Lack of youngsters pushing up makes Saints' future grim

[SainterK]

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/l ... z1MYYBVYgV

''I know it's a bit unfair, but I think you always like to see something in kids playing their first game,'' Brittain said. ''You don't need to see them 10 or 15 times. You see them a couple of times and you think, 'Gee, he has got something. I will keep my eye on him'. I can't recall that on any of the St Kilda boys.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/l ... z1MYYRuJuA

His point of view, but honestly, have I been wearing my rose coloured glasses again thinking that Sippos and Cripps have both shown something?

[SaintPav]

Yawn. So Wayne watches Sandy games does he?

This line that we have no one coming through has been around for about a year.

[saintbrat]

Yawn. So Wayne watches Sandy games does he?

This line that we have no one coming through has been around for about a year.

'Riewoldt is a bit all over the joint at the moment. I have never seen Riewoldt - watching him live in Brisbane - I have never seen him that lost and caught out of position in a game of footy,'' he said.

only watching what the TV shows him
obviously no one closer to melbourne wanted or was asked to comment.

[SaintPav]

''I know it's a bit unfair, but I think you always like to see something in kids playing their first game,'' Brittain said. ''You don't need to see them 10 or 15 times. You see them a couple of times and you think, 'Gee, he has got something. I will keep my eye on him'. I can't recall that on any of the St Kilda boys.''

Jack Steven?

[saintspremiers]

He hasn't seen Siposs.

Not convinced about Cripps yet, but may be a player.

Archer is a dud.

[IluvHarvey]

I couldn't care less what this twat has to say.

He is battling with Tim Watson for the worst coach ever title.

[InkerSaint]

Really bad call on Jon Pierik's part to base a story around what Brittain thinks of the Saints.

More of an indicator of what the footy world thinks of Pierik as a reporter.

[Johnny Member]

I tend to look at it as....

...how many of our young kids can you confidently (obviously not categorically) say will be a 'top 6' player for us in the future?


I'd say none of them. Which when rebuilding, is a massive concern.

[saintlee]

I tend to look at it as....

...how many of our young kids can you confidently (obviously not categorically) say will be a 'top 6' player for us in the future?


I'd say none of them. Which when rebuilding, is a massive concern.

Very hard to answer that based on the limited chances the youngsters have had.

I like the look of Siposs and Cripps. Steven has shown glimpses. Jury is out on the rest.

[Thinline]

I couldn't care less what this twat has to say.

He is battling with Tim Watson for the worst coach ever title.

So true!

When you're down you get whacked, you just ride that bump, but at least we can find some humour in the range of 'experts' being peddled about for 'opinions'.

Brittain is an absolute farcical choice. Just funny. The guy is a failure.

Tony Shaw offering Roo goal kicking advice was also hysterical.

Matthew Knights has a view? Now there's a bloke who could get inside the heads of his own clan. NOT. he was an abject disaster as a couch. Same cattle and Hirdy/Thompson has them jumping out their skins and contending.

It's just funny. Rise above Saints fans. Laughter is the tonic.

[samwell]

Keep hearing that our youngsters aren't showing much. But how much did guys like Dal, Joey and Fisher show in their first 20-odd games??? Not a hell of a lot more than the current batch from my memory - and all are now All Australians????
And remember the cr@p BJ used to cop when he started!!!!

Gotta give these guys a chance to find their feet. Sure you have guys like Rioli, Martin, Heppell etc who have an instant impact but that's the exception not the rule?????

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

I tend to look at it as....

...how many of our young kids can you confidently (obviously not categorically) say will be a 'top 6' player for us in the future?


I'd say none of them. Which when rebuilding, is a massive concern.

Hence the almost certain need to trade at least one of our "stars" at the end of the season, either for one of GWS's 4 "tradeable" 17yo's, or for one or two of their early draft picks, IMO.
The same sort of way Essendon got their hands on Matthew Lloyd, back in the 90's (although it's likely to cost us a lot more to get a "Lloyd" than it cost Essendon, at that time).

