Are we heavy loading?

[saintsRrising]

Still, the players are spending hours, not weeks. Minimal impact I reckon.

That would be my belief too. Unless someone screws up badly.


I saw one Japanese group of 10 who had landed at Lukla and walked up to Namche Bazzaar without overnighting at lower altitude first, who that night all apart from one (who was the oldest in their group) started to exhibit AMS badly. Their supposed tour guide was over-ruled by locals who immediately evacuated the party to a lower altitude.

The party only had 2 weeks annual leave and were rushing their trip to fit it in., and unfortunately put their faith in someone who had not even done the basic research on trekking at altitude.

[saintsRrising]

Could also simply be muscle fatigue from, well, walking a long way!

Yes indeed.


In Nepal I quickly learnt that there were only two directions that mattered.

One was called "up" and the other "down"!!!!!!!!!!

[SainterK]

Does it really matter what Geelong and Collingwood are doing though P66, their approach to finals seems entirely different to each other, let alone us.

Geelong look to be settling a best 22, and getting run into some players returning from injury that they consider in their best, and doing their best to get the likes of Rooke back in time. Their senior players had a minimal pre-season, and much of the responsibility of fitness was left to the individual players.

Collingwood remind me a little of our boys last year, young, bright eyed, optmisitic. Not sure they even know who their best 22 is yet, let alone worrying about heavy training.

[thejiggingsaint]

"He aint heavy...Hes my brother"

[saintsRrising]

I can see why some would argue the boys are just "waiting for September"... trouble is they aren't there yet.

Losing to Essendon has just opened the door for Freo and the Dogs to push us out of the 4.

Regardless of what is going on behind the scenes, this team had better hit their straps next week. They can't afford to waste any more opportunities.

Yes I too tend to think that our main problem is attitude and in the mind.

The boys are not "up" at present...and in a team sport that is contagious.


Confidence makes all the difference in AFL....the Dons had it and we did not.

So they hit targets ..and we missed.

While confidence can come backly quickly, you cannot always just switch it on when you want.

However working your but off can really get you going again...and so for me that is the first step. Our players as a group need to recommit to being the hardest working team in the competition.


Our biggest edge last year, and point of difference", was that we were the hardest working, and most disciplined team in the AFL. We cannot say that at present.

Reclaim those titles and we are in with a real show.

Reclaim those titles and watch the confidence build, and watch the ball movement improve.

So for mine working harder is the first step. Lets tackle PA like they have never been tacled before.

[bozza1980]

Clutching at straws.

Let's not make excuses,the last month has been pathetic,not just last night.

Put on a replay of most of last years games and watch the difference in appetite for the contest to this years. The attack on the ball and contest is miles apart

This.

So what if we're heavy loading? The EFFORT wasn't there. The INTENSITY. These things aren't affected by how much training we've done during the past few weeks.

Abysmal.

Ofcourse heavy loaded training can effect effort, if overtrained you would expect a some what lethargic performance.

This is not to say that we can just put the "heavy loading" band aid on the cracks appearing and forget about it, but it would definitely played a part.

[saintsRrising]

If a moment can sum up a game for me it was Gram's centering balloon kick (which he again did later in the game) in the first quarter.
The Dons had put good pressure on the St Kilda backs who handballed it around, but were forced backwards and eventually out the back to Gram.

Now Gram was under pressure....not hot pressure but yes immediate pressure...and so he had time to think and act, but yes needed to act quickly.

Unfortunately what he chose to do was to centre the ball into space where only the Dons were who then scored an easy goal.

Why did not Gram instead kick long along the boundary? Dons may well have still have gotten a goal, but at least it would not have been an immediate scoring opportunity.

Those few minutes to me summed up the game.

Very good pressure by the Dons, and poor ball use and decision-making by the Saints, contrasted with the Dons who could do little wrong in their ball use and movement.

Now while the Don's pressure can excuse some of the saint's errors, many such instances like the Gram kick were just shocking football by the Saints. He could have done better, he should have done better, but he did not.

[InkerSaint]

Now Gram was under pressure....not hot pressure but yes immediate pressure...and so he had time to think and act, but yes needed to act quickly.

Unfortunately what he chose to do was to centre the ball into space where only the Dons were who then scored an easy goal.

Why did not Gram instead kick long along the boundary? Dons may well have still have gotten a goal, but at least it would not have been an immediate scoring opportunity.

Those few minutes to me summed up the game.

Very good pressure by the Dons, and poor ball use and decision-making by the Saints, contrasted with the Dons who could do little wrong in their ball use and movement.

Now while the Don's pressure can excuse some of the saint's errors, many such instances like the Gram kick were just shocking football by the Saints. He could have done better, he should have done better, but he did not.

Gram might have mis-kicked it. I agree, the usual Saints strategy is to either find a target up the wing or switch play across half-back.

The Saints have lost the tackle count in each of the last 3 losses.

Strangely, we killed Hawthorn in the tackle count, but got choked on the inside-50s. What happened? I seem to remember contested possessions went heavily their way. Which doesn't tell us anything we don't already know, any time in the last few games there is a pack over the ball you just look on and expect an opposition player to emerge with it... the opposite of the Geelong game.

I hope what that means is that heavy loading started that week. God help us if it doesn't because the team has been smashed on the scoreboard and/or in the stats every week.

[chook23]

In answer to the thread title



http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/s ... 5900230574


ST KILDA coach Ross Lyon said yesterday that the reason his players were not being loaded up with high intensity training sessions was that they could not afford to lose games before the finals.

[sendmehomehappy]

Seems like Ross has said different things about this issue recently.

His style of keeping the opposition guessing.

Anyway, the 6-8 stars( and others) all played as if they were in the midst of a 2 week high altitude low oxygen program sleep-in.


What else could explain the flatness and confusion.

In which case they, and presumably the WAGS, will all get to know each other very well indeed.

Post season trip begins at Everest base camp boys.

[Verdun66]

Who really knows. Ross keeps his cards pretty close to his chest.