Fantastic...but...

[saintkev]

We’ve gotta do something about final quarter fade-outs!

[spert]

The Dogs just moved the ball too easy out of their defence- our forward and midfield defensive games were pretty ordinary tonight, but especially in the last. Thank gawd for a good 3rd quarter.

[StPeter]

The high I was feeling at 3/4 time definitely deflated a little by last quarter fade-out and more so by the injury to Paddy.

[SaintPelican66]

It's mindset. We went into the final quarter intent on just wasting time whereas we should have continued to play the same way that got us the lead. Simple as that.

[The_Dud]

The Dogs also threw their gameplan out the window and just went for broke.

We’ll learn from it, which is the main thing

[skeptic]

It's mindset. We went into the final quarter intent on just wasting time whereas we should have continued to play the same way that got us the lead. Simple as that.

I think this is right to a degree

In the second and third quarters we were counter punching and punishing them.

Seemed like we didn’t do that in the final quarter

[saintkev]

The Dogs also threw their gameplan out the window and just went for broke.

We’ll learn from it, which is the main thing

Hopefully, but this is the third it’s happened this year!

[SaintPelican66]

It's mindset. We went into the final quarter intent on just wasting time whereas we should have continued to play the same way that got us the lead. Simple as that.

I think this is right to a degree

In the second and third quarters we were counter punching and punishing them.

Seemed like we didn’t do that in the final quarter

Have a look at the first 7 minutes of the last quarter. They were intent on just wasting time. This meant that the ball was constantly in the Dullbogs forward half. Once they got a goal the pressure started mounting on us and their confidence grew. We should have attacked from the start of the last quarter and we would have won by 40 points IMHO.

[spert]

Our mids didn't chase hard enough in the last- just cruised. We won't get away with it again, but hey we won the first final- a few more wins to get the cup!!

[Peanut Farm]

It would have been all over had Billings kicked that goal. As soon as it hit the post they ran it down the filed and that's when momentum changed very quickly.

[Jacks Back]

Fantastic to win but they had 51 inside 50's to our 35. You won't hold out the top teams with that amount of opportunity.

[fugazi]

Quiet game from Steele, will be huge against Tigers

[Teflon]

Quiet game from Steele, will be huge against Tigers

And Billings....again

[shanegrambeau]

FOX are reviewing our game in a couple of mins.

[bigcarl]

I dunno, would you prefer to be four goals down and have to try to storm home?

Two teams out there, both of them trying to win. Of course they were going to come back at us. They are a good side in very good form.

In a way it’s easier to be slightly behind and you can go for broke. That’s what the Bulldogs did - with a fair bit of help from the umpires.

We held them off and were deserved winners.

[realdeal]

It's mindset. We went into the final quarter intent on just wasting time whereas we should have continued to play the same way that got us the lead. Simple as that.

I think this is right to a degree

In the second and third quarters we were counter punching and punishing them.

Seemed like we didn’t do that in the final quarter

Have a look at the first 7 minutes of the last quarter. They were intent on just wasting time. This meant that the ball was constantly in the Dullbogs forward half. Once they got a goal the pressure started mounting on us and their confidence grew. We should have attacked from the start of the last quarter and we would have won by 40 points IMHO.

Exactly. Ok for a few mins but we saw what happened when we got it thru, Geary goal..

Kent didnt look upto it today..

[Scollop]

It's mindset. We went into the final quarter intent on just wasting time whereas we should have continued to play the same way that got us the lead. Simple as that.

I think this is right to a degree

In the second and third quarters we were counter punching and punishing them.

Seemed like we didn’t do that in the final quarter

Have a look at the first 7 minutes of the last quarter. They were intent on just wasting time. This meant that the ball was constantly in the Dullbogs forward half. Once they got a goal the pressure started mounting on us and their confidence grew. We should have attacked from the start of the last quarter and we would have won by 40 points IMHO.

I don't know whether we would have won by 40 but I do agree with the yellow highlighted quote. It's ok to slow down the tempo, but there is a limit and you can overdo the defensive sideways crap.

You are inviting trouble when you try and play defensively for half a fricken quarter. It's the reason TossLyonn teams lost finals.

The best pressure is scoreboard pressure

[saint-stu]

It's mindset. We went into the final quarter intent on just wasting time whereas we should have continued to play the same way that got us the lead. Simple as that.

It was absolutely this. We let the dogs back into the game and once we handed them the momentum, they almost pinched it. Exactly the same as the Freo game except this time we managed to hold in.

The saints rarely have comfortable wins where we can relax. I wish they would keep playing attacking until maybe the last 5 minutes.

[ace]

We’ve gotta do something about final quarter fade-outs!

Becoming more than a habit.
Opponents showing more desperation for the ball.

[samoht]

Coffield had a few fumbles during the game, but 4 or 5 big marks in our D50 in the last quarter were pure gold.
Lucky for us, he stood tall in the last.

[saynta]

Our mids didn't chase hard enough in the last- just cruised. We won't get away with it again, but hey we won the first final- a few more wins to get the cup!!

No hanners didn't help.

[remboy]

Coffield had a few fumbles during the game, but 4 or 5 big marks in our D50 in the last quarter were pure gold.
Lucky for us, he stood tall in the last.

Like a few, he will benefit so much from the experience. I loved that he was still going for the marks in the last quarter and grabbing a few. To me it shows that he didn’t lose confidence. He’ll only improve from here.

[shanegrambeau]

I was downstairs fixing my motorbike in the apartments car parks. iPad on my seat, watching on WatchAFL, an app available to people overseas. We were 26, then 25, 24, 23 points up. I had Max HOUGHTON on my mind thanks to reading a post here, and the year 2000 - and our losses to North and Freo this year, and the commentators last night saying Richmond have never hauled back a big losing score line in the last. I wondered if the Saints players erroneously thought the same applied to them. I had the battle of Normandy from History channel, where the Germans had the Allies of far greater numerical strength kind of netted up in a narrow sector for a month or so, before the inevitable dam wall broke.

I needed a tool, so I went upstairs to get it. I took my time. Filled with dread. I was ashamed but just could not face it. By the time I got downstairs, a took a big gulp of air, resent the ipad, and we were three points up. It’s happening I thought.

Whew.

...and they missed an easy set shot too.

[WellardSaint]

It's mindset. We went into the final quarter intent on just wasting time whereas we should have continued to play the same way that got us the lead. Simple as that.

100%
Against Giants, we had em on the ropes.
Roughy spoke to Hodge at 3/4 time on camera and said 'let's have some fun, we're 4 goals up and let's get some more'

But with that last goal we got yesterday, it seemed the team was just running down the clock

[Sanctorum]

I dunno, would you prefer to be four goals down and have to try to storm home?

Two teams out there, both of them trying to win. Of course they were going to come back at us. They are a good side in very good form.

In a way it’s easier to be slightly behind and you can go for broke. That’s what the Bulldogs did - with a fair bit of help from the umpires.

We held them off and were deserved winners.

As others have said, the team will learn a lot from the 4th quarter fade-out.

They should have been aware that the Dogs were going to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at them to snatch a win in this sudden-death final - by any measure the Dogs had a much more experienced and talented team out there as well as a bloody good coach.

Jack Steele was surprisingly below his best, but the defenders were awesome which was just as well as the Dogs appeared to me to be transitioning the ball much better than our boys for most of the game.

A great win and next week "anything is possible"....