[spert]

Siposs and Cripps- very good debuts in a struggling team. Steven should be doing better, and looked a lot better a year or two back. Although Stanley doesn't give me a lot of hope, he should probably be in the seniors around the half forward line, occasional ruck while Roo is released up the ground a bit more.

[plugger66]

To be honest he is right at the moment. Hawthorn probably had more younger guys than us last week and smashed us and even though we jumped up and down about Siposs, how good was Savage and he has played bugger all games.

[InkerSaint]

How good was Savage? Good enough to earn the Rising Star nomination.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/s ... 1eqhu.html

Taken at pick 75 in 2008, just after Paul Cahill.

[joffaboy]

Been around long enough on forums to hear that Lenny was no good, too slow, thats why Sydney left him for the Saints, bj is a dud and will never amount to anything, Sam Fisher is a waste of space, Joey will never amount to anything etc etc etc.

[plugger66]

Siposs and Cripps- very good debuts in a struggling team. Steven should be doing better, and looked a lot better a year or two back. Although Stanley doesn't give me a lot of hope, he should probably be in the seniors around the half forward line, occasional ruck while Roo is released up the ground a bit more.

I tell you one thing, if we release Roo to the wing again this year I will spew up.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

Will you put footage of that on here?

[Dr Spaceman]

Siposs and Cripps- very good debuts in a struggling team. Steven should be doing better, and looked a lot better a year or two back. Although Stanley doesn't give me a lot of hope, he should probably be in the seniors around the half forward line, occasional ruck while Roo is released up the ground a bit more.

I tell you one thing, if we release Roo to the wing again this year I will spew up.

If anyone else on this site threatens to spew up......









........I'll vomit!!!

[mad saint guy]

The article may not have months of research behind it but the point remains valid. From 2004-2009 draft day always looked like a huge stuff up from an outsider's perspective. I only ever had information from the various phantom drafts on bigfooty, draft camp and watching the occasional TAC cup game, but on the occasion they we didn't trade picks for unwanted opposition players or draft the numerous sacked duds that we've had over the years, we'd always be taking kids well before they were expected to go. Drafting will never be an exact science, but the majority usually gives a fairly accurate assessment of how good the kids are. With first/second round picks you shouldn't be trying to pull a rabbit out of your arse; you take the best footballer available who would have a spot in your team.

Look at out first and second round picks since 2004

Pick 17 - McQualter - Dud
Pick 33 - Ackland - Dud

Pick 17 - Watts - Dud
Pick 33 - Gilbert - Seriously flawed, but has talent

Pick 9 - Armitage - Good player
Pick 27 - Howard - Dud

Pick 9 - McEvoy - Developing well, jury still out
Pick 26 - Schneider/Dempster - Good player and dud

Pick 13 - Lynch - Apparently not AFL quality according to the coaches
Pick 28ish - Ray - GOP, decent trade

Pick 16 - Lovett - Scum
Pick 33 - Winmar - I'm yet to see anything to suggest he'll make it

That strike rate just isn't good enough. And the later picks have mostly been wasted on recycled hacks, not giving any chance to pluck a Fisher or Gwilt. I think the sad reality is that unless the big guns hit top form again and carry the team while the next bunch of kids develop, we could be in for a rough 3-4 years because we just don't have the 21-24 year olds to take over.

[spert]

Siposs and Cripps- very good debuts in a struggling team. Steven should be doing better, and looked a lot better a year or two back. Although Stanley doesn't give me a lot of hope, he should probably be in the seniors around the half forward line, occasional ruck while Roo is released up the ground a bit more.

I tell you one thing, if we release Roo to the wing again this year I will spew up.

If I hear any more excuses for Roo not doing well at CHF, I will be very flatulent?!

