Saints Have Arrived

[Fearless]

Conolly's interview with Lyon today (Sunday Age) allows us to move on from our GF grief. Let's do it.

Key point for me is the concept that StKilda has become a genuinely powerful AFL Club, potentiall for the first time in its history.

Let's look forward with excited acticpation.

[SaintPav]

Conolly's interview with Lyon today (Sunday Age) allows us to move on from our GF grief. Let's do it.

Key point for me is the concept that StKilda has become a genuinely powerful AFL Club, potentiall for the first time in its history.

Let's look forward with excited acticpation.

I'm not sure about the title of this thread but Ross L is a real leader. It was an inspiring article. I was a bit worried about the scinfolds though and the fact that we have started so late but I trust that they are in good hands.

[Wrote for Luck]

I never knew. Such sad news.

[WinnersOnly]

RL what a selfless man...He is the man to lead the Saints for as long as he can maintain the passion !

[saintsRrising]

As I thought, Lyon's idea of "exciting footy" is not what many where hoping for. And I for one, am most thankful of that.

"To us exciting footy is really aggressive defence, really aggressive at the contest," he says.

" The fundamentals won't change. If anything, the cornerstone of the premiership team this year was their aggressive defence. And you score off aggressive defence"

.

Lyon want his Saints to score more, to win more contested ball, to improve their clearnce work. But their not suddenly about to morph intoa freewheeling bunch of downhill skiers, or as he puts it, to throw the bay out with the bathwater..

[johnpeterbudgefanclub]

Hmmm interesting thread heading.

I would have thought you guys had arrived well and truly at the start of this decade.....even from 1997 on......more so from the early 2000's though.

Meh according to the title of this thread I'm wrong.

[SaintPav]

Hmmm interesting thread heading.

I would have thought you guys had arrived well and truly at the start of this decade.....even from 1997 on......more so from the early 2000's though.

Meh according to the title of this thread I'm wrong.

Who cares what you think.

[johnpeterbudgefanclub]

Hmmm interesting thread heading.

I would have thought you guys had arrived well and truly at the start of this decade.....even from 1997 on......more so from the early 2000's though.

Meh according to the title of this thread I'm wrong.

Who cares what you think.

True.

[Quixote]

I can't tell you how much better I feel after reading that article.

Quoting this for general well-being:


"This club is maturing, and it's been displayed in how we've handled the disappointment," Lyon says. "There's been no fracturing or witch-hunts. We've got a really strong foundation, we're committed to improving, and we'll come again. We'll just keep persisting, and if we continue to improve and continue to get the right people to the club, the premiership will be achieved. It's just a matter of when."

[saintbrat]

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/s ... 18kus.html
link for those who haven't found it.

We've just had a meeting today, and what it told us was that this year we didn't do it with brilliance. Our offence spluttered and stuttered - even our defence at times. Our clearance work really dropped off from the year before. The meeting just highlighted that we still won 15-and-a-half games [he could have added was within a point of a premiership], but as opposed to '09, there's that many areas we can improve on. And the players really got excited by that.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Fresh might be the buzzword, and it's certainly applicable to virtually an entire new team of assistant coaches helping Lyon drive home the message for 2011.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

Plenty of new eyes, ears and voices are the happy consequence. Kingsley, in particular, has made a big impression already, eager and very busy. Lyon's already calling him "mini-me".

"He spoke to the group this morning and it was really invigorating. He's really hit the ground running," Lyon enthuses. "He's really knowledgeable and driven, and just understands it. He's already analysed every turnover we forced last season - did we score from it, didn't we score. It's pretty full-on."

and the Ross Story

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/g ... 18kti.html

[St Lenny]

Its certainly great to read articles like that. Just an ounce of luck and we would be a premiership team. Still, we just have to work harder and I am sure we can achieve the premiership we deserve.

[InkerSaint]

Ross Lyon - can anyone question his candour and authenticity?

Huge respect.

[saintspremiers]

Hmmm interesting thread heading.

I would have thought you guys had arrived well and truly at the start of this decade.....even from 1997 on......more so from the early 2000's though.

Meh according to the title of this thread I'm wrong.

Who cares what you think.

True.

so why not F*** off troll and go back to the pub with your Pies mates ok?

[saint66au]

To us exciting footy is really aggressive defence, really aggressive at the contest," he says.

I loved reading this. I for one would love a repeat of our 2009 form, where our attack on the ball carrier was fierce and relentless. Who could say they didnt enjoy us laying crashing tackle after crashing tackle, forcing turnovers both from that and from the opposition hearing footsteps every time they got the footy. To be it was far more breathtaking than any Doggies-style freewheeling basketball. It was "Saints Footy" to me and Id love it back

[plugger66]

I must say there isnt a great deal of time I agree with RF, and I may be wrong in this case, but why would anyone take notice of words written in a paper. RL isnt the messiah and only the players will win us the flag with maybe some small hope from the coaches. And why would people care what coaches say otherwise people should think Essendon are a chance as well as Gold Coast.

[SaintPav]

I must say there isnt a great deal of time I agree with RF, and I may be wrong in this case, but why would anyone take notice of words written in a paper. RL isnt the messiah and only the players will win us the flag with maybe some small hope from the coaches. And why would people care what coaches say otherwise people should think Essendon are a chance as well as Gold Coast.

