We will beat the Dons.

[markp]

That's kinda creepy... like Lurch smiling

harsh...

Better?

[older saint]

Sorry can't share the confidence.
Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Hill kills us so that is a good out.

Hopefully proved wrong but Ess by 18

[degruch]

Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Can't help but wonder how Sydney rolled them last week. Geez, Sydney are a rocket fast team, aren't they?

[perfectionist]

Plugger used an emoticon

What's an emoticon? Is that what you use when you think that readers can't read or think? It's a wonder how irony, sarcasm, bewilderment et al have survived so long without them.

[degruch]

Plugger used an emoticon

What's an emoticon? Is that what you use when you think that readers can't read or think?

Yes. It is essential on this forum.

[Dr Spaceman]

Plugger used an emoticon

What's an emoticon? Is that what you use when you think that readers can't read or think?

Yes. It is essential on this forum.

[degruch]

Plugger used an emoticon

What's an emoticon? Is that what you use when you think that readers can't read or think?

Yes. It is essential on this forum.

I should have added

[older saint]

Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Can't help but wonder how Sydney rolled them last week. Geez, Sydney are a rocket fast team, aren't they?

Sydney, apart from against collingwood play ANZ stadium well and Essendon are a terrible travelling side.
Sydney are also fitter than us at the moment and kick straighter.

[older saint]

Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Can't help but wonder how Sydney rolled them last week. Geez, Sydney are a rocket fast team, aren't they?

Sydney, apart from against collingwood play ANZ stadium well and Essendon are a terrible travelling side.
Sydney are also fitter than us at the moment and kick straighter.

[degruch]

Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Can't help but wonder how Sydney rolled them last week. Geez, Sydney are a rocket fast team, aren't they?

Sydney, apart from against collingwood play ANZ stadium well and Essendon are a terrible travelling side.
Sydney are also fitter than us at the moment and kick straighter.

You can say that again.

They were visibly slower, but applied a lot of pressure and forced a lot of mistakes from the young Bombers in particular - which is a lot of them. 14.14, they weren't amazingly accurate, considering they had a lot more F50 entries.

[rexy]

I am only ever hopeful....

hopeful we'll win

hopeful Ross will make some real changes and not just shuffle the same old players in for the outs....

this

[Con Gorozidis]

Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Can't help but wonder how Sydney rolled them last week. Geez, Sydney are a rocket fast team, aren't they?

i know ur being saracstic but the swans actually do have some seriously quick young players these days. plus keneally and shaw.

have u seen that gary rohan kid go? hes friggin quick.

unlike us the swans have actually changed their team since 2005.

[gringo]

Gary Rohans dad played for the saints but didn't get to 100.

[perfectionist]

The bookies think so too (just):

Sportsbet: Saints $1.82; Bombers $2.00

Bookies now have it as even money: $1.91 each of two.

[degruch]

Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Can't help but wonder how Sydney rolled them last week. Geez, Sydney are a rocket fast team, aren't they?

i know ur being saracstic but the swans actually do have some seriously quick young players these days. plus keneally and shaw.

have u seen that gary rohan kid go? hes friggin quick.

unlike us the swans have actually changed their team since 2005.

That's true, but Jetta and Rohan, the speedsters, had almost no impact in that game. Almost all of the Swans 2005 team has retired, most of the Saints core were about 2-3 years younger than the Swans, so we haven't the need to change...yet.

[perfectionist]

The bookies think so too (just):

Sportsbet: Saints $1.82; Bombers $2.00

Bookies now have it as even money: $1.91 each of two.

Money has poured in on the Saints (well, $20 anyway):

Saints $1.87
Bombers $1.95

[Johnny Member]

I still don't believe leg speed is the answer.

It's great to have as a tool, but in essence what you're trying to do is break lines.

And in turn, prevent your opponents from breaking lines.


Leg speed is one way to achieve this, but it's only 1 way. And frankly it's pretty rare that a player breaks a line purely with his leg speed. Usually lines are broken with long accurate kicking, or slick skills in close.

Timing in your running is more important to breaking lines than your actual leg speed.


Defensively, leg speed does is allow you to chase guys down from behind. I do think this is an area we struggle in - especially in the forward line.


A zippy small forward would be great. But it's quick, accurate and confident ball movement which sets up scores. Not fast guys.

The top 10 for Ave. Inside 50s this year is made up of guys like Young, Pendlebury, Swan, Sylvia, Gibbs and Corey.
These guys aren't quick. But they're smart runners who find the ball and can break lines with their timing and their kicking.


I just think our problem is our timing between defence and attack. We defend first, which is Ok - but we seem to caught off guard when we get the ball and are therefore flatfooted moving forward.

[MCG-Unit]

Essendon are well ahead of us with fitness ( about 4 weeks) and even when fit we have trouble with spped.

Can't help but wonder how Sydney rolled them last week. Geez, Sydney are a rocket fast team, aren't they?

The free kick count was 35 -20 the Swans way - not too often you see that sort of tally, that might have had some impact on the result

(Not that I have any time or sympathy for Ess at all, and I'm glad the Swans won)
The Swans have some quick players as well.....

[3rd generation saint]

The key to Essendon is pressure and tackling, if we put heaps of pressure on them and make our tackles stick and stick hard, they will fall apart.
Pressure makes them make bad decisions and turn the ball over.

[perfectionist]

The key to Essendon is pressure and tackling, if we put heaps of pressure on them and make our tackles stick and stick hard, they will fall apart.
Pressure makes them make bad decisions and turn the ball over.

You know, that's what they say about us.

The key to beating Essendon is to win the clearances. If we don't, it will be game over very quickly.

[ralphsmith]

Many keys.

Main thing to be aware of is that essendon LOVE beating us. No matter what time of the year it is, if essendon sees stkilda colours it's like a bull seeing red. Unexplaninable violence against stkilda colours, they play a like men with noting to lose all the time.


Well, f*** them. What the hell do we have to lose? We've lost 2 grand finals in a row, aren't our players now beyond the state of giving a s*** about personal injury?

I'd love to see our guys throw themselves into the contest with renewed vigor and aggression. Because the essendon players will do it to us.

Sick of playing this mob and our guys refusing to match them at the contest.

Go saints. Don't sit back and let it happen, smash them at every opportunity.

[spert]

Supposedly fast teams look a lot slower when they are manned-up. If our forward line get off their bums today, win the contested ball, and keep the ball in the forward line, we will win.