Next Week

[George27]

fair go con. tony i love your posts
talk about shoot the messenger geez

Tony please keep the comments coming. I realise you have to tread a thin line between giving us information and maintaining club confidentiality. I for one am grateful for your insights. We are all frustrated tonight ,from the top down .

[mullet]

Was at the game. Most of the team just lacked the required effort and ability to use the ball was terrible. Played like they had all been out on the piss last night.

best summary yet

[BigMart]

But seriously

If it has been labelled the most important game of the year... The only thing that is a certainty is effort... We could make a lot of errors, make poor decisions and probably lose... But it would be a fight!!!

With 80+ tackles
Chasing like hyenas
Contested ball by a manic midfield

Btw
If you are a mid and get less than 20 it's all about work rate!!!!
It's why Seb and Armo couldn't average 20 early in their careers and Dunstan now is the ability to work to contests... Not fit enough... Today our mids didn't get to work!

[Bluthy]

See while a bit disappointed with yet another s*** first half interstate, I'm not that stressed out because without Fish and Demps we were genuinely young team. We are trying out guys like Lee, Wright, Minch, Murdoch, Delaney etc. This is the stage we are at. We need to keep experimenting and testing out our list. Next year we should start getting a lot of real young talent all out on the field playing together and starting to synchronise which makes a huge difference. Its still very choppy-changey due to where we are at in our rebuild. We still need a good draft pick to get a really classy midfielder on our books.

[saintspremiers]

Can we ease up in this flu like symptoms rubbish? What about a nasty cold instead?

If any players had the flu or were close to that then they couldn't have played

[Impatient Sainter]

See while a bit disappointed with yet another s*** first half interstate, I'm not that stressed out because without Fish and Demps we were genuinely young team. We are trying out guys like Lee, Wright, Minch, Murdoch, Delaney etc. This is the stage we are at. We need to keep experimenting and testing out our list. Next year we should start getting a lot of real young talent all out on the field playing together and starting to synchronise which makes a huge difference. Its still very choppy-changey due to where we are at in our rebuild. We still need a good draft pick to get a really classy midfielder on our books.

Bluth I dont think Fisher & Dempster would have made one I Ota of difference today. It was GCS outside speed and ball movement that killed us. They had a plan to work through our press and we couldnt counter it. As Tony74 has said we were out coached and out played in every aspect today. Having said that we have struggled against all quick midfield sides for sometime - blokes like Dunstan, Ross and Armitage and really exposed against fast spreading mids.

[tony74]

Just a query tony74........... was there flu going through the group?

I watched the interview Richo did at Melbourne Airport before boarding the plane to the Gold Coast and he definitely had some URTI issue. His eyes were very red and watery and every so often his voice was a bit raspy. After watching that video last night I went back & watched some of the messages he sends to members post-games and his eyes were never red & watery, nor his voice occasionally crackly. So I thought - Hello Richo, you have got some infection - I hope it hasn't been passed on to any of the lads this week.

Was Richo a little 'under the weather' tony74??????? Am I way off the mark?

No.
We were outplayed, out worked and out coached by (on the day ) a very good team. That's the reality

But I will make one comment... If you think you're upset and frustrated you've got absolutely nothing on the players, coaches and staff. They care more than a few select on here could ever imagine. None of them, I repeat none of them will fall asleep easily tonight.

[Bluthy]

Just a query tony74........... was there flu going through the group?

I watched the interview Richo did at Melbourne Airport before boarding the plane to the Gold Coast and he definitely had some URTI issue. His eyes were very red and watery and every so often his voice was a bit raspy. After watching that video last night I went back & watched some of the messages he sends to members post-games and his eyes were never red & watery, nor his voice occasionally crackly. So I thought - Hello Richo, you have got some infection - I hope it hasn't been passed on to any of the lads this week.

Was Richo a little 'under the weather' tony74??????? Am I way off the mark?

No.
We were outplayed, out worked and out coached by (on the day ) a very good team. That's the reality

But I will make one comment... If you think you're upset and frustrated you've got absolutely nothing on the players, coaches and staff. They care more than a few select on here could ever imagine. None of them, I repeat none of them will fall asleep easily tonight.

Well they shouldn't feel too bad Tony. The wise headed, less panicked amongst us supporters realise that last weeks tackling heroics would have taken a huge toll on the young players and they didn't yet have the perspective and experience to not get too carried away from beating the top team and forgetting to move on to the next game quickly enough. And factors like losing Paddy which hurt our structure (with them double teaming Juice then Membrey of all players became our key forward), trying out some fringe guys, and GC stacked with high draft talent getting their mojo back in the last couple of weeks - only losing by 40 points interstate is not too bad in the big scheme of things. Yes try and learn from things (particularly the s*** starts interstate) but they shouldn't be getting too down as then it is hard to get up for the next match. Ignore the hysterical ignorant supporters. Plot that solid path despite the highs and lows.

