Some observations after watching a replay of Sat night

[saint66au]

have spent yesterday and today when time has permitted. watching the game back. Noticed a few things that werent obvious to me from the heights of L3..

* Jason Gram. There is a time to toe-poke the ball into space and theres a time to just stick your head over the footy and pick it up. Twice in the first qtr he chose the incorrect "toe-poke" option, the first earning a "just put your head over the ball son and pick it up" rebuke from Michael Voss, in a tone of voice that suggested he would have been in his sights as vulnerable if he was still playing.

* Luke Ball. Yes we got smashed at the clearances but without Lukey B we would have been totally obliterated. Responsible for about 80% of the extraction we did get. the OP has not affected his hands, very very silky in close. Great game

* Richo. Was nice to watch his game safe in the knowledge that his efforts would not cost us the game. I'm glad we dont play them again, as I look forward to watching him repeat those efforts against a team I want beaten. Single-handedly putting Tiger bums back on seats, if he'd played like that in the NAB Cup they'd have 40,000 members now.

* Why do Tiger fans boo Riewoldt (Nick obviously)???

*Shane Birss. Very underated game on Foley. Pretty much totally negated him after 1/4 time.

*...and last but not least..Raph. 19 posessions and I reckon 17 of them were fine. Was in our Top 5 in the first quarter, had a very ordinary 2nd qtr but fought back well after 1/2 time. Would put him ahead on the day of Gram, Baker, Joey, Armo, Dempster and possibly Kosi. Take out his 2 (admittedly awful) clangers and he would have been in our Top 10 I reckon. Watch the replay folks..and dont close your eyes when he goes near the ball

Oh..and does anyone know why they re-did the toss? Roo originally won it, points to the CS end as usual and off the Captains run. A few seconds later the umpires bring them back to re-do it. Johnson then wins and kicks to our CS end. Anyone shed any light on it?

[Enrico_Misso]

Oh..and does anyone know why they re-did the toss? Roo originally won it, points to the CS end as usual and off the Captains run. A few seconds later the umpires bring them back to re-do it. Johnson then wins and kicks to our CS end. Anyone shed any light on it?

Haven't seen a replay yet,
but
can anyone shed light on why Goddard had to take that kick-in again ?
can anyone shed light on the 50m penalty to Simmons ?
can anyone explain how Riewoldt's tackler wasn't suspended ?
can anyone explain why they had 3 contested possessions for every one of ours ?
can anyone explain why the "advantage" rule was disallowed - twice?

[3rd generation saint]

Also did anyone see Troy Simmonds deliberately knee Kosi in the third quarter.
Thought that was reportable to.
Also in defence of Raph, his kick to the wing to a pack was the right option, as there were no others, so he kicked it as far as he could to a contest hoping we would a win the contest or b create a stalemate and a ball up to waste seconds.

[saintbrat]

simmonds and his knees are deadly for saints- wasn't it him who kneed Blake?

[Enrico_Misso]

Also in defence of Raph, his kick to the wing to a pack was the right option, as there were no others, so he kicked it as far as he could to a contest hoping we would a win the contest or b create a stalemate and a ball up to waste seconds.

And isn't that an indictment on our team, that leading by less than a goal deep into time on, no-one bothered to gut run and provide a chip-kick option for Raph (though I fear he might have missed the target !!).

[Enrico_Misso]

simmonds and his knees are deadly for saints- wasn't it him who kneed Blake?

And Bakes tried to even up ?

[saintsRrising]

simmonds and his knees are deadly for saints- wasn't it him who kneed Blake?

I think you mean Stafford.

[saintbrat]

hence I wasn't sure-

[Winmarvellous]

If a Saint got reported for making a tackle like that, we'd all be ropable. He got the free kick, move on.

[Eastern]

Oh..and does anyone know why they re-did the toss? Roo originally won it, points to the CS end as usual and off the Captains run. A few seconds later the umpires bring them back to re-do it. Johnson then wins and kicks to our CS end. Anyone shed any light on it?

Roo might have done a "Teddy Whitten" and got sprung !!

[kalsaint]

have spent yesterday and today when time has permitted. watching the game back. Noticed a few things that werent obvious to me from the heights of L3..

* Jason Gram. There is a time to toe-poke the ball into space and theres a time to just stick your head over the footy and pick it up. Twice in the first qtr he chose the incorrect "toe-poke" option, the first earning a "just put your head over the ball son and pick it up" rebuke from Michael Voss, in a tone of voice that suggested he would have been in his sights as vulnerable if he was still playing.

