the difference between this saints team and those from recent years.

[shanegrambeau]

At the same point in time last …..(5-1)..

That itself is amazing and kinda odd to contemplate

We’d beaten Freo , Gold Coast and the Bulldogs and Richmond, GWS and similarly lost to Collingwood!!

Richmond , like this year, started soft.

It is remarkably similar ..eerily so.

We had fewer injuries..is that it?

[Saintmike65]

If you drill into how this improved performance has occurred, we need to look at the broad actions that have taken place.
For starters, getting an elite senior coach & assistant coaches, which have implemented professional, organised training and general standards.
BJ Goddard has given us more depth in our development team.
SOS and Gubby appointments have given us a better chance of luring trade targets to us.
Misson and Walsh are very good on the fitness side, although Geoff Walsh wasn’t with us long, no doubt he put his imprint on our organisation.
The boss keeps his messaging to players clear and simple..he has given us relevance again!!
Unlike some of our glass half empty supporters, I see us getting better in the second half of this season.
We have players currently unavailable that will improve our side.
Caminiti, King and Webster are automatic ins in the not too distant future, with Billings knocking on the door.

[shanegrambeau]

Thinking about results, and facts...and leaving out all the hyperbole..

The team that beat Fremantle last year had 17 of the 22 that ran out on the park against Carlton on Sunday.

Our backline included Darragh Joyce and Jarrod Lienert. Jack Hayes (after his notable debut that generated an incredible amount of hyperbole too) had a quiet game.
Members had his slippery boots on again and kicked 0.3!

Sharman was an emerg/sub. Another similarity.

But here it is..
Max King!!! 4 Goals!!

and Higgo kicked 4 too!

But we must have been doing something right in that magical first month!!

It is a bit of a head teaser and it is also a bit of a warning.
THe press will pump up the Ross the Boss like the Hindenberg just so they can film it in flames. Watch out Saints! Keep our heads..As I am sure they will do in closer confines of Moorabbin.

[perfectionist]

To my eye, the difference this season is the proportion of the team sticking to "the plan" and being fit enough, and able enough, to play their part. It's why it has been so difficult to pick the best 5 players when literally almost all made significant contributions at one point in the game. I think the skills have improved, but this started with Brett Ratten when one sided players worked on their other side and became at least "get out" players on the wrong side. Ben Paton used the left foot on Sunday with a reasonably executed kick which unfortunately went straight to the opposition. But, he must continue to execute when the situation demands rather than stop and freeze, as he is want to do. If, in the end, his skills do not match those vying for his position, then he will lose his place, but it's up to him.

As others have said, we were 5-1 at the same time last year. Our 7th game was against PA - as it is this year. That game, in the wet in Qld, was the beginning of the end. We should have been 5 goals ahead at three quater time, but kicked woefully and they won by a point. Hopefully their captain will be out - he's a bit of a thug - like a few other PA players.

[saynta]

And we don't have a bottom six, bottom one maybe, but definitely no bottom six.

[saynta]

The foundations with all pillars of the club on the same page might help a bit too

Ross is doing a fantastic job but 1 person alone is not going to lead St Kilda FC to the promised land

Quite a few people on the saintsational fan forum have commented that version II is different to RTB version 1 and I totally agree.

It isn't about whether he could coach a young group or not. I think he has grown and he listens and he has the recent history with young players at Fremantle, so of course you learn from that, but he's also learnt what works and what doesn't as far as tactics and strategies in the modern game.

The landscape with rule changes provides opportunities for a smart operator and his team to exploit. It's not often that a coaching group can start from scratch and come up with a fresh game plan

That's what they did as a collective prior to taking on this journey with this current list.

Obviously Ross and the assistants have also done a terrific job getting the buy in from all the playing group and that deserves recognition

The president said we could go backwards and Ross said it's an exploratory year so that mean NO short cuts. We're aiming to build a top 4 list

Will be a bloody amazing effort if we can get there and challenge Geelong/Brisbane/Melbourne and Collingwood in 2023

The recognition that we had to go to the draft and recruit elite talent started at the end of 2021 (and we nailed those picks with Windy, Owens and Wanganeen-Milera at pick 7)

The continuation of that strategy and the inclusion of another top 10 pick in Mattaes Phillipou along with some other hopefuls means we are taking the longer term approach

We finally have list management and coaching staff working collaboratively. The destination for this list is to bring home our second flag.

