So much for playing the young guys.

[Old Mate]

Players such as Gram, Raph, Gamble, Baker are all on notice and can easily go back to the magoos.

Plenty of time for the young kids to get more
game time. They are kids and aren't physically strong enough to play a whole or even half a season against the big boys.

I can see several of them getting dripped back in after the bye.

Tell that to will Johnson,Tommy Walsh these guys are big bodys mature.Putting in this team and not looking to the future is putting our development back, and it will take a long time to catch up with out marking targets up forward.

Getting games into young players is overrated. It's all about getting preseasons under their belt.

[saint58]

I am very disapointed with our team her we had a chance to play some young key position players,Archer,Johnson,Lynch,Walsh,Stanley and what do we do.

Dropping Ledger,Simkin when we need pace as well after being the sub for a couple of games.

IT looks to me that the thinking is that they will play the experienced guys and when they retire or loose form what do we do then.We carnt just go out and by a Key position player.

It very hard to go forward as a club if there is no injection of youth yes i forgot there is kosi as a emergency whould it not have been better to put walsh in he is more mobile stronger and younger.

How will these guys learn if they can play or how does the club know if they can play if they keep playing well for sandy and dont get picked.

The side we have got will not win us a flag we NEED YOUTH IN IT not just for 1/2 games but as a key position player they need to develope and who better to lean from the Rooy.

SO WAKE UP AND THINK FOR THE FUTURE NOT FOR THE NOW.
We have gone backwards with Gardy coming in next week we are slow and perdictable and the coaches wont learn.

Go blow it out your a***hole - serious F***wit.

SO I HAVE A OPIONION AND IAM A F WHIT HA

Verry intelegent can you come up with anyother smart idears or do you just abuse other people because you carnt think of anything I N T E L E G E N T to say.I said it slowley for you???

[hungry for a premiership]

Absolutely no point in just saying, "throw in all the kids." This year is by no means over. Football is a funny thing. It's just 18 vs 18. That's all it really is. It's an extremely fine line between win vs lose. The team named against Geelong is a well drilled, professional, experienced football side that knows how to win. I honestly believe we will beat Geelong this week with this side. With Ledger and a couple of extra first-seasoners in I wouldn't be so sure.

[Johnny Member]

Maybe the young guys only have a certain amount of games in them before they burn out in their first year.

Maybe they'll have a rest and be back in later in the season.

[Mr Magic]

SO I HAVE A OPIONION AND IAM A F WHIT HA

Verry intelegent can you come up with anyother smart idears or do you just abuse other people because you carnt think of anything I N T E L E G E N T to say.I said it slowley for you???

Pure gold

Playing the 'intelligence card' and making at least 13 spelling/grammar mistakes in your reply!
(not that I'm immune from either but I would have thought that if you're going to defend your own post by raising the issue of intelligence then you might want to, at the very least, spell the word correctly?)

BTW, I think your OP is nonsensical unless you expect the Club to have totally given up on playing finals this year?
If that's what you believe then I think that is also nonsensical.

[St DAC]

Pure gold

Playing the 'intelligence card' and making at least 13 spelling/grammar mistakes in your reply!

Loved the irony there ...

[Con Gorozidis]

Geelong is a big bodied team and the Saints have gone for experience this week. I have my doubts that Joey will come up - Ledger may get a game.

I listened to Guy Mc Kenna from the GC Suns on radio yesterday. He was saying how difficult the game is for the young guys and that he needs to rest them regularly - they just can't absorb the battering they get.

This could well be why we have dropped a couple this week against the bigger Geelong bodies - I certainly hope that this is the reason.

Im all for resting first year players - but to me a rest is a rest. That means they dont play for Sandy that week.

I think Rossco is having one last go at hopping in the DeLorean and switching the dial to "09" with the hope he can still have one last hurrah with his old trustry warriors.

[Con Gorozidis]

Getting games into young players is overrated. It's all about getting preseasons under their belt.

That is a fair point. The once magical "50-70" game mark is really just 3 pre-seasons which is how long it takes to get decent weight training and proper strength and fitness to compete at the senior level.

[SainterK]

Maybe the young guys only have a certain amount of games in them before they burn out in their first year.

Maybe they'll have a rest and be back in later in the season.

Sensible.

[meher baba]

I'd like to think sides are always picked on form, with young guys getting a go to replace senior players who deserve to be dropped on form.

Gram went well last week and, while the best you could say about Raph was that he went ok, he had done really well in the AFL in the preceding two weeks.

I thought that Simpkin and Ledger were ok, but nothing earth-shattering. So they make way with two "must plays" in Joey and Blake.

All seems fair to me. Young guys get a couple of games to show theier wares and then are dropped, unless -as Siposs did - they did better than ok, and then they get a couple more.

Selecting young guys when their form is not that crash hot sends totally the wrong signal IMO.

[borderbarry]

Not that long ago we would have been referring to Armo, Jack, And Big Mc as the young players. Now they are established in the side. But Lynch should have had enough games by now to have joined them.

