First Quarter

[B.M]

To me, the warning signs were there Q1

16 inside fifties to 4 and had a 12 point lead

Dominated around the ground, contested ball, territory and continually bombed the ball in with NO system and generally just kicked it to Aliir or on top of Max’s head to so Clurey could just out body him.

Port were always going to get going and even things up (or get ascendancy) at some stage and score.

We didn’t capitalise on dominance, which ultimately cost us

Then of course there was the putrid goal kicking!

More than 10 behinds in a row, half of which were sodas. Unacceptable!

[Scollop]

16 inside fifties to 4 and had a 12 point lead

That stat you have quoted is with 6 minutes of actual time left until the first quarter is finished ( that’s excluding time on)

Just watching the replay now. Interestingly up to now I’ve seen Paton and Membrey bomb it in to no one and I’ve seen Gresham do it twice and guess who else has done it twice?

Seb bombed it in once to a contest - no score as Port cleared it - and the second time Seb bombed it in blindly he was on the same side where DMac ran in and kicked a goal. Seb was in space and could have looked for a target, but he bombed it in to no one and Aliir took and easy chest mark on his own. It’s unforgivable for a senior player to continually turn it over when he is free and he is kicking the footy inside 50. I’ve already counted 3 turnovers from Ross kicks

Theres 6 minutes left in the first…back to the action

[Scollop]

The other culprits bombing it in to no one at the end of that first quarter were Sinclair, Higgins, Howard, Wilkie, Long and NWM. Kick and hope 6 times for zero result and most of the time it was a direct turnover. I reckon we may have had 23-24 i50’s versus about 8-9 to the opposition.

The one time Seb tried to pin point a pass to NWM with about 1 minute left on the clock, the kick was fractionally wide and went out on the full. That’s 3 inside 50’s from Seb when he was clear and had time to look for a lead and it resulted in a turn over. Ross’s other turnover (his 4th for the 1st quarter) was in the back half with a clearing kick from defence that landed on the chest of Aliir

He is one of our most senior players. That’s not because of the venue or the weather or Tom Campbells fault. Seb has been doing that consistently through out his career

Glad BM started this thread

[Scollop]

Inside 50’s five minutes into the second quarter were 26-12 our way

The cameras showed the coaches boxes. Kenny looked relaxed (probably thinking that they were lucky to be this close) and Ratts was filthy (no doubt with our poor decision making going inside 50 and wasted opportunities).

[Scollop]

Inside 50’s 30-17 with 9 minutes left until half time.

Yes…pausing it quite a lot

Seen two exquisite long kicks from Ben Long. Seb played a crucial role in our only goal in the second. Some hard running too by Seb Ross and a few nice handballs, but half Seb’s kicks this quarter were up and unders that resulted in turnovers.

The ball was in Port’s forward half for 60% of that second quarter. Our backline did their job and lucky Georgiadis missed a soda

Plus 14 for inside 50’s for the first half. Interestingly they had 13 intercept marks and we only have 6 up to this stage of the match

Dougs, Battle, Webster, Membrey, Steele, Wood and Hill all worked tirelessly in the second quarter. Tom Campbell was ok. Crouch was wasteful and Jade Gresham has tunnel vision when he’s within 40 metres from goal. I’d love to see him pass the footy every now and then instead of always trying to kick goal of the week

[Scollop]

3rd Quarter

Within five minutes of the third quarter, Port had kicked 2 goals to be just 3 points down.

Game on! Time to see the character of the group. Time to see who could play footy under fatigue and under pressure

That miss for Max King was deflating but the boys showed character. Paddy Ryder had a shot from about 45 dead in front and it just went the wrong side of the goal post. Missed by inches. Higgins fluffed a set shot from 30 out and Jade Gresham had a kick on his non preferred from the forward pocket from a deliberate (‘no intent’ or whatever they call it) out from Burton.

