Round 2 v Gold Coast, Sunday Evening @ Etihad Stadium

[CrashTestDummy]

It's good for the team when 12 others contribute to the goal spread.

That's when oppositions are petrified.

St.Kilda are able to petrify other teams.

Name another team with more players to score.
Go on name them? Who?

 

[TassieSaint]

Just saw some highlights, Milera's goal was something special!

 

[saintsrfreak]

Just saw some highlights, Milera's goal was something special!

He looks class

 

[Studbuddy]

Milera seems like a great pick-up. Great to get a win even though its against the Gold Coast.

How did Simpkin go?

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Hate to sound negative, but did anyone else think we looked horribly exposed at those times the zone was broken. GC didn't capitalise on it all that well though.

 

[AFLOnline]

Ablett is a freak show, whoever denies that is delusional. How many times was he wrapped up by multiple Saints and still could get his hands free for an effective handball to a team mate in space?

 

[goodie23]

I found myself wondering yesterday 'What would Gold Coast be like without Ablett?'

Western Sydney.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Ablett is a freak show, whoever denies that is delusional. How many times was he wrapped up by multiple Saints and still could get his hands free for an effective handball to a team mate in space?

True , the game was almost Ablett vs StKilda
But it was nice to see it kicked to him coming out of defense only to have Jonesy steal it and put it back through.

 

[Darkhour]

Gary Ablett is undoubtedly a champ, but he is still the centre of attention for all his team mates and that will always make his disposal stat larger.. the same could be said for any good midfield player though, just even more pronounced in teams like GCFC and GWS because of their youth..

 

[Kildonan]

Hate to sound negative, but did anyone else think we looked horribly exposed at those times the zone was broken. GC didn't capitalise on it all that well though.

I agree - our defence is still a little brittle. We seem to be somewhat susceptible to the counterattack - where the ball moves rapidly into our defensive areas going past much of our defensive structures (because they were bringing the ball forward into attack).

It is caused by our biggest weakness - disposal skills (or lack thereof).

It emphasises just how important disposal efficiency is to our new game plan.

Lets give our opponent some credit too - they have some freakishly talented players who can do the unexpected, or simply beat us on occasion.

While he had an improved match this week, did anybody else see how many of our forward movements ended with a Gilbert disposal? His clangers directly resulted in two goals, and there were several times when the defence had been "patient" and Gilbert decided to take the initiative and kick to a contest.
(I hate all the kicking backwards and transitioning from one side to the other - but I recognise that there are times when the defence is impenetrable or that risking relinquishing possession is particularly dangerous, so there is a valid argument to slow things down and try and open up the defence on the fat side).

A player like Goddard can kick to a contest, but in doing so he gives our player an advantage by kicking it precisely so that the opponent is out of position to contest effectively. Gilbert rarely can do this. It is simply a 50:50 when Gilbert kicks it. The opposition instantly set up for the counterattack. The ball comes back much faster than it came out, sometimes catching our players unaware or out of position. Despite his brilliant run and carry, and his fairly nice kick under ideal conditions, it is his one-sidedness and his shanking under pressure that make Gilbert become a liability. I don't know what to do with him. Can his kicking be redeemed?

 

[Squizz]

How did Simpkin go?

Hate to sound negative, but did anyone else think we looked horribly exposed at those times the zone was broken. GC didn't capitalise on it all that well though.

Hard to say, as I thought our pressure on the ball carrier remained high from the forwards and right through the middle of the ground. Didn't seem like the GC mids (Ablett aside) had any time. Even a pacy classy type like Swallow has 28 possessions, but only 12 kicks - and despite the high number of handballs only has 64% disposal efficiency.

And then when the did bring it forward (only 36 inside 50s mind you), the backs did a job. Simpkin had a team-high 8 one-percenters, followed by Blake with 7 and Fisher 5.

 

[mysainters]

True , the game was almost Ablett vs StKilda
But it was nice to see it kicked to him coming out of defense only to have Jonesy steal it and put it back through.

He kicked 2 goals, 1 behind, had one goal assist. Gold Coast without Ablett, 4 goals 4 behinds.

(That's not taking into account score involvements)

He is a gun, I just don't know how he goes homes and feels fulfilled. I hope any of our guys thinking about it, thought about it some more.

 

[Squizz]

I agree - our defence is still a little brittle.

It is caused by our biggest weakness - disposal skills (or lack thereof).

Rather than being brittle, the second point is much more the issue. Our ball movement out of defence remains stagnant and the kicking less than precise. Teams will always be vulnerable when they turn the ball over by not hitting targets when in space.

This is why Watters has brought the screening tactic in - to give these guys (particularly Blake, Dempster, Gilbert, Geary) a little more time with their kicks. Unfortunately we still aren't hitting the leading player - when you see Milera gesture to Riewoldt "lead at me ... now" and then lace it out shows the difference.

Our persistence with Cripps is a little surprising, as he's got alot of work to do on his kicking - and he's not getting much opportunity to get a kick in the AFL (6 possessions in 76% TOG for a guy who's meant to be giving us some run is a very low return).

