2016 = 1997

[kosifantutti]

Lost the first two games.
Beat Collingwood in Round 3
Lost the next two.
Beat Melbourne in Round 6
Finished on top with 15 wins.

We're on track.

[WellardSaint]

Was it 96 or 97, where Alves pleaded for patience when we lost a few early, then we came good?

[samuraisaint]

Lost the first two games.
Beat Collingwood in Round 3
Lost the next two.
Beat Melbourne in Round 6
Finished on top with 15 wins.

We're on track.

You neglected to mention that we didn't just get over the Demons in round 6, 1997, we beat Melbourne by 15 goals that day - and that won't happen next week.
But I take your point - the first five rounds doesn't necessarily dictate the type of year you'll have. And having said that, I think we can beat Melbourne Saturday. We match up well against them and it's at Etihad.

[kosifantutti]

Was it 96 or 97, where Alves pleaded for patience when we lost a few early, then we came good?

Alves or Balme were likely to be sacked depending on who lost that game in Round 6. Balme actually hung on for a few more weeks.

[Sainternist]

Was it 96 or 97, where Alves pleaded for patience when we lost a few early, then we came good?

I loved Stan. He was a staunch man. A man with too much conviction for the soft, new age breed of the '90s.

[BigMart]

Exactly who are
Robert Harvey
Nathan Burke
Stewart Loewe
Nicky Winmar
Peter Everitt
Aussie Jones
That's 6 All Australians
Plus
Andrew Thompson
Matthew Young
Justin Peckett
Steven Sziller
Jack Danyels

And young future 200 gamers
Joel Smith
Barry Hall
Max Hudghton

[kosifantutti]

Proof is left as an exercise for the reader.

[BigMart]

Stab was sacked because he was losing the plot

Publicly berating shaming players constantly and having meetings with them and tearing shreds off them during the week. Nearly everyone wanted him gone. And I think he would have resigned anyway. Lost the players,

[The Fireman]

[saintspremiers]

"Firey! Is that draft picks I can see on the horizon?"

[The Fireman]

lol..you got it

[saynta]

Stab was sacked because he was losing the plot

Publicly berating shaming players constantly and having meetings with them and tearing shreds off them during the week. Nearly everyone wanted him gone. And I think he would have resigned anyway. Lost the players,

Shoved one of the young ones down the stairs too. At freo from memory

[WellardSaint]

Stab was sacked because he was losing the plot

Publicly berating shaming players constantly and having meetings with them and tearing shreds off them during the week. Nearly everyone wanted him gone. And I think he would have resigned anyway. Lost the players,

Shoved one of the young ones down the stairs too. At freo from memory

Rumour had it -Joe McLaren. We lost him to the Roos. Could have been a handy player.

[WellardSaint]

Exactly who are
Robert Harvey
Nathan Burke
Stewart Loewe
Nicky Winmar
Peter Everitt
Aussie Jones
That's 6 All Australians
Plus
Andrew Thompson
Matthew Young
Justin Peckett
Steven Sziller
Jack Danyels

And young future 200 gamers
Joel Smith
Barry Hall
Max Hudghton

Billings, Bwoose, McCartin, Goddard, Jack Steven, Sinclair, Dunstan, Weller, Savage, Lee, Ross, Newnes, Webster, Freeman (maybe) so we have the makings of a finals side.
They just need to get their heads right

[skeptic]

Exactly who are
Robert Harvey
Nathan Burke
Stewart Loewe
Nicky Winmar
Peter Everitt
Aussie Jones
That's 6 All Australians
Plus
Andrew Thompson
Matthew Young
Justin Peckett
Steven Sziller
Jack Danyels

And young future 200 gamers
Joel Smith
Barry Hall
Max Hudghton

Far be it from me to say that the comparison has merit (or isn't perhaps tongue in cheek), but in round 5 1997 we pbly didn't regard all of those players with the same reverence that we do now.
97 was a breakout year for many of them too.

If we had a 1997 type year, then many of those would be stepping up above and beyond what they have produced to now

[BigMart]

I think Harves, Loewe, Burke, Nick, Frankie were fairly established

7 best and fairests between them

[stevie]

So does that mean the Crows will beat us in the GF again lol?

Also after McLaren left, we should've signed the stairs that bested him

(sorry it's been a long day since getting up at 3am lol)

[SAAD]

LOL hopefully we beat Adelaide this time in the GF

[saynta]

Stab was sacked because he was losing the plot

Publicly berating shaming players constantly and having meetings with them and tearing shreds off them during the week. Nearly everyone wanted him gone. And I think he would have resigned anyway. Lost the players,

Shoved one of the young ones down the stairs too. At freo from memory

Rumour had it -Joe McLaren. We lost him to the Roos. Could have been a handy player.

Correct.

[saintspremiers]

Exactly who are
Robert Harvey
Nathan Burke
Stewart Loewe
Nicky Winmar
Peter Everitt
Aussie Jones
That's 6 All Australians
Plus
Andrew Thompson
Matthew Young
Justin Peckett
Steven Sziller
Jack Danyels

And young future 200 gamers
Joel Smith
Barry Hall
Max Hudghton

Billings, Bwoose, McCartin, Goddard, Jack Steven, Sinclair, Dunstan, Weller, Savage, Lee, Ross, Newnes, Webster, Freeman (maybe) so we have the makings of a finals side.
They just need to get their heads right

.....and Belinda (hopefully!)

[sunsaint]

Stab was sacked because he was losing the plot
<snip>
Lost the players,

probably all coaches lose their players at some point
its more a case of should the tail wag the dog...
2011 RL lost the saints
2016 RL lost the dockers(?)

'97 was a great ride and I can remember thinking early in the season that this was a great side - and I will always thank Alves for dragging us out of a dark deadly slumber of late the 70s 80's & early 90s

[skeptic]

Stab was sacked because he was losing the plot

Publicly berating shaming players constantly and having meetings with them and tearing shreds off them during the week. Nearly everyone wanted him gone. And I think he would have resigned anyway. Lost the players,

Shoved one of the young ones down the stairs too. At freo from memory

Rumour had it -Joe McLaren. We lost him to the Roos. Could have been a handy player.

Correct.

Was never going to be a handy player...

The Capuano for McLaren trade a nil nil draw for both teams

[Sainternist]

I never knew about Stan supposedly pushing Joe McLaren down the stairs. Things obviously got very heated between Stan and Joel Smith at the end of 1997. Boy, he was a terrible loss. Drives me nuts thinking back on losing Smith.

[bigred]

Crapuano.

Wow.

[Harvey To Hayes]

Lost the first two games.
Beat Collingwood in Round 3
Lost the next two.
Beat Melbourne in Round 6
Finished on top with 15 wins.

We're on track.

You neglected to mention that we didn't just get over the Demons in round 6, 1997, we beat Melbourne by 15 goals that day - and that won't happen next week.
But I take your point - the first five rounds doesn't necessarily dictate the type of year you'll have. And having said that, I think we can beat Melbourne Saturday. We match up well against them and it's at Etihad.

To balance it out Kosi also didn't mention that we lost rd 2 to the Brisbane Lions (their second game after shedding the Brisbane Bears moniker) by 97 points at the Gabba, well before that was something known to happen (I think from memory Lions just snuck into finals that year but they were far from a force). When we were 1-4 at the start of '97 it was a horrible start, probably akin to what Freo or Tigers are staring down now... To win the minor premiership from there was a remarkable effort, but it seems we used all our luck along the way because we had none at all when it mattered...