St Kilda side v Fremantle

[St Fidelius]

Sorry St Fidelius,
The Fremantle team was announced at 6:35 but you still had not posted it by 6:40 so I thought you were asleep at the keyboard.

lol

had to go out and do some grocery shopping, my wife is not well..

Not that is any excuse, because I do the grocery shopping in most cases anyway..

[Solar]

happy with that team

hey anyone remember the last time we went through 4 rounds only using 23 players?

[saintbrat]

I've put the Sandy teams into the Sandringham- Frankston game thread.

[SaintWodonga]

X is extremely stiff. I would have him in the team before any of the interchange players.

Except King!

[Teflon]

if X puts in another blinder this week and Mqualter/Geary have shockers the change will be made.

Keep up the pressure Xavier cause I reckon we are a stronger side with you in it.

Max will waltz back in..Raph......Id have in come back via magoos after thorough hamstring workout Im afraid.

[Sobraz]

X is extremely stiff. I would have him in the team before any of the interchange players.

I wouldnt.... X has done nothing in the past 2 years to suggest he is a walk up start... AFAIC he has to earn his spot with multiple strong performances in the 2's, and to show his body wont fail him again in the top level...
Practice matches for mine are not a good indication, therefore he is one out of one for good VFL performaces...

Secondly, someone would have to be performing poorly to be ommited for X.... All our fringe players (Gwilt, Mini, Geary, CJ) have been playing at a level X hasnt reached in a long, long time....

Once Raph and Max are ready, I'd hope they'd jump the que ahead of X, as IMO they are more important to our side.... So, he may have a long wait...

[saintbob]

FAIR DINKUM!

What does X have to do to be even third emergency?

Perhaps the selectors are corrupt?

** inside joke for sp **

While he is no doubt playing good footy, I still reckon the coaching staff want to see him put 5-6 weeks together without breaking down again.

[maverick]

A bit boring remaining unchanged every week, but thoroughly enjoyable

Max and Raph should have a week in the ressies for fitness only, irrespective of form they come straight in, Max is an A grader, Raph has deserved his status from his form in the '08 finals.

X (although I rate him) has no deserved status and needs an injury for an opportunity.

Max for Dawson
Raph for McQualter / Geary / Gwilt depending on matchups.

It has to be that simple IMO.

[vacuous space]

Our team against Freo is nearly as bad as this one:

http://www.saintsational.com/forum/view ... hp?t=50591

It's amazing how much better a team looks after getting a few wins.

[HarveysDeciple]

I think X would still be building match fitness...so why rush him?

The problem with this is that the emergencies like Begley, McEvoy and Eddy don't get the match fitness

Yes they do mate - they still play in the 2's. If all 3 play in the afternoon - then we will know we go in unchanged.

thanks for clearing that up mate...

I do remember Eddy being mentioned as one of the best for Sandringham, did Begley and McEvoy play at all last week??

If one or both didn't, one hopes they both get a game for Sandi this week so that they get some match fitness in them, otherwise one or both will become less hardened to having a match under their belt

You imagine 2 of the emergencies would probably play...Just in case some last minute mishap occurs.

[Ghost Like]

Our team against Freo is nearly as bad as this one:

http://www.saintsational.com/forum/view ... hp?t=50591

It's amazing how much better a team looks after getting a few wins.

Nice link vacuous, just reading through a few of them...not sure Art Vanderlay has posted since.

[Mr Magic]

I think X would still be building match fitness...so why rush him?

The problem with this is that the emergencies like Begley, McEvoy and Eddy don't get the match fitness

Yes they do mate - they still play in the 2's. If all 3 play in the afternoon - then we will know we go in unchanged.

thanks for clearing that up mate...

I do remember Eddy being mentioned as one of the best for Sandringham, did Begley and McEvoy play at all last week??

If one or both didn't, one hopes they both get a game for Sandi this week so that they get some match fitness in them, otherwise one or both will become less hardened to having a match under their belt

You imagine 2 of the emergencies would probably play...Just in case some last minute mishap occurs.

I'm pretty sure I read reports from the Sandy vs Casey game which mentioned all 3 emergencies playing. IIRC McEvoy was amongst the best players for Sandy.
But last week's Sandy game was after the Saints game whereas this week's is before the Saints game.
I would not be surprized if 1 of the emergencies did not play for Sandy this week, even if there is eventually no change in the Saints team.

[spert]

X or Goose will still need to show RL with a few more games, that their bodies can hold up to the pressure of the seniors -there's a big gap between VFL and AFL. I don't think Raph is a walk up selection either, but see what happens after the next game. We watched a replay of the WCE game and everyone did their bit..that's the only way you win by that much. So the only change would be Max for the inexperienced Zac, though maybe Max needs a game in the VFL to prove he can see a game out before selection.

[terry smith rules]

Our team against Freo is nearly as bad as this one:

http://www.saintsational.com/forum/view ... hp?t=50591

It's amazing how much better a team looks after getting a few wins.

Nice link vacuous, just reading through a few of them...not sure Art Vanderlay has posted since.

funny reckon Art would still be trying to chip the egg off from those hard toget to places on your face

[BigMart]

You would be spewing if you were first emerg.....and missed a chance to impress, and a player was out next week, but after a blinder at Sandy another player leap-frogged you......a problem with the system IMO....
Players lalso ose match condition miss a game of footy, a chance to show their abilities....and these fringe players have their career on the line generally......

ask Shane Birss what he thinks of sitting out as an emerg....

Plus the who issue of match playments is interesting...

[jonesy]

Don't see how Raph comes straight back in. Surely you have to play more than a couple of good games in an entire career to be a walk up selection. Signs were better at the end of last year, but he hasn't got anywhere near enough credits in the bank to be a walk up starter

[bergholt]

Don't see how Raph comes straight back in. Surely you have to play more than a couple of good games in an entire career to be a walk up selection. Signs were better at the end of last year, but he hasn't got anywhere near enough credits in the bank to be a walk up starter

agreed. i'd have x in the team before raph. raph needs to show a good performance in the twos before coming back in. x has already had three bogs in a row. pick the players who are in form.

[To the top]

You would like to be in a position to select your BEST players.

And we have a few who, in normal circumstances, would easily be in our BEST 22 not currently in the side.

We have beaten both Sydney (home) and Adelaide (away), who were finalists last year.

But until we come up against the other sides which finished top 4 last year, and particularly the 2 who competed in the Grand Final, we just do not know.

When we do play the other sides that finished top 4 last year, I would trust that we can put our BEST 22 on the park - or pretty close to it.

That is when reputations will be consolidated.

Plus against sides which have traditionally caused us problem - like Port Adelaide.

[SinCitySaint]

There is no way that X should come back in without a few more weeks with Sandy. It has to be a case of once bitten twice shy with X. He has yet to show that his body is up to the rigors of AFL football. He must prove that he can be resiliant at the lower level before being offered the jump up in intensity. There is no dout that a fully fit X is a valuable player and an asset to the team but that concept of a fully fit X is one we have not seen for a long time and I, for one, am yet to be convinced that we ever will again. I hope he can prove me wrong.