Why do supporters fall for the hype? (injuries) LONG POST

[saintsRrising]

My point is this;
- The media and supporters do not hold the club accountable (enough) for injury management/number of injuries. .

The media I care little about.....and it should be noted that there are now more journos covering the AFL than players playing......and that means a disctinct lack of overall quality and many journos writing, or saying, empty, ill informed, poorly researched comments and opinions.

Accountability? GT was chopped chiefly due to resisting more staff and expertise being added to the club...and RB's Board given the chop by supporters giving FF their support largely for their platform of better resourcing the club.

- If supporters.... did not accept "guru appointments" as entire solutions, the club may be pressured to disclose (assuming they have one) their plan to change the historical trend.
- .

Personally I do not take your point at all.

Why is ita "guru" appointment or solution as you call it?

The previous Board called in Ross Smith (trained and educated as a sports scientist...and ex club champion and elite footballer) who coodinated a committee of AIS sport scientist experts. This was no confest of mystics using smoke and mirrors to select a "chosen one" to lead us out of the wilderness.


Stemming for this they did not appoint a "guru" as you call him....but rather completely overhauled the entire conditioning, fitness and medical departments.


Misson was hired....but guru he is not...but rather someone with a proven and extensive track record and experience in the area of player conditioning.


Add to this an Olympic Team Doctor with vast expereience as a Doctor specialising in sports medicine ..... an additional physiotherapist (anda leading one at that snarred from the Victory), a sports psychologist and a former Australian Institute of Sport expert to assess statistical analysis of players.




The approach was not done on a whim....but after deep consideration and review by Ross and his committee....and the resultant appointments are not gurus but rather professionals who can all be said to be elite in their specialisations.

Now sure having Ross at the club probably helped to land Misson...but Misson is no Guru appointment.....and Misson while very important is but only one of a number of changes.

Now whether this overhaul will actually work or not....we will not know till seasons end.

However I for one believe that the club has over the last six months done all that it could reasonably be expected to have done in a sound and systematic way to address the high incidence of soft tissue injuries at the Saints.

FF have also promised to deliver better facilities and yes we the members need to watch and monitor that they do exactly that.

[saintsRrising]

- And as a side-note, pressure could also be applied to make the club more forthcoming with the extent of injuries.

Is it really this....or rather that you simply do not believe what the club has reported????


Personally from what I can remember the club has been forthcoming and accurate on injuries since Drain was appointed.

For example

*We were advised when Goose re-injured his foot pre-Xmas with an estimate of how far it would put him back.
*we were advised pre-Xmas of M Gardiners minor setback but that they expected him to play (which he has)

*We were advised of Dempster's minor knee surgery
*We were advised that Raph would be rested as he had collapsed most likely due to dehydration combined witha knock on the ribs.
*We were advised that Roo had tedonitis of the knee...and when rumours arose that he had done his ACL (despite no use of crutches) the club put video footage of Roo on the web


*Post Cats game the Club has stated what happened with Max and Kosi....ie that there was tightness and not tears (or at least not significant tears that would mean weeks off). Maybe they are lying,,,but I think not.


The club has said all along that it will be cautious with players, that it will not risk them...and that it will rotate them through the various NAB and Challenge games.


From what I can see this is what they have done and are doing.



With some such as Ball we might lust for more precise estimates, but sometimes this is simply not possible. Like Blues fans with Judd we will just have to wait and see on Ball.



Now the club has put in place closed training sessions and while this understandably is missed by hard core training watchers, or simply fans wanting see their boys, it is equally understandable that the club has gone this way to practice in private...just as many clubs in the AFL and other codes have done and are doing.

[ctqs]

Yes we have had a shocking run with injuries in recent years. So, when theres the slightest whiff of a potential St Klda injury in Feb, HERE WE GO AGAIN is screamed from the roof tops in the media. You'd reckon Max and Kosi had been taken out by snipers the way the commentators went on about it

I definately noticed this on saturdays TV coverage. The reaction to kosi, G and max leaving the field was unbelievably over the top. Sure it was dissapointing to see but immediatly each commentator suddenly became a medical expert and begun sprouting their own prognosis without having any facts about the situation.

Also every news report i saw following was along the lines of "Saints pay price for win" or "Victory in dark day for saints"

Why for once couldn't the headline be about how the young guys stood up under great pressure? or the after match interview be with Jack Steven to see how he feels after kicking the winning goal instead of just jumping on kosi to immediatly ask about his injury?

I guess doom and gloom makes for better TV and nwspaper articles

Because injuries to key players mean more to St Kilda's chances this year than a kid kicking a goal, albeit a winning won, in a game that few outside the club will remember down the track. Big picture.
But on the general topic, I'm amazed that supporters from ANY club take the garbage that their own teams dish out. They all lie, and yet they're the first to crack the sads and accuse media outlets of making things up. Hypocrites. Sometimes I get confused as to which one is the pot, and which one is the kettle.

[saintsRrising]

They all lie, and yet they're the first to crack the sads and accuse media outlets of making things up. Hypocrites. Sometimes I get confused as to which one is the pot, and which one is the kettle.

I think that there is adifference between outright lying and putting a positive spin on things.

I also do not find it suprising that clubs do not always volunteers things....and why should they?


We all like to know everything......but while it may be playing ducks and drakes....you cannot blame the Saints or any club from not always volunteering everything.


I mean in the commercial world...does one expect one corporation to be completely open about all its plans????

[yipper]

- And as a side-note, pressure could also be applied to make the club more forthcoming with the extent of injuries.

Is it really this....or rather that you simply do not believe what the club has reported????


Personally from what I can remember the club has been forthcoming and accurate on injuries since Drain was appointed.

For example

*We were advised when Goose re-injured his foot pre-Xmas with an estimate of how far it would put him back.
*we were advised pre-Xmas of M Gardiners minor setback but that they expected him to play (which he has)

*We were advised of Dempster's minor knee surgery
*We were advised that Raph would be rested as he had collapsed most likely due to dehydration combined witha knock on the ribs.
*We were advised that Roo had tedonitis of the knee...and when rumours arose that he had done his ACL (despite no use of crutches) the club put video footage of Roo on the web


*Post Cats game the Club has stated what happened with Max and Kosi....ie that there was tightness and not tears (or at least not significant tears that would mean weeks off). Maybe there lying,,,but I think not.


The club has said all along that it will be cautious with players, that it will not risk them...and that it will rotate them through the various NAB and Challenge games.


From what I can see this is what they have done and doing.



With some such as Ball we might lust for more precise estimates. but sometimes this is simply not possible. Like Blues gfans with Judd we will just haveto wait and see on Ball.



Now the club has put in place closed training sessions and while this understandably is missed by hard core training watches, or simply fans wanting see their boys, it is equally understandable that the club has gone this way to practice in private.

Totally agree with all of the above. Mass hysteria around anything to do with the Saints is becoming the norm - even from it's own fans!! I am extremely satisfied with the level of professionalism that has been evident from down there since Drain came on-board.