Did we use Sunday as a guide

[older saint]

Watching the game Sunday i actually wonder in part whether the coaches used this as a benchmark game to see where we were at , what needed to improve on and who was able to handle the pressure.
Not saying we sacrificed the win but perhaps went in knowing we can play a different way to keep it close but instead let's see how our current method goes against the best and hope it provides information for the future.
If so i actually like the strategy long term. Premierships aren't won in May and also has a confidence to it expecting to it of expecting to make finals and meet again.

Need to get a win this week to "make up" for the Cairns disaster. Need minimum of 3-2 next 5

[meher baba]

Except that, for most of the first half, when the game was still a serious contest, we went with a modified game plan based on a slow build up featuring lots of short passes. Once we went back to our usual tactic of moving the ball forward as quickly as we can, we started to look competitive again.

It was all a bit of a mystery to me. The strength of the Melbourne defence is well known. You are never likely to get on top of them by playing a cautious chess game. Sure, kicking the ball in quickly will create turnovers, but will also create some chaos ball which could lead to opportunistic goals and a bit of scoreboard pressure.

So I think Ratts and his team got it wrong. But would my plan have worked? Probably not. In the mood they were in on Sunday, Melbourne were all but unbeatable. As Mike Tyson memorably put it: "everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

[cwrcyn]

Our coaches and players will learn a lot from that game. Our method in the second half was different to the first half and it worked. I still think if we get the strategy right we can beat them.

[saynta]

Our coaches and players will learn a lot from that game. Our method in the second half was different to the first half and it worked. I still think if we get the strategy right we can beat them.

plus one. We will be a chance against them come finals time,

[Scollop]

I don’t think we went in with a ‘modified’ game plan at all

I think our guys just wanted to try and stop Melbourne’s momentum. We just needed to get hands on the footy in that first and secomd quarter, but by this stage the game was lost. Petracca, Oliver, Gawn, Jackson and Viney were too good.

They were killing us at centre bounce and whenever we did get a chance in that first half, we butchered our entries inside 50 and turned it over far too easily.

[Darth Vader]

We were definitely more conservative in the first half compared to the second half. Don't know whether this was a game plan issue so much as a players pooed their pants at the pressure & occasion and went defensive, then got a rocket at half-time. Plenty of pre-game commentators (including Rossy) suggested a fast ball movement game plan was the best option for Melbourne so the coaches would also have known that. They just couldn't implement.

[shanegrambeau]

Didn’t we win loads of clearances?
But our disposal from clearances (I suppose there is no stat for that- EDC? Effective-clearance-disposal ) must have been shocking in the first 30-35 mins of the game.

[cwrcyn]

Melbourne have played the last 35 games with barely any changes to their team from week to week. Most of their very best players have not missed a game in that time .They've had the most stable line up in the competition by far. All that really helps. Statistically, that can't continue, and at some point will face the challenge of having to replace two or three key players for a few games.

[saynta]

Melbourne have played the last 35 games with barely any changes to their team from week to week. Most of their very best players have not missed a game in that time .They've had the most stable line up in the competition by far. All that really helps. Statistically, that can't continue, and at some point will face the challenge of having to replace two or three key players for a few games.

Gawn was injured. Knee, from ruck clash with Paddy.

[Scollop]

If Gawn misses a few games, they could have Jackson doing the bulk of the ruck work with McDonald and May and Ben Brown or even Sam Weidemann as second ruck. The only two players they can’t replace are Oliver and Petracca. If those two are fit they’ll romp it in.

Seriously, they have a lot of talent and they also have depth.

[bigcarl]

Our coaches and players will learn a lot from that game. Our method in the second half was different to the first half and it worked. I still think if we get the strategy right we can beat them.

Yes. Will not beat them unless we take the game on and run them ragged

[bigcarl]

If Gawn misses a few games, they could have Jackson doing the bulk of the ruck work with McDonald and May and Ben Brown or even Sam Weidemann as second ruck. The only two players they can’t replace are Oliver and Petracca. If those two are fit they’ll romp it in.

Seriously, they have a lot of talent and they also have depth.