The point of the article is that there is more to life than football.

[plugger66]

I must say there isnt a great deal of time I agree with RF, and I may be wrong in this case, but why would anyone take notice of words written in a paper. RL isnt the messiah and only the players will win us the flag with maybe some small hope from the coaches. And why would people care what coaches say otherwise people should think Essendon are a chance as well as Gold Coast.

The point of the article is that there is more to life than football.

Yes but my point is about the people who think our footy will improve because our coach says it will.

[bobmurray]

I must say there isnt a great deal of time I agree with RF, and I may be wrong in this case, but why would anyone take notice of words written in a paper. RL isnt the messiah and only the players will win us the flag with maybe some small hope from the coaches. And why would people care what coaches say otherwise people should think Essendon are a chance as well as Gold Coast.

The point of the article is that there is more to life than football.

Yes but my point is about the people who think our footy will improve because our coach says it will.

Our footy will only improve when we don't front up with same 22 we played for most of 2010...

We need a skill and pace injection.....badly....

[SaintPav]

I must say there isnt a great deal of time I agree with RF, and I may be wrong in this case, but why would anyone take notice of words written in a paper. RL isnt the messiah and only the players will win us the flag with maybe some small hope from the coaches. And why would people care what coaches say otherwise people should think Essendon are a chance as well as Gold Coast.

The point of the article is that there is more to life than football.

Yes but my point is about the people who think our footy will improve because our coach says it will.

I agree that it doesn't work that way and no one has any idea what will happen in 2011 but I wouldn't completely rule it out either because there is historical precedence (This is also related to the other thread about attacking footy). I'm referring to the massive improvement we made from 2008 until the round 15 or so in season 2009. We did achieve that 2 goals per game that the club publicly declared it was after at the time. I remember Greg Westaway saying publicly that he wanted us to be more attacking and that we needed to kick two more goals a game. He was ridiculed at the time and I must admit that I scoffed at him as well. We fell off towards the end of 2009 and could not finish the job off. At the start of 2010 we lost the best forward in the competition which stuffed things up. There are no guarantees but I think that there is potential upside and I would not rule it out.

[saintsRrising]

Will we improve in 2011?

Who knows. But the signs I believe are good.

However, it is not just whether the Saints improve...but how we go relative to our opposition. We can't control their fortune, but we can ours.

2010 was a year when much was against the Saints, but we still almost won the flag.

[Moods]

Well maybe I'm way too harsh, but I though the article was just a tad worrying. Every club seems to be in the middle of a tough pre-season, and we haven't even started!! Last year the articles were about how blokes were running personal best times and were hungrier than ever to make up for the disappointment. This year the article is about how 5 blokes have come back fat and the coach wants to release the pressure valve and not be too hard on them He also discusses the mental drain the players are feeling.

Was an interesting human article on our coach, but not sure how anyone would read it and think - yep next year is our year.

I have to admit I enjoyed the Paul Roos quip. Was very relieved to see that the coach wasn't going to be pressured into playing a completely different style just to appease the masses. I'm with saints66. 09 saints style footy is as exciting to watch as any footy. Let's get back to that!!!

[InkerSaint]

Yes but my point is about the people who think our footy will improve because our coach says it will.

You're going to have to elaborate, because on the face of it you're talking rubbish.

As for what I'm on about, my signature speaks for itself. And I can't see how you can not attribute most of that to coaching.

I suppose we've got a belief that if mentally we want to do the work, we're good enough to mount another campaign and be right in the hunt. That's how we see it, and when players saw the areas that can be fixed, that's how they saw it."

Is Ross kidding us? Are the players kidding Ross? Or themselves?

Personally I can't see a problem with that statement. I don't know what your problem is.

[SainterK]

[skeptic]

Will we improve in 2011?

Who knows. But the signs I believe are good.

However, it is not just whether the Saints improve...but how we go relative to our opposition. We can't control their fortune, but we can ours.

2010 was a year when much was against the Saints, but we still almost won the flag.

it's a challenging thought

my concern is that IMO our best players won't get any better

our middle group of players minus one or two don't look like getting any better

so IMO it's whether or not we see improvement in some of our younger players like McEvoy that will determine how we go

[Teflon]

Will we improve in 2011?

Who knows. But the signs I believe are good.

However, it is not just whether the Saints improve...but how we go relative to our opposition. We can't control their fortune, but we can ours.

2010 was a year when much was against the Saints, but we still almost won the flag.

it's a challenging thought

my concern is that IMO our best players won't get any better

our middle group of players minus one or two don't look like getting any better

so IMO it's whether or not we see improvement in some of our younger players like McEvoy that will determine how we go

On finals Id disagree re our best players.

I thought Dal, Joey and Roo to an extent were avg. Gram non existent along with Kosi.

Question is: Is our cores best still ahead of the rest ? if so, the "middle" needs an injection for us to take the next step from the likes of Steven/Armo etc.

Quiet simply guys like McQualter HAVE to be pushed out of the 22 (or lift considerably) if we are going to get that additional 10-15% we need to stay with the lead pack IMO.