Post Match Thread

[mad saint guy]

All in all I would have to say that is the worst 40 point win I have ever seen. Our skills were horrible, our players looked flat and our forward line was shocking. It is clear that Riewoldt, Gehrig and Koschitzke can't function in the same forward line and Ross will have to find a new role for Kosi.

The biggest positive for me was the performance of Michael Gardiner. 12 disposals, 8 marks and 20 hitouts and he really stamped some authority on the game. He's getting better every week and I think he'll end up being a better recruit than King.

Luckily we were playing an absolutely pathetic team that completely ran out of legs in the second half. The umpiring gave Carlton a nice little lead at the start of the match, but it eventually evened out and we received some pissweak frees in the final quarter.

Player by player

Gram - Got plenty of the footy and ran well, but his kicking was very ordinary. Good on him for actually trying to get it forward though. 6.5/10

King - Kicked two goals, got a few touches and a fair few hitouts. Not a big influence and was beaten early, but he got into the game and did his job. 6/10

X.Clarke - Definitely one of our best. His skills are superb and he now has the fitness to go for four quarters. 7.5/10

L.Fisher - Solid tagging game. Spent a fair bit of time on Judd and didn't let him have an impact. 6/10

Hayes - Was our best inside midfielder easily. Seemed to be the only guy who could win a clearance all night. Wasn't as sharp as usual, but who was? 7.5/10

Hudghton - Very good game on the giant sook. Fevola had a few shots at goal from disgusting free kicks, but Max generally kept him quiet. 7/10

Gehrig - His kicking for goal is a breath of fresh air. Frase didn't get a heap of the ball, but four goals is a good result. 6.5/10

Montagna - Racked up possessions and played fairly well, but didn't have a huge impact. Some dodgy disposals. 6.5/10

Riewoldt - Couldn't get near it early, but also couldn't buy a free kick. Roo was receiving the exact same treatment Fevola was getting but it was all let go. He finally got into it in the last quarter and even snagged himself a late goal from a weak free kick. 6/10

Schneider - If he gets his goalkicking in check he'll be a gun. Got a lot of the ball and used it well, but 2.3 from a bunch of fairly simple shots isn't good enough. 6.5/10

Ball - I am amazed that he had 28 touches. All I noticed from him was tackling. Can't kick the footy anymore and looked very slow. But geeze he's a bloody good tackler. 6/10

Gardiner - His first 3 quarters were excellent before King took the majority of the ruck in the last. He is moving well, is a good reader of the play and took a great mark in defence. His kicking could be a bit more precise though. Tap work after quarter time was very good. 7/10

R.Clarke - Started very well but didn't get in the play much in the second half. Overall an ok defensive game. 5.5/10

Fiora - Was pretty good. His disposal has been very good and he took that awsome mark. Playing his role well. 6/10

Gilbert - Was solid, but still nowhere near the level of late 2007. Learning how to play as a key defender. 5/10

Koschitzke - Did absolutely nothing. Can't function in a forward line containing Riewoldt and Gehrig. 2/10

S.Fisher - More of the same. Very good rebounding game. 7.5/10

Dal Santo - Drifted in and out without ever having a big impact. His skills are so bloody good it is a crime that he isn't in the play more. 6/10

Blake - Started horribly, but settled down. Was penalised for a perfect tackle on Edwards at half back and then did the exact same thing at half forward and got a goal out of it. He did take a long time to dispose of the footy though. He struggles when faced with a flood. 5/10

Harvey - Good game. Didn't dominate, but he ran hard and set up a few goals. His good skills stood out in a scrappy game. 6.5/10

Geary - Was pretty good. He made a couple of bad decisions, but overall he was pretty good. Deserves his spot next week. 6/10

Milne - Excellent after quarter time. Kicked more than 3 goals for the first time since 2005. Ran up the ground well and was effective helping out in defence/midfield and he still managed 4 goals. 7.5/10

[tezza1]

I have to admit I saw exactly the same thing........I came away from the match thinking it was the worst 40pt win I have seen if a 40pt win can be described as such............

The one shining light in an ordinary display was Michael Gardiner ....He is a smart footballer who competes with purpose at every opportunity and from what I have seen as he gets fitter he will be our NO 1 Ruck.....

[doggerel]

Snap. Just returned from the game and reckon the same thing. Gardiner looked just so good. Pretty happy with Xav Clarke's game too.

[jonesy]

Agree with all above

It's a worry if we're considering ourselves to be a major threat! I'm still looking for the on field evidence instead of the on paper potential...

[Huzzad]

Yeah. It is funny that we thrashed em by 40 points, but we were very underdone. If we were playing this team at 110%, we would thump em by 100 easy I reckon. Still, goes to show even playing at around 70%-80%, we can still win by 40 points. Kudos to us, but we have some work to do.

[LaUrEnCe]

bahh can't see a thread on Schneider, didn't wanna make one soo

yea grats to him for the milestone , i know he's only played the two games for us but even still when he played for the swans he was one of my favorite players out of Saints.. (and i heavily disliked the swans as you do )
Really great to watch, and even better when he's on your side...can't wait to see him completely click and kick bagfuls *crosses fingers

prolly one of the best running goal kickers for us (well potentially)? with Gram

[saint_mite]

I wonder if we will be able to buy this streak on dvd it's a keeper.