After Port tied the score at 28 points each, I think we were the better team for the quarter but we couldn’t capitalise. Windy had a good quarter. Seb Ross and DMac were workhorses and Sincs and Hill were the stand out players in the third

[D.B.Cooper]

16 inside fifties to 4 and had a 12 point lead

That stat you have quoted is with 6 minutes of actual time left until the first quarter is finished ( that’s excluding time on)

Just watching the replay now. Interestingly up to now I’ve seen Paton and Membrey bomb it in to no one and I’ve seen Gresham do it twice and guess who else has done it twice?

Seb bombed it in once to a contest - no score as Port cleared it - and the second time Seb bombed it in blindly he was on the same side where DMac ran in and kicked a goal. Seb was in space and could have looked for a target, but he bombed it in to no one and Aliir took and easy chest mark on his own. It’s unforgivable for a senior player to continually turn it over when he is free and he is kicking the footy inside 50. I’ve already counted 3 turnovers from Ross kicks

Theres 6 minutes left in the first…back to the action

My question is anybody leading at the kicker?

Membrey appeared to be trying to nulify Alir, and he leads up but up the ground.
I was at the game live but King rarely gets out on a long lead like Rooey used to and this was where Hayes looked really handy.

[Scollop]

16 inside fifties to 4 and had a 12 point lead

That stat you have quoted is with 6 minutes of actual time left until the first quarter is finished ( that’s excluding time on)

Just watching the replay now. Interestingly up to now I’ve seen Paton and Membrey bomb it in to no one and I’ve seen Gresham do it twice and guess who else has done it twice?

Seb bombed it in once to a contest - no score as Port cleared it - and the second time Seb bombed it in blindly he was on the same side where DMac ran in and kicked a goal. Seb was in space and could have looked for a target, but he bombed it in to no one and Aliir took and easy chest mark on his own. It’s unforgivable for a senior player to continually turn it over when he is free and he is kicking the footy inside 50. I’ve already counted 3 turnovers from Ross kicks

Theres 6 minutes left in the first…back to the action

My question is anybody leading at the kicker?

Membrey appeared to be trying to nulify Alir, and he leads up but up the ground.
I was at the game live but King rarely gets out on a long lead like Rooey used to and this was where Hayes looked really handy.

You’re right. King was poor. I’m not sure if they went into the game with a plan to try and gain territory and just bomb it in at every opportunity. It cost us multiple turnovers. I can understand that you’d employ that tactic in the wet, but it should only be the last resort…not the first bloody option 8 times out of ten!

Players somehow think their stats and their metres gained will be more impressive when they kick long bombs inside 50. Apparently it’s also counted as an effective kick. It’s a selfish thing to do and it doesn’t help the team.

[Scollop]

Last quarter

We were still 1 point ahead and once again we should have probably been about 4-5 goals up at 3/4 time, but we wasted opportunities in the third quarter. We failed to capitalise when we dominated play and …we kicked poorly with our set shots

In the last quarter Port were taking risks and started to move the ball quickly and play on after taking a mark. They were beating us around the ground and had a lot more uncontested possessions. Hill and Jack Steele were doing what they could to get us over the line.

Both teams mids showing signs of fatigue. Saints get the first goal, but Port fight back. We kept wasting our inside 50’s and the usual culprits in King and Gresh had no composure. Higgins was unlucky with a snap for goal just scraping the post. Both teams had a few rushed behinds and I don’t think a goal was scored in the last 10 minutes or more

Port kicked a point and scores were tied with 1 minute 30 left on the clock. Howard got the job of kicking out. He kicked the footy long and Ryder took a contested mark at CHB. Go Doogs! Go Paddy!

Paddy kicked it to Gresh on the wing. Gresh doesn’t look for a team mate and bombs it shallow inside 50. Ball is turned over but Dursma bombs it to Skunk who centres the footy inside and Ben Long picks up and handballs to Seb who is calling for it about 1 metre away. That last field kick of the day from a St Kilda player was from Seb.

