Training Pre season training

[stfan]

It's in the past now, but giving away a 1st, second + Acres for Hill because he nominated us was absolutely crazy. Acres didn't even want to go back to WA, the club just basically disrespected him by throwing him in. Hill is a good player but he only came to us because we could offer the most money, it was a purely financial decision.

It was not just the money.

Family tends to be very important to most indigenous people, and it certainly is to Hill.

Our location was attractive as his partner wanted to return to live where she grew up (This was the main reason why Hill wanted to return oi Vic) which was bayside near Moorabbin. So "family" and "lifestyle" was also an important factor.

In terms of "family" add in hat we lured the cousins Paddy Ryder and Hill to to Saints in the same year and unlike some cousins they had a relationship which was pretty close..

I would also tend to believe that our strong focus on, and support of, indigenous players at the time we were trying to lure him across would also have been most helpful.


Then lastly add in that Hill had already won three AFL premierships. He won the premiership in 2013, 2014, and 2015 while playing for Hawthorn. This is important as the reason why many elite/very good AFL players choose a new club is to win an AFL Premiership. As he already had three, this would most likely have not deterred him in choosing St Kilda.

 

[stfan]

Yes. The GOAT was on 500k at the time and it was a perfectly good decision. The Hill trade worked out to be reasonable value when all accounts were finalised, even though it looked poor at the time.

Hill also helped in landing Ryder that year as well (Dons were keen to get him back).

And since then Hill has proven to be a great asset in our indigenous players being comfortable at St Kilda. There is strong value in this. Just as Wood has proven to have had enormous off-field value as well. With some players their value is not just what they achieve during each game.

 

[Joffaboy]

Is Macrae a chance at taking out your BnF this year?

He is a multiple AA from a Bulldog midfield that had many more stars than ours.
He has been played out of position for two years because of the Bulldog midfield strength.
If he can recapture his midfield form, he would have every chance to be a top 5 finisher.
We can't tell who will break out. Phillipou might shine, King might kick 70 goals, etc.

One thing we know, we certainly needed a big bodied inside mid the calibre of Macrae to help Steele and compliment Phillipou and Clark in the guts.

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[Joffaboy]

It's in the past now, but giving away a 1st, second + Acres for Hill because he nominated us was absolutely crazy. Acres didn't even want to go back to WA, the club just basically disrespected him by throwing him in. Hill is a good player but he only came to us because we could offer the most money, it was a purely financial decision. Acres has since grown into a very good player and we gave away 10 and 23 also. Desperate list management that hopefully is a thing of the past.

Totally out of context.
We needed to get 5 nom'ed players through the door with one first and a second and a couple of futures.
4 of those players are still on the list, all in our first 23.
Cost us Bruce, Steven and Acres. Two are retired one traded from Freo to Carlton.

We kept our first for 2020 (used it on Alison which was a mistake), but also picked up Byrnes who is continually selected in the 23.
So easy to label it 'crazy' but in the fullness of time it was shown all the players selected plus Byrnes had been successful.


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[Saintbloke]

He is a multiple AA from a Bulldog midfield that had many more stars than ours.
He has been played out of position for two years because of the Bulldog midfield strength.
If he can recapture his midfield form, he would have every chance to be a top 5 finisher.
We can't tell who will break out. Phillipou might shine, King might kick 70 goals, etc.

One thing we know, we certainly needed a big bodied inside mid the calibre of Macrae to help Steele and compliment Phillipou and Clark in the guts.

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The Macrae situation is interesting, considering all the Dog's midfield strength, they haven't won a premiership for 8 years due to other deficiencies across the field, and we probably have them covered in certain positions. The addition of Macrae to our lineup, will definitely help our strengths, but I fear that Clark will need to step up a lot this season, as we can only fit so many in the midfield or on ball.

 

[BrutThough]

Is Macrae a chance at taking out your BnF this year?

Any good player is a chance.

But players like Sinclair, Wilkie, Marshall, Steele, Nas aren't going to make it easy for him.

 

[Zzzed]

A lot of the time when Windy played mid this year, it was as the second mid behind Steele which is a lot of responsibility for a kid

I feel like with Macrae coming in and Pou overtaking him, it relieves pressure and hopefully allows him to really nail down his contest work rather than having to focus on a variety of things at once and not really becoming very good in any of them

If he can really elevate the contested ball-winning side of things, then it sets him up to develop into a ball-winning pig given his elite two-way running ability on the outside - Lachie Neale mould (high standards but Neale was a late pick too with similar attributes)

Complements Pou and Travaglia perfectly

If I'm not mistaken , broke a bone in his hand the past 2 pre-seasons just prior to season start.

