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The off-season break is nearly over for St Kilda’s first to fourth-year players.
21 young Saints will return for the first day of pre-season next Wednesday, including senior regulars Jack Billings, Luke Dunstan, Blake Acres, Jade Gresham, Jack Sinclair and Jack Steele.
With the remainder of the list not starting for another fortnight, St Kilda’s Head of High Performance, Matt Hornsby, says the next generation will have the chance to set the tone from day one.
“It creates a really good opportunity for that group to lead the program and to create the level of intensity that we expect,” Hornsby told saints.com.au on Friday morning.
“So rather than having a group of senior guys who drive that, we’ve got a real opportunity for the second to fourth-year players to drive the program.
“We’ll take them away for two nights to help set up our pre-season and show what a successful pre-season looks like for each individual and get them to think about that and plan their journey over the next few months.”
StReNgTh ThRoUgH LoYaLtY
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly..!!
Excellent news. Weller was good in 2016. 2017 he became a whipping boy and unfairly as yes he was injured and played some great tagging roles. He could and imo will surprise all the naysayers
supersaints wrote:I expect Mav Weller to return in good shape, ankle problems over and has shed 5 Kilos according to a family member I was speaking to last week.
supersaints wrote:I expect Mav Weller to return in good shape, ankle problems over and has shed 5 Kilos according to a family member I was speaking to last week.
Can you find out how he did it?
A reduction in the positive ions from his body.
Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and the St Kilda FC
AFL Summary- afl.com.au ( anyone out Yea way next week) Training return: First-to-fourth-year players are back at the club on Wednesday, November 8, then will go to Yea for a training camp on the Thursday and Friday. The rest of the list returns on Monday, November 20.
Injury list: Young gun Jade Gresham had adductor release surgery at the end of the season but is expected to be well and truly back into his running program by Christmas. Onballer Koby Stevens carried a groin injury throughout the year and had surgery at season's end but should not be delayed too much. Key defender Hugh Goddard will be fit for the start of pre-season after having a toe on his right foot operated on in June. David Armitage (groin) and Nathan Wright (ankle) will have limited workloads when they return to Seaford.
Draft picks: 7, 8, 34, 45
Arrived: Logan Austin
Departed: Joe Baker-Thomas (delisted), Nick Coughlan (delisted), Sean Dempster (retired), Jason Holmes (delisted), Leigh Montagna (retired), Nick O'Kearney (delisted), Lewis Pierce (delisted), Nick Riewoldt (retired)
Major off-field moves: Ameet Bains will leave a big hole when he crosses to the Western Bulldogs as their new chief executive officer in December. He was the chief operating officer and general counsel at the Saints, and had a big hand in list management, so will be tough to replace. The coaching panel was beefed up with Henry Playfair joining as an assistant coach and Ben Dixon brought in to improve the goalkicking, while ruck coach Adam Skrobalak will have less contact hours, having taken on the head coaching role at Frankston. Aaron Hamill will take over Lindsay Gilbee's role as coach of Sandringham, with the former Bulldog moving into a development position.
Round one: Brisbane Lions, Etihad Stadium, Saturday, March 24, 3.35pm
Premiership odds: $34 (CrownBet)
We say: Next season looms as a crunch year in Alan Richardson's coaching reign. Despite having signed a contract to stay at the club until the end of 2020, St Kilda needs to start delivering on the field, not having made finals since 2011. A relatively tough fixture will make that difficult, so its goalkicking will need to improve over the off-season after inaccuracy spread through the team last year. The Saints weren't able to nab Josh Kelly or a similarly classy ball user through the NAB AFL Trade Period so will lean on the likes of Jack Billings and Jade Gresham to add their impeccable foot skills to the midfield. - Dinny Navaratnam
StReNgTh ThRoUgH LoYaLtY
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly..!!
supersaints wrote:I expect Mav Weller to return in good shape, ankle problems over and has shed 5 Kilos according to a family member I was speaking to last week.
Can you find out how he did it?
I'll ask next time I meet , but I was told he has put in a lot of hard work ...
