Bit worried about the pies

[goods]

its all about reaching your peak at the right time.

Like a long distance running race or a horse race. Have collingwood peaked to early? Are we just starting to? timed to perfection for a run home?

[saint66au]

Id love one of our rookies, or ANY of your young players, to have the immediate impact Blair has had

Off the rookie list, 6 games in. averaging 17 touches and 4 tackles. 28 touches and 2 goals last night

Crap though Essendon may have ben last night, Collingwood have depth we can only dream of I'm afraid

[bergholt]

Oh and I guess we have been somewhat "lucky" that 6, possibly 7 of those that played last night were rookies at some stage.

Never underestimate the value of your rookies.

for sure. collingwood have been able to afford a full rookie list for longer than any other club, so this isn't surprising.

the saints have had a full rookie list for a few years, and currently have dawson, eddy, geary, jones, mcqualter who've come off the rookie list - simpkin and miles are the other two thereabouts in a similar place.

there's no doubt that collingwood's depth is better than st kilda's, and i'd suggest that's pretty much entirely about the amount of money spent on the footy department.

[johnpeterbudgefanclub]

Id love one of our rookies, or ANY of your young players, to have the immediate impact Blair has had

Off the rookie list, 6 games in. averaging 17 touches and 4 tackles. 28 touches and 2 goals last night

Crap though Essendon may have ben last night, Collingwood have depth we can only dream of I'm afraid

Thanks for your perspective 66. Look I am certainly not for one minute going to bleat on about our list versus your list la de da di da.

I am just highlighting the importance of rookie selections and the ability to turn them into high quality listed players. I believe the relative importance of rookies on one's list can not be undermined.

At the end of the day u r only one long term injury away from a future possible star.

Blair is an interesting one as he was overlooked by a number of clubs, I guess, because of his height. The fact he won the TAC equivalent of the Morrish Medal meant little.

I guess u really do have to put your faith in your talent spotters. Whilst we are watching our beloved do battle these guys are scaling the lengths of the continent and even the world searching for the best possible talent.

Other rookies from last night included Maxwell, Lockyer, Wellingham, Macaffer, Toovey and I think Harry O.

[saintsRrising]

I see the Pie Troll is back despite stating that he would disappear until Sept.

Blair is an interesting one as he was overlooked by a number of clubs, .

Once you get into the second round of the main draft, let alone rookie draft, it means that a player has been overlooked by ALL other clubs.

[johnpeterbudgefanclub]

Oh and I guess we have been somewhat "lucky" that 6, possibly 7 of those that played last night were rookies at some stage.

Never underestimate the value of your rookies.

for sure. collingwood have been able to afford a full rookie list for longer than any other club, so this isn't surprising.

the saints have had a full rookie list for a few years, and currently have dawson, eddy, geary, jones, mcqualter who've come off the rookie list - simpkin and miles are the other two thereabouts in a similar place.

there's no doubt that collingwood's depth is better than st kilda's, and i'd suggest that's pretty much entirely about the amount of money spent on the footy department.

Good point. The amount spent on the football department should typify the ability to utilise certain resources at any given time and how far u are able to cast the net in luring the best possible talent.

Like any financial operation u would hope that the $$$ being channelled into that department are justified and a positive result being obtained.

[noob]

I'm more worried if St.Kilda can hit 5th or 6th gear. Games against NM, Geelong and port have we actually shown that we're capable of winning the premiership.

[Fidelis]

Bit like us last year.

Thought the same thing last night, Dons couldn't get a clear possession without getting closed down.

Don't underestimate the role Max has played with them this year.

They've stolen 'Saints footy'!

[SaintPav]

Pffft.

Did you watch the game last night>?

Essendon were worse than Port were for us last week.

Take absolutely nothing out of that game.

Flower Collingwood.

Colon wood were very good but were helped by a woeful Essedom.

I once heard Dennis Pagan say that winning by huge margins can be misleading and that he preferred to win by 4 or 5 goals instead....

[SaintPav]

Oh and I guess we have been somewhat "lucky" that 6, possibly 7 of those that played last night were rookies at some stage.