Shown enough in patches to suggest he could be a really solid contributor if he puts it together on a regular basis.
I'm hoping he has a breakout year.
If we are going to make finals consistently, then Windy, Owens, Pou all need to deliver consistently like Nas already has, and another 3 youngsters at least need to join them in the next year or 2. I think the cattle are there, just going to need some luck on the injury front.

I'm not overly confident we make finals this year as I think our depth is still developing but it's the most optimistic I've been for a few years that we are finally on the right path to being a perennial finalist.

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[stfan]

The Macrae situation is interesting, considering all the Dog's midfield strength, they haven't won a premiership for 8 years due to other deficiencies across the field, and we probably have them covered in certain positions. The addition of Macrae to our lineup, will definitely help our strengths, but I fear that Clark will need to step up a lot this season, as we can only fit so many in the midfield or on ball.

I think too that the game plan has at times been very ineffective. They aften would win heaps of the ball, but just go around in circles with it.

 

[saintmike65]

Any good player is a chance.

But players like Sinclair, Wilkie, Marshall, Steele, Nas aren't going to make it easy for him.

Don’t forget Wilson, Phillipou & Owens

 

[akaifu]

If I'm not mistaken , broke a bone in his hand the past 2 pre-seasons just prior to season start.

Shown enough in patches to suggest he could be a really solid contributor if he puts it together on a regular basis.
I'm hoping he has a breakout year.
If we are going to make finals consistently, then Windy, Owens, Pou all need to deliver consistently like Nas already has, and another 3 youngsters at least need to join them in the next year or 2. I think the cattle are there, just going to need some luck on the injury front.

I'm not overly confident we make finals this year as I think our depth is still developing but it's the most optimistic I've been for a few years that we are finally on the right path to being a perennial finalist.

On SM-X820 using BigFooty.com mobile app

If Macrae and King perform to expectation this year along with one of Pou/Windy/Dow/Clark emerging as a permanent quality mid; and our other stars remain at the level then I think we'll make finals

 

[Nutsngum]

Finals will be 100% dependent on our injuries. If we can keep the top 20 players out on the park we will make finals. Otherwise we are gonna struggle as our depth is very reliant on kids to step up which is difficult across a season.

 

[luca77]

Finals will be 100% dependent on our injuries. If we can keep the top 20 players out on the park we will make finals. Otherwise we are gonna struggle as our depth is very reliant on kids to step up which is difficult across a season.

And maybe on Max and Higgins kicking straight. Possibly Owens too if he gets more shots.

 

[CursingFijian]

I think too that the game plan has at time been very ineffective. They aften would win heaps of the ball, but just go around in circles with it.

Another great thing overheard in the Day in the Life of Darcy media piece was the strong emphasis in a drill to 'go forward' from the coaching staff.

There was a lot to like in that piece actually.

 

[Michael Goodinski]

We need to see those players get a game first before we call them an upgrade. Not that long ago JVE was a highly rated draft pick.

When they debut their contributions to the St.Kilda FC will surpass that of JVE. Sad but true.

 

[Waiting for Godot]

Still haven't watched the replay. Don't think I ever will. Can't even get the balls up to see whether Schneider should have got a holding free in the last qtr in front of goal. I was sure on the day it was an obvious free.

It certainly was. I was 8 rows from the front. I still can't believe it wasn't paid. Another example, in the annals of GF history, of the saints being robbed of victory. This time by a vindictive umpire.

 

[LuckyBounce!]

It certainly was. I was 8 rows from the front. I still can't believe it wasn't paid. Another example, in the annals of GF history, of the saints being robbed of victory. This time by a vindictive umpire.

Who I believe was a Geelong supporter

 

[SaintsSeptember]

I managed to break a bone in my foot in late November, and while its been somewhat of an inconvenience for me, it got me thinking about how devastating this sort of injury would be for an AFL player.

Plaster 6 weeks - No weight on the foot at all, this would be at a time when teammates would be going back to training, time trials all of it. So fitness is going backwards fast.
Upper body training is possible, but for me i'd be worried about overdoing it , because i need it so much for getting up and down and crutching around.

