Bit surprised

SydneySainter · Sat 20 Feb 2010 12:19pm

I'm very impressed by the optimism currently shown after the win but seeing as how quickly this forum tends to go into panic mode, I'm a bit surprised there aren't more posts accentuating the fact that we squandered a 43 point lead, that the Pies had more scoring shots and they won virtually everything on the stat sheet. After the horror summer we've had off the field, I was expecting more negatives would be the focal point of discussion (I know, pot calling the kettle black as I've been guilty of it in the past).

Me personally, win or lose, I've learned to take the NAB Cup with a grain of salt. It was important for the morale of the playing group to start with a win and I'll take the positives from the match, but the thing about the NAB Cup is regardless of form, every team gets the benefit of the doubt until the season proper.

degruch · Post: # 884225Post **degruch** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 12:22pm

I was concerned abut the 43pt lead blown too, but looking at the replay, their stars fired, our kids tired. Put hardened players like Gardiner, Hayes, Dal Santo, Clarke, Dempster, et al back in the side, I doubt they'd have had as free a run towards the end as they did.

saintsRrising · Sat 20 Feb 2010 12:25pm

I think that he it may be due to us having so many players out.

The Pies were only missing 2.

In the engine room Pies had their A-team playing..we had Hayes, Dal and Gram out.

Gaertner, Smith, Miles, Stanley, Steven all with virtually no senior football.

Plus in a "real" game I don't think that the lead would have been given up so easily.

So the Pies A team lost to our B+ team.

terry smith rules · Sat 20 Feb 2010 12:48pm

saintsRrising wrote:I think that he it may be due to us having so many players out.

The Pies were only missing 2.

In the engine room Pies had their A-team playing..we had Hayes, Dal and Gram out.

Gaertner, Smith, Miles, Stanley, Steven all with virtually no senior football.

Plus in a "real" game I don't think that the lead would have been given up so easily.

So the Pies A team lost to our B+ team.

Exactly and the faith and experience given to the young players putting them on for the last ten minutes to try and win the game.. was inspired.

Did you see Gaertner getting kicks, Miles thumping the ball clear all in the last two months. Experience money can't buy.

Collingwood did not play one junior.

Mr Magic · Post: # 884241Post **Mr Magic** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 12:54pm

terry smith rules wrote:
saintsRrising wrote:I think that he it may be due to us having so many players out.

The Pies were only missing 2.

In the engine room Pies had their A-team playing..we had Hayes, Dal and Gram out.

Gaertner, Smith, Miles, Stanley, Steven all with virtually no senior football.

Plus in a "real" game I don't think that the lead would have been given up so easily.

So the Pies A team lost to our B+ team.
Exactly and the faith and experience given to the young players putting them on for the last ten minutes to try and win the game.. was inspired.

Did you see Gaertner getting kicks, Miles thumping the ball clear all in the last two months. Experience money can't buy.

Collingwood did not play one junior.

And in a real game we would have 'slowed the game up' if we were worried about an opposition 'run-on'.

How much 'holding the ball up in the air' did you see us do last night?

AnythingsPossibleSaints · Sat 20 Feb 2010 1:00pm

It is of slight concern to me that we yet again took the pedal off the metal, when we had a big lead. It's a nasty habit this group has. Way too often we let teams back in, when we could just "finish them off". It's a habit we would do well to break. Having said that, we had a lot in with very little experience and many of our most important guys seemed to spend extended periods on the bench, so it was a good result overall.

Legendary · Post: # 884251Post **Legendary** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 1:07pm

Port Adelaide belted us in the pre-season last year, and we went on and won the next 19 matches ... I give no credence to results in the NAB Cup, but it's more an exercise in looking at trends, positive and negative ...

I do agree the run-on that the Pies got was a little concerning, but as Mr Magic said, we didn't hold up the footy like we normally do.

Very few times did we deliberately slow play, which is often a successful tactic we use to control the game.

Missing some midfield experience was also a factor.

At one stage in the third quarter, we had Leigh Fisher, Jones, McEvoy and Schenider in the middle ... hardly our A-grade ball winning midfield.

