Roast St Kilda in no mans land

[Elixuh]

Imagine winning a flag and then wasting time banging on about another club on big footy during the off season

In the event that the Saints ever win a flag won’t you be able to think about anything else? Will it use up all of your bandwidth?

 

[Pistol Night]

In the event that the Saints ever win a flag won’t you be able to think about anything else? Will it use up all of your bandwidth?

I was back to dial up speeds after last year.

 

[LuckyBounce!]

In the event that the Saints ever win a flag won’t you be able to think about anything else? Will it use up all of your bandwidth?

We win a flag I will go missing for the entirety of the next season in a drunken stupor

 

[phantom13]

In the event that the Saints ever win a flag won’t you be able to think about anything else? Will it use up all of your bandwidth?

Genuinely, probably not.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Oooft big old swing and a miss.

Many saints posters commented that we were going to float Battle in late 23 for FA compo. It actually caused a lot of angst to the supporters me included. See what happens when you comment about a club you’ve got no idea about?

As for macrae we’ve been through this. If were going to have a crack at an FA we need to be competitive. The kids are just that kids, they need some support and time. Otherwise it’s full North which you keep saying you don’t think we should do.

It’s just cyclical with you being proven wrong at this point.

Hang on, you are actually trying to tell me that you didn’t actually want Battle to re-sign, the club just offered him more $$ get a good pick? And you believe that?

You claim to be some sort of balanced Saint fan but you’ve been absolutely swindled here by spin. Don’t run the “I know more than you” trope and then throw out this sort of BS spin.

I guess when the players were upset at Battle leaving and the club told him not to go to the B&F…..that was all a ruse, because Saints were actually happy for him to leave.

Fact, you had to get Macrae in because the mids coming through weren’t deemed to be ready or good enough to take over and you can’t risk going backwards because you’re hoping to grab a FA.
You can twist it, spin it, claim whatever you like, but if the young mids that you say the club has identified as the future are just that they’d have handed them the keys in 2025 and not traded in a 30yr old who wants to be a fulltime mid.

 

[Elixuh]

I was back to dial up speeds after last year.

I’ve got to keep myself sharp for the 2025 season. I don’t want to lose my edge or the magic that comes from my insightful posting.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

So, nothing. Hawks have done nothing yet to be the ideal model of a list build.

Instead of going to the effort of looking our our list age in 2023, you should have put the time into looking up the age of our best 22. That side had the most games played from teenagers for a finalist since 2010. To put it more simply, we were a really young best 22 each week. As much you think hawthorn were special for making finals this year with a young team, you weren't.

Yes, 2024 didn’t happen and the 2025 fixture and all of the hype is a figment of my imagination.


I don’t think Hawthorn were special for making finals, but what I do think is that when Saints last made finals they did so with the 11th oldest list in the comp and with the 12th hardest draw.

They should have been in the 8-12 bracket and they were.

 

[phantom13]

Hang on, you are actually trying to tell me that you didn’t actually want Battle to re-sign, the club just offered him more $$ get a good pick? And you believe that?

You claim to be some sort of balanced Saint fan but you’ve been absolutely swindled here by spin. Don’t run the “I know more than you” trope and then throw out this sort of BS spin.

I guess when the players were upset at Battle leaving and the club told him not to go to the B&F…..that was all a ruse, because Saints were actually happy for him to leave.

Fact, you had to get Macrae in because the mids coming through weren’t deemed to be ready or good enough to take over and you can’t risk going backwards because you’re hoping to grab a FA.
You can twist it, spin it, claim whatever you like, but if the young mids that you say the club has identified as the future are just that they’d have handed them the keys in 2025 and not traded in a 30yr old who wants to be a fulltime mid.

I mean, many posters who have connections to the club discussed it at the end of 23. I suspect like many decisions we were relatively happy with either outcome. We re upped the offer as i understand it to force your hand to match to assure us of the pick we got anyway. Call it spin if you like but we knew he was getting dangled and we got maximum return for it.