And the president said " I did not have sex with that woman"
And our former president said " Football is like golf"
supersaints wrote:I expect Mav Weller to return in good shape, ankle problems over and has shed 5 Kilos according to a family member I was speaking to last week.
Can you find out how he did it?
I'll ask next time I meet , but I was told he has put in a lot of hard work ...
Good to hear. Obviously is pretty serious about becoming a good player.
Ed Phillips picked up where he left off last summer, setting the pace to beat home Dan McKenzie and Jack Sinclair, who fought it out to the finish line with only one second separating the pair.
Fresh from a trip together in the United States, young midfield pair Blake Acres and Jack Steele were further back in fourth in fifth spots, making an impressive start to their pre-season campaigns.
St Kilda High Performance Manager, Matt Hornsby, was pleased with the first set of times recorded for the pre-season and praised the performance of emerging key forward Paddy McCartin, after the 21-year-old made a statement on day one.
“It was a positive start to the pre-season given the targets we set for the guys were achieved, so it provides a really good foundation from day one to work from,” Hornsby told saints.com.au after the 3km time-trial on Wednesday morning.
“I think the group ran really strongly because they were helped by the fact there was a really good group up the front – there are some pretty elite runners in Ed Phillips, Jack Sinclair, Dan McKenzie, Blake Acres and Jack Steele who really set the pace.
“Some guys went above and beyond those targets like Ed Phillips at the front, as well as Paddy McCartin and Jack Billings.
“For Paddy to run a fairly significant PB is a really good indication that he continued the work he did at the back end of the season when he wasn’t able to play during the off-season – it has translated into a really strong performance today.”
After challenging seasoned endurance kings Jarryn Geary and Jack Newnes last summer, second-year midfielder Phillips impressed Hornsby with his elite endurance once again.
With the first test of the pre-season out of the way, the young group of Saints departed for a two-day camp in Yea (a town in central Victoria) where they will map out their individual programs with Matt Hornsby and the high performance team.
In the absence of St Kilda’s elder statesmen, Sinclair says the camp will provide the next generation with an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and set the tone for the pre-season over the next fortnight.
“It’s a really good chance for some guys to develop their leadership skills, because ultimately that’s what’s going to drive the group forward, especially with some of the holes left by some of the guys who have left the club over the last couple of years,” he said.
StReNgTh ThRoUgH LoYaLtY
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly..!!
On Sunday, the coaches and the leadership group, and four-gamer Ben Long, 20, head to Darwin for a leadership camp. The message will be clear: This is your team now.
Perhaps they will also ponder who they are and whether they are coming or going as a football team.
“We know we have work to do, but I’m really bullish about where we’re at, I really am,’’ Richardson said
.
saw a photo of the group en route
StReNgTh ThRoUgH LoYaLtY
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly..!!
saintbrat wrote:leadership group and Ben Long have headed to NT .
On Sunday, the coaches and the leadership group, and four-gamer Ben Long, 20, head to Darwin for a leadership camp. The message will be clear: This is your team now.
Perhaps they will also ponder who they are and whether they are coming or going as a football team.
“We know we have work to do, but I’m really bullish about where we’re at, I really am,’’ Richardson said
.
saw a photo of the group en route
Can they find and dig up the bone that is up there and remove the curse
“Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown, ignorance can be educated, and drunkenness sobered, but stupid lasts forever.”
― Aristophanes
If you have a Bee in your Bonnet - I can assist you with that - but it WILL involve some smacking upside the head!
saintbrat wrote:leadership group and Ben Long have headed to NT .
On Sunday, the coaches and the leadership group, and four-gamer Ben Long, 20, head to Darwin for a leadership camp. The message will be clear: This is your team now.
Perhaps they will also ponder who they are and whether they are coming or going as a football team.
“We know we have work to do, but I’m really bullish about where we’re at, I really am,’’ Richardson said
.
saw a photo of the group en route
Can they find and dig up the bone that is up there and remove the curse
I'm hoping they unearth another of the roili clan that they can pick up at 40+ in the draft