[Con Gorozidis]

I officially apologise and have edited original offensive stuff.

Tony adds a hell of a lot value here and I would not want to bully him away. He is obviously a genuine insider who contributes to us fans in a great way.

Tone the cologne. I love ya.

This loss was always on the cards and the bookies knew it.

[mullet]

I officially apologise and have edited original offensive stuff.

Tony adds a hell of a lot value here and I would not want to bully him away. He is obviously a genuine insider who contributes to us fans in a great way.

Tone the cologne. I love ya.

This loss was always on the cards and the bookies knew it.

this is why you are a great bloke con cos you apologise when needed. love your work.

[Moods]

I officially apologise and have edited original offensive stuff.

Tony adds a hell of a lot value here and I would not want to bully him away. He is obviously a genuine insider who contributes to us fans in a great way.

Tone the cologne. I love ya.

This loss was always on the cards and the bookies knew it.

Takes a big man to admit their wrong and apologise Con. well done.

[Junction Oval]

The ups & downs will continue until we get a couple more premium players into the side - particularly Mids. This years Draft/Trading will be vital to where we get to next year.

Not sure why we don't perform well interstate, but perhaps the effort required to perform at our very best each week to get a win, is too draining on the team overall. We need a couple more top players to help carry the load.

The Coach should also be a bit more counter-reactive during games, when the bad signs are clearly there for all to see.

[maverick]

I wonder if Rockliff might of helped?

[saintspremiers]

The problem we have is we don't know which players to dump after a smashing win. It's easy to do in hindsight but getting clearer now we need to at times swing the axe and rest some players who mentally can't keep doing it more than 2 or 3 weeks in a row. GWS did it well in previous years, and we have more depth now to do it IMO.
At the members night Richo said the players care a lot and sometimes too much and can over think situations and not react on gut instinct. It's a development issue.

Tony - am I on the money here??

[BigMart]

Hmm.. Young is an excuse for poor effort now?

What was the age difference between us and the GC yesterday... or us and the dogs

Lets see
Backline of kids
Roberton 25, Delaney 26, Gilbert 29, Savage 25, Montagna 33, Geary 28, Lee 25
Midfield
Hickey 25, Armo 28, Steven 25, Ross 22, Newnes 22, Dunstan 20, Riewoldt 34
Forward
Bruce 24, Weller 24, McCartin 19, Minchington 22, Membrey 22, Lonie 19, Acres 20, Gresham 18

Not so much young IMO... seems pretty much in line with the majority of AFL teams

But a lot of defenders not many mids

[Life Long Saint]

Yes our midfield let us down but the so did our forwards, had we of kicked some of those goals pressure would of gone the other way, regardless it not Tony's fault.
When our prime movers arent there we always look to be second at the contest, however had we of slotted some of those goals it may of been a different story

Now i dont know the actual stats but what would the result of been had we of converted half of our shots? Would our midfield then lift?

Not sure people are blaming Tony but if the club drummed the magnitude of the game into the players and that's what we dished up then we are miles away from being a contender.

Hey I don't come on here and tell porkies. The club did stress the importance of this game, the most important of the season.
There are excuses but that will be kept in house.
But the bottom line is we were out coached, out worked and outplayed.
Get over it, we,re not ready yet. As a team and as a club.

Ummm....
I'm not calling you a liar and I love the posts from the inside.
I am just saying it's a poor reflection on the playing group if that's what we dished up after the importance of the game was drummed into them. Very poor reflection.
The effort was non-existent all day from senior players. The skill level was deplorable and Gold Coast did as they liked most of the day.

[Johnny Member]

Hmm.. Young is an excuse for poor effort now?

What was the age difference between us and the GC yesterday... or us and the dogs

Lets see
Backline of kids
Roberton 25, Delaney 26, Gilbert 29, Savage 25, Montagna 33, Geary 28, Lee 25
Midfield
Hickey 25, Armo 28, Steven 25, Ross 22, Newnes 22, Dunstan 20, Riewoldt 34
Forward
Bruce 24, Weller 24, McCartin 19, Minchington 22, Membrey 22, Lonie 19, Acres 20, Gresham 18

Not so much young IMO... seems pretty much in line with the majority of AFL teams

But a lot of defenders not many mids

Young sides historically have issues with consistency though BigMart. Maintaining effort and intensity for 4 quarters and for a while season isn't something that young players are generally able to do

[spert]

If a couple of players have a bad day, then it's their issue, and they may be dropped. When a whole teams plays like absolute s#*t then the coach needs to be held to account.

[Scollop]

The problem we have is we don't know which players to dump after a smashing win. It's easy to do in hindsight but getting clearer now we need to at times swing the axe and rest some players who mentally can't keep doing it more than 2 or 3 weeks in a row. GWS did it well in previous years, and we have more depth now to do it IMO.
At the members night Richo said the players care a lot and sometimes too much and can over think situations and not react on gut instinct. It's a development issue.

