Pressure on Saints tonight

maverick · Post: # 541906Post **maverick** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 3:43pm

Must win game.
If we want to finish top 2 and with the best list on paper since at least 2004, we should win this game of footy. I think we should win by at least 5 goals.

Does anyone on here think the Bullies will finish top 4 this year??? I don't. We are missing Goose and Bakes, they are missing Everitt, Williams and Higgins, IMO they miss more. Surely a no brainer?

FWIW i think the "Doggies will run off us off our feet argument" is total BS.
We are as fit as them andrun as hard, their quickness is overrated for mine...

But we shall see won't we....

Otiman · Post: # 541908Post **Otiman** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 3:47pm

I also think the "we have too many talls that they can't match up on" argument is overrated too. It's quite easy to cover for mediocre defenders with good structure. Collingwood and Sydney have been doing it for years, as have we.

kaos theory · Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:02pm

I just don't think we are playing great footy atm. I've got no issues with the game plan. Its more to do with our disposal in particular. We are sloppy atm, and this is costing us goals and scoreboard pressure on the opposition. We could also lift our intensity at little more.

But, I still expect us to win, and I expect gradual improvement in the defficient areas as the season progresses.

This is the first time this group of players have played together, as a full list, under RL, and I expect some adjustments to keep coming through the year.

We should not look at playing like the cats right away. Remember that they have had a stable coaching department and same group of players together for many yrs now (without the injuries we had). And dispite all of that, they only really 'clicked' together after about round 4 last year.

jonesy · Post: # 541912Post **jonesy** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:04pm

I'm tipping us to win,just very little confidence if last two weeks is anything to go by. If we drop this I fear the season could go pear shaped pretty quickly with the sides coming up...

Tonight will tell us a lot,not as much as next week,but a lot still

Raven · Post: # 541917Post **Raven** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:13pm

kaos theory wrote:I just don't think we are playing great footy atm. I've got no issues with the game plan. Its more to do with our disposal in particular. We are sloppy atm, and this is costing us goals and scoreboard pressure on the opposition. We could also lift our intensity at little more.

But, I still expect us to win, and I expect gradual improvement in the defficient areas as the season progresses.

This is the first time this group of players have played together, as a full list, under RL, and I expect some adjustments to keep coming through the year.

We should not look at playing like the cats right away. Remember that they have had a stable coaching department and same group of players together for many yrs now (without the injuries we had). And dispite all of that, they only really 'clicked' together after about round 4 last year.

Well said, I agree. I'd expect us to win tonight, but only by a small margin. Lately we've been sloppy, a bit soft on the ball, lacking in intensity and quite often seem to be standing back and watching the ball rather than going in hard. We should have beaten Carlton by at least 80 points.

Last week the Doggies buried Melbourne. Sure, it was only Melbourne, but when was the last time you saw St Kilda truly bury a team and not stand back when they knew they'd won? We need to take it up a notch.

hAyES · Post: # 541923Post **hAyES** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:26pm

I'm not convinced we are as good as everyone says yet. I was at the game last week, and too many times last week I saw the players giving the slow it down signal with their hands when we got the ball. Ross, we have 3 gigantic forwards sitting in our forward line, get it in there quick!

This is why I don't see us smashing the Dogs like we have in previous years.

maverick · Post: # 541926Post **maverick** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:29pm

I agree with most, we haven't shown enough as yet, but everytime we have been challenged we have risen above it, we need that to continue.

Top 2 is where premierships are won, that is where we need to finish and wiining all our games at the Dome is where we need to be.

Also agree that the argument "we are taller than them so we should win argument" is BS as well. Excepting of course everyt time we play them this happens Its not the height, its the quality that kills them.

BAM! (shhhh) · Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:33pm

Otiman wrote:I also think the "we have too many talls that they can't match up on" argument is overrated too. It's quite easy to cover for mediocre defenders with good structure. Collingwood and Sydney have been doing it for years, as have we.

IMO it's the talls that explain why we've had the goods at T-Dome for the last 4 years against most sides, including the dogs. Won't even touch the number of defenders that have been underrated by your last comment on 3 sides... though if you want proof of your premise, last years adelaide/Hawthorn game with a depleted Crows backline and lots of discipline is a good place to start.

I agree with those saying we haven't hit form though, and IMO the Dogs have, so it should be an interesting matchup, my hope is that the Dogs kick us into gear by really taking it to us.

Otiman · Post: # 541930Post **Otiman** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:39pm

BAM! (shhhh) wrote:Won't even touch the number of defenders that have been underrated by your last comment on 3 sides.

I'd argue that the defenders are overrated based on the structure they work within. Even Jimmy Gwilt beat Barry Hall and got a Brownlow vote last year in our backline, with extreme help from others (including the umpires).

hAyES · Post: # 541934Post **hAyES** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 4:58pm

I don't think having 3 tall forwards against them is overrated. It's the reason why we've crushed them the past few years. They simply couldn't stop any of them.

karnaby · Post: # 541940Post **karnaby** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 5:21pm

If footscray have bulked up as much as they are reputed to have done I find it hard to imagine they wouldn't have lost some pace in the process, which is one area they were supposed to have an advantage in.

Whilst not being hugely confident I believe that IF we can kick straight on goals and not waste opportunities we can have a reasonable win.

Batnoe · Post: # 541942Post **Batnoe** » Fri 04 Apr 2008 5:28pm

i enjoy watching us play the dogs

a sydney game is always boring when we play but i dont like watching any game sydney plays, but we play differently against different teams, it should be the opposition that adapts our style of play not us with theirs

bomb it long forward every time, but to the right spot