No injuries - No excuses

[B.M]

Probably the smallest injury list in the AFL

Finals last season

Supposedly improved the list -

Got rid of Dead Wood - Gresham, Billings, Bytel

Brought in Guns - Henry, Dow, Bonner

Best coach in the country
Best Assistants
Fittest team in the AFL

We are fkn terrible

The second worst team in it

It’s a fkn disaster

[Waltzing St Kilda]

Anyone else been waiting patiently for the line-in-the-sand game?

The game where every player comes out exploding with determination and intensity?

Every week I think this is gonna be the one ...

And every week it's flat, spiritless, dumb footy ...

[The Fireman]

We’ll be straight out of the finals

[Vortex]

No injuries....no talent

Footy fans are morons

Easily distracted....the coach, the game plan, and anything else Fox tells you to focus on

[perfectionist]

Most of our players are about 85% of the skill level required in a top 8 team. Today, our few top players were dragged down to that level. Sometimes, game plan and effort can make up for that, to gain a win. We are 15 players away from a top team and there really isn't much we can do about it. One way of another, it means at least another decade of failure. And the system is that it's better to be a total failure than a mediocre one. Alas, the people who come along to games might not see it that way. This does seem to be strange time to agitating a shift from Docklands to the MCG. For the next little while, Moorabbin is going to be large enough.

[spert]

Players seemed to enjoy their footy last season- have a look at the body language this season.

[Banger9798]

This time last year we were on the top 4, with worse injuries. We looked fit, confident and aggressive.

What has happened?

We have actually traded and drafted well.
Chemistry and confidence is as low as I can remember.

Whose in charge of that?

[Devilhead]

No Leadership .... can you add that to the Subject Title

[The_Dud]

Ye of little faith! The excuse makers will always find something to blame and continue the mediocrity!

The umpire whinging is starting up again for one!

[B.M]

We normally blame the best player for not being better

So I blame the captain
Jack Steele
For not being better!!!

Oh
And Robert Harvey

[bobmurray]

Ross said Cordy hurt his knee today playing for Sandy.

Waiting for scans to know how bad the injury is.

[ace]

Ross said Cordy hurt his knee today playing for Sandy.

Waiting for scans to know how bad the injury is.

Jack Hayes and Hugo Garcia did not play for Euro-Euroke or for Sandringham today.
They were either injured (but not officially) or being managed.

Now that Euro-Euroke have proven they can't play football St Kilda can have a well earned pick No 4 in the Mid Season rookie draft.
Make it a good one.

[Teflon]

Love this from Malevu BF
Buckle up we need to re build and do it properly

*****

Having followed the Saints for 50 plus years and seen it all over and over again, I find some of the commentary about our club both naive and laughable.

Since our solitary flag under Alan Jeans every coach we've had has got the arse and never coached again. Everyone that is, except for Lyon. He was smart enough to jump ship before getting the sack, not like all the other suckers. (I'm not counting Ratten's winless stint as North's caretaker coach).

What does that tell you? Quite simply that St.Kilda is a coach killer. An end of career appointment. Then ask yourself were the likes of Ratten, Richo, Watters, Thomas, Blight, Watson, Alves, Sheldon etc. etc. all sh.it coaches or just maybe were their playing lists not quite good enough to get the job done? I know which I believe.

If you want to blame all the coaches for our perennial malaise then it doesn't say much for those who chose them. Must be crap judges.

I suspect eventually Lyon will get the same treatment this time around. Even if he jumps ship again this will be his last gig.

Would we be any better off with a new-breed coach rather than Lyon? Probably better to watch but you're kidding yourself if you think anyone else would have our current list in finals contention. Just have a look at Clarkson, the wonder coach, and North. How's that going?

All I'm saying is to focus on the real issue. The coach might be part of the problem but history tells me where the Saints are concerned there's a common denominator for our recurring failure.
The players.

[Scollop]

This is only Clarkson's 2nd year as coach of North Melbourne. Lyon has never successfully rebuilt a side. Clarkson has.

Last year Clarkson had to take time out of the game due to the enormous stress he felt from the reports around the Hawthorn racism scandal. That's an ongoing issue and it's impact is profound on both Clarkson and Fagan.

Despite all that, I'm still backing Clarko (if he stays in the job another 2 years) to get the North rebuild right, over our bloke at St Kilda.

[The G Train Legacy]

No injuries, seriously! Are some just arse clowns or are they deliberately just anti-Lyon? Sure our injury list is down to 1 or 2, with the rest coming back from long term injuries which necessitates a few further weeks of conditioning when they return to match play. Crouch, Clark, Butler & Hayes are still doing that at Sandy, Henry and Dow have just returned.
We recruited Henry and Dow to address midfield issues and they've hardly played! Thankfully they both looked to be running into a bit of touch yesterday. Also encouraging was Crouch & Clark's form at Sandy. There were actually some green shoots in the middle yesterday with Henry and Dow in the mix.
To suggest that injuries have suddenly disappeared as a factor is intellectually lazy or just dishonest.

