The Fox Report - Round 2

[rodgerfox]

Wow.

That was easily the best win I've seen under Lyon. One of the best wins I've seen for a while actually.

Not neccessarily the best we've played, but certainly the most dominant a win we've had.

The intensity was outstanding. Our skills were horrible, but the effort was finals like.

The Good...

The intensity.
The effort.
The pressure.
The consistency of the above 3.
We had a lull in the 3rd quarter when Edwards got on top (he's a freak that bloke) but we were tough enough mentally to not give up the lead.
Dal was great.
As in last week's report, Joey now knows he's a man.
Kosi seems to think he can play again.
We won with minimal impact from Roo again.
We won on the road.
Gardiner backed it up.
Bakes is back. Love this guy. So important and so underrated.
No injuries.
We look fit.
BJ was average.
Lenny was Ok.
These are good because we won. Very good sign.

We weren't that good overall in terms of polish, but wih effort like that it just doesn't matter. Game plans, tactics, whatever - forget it when you turn up to play with that intensity.

The kids that we saw take the footy workd by sotrm back in 04/05 have become men. They're tough now physically, and most importantly they've matured above the shoulders.


The Bad....

The skills. However it was very windy so there's a fair excuse there.
Dawson got pushed around a bit by an average player.

To be honest, that's about it.

If I really wanted to be critical, I could say that if we're fair dinkum we need to squeeze out Gwilt, Geary as they did tend to stand out a bit in terms of their cleanness. I think against a really quality outfit, they may be found out.


Let's keep some perspective though. It's round 2. the last time I thought we played really well, was Round 1 of 2007 against Melbourne. And we know what happened after that!

Long season. But gee whiz, the signs are good.

[Thinline]

Oddly, or perhaps not, I thought Gwilt's work at the ball was exceptional. Have a look at the replay if you can. He was smashing in hard at the contest regularly and really getting his jumper dirty (so to speak). I've not noticed him in that light before.

Geary is 20. Nuff said.

Agreed re the limited influence of BJ, Roo etc and how that can be gleaned as a plus. The second tier are no longer (I hope) simply following the leader and there seems to be a real competitive spirit within the group where everyone is saying "I will make this happen".

Good early signs, yes.

Now to beat West Coast. It'll be a real test. Greater than many think.

[saintlee]

I thought Geary was actually pretty handy in the 2nd half....although average in the 1st half...

[Red]

Rodger is quite righr about Gwilt and Geary in trhe first half.

They both played better in the second.

I also think the coaching staff like Gwilt because he is a good kick and twice

during the game he actually hit a target over the Adelaide zone.

Something the saints struggled to do in past years.

[MC Gusto]

thanks for filling my request

[bigred]

Fair post Dodger...Fair post

[saint66au]

Warming to footy again eh Rodg??

Agree with 99.99999% of your review..Id just say that our FOOT skills were overall average at best..as was our decision making going inside 50. Some of our handball work in close under pressure, however, I thought 1st rate

[cowboy18]

The positives far outweighed any negatives, the tackling and intensity was wonderful.

One minor negative from me - I felt we dominated the game for the first three quarters but the scoreboard didn't really tell the story - anyone else have that vibe?

I'd love to see us ping a few more cheap goals, especially from the smalls and a third tall.

[bob__71]

Only one disagreement. I think the holding of the team plan and structures was all important in the win. The intensity without the structure and game plan would not have won the game by itself.

[bergholt]

One minor negative from me - I felt we dominated the game for the first three quarters but the scoreboard didn't really tell the story - anyone else have that vibe?

I'd love to see us ping a few more cheap goals, especially from the smalls and a third tall.

Yep, I definitely agree with this. For the last couple of years we've been quite bad at converting possession to scores. The three which stand out from the other night are:

- Schneider running into an open goal but getting caught by Johncock.
- Riewoldt dropping a mark after which the commentators said "he would have had Schneider on his own inside 50".
- the one at the end of the second or third quarter when Milne kicked the ball about half a second too late and the siren beat him.

Along with all the other entries which looked promising but which poor disposal wasted.

But this is hopefully a minor issue - commitment should still win us the game even if not as well as we should have.

[Leo.J]

...Dawson got pushed around a bit by an average player...

Maric and Tippet are both 199-200cm and 100kgs...size matters... well so my girl friend says.

[bigcarl]

One minor negative from me - I felt we dominated the game for the first three quarters but the scoreboard didn't really tell the story - anyone else have that vibe?

yes, forward efficiency is one area where we can improve. a genuine goalkicking third tall would help.

[Ice Wolf]

One minor negative from me - I felt we dominated the game for the first three quarters but the scoreboard didn't really tell the story - anyone else have that vibe?

I'd love to see us ping a few more cheap goals, especially from the smalls and a third tall.

Yep, I definitely agree with this. For the last couple of years we've been quite bad at converting possession to scores. The three which stand out from the other night are:

- Schneider running into an open goal but getting caught by Johncock.
- Riewoldt dropping a mark after which the commentators said "he would have had Schneider on his own inside 50".
- the one at the end of the second or third quarter when Milne kicked the ball about half a second too late and the siren beat him.

Along with all the other entries which looked promising but which poor disposal wasted.

But this is hopefully a minor issue - commitment should still win us the game even if not as well as we should have.

To be fair, Schneider was clearly pushed in the back before being grabbed.

[joffaboy]

Funny how this thread doesn't even get to two pages when there are no critisisms of the coach.

I think some people like to stoke the fans of controversy more than actually reading what Rf posts in his Fox Report.

I was caned last week because i "couldn't see through RF's ulterior motives" because I thought his critisism of Lyon not developing kids a reasonable premis.