[Johnny Member]

Keep hearing that our youngsters aren't showing much. But how much did guys like Dal, Joey and Fisher show in their first 20-odd games??? Not a hell of a lot more than the current batch from my memory - and all are now All Australians????
And remember the cr@p BJ used to cop when he started!!!!

Gotta give these guys a chance to find their feet. Sure you have guys like Rioli, Martin, Heppell etc who have an instant impact but that's the exception not the rule?????

I thought Dal and Joey showed plenty.

Obviously they lacked in certain areas, which you expect from most kids. But there was certainly reason to suggest both Joey and Dal were going to be stars - particularly Dal.

Roo and Kosi showed immediately that they were special talents and were going to be very good.

BJ the same.


See, I think where people get it wrong is that they don't allow for the fact that kids can't run out games and don't have the strength of the older guys.
So you don't expect them to do the things that Lenny Hayes does, in their first month of football.

But when they get the nut, how do they use it? Do they panic? Do they really demand the pill in the first place? Do they put their head over the ball? Do they work hard? Do they run to the right places? Does the ball just seem to find them? Will their body develop? Can they run? Are they confident? Do they have white line fever?

These are the types of things that make good players. If you see glimpses of these things, then it's reason to get excited and be optimisitic. They'll rarely be able to do it all for 4 quarters initially (which is I think what people seem to expect), but once their bodies catch up then they become serious footballers.


I reckon Siposs has shown something. And I reckon McEvoy ticks all the boxes of a very exciting 'top 6' players - except the boxes that relate to above his shoulders.
He looks timid and lacking in confidence. He looks like he's not sure if he belongs out there, and that reflects in his performance.

Cripps worried me a bit physically. I'm scared he'll have the Gary Coleman's about him and not grow any more - like McQualter.

The other young bloke off the half back line has also shown something, and I reckon in a good side he'd have looked really, really good as a young up and comer.



So, contrary to my earlier post, I reckon there's 3 guys with genuine upside.

[InkerSaint]

Cripps seems to tick the "does the ball just seem to find them?" box. A weedy-looking first year kid is a top three goal scorer for us in every game he's played. Two for which he has been the sub.

[mad saint guy]

Been around long enough on forums to hear that Lenny was no good, too slow, thats why Sydney left him for the Saints, bj is a dud and will never amount to anything, Sam Fisher is a waste of space, Joey will never amount to anything etc etc etc.

BJ copped criticism from a lot of idiots and Lenny didn't win over everyone in his first year or two, but the rest of that is crap. Montagna could play straight away but didn't have the workrate and Fisher went from being a VFL tall forward one week to AFL full back the next and did an admirable job. I don't recall a single person ever bagging him.

The current kids haven't shown much at all. Siposs looks like a skilled, natural footballer but he's the only one to really impress. Cripps is far too small to be playing right now but has done well to get on the end of some easy goals. Judge him in a year or two once he's been introduced to a gym. Steven is starting to look a lot like Robert Eddy. He gets a big more of the footy and is a better shot at goal, but I'm not sure what his weapons are. But right now he's better than McQualter so he stays in. Stanley looks lost; he doesn't seem to have any confidence right now and I'm not sure where he could end up playing in the AFL. But I suspect shouldering most if the VFL ruck work will be good for him and he might be ready for a senior crack around the end of the year.

[Life Long Saint]

Paul Roos made an interesting point last night on "On The Couch".

He said that younger players perform better when the older, experienced players are playing well.

The trouble with our young blokes now is that they are expected to be the saviours of the team.
McEvoy looked to be a great backup ruckman. He needs another ruckman to help shoulder the burden.
Armitage would be a great assett in the midfield rotations but needs more in-and-under players with him.
Steven had a terrific game last season against Geelong. Three goals and looked like a good find.
Stanley looked to be a good foil in the forward line.
Siposs, Johnson, Cripps and Smith all look likely types but they are not going to shine whilst the midfield can't get the ball and whilst the senior, experenced players are not stepping up to the plate.

It is hard to judge them at the moment because they are boys playing against men without the help of the men in our side.