Whilst Newnes had low numbers, when he kicks it the ball doesn't tend to come back.

Having said all that, the kicking at Sandy was terrible at times - so not sure who's knocking on the door aside from Wilkes.

 

[Kildonan]

...And then when they did bring it forward (only 36 inside 50s mind you), the backs did a job. Simpkin had a team-high 8 one-percenters, followed by Blake with 7 and Fisher 5.

I was impressed with Simpkin's game:

Team high TOG - so has the confidence of the coach and the stamina to run out the match
Team high one-percenters - so really committed to the team effort
Equal team high r50's, 2 tackles, 6 CP's, and 4 marks

Only knock is his 71% disposal efficiency, but that should get better with more matches

All in all - a most impressive match and a great audition for a permanent spot

 

[Darkhour]

I was impressed with Simpkin's game:

Team high TOG - so has the confidence of the coach and the stamina to run out the match
Team high one-percenters - so really committed to the team effort
Equal team high r50's, 2 tackles, 6 CP's, and 4 marks

Only knock is his 71% disposal efficiency, but that should get better with more matches

All in all - a most impressive match and a great audition for a permanent spot

ahh nice stats to bring up kildonan. didnt realise he had that much impact.. very nice..

 

[Sainters12]

Why is everyone so keen to piss Kosi off?
He's played well both weeks, and if he isn't clunking contested marks, at least he's giving a contest and crashing packs!

 

[mysainters]

Why is everyone so keen to piss Kosi off?
He's played well both weeks, and if he isn't clunking contested marks, at least he's giving a contest and crashing packs!

I wish I knew.

If he keeps going at this rate, he'll kick his 50+ and have a fair share in plenty more.

I wish people would watch the replay and realise how many contests he impacted.

He was an important part of a forward line that functioned.

 

[Falchoon]

I was impressed with Simpkin's game:

Team high TOG - so has the confidence of the coach and the stamina to run out the match
Team high one-percenters - so really committed to the team effort
Equal team high r50's, 2 tackles, 6 CP's, and 4 marks

Only knock is his 71% disposal efficiency, but that should get better with more matches

All in all - a most impressive match and a great audition for a permanent spot

More importantly for a young backman he seems to position himself well.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

More importantly for a young backman he seems to position himself well.

His desparation and intent to put his body on the line is incredible as well.

I remember he got completely smashed in his debut, bounced straight back up and made a smother. That was one thing that made me really like him.

Made a couple diving smothers/tackles last night as well.

Hopefully gets a decent run of games over the next couple weeks.

Replay up yet? Is one game I wouldn't mind watching again!

 

[Sainters12]

Loved the work of some of our younger guys like Steven, Armo & Big Mac.

Stanley continues to show good signs, played his best game for the club.

Riewoldt played his best game for quite a while.

The likes of Dal Santo & Montagna never really got out of 2nd gear.

Blake was good. Milera looks a gem. Simkpin should have gotten games a long time ago.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

I can't remember Dawson ever sticking as tight to his opponent as Simpkin did yesterday.

 

[Persevering Saint]

Interesting to see the Supercoach stats for that game:

Goddard 147 | Armitage 121 | Riewoldt 119 | Hayes 118 | McEvoy 117 | Fisher 114 | Dal Santo 112 | Jones 105 | Stanley 101 | Geary 99 | Steven 98 | Blake 95 | Koschitzke 95 | Milera 86 | Gilbert 85 | Montagna 81 | Dempster 69 | Milne 67 (subbed) | Simpkin 60 | Newnes 41 | Cripps 28 | Ledger 17 (sub)

For mine, the really interesting ones there are: Goddard, who seems to be getting the fire back in the belly; Armitage (the game we've been waiting for him to have? Can he do it against quality opposition); Jones, playing a tagger but still racking it up; Monty... hmm, he DOES seem a little off; Cripps, hmmmm.....

 

[Strahany]

I can't remember Dawson ever sticking as tight to his opponent as Simpkin did yesterday.

This.

Dawson was always reasonably good at spoiling most deliveries, only really being beaten when it was a perfectly drilled kick. That being said, he wasn't very good at positioning himself to do that, and would find himself lost against his opponent. Sometimes he could be a good 5 paces behind, but most of the time he was just half a metre or so off from where he should have been, resulting in a situation where it was really difficult for him to impact the contest.

It seems Simpkin already has a better understanding of how to play the Full Back (or at least the shut-down defender) role than Dawson ever had. It's a big call to make so early in his career, but he's shown he can do it week in, week out for Sandringham, so there's no reason why he can't continue doing it at AFL level like he did last night. Most importantly, I get the feeling that his defensive work is not too dissimilar to Max's style, which is exciting considering he now has the great man himself as a mentor.

 

[mysainters]

Makes you wonder how much of it is technique and smarts.

Maxy (unfortunately) appeared to be written all over Brown in the 2010 grand final, the manner in which he played, where he positioned himself.

Pretty handy mentor, wouldn't be surprised to see Simpkin blossom under his watchful eye.

 

[saintsrfreak]

If Tom can become half the player that Maxy was I'll be happy