Never underestimate the value of your rookies.

for sure. collingwood have been able to afford a full rookie list for longer than any other club, so this isn't surprising.

the saints have had a full rookie list for a few years, and currently have dawson, eddy, geary, jones, mcqualter who've come off the rookie list - simpkin and miles are the other two thereabouts in a similar place.

there's no doubt that collingwood's depth is better than st kilda's, and i'd suggest that's pretty much entirely about the amount of money spent on the footy department.

Good point. The amount spent on the football department should typify the ability to utilise certain resources at any given time and how far u are able to cast the net in luring the best possible talent.

Like any financial operation u would hope that the $$$ being channelled into that department are justified and a positive result being obtained.

bulls*** troll. There is no proven correlation between fotball department spend and on filed success. Now get back to Broadmedows maggot and stop f--king wasting out time with your useless posts maggot.

[SaintPav]

Id love one of our rookies, or ANY of your young players, to have the immediate impact Blair has had

Off the rookie list, 6 games in. averaging 17 touches and 4 tackles. 28 touches and 2 goals last night

Crap though Essendon may have ben last night, Collingwood have depth we can only dream of I'm afraid

Thanks for your perspective 66. Look I am certainly not for one minute going to bleat on about our list versus your list la de da di da.

I am just highlighting the importance of rookie selections and the ability to turn them into high quality listed players. I believe the relative importance of rookies on one's list can not be undermined.

At the end of the day u r only one long term injury away from a future possible star.

Blair is an interesting one as he was overlooked by a number of clubs, I guess, because of his height. The fact he won the TAC equivalent of the Morrish Medal meant little.

I guess u really do have to put your faith in your talent spotters. Whilst we are watching our beloved do battle these guys are scaling the lengths of the continent and even the world searching for the best possible talent.

Other rookies from last night included Maxwell, Lockyer, Wellingham, Macaffer, Toovey and I think Harry O.

Now you are making me very angry maggot breath. Maxwell? You bragging about Maxwell? He is an unacountable hack of the highest order. Did you see his stats magott? 4 bloody useless possesions and he never plays on anyone. HACK HACK HACK. That magott makes you look like jesus christ magott so nick off and get back to the bridge you live inder...

[SaintPav]

Can anyone seriously imagine Nick "never plays on a man" Maxwell and that grey haired old turd holding up the premiership cup? No way. It just aint gonna happen....

[Zed]

Collingwood's current run reminds me of the Saints run home in 1997. Curiously, our form reminds me somewhat of the Crows in 1997.

If we can keep our best team on the park and Kosi can find some kind of form, i think this could be our year. Perhaps Gardi's injury is a blessing in disguise - Kosi plays a few games in the ruck, gets his hands on the ball, finds some confidence and voila we have our x factor.

[SainterK]

Bit like us last year.

Thought the same thing last night, Dons couldn't get a clear possession without getting closed down.

Don't underestimate the role Max has played with them this year.

They've stolen 'Saints footy'!

Well, the boys will just have to snatch it back then

Actually think a lot of the improvement falls under Buckley's portfolio, they are still playing the MM boundary line footy, they are just complimenting it with some pretty switched on forward pressure.

The only thing that's changed for me is acknowledging the form of a couple of their players. When the boys played them in round 16, I figured it wasn't our day because guys like Leigh Brown and Macaffer couldn't possibly continue to slot in goals from all angles.

[saint75]

Id love one of our rookies, or ANY of your young players, to have the immediate impact Blair has had

Off the rookie list, 6 games in. averaging 17 touches and 4 tackles. 28 touches and 2 goals last night

Crap though Essendon may have ben last night, Collingwood have depth we can only dream of I'm afraid

Don't agree. Collingwood's depth players are performing well. Ours have been hit and miss this year, but were firing last year. No one was complaining much about our 'depth' last year. Amazing what happens when you drop a few games.....