I agree that the whole BnF thing was in poor taste from us, unlike you, im happy to admit my clubs not perfect but generally speaking "shrewed" (your word) business decisions can be tough to swallow at the time. Believe what you like, it ultimately netted us "overs" compensation for him so its doing EXACTLY what you suggested we should be doing anyway.

On the Macrae thing, yeh, thats exactly what im saying, theyre not ready, we need to be competitive if were going to attract an FA, Macrae cost us very little in trade collateral and he fills a need, you know, trade for needs, pretty time honored thing to do.

If it goes according to plan and were contending in 26/27 then Macrae will the fossilized age of 32. OBVIOUSLY completely decrepit and incapable of contributing with the kids who will be 23/24 and developed by that point.

Obviously you would know far better than I or even the saints list management what we were doing with Battle or anyone else though.

 

[phantom13]

Yes, 2024 didn’t happen and the 2025 fixture and all of the hype is a figment of my imagination.


I don’t think Hawthorn were special for making finals, but what I do think is that when Saints last made finals they did so with the 11th oldest list in the comp and with the 12th hardest draw.

They should have been in the 8-12 bracket and they were.

Hang on.

2024 you won A final, not 3 or 4.

Youre shitting on us for claiming 2023 but you can claim 2024.

And you reckon i buy spin.

I was clearly off about you as a poster, this is comical.

 

[pebblesofsand]

Hang on, you are actually trying to tell me that you didn’t actually want Battle to re-sign, the club just offered him more $$ get a good pick? And you believe that?

You claim to be some sort of balanced Saint fan but you’ve been absolutely swindled here by spin. Don’t run the “I know more than you” trope and then throw out this sort of BS spin.

I guess when the players were upset at Battle leaving and the club told him not to go to the B&F…..that was all a ruse, because Saints were actually happy for him to leave.

Fact, you had to get Macrae in because the mids coming through weren’t deemed to be ready or good enough to take over and you can’t risk going backwards because you’re hoping to grab a FA.
You can twist it, spin it, claim whatever you like, but if the young mids that you say the club has identified as the future are just that they’d have handed them the keys in 2025 and not traded in a 30yr old who wants to be a fulltime mid.

Keep going SYL - you're doing a great job of making us all laugh by showing you know absolutely jackshite about St Kilda or its list. (or pretty much anything about the professional business that is the AFL)

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Hang on.

2024 you won A final, not 3 or 4.

Youre shitting on us for claiming 2023 but you can claim 2024.

And you reckon i buy spin.

I was clearly off about you as a poster, this is comical.

Only if your comprehension skills are broken.

2nd youngest list in the comp.
No one expected Hawthorn to do what they did in 2024, and it was a clear outcome of the list management decisions made in the 2 previous seasons.

The list management strategy saw

• the wins come with a rush,
• players ask to be traded to them(even if they would get less money),
• the AFL give them a marquee fixture in 2025,
• Channel 7 request to follow the club around over summer for a doco.
• Second in the betting market for the 2025 flag

Are you and your mate going to pretend like 2024 didn’t happen, and has no consequence to the 2025 fixture and hype around the Hawks? Really?

There was no hype around the Saints when they played the finals in 2023. There were plenty of questions.
Most people consider that they barely threw a punch when they got there. The same criticisms of the Saints heading into 2024 exist in 2025.

Not enough top end talent, midfield lacks class.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I mean, many posters who have connections to the club discussed it at the end of 23. I suspect like many decisions we were relatively happy with either outcome. We re upped the offer as i understand it to force your hand to match to assure us of the pick we got anyway. Call it spin if you like but we knew he was getting dangled and we got maximum return for it.

I agree that the whole BnF thing was in poor taste from us, unlike you, im happy to admit my clubs not perfect but generally speaking "shrewed" (your word) business decisions can be tough to swallow at the time. Believe what you like, it ultimately netted us "overs" compensation for him so its doing EXACTLY what you suggested we should be doing anyway.

