Unofficial Preview Round 1: St Kilda vs Melbourne - Etihad Stadium; March 22/7:40pm

[sverik25]

I really think Longer should be picked ahead of Stanley even if Stanley is 100% fit. He has had plenty of time to prove himself and hasn't done so yet. I reckon, make him prove his form in the VFL and if he plays really well then give him the chance. IMO, Longer is altogether a better prospect than Stanley.

I also wouldn't be in a hurry to include Billings in the team if he isn't quite ready for AFL football. I don't want to see his confidence stripped by playing him too early like what happened with Jack Watts five years ago, which he still hasn't fully recovered from.

 

[SaintLex]

I really think Longer should be picked ahead of Stanley even if Stanley is 100% fit. He has had plenty of time to prove himself and hasn't done so yet. I reckon, make him prove his form in the VFL and if he plays really well then give him the chance. IMO, Longer is altogether a better prospect than Stanley.

I also wouldn't be in a hurry to include Billings in the team if he isn't quite ready for AFL football. I don't want to see his confidence stripped by playing him too early like what happened with Jack Watts five years ago, which he still hasn't fully recovered from.

I disagree. As far as proving themselves, I think Stanley's proved he is a much better forward prospect than both Hickey and Longer at this stage. Given we're likely to play Hickey as #1 ruck, we need a forward who can provide ruck relief, not another pure ruckman. I think give Longer an opportunity in the VFL to prove he can kick a goal or two.

 

[L_W_P]

The Dees are going to go into this with Spencer as their #1 ruck and Fitzpatrick backing him up.

I think we should try to dominate in the middle by playing Hickey AND Longer in order to win the taps more often and get first possession.

Melbourne want to control time of possession and switch the ball back and forth to hold onto it.

I think we need to deny them any clean ball from the stoppages and take their game plan away.

2 rucks in my team with one to be subbed off late for Eli/Dunstan/Saunders to provide the extra run late.

 

[Armo #20]

I see some people have only named one ruckman in their team. Hickey is an automatic selection but we need to play one of Longer or Stanley to back him up. Rhys is a much better forward at this stage but I get the feeling we may play Longer in Round 1. The forward line will be interesting, Riewoldt and one of Stanley/Longer will play there, but I think only one of Maister or Lee can play to ensure we aren't too top heavy. The midfield picks itself (we have very limited options!). Fisher will play if fit, if not we must play Josh Bruce. I've been very disappointed in Gwilt's form and disposal since his knee and I have Dempster and Roberton ahead of him but I think he plays just because we are so short of numbers. After thinking all pre season that Billings would play Round 1, I now hope he is left to find some form and confidence at VFL level. Dunstan should start on the ground.

B: Dempster Delaney Gwilt
HB: Roberton Fisher Webster
C: Schneider Dunstan Ray
HF: Savage Riewoldt Curren
F: Longer Lee Saunders
FOLL: Hickey Armitage Geary
INT: Newnes Jones Wright Ross

 

[SaintsSeptember]

I see some people have only named one ruckman in their team. Hickey is an automatic selection but we need to play one of Longer or Stanley to back him up. Rhys is a much better forward at this stage but I get the feeling we may play Longer in Round 1. The forward line will be interesting, Riewoldt and one of Stanley/Longer will play there, but I think only one of Maister or Lee can play to ensure we aren't too top heavy. The midfield picks itself (we have very limited options!). Fisher will play if fit, if not we must play Josh Bruce. I've been very disappointed in Gwilt's form and disposal since his knee and I have Dempster and Roberton ahead of him but I think he plays just because we are so short of numbers. After thinking all pre season that Billings would play Round 1, I now hope he is left to find some form and confidence at VFL level. Dunstan should start on the ground.

Melbourne is short of rucks, so if we had Hickey its a question of whether we are better off having a better forward for 80% of the game , and making do with some pinchhitter, or whether we have a crap forward so he can play decent ruck for a few minutes.


B: Dempster Delaney Gwilt
HB: Roberton Fisher Webster
C: Schneider Dunstan Ray
HF: Savage Riewoldt Curren
F: Longer Lee Saunders
FOLL: Hickey Armitage Geary
INT: Newnes Jones Wright Ross

Melbourne is short of rucks, so if we had Hickey its a question of whether we are better off having a better forward for 80% of the game , and making do with some pinchhitter, or whether we have a crap forward so he can play decent ruck for a few minutes.