We have a senior coach and his assistants who get along with each other and all staff work well together and take direction from a strong leader

The magic dust is important, but the fundamentals with a competent and stable board, management, and football department are key.


Edit... Are we sure it's not Lenny who is the magician?

Or banga? Anyway, great post.

[samuraisaint]

Friday night's Port Adelaide game will tell us a tale or two. Anything less than a win would be a calamity. There can be no honourable losses this week. We have only beaten them once in eleven seasons. We only usually play them once, but that is a terrible record. I think we have played them at home twice in 13 years, so that is another factor, and one of those was played with no crowd, so it was basically a neutral venue.

Last year the one-point loss to Power in Cairns arguably set in the rot. Missed the top 8 by a game.

Port have won their previous 6 games at Docklands (not all against us) - but they have only played us once there in ten years - and that was with no crowd anyway. The last game they played there was against Essendon which they won by 84 points.
But apparently, they have Jonas, Georgiades, Marshall, and Dixon out so this gives us a huge chance I reckon.

The key thing for us should be to get at least 25,000 St Kilda supporters to the game Friday night to create a feral atmosphere. Even RL said as much in his presser. It would be nice to get more, but I think 25,000 is very realistic. If only 21,000 or 23,000 turn up to a Friday night game when we are on top of the ladder, that would be disappointing, I think.

Port is going well so should bring a couple of thousand of their own supporters, although as a fanbase they seem to be generally disenchanted with their coach and a few other things, so who knows, I mean they had sponsors CG on their live telecasts a while back so that the stands didn't look too embarrassing.

[samuraisaint]

Thinking about results, and facts...and leaving out all the hyperbole..

The team that beat Fremantle last year had 17 of the 22 that ran out on the park against Carlton on Sunday.

Our backline included Darragh Joyce and Jarrod Lienert. Jack Hayes (after his notable debut that generated an incredible amount of hyperbole too) had a quiet game.
Members had his slippery boots on again and kicked 0.3!

Sharman was an emerg/sub. Another similarity.

But here it is..
Max King!!! 4 Goals!!

and Higgo kicked 4 too!

But we must have been doing something right in that magical first month!!

It is a bit of a head teaser and it is also a bit of a warning.
THe press will pump up the Ross the Boss like the Hindenberg just so they can film it in flames. Watch out Saints! Keep our heads..As I am sure they will do in closer confines of Moorabbin.

We started off similarly in 2019 as well - winning 4 out of the first 5. Friday night is all important. Port have owned us for more than ten years. Win this and the belief will come.

[Sainter_Dad]

At the same point in time last season 5-1

We are 1/4 of the way through the season, long way to go.

Ross would be reminding players not to drink their own bath water.

Hopefully we get to 8-3 as well this season and then hopefully we don’t fall in a heap again

I think we were 104% last year at this time.

Position	Club	Played	Points	%	Won	Lost	Drawn	PF	PA
1	Melbourne	6	24	153.5	6	0	0	542	353
2	Fremantle	6	20	144.2	5	1	0	532	369
3	Brisbane Lions	6	20	142.9	5	1	0	633	443
4	Sydney Swans	6	20	134.9	5	1	0	595	441
5	St Kilda	6	20	131.7	5	1	0	573	435
6	Geelong Cats	6	16	121.7	4	2	0	600	493
7	Carlton	6	16	95.4	4	2	0	495	519
8	Collingwood	6	12	107.2	3	3	0	551	514

131%

Points For: 2022 - 573 v 2023 - 510
Points Against: 2023 - 435 v 2023 - 357

Surprising similar - 2023 - Top of ladder - 2022 - 5th

[Teflon]

That's my opinion ... Collingwood stopped a couple of our important runners, but we forgot about their no. 1 runner or didn't use the right tactics.

