Preview Round 21, 2021: St.Kilda v Sydney - Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7th August, 7:40PM AEST *PRIDE GAME* *COFFIELD 50TH*

[Pardon me]

Probably this best thing he did in his time with us

Without a doubt Diehard, even in the games he smashed the HO stat we still got pumped.

 

[Hubnester]

Maybe mate...Hickey never had this kind of guff though:

View attachment 1194916

Thats some Michael Gardiner level confidence.

That was a hilarious moment.
I bumped into him at Seaford the next preseason and brought it up, he was a bit sheepish about it but we had a laugh about it. Good bloke Longer

 

[PoppedCorn]

Put billings on buddy

Give bud a sniff to kick 15 snag rolls

 

[DarkSaint]

Put billings on buddy

Give bud a sniff to kick 15 snag rolls

Billings would run away. Wouldn't want Buddy pinging a string chasing after him.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Clarke (concussion symptoms) and Doogs (hammy) out according to Saints Twitter account.
Buddy’s in for an excellent night

 

[DarkSaint]

Outs
Clark, Howard, Hunter, Kent and Billings (injured/dropped)

Ins
Bytel, Clav, Joyce, Ryder and Coffield

B: Webster Clav Wilkie
HB: Connolly Joyce Highmore
C: Hill Steele Byrnes
HF Butler Marshall Higgins
FF: Membrey King Sharman
R: Ryder Crouch Jones

Int: Coffield Dunstan Bytel Long/Ross
Sub Ross/Long

Hill to play full game on the wing
Coffield to rotate between Wilkie/Highmore
The rest are pretty explanatory

 

[Ephemeral Hope]

Outs
Clark, Howard, Hunter, Kent and Billings (injured/dropped)

Ins
Bytel, Clav, Joyce, Ryder and Coffield

B: Webster Clav Wilkie
HB: Connolly Joyce Highmore
C: Hill Steele Byrnes
HF Butler Marshall Higgins
FF: Membrey King Sharman
R: Ryder Crouch Jones

Int: Coffield Dunstan Bytel Long/Ross
Sub Ross/Long

Hill to play full game on the wing
Coffield to rotate between Wilkie/Highmore
The rest are pretty explanatory

Wouldn’t mind trying Connolly on a wing, rotating with Hill. That run and carry he has looks fantastic

 

[The Jack]

Anyone heard anything on

Ryder
Sinclair
Hill (Looked injured)

For this week.

 

[Circus]

Turned the game off early 3rd quarter on Sat night and haven't touched this site since. Probably the most disappointing game of the weird and mixed season. The turnovers FFS!!! The same culprits. The handballs to players in much worse positions than the idiot who handballed it. The slow switch of play because no-one, no-one, lead to the ball to create space and and provide an option. The easy misses for goal when strong mental application is required!!

Even Marshall played dumb football. He continually tried to grab it out of the air, Carlton watched, waited, tackled and another messy contested play. He should have belted the bloody ball into space for onballers to run on to. Where were the coaches and on-field leaders telling him to take advantage of his superiority?

Fair bloody dinkum we have some seriously flawed, defective and stupid footballers masquerading as athletes. Kent should never wear our guernsey again. Billings is simply too soft. Ross makes appalling decisions nearly 50% of the time. Long has a scattered brain despite his football talent.

I only want young players in for the remainder of the season. Give them a chance. Drop some of the more seasoned, harder bodied spuds and show the players you are serious.

The Swans are a fantastic team in every respect. Can only admire them. The only way we can win is if they have a very off night, which isn't likely. However, we can learn a lot in this game, the first being the standards to aim for during the off season.

 

[Saintbloke]

Turned the game off early 3rd quarter on Sat night and haven't touched this site since. Probably the most disappointing game of the weird and mixed season. The turnovers FFS!!! The same culprits. The handballs to players in much worse positions than the idiot who handballed it. The slow switch of play because no-one, no-one, lead to the ball to create space and and provide an option. The easy misses for goal when strong mental application is required!!

Even Marshall played dumb football. He continually tried to grab it out of the air, Carlton watched, waited, tackled and another messy contested play. He should have belted the bloody ball into space for onballers to run on to. Where were the coaches and on-field leaders telling him to take advantage of his superiority?

Fair bloody dinkum we have some seriously flawed, defective and stupid footballers masquerading as athletes. Kent should never wear our guernsey again. Billings is simply too soft. Ross makes appalling decisions nearly 50% of the time. Long has a scattered brain despite his football talent.

I only want young players in for the remainder of the season. Give them a chance. Drop some of the more seasoned, harder bodied spuds and show the players you are serious.

The Swans are a fantastic team in every respect. Can only admire them. The only way we can win is if they have a very off night, which isn't likely. However, we can learn a lot in this game, the first being the standards to aim for during the off season.

Regardless of injuries, I am not convinced this is a well-coached team. We win a few games, then play rubbish football to lose winnable games, inconsistent players who look great then drop away. A very hard team to follow right now.

 

[Ducky Tie]

Regardless of injuries, I am not convinced this is a well-coached team. We win a few games, then play rubbish football to lose winnable games, inconsistent players who look great then drop away. A very hard team to follow right now.