Tony - am I on the money here??

The bye was only two weeks ago so you'd think all players (unless they were carrying niggles from last week) should have been relatively fresh.

All clubs conduct tests to measure energy levels of players throughout the week so if there were doubts on anyone the coaches should have acted or if it wasn't picked up then they need to reassess how/what is tested.

I think the key word which you don't hear much from tony74 is that we were 'outcoached'

[loris]

The problem we have is we don't know which players to dump after a smashing win. It's easy to do in hindsight but getting clearer now we need to at times swing the axe and rest some players who mentally can't keep doing it more than 2 or 3 weeks in a row. GWS did it well in previous years, and we have more depth now to do it IMO.
At the members night Richo said the players care a lot and sometimes too much and can over think situations and not react on gut instinct. It's a development issue.

Tony - am I on the money here??

The bye was only two weeks ago so you'd think all players (unless they were carrying niggles from last week) should have been relatively fresh.

All clubs conduct tests to measure energy levels of players throughout the week so if there were doubts on anyone the coaches should have acted or if it wasn't picked up then they need to reassess how/what is tested.

I think the key word which you don't hear much from tony74 is that we were 'outcoached'

Scollop - I can't recall which poster posted this on the site during the week, but during the week there was a thread and discussion on how Saints could stop Ablett Jnr and that Gold Coast were improving as some of their previously injured players were now running into form.
One perceptive poster commented, that Ablett wasn't the main problem - it would be, Rodney Eade - what a shrewd strategist Eade was and he would have done his homework on our players and game plan very thoroughly. Rodney Eade would be the problem.

Like that poster predicted and your comment makes Scollop, we seemed to have been, as you say 'out coached' on this occasion

Eade was able to get his team up and firing after 9 (10 ??) losses on the trot. His game plan neuted our style of play completely.

Richo didn't have our team energised after our inspiring victory of last week. And our game plan yesterday, left a lot to be desired and was not flexible enough. Yep I agree Richo was 'outcoached'. I hate admitting it as I'm a real Rich fan

[tony74]

The problem we have is we don't know which players to dump after a smashing win. It's easy to do in hindsight but getting clearer now we need to at times swing the axe and rest some players who mentally can't keep doing it more than 2 or 3 weeks in a row. GWS did it well in previous years, and we have more depth now to do it IMO.
At the members night Richo said the players care a lot and sometimes too much and can over think situations and not react on gut instinct. It's a development issue.

Tony - am I on the money here??

The bye was only two weeks ago so you'd think all players (unless they were carrying niggles from last week) should have been relatively fresh.

All clubs conduct tests to measure energy levels of players throughout the week so if there were doubts on anyone the coaches should have acted or if it wasn't picked up then they need to reassess how/what is tested.

I think the key word which you don't hear much from tony74 is that we were 'outcoached'

Out coached, out worked and out played.

[CURLY]

Hmm.. Young is an excuse for poor effort now?

What was the age difference between us and the GC yesterday... or us and the dogs

Lets see
Backline of kids
Roberton 25, Delaney 26, Gilbert 29, Savage 25, Montagna 33, Geary 28, Lee 25
Midfield
Hickey 25, Armo 28, Steven 25, Ross 22, Newnes 22, Dunstan 20, Riewoldt 34
Forward
Bruce 24, Weller 24, McCartin 19, Minchington 22, Membrey 22, Lonie 19, Acres 20, Gresham 18

Not so much young IMO... seems pretty much in line with the majority of AFL teams

But a lot of defenders not many mids

Very selective posting. Yes the ages in the back half show a mature group. Unfortunately as a playing unit they are very immature. I doubt they would have played a full game together as a unit.

[BigMart]

Who hasn't played together as a unit

Btw
Who had the younger team yesterday? Us or GC

I would guess (not sure fully) that we nowhere near the youngest 22 in R14...

[CURLY]

Who hasn't played together as a unit

Btw
Who had the younger team yesterday? Us or GC

I would guess (not sure fully) that we nowhere near the youngest 22 in R14...

The back 6 and as a team it's very young.

[gone fission]

The problem we have is we don't know which players to dump after a smashing win. It's easy to do in hindsight but getting clearer now we need to at times swing the axe and rest some players who mentally can't keep doing it more than 2 or 3 weeks in a row. GWS did it well in previous years, and we have more depth now to do it IMO.
At the members night Richo said the players care a lot and sometimes too much and can over think situations and not react on gut instinct. It's a development issue.

Tony - am I on the money here??

The bye was only two weeks ago so you'd think all players (unless they were carrying niggles from last week) should have been relatively fresh.

All clubs conduct tests to measure energy levels of players throughout the week so if there were doubts on anyone the coaches should have acted or if it wasn't picked up then they need to reassess how/what is tested.

I think the key word which you don't hear much from tony74 is that we were 'outcoached'

Out coached, out worked and out played.

Maybe we should have looked at rocket as coach, I'm sure he was available.