Watch Pies Forwards Lead

[The Fireman]

Yep it seems the skunks are well coached and have a system

Our game plan appears haphazard and has been for awhile.

It’s weird Firey
Our game plan some weeks looks good - forwards get on the move, good ball movement
Minute we are pressed we bomb like mad, King becomes Hulk Hogan or statue
Small forwards MIA
That’s why I want to see how we go second half season off a bigger body of evidence against in form top sides before locking in Ratten for 3 more
By round 20/21 we’ll know

Rattens contract should depend on what he does here for the rest of the season he has a good list
Our forward structure and the way the ball is delivered to it has been a mystery for too long I believe he has the cattle and you’re right sometimes everything seems to work maybe against lesser opposition and we are being outcoached against good sides .? Atm I’m still glass half full but after watching the skunks tonight I’m starting to think that some other sides are being coached better

[Teflon]

Clearly the Geelong guy (can’t remember his name!) coaching defence now has a system and it works
I reckon he’s instilled in Battle - back yourself and he’s been better fit it
We just need our transition play and forward 50 entry cleaned up
I know part of that comes from winning midfield battle and Steele out hurts but we had chances Sat night to go into 50 deep and just blazed…..
Why not create that space up to 50 King can lead into?
Why not have multiple leading options? Coordinated?
Even blocks - when Kings opponents want to stop his run/jump (and they will) where is his chop out from Saints forward to assist??
Just not coordinated for mine and I don’t know who the line coach is

[SunnyErnie]

Yep it seems the skunks are well coached and have a system

Our game plan appears haphazard and has been for awhile.

It’s weird Firey
Our game plan some weeks looks good - forwards get on the move, good ball movement
Minute we are pressed we bomb like mad, King becomes Hulk Hogan or statue
Small forwards MIA
That’s why I want to see how we go second half season off a bigger body of evidence against in form top sides before locking in Ratten for 3 more
By round 20/21 we’ll know

Robert Harvey might be our coach after all

[Impatient Sainter]

And best Dees
They actually HAVE a great into forward 50 transition game
Ours?????
Hit n miss has been for way too long
Yet we have massive weapons in King who stand still and wrestle 3 on 1 …..dum dumb dumb football
Pies now level on points in 8 BTW
Our forward transition work is game plan
It’s coaches job to fix
It don’t bro g addressed and it’s hurting us

Totally agree, even Marshall has gone backwards trying to physically engage his opponent rather than leading to space. I can understand Ratten wants to bring the smalls into play but whats stopping them starting higher and being at the point of the leads. Its just dumb risk averse football that opposition defences sweat on. Time to wake up Ratten the clocks ticking.

[Teflon]

Interesting on FC they just highlighted we now “go” to King nearly 40% of time
Next best…..Higgins…..
As Cornes noted…..Higgins should not be no 2 go to
All agreed Membrey simply doesn’t do enough to drag opponents away from King
It’s why the Butler small forwards obsession Ratten has is a failure
Sharman plays and yes kicks only 1 goal (very important one might I add) but Membrey bobs up to kick 2????
Membrey clearly better no 3 banana
I’d play Sharman and work on Long , Gresham etc as our forward pressure
Lions walked it out of there Sat night and I thought Butler made zero difference tbh

[WellardSaint]

Several in this thread said 'Sharman needs to play'

I said that last week, keep Butler or Higgins out.
Sharman might have been the difference...
Butler+Higgins are not the answer.
Sharman might get 6 kicks but he'll get 2 goals or more.
SCOREBOARD PRESSURE

[Teflon]

Several in this thread said 'Sharman needs to play'

I said that last week, keep Butler or Higgins out.
Sharman might have been the difference...
Butler+Higgins are not the answer.
Sharman might get 6 kicks but he'll get 2 goals or more.
SCOREBOARD PRESSURE

Yep plus it’s a better structure for King and our future
Find out now but if Sharman can be one threatening in the Fritz mould we are cooking
It brings Membrey into the game
Butler has to go for mine
But they won’t
Means also Ryder/Marshall can just drift forward as well making us very unpredictable

[Scollop]

List management

Why recruit Higgins when you already have 4 smalls and Butler was coming off his best season ever in 2020?

We have to learn to say NO to trades. Just because a player wants to come to St Kilda, doesn't necessarily mean we recruit them, no matter how cheaply (in terms of draft pick) that we get them

It won't be a surprise if we are recruiting more half back flankers in 2023 and a couple of delisted free agents that no one else wants...

