Kildonan
Premium Platinum
Last time that St Kilda played Richmond was Rd 22 last year. It was a rather tight match, similar to the previous meeting Rd13 last year. Richmond went on to collect the wooden spoon while the Saints ended the season having gone backwards over their previous three years finals finishes.
Both clubs were in a process of renewal. The Tigers were rebuilding and their lowly position on the ladder belied their improvement on the field all season. The Saints had appointed a new coach and suffered a continuation of their "injury curse" especially for the first half of the season. The players undertook to learn the new gameplan that their new highly qualified coach devised. For the second half of the season, the Saints were the third most highly performed club (behind the two Grand Finalists). It wasn't enough to get them into the finals though.
Our recent history against Richmond reflects the fortunes of both clubs over that period of time. We haven't lost to Richmond since that match in rd 4 2003. Grant Thomas declared that the Saints should have beaten the Richmond outfit who they had just lost to because they were the better team. The next nine matches have proven that to be a rather precise assessment.
This year all of that history goes out the window. Richmond have turned the corner and are now improving (after gorging heavily and lengthily with their snouts in the draft pick trough). They are playing a better style of football. Their playing group are maturing into a fine team which gels and plays for each other.
The Saints too have improved. The club has recruited cleverly by trading to overcome any weaknesses in their playing group. Also they have resumed a recruiting policy of bringing through youth which is beginning to produce results. Most of the playing group have a season under Ross Lyon to fall back on.
The Saints need success to reinforce the work they have been doing on the training tracks. The more success we have, the more confident we will be with our game. The more we will trust our instinctive responses and the better we'll get.
The secret to our success in the past has been our attack on the man when they have the ball - our pressure forces them to make mistakes. It also makes the opposition think twice before doing things - that slight delay is enough to put them under pressure. Also our fierce attack on the ball when it is free and a pre-arranged division of labour so that receivers are waiting to set up an overlap to spirit the ball away. If we can move the ball fast enough, we can break up their defensive structure forcing the opponents to a one on one defence and then we rotate players until a favourable mismatch is created that we immediately try to capitalise on.
The team will be improved by virtue of having Michael Gardiner in the ruck, although he returns from injury so Kosi may have to carry the brunt of the load. Schneider is also a major plus, a quick with amazing footskills - he can be very damaging. Fraser Gehrig takes Kosi's key forward spot. Hopefully Wallace will underestimate the dual Coleman medallist. If not, he will draw a key defender and possibly nab a few goals.
Agree with Dominique exactly
Both clubs were in a process of renewal. The Tigers were rebuilding and their lowly position on the ladder belied their improvement on the field all season. The Saints had appointed a new coach and suffered a continuation of their "injury curse" especially for the first half of the season. The players undertook to learn the new gameplan that their new highly qualified coach devised. For the second half of the season, the Saints were the third most highly performed club (behind the two Grand Finalists). It wasn't enough to get them into the finals though.
Our recent history against Richmond reflects the fortunes of both clubs over that period of time. We haven't lost to Richmond since that match in rd 4 2003. Grant Thomas declared that the Saints should have beaten the Richmond outfit who they had just lost to because they were the better team. The next nine matches have proven that to be a rather precise assessment.
Code:
Year Rd Winner Margin For Agst
2007 22 MCG STK 10 102 92
2007 13 CS STK 17 117 100
2006 17 MCG STK 103 174 71
2006 2 CS STK 11 88 77
2005 16 MCG STK 69 106 37
2005 5 CS STK 68 147 79
2004 16 CS STK 44 105 61
2004 3 CS STK 45 114 69
2003 19 CS STK 80 130 50
2003 4 CS RIC 26 107 81
2002 9 CS STK 9 72 63
2001 13 CS RIC 39 126 87
2000 20 MCG RIC 40 119 79
2000 5 CS RIC 26 110 84This year all of that history goes out the window. Richmond have turned the corner and are now improving (after gorging heavily and lengthily with their snouts in the draft pick trough). They are playing a better style of football. Their playing group are maturing into a fine team which gels and plays for each other.
The Saints too have improved. The club has recruited cleverly by trading to overcome any weaknesses in their playing group. Also they have resumed a recruiting policy of bringing through youth which is beginning to produce results. Most of the playing group have a season under Ross Lyon to fall back on.
The Saints need success to reinforce the work they have been doing on the training tracks. The more success we have, the more confident we will be with our game. The more we will trust our instinctive responses and the better we'll get.
The secret to our success in the past has been our attack on the man when they have the ball - our pressure forces them to make mistakes. It also makes the opposition think twice before doing things - that slight delay is enough to put them under pressure. Also our fierce attack on the ball when it is free and a pre-arranged division of labour so that receivers are waiting to set up an overlap to spirit the ball away. If we can move the ball fast enough, we can break up their defensive structure forcing the opponents to a one on one defence and then we rotate players until a favourable mismatch is created that we immediately try to capitalise on.
The team will be improved by virtue of having Michael Gardiner in the ruck, although he returns from injury so Kosi may have to carry the brunt of the load. Schneider is also a major plus, a quick with amazing footskills - he can be very damaging. Fraser Gehrig takes Kosi's key forward spot. Hopefully Wallace will underestimate the dual Coleman medallist. If not, he will draw a key defender and possibly nab a few goals.
Agree with Dominique exactly
