Saints Player Development Sucks

[damienc]

Just heard a replay of Nicky Del on SEN.

Was speaking about what is wrong with St Kilda in 2018.

Said our biggest problem is player development. Our draftees are not being brought on to play to their full potential.

He talked about being mentored by guys like Fraser G and how they went about their preparation.

Made me think about Sean Dempster whose preparation was meticulous and exemplary.

We should not be letting guys with that attitude to simply fade away. Bring them back as mentors for the young up and coming kids.

Teach them about preparation, attitude and professionalism.

[parkeysainter]

We just look off and a bit rudderless on game day and in the VFL also. It is a problem. That in turn obviously hampers some young players developing to their full potential and/or go slower than they should.

But some players are developing well like Gresham and Membrey and Roberton turned out well for example. Part of it comes down to the individual also.

This is why I think its imperative we recruit senior players over 25 that can lead and pass on their good work ethic like a Hannerbrey would. Some people rubbish Nathan Brown but having an expierenced footballer on the list like him can enhance the development of younger players. Its the things he would do off the field and at training that we wouldn't see that helps the most.

[freely]

Do you think Gresham is developing well? Don't get me wrong - I think he's going to be a gun - but I think he picks and chooses a bit. There's a real danger when young guys have so much ability that they start to think they're too good for us. They need the example of someone on the team who's even better than they are but who's still giving 110% on field and off.

That's the real loss IMHO when players like Harvey, Lenny and Roo have moved on - more than their "on-field leadership" in terms of telling guys where to go and what to do - we're missing that massive work rate from players so good already you know you're going to have to give it absolutely everything just to keep up with them. That's the sort of culture we need - where it really stands out if a player's not pulling his weight.

[Tommyj]

Why don't we just go all out and have Geary as skills coach we've f.....d everything else up

[cwrcyn]

We see irish players come on leaps and bounds at other clubs, but we can never seem to get them up to the level. Ray Connellan could be a star of the game given the right tutelage. We have seen so many players get stuck at a low plateau where they can't seem to manage to put in consistent 4-quarter performances. Dunstan, Sinclair, Billings, Acres, and Steele all have huge quarters in games where they get a dozen possessions, and then they follow it up with 2 possessions in the next quarter. This happens all the time. It's so rare for them to have a high level of output for an entire game. We also see them make inexplicable, unforced errors on a regular basis - the kind of errors that should all but disappear after you've been playing senior football for more than 3 seasons.

Lewis Pierce had to go to Frankston to improve his game. That kind of says it all, really.

[chico2001]

We see irish players come on leaps and bounds at other clubs, but we can never seem to get them up to the level. Ray Connellan could be a star of the game given the right tutelage. We have seen so many players get stuck at a low plateau where they can't seem to manage to put in consistent 4-quarter performances. Dunstan, Sinclair, Billings, Acres, and Steele all have huge quarters in games where they get a dozen possessions, and then they follow it up with 2 possessions in the next quarter. This happens all the time. It's so rare for them to have a high level of output for an entire game. We also see them make inexplicable, unforced errors on a regular basis - the kind of errors that should all but disappear after you've been playing senior football for more than 3 seasons.

Lewis Pierce had to go to Frankston to improve his game. That kind of says it all, really.

Some of those players are very overrated and the reason they cant be developed into top AFL players is that they are simply not good enough. You cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Other clubs have the same problem.

[rodgerfox]

Do you think Gresham is developing well? Don't get me wrong - I think he's going to be a gun - but I think he picks and chooses a bit. There's a real danger when young guys have so much ability that they start to think they're too good for us. They need the example of someone on the team who's even better than they are but who's still giving 110% on field and off.

That's the real loss IMHO when players like Harvey, Lenny and Roo have moved on - more than their "on-field leadership" in terms of telling guys where to go and what to do - we're missing that massive work rate from players so good already you know you're going to have to give it absolutely everything just to keep up with them. That's the sort of culture we need - where it really stands out if a player's not pulling his weight.

It's funny that people get that impression from Gresham.

I don't see him as a big head that thinks he's too good - I actually see him quite the opposite. I see a guy devoid of confidence and mentally shot. I don't think he believes he's any good - which is precisely the problem.

[shrodes]

Do you think Gresham is developing well? Don't get me wrong - I think he's going to be a gun - but I think he picks and chooses a bit. There's a real danger when young guys have so much ability that they start to think they're too good for us. They need the example of someone on the team who's even better than they are but who's still giving 110% on field and off.

That's the real loss IMHO when players like Harvey, Lenny and Roo have moved on - more than their "on-field leadership" in terms of telling guys where to go and what to do - we're missing that massive work rate from players so good already you know you're going to have to give it absolutely everything just to keep up with them. That's the sort of culture we need - where it really stands out if a player's not pulling his weight.

It's funny that people get that impression from Gresham.

I don't see him as a big head that thinks he's too good - I actually see him quite the opposite. I see a guy devoid of confidence and mentally shot. I don't think he believes he's any good - which is precisely the problem.

Are we still talking about Gresham? Your comment seems more appropriate for Billings IMO.

Gresham is one of the few players on our list that back himself to take the game on.

[Saintmatt]

Just heard a replay of Nicky Del on SEN.

Was speaking about what is wrong with St Kilda in 2018.

Said our biggest problem is player development. Our draftees are not being brought on to play to their full potential.

He talked about being mentored by guys like Fraser G and how they went about their preparation.

Made me think about Sean Dempster whose preparation was meticulous and exemplary.

We should not be letting guys with that attitude to simply fade away. Bring them back as mentors for the young up and coming kids.

Teach them about preparation, attitude and professionalism.

Again - this is all pointing to an inevitable outcome of massive change. Dal is actually at the club part time as Next Generation Academy Coach and gets to see our completely and utterly pi$$ poor present day 'development' program ... and then compares it to his own experience which result in the successful development of him and his peers (funnily enough, getting Hannebery to the club would help address this as our present Senior Players are mainly spuds. Just so long as we don't spend pick 4 on him.)

Between Dal's comments and Roo's non-committal 'non-support' of Richo last night - it's all pointing to an explosion soon at Moorabbin. They both know intimately what's going on and where's it's leading ...