On the Macrae thing, yeh, thats exactly what im saying, theyre not ready, we need to be competitive if were going to attract an FA, Macrae cost us very little in trade collateral and he fills a need, you know, trade for needs, pretty time honored thing to do.

If it goes according to plan and were contending in 26/27 then Macrae will the fossilized age of 32. OBVIOUSLY completely decrepit and incapable of contributing with the kids who will be 23/24 and developed by that point.

Obviously you would know far better than I or even the saints list management what we were doing with Battle or anyone else though.

No, don’t pack pedal now.

You think that the players and the club asked someone to not go to the best and fairest even though they always wanted them to leave the club as a FA?

Can you please read that back to yourself a few times. It’s utter nonsense.

 

[phantom13]

Only if your comprehension skills are broken.

2nd youngest list in the comp.
No one expected Hawthorn to do what they did in 2024, and it was a clear outcome of the list management decisions made in the 2 previous seasons.

The list management strategy saw

• the wins come with a rush,
• players ask to be traded to them(even if they would get less money),
• the AFL give them a marquee fixture in 2025,
• Channel 7 request to follow the club around over summer for a doco.
• Second in the betting market for the 2025 flag

Are you and your mate going to pretend like 2024 didn’t happen, and has no consequence to the 2025 fixture and hype around the Hawks? Really?

There was no hype around the Saints when they played the finals in 2023. There were plenty of questions.
Most people consider that they barely threw a punch when they got there. The same criticisms of the Saints heading into 2024 exist in 2025.

Not enough top end talent, midfield lacks class.

No actually on the contrary im seeing parallels in our 23 to your 24.

Our list is young and we blooded a shitload of kids in 24 after injuries and schedule ****ing ruined our start, you cant foresee a future where a couple of key injuries at the start of 25 torpedo your finals follow up?

Im all for the hype at the Hawks and how it looks similar in alot of ways to the saints.

I disagree on the top end talent, but that is subjective. Midfield does lack class, but youre saying we shouldnt have adressed that and shouldnt pursue FA's.

Theres only one person here seeing it with one eye and brother, its not me.

 

[BrutThough]

Yes, 2024 didn’t happen and the 2025 fixture and all of the hype is a figment of my imagination.


I don’t think Hawthorn were special for making finals, but what I do think is that when Saints last made finals they did so with the 11th oldest list in the comp and with the 12th hardest draw.

They should have been in the 8-12 bracket and they were.

Since when has 'hype' been a measure of success or proof that every club should follow your list management strategy?

And you can keep holding onto the '11th oldest' title as if it means anything. As stated by multiple people, we fielded a young best 22 that year which is much more relevant than the ages of those on our list in rehab or at Sandy.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Keep going SYL - you're doing a great job of making us all laugh by showing you know absolutely jackshite about St Kilda or its list. (or pretty much anything about the professional business that is the AFL)

Yeah, you’re not angry at all.

If you’re another Saint supporter who genuinely thinks that a club would tell a player not to come to the best and fairest while also being completely OK with them leaving the club you have not engaged your brain.

Saints clearly wanted Battle to stay, and were upset when he said he was going…. Or are you guys now trying to convince yourself that it was all pretend?

 

[phantom13]

No, don’t pack pedal now.

You think that the players and the club asked someone to not go to the best and fairest even though they always wanted them to leave the club as a FA?

Can you please read that back to yourself a few times. It’s utter nonsense.

Im not backpeddaling at all.

I never, ever said we always wanted him to leave as an FA, i said he was identified as someone we could potentially dangle, at the end of 2023, if we wanted to net a high pick. Every part of that sentence is true and guess what, it happened didnt it?

Something like an FA testing the market is never gonna be a black and white decision, the club considered all angles and ultimately got us into a no lose situation. We keep Battle for what we think hes worth or we get a first round pick (which the world blew up about as being well over his market value).

Shrewd and smart.