Unfortunately Seb’s kick didn’t hit the target at CHF. Higgins was leading well but it was at his feet instead of being weighted to hit him on the chest. The turnover at CHF resulted in the footy getting to Port’s forward line and R Gray kicks a behind to put Port ahead by 1 point. With less than 30 seconds to go, we couldn’t get the ball forward this time.

Port had set up in the centre of the ground and they punched and spoiled it with the ball spilling out to their forward line. Game over and Port wins by a point.

[Scollop]

It wasn’t the umpires that lost it for us

It wasn’t the venue that made us lose the game.

It wasn’t the coach or the selection committee in my opinion.

We simply failed to capitalise when we dominated play and …we kicked poorly with our set shots

[SaintPav]

Great summary, Scollop.

[B.M]

Given so many players bombed the ball in…

Is it possible it was a direction from the coaching staff - as in the fact the ball will be slippery so just take territory.

Port came out after HT and did three things

1) looked for the short
2) moved it quickly
3) isolated Robbie Gray

All three things worked

[bigcarl]

Dominated around the ground, contested ball, territory and continually bombed the ball in with NO system and generally just kicked it to Aliir or on top of Max’s head to so Clurey could just out body him.

Structurally we missed Hayes/Marshall. You don’t want your only contested option to be a double or triple-teamed Max King.

[Scollop]

Given so many players bombed the ball in…

Is it possible it was a direction from the coaching staff - as in the fact the ball will be slippery so just take territory.

Port came out after HT and did three things

1) looked for the short
2) moved it quickly
3) isolated Robbie Gray

All three things worked

I was referring to the team inclusions rather than match day coaching. I wouldn’t say that Ratts was outcoached but that’s just my opinion. It’s difficult to keep a star of the game quiet all game. Port had a few dominant periods and I think they had way more inside fifties than us in that last quarter

I still think we were the better team for 55% of the time and I still think our composure and kicking efficiency (both field kicking and set shots) is what cost us

[The_Dud]

The one time Seb tried to pin point a pass to NWM with about 1 minute left on the clock, the kick was fractionally wide and went out on the full. That’s 3 inside 50’s from Seb when he was clear and had time to look for a lead and it resulted in a turn over. Ross’s other turnover (his 4th for the 1st quarter) was in the back half with a clearing kick from defence that landed on the chest of Aliir

He is one of our most senior players. That’s not because of the venue or the weather or Tom Campbells fault. Seb has been doing that consistently through out his career

Glad BM started this thread

I noticed this too towards the end of the first, Seb had 2 great opportunities under little pressure and butchered them both. I also don't think it's a coincidence Seb got a lot of votes in this very poor overall game. That's more a dig at the better players who didn't turn up, but when Seb is you best player this is what a game looks like (a lot of Richo-era vibes too).

[bigcarl]

Dominated around the ground, contested ball, territory and continually bombed the ball in with NO system and generally just kicked it to Aliir or on top of Max’s head to so Clurey could just out body him.

Structurally we missed Hayes/Marshall. You don’t want your only contested option to be a double or triple-teamed Max King.

Particularly when he doesn’t have his kicking boots on. He’s not Plugger. You don’t want all your eggs in the one basket.

[saynta]

The one time Seb tried to pin point a pass to NWM with about 1 minute left on the clock, the kick was fractionally wide and went out on the full. That’s 3 inside 50’s from Seb when he was clear and had time to look for a lead and it resulted in a turn over. Ross’s other turnover (his 4th for the 1st quarter) was in the back half with a clearing kick from defence that landed on the chest of Aliir

He is one of our most senior players. That’s not because of the venue or the weather or Tom Campbells fault. Seb has been doing that consistently through out his career

Glad BM started this thread

I noticed this too towards the end of the first, Seb had 2 great opportunities under little pressure and butchered them both. I also don't think it's a coincidence Seb got a lot of votes in this very poor overall game. That's more a dig at the better players who didn't turn up, but when Seb is you best player this is what a game looks like (a lot of Richo-era vibes too).

Anything to downplay his overall game.