Thrilled with the X-man tonight, absoulte gun, as well as Lenny, throwing his body around! thats a strong loyal saint right there. Gardi impressed me no end, and although it probably never would have happened, I would have loved to see Maxy run up and kick a goal

Umpires confused me though... who knows what they are doing, between all the new rules they have to keep leaning, what they see/don't see and the impact of the crowd(and whatever the blues where paying them ) ... maybe they need to have an umpire boot camp or something?

Judd is amazing though. Pity his new team isn't going anywhere... maybe he can move to the gold coast in a few years?

[Oh When the Saints]

Ball - I am amazed that he had 28 touches. All I noticed from him was tackling. Can't kick the footy anymore and looked very slow. But geeze he's a bloody good tackler. 6/10

Sensational in the packs all night. Worked his arse off ... still not close to his best but ran out the game really well tonight which was a terrific sign.

Improvement on last week too.

I would have given him a 7 at least ...

[matrix]

play like that next week and we'll get toweled by the dogs.
get the forward line sorted out.
roo has to learn how to drop a ball, come to think of it so does kozi.
they both have that 300 foot gap between the foot and the hand when they drop the ball.
other than that a wins a win i spose...but we need to get some s*** sorted out, otherwise we'll be made to look like wanna be's against some other sides (dogs, cats, hawks)

good work boyz, enjoy the win have a quiet nite and then train the house down all week addressing the problems that are so glaringly obvious.

[Raven]

If we're playing like we did tonight and win by 40 points, imagine how much we'd win buy if we were actually putting in 110%. Maybe it's because I was sitting up on level 3 and I need glasses, but it seemed to me like we were standing there watching it a lot of the time, and a Carlton player always seemed to be first to the ball. There was not a lot of going in hard and throwing the body in there. But that's just my view on it.

I'm a little worried about next week. It's been a fair while since I've said that when playing the Dogs. I still think we'll pull through though. If we play the same brand of footy they've played this week and last, we're the better team.

[st.byron]

Agree that it was a fairly uninspiring win. Should have been at least ten goals. Disappointing that they let Carlscum get three late ones.
Thought the Saints butchered many chances tonight.
WTF has happened to our kicking and disposal? Some absolute howlers tonight that cost us goals and against better teams will really hurt.

Thought they were better than last week, more willing to run the ball through the corridor and after quarter time willing to kick long into the forward 50 which was really refreshing after last week.
X was great tonight. Very happy with how he's going. Gardiner's making me eat my words after bagging him for two years. Long may it continue.
Bally I thought was good in and under, but oh my, he can't kick over a broomstick. That running shot he butchered in the 3rd was an absolute shocker.
King was solid, so good to see some really big bodies in the ruck and around the ground for us.
Max was sensational I thought. Tireless, gutsy, ultimate team player.
Lenny was BOG for mine. Won heaps of ball in close and ran hard all night.
Great to see Fraser back and doing his left foot thing, Milney was good and Schneider showed what a usefull addition he is to our forward set-up.
Thought Raph was also solid. I think he's going to develop into a really solid player. Needs mre confidence. Sam Fisher was excellent.
Fiora -- not convinced. Doesn't win contested ball. Good disposal is about the only positive I have for him.
All in all, good to get a win. Should have been a much bigger margin though and too many skill errors that better teams will punish.

[Huzzad]

bahh can't see a thread on Schneider, didn't wanna make one soo

yea grats to him for the milestone , i know he's only played the two games for us but even still when he played for the swans he was one of my favorite players out of Saints.. (and i heavily disliked the swans as you do )
Really great to watch, and even better when he's on your side...can't wait to see him completely click and kick bagfuls *crosses fingers

prolly one of the best running goal kickers for us (well potentially)? with Gram

Big fan of the Schneiderman. Wore my Saints guensey into Kmart today and the security guard said how lucky we were to have him as I walked in. Musta been a Swans supporter. Missed a few shots tonight which was dissapointing, but played really well over all. Kicked two goals and worked well up the ground. Assume he is still getting over that pre-season injury but he is looking great and can't wait for next week just to see him play again.

[nicko016]

Despite the fact that it was just about the most unconvincing 40 point win i've seen I thought there were heaps of positives out of the game:

- Gardiner was great, had a lot of hitouts of which some were quality. He was also very good around the ground.
- Gehrig was good and had a huge impact despite reltively few touches
- X. Clarke was very good and looks like he is set for a big year
- Milne finally kicked a bag of sorts after not managing to get more than 3 for a few years
- Max played a great game on Fev and also provided a lot of rebound. His 19 disposals was the most he's had since around 2003.
- Bally was very good when he was tacking and handbaling, just not so much his kicking. He seems to be getting better at coping with his body and the fact that he can't kick.
- Lenny played a great tough game and looks like he's getting into some top form.

[OneEyedSainter77]

I think 40 points flattered Carlton in the end. those last three gimme goals cost us about 15% and we had absolutely no interest in the game then because it was won. When was the last time we put the foot down and went for the jugular?

Anyway, I hope we don't win 10 in a row and release another streak dvd, because this one won't be quite as good as the last one.

Looking to next week, I think we can beat the dogs, we willmatch up better with Roo and Kosi at least. Stop Welsh and Johnson and we are a good chance. Defence has been superb this year. Let's hope that continues.