 

[L_W_P]

I would take Longer's ruck work over Stanley's forward play.

Rotate the ruckmen and let them crash packs in the forward line.

Melbourne are looking at playing Lynden Dunn or Alexis Georgieou as their third 'tall' defender so we can expose them for height up forward.

Won't be any good though if we aren't getting first hands on the ball and that means Longer. I can't back our 2nd string midfield to be sharking for half a game and remain competitive.

 

[Manimal_Dunstan]

I wonder if Big Beau will fire once again against the Demons..

 

[SaintsSeptember]

I would take Longer's ruck work over Stanley's forward play.

Rotate the ruckmen and let them crash packs in the forward line.

Melbourne are looking at playing Lynden Dunn or Alexis Georgieou as their third 'tall' defender so we can expose them for height up forward.

Won't be any good though if we aren't getting first hands on the ball and that means Longer. I can't back our 2nd string midfield to be sharking for half a game and remain competitive.

So now its acceptable for a player (Hickey) to only play half a game.
Hickey is crap in the forward line, and Longer is unknown.

Like I said , rather than effectively playing a player short for the game , I'd prefer for Hickey to bust his arse playing to the max, then let Maister or someone pinch hit for a very short time when necessary. If Hickey is buggered and needs a spell the following week, we rest him and play Longer/Stanley.

 

[FlyingSledghamer]

dunno if stanley is a better option than Longer up forward anyway. from what ive seen of longer he is a competent mark and his ground work kills stanleys.
The ball just rebounds off stanley so quick, i'm afraid he's going to be a liability in the forward line and the other 2 are better ruckman. Even Maister's a better option up forward.
That said. I'm 95% sure their gona pick him anyway along with the other 2 just to try him out for real if not for anything else.

 

[Persevering Saint]

Stanley kicked a lovely goal, and while he looks terrible in the ruck (the giraffe thing), he's actually pretty effective. That ruck combo just got us a massive win on centre clearances against a team defined by its ability at centre clearances. I see no reason to mess with that.

I don't think they're seeing Lee as a first or second tall. He's a third tall. Several times yesterday, they had a forward line of Roo, Maister or Stanley, and Lee - that's it. I think they were expecting that Lee's ground ability would mean he'd be the crumber. His contested marking is woeful, but I think that's just because of his shoulders, and that'll come with match-time. He's getting into positions to mark, which is half the battle.

 

[FlyingSledghamer]

did Longer play?

 

[Kozivan]

B: Newnes Delaney Dempster

HB: Webster Gwilt Roberton


C: Ray Geary Curren


HF: Savage Riewoldt Lee

F: Saunders Maister Schneider


FOLL: Hickey Armitage Dunstan


INT: Wright, Longer, Jones (Ross)

I tried to make this team off the top of my head, so i guess it is ultimately what I want to see. Let me know if i've missed anything obvious.

Billings isn't ready, Stanley didn't do enough, I don't think Fisher will get up for round 1.

 

[Kilroy]

I tried to make this team off the top of my head, so i guess it is ultimately what I want to see. Let me know if i've missed anything obvious............I don't think Fisher will get up for round 1.

Spot on, but I wouldn't discount Fisher.
My predictions for the year are:
· 6 to 8 of Armitage, Geary, Schneider, Savage, Dunstan, Jones, Saunders, Curren and Ross as mids, forwards, mid-forwards or defensive forwards will be in. 2 or 3 of that list may miss out when Montagna, Hayes, Gilbert and Steven return, but maybe later any of Siposs, Dennis-Lane, Markworth, Milera, Billings, Templeton or Minchington will be considered (1 or 2 at a time).
· 3 or 4 of the tall forwards or resting ruckmen will play weekly – Riewoldt, Maister, Longer, Lee or Stanley (White?)
· 2 or 3 of Gwilt, Delaney, Simpkin or Bruce will play regularly as defenders
· 2 or 3 of Jones, Newnes, Saunders, Curren, Wright and Ross will be on the bench or as sub. (Ideally you’d include a taller player somewhere there too.)