* Luke Ball. Yes we got smashed at the clearances but without Lukey B we would have been totally obliterated. Responsible for about 80% of the extraction we did get. the OP has not affected his hands, very very silky in close. Great game


* Why do Tiger fans boo Riewoldt (Nick obviously)???

*Shane Birss. Very underated game on Foley. Pretty much totally negated him after 1/4 time.

Gram has taken the soft option many times and tends to run forward of the ball rather than put his head over it and claim ownership.

Luke Ball has struggled with kicking but I love the guy for his inner efforts. He does this every game and never shirks the contest. Yes, without him clearances might have been 5:1 Richmond's way.

Nick gets booed due to jealousy IMO. He is all class but others nelieve he is favoured by umpires. I reckon there is deep seated issues from when Roo gave Richo a hiding a couple of games ago.

The live game viewing from the ground gives a really good perspective on who is a passesnger. e see mt ohave several candidates. Please identify them as the team needs a spark. Crawling over the line over poorer opposition does not provide me with confidence but then, A week is a long time in football.

[joffaboy]

Raph was awful in the 2nd qtr but the rest of the game he played well.

[ausfatcat]

Oh..and does anyone know why they re-did the toss? Roo originally won it, points to the CS end as usual and off the Captains run. A few seconds later the umpires bring them back to re-do it. Johnson then wins and kicks to our CS end. Anyone shed any light on it?

Haven't seen a replay yet,
but
can anyone shed light on why Goddard had to take that kick-in again ?
can anyone shed light on the 50m penalty to Simmons ?
can anyone explain how Riewoldt's tackler wasn't suspended ?
can anyone explain why they had 3 contested possessions for every one of ours ?
can anyone explain why the "advantage" rule was disallowed - twice?

goddard's kick again - no idea

Simmonds free - if it was when he kicked that goal, it was not a 50 metre penalty but a free kick paid down field (ball was in Richmonds forward line and Simmonds in the centre) making the free kick to Simmonds in Richmonds forward line. It was against Birss for high contact (the commentators and replayed said it was a farce of a free kick).

Roo's tackler - Roo plays for St Kilda same answer for the other two.

[Grimfang]

can anyone shed light on the 50m penalty to Simmons ?

Simmonds free - if it was when he kicked that goal, it was not a 50 metre penalty but a free kick paid down field (ball was in Richmonds forward line and Simmonds in the centre) making the free kick to Simmonds in Richmonds forward line. It was against Birss for high contact (the commentators and replayed said it was a farce of a free kick).

If you listen to the umpire mike, it was a downfield free for blocking against Birss. The replay clearly showed McMahon and Birss moving towards each other and then McMahon collects Birss high with the inside forearm.

[Grimfang]

simmonds and his knees are deadly for saints- wasn't it him who kneed Blake?

And Bakes tried to even up ?

It was Stafford who dropped his knees into Blake breaking the transverse process of one of his vertebrae.

A couple of seasons later he charged Goddard and got off scot free. Bakes flew the flag; it was the incident where he got done for a couple of weeks for "attempted striking".

[st_Trav_ofWA]

Gram is my new whipping boy he is woefully soft !!!
he couldnt tackle a 4 yearold
some one needs to tell him half efforts are not good enuff !!
he should be traded as the only thing he had going for him was his long kicks and now they can end up anywhere and every where !!
seriously i cringe every time Gram gets the ball cause all he does is kick and hope .... how bout hitting a target !!!

[BringBackMadDog]

I watched Gram quite a bit on Saturday night, he is beyond soft, I'm not sure if the replay shows it clearly but there were a few times when the ball was bouncing free across half back with Gram coming from one side and a richmond player coming in the opposite direction, Gram actually slowed down to make sure that he got there too late and then made a half arsed attempt at a tackle. Opposition teams are absolutely aware that he will not go in so one guy goes at the ball and the rest peel off into space safe in the knowledge that theyt will win the contest.

[Spinner]

Oh..and does anyone know why they re-did the toss? Roo originally won it, points to the CS end as usual and off the Captains run. A few seconds later the umpires bring them back to re-do it. Johnson then wins and kicks to our CS end. Anyone shed any light on it?

Haven't seen a replay yet,
but
can anyone shed light on why Goddard had to take that kick-in again ?
can anyone shed light on the 50m penalty to Simmons ?
can anyone explain how Riewoldt's tackler wasn't suspended ?
can anyone explain why they had 3 contested possessions for every one of ours ?
can anyone explain why the "advantage" rule was disallowed - twice?

I think it was because Raph Clarke was too close to the man on the mark.