Melbourne fans tell me their list is THAT good, that Gawn is the only player they can’t replace

[bigcarl]

We were definitely more conservative in the first half compared to the second half. Don't know whether this was a game plan issue so much as a players pooed their pants at the pressure & occasion and went defensive, then got a rocket at half-time.

I think the latter unfortunately. Went into our shells and are very beatable doing that

[Killa]

The old story was that you learned more from your losses than your wins.

Mind you, you do not want too many losses to learn the lessons from!

[stkfc1]

Thing that annoys me though is that Hawthorn gave us a good blueprint on how to play Melbourne the week before and we didn't even try to replicate it. Yeah we got off the leash a bit in the second half but the damage was done and Mebourne probably just went down a gear also.
I hope the coaches learnt that you have try to take away the other teams strengths. We didn't even attempt too. We tried to play a conservative brand of football which played to the Dees strengths. Poor coaching IMO.

[Impatient Sainter]

Ratts needed to play two more marking players Sharman & Lienert. Then play quick attacking footy to put their defence uder pressure. Playing 3 small forwards when the ball was simply marked by Melbourne's defenders & flankers & mids (their strength) was just dumb coaching.

We started the game with Plan C, too far away from our normal and sucessful game styles. That played into their hands and after 45 mnutes the game was over, lost in the coaches weekly planning. Ratts and his group of coaches seem to panic going in against rated opponents and he went away from what has been winning us games.

That's two weeks in a row where Ratten has been really poor in the coaches and totally out coached by his opponent. With his contract up this year it leaves a lot of questions????

[Wayne42]

Did St Kilda try to Ratten Melbourne or Rath Melbourne, that's the question that has me intrigued.

[Impatient Sainter]

Did St Kilda try to Ratten Melbourne or Rath Melbourne, that's the question that has me intrigued.

Which ever way it was, that individual is not seeing the game well and in terrible form.

Hopefully they go back to Plan A this week and regain some form?

[SunnyErnie]

Did St Kilda try to Ratten Melbourne or Rath Melbourne, that's the question that has me intrigued.

The answer is St Kilda tried to Richo Melbourne. Long bomb to the hotspot and hard at the man. Classic 1980s premiership football with the only problem being we are in the noughties!!!

[Impatient Sainter]

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/ ... t-74797788

Scroll down to the stats. Some pretty damnig stats for our forwards in Membrey & Higgins in the bottom 4 for the side for pressure acts. King is understandable given his progression but the ther two need to lift their efforts.

[Yorkeys]

5 wins
2 clear losses
1 close loss

No threads saying Ratts is a genius after wins, but lose to clearly outstanding team of the comp. and he was out coached?

Fair enough if a poster doesn't like Ratts and longs for yet another change, but fair go. Say in the post whatever Ratts does he won't get credit and players' lack of ability is directly his fault, ignoring he has to work with what he has. Is there the suggestions that if Ratts coached Melbourne Sunday Saints would have won or that at the moment we are the equal of the Dees.

[Jacks Back]

Did St Kilda try to Ratten Melbourne or Rath Melbourne, that's the question that has me intrigued.

The answer is St Kilda tried to Richo Melbourne. Long bomb to the hotspot and hard at the man. Classic 1980s premiership football with the only problem being we are in the noughties!!!

I'm pretty sure were in the roaring 20's.

[WellardSaint]

Letting Langdon do as he liked, was IMHO a big mistake.
You can't tag Petracca nor Oliver, they'll get quality touches regardless.
Also, we didn't bloody learn from Cairns.
We let Aliir mark everything.
We let May mark everything.
What are our coaches doing?

[Yorkeys]

Asking for a large CHF? Debating Marshall to CHF, Campbell to ruck? Paralyzed because it means dropping Butler & that's unthinkable?

[SunnyErnie]

Did St Kilda try to Ratten Melbourne or Rath Melbourne, that's the question that has me intrigued.

The answer is St Kilda tried to Richo Melbourne. Long bomb to the hotspot and hard at the man. Classic 1980s premiership football with the only problem being we are in the noughties!!!

I'm pretty sure were in the roaring 20's.

Oooops. Missed it by 20 years!