[saynta]

This time last year we were on the top 4, with worse injuries. We looked fit, confident and aggressive.

What has happened?

We have actually traded and drafted well.
Chemistry and confidence is as low as I can remember.

Whose in charge of that?

Good question.

[Saintmatt]

Players seemed to enjoy their footy last season- have a look at the body language this season.

You’re on the money here. Last year - all of the kids playing together was like a group of year 7’s on the first school camp having a ball together. Laughing and smiling and enjoying each others’ success and team success.

Million miles from that this year

[Saintmatt]

This is only Clarkson's 2nd year as coach of North Melbourne. Lyon has never successfully rebuilt a side. Clarkson has.

Last year Clarkson had to take time out of the game due to the enormous stress he felt from the reports around the Hawthorn racism scandal. That's an ongoing issue and it's impact is profound on both Clarkson and Fagan.

Despite all that, I'm still backing Clarko (if he stays in the job another 2 years) to get the North rebuild right, over our bloke at St Kilda.

Clarko has been handed McKercher & Dursma. Plus Wardlaw and Sheezel from last year.

There’s very little chance we’ll draft one mid - let alone 4 of that quality.

I’d back Clarko too unless Lyon is given the same playing resources.

[Saintmatt]

This is only Clarkson's 2nd year as coach of North Melbourne. Lyon has never successfully rebuilt a side. Clarkson has.

Last year Clarkson had to take time out of the game due to the enormous stress he felt from the reports around the Hawthorn racism scandal. That's an ongoing issue and it's impact is profound on both Clarkson and Fagan.

Despite all that, I'm still backing Clarko (if he stays in the job another 2 years) to get the North rebuild right, over our bloke at St Kilda.

Clarko has been handed McKercher & Dursma. Plus Wardlaw and Sheezel from last year.

There’s very little chance we’ll draft one mid - let alone 4 of that quality.

I’d back Clarko too unless Lyon is given the same playing resources.

[The Fireman]

Even if we can’t fall back on blaming injuries, there’s always the umpires………

[Killa]

With all due respect I would never describe Bonner and Dow as “guns”

We simply provided them with opportunity to extend their AFL careers given performance

IF they were “guns” how did they get to St Kilda so easily?

Henry has the where all to be a “gun”

To me, all of Billings, Gresham and Bytel were all in the Dunstan catagory - so they had reached their capabilities and needed to make room for our younger brigade - where now Wilson looks like he could be a “gun” (and we need more)

No doubt the description afforded as “guns” is just another tawdry attack on the St Kilda FC noting the anonymous who attack present that theirs opinions on everything connected to the Club are far superior to those who actually administer the Club

Noting also that these superior beings spent 24/7 on a site such as this

Anyway I have yet another appointment tomorrow with some anticipation I may regain more of my mobility - and life!!

[Killa]

And one question

For how long did the likes of Melbourne and Carlton (and others) languish at the foot of the table getting Number 1 Draft picks?

Now North Melbourne and West Coast are getting the Number 1 Picks

Noting that in a very even competition Brisbane and Geelong and others have gone on losing streaks

It happens

[Teflon]

No injuries, seriously! Are some just arse clowns or are they deliberately just anti-Lyon? Sure our injury list is down to 1 or 2, with the rest coming back from long term injuries which necessitates a few further weeks of conditioning when they return to match play. Crouch, Clark, Butler & Hayes are still doing that at Sandy, Henry and Dow have just returned.
We recruited Henry and Dow to address midfield issues and they've hardly played! Thankfully they both looked to be running into a bit of touch yesterday. Also encouraging was Crouch & Clark's form at Sandy. There were actually some green shoots in the middle yesterday with Henry and Dow in the mix.
To suggest that injuries have suddenly disappeared as a factor is intellectually lazy or just dishonest.

It’s so refreshing after wading through reams of unbalanced trash on this site from anti Lyon haters to finally get a semblance of balance.
It is fraudulent to suggest we’ve all of a sudden got no injury impacts.
Just bizarre , brazen stupidity
Haters gonna hate I guess….

[B.M]

Injury list is
James Van Es

Maybe Jack Hayes
As a test

Yep injury crisis

Richmond have 24 unavailable

[The_Dud]

Collingwood has an injury list nearly as long as Richmond and should have beat Freo at home with 6 players having less than 10 games experience!

The excuse-makers and mediocrity-accepters on here and around the club have been using injuries and young players as "the reason" for a pitiful performance this year when infact its actually more to do with poor culture and low standards at the club.