 

[hayes]

did Longer play?

He was a late out with soreness.

 

[hayes]

Stanley kicked a lovely goal, and while he looks terrible in the ruck (the giraffe thing), he's actually pretty effective. That ruck combo just got us a massive win on centre clearances against a team defined by its ability at centre clearances. I see no reason to mess with that.

I don't think they're seeing Lee as a first or second tall. He's a third tall. Several times yesterday, they had a forward line of Roo, Maister or Stanley, and Lee - that's it. I think they were expecting that Lee's ground ability would mean he'd be the crumber. His contested marking is woeful, but I think that's just because of his shoulders, and that'll come with match-time. He's getting into positions to mark, which is half the battle.

Yeah I don't think it's a case of Stanley forward vs Longer in the ruck as Stanley is very capable in there too. We've got all the time in the world for Longer, we need to find out whether Stanley is good enough or not.

 

[gringo2011]

Sam Fisher shouldn't be in the round 1 squad unless he plays in the VFL practice match next week (i think).

He hasn't played since about Round 10 in 2013.

I would play him anyway. He makes us look so much better. I remember being at Etihad in last years NAB cup, he came on in the second half and we started to get in together from a very poor start. I thought he would be our most valuable player at that time. When he's plays he makes us a much better team. I would actually just stick him at CHF and let him live out his later years kicking a few long range goals and setting up Rooey and co. He is about the only reliable contested mark I can think of at the Saints.

 

[Baldur]

I also like the fact that Melbourne have essentially "shown their hand" with regards to their very different game plan, which Roos has said is not likely to change from week to week, so we know pretty much exactly how they are going to play (chip, chip, chip) and will have had a few weeks to work out how to combat it. I read in the paper today that they always handball backwards out of the packs now, for instance, so we know that if they get it in a pack, it is going out the back, so we'll be there waiting for that.

If we play with the sort of defensive intensity we apparently played with today, then I doubt we'll lose.

Yep defensive intensity is the way to defeat that game plan. Never give them a spare second. The chain of chip kicks will break down and it's rebound time, into our forward's.

 

[L_W_P]

So now its acceptable for a player (Hickey) to only play half a game.
Hickey is crap in the forward line, and Longer is unknown.

Like I said , rather than effectively playing a player short for the game , I'd prefer for Hickey to bust his arse playing to the max, then let Maister or someone pinch hit for a very short time when necessary. If Hickey is buggered and needs a spell the following week, we rest him and play Longer/Stanley.

Where did I say Hickey would only play half a game?

I would play Hickey in the ruck for 60-70% time with Longer chopping out at every ball up and throw in inside forward 50 as well as the occasional centre bounce.

When the ball is forward for us Hickey can play a kick behind so that he can try to mark/spoil any quick snaps or bombs Melbourne dish up to clear the ball. SOP for a 2 ruck setup.

With Melbourne undersized down back we can take advantage of Longer's aggression and size and use him to crash the packs and either take the grab (he and Hickey are seriously under rated re: contested marking) OR bring our smalls into the game with front and square crumbs.

You might prefer Maister for this but he would be smashed in the ruck and our midfield needs every advantage possible to get on top of the Dees.

If Melbourne get a clean possession out of the stoppage then we can kiss the ball goodbye for 5 minutes while they control things. We might pressure them into a turnover but with our shaky kicking we are just as likely to give it back.

Stanley is a more athletic forward. He doesn't hurt the defenders standing in his way. With Roo and Lee playing the lead up style I would prefer we had a long bomb option staying inside about 30m of goal for a bail out kick.

Let's try and save ourselves that frustration. Play Longer as the 2nd ruck and 3rd forward and look to dominate the hitouts all over the park to give ourselves first use.

Otherwise I see Fitzpatrick breaking even or beating Maister/Stanley and our mids are chasing tail all night.