SainterK · Post: # 884337Post **SainterK** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 3:51pm

AnythingsPossibleSaints wrote:It is of slight concern to me that we yet again took the pedal off the metal, when we had a big lead. It's a nasty habit this group has. Way too often we let teams back in, when we could just "finish them off". It's a habit we would do well to break. Having said that, we had a lot in with very little experience and many of our most important guys seemed to spend extended periods on the bench, so it was a good result overall.

I personally am very happy we have broken the habit of losing the lead, and then not being able to get it back. Last year the boys proved they are very capable of surging again in the event of either losing the lead or coming back from behind, instead of perhaps getting disheartened and rattled.

Spinner · Post: # 884341Post **Spinner** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 3:58pm

My theory for it.

Once 43 points up, players got rested......Players got moved into different positions.

What I noticed was that the backline seemed un changed in the final quarter.

Gwilt stayed on, L Fisher stayed on and Miles stayed on Geurtner stayed on up forward.....We held our nerve and played to out plan because its nab cup and its about testings players, and managing fitness.

We played some very good football in the first half, which I am very pleased about.

ace · Post: # 884360Post **ace** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 4:23pm

Tackle Stats
St Kilda 38, Collingwood 47
http://xml.afl.com.au/swf/live_stats.ht ... d=10270105
http://www.afl.com.au/Premiership/Seaso ... ureid=5423
Pity the statisticians can't add up.

That's less than one third of the world record number of tackles St Kilda set in losing the grand final.

Pressure! pressure non existant.

ace · Post: # 884365Post **ace** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 4:28pm

Smith and Stanley very pleasing.

Heyne disappointing.

saintkid · Post: # 884369Post **saintkid** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 4:32pm

degruch wrote:I was concerned abut the 43pt lead blown too, but looking at the replay, their stars fired, our kids tired. Put hardened players like Gardiner, Hayes, Dal Santo, Clarke, Dempster, et al back in the side, I doubt they'd have had as free a run towards the end as they did.

Raph Clarke is far from a hardened player.

Not all their stars fired, let's keep the comments more realistic degruch. Pies are a very good team and will be up there challenging us in a big way this season, along with Dogs, Cats and Hawks.

joffaboy · Post: # 884371Post **joffaboy** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 4:36pm

ace wrote:Tackle Stats
St Kilda 38, Collingwood 47
http://xml.afl.com.au/swf/live_stats.ht ... d=10270105

That's less than one third of the world record number of tackles St Kilda set in losing the grand final.

Pressure! pressure non existant.

I really hope you are not equating a practice match with 5 first gamers on a 32 degree night in February with a wet,cold, grand Final day in September for pressure

I said at half time to someone that you could be up ten goals in a practice match and lose because the coach throws players about and has a look.

spinner has got it pretty much spot on. We also kept young Mac in the centre against Jolley in qtr4. Jolley was giving him a bit of a towelling in the contests and was great experience for him in the dying stages of a close one (where he actually did OK).

We didn't drop a spare man back in defence like Collingwood (fkn Maxwell, if he got AA for those uncontested efforts, I am gobsmacked

) and left Zac one out with his opponent, who, while beaten most of the night, made some telling spoils in the last quarter.

Really it was our young players who steadied and got some valuable experience from last night.

Collingwood, for all the bluster about ball, and "the comeback" will be more dissapointed than us, they had a full team in, we had half of Sandy.

fingers · Post: # 884403Post **fingers** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 5:41pm

degruch wrote:I was concerned abut the 43pt lead blown too, but looking at the replay, their stars fired, our kids tired. Put hardened players like Gardiner, Hayes, Dal Santo, Clarke, Dempster, et al back in the side, I doubt they'd have had as free a run towards the end as they did.

This

Con Gorozidis · Sat 20 Feb 2010 6:50pm

degruch wrote:I was concerned abut the 43pt lead blown too, but looking at the replay, their stars fired, our kids tired. Put hardened players like Gardiner, Hayes, Dal Santo, Clarke, Dempster, et al back in the side, I doubt they'd have had as free a run towards the end as they did.

dempster and clarke wont even get a game - but dal, lenny and grammy are all guns.

saintkid · Post: # 884428Post **saintkid** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 7:10pm

Con Gorozidis wrote:
degruch wrote:I was concerned abut the 43pt lead blown too, but looking at the replay, their stars fired, our kids tired. Put hardened players like Gardiner, Hayes, Dal Santo, Clarke, Dempster, et al back in the side, I doubt they'd have had as free a run towards the end as they did.
dempster and clarke wont even get a game - but dal, lenny and grammy are all guns.