[Zed]

someone has to make way for Joey and to be fair Ledger has tried hard and delviered a few rushed possessions. He now knows what its like in the big league and I have no doubt will work his backside off to improve enough to demand another crack at it.

I like the look of Simpkin and think he will be a ready made replacement for Blake when Blake hangs up the boots. Simpkin will never be SAm Fisher but he will be a GOP - just like Blake. Unfortunately they are suited for almost the same position in the team and against the big bodies of Geelong, Blake's experience will come in handy as well as his ability to give Big Mac a short rest if required. Simpkin will get another crack at it soon enough.

[gringo]

With Simpkin it is really hard to say someone will be at best a GOP. It is like calling certain winners before races are run. I have watched the development of a lot of footy players in my time and some gems go south and absolute list cloggers come on. I am quite happy to admit I thought Gwilt and Goddard would never make it to anything but ok players. I also thought Luke Ball would be the best player in the comp at one stage.

You just have to sit back and watch with hope that at some point something clicks before the list managers come calling. To me Will Johnson is a player that looks like he has had that mental gear slot in. He plays like a guy who knows AFL careers are short. If he doesn't make it at least when he's old he can say he gave his all. Stanley is probably at the other end of that scale, looks like he expects that he will make it and plays at half pace a little. Still a very talented player though.

[meher baba]

But Lynch should have had enough games by now to have joined them.

Why? How often has he been BOG at Sandy?

[degruch]

Maybe the young guys only have a certain amount of games in them before they burn out in their first year.

Maybe they'll have a rest and be back in later in the season.

Correct. The OP doesn't get it (fine, not probs with an opionionion), but to say Geelong are a hard bunch is an understatement - not a game to be taken lightheartedly. I'm all for seniors coming back into the side, we're a shot at the finals, let's not toast it...that's what the season's all about.

[St. Luke]

Got to give ourselves the best chance of playing finals. Playing our best players gives us the best opportunity. Only a game outside of the 8 can't give up just yet.

Plus we have played more players than any other club outside of the GC.

Agreed

[Thinline]

I'd like to think sides are always picked on form, with young guys getting a go to replace senior players who deserve to be dropped on form.

Gram went well last week and, while the best you could say about Raph was that he went ok, he had done really well in the AFL in the preceding two weeks.

I thought that Simpkin and Ledger were ok, but nothing earth-shattering. So they make way with two "must plays" in Joey and Blake.

All seems fair to me. Young guys get a couple of games to show theier wares and then are dropped, unless -as Siposs did - they did better than ok, and then they get a couple more.

Selecting young guys when their form is not that crash hot sends totally the wrong signal IMO.

I think there's a little bit of hat-hanging taking place with regard one or two classy touches as a opposed the much more relevant and important ability to stick to a job for four quarters.

The former's exciting and offers a window into the next year or two, but the latter's what foundations are built on.

We are playing young guys as we should, but we also have some absolute guns in our side who ain't playing for second. Besides, like last year, the benefits of a experimentation with players leading to a bottom four placing has been rendered almost irrelevant by the presence of those two new sides.

[saint58]

Geelong is a big bodied team and the Saints have gone for experience this week. I have my doubts that Joey will come up - Ledger may get a game.

I listened to Guy Mc Kenna from the GC Suns on radio yesterday. He was saying how difficult the game is for the young guys and that he needs to rest them regularly - they just can't absorb the battering they get.

This could well be why we have dropped a couple this week against the bigger Geelong bodies - I certainly hope that this is the reason.

Collingwood is a big bodied team as well and simpkin played against Daws.Geelong only have pod and fisher or Zach will take him.

Ledger allso played against collingwood and he was by far not a worst player put a bit of spark in our forward line against them and they are the bench mark team.

So why not play them its not because they are young or geelong is big bodied or we wont experience players we would have doen that against collingwood.?????????????????????????????????????????

[SainterK]

Geelong is a big bodied team and the Saints have gone for experience this week. I have my doubts that Joey will come up - Ledger may get a game.

I listened to Guy Mc Kenna from the GC Suns on radio yesterday. He was saying how difficult the game is for the young guys and that he needs to rest them regularly - they just can't absorb the battering they get.

This could well be why we have dropped a couple this week against the bigger Geelong bodies - I certainly hope that this is the reason.

Collingwood is a big bodied team as well and simpkin played against Daws.Geelong only have pod and fisher or Zach will take him.

Ledger allso played against collingwood and he was by far not a worst player put a bit of spark in our forward line against them and they are the bench mark team.

So why not play them its not because they are young or geelong is big bodied or we wont experience players we would have doen that against collingwood.?????????????????????????????????????????

Can Simpkin help out in the ruck?

No.

Blake can, unless you want to send Ben out solo against Ottens and Vardy?

Have to disagree with you, Joey is an obvious in, who would you drop other than Ledger from the midfield?

[PJ]

Now now PJ

Fair enough SK - apologies for the crass response but you know it had to be said,