[bergholt]

Don't agree. Collingwood's depth players are performing well. Ours have been hit and miss this year, but were firing last year. No one was complaining much about our 'depth' last year. Amazing what happens when you drop a few games.....

our depth this year is worse than it was last year, that's why.

since last year we've lost:

jarryd allen
luke ball
colm begley
xavier clarke
eljay connors
leigh fisher
max hudghton
matt maguire

we've gained:

will johnson
adam pattison
brett peake
jesse smith (crocked and will never play again)
nick winmar (been injured most of the year)

[Thinline]

Can anyone seriously imagine Nick "never plays on a man" Maxwell and that grey haired old turd holding up the premiership cup? No way. It just aint gonna happen....

Yep. Just looks wrong.

[saint75]

Don't agree. Collingwood's depth players are performing well. Ours have been hit and miss this year, but were firing last year. No one was complaining much about our 'depth' last year. Amazing what happens when you drop a few games.....

our depth this year is worse than it was last year, that's why.

since last year we've lost:

jarryd allen
luke ball
colm begley
xavier clarke
eljay connors
leigh fisher
max hudghton
matt maguire

we've gained:

will johnson
adam pattison
brett peake
jesse smith (crocked and will never play again)
nick winmar (been injured most of the year)

Really? How many of those you listed in the list column actually play an AFL game?

1) Did Xavier Clarke play last year?
2) Did Jarryd Allen play last year? His injury happened the year before last
3) Colm Begley I don't remember getting a game.
4) Leigh Fisher is still on the list last time I looked
5) Matt Maguire didn't get a game either.

So 'lists' can be deceiving.

Haven't seen Will johnson or Nick Winmar yet, but they offer a hell of a lot more promise than those we lost last year. Pattison has been serviceable and Peake has been good and has held his spot in the side for most of the year. So really, the pick ups for this year are WAY more effective than those players that we lost from last year, wouldn't you say?

[bergholt]

Haven't seen Will johnson or Nick Winmar yet, but they offer a hell of a lot more promise than those we lost last year. Pattison has been serviceable and Peake has been good and has held his spot in the side for most of the year. So really, the pick ups for this year are WAY more effective than those players that we lost from last year, wouldn't you say?

nope, we've needed our depth this year and it hasn't particularly come through. last year we had a good year with injury so players like maguire and hudghton didn't get a game, but that doesn't mean we weren't counting them as depth.

at the start of last year, ball and hudghton were in our best team. allen, fisher and x clarke were all on the fringes of the senior side. maguire had been injured but many held out hope that he'd be back for us - weekly for the entire second half of the season there were threads here calling for his recall. begley and connors we can discount.

they've been replaced by fewer players and lower quality. none of the replacements is in our best team. peake and pattison are on the fringes of the senior team. j smith would have been also if he'd stayed fit. johnson and winmar are both nowhere near, and were at the start of the season.

here's the upshot.

we lost two first teamers and four almost first teamers.

we replaced them with three almost first teamers.

our depth this year is definitely worse.

[saintspremiers]

maybe it's time the AFL cap the money spent on the footy departments per Lethal's suggestion.

No point in having drafts and salary caps if you have teams like Collingwood that can afford a stand alone VFL side and pay a fortune for assistant coaches and player development staff.

[saintsRrising]

our depth this year is definitely worse.

Is it?

Ball was a regular. Max played 7 games in 2009.

However the others were pretty much not there.

This year Ben has improved to become first 22 and is now better option than King.
Gwilt is a much better player.
Zac not as good, though his recent games have been fair.
Peake has gotten better as the year has gone on and is worthy first 22 player now.

Eddy and Geary are ok fringe players.
Steven has look capable of playing this year too.

I am not sure our depth is better. But I do not think it is definitely worse.

We have certainly had more injuries however and so perhaps this makes the depth looks worse than it was last year. That plus some players not being in the form they were last year.

Ball is gone but Lyon flagged that he wanted more run in the team, and Peake is filling that role. Add to that Schneider is now playing more midfield time...and unlike Ball uses the ball well setting up our forward line to lead our goal assists this year.

[SaintPav]

Oh and I guess we have been somewhat "lucky" that 6, possibly 7 of those that played last night were rookies at some stage.