The way Ratten has spoken about injuries has concerned me, throughout the whole season. In most press conferences, he will either bring up injuries or use it as a mitigating factor. He is always quick to qualify that it isn't an excuse, but it is evident from the way he speaks that he thinks injuries have played a significant role in our problems this year. Regardless of whether they have or haven't, I don't think it is particularly useful for the senior coach to be publicly referencing this in the way he does. It becomes an excuse, despite his phrasing suggesting it isn't and I believe it is the sort of thing that can seep into the mindset of the playing group. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when Ratten talks from the first month of the season that we rely on having both rucks available.

That takes us to the issue of our reliance of those two ruckmen. It is ridiculous that the club has found itself in a position where we rely heavily on a 33 year old ruckman who has only been with us for two seasons. We didn't even have Ryder when Ratten got the job. How within 24 months can we get to a spot where we seemingly can't win without them both playing. It reflects a lack of effectiveness in the game plan and it is bloody concerning for us moving forward.

 

[Diehard Saint]

How within 24 months can we get to a spot where we seemingly can't win without them both playing. It reflects a lack of effectiveness in the game plan and it is bloody concerning for us moving forward.

Spot on. Huge concern to be so reliant on a 33year old who has already slowed down slightly from what we saw last year.

 

[CaptainRisky]

Turned the game off early 3rd quarter on Sat night and haven't touched this site since. Probably the most disappointing game of the weird and mixed season. The turnovers FFS!!! The same culprits. The handballs to players in much worse positions than the idiot who handballed it. The slow switch of play because no-one, no-one, lead to the ball to create space and and provide an option. The easy misses for goal when strong mental application is required!!

Even Marshall played dumb football. He continually tried to grab it out of the air, Carlton watched, waited, tackled and another messy contested play. He should have belted the bloody ball into space for onballers to run on to. Where were the coaches and on-field leaders telling him to take advantage of his superiority?

Fair bloody dinkum we have some seriously flawed, defective and stupid footballers masquerading as athletes. Kent should never wear our guernsey again. Billings is simply too soft. Ross makes appalling decisions nearly 50% of the time. Long has a scattered brain despite his football talent.

I only want young players in for the remainder of the season. Give them a chance. Drop some of the more seasoned, harder bodied spuds and show the players you are serious.

The Swans are a fantastic team in every respect. Can only admire them. The only way we can win is if they have a very off night, which isn't likely. However, we can learn a lot in this game, the first being the standards to aim for during the off season.

You pretty much nailed it , same old Muppets week after week , no leadership .
Why did not Steele tell Marshall to bash the thing our way FMD

 

[AirWinmar]

The way Ratten has spoken about injuries has concerned me, throughout the whole season. In most press conferences, he will either bring up injuries or use it as a mitigating factor. He is always quick to qualify that it isn't an excuse, but it is evident from the way he speaks that he thinks injuries have played a significant role in our problems this year. Regardless of whether they have or haven't, I don't think it is particularly useful for the senior coach to be publicly referencing this in the way he does. It becomes an excuse, despite his phrasing suggesting it isn't and I believe it is the sort of thing that can seep into the mindset of the playing group. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when Ratten talks from the first month of the season that we rely on having both rucks available.

That takes us to the issue of our reliance of those two ruckmen. It is ridiculous that the club has found itself in a position where we rely heavily on a 33 year old ruckman who has only been with us for two seasons. We didn't even have Ryder when Ratten got the job. How within 24 months can we get to a spot where we seemingly can't win without them both playing. It reflects a lack of effectiveness in the game plan and it is bloody concerning for us moving forward.

I'd say this, Ratts is a good coach when he has the exact critical pieces working. He seems to want to play 2 rucks, 3 small forwards and 1 kpd with a more mobile backline. When we have the right pieces playing well with that structure it looks great. When we don't have the right pieces or those players aren't performing their doesn't seem to be a Plan b or ability to change the structure to give us the best chance of winning or being competitive. He has only basically changed that structure by absolute force, but then reverts back as soon as he can.

 

[AirWinmar]

You pretty much nailed it , same old Muppets week after week , no leadership .
Why did not Steele tell Marshall to bash the thing our way FMD

Or maybe even our coaches!!

 

[jwikked]

People like you make me so angry when I read the dribble that you continue to write on hear. You really are pathetic. When the saints play well all is good, you are full of praise but as soon as they fail you are all over them like a fat kid on a cupcake, constantly criticizing this club and players. So in your opinion, Membrey is a bed wetter type of player! He puts his body on the line most weeks standing in front of the incoming packs, most times he is a fairly reliable kick. I would like to look over his history to see if he has let the team down under pressure anymore more than any other player.
Just for interest sake, how many top level games of football have you played or pressure goals kicked to make your judgments worthwhile listening too?

This is a change from the usual Gringo bashing content lol, most people bag him for being negative when things are going well

 

[gringo2011]

This is a change from the usual Gringo bashing content lol, most people bag him for being negative when things are going well

I'm a complex character, I have elements that piss off a wide range of people for many and varied reasons. It's a talent.