[Mr Magic]

Oh..and does anyone know why they re-did the toss? Roo originally won it, points to the CS end as usual and off the Captains run. A few seconds later the umpires bring them back to re-do it. Johnson then wins and kicks to our CS end. Anyone shed any light on it?

Haven't seen a replay yet,
but
can anyone shed light on why Goddard had to take that kick-in again ?
can anyone shed light on the 50m penalty to Simmons ?
can anyone explain how Riewoldt's tackler wasn't suspended ?
can anyone explain why they had 3 contested possessions for every one of ours ?
can anyone explain why the "advantage" rule was disallowed - twice?

I think it was because Raph Clarke was too close to the man on the mark.

Is that a rule for kickouts?

[rodgerfox]

If a Saint got reported for making a tackle like that, we'd all be ropable. He got the free kick, move on.

"There will also be stricter interpretations of the laws of two aspects of the game for the 2007 season, including the NAB Cup, which covers stricter policing of hands in the back in marking contests and relating to dangerous tackles such as by unnecessarily and dangerously driving an opponent into the ground with their arms pinned."

Whether you like it or not, it's illegal in AFL footy now.

If the AFL makes rules, they need to abide by them consistently.

[Eastern]

If a Saint got reported for making a tackle like that, we'd all be ropable. He got the free kick, move on.

"There will also be stricter interpretations of the laws of two aspects of the game for the 2007 season, including the NAB Cup, which covers stricter policing of hands in the back in marking contests and relating to dangerous tackles such as by unnecessarily and dangerously driving an opponent into the ground with their arms pinned."

Whether you like it or not, it's illegal in AFL footy now.
If the AFL makes rules, they need to abide by them consistently.

Some have named it THE AARON HAMILL RULE !!

[Dan Warna]

simmonds and his knees are deadly for saints- wasn't it him who kneed Blake?

And Bakes tried to even up ?

It was Stafford who dropped his knees into Blake breaking the transverse process of one of his vertebrae.

A couple of seasons later he charged Goddard and got off scot free. Bakes flew the flag; it was the incident where he got done for a couple of weeks for "attempted striking".

its not often fans take an dislike to one of their own, but even richmond fans were highly critical of stafford.

it was interesting on the PRE and on BF back when, when a fair wack of richmond fans were saying that this guy had no class and no right to be playing football.

stafford went out of his way to cripple opposition players.

I've heard tell he's not well liked even in the richmond rooms at the time as many of the players were friends with other players from opposition clubs and thought his actions were wrong.

[Eastern]

simmonds and his knees are deadly for saints- wasn't it him who kneed Blake?

And Bakes tried to even up ?

It was Stafford who dropped his knees into Blake breaking the transverse process of one of his vertebrae.

A couple of seasons later he charged Goddard and got off scot free. Bakes flew the flag; it was the incident where he got done for a couple of weeks for "attempted striking".

its not often fans take an dislike to one of their own, but even richmond fans were highly critical of stafford.

it was interesting on the PRE and on BF back when, when a fair wack of richmond fans were saying that this guy had no class and no right to be playing football.

stafford went out of his way to cripple opposition players.

I've heard tell he's not well liked even in the richmond rooms at the time as many of the players were friends with other players from opposition clubs and thought his actions were wrong.

Dan !!

If you need confirmation that what you are saying is 100% correct, ask anyone who is/has been involved with Eastern Rangers in the TAC Cup where he is an assistant coach. There appears to be little or no respect for the man !!

[Spinner]

Oh..and does anyone know why they re-did the toss? Roo originally won it, points to the CS end as usual and off the Captains run. A few seconds later the umpires bring them back to re-do it. Johnson then wins and kicks to our CS end. Anyone shed any light on it?

Haven't seen a replay yet,
but
can anyone shed light on why Goddard had to take that kick-in again ?
can anyone shed light on the 50m penalty to Simmons ?
can anyone explain how Riewoldt's tackler wasn't suspended ?
can anyone explain why they had 3 contested possessions for every one of ours ?
can anyone explain why the "advantage" rule was disallowed - twice?

I think it was because Raph Clarke was too close to the man on the mark.

Is that a rule for kickouts?

Dunno...I didn't actually see it. I remember hearing it from somewhere.

[saintspremiers]

If a Saint got reported for making a tackle like that, we'd all be ropable. He got the free kick, move on.

Good point....but it should've been cited by the MRP and the Tigers would've then had the chance to contest it at the tribunal....don't understand why iffy ones aren't brought up by the MRP given the process we now have??

Anyway, I just wish a few of our players were hard enough to (a) lay a tackle that sticks and (b) lay a tackle that HURTS!