 

[Q TRAIN]

I was initially pretty worried about this match Then I thought to myself "hang on , its the Dees" I cant remember the last time I was genuinely concerned about a Dees game .
I guess them recruiting the 'SUPERCOACH' and a few handy draft selections plus us having a few injuries/ reports , made me doubtful of our chances.
Then once again I heard that little voice in my head saying "Hang on, its only the Dees" So I decided to pump myself up with some False Bravado

Roos a supercoach? Pfffffft In his last season as Swans coach ( 2009 ) he was a burnt out wreck . The Swans finished 12th and he retired in shame.
( I deliberately left out that 2010 was actually his last yr and the Swans bounced back for a good finals performance. It might be a lie but it makes me feel better )
The Dees have a multi Million Dollar forward line with Dawes, Clark and Hogan. This was the biggest waste of Millions since Carlton built the Legends Grandstand at Visy Park so 14 people could sit in it to watch the Blues training. None of those 3 will be playing. Jimmy Gwilt is quite possibly the happiest man in Australia at the moment.
The Dees hate Etihad and their supporters hate it even more. The underground car park at Etihad has the sprinkler pipes too low and apparently its hard to fit your Range Rover under them.
Plus its Saints Vs Demons , Good Vs Evil.
I watched the Bible mini series on tv a while age. Good wins

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Where did I say Hickey would only play half a game?

I would play Hickey in the ruck for 60-70% time with Longer chopping out at every ball up and throw in inside forward 50 as well as the occasional centre bounce.

When the ball is forward for us Hickey can play a kick behind so that he can try to mark/spoil any quick snaps or bombs Melbourne dish up to clear the ball. SOP for a 2 ruck setup.

With Melbourne undersized down back we can take advantage of Longer's aggression and size and use him to crash the packs and either take the grab (he and Hickey are seriously under rated re: contested marking) OR bring our smalls into the game with front and square crumbs.

You might prefer Maister for this but he would be smashed in the ruck and our midfield needs every advantage possible to get on top of the Dees.

If Melbourne get a clean possession out of the stoppage then we can kiss the ball goodbye for 5 minutes while they control things. We might pressure them into a turnover but with our shaky kicking we are just as likely to give it back.

Stanley is a more athletic forward. He doesn't hurt the defenders standing in his way. With Roo and Lee playing the lead up style I would prefer we had a long bomb option staying inside about 30m of goal for a bail out kick.

Let's try and save ourselves that frustration. Play Longer as the 2nd ruck and 3rd forward and look to dominate the hitouts all over the park to give ourselves first use.

Otherwise I see Fitzpatrick breaking even or beating Maister/Stanley and our mids are chasing tail all night.

I want Hickey resting forward as little as possible. He sometimes takes a grab, and always misses the shot.
Always.

 

[Dopey BJ]

I want Hickey resting forward as little as possible. He sometimes takes a grab, and always misses the shot.
Always.

That will need Saunders and co getting around him for the easy handball, you can't kick goals without the ball.

 

[L_W_P]

I want Hickey resting forward as little as possible. He sometimes takes a grab, and always misses the shot.
Always.

He kicked 2.5 last year and has 7.9 over his career. Not exactly the best sample size though.

To compare - Rhys Stanley has kicked 22.21

That said, Hickey wouldn't play alot of gametime forward in my plan anyway. I would put him there for a minute or two each qtr as a rest but he would get his breaks when the ball is inside 50 for us.

Longer can take the ball ups and throw ins inside 50 while Hickley plays a kick behind play, chopping the ball off when there is a quick kick from the stoppages.

 

[Sir Skid]

I want Hickey resting forward as little as possible. He sometimes takes a grab, and always misses the shot.
Always.

Isn't it better to face his demons (no pun intended) than to be protected from them?
He won't get better at kicking goals without any big sticks.

 

[Dopey BJ]

Play Billings as the sub r

Isn't it better to face his demons (no pun intended) than to be protected from them?
He won't get better at kicking goals without any big sticks.

I think we need to back Huddo in to improve him enough so he is confident when he clunks one in front.
Stewie Loewe was the worst kick for goal I have ever seen when he started and turned into a reliable set shot.

 

[Sir Skid]

I think we need to back Huddo in to improve him enough so he is confident when he clunks one in front.
Stewie Loewe was the worst kick for goal I have ever seen when he started and turned into a reliable set shot.

Agree! Both Hickey and Longer are works in progress and their opportunities should not be restricted IMO.