfired as our defence unwound completely. We have no real structure going into the fifty. Bringing Minch in was a shocker, he and Wright and DMac are not the way forward. Losing Roo meant Bruce should have been playing.
Not sure what we do with McCartin. He needs game time, so best thing is to keep playing him and accept it may cost us games. Next selections will be interesting.

I can't understand Bruce being out, especially when Roo didn't come up. Has Bruce been dropped for poor performance, or is it something more than that? Is he being disciplined for something we don't know about? . Now I'm becoming a conspiracy theorist like some on this site. It just doesn't add up to Bruce not being in the team - we missed his continual effort against the Swans, and boy he was sorely missed today with that effort that he brings. Couldn't believe it when he wasn't selected when Roo was out.

[Joe Bloggs]

missed the first quarter. Did Sinclair get injured? Did not see him once.

Yep must have .

[spert]

Ha ha..my wife watched a bit of the game with me- not a footy fan, and she remarked "do they always play this bad- they are all standing still while the other team are running away..."

[SuperSaint]

Dragit you are one of the more constructive posters here and like reading your thoughts. I know he has had 30 odd possessions today as you pointed out but he has had minimal impact on the game. He should be much better being the senior player he is but often plays like this. He is great at picking up the cheap, easy possessions that look ok on paper but don't make much of an impact on the game.

That is very kind of you SS, but probably a massive stretch

I just think a much bigger problem today was our best midfielder only getting 17 touches (6 kicks) a really poor structure down back after half time and no-one threatening to kick goals at our end.

It might look easy to rack up 34 touches and 9 marks but not many players are capable of doing this… and when we are lacking genuine class from the back half we need a player like montagna transitioning from the back half. He's not a gun inside midfielder, but a pretty handy and skillful player that we can't replace from the VFL at this stage. IMO.

Fair comment dragit and well put but I still beleive Montagna's transitioning from the back half is not that great. He is very predictable with his run and carry and often kicks to a poorer option now. Opposition rarely play a hard tag on Montagna as they know he is not damaging like others in the side. His one on one work is pretty insipid.

Again, I acknowledge your thoughts but we need to find a better 'link' player as Montagna is not going to be one of the players mounting our next challenge. Scott saw this clearly in Dal Santo and moved early to delist him at North. These two were a big disappointnent for me in the 2009 and 2010 finals series because there is no second string to their game when they (or the team rather) need them to play inside.

[PremiershipSaint]

Would we get a 2nd rounder for Paddy?

[Sainter_Dad]

Would we get a 2nd rounder for Paddy?

Paddy is not the problem - look at the delivery that Stringer got - look at the delivery Paddy got.
Stringer has far more experience - and Paddy is only 2 games back - two games that we have been smashed in - with horrendous delivery forward.

I am not saying Paddy is not A problem - but hopefully he can grow into the role - I am saying he is not THE problem - and trading him for a 2nd rounder is just a waste of time - look at his field kicking - if he only becomes a GOP - that is better than the odds of a 2nd rounder.

[The Fireman]

our opportunities in front of goal were squandered ,,some terrible skill errors ...Carlisle was a good pickup. Gilbo again.... Billings showed he can be a star...this side should have a good 2018..just need to iron out some of the poor skills .

[skeptic]

I'm going to post about this later in the week but I actually think our coaches have really underperformed so far this year...

Structurally we are a complete mess... we frequently mix up the ratio of inside to outside midfielders, either go in too tall or way too small and some players are being judged harshly by the coaching staff whilst others appear to get a free pass.

How does a player like Paddy McCartin go from being a questionable player trying to find form at Sandy to all of a sudden being the only key forward and main hope in the main 22 vs last year's premiers?
How do our coaching staff look at that and go, yep that's a good idea he's sure to blossom w/o Roo and Brucey around?

Even the great Nick Riewoldt wasn't expected to do it all on his in his first few years... he got to play in a forward line with Gehrig, Hamil and Kosi

[The Fireman]

I'm going to post about this later in the week but I actually think our coaches have really underperformed so far this year...

Structurally we are a complete mess... we frequently mix up the ratio of inside to outside midfielders, either go in too tall or way too small and some players are being judged harshly by the coaching staff whilst others appear to get a free pass.

How does a player like Paddy McCartin go from being a questionable player trying to find form at Sandy to all of a sudden being the only key forward and main hope in the main 22 vs last year's premiers?
How do our coaching staff look at that and go, yep that's a good idea he's sure to blossom w/o Roo and Brucey around?

Even the great Nick Riewoldt wasn't expected to do it all on his in his first few years... he got to play in a forward line with Gehrig, Hamil and Kosi

perfect time to persist with our number one draft pick...we are going nowhere this season...time to test and hone this side for next year. How better to fast track a forward than give him the responsibility of an open forward area.

[George27]

Paddy dominating junk time...

Yep, for me it counts for nothing with 10 minutes left and 30 down

Tom- I understand your reasoning , but beg to disagree. Paddy made some crucial errors during the game, including a poor missed mark in the 3rd which resulted in a 12 point turnover. He sat on the bench for the first 10 minutes of the last quarter, and at that stage I thought Richo had marked his card. He could have really dropped the head, but he did not. When he came back on he presented well and marked well. Yes the heat was out of the game, but he showed some character. Has earnt his spot for the next game, and maybe given himself and us some hope.

[citywest]

Prediction.......... city west will be on this site all week, time for the rest of us to tune out eh?

No loris, I am just as pissed off as everyone else.

[The_President]

So our 21 year old full forward had 15 touches NINE marks and kicked 1.1 when our team was spanked by 40 points.

9 marks was the equal most for the game along with Joey, Robertson and DMac.
What do those three all have in common? Correct, they're all half back flankers who kick the ball backwards to eachother to get cheap marks.

Paddy on the other hand managed to take 9 marks as a forward... with some of the WORST delivery ever. Just bomb it long and hope for the best.

But because he dropped a few sitters people are still calling for his head?

Could you imagine the damage he would do if they just kicked it to his advantage AND didn't all come flying in over the top and brining their defenders with them when he had a one on one contest.


"Why wasn't Bruce picked?
Because Bruce's formline has been absolutely HORRIFIC!
7 touches, 2 marks and 1 goal against the Giants
7 touches, 3 marks and 2 cheap goals against the Blues
Then gets absolutely SMASHED in the VFL by LIAM BLOODY JONES. Jones took 15 marks and was BOG. Bruce kicked one bloody goal.

Josh Kennedy would struggle to kick a bag if he played for us.