There were a host of reasons why we didnt invite him to the BnF and i dont agree with most if not all of them, that was a poor choice and a bad look, a point ive already made.

I think we would have happily re signed Battle for what we offered him but when he didnt re sign early for what we did and you guys came knocking we very happily let it play out and got our first round pick for it.

 

[EconomicDecline]

Only if your comprehension skills are broken.

2nd youngest list in the comp.
No one expected Hawthorn to do what they did in 2024, and it was a clear outcome of the list management decisions made in the 2 previous seasons.

The list management strategy saw

• the wins come with a rush,
• players ask to be traded to them(even if they would get less money),
• the AFL give them a marquee fixture in 2025,
• Channel 7 request to follow the club around over summer for a doco.
• Second in the betting market for the 2025 flag

Are you and your mate going to pretend like 2024 didn’t happen, and has no consequence to the 2025 fixture and hype around the Hawks? Really?

There was no hype around the Saints when they played the finals in 2023. There were plenty of questions.
Most people consider that they barely threw a punch when they got there. The same criticisms of the Saints heading into 2024 exist in 2025.

Not enough top end talent, midfield lacks class.

5th youngest and 8th least experienced for the actual team Hawthorn fielded in the last 10 games of the year

 

[phantom13]

Yeah, you’re not angry at all.

If you’re another Saint supporter who genuinely thinks that a club would tell a player not to come to the best and fairest while also being completely OK with them leaving the club you have not engaged your brain.

Saints clearly wanted Battle to stay, and were upset when he said he was going…. Or are you guys now trying to convince yourself that it was all pretend?

You really think we only didnt invite him because we were upset he left?

And you reckon were all emotional and deluded.

 

[Murraj1966]

347 pages of Bay 13 level anti-Saints vitriol that’s still allowed to stay open on the main board

What a joke from the moderators

I’m all for healthy discussion but so much of this has been outright trolling

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Since when has 'hype' been a measure of success or proof that every club should follow your list management strategy?

You read that entire sentence but only saw one word. Amazing.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

You really think we only didnt invite him because we were upset he left?

And you reckon were all emotional and deluded.

You really think you dangled him….. but then offered him more money than he eventually took to leave and then uninvited him from the best and fairest because you were always happy with him leaving.

Please, read that back to yourself.

It’s utter nonsense.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

5th youngest and 8th least experienced for the actual team Hawthorn fielded in the last 10 games of the year

Yes, Breust and Gunston do a lot of heavy lifting in average team age, which is why overall list age and experience is a better guage.

 

[phantom13]

You really think you dangled him….. but then offered him more money than he eventually took to leave and then uninvited him from the best and fairest because you were always happy with him leaving.

Please, read that back to yourself.

It’s utter nonsense.

No i dont think it, i know it, it was discussed in late 23, on the saints board mate.

As stated we got nervous about the compo and upped the offer hoping youd match. Didnt pan out but we still got the pick.

We dangled him very quietly, then made an offer in March, he was on the cusp of signing after the round 4 or 5 game against the pies then supposedly caught wind of the dangle and decided to hold off and play out FA interest. You came calling, we sat back with our offer.

You can argue we got spooked because your offer was RIGHT on the cusp of band 1 but it worked out well for us.

Or you could believe a professional sporting organisation cracked the shits with a player for leaving and uninvited him to our BnF over hurt feelings (the same club that welcomed Ross Lyon back after he shafted us).

Which one sounds like utter nonsense to you?

 

[phantom13]

Yes, Breust and Gunston do a lot of heavy lifting in average team age, which is why overall list age and experience is a better guage.

Kinda like Tom Campbell, Seb Ross and Brad Crouch did last year yeh?

Youd laught at yourself if you could watch this, i promise you

 

[Elixuh]

Which players are the saints rumoured to be targeting with their war chest?

I know from a Brisbane perspective they offered McCluggage and Rayner giant contacts which were knocked back.

Who do saints fans think you’ll be targeting to fix your midfield?