Your opinions wrong again
Go back and listen to the presser
Think you’ll find Lyon was testing his system against Pies
And AGAIN for the umpteenth time
Daicos WAS NOT the 6 point difference between sides
Crouch was more influential imo

[Teflon]

It’s hysterical reading some here just saying “yeah it’s more the players….the players have just magically gotten better”
**** me
The players are WELL ORGANISED they know where to run, how to fill their role - they’ve said it themselves
Hill has come out and said he’s actually enjoying footy again first time in years
Steele has told you the ENTIRE list has brought into Lyon and his coaching groups plan
That starts at the top make no mistake it’s got Lyons’s hands all over it
Sure Harvey Enright Lenny have been great no doubt but that defensive coordination is Lyon 101
Why do players skills look better????
Cause when you are being given clear instructions, to play to plan you not only understand but believe in …then execution becomes a much simpler prospect….Lyons’s game doesn’t ask Seb Ross to hit laser passes across the corridor….it asks him to play to his strengths and within his means
Lyon did the same thing with Clint Jones etc … keep it simple , clear and acknowledge players doing their bit at selection
He mentioned Cordy again in his presser ….all the “experts” on here have him sacked….Lyon likes him ….why????
He does a job
Our difference stems from the top
As Montagna pointed out - massive kudos to Bassett and Board ….took the media hit and the whiny assed supporters hit “we just hate Ross” blah blah blah (how f kn stupid do they look??) and made the tough but right call
Remember ….this year is just exploring….

[D.B.Cooper]

That's my opinion ... Collingwood stopped a couple of our important runners, but we forgot about their no. 1 runner or didn't use the right tactics.

Your opinions wrong again
Go back and listen to the presser
Think you’ll find Lyon was testing his system against Pies
And AGAIN for the umpteenth time
Daicos WAS NOT the 6 point difference between sides
Crouch was more influential imo

Crouch was more influential?

Crouch is in career best form and would be too 3 in B&F IMO, having an excellent season.

If Crouch was more influential than Daicos, why did both coaches give him maximum votes (10) whilst Brad scored 1 vote?

Both coaches rated Daicos as BOG and only one had Brad top 5.

Why do you think Brad was more influential than Daicos? What did you see that both coaches didn’t?

[Teflon]

That's my opinion ... Collingwood stopped a couple of our important runners, but we forgot about their no. 1 runner or didn't use the right tactics.

Your opinions wrong again
Go back and listen to the presser
Think you’ll find Lyon was testing his system against Pies
And AGAIN for the umpteenth time
Daicos WAS NOT the 6 point difference between sides
Crouch was more influential imo

Crouch was more influential?

Crouch is in career best form and would be too 3 in B&F IMO, having an excellent season.

If Crouch was more influential than Daicos, why did both coaches give him maximum votes (10) whilst Brad scored 1 vote?

Both coaches rated Daicos as BOG and only one had Brad top 5.

Why do you think Brad was more influential than Daicos? What did you see that both coaches didn’t?

I saw Brad have 16 contested possessions and kick 2 goals
Still have it 30+ times
Top votes usually go to the winner- good luck to Daicos
But Lyon himself questioned whether Daicos was the difference in his presser so I don’t think he gives to shytes about coaches votes and awards tbh
Oh also added IMO just to be clear

[Jacks Back]

He mentioned Cordy again in his presser ….all the “experts” on here have him sacked….Lyon likes him ….why????
He does a job

If he does such a good job why do they sub him out? Now that Membrey is back I don't think Cordy plays ahead of King (or Caminiti for that matter). Also Owens plays second ruck so no need for Cordy (unless we have more injuries). If Caminiti could be taught the second ruck it might advantage him and us.

[Teflon]

He mentioned Cordy again in his presser ….all the “experts” on here have him sacked….Lyon likes him ….why????
He does a job

If he does such a good job why do they sub him out? Now that Membrey is back I don't think Cordy plays ahead of King (or Caminiti for that matter). Also Owens plays second ruck so no need for Cordy (unless we have more injuries). If Caminiti could be taught the second ruck it might advantage him and us.

He’ll go out that’s for sure but point us he does a job and Lyon likes his role players…