[Vortex]

Bombing it in wasn't what cost us the game, that's 101 strategy in the conditions played, Kingy cost us the game, that fact cannot be disputed. He should have to give 10k back per each of those regulation goals he butchered. He's cost us a few wins in recent memory. Patience grasshopper I hear you saying but how much longer does he need learn how to use one of the most basic tools a forward must posess.

Saying it again, King cost us that game.

[Zed]

It wasn’t the umpires that lost it for us

It wasn’t the venue that made us lose the game.

It wasn’t the coach or the selection committee in my opinion.

We simply failed to capitalise when we dominated play and …we kicked poorly with our set shots

Reasons we lost

firstly, Poor goal kicking conversion - by a mile. Fix that , we win.

Secondly, the forward structure doesn’t work as well without a 2nd tall marking forward. This role has been filled by Marshall or Hayes until now. They make space either for King and Higgins to run into. We can get away with it against lesser sides but a good team like Melbourne or Brisbane will shut us down. Marshall back this week will fix the structural issue but at the end of the day if they don’t kick straight it’s a moot point. Need to find another tall forward option the next time either Ryder or Marshall miss a game. Maybe Membrey goes back to playing closer to goal or Sharman comes in.

[CURLY]

That's the issue when you play in s*** conditions like we did. The game is close it's a struggle to score even while dominating other areas.

[Vortex]

It wasn’t the umpires that lost it for us

It wasn’t the venue that made us lose the game.

It wasn’t the coach or the selection committee in my opinion.

We simply failed to capitalise when we dominated play and …we kicked poorly with our set shots

Reasons we lost

firstly, Poor goal kicking conversion - by a mile. Fix that , we win.

Secondly, the forward structure doesn’t work as well without a 2nd tall marking forward. This role has been filled by Marshall or Hayes until now. They make space either for King and Higgins to run into. We can get away with it against lesser sides but a good team like Melbourne or Brisbane will shut us down. Marshall back this week will fix the structural issue but at the end of the day if they don’t kick straight it’s a moot point. Need to find another tall forward option the next time either Ryder or Marshall miss a game. Maybe Membrey goes back to playing closer to goal or Sharman comes in.

It's OK to name names, the reason we lost was because of King.

Agree totally our structure needs an extra tall but I think it needs to be a full timer, RoMa is capable of a supporting role. Disagree with Sharman, he's is struggling at VFL level from all accounts.

[saynta]

Cooper kicked three goals last week but didn't play yesterday.

[saintsRrising]

1/

…we kicked poorly with our set shots

While I would agree with that I would also note:

2/ Howard took the kick-ins way too often, and this is rarely a good thing.

3/ We way too often kicked the ball in the vicinity of Aliir

With a one point margin any one of those three if amended could have seen us win.

[Scollop]

1/

…we kicked poorly with our set shots

While I would agree with that I would also note:

2/ Howard took the kick-ins way too often, and this is rarely a good thing.

3/ We way too often kicked the ball in the vicinity of Aliir

With a one point margin any one of those three if amended could have seen us win.

Saturday night Doog’s kick ins weren’t a problem. I had my heart in my mouth when I saw him take the footy a few times, but he actually did ok. Bu the way, imho he was our best and most important defender on the night for the other stuff he’s good at

Howard made one monumental stuff up when he marked in the pocket and because of his indecision (and perhaps no one was leading) the footy was smothered and we were lucky the resulting throw in didn’t cost us a goal and he is one guy that the coach will say had done his job well on the night

It’s funny with Howard. I get frustrated watching him play because of his laconic nature but I reckon he was switched on against his old and he brings his best when it matters. I think there’s still growth with Dougal and I reckon we got a bargain in that trade

[B.M]

Must be all Sebs fault that we lost

He only had 31 and was probably our best?!

Great logic

Not sure how many here have played footy… but not every decision you make or disposal is what you want it to be… that’s footy.

Are we saying EVERY one of Sebs 31 disposals were poor?!

Because that’s not what I saw!!!

And
Must somehow be Richo’s fault we lost?!
That’s even more stupid!!!