Just make sure they were in Red White and Black as toddlers and their family are loyal and passionate Saints supporters

Don't worry about targeting elite talent St Kilda...you know it makes sense

edit...Sorry. Forgot to mention that their bedroom should be clean if they are teenagers

[Devilhead]

I think the 1st season players experiment can end now as well .... except maybe WangMil .... they have had a taste but its time now to put em in at Sandy and let em get 30+ a week for the rest of the year.... we need more experienced mature heads and bodies now

Sharman though must come in for structure ..... Butler or Long out

[Devilhead]

I think the 1st season players experiment can end now as well .... except maybe WangMil .... they have had a taste but its time now to put em in at Sandy and let em get 30+ a week for the rest of the year.... we need more experienced mature heads and bodies now

Sharman though must come in for structure ..... Butler or Long out

I would be tempted to start Gresh at centre bounces and then revert him immediately down forward to make their backline smalls accountable cause they won't want him off the leash around goals

[shanegrambeau]

I think the 1st season players experiment can end now as well .... except maybe WangMil .... they have had a taste but its time now to put em in at Sandy and let em get 30+ a week for the rest of the year.... we need more experienced mature heads and bodies now

Sharman though must come in for structure ..... Butler or Long out

I would be tempted to start Gresh at centre bounces and then revert him immediately down forward to make their backline smalls accountable cause they won't want him off the leash around goals

Me too, but robbing Peter to pay Paul. Our midfield is weak, even with Ross and Crouch having a real crack.

[Teflon]

As Lyon just pointed out on FC
We’ve become predictable up forward
They showed vision of King being mobbed
Spare saints players 20-30 out in front of goal in space
And where do we kick to??????????
38% of time to Max King
Geezus Dogs only go to Naughton 25% time and that’s too much!!!
It means our coaches either can’t structure this right, get the message through to players or we have the stupidest players on the planet
It also means Membrey as no 2 forward ain’t working and Marshall/Ryder resting forward are t helping draw a defender away from King
We have a generational talent In King - FFS use him properly and smartly
I see they are set to announce a 2 year extension for Ratten - IMO that’s a mistake now it should’ve waited till near end season so we can see these things fixed

[Scollop]

Check out the post before yours Teflon

You have Saints fans who praise the efforts of Crouch and Seb Ross. How much of an influence do you think Ratts has had on these two guys and generally the way they play their footy? Ratts is working with the list that he inherited

Ross, Crouch and a few others are poor decision makers and they are the problem…in particular when it comes to delivering the footy to our forwards. Loved their work rate against Brisbane and their efforts right up until the final siren, but we need the kicking class of better mids if we are going to be a force

We could have been 3 goals up at half time. Remember just before half time when Seb was clear and he tried a dinky left foot kick on the outside of his foot which looked awkward and it missed it’s target?

Ross was looking for Max King when he should have been looking for a player on his own. Mason Wood was at true centre half forward and he was in the clear with no Brisbane player even close to him. Another Saint (I think it was Butler or Higgins) were 20 metres clear in front of Wood in the forward pocket.

The Richo era still haunts us, so it’s pretty hard to take that out of our game until we give these guys different roles. Crouch, Gresham and Ross shouldn’t be kicking the footy inside 50. Maybe they just need to be replaced full stop.

[mad saint guy]

Agree that it would be great to kick to a leading forward but what's even more baffling is the fact that when we bomb it long to King, Marshall, Membrey and Sharman (often 2-3 of them at the same time) our crumbers are nowhere to be seen when it hits the ground. If we're bombing to the hotspot then we need at least one of Butler, Higgins, Gresham or Long buzzing around the contest every time

[spert]

I seem to remember Sharman leading to space in the North game, but instead the midfield just kept bombing to Max. Maxy will be a better player if someone gets him to lead hard and make space.

[meher baba]

Wow. The SS members of the Sharman cult continue to beat their drums and perform their strange voodoo chants .

Back in the real world, I still wouldn’t be surprised to see him miss out again this week: the Batch report gave the impression that the club would like to see him repeat his good defensive performance against Southport a couple more times before he gets another crack at the AFL level.

I do wish he was even half as good as so many of you appear to believe. I certainly think he’s got potential, but he’s a long way off being the full package.

[Scollop]

Wow. The SS members of the Sharman cult continue to beat their drums and perform their strange voodoo chants .

Back in the real world, I still wouldn’t be surprised to see him miss out again this week: the Batch report gave the impression that the club would like to see him repeat his good defensive performance against Southport a couple more times before he gets another crack at the AFL level.

I do wish he was even half as good as so many of you appear to believe. I certainly think he’s got potential, but he’s a long way off being the full package.

Is there such a thing as having a team with all players getting 20+ possessions and their pressure ratings and one percenters all being to the perceived 'standard'? Ok...so most of the forwards won't get 20 disposals, but I suppose we want them to defend and have 5 tackles and maybe kick 2 goals a game...right?

Does that mean we should get a guaranteed 12 each week even if the mids don't contribute on the scoreboard? Plus of course with all that frontal pressure and rebound that should create another 5 goals from inside 50 turnovers

Can you have 22 perfect footballers in a squad?

Sharman can play the game. If he is not hitting his targets for skin folds and for his time trials, then why doesn't the club just come out and say that. Reminds me of the Brandon White situation. Fans kept completely in the dark apart from a few posters telling us he wasn't bright and his mum hated Richo...meantime he was nearly bog at Sandy every week