A Call To All Saints: STAND UP!

[Broodruff]

It makes me sad:
In years to come, people will look back on this era of AFL and remember a select few names. Four will undoubtedly be remembered, the others, I will not speculate. All bias aside, these four men are this eras football gods. Hird, Voss, Buckley and finally, Harvey.

One of them is the odd one out, and we all know who and why.

All four men have led their sides, some with words, others with actions. All men have played with amazing determination, will, courage and spirit. All four men have bled for their club, love their club and are loved back. Only three of these men have a premiership medallion. Robert Harvey, a true legend of modern football, does not.

Essendon, Collingwood and Brisbane all won premierships, some easily, some not so easily. They all grouped together and willed themselves onto it, pushed for it, believed in it so much that it came to fruition.

2008, this was it, this was the year, the script was already written. It was to be Robert Harvey's last year and the Saints were going to win a premiership for him. We had everything in place. We had a new board, a coach who had settled into his job, a stellar trade week. We had Riewoldt stand up, asking everyone if they were doing everything that was possible to get themselves to a premiership. This is it!

We were going to train harder than ever before, push ourselves to our limits, and then beyond. We were going to throw ourselves into every contest with blatant disregard for the consequences. We were going to grind, claw and push our way to a premiership. We were going to win it, through sheer effort, determination and most of all, out of respect for Robert Harvey we were going to win a premiership.

Skip forward to round 8 of the Home and Away Season.

Four wins
Three losses.
Our only two convincing wins came against opponents sitting 6 and 8 places below us.

We are lining up against Collingwood with a lot of first choice, big name players sitting on the sidelines, including our captain.

Suddenly the fairytale seems so far away, and it frustrates us all. Why? Because we have seen it. We have seen the Dal Santos and Hayes players streaming forwad, nailing Gherig, Riewold, Kozi on the chest. We've seen Milne pick up the crums and kick big bags. We've seen the midfield chase down and tackle hard all day. We've seen the back-line working together to form an almost inpenetrable barrier.

It frustrates me, because I have seen it. I have seen the skill required to win a premiership. I have seen the teamwork, the determination and hunger to win a premiership. I have seen a team worthy of winning a premiership.

But still we have nothing.

This is not me putting players down.
This is not me speculating who is performing and who should be dropped.
This is not me disrespecting any wins, or games this season.

This is a simple call to arms.
Legends and heroes arent remembered for being brilliant when things are rosy, they are remembered for standing up when the chips were down, when all odds were against them.
This is a desperate plea for all Saints players, young, old, fit, injured. This is a call for you to stand up.

Be brilliant.
Be brave.
Become what we all know you are capable of.
Most of all...
DO NOT condemn yourselves as being remembered as the team that could not even pull together, to win a premiership for Sir Robert Harvey.

[The Saintsational Man]

Um.....bloke Buckley never won a premiership either.....don't know where you read that.

We're sitting 5th playing terrible football.

Hopefully things anly get better, even with the injuries.

[Eastern]

Um.....bloke Buckley never won a premiership either.....don't know where you read that.

We're sitting 5th playing terrible football.

Hopefully things anly get better, even with the injuries.

I remember Buckley saying that he left Brisbane for Collingwood so that he could/would have a better chance of being a premiership player, words that he would probably wish he could have back !!

[brown-coat]

Fine speech.

Elect this guy to become emperor of the universe, he knows the score.

Go saints.

[bobmurray]

Go the injury riddled,patched up Saints.......

We can and will beat the Carringbush..............i hope......

[Broodruff]

Ok, so Buckley never won a premiership, for some reason I thought he had?
Does anyone blame me though? I don't really have a keen interest in the Collingwood football club.

[sunsaint]

Good post
Yes I too believed that the Saints would make 08 the year the players rewarded Harvey
We had recruited wisely topping up in areas where we needed it, & after the Nab cup I believed they were on the right track.
But when the home and away started the signs were there, lazy, happy to relax on a slim lead, and confused game plan.
It reminds me of GT's comment a while back about heads as big as puddings.
And this is not a RL rant, because in the end players do what is instinctive, they run when they have it and chase when they dont.
Last year we couldnt play four quarters and it was blamed on fitness.
This year it seems to be application for four quarters, which might be the players making a conscious decision themselves to keep something in the tank.
I am sick of us being labelled the best team of champion recruits assembled.
I want us to be remembered in 08 as a champion team that faced and overcame the odds. To win the flag. For Harvey. For their team mates. To match the expectations of their talent.
Cmon Saints.

[mick13]

Um.....bloke Buckley never won a premiership either.....don't know where you read that.

We're sitting 5th playing terrible football.

Hopefully things anly get better, even with the injuries.

That says it all really...playing absolute crap and we're 5th.

Sure top 2 looks a little way off now, even top 3 but 4th position is an open race. Once we get a little bit of form, who knows how good we'll go.

Oh, and a break from injuries lol.