 

[gringo2011]

I'd say this, Ratts is a good coach when he has the exact critical pieces working. He seems to want to play 2 rucks, 3 small forwards and 1 kpd with a more mobile backline. When we have the right pieces playing well with that structure it looks great. When we don't have the right pieces or those players aren't performing their doesn't seem to be a Plan b or ability to change the structure to give us the best chance of winning or being competitive. He has only basically changed that structure by absolute force, but then reverts back as soon as he can.

Robert Murphy reckons that game day coaches are not likely to change much up. They usually plan to play a certain way and stick to it. He's changed as the season went on. He's dropped the precision game for a more messy version of getting the transition going.

 

[Sully111]

Turned the game off early 3rd quarter on Sat night and haven't touched this site since. Probably the most disappointing game of the weird and mixed season. The turnovers FFS!!! The same culprits. The handballs to players in much worse positions than the idiot who handballed it. The slow switch of play because no-one, no-one, lead to the ball to create space and and provide an option. The easy misses for goal when strong mental application is required!!

Even Marshall played dumb football. He continually tried to grab it out of the air, Carlton watched, waited, tackled and another messy contested play. He should have belted the bloody ball into space for onballers to run on to. Where were the coaches and on-field leaders telling him to take advantage of his superiority?

Fair bloody dinkum we have some seriously flawed, defective and stupid footballers masquerading as athletes. Kent should never wear our guernsey again. Billings is simply too soft. Ross makes appalling decisions nearly 50% of the time. Long has a scattered brain despite his football talent.

I only want young players in for the remainder of the season. Give them a chance. Drop some of the more seasoned, harder bodied spuds and show the players you are serious.

The Swans are a fantastic team in every respect. Can only admire them. The only way we can win is if they have a very off night, which isn't likely. However, we can learn a lot in this game, the first being the standards to aim for during the off season.

Great post. Couldn't agree more.

 

[austinnn]

Can our midfielders stop trying to do that tricky bounce handball under the advancing opposition player?

Yeah it was cute for a couple of weeks but you've seen how the last 10 or so times you tried it, you turn it over, yeah?

Cut it out.

One trick they absolutely should still try though is The Fake, we dont see this enough. Zac Jones is a particularly good proponent of it, and opposition always expect us to move it on quickly, so no harm in pretending to do so then taking that better second option with less pressure.

 

[Mowman]

Just for interest sake, how many top level games of football have you played or pressure goals kicked to make your judgments worthwhile listening too?

No one forcing you to read his post, easy fixed dont read them

 

[Desperate saint]

Turned the game off early 3rd quarter on Sat night and haven't touched this site since. Probably the most disappointing game of the weird and mixed season. The turnovers FFS!!! The same culprits. The handballs to players in much worse positions than the idiot who handballed it. The slow switch of play because no-one, no-one, lead to the ball to create space and and provide an option. The easy misses for goal when strong mental application is required!!

Even Marshall played dumb football. He continually tried to grab it out of the air, Carlton watched, waited, tackled and another messy contested play. He should have belted the bloody ball into space for onballers to run on to. Where were the coaches and on-field leaders telling him to take advantage of his superiority?

Fair bloody dinkum we have some seriously flawed, defective and stupid footballers masquerading as athletes. Kent should never wear our guernsey again. Billings is simply too soft. Ross makes appalling decisions nearly 50% of the time. Long has a scattered brain despite his football talent.

I only want young players in for the remainder of the season. Give them a chance. Drop some of the more seasoned, harder bodied spuds and show the players you are serious.

The Swans are a fantastic team in every respect. Can only admire them. The only way we can win is if they have a very off night, which isn't likely. However, we can learn a lot in this game, the first being the standards to aim for during the off season.

well said

 

[tomjoad]

People like you make me so angry when I read the dribble that you continue to write on hear. You really are pathetic. When the saints play well all is good, you are full of praise but as soon as they fail you are all over them like a fat kid on a cupcake, constantly criticizing this club and players. So in your opinion, Membrey is a bed wetter type of player! He puts his body on the line most weeks standing in front of the incoming packs, most times he is a fairly reliable kick. I would like to look over his history to see if he has let the team down under pressure anymore more than any other player.
Just for interest sake, how many top level games of football have you played or pressure goals kicked to make your judgments worthwhile listening too?

With the time it takes Membrey to kick the ball after one of his heroic marks Infront of a pack, he probably has wet himself...most of the team has as well, and I know I have. Players shouldn't be running down the clock 5 minutes into a quarter.

 

[Premium]

With the time it takes Membrey to kick the ball after one of his heroic marks Infront of a pack, he probably has wet himself...most of the team has as well, and I know I have. Players shouldn't be running down the clock 5 minutes into a quarter.

Membery has always been a good player for us ,but this season he went missing in a lot of games when we needed him like a lot of our most experienced players did.
Him being our most seasoned forward we needed him to have a good season.
He needs to be kicking goals and this season he has been thrown back at times to give us a marking option because we don't have really a contested mark in our backline.
Anther reason why we need to find a Marcus Adams(out of contract) type of key defender.

 

[Crusty Undies]

At the expense of who?

Dunstan.