Well I think this week RF has been a tads too generous. As others have said, with the attack on the ball and the generous free kick count, we only put the Crows away in the last qtr with the benefit of the breeze.

Our kicking was still ordinary and kicking in front of goal left alot to be desired.

Still a good win. but much work to do.

[saintsRrising]

...Dawson got pushed around a bit by an average player...

Maric and Tippet are both 199-200cm and 100kgs...size matters... well so my girl friend says.

But how tall are they???;)

[saintly]

...Dawson got pushed around a bit by an average player...

Maric and Tippet are both 199-200cm and 100kgs...size matters... well so my girl friend says.

how was dawson?

was he as good as in the 1st round. and how do you think he will go against either lynch or La Cras (sic)?

[rodgerfox]

Dawson did Ok in R1, infact he did very well. However as I said in a post somewhere else, any forward in a Sydney jumper would have found it tough last week.

He was pretty average last week. Basically got beaten in contests that you'd hope a FB to break even in.

[Saints43]

Our kicking was still ordinary and kicking in front of goal left alot to be desired.

Still a good win. but much work to do.

I think skills will improve a fair bit just through the players getting through more matches. There are disposal errors in Round 1 that you would rarely see in Round 5.

And if the boys keep winning then I reckon confidence (to make quick, good decisions) can have a great effect on skill execution.

And as for Joey's two weeks... well, I reckon you may have been on to something last Saturday...

[perfectionist]

I largely agree with The Fox Reports week 1 and 2, and I reckon Mr Lyon and his team would too.

I know it is only Tuesday and "anything can happen" and usually does to the Saints, but when was the last time we went from one round to the next without a change, forced or otherwise? Perhaps it was only last year some time, but it seems like never.

[ThePunter]

I think it was Round 13, 2006.

[GeorgeYoung27]

I was at the game on Friday and the thing that not many people are taking into account was the wind. It was a 3 to 4 goal wind down one end of the ground. This affected many of the disposals by both sides, particularly St Kilda kicking into the wind towards the end of the 3rd quarter - which for some reason went for 5 minutes more than all the other quarters (35 mins on the scoreboard).

St Kilda won this game because they did better into the wind and were leading at 3 quarter time (despite what Grant Thomas said last night). With the wind in the last quarter, and playing the intense football they were playing, it was just a matter of time before they got on top.

[Ice Wolf]

I was at the game on Friday and the thing that not many people are taking into account was the wind. It was a 3 to 4 goal wind down one end of the ground. This affected many of the disposals by both sides, particularly St Kilda kicking into the wind towards the end of the 3rd quarter - which for some reason went for 5 minutes more than all the other quarters (35 mins on the scoreboard).

St Kilda won this game because they did better into the wind and were leading at 3 quarter time (despite what Grant Thomas said last night). With the wind in the last quarter, and playing the intense football they were playing, it was just a matter of time before they got on top.

Grant was being a complete tool last night as far as the saints performance was concerned. Rather pathetic effort from him.

[bigcarl]

Grant was being a complete tool last night as far as the saints performance was concerned. Rather pathetic effort from him.

i missed it. what did he say?

[Ice Wolf]

Grant was being a complete tool last night as far as the saints performance was concerned. Rather pathetic effort from him.

i missed it. what did he say?

I can't remember exactly, I just remember thinking that he was being a tool. Trying to find the video online.
EDIT: Couldn't find it.

[evertonfc]

Wow.

That was easily the best win I've seen under Lyon. One of the best wins I've seen for a while actually.

Not neccessarily the best we've played, but certainly the most dominant a win we've had.

The intensity was outstanding. Our skills were horrible, but the effort was finals like.

The Good...

The intensity.
The effort.
The pressure.
The consistency of the above 3.
We had a lull in the 3rd quarter when Edwards got on top (he's a freak that bloke) but we were tough enough mentally to not give up the lead.
Dal was great.
As in last week's report, Joey now knows he's a man.
Kosi seems to think he can play again.
We won with minimal impact from Roo again.
We won on the road.
Gardiner backed it up.
Bakes is back. Love this guy. So important and so underrated.
No injuries.
We look fit.
BJ was average.
Lenny was Ok.
These are good because we won. Very good sign.

We weren't that good overall in terms of polish, but wih effort like that it just doesn't matter. Game plans, tactics, whatever - forget it when you turn up to play with that intensity.

The kids that we saw take the footy workd by sotrm back in 04/05 have become men. They're tough now physically, and most importantly they've matured above the shoulders.


The Bad....

The skills. However it was very windy so there's a fair excuse there.
Dawson got pushed around a bit by an average player.

To be honest, that's about it.

If I really wanted to be critical, I could say that if we're fair dinkum we need to squeeze out Gwilt, Geary as they did tend to stand out a bit in terms of their cleanness. I think against a really quality outfit, they may be found out.


Let's keep some perspective though. It's round 2. the last time I thought we played really well, was Round 1 of 2007 against Melbourne. And we know what happened after that!

Long season. But gee whiz, the signs are good.

Well said, and well replied to here:

Funny how this thread doesn't even get to two pages when there are no critisisms of the coach.

I think some people like to stoke the fans of controversy more than actually reading what Rf posts in his Fox Report.

I was caned last week because i "couldn't see through RF's ulterior motives" because I thought his critisism of Lyon not developing kids a reasonable premis.

Well I think this week RF has been a tads too generous. As others have said, with the attack on the ball and the generous free kick count, we only put the Crows away in the last qtr with the benefit of the breeze.

Our kicking was still ordinary and kicking in front of goal left alot to be desired.

Still a good win. but much work to do.

I'm unashamed follower of the Fox Report, which rarely - if ever - misses the target.

Another great analysis.