How bout those Ruckman?

[Teflon]

So great to watch a big body at the bounce clear space for OUR mids - King is ecellent at this.

Gardiner was very good again tonight - he got himself into some very dangerous places up fwd early and wasnt used....had he been Maric wouldve looked even more stupid that he did.


Whate we pay for these 2 again?....pick 90 and a salad roll?

Keep it going boys......just keep it going.

[thejiggingsaint]

Imagine what we'd have got for a Whopper?!!!

[Beej]

I'm finding the form of our ruckman the most surprising thing.

Never would have thought a tandem of Steven King and Michael Gardiner (ffs) would be working the way it is.

Long may it continue.

Gardiner has come on in leaps and bounds since last year.

[The Saintsational Man]

F*CKING AWESOME.....

That's all I have to say.

[The OtherThommo]

'Tis good, idn't it?

[Sobraz]

Gards is just brilliant...

He has AA written all over him if this form continues...

Hes a real thoroughbred of a man... Huge, and can run and contest...

love it...

[st.byron]

Whate we pay for these 2 again?....pick 90 and a salad roll?

That's good Teffers, I like that.
Credit to Lyon and the fitness staff for the vision. Am hoping and praying that they both stay fit. Huge bonus for us if they can.

[saintly_safes]

Good post ,Gardiner is playing out of his skin & King has been the perfect foil.I only wish we had theses guys in 2004 when ruckmen weren't in vogue we might of taken home the big one.

[The_Dud]

Gardiners has really impressed me so far this year

lets hope they can both keep fit

[Griggsy]

I was impressed with Gards at ground level. Some good pickups and rational decision making after.
We look very imposing if this continues.

[fingers]

Gards push forward with the ball on the ground in the 1st quarter (I think) was fantastic. Ended up in a goal. He is becoming a real asset.

[starsign]

A great spin-off from the fact we now have in-form rucks giving us an advantage at stoppages is the number of off-the -ball frees for holding we have had so far .Obviously the umps are targeting them , but the greater majority are going our way. Lets hope it continues and when we meet the Hawks and Cats and maybe Blues our taggers keep it in mind

Really impressed with Gards he is really giving us something back now for the assistance and faith the club has shown

Also makes one ponder GT's attitude to the rucking question, its got to make life so much better all round when you can get more of your share of first usage, or even having the ability to keep hitting it our way most of the time, and keeping up the pressure by continuing moveing forward with the tide our way
Thus they are giving us the impetus and keeping the opposition on the back foot for most of the game
So coupled with the great tackling its no surprize we have been recieving more frees .....what a lovely change!!!

[saintsrus]

Whate we pay for these 2 again?....pick 90 and a salad roll?

Keep it going boys......just keep it going.

You obviously dont buy lunch where I do, makes the dome look cheap!

[Solar]

keep up with those angry pills gards

[HarveysDeciple]

The big fella looks back to the form from his hey day! keep it up Gards, adding a whole new dimension.

[WayneJudson42]

The only negative I can find with MG is that his current form is dredging up old traumatic memories from when he'd taunt us with WCE.

Here's hoping I'll need therapy for the entire season.

[Winmar7Fan]

Gardiners has really impressed me so far this year

lets hope they can both keep fit

What about Ross Lyon seeing as you had him on your avatar as the dud for so long?

[remboy]

The best thing about Gardiner is that he should keep getting better. He missed so much footy prior to last year that his fitness, form and confidence should improve each week.

[BackFromUSA]

firstly Gardiner and king shared the 100 minutesa last night but combined they had a midfielders value around the ground ...

19 possessions
5 inside 50s
7 marks
2 goals

secondly Thomas valued ruckmen BUT couldnt attract a good one to the club ... he chased Cox, Simmonds and others but we didnt get the deals done

[Richter]

Big kudos to Gardiner, especially, and King. Also to Ross Lyon for both picking them up, and for persisting with them. Not many would have argued if Gards had been let go at the end of either of the last two seasons.... but RL had the faith that he could get his body right. Looking great last night.

Also, having two dominant ruckmen that give something around the ground means that Kosi and Blake are totally freed up to do other things around the ground. JB is a solid defender who is utterly dependable. Gone are the days when we used to groan at one of his errors. He can fully concentrate on being a footballer and not on being pounded by bigger blokes. And Kosi is now settling in to a terrific combination with Roo. Just waiting to see them both fire at the same time.

[saintsRrising]

KING GEE is a great ruck duo

[borderbarry]

Did Kose have a run on the ball last night? As against Sydney?

[happy feet]

Did not see the incident but my sister told me that there was a bit of pushing and shoving of some of our little blokes and MG step in and did a bit of intimidation. Good to see MG playing well and contributing and being a big physical presence - small players lift when they know there is some protection for them. I remember Big Carl was very good at looking after team mates.

[Teflon]

firstly Gardiner and king shared the 100 minutesa last night but combined they had a midfielders value around the ground ...

19 possessions
5 inside 50s
7 marks
2 goals

secondly Thomas valued ruckmen BUT couldnt attract a good one to the club ... he chased Cox, Simmonds and others but we didnt get the deals done

Thomas has already previously stated he wouldnt have chased Gardiner.

Thats the difference in understanding the technicalities of the game/playeers skills and having the confidence (which Lyon obviously has) to be able to get the best from them.

In fairness, Thomas did try and get ruckman - facts are the ones he got had no impact and left a gaping hole in our side that had to be filled by Blake that messed so much with our other structures its no wonder Kosi hasnt found a home in 8 years...... everyone "magically" is seeing this filled now by 2 competent, experienced rucks (that Rodgerfox keeps telling us all were a waste of time...)

Its not just "round the ground" stats (that Grant desperately wanted) - watch King use his body round a stopage - watch the space he creates for Montagna/Hayes......Blake was NEVER gonna be able to do that and I expected an AFL coach to understand that. I'll say it again - Thomas was fine for the communication....he simply didnt have the technical grasp of the game to see the changes and pinpoint the solutions Lyon does. THAT to me has been the difference from day 1.

All credit to Lyon (and the players themselves) for that.

[To the top]

The equation with Gardiner is that he had disruptions to his career, came to St Kilda and missed the entire first season with foot problems but obviously did what was expected of him and was retained.

Last season I thought he showed the signs and was pushing into some very good form before injury in the Sydney match, which effectively finished his AFL season.

That said, I was one who would have had him in our finals team in 2008 on the back of his VFL form after return from injury.

He was an emergency, but I would have had him in the 22 with King.

Such was his form before injury, and then in the VFL when he returned a couple of weeks out from the finals commencing.

His form in 2009 is as expected.