Yes, my point also. I only said Clarke as Dempster had come off a knee reco I didn"t want to be too hard on him. However, on form so far he's no star also.

StSteven · Post: # 884430Post **StSteven** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 7:14pm

Read nothing into a NAB Cup game except the GF when pride takes over.

saintspremiers · Sat 20 Feb 2010 7:30pm

Remember that Rooey was benched often during the later stages of each quarter.

This doens't happen in real matches.

Anyone who reads anything into last night's match is a complete fool IMO.

Enjoy the nab cup for what it is - a laugh, a joke, nothing more!

SainterK · Post: # 884449Post **SainterK** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 8:17pm

Truth is people can take what ever they like from the match, it's their right surely?

nuttsy · Post: # 884453Post **nuttsy** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 8:24pm

It was an awesome game and I'm glad our youngsters gave it to their senior list.

Milan Faletic · Sat 20 Feb 2010 8:54pm

degruch wrote:I was concerned abut the 43pt lead blown too, but looking at the replay, their stars fired, our kids tired. Put hardened players like Gardiner, Hayes, Dal Santo, Clarke, Dempster, et al back in the side, I doubt they'd have had as free a run towards the end as they did.

Spot on, degruch and we had an assistant coach coaching as well.

Milan Faletic · Sat 20 Feb 2010 8:56pm

joffaboy wrote:
ace wrote:Tackle Stats
St Kilda 38, Collingwood 47
http://xml.afl.com.au/swf/live_stats.ht ... d=10270105

That's less than one third of the world record number of tackles St Kilda set in losing the grand final.

Pressure! pressure non existant.
I really hope you are not equating a practice match with 5 first gamers on a 32 degree night in February with a wet,cold, grand Final day in September for pressure

I said at half time to someone that you could be up ten goals in a practice match and lose because the coach throws players about and has a look.

spinner has got it pretty much spot on. We also kept young Mac in the centre against Jolley in qtr4. Jolley was giving him a bit of a towelling in the contests and was great experience for him in the dying stages of a close one (where he actually did OK).

We didn't drop a spare man back in defence like Collingwood (fkn Maxwell, if he got AA for those uncontested efforts, I am gobsmacked ) and left Zac one out with his opponent, who, while beaten most of the night, made some telling spoils in the last quarter.

Really it was our young players who steadied and got some valuable experience from last night.

Collingwood, for all the bluster about ball, and "the comeback" will be more dissapointed than us, they had a full team in, we had half of Sandy.

Didn't Don Jolley umpire the 66 Grand Final?

Teflon · Post: # 884477Post **Teflon** » Sat 20 Feb 2010 9:04pm

The 43 pts leaddidnt worry me at all.

I knew theyd come and 5 goals is stuff all in modern footy.

As Lyon rightly said post-match....we had a lot of inexperience in the side, turned the footy over which they capitalised on but that happens when you play kids.

I said to those with me that even though we were losing at the time the pressure and experience for the young guys was invaluable.....Im glad we hung on also.

We flicked the ball round a lot more than last year which is obviously something we are working on......why not practice it??

Con Gorozidis · Sat 20 Feb 2010 9:09pm

what we do know is we have several under 23's who are going to be at least half decent senior players.

and we still have jws, simpkin, lynchy, eddy and tommy walsh who are all possibles up our sleeve.

PJ · Post: # 884504Post PJ » Sat 20 Feb 2010 9:45pm

Pies are a very good team and will be up there challenging us in a big way this season

I'm yet to see anything to convince me of that - last night they came out with their best list, all guns firing to take the ascendancy.

We stuffed around a lot, plenty of skill errors from senior players and a bunch of kids making their debut.

They'll win their share of games but I don't see what they've got to set the world on fire.