Never underestimate the value of your rookies.

for sure. collingwood have been able to afford a full rookie list for longer than any other club, so this isn't surprising.

the saints have had a full rookie list for a few years, and currently have dawson, eddy, geary, jones, mcqualter who've come off the rookie list - simpkin and miles are the other two thereabouts in a similar place.

there's no doubt that collingwood's depth is better than st kilda's, and i'd suggest that's pretty much entirely about the amount of money spent on the footy department.

Good point. The amount spent on the football department should typify the ability to utilise certain resources at any given time and how far u are able to cast the net in luring the best possible talent.

Like any financial operation u would hope that the $$$ being channelled into that department are justified and a positive result being obtained.

You out of work scum bag?

This guy sends me abusive private messages. MILAN, he should be banned. This is a St Kilda site not a site for maggots.

[Milan Faletic]

Oh and I guess we have been somewhat "lucky" that 6, possibly 7 of those that played last night were rookies at some stage.

Never underestimate the value of your rookies.

for sure. collingwood have been able to afford a full rookie list for longer than any other club, so this isn't surprising.

the saints have had a full rookie list for a few years, and currently have dawson, eddy, geary, jones, mcqualter who've come off the rookie list - simpkin and miles are the other two thereabouts in a similar place.

there's no doubt that collingwood's depth is better than st kilda's, and i'd suggest that's pretty much entirely about the amount of money spent on the footy department.

Good point. The amount spent on the football department should typify the ability to utilise certain resources at any given time and how far u are able to cast the net in luring the best possible talent.

Like any financial operation u would hope that the $$$ being channelled into that department are justified and a positive result being obtained.

You out of work scum bag?

This guy sends me abusive private messages. MILAN, he should be banned. This is a St Kilda site not a site for maggots.

Why ask me? Ask the other mods. I'm gone. How ironic that I get asked for help. I could not give a toss.

[goods]

maybe it's time the AFL cap the money spent on the footy departments per Lethal's suggestion.

No point in having drafts and salary caps if you have teams like Collingwood that can afford a stand alone VFL side and pay a fortune for assistant coaches and player development staff.

a bit silly, its up to the club to be a little inventive. Stkilda is now part of a serious growth corridor in frankston, and you will see over the next 20 years us become a powerhouse...the days of old are behind us.

If they cap everything what is the difference between our club and the next?

[saint75]

nope, we've needed our depth this year and it hasn't particularly come through. last year we had a good year with injury so players like maguire and hudghton didn't get a game, but that doesn't mean we weren't counting them as depth.

True we were lucky with injuries, so how can you accurately compare our depth last year to this year?

at the start of last year, ball and hudghton were in our best team.

Correct

allen, fisher and x clarke were all on the fringes of the senior side. maguire had been injured but many held out hope that he'd be back for us - weekly for the entire second half of the season there were threads here calling for his recall. begley and connors we can discount.

Incorrect. Allen was injured and his career was finished, Fisher hasn't played a senior game in years but he is still on the list so talk to Ross about getting him a game.

Maguire and X Clarke are prone to injury and never looked like playing an AFL game as has been proven this year. Sad to see them go but definitely the right call. They are still injury ravaged and the future is not looking to bright for either of them. You are right, we all wanted Maguire to play, but it was more out of romanticism than any actually need for him to be in the team.

If the Saints were relying on any of the players for depth that you listed with the exception of Ball and Hudghton, we were seriously going to be in trouble if we had of had many injuries at anytime last season.

they've been replaced by fewer players and lower quality. none of the replacements is in our best team. peake and pattison are on the fringes of the senior team. j smith would have been also if he'd stayed fit. johnson and winmar are both nowhere near, and were at the start of the season.

J Smith and Lovett would have been fantastic if they had of made it out on the park. Was not to be so there has been more of a reliance on some of the younger players like Steven and Stanley when Roo went down (who have both done more than a reasonable job).

Peake has been a fantastic addition and has offered us some speed and his disposal is improving every week. Has begun to cement a spot in our best 22. To say otherwise is rubbish. Pattison is a depth player and I like what I saw the last time he played.