As of last Monday i swapped plaster for a cam-boot.
The physio was warning me not to overdo it which is hard to judge.
I can put weight on it , so i can get around on one crutch , or none on short distances. ( makes cooking easier ).
I'm certainly doing more than the physio was suggesting.
I've got another appointment first week January.

Frustrating thing is there is nothing much you can do to speed up the process.

First bone i've broken in my life...amazing considering some of the stuff i did in early years.

 

[_Maximus_12]

Hill has been a wonderful addition to the club and has found his grove on field under Ross after a shaky-ish start by his lofty standards.
His impact goes well beyond what we see on a Saturday and he will be our Shaun Burgoyne who could well play for another 100 games.
Acres had shown glimpses but he may well have suffered the same fate as Billings and Dunstan in that their careers stalled due to our horrid development.
Getting the deal done was an important turning point for a club that struggled to attract top line players for the best part of a decade

 

[Verdun]

I managed to break a bone in my foot in late November, and while its been somewhat of an inconvenience for me, it got me thinking about how devastating this sort of injury would be for an AFL player.

Plaster 6 weeks - No weight on the foot at all, this would be at a time when teammates would be going back to training, time trials all of it. So fitness is going backwards fast.
Upper body training is possible, but for me i'd be worried about overdoing it , because i need it so much for getting up and down and crutching around.

As of last Monday i swapped plaster for a cam-boot.
The physio was warning me not to overdo it which is hard to judge.
I can put weight on it , so i can get around on one crutch , or none on short distances. ( makes cooking easier ).
I'm certainly doing more than the physio was suggesting.
I've got another appointment first week January.

Frustrating thing is there is nothing much you can do to speed up the process.

First bone i've broken in my life...amazing considering some of the stuff i did in early years.

Must be damn frustrating, hope you are coping ok.

An injury that also seems to happen in basketball - Will Magnay and Sean MacDonald at the Jackjumpers both out and have reported their frustration of having to just 'wait' and nothing they can do. remind yourself you are like an elite athlete!

 

[Mr_R0b0t]

I managed to break a bone in my foot in late November, and while its been somewhat of an inconvenience for me, it got me thinking about how devastating this sort of injury would be for an AFL player.

Plaster 6 weeks - No weight on the foot at all, this would be at a time when teammates would be going back to training, time trials all of it. So fitness is going backwards fast.
Upper body training is possible, but for me i'd be worried about overdoing it , because i need it so much for getting up and down and crutching around.

As of last Monday i swapped plaster for a cam-boot.
The physio was warning me not to overdo it which is hard to judge.
I can put weight on it , so i can get around on one crutch , or none on short distances. ( makes cooking easier ).
I'm certainly doing more than the physio was suggesting.
I've got another appointment first week January.

Frustrating thing is there is nothing much you can do to speed up the process.

First bone i've broken in my life...amazing considering some of the stuff i did in early years.

Thanks for sharing SS, there is no worse plight especially going through this in summer. Great weather and you’re on light duties or stuck in the house.

It’s an interesting subject. AFL players are short term commodities and their injuries are treated that way. Where we may not require surgery for an injury they will have surgery just to get them on the training track or playing again quicker or as quick as they can. Or vice-a-verse for the same outcome. Unfortunately this is the sad reality of the industry where it can lead to early arthritis for AFL players or joint replacement etc later in life, such as knees. Far far earlier than what would occur to Joe Public.

Hope the recovery goes well!

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Thanks for sharing SS, there is no worse plight especially going through this in summer. Great weather and you’re on light duties or stuck in the house.

It’s an interesting subject. AFL players are short term commodities and their injuries are treated that way. Where we may not require surgery for an injury they will have surgery just to get them on the training track or playing again quicker or as quick as they can. Or vice-a-verse for the same outcome. Unfortunately this is the sad reality of the industry where it can lead to early arthritis for AFL players or joint replacement etc later in life, such as knees. Far far earlier than what would occur to Joe Public.

Hope the recovery goes well!

For me it's just an inconvenience, i can still go to work and i was able to go back a bit earlier with a hope i can take some time off later.

They considered surgery for me and decided they didn't need to. They seem to be really quick to use plates and the like in footballers, and maybe that gets them back that bit quicker, but it also seems to me that you hear a lot about complications in foot injuries ,( i think Van Es had issues with a plate in his foot ), so i'm happy that mine seems to be a conservative approach. My friend's wife was like a game of snakes and ladders, thinking everything is going well then back to the beginning.