Player Appearance at Family Day

[saint75]

Thought the day was very well organised by the Club. Its not the February family day with all the players upbeat and ready to meet the fans and load up for the coming year..its a wake lets be blunt

Many of you have talked about needing your own space since the loss, yet the players are expected to happily sign autographs for hours?

Thought RL, Roo, BJ and Lenny all spoke well, BJ in particular got a big reception. Michael Roberts excellent as MC

I think a few might have had unrealistic expectations of what today was to be. To gather and mingle, to be reassured you werent the only ones feeling like crap, to seek closure. It was never designed, win or lose, to be a "meet and hang out with the players" session. They are feeling 100 times worse than us right now, put your house on it

Well said. Not sure what the expectation was, but it certainly wasn't to spend hours with the players from our end. I didn't go, but the family did. Not one of them were disappointed.

[barks4eva]

Also not a whimper from our Club about having to wear the clash jumper for 2 grand finals in 2 weeks either....

Actually Krabb, I went to the 2008 AGM and mentioned this issue to the board as to why we bend over when Collingwood and Essendon don't?

Furthermore I told Archie Fraser that he promised me in writing that the members would get a say and a vote on the next clash jumper which did NOT happen!

I asked WHY our clash jumper had a white panel as wide as the Grand Canyon?

I then pointed out that OUR clash jumper should be as close to OUR HOME JUMPER as possible, in the event that we play Collingwood in a Grand Final and are forced to wear a clash jumper!

Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

I suggested that OUR Clash jumper should be our HOME JUMPER with a white back, at least it's as close to OUR HOME JUMPER as possible!

WHY the AFL didn't change the jumpers for the replay is a disgrace, if for no other reason than to differentiate between the two games!

The wide white strip looks like a white flag signifying surrender!

[oneteam]

it was bloody pathetic.

i went with my little girl and we are proud of their effort in the first game and in yesterday's but to stay for so little is disrespectful on the back of GF week and putting training on at 10.30am Monday morning when a lot of people can't get to it.

this is what i expect;
- for the players to understand we are hurting as much as they are even though we werent players
- for the players to give us more than 10 mins of their time on Sunday
- and for the players to mingle with the crowd who turned up to pay them the ultimate respect and show our support for them and the club the morning after they were pantsed!

And quite frankly I don't think that is too much to ask!

philip

You think as a selfish person.

and that's why you will never understand.

[chook23]

Also not a whimper from our Club about having to wear the clash jumper for 2 grand finals in 2 weeks either....

Actually Krabb, I went to the 2008 AGM and mentioned this issue to the board as to why we bend over when Collingwood and Essendon don't?

Furthermore I told Archie Fraser that he promised me in writing that the members would get a say and a vote on the next clash jumper which did NOT happen!

I asked WHY our clash jumper had a white panel as wide as the Grand Canyon?

I then pointed out that OUR clash jumper should be as close to OUR HOME JUMPER as possible, in the event that we play Collingwood in a Grand Final and are forced to wear a clash jumper!

Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

I suggested that OUR Clash jumper should be our HOME JUMPER with a white back, at least it's as close to OUR HOME JUMPER as possible!

WHY the AFL didn't change the jumpers for the replay is a disgrace, if for no other reason than to differentiate between the two games!

The wide white strip looks like a white flag signifying surrender!

And the over white socks

insipid looking.....

Just adds to the overall pain.....

although small in relation to winning and losing

but principal.

[krabb]

[/b]
Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

Well he lied to you barks.

So.........whey should you allow them to stuff your life up and your health?

Time to get a bit angry and take the emotion out of it...then its a lot easier.

[Dal_Santos_Gal]

Has anyone thought that maybe the players would have been REALLY EMBARRASSED to be there after the lack luster effort they put up yesterday.

I honestly think they would been feeling like a pack of donkeys and would have felt rather embarrassed having to stand there in front of the supporters.
The supporters that the players know are very much the long and suffering supporters of AFL. I think they would have been feeling rather uncomfortable knowing full well that we all so badly want to see is just ONE premiership.

The players being selfish today, definitely not, I don't think people should be annoyed or worried because they were only out for 10 minutes today.

I think people should be more concerned with the lack of drive from this playing group to win when it counts, because yesterday the anger and passion was clearly not there at all. To worry about 10 minutes of today really, you need to worry about next year because without the anger and passion we will not make another GF for a fare few years.

[barks4eva]

[/b]
Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

Well he lied to you barks.

So.........whey should you allow them to stuff your life up and your health?

Time to get a bit angry and take the emotion out of it...then its a lot easier.

I'm sure he didn't feel like it was a lie and thought that this indeed would be the case, BUT

I warned them all at the AGM in 2008, TWO YEARS ago that we might play Collingwood in a GRAND FINAL and we might be forced to wear a clash jumper, so that it is imperative that OUR away jumper is as close to OUR HOME jumper as possible!

Obviously they just didn't listen!

[krabb]

Maybe the person taking the minutes of the meeting was hit by a car on the way home and the notes were lost?

Or...

Maybe Mr. Westaway didnt think that we might need a future contingency plan in place for all Clubs... just in case we clashed?

Or...

as i think i said previously...........most of its just fodder for the chooks.

[perfectionist]

Other than the fact that it has been organised just in case, such an event for the loser is a bit bizarre. If it is rationalised as being in regard to the good effort throughout the year, then many clubs could have them after their last game I suppose. I went along last year, but not this year. Despite what us tragics might think, the players will be hurting much more than us. Having them sign autographs and back slap would be rubing it in. They know what the club means to its supporters, they don't need to show up after a loss and mingle to prove that.

[saint75]

[/b]
Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

Well he lied to you barks.

So.........whey should you allow them to stuff your life up and your health?

Time to get a bit angry and take the emotion out of it...then its a lot easier.

I'm sure he didn't feel like it was a lie and thought that this indeed would be the case, BUT

I warned them all at the AGM in 2008, TWO YEARS ago that we might play Collingwood in a GRAND FINAL and we might be forced to wear a clash jumper, so that it is imperative that OUR away jumper is as close to OUR HOME jumper as possible!

Obviously they just didn't listen!

You are good at mouthing off and stating the bleedin' obvious, but HOW do you propose the club would have changed this? The AFL CLEARLY decided what jumper was going to be worn. It has happened to EVERY OTHER CLUB as well, not just us. Did you make an appointment with Andrew to discuss this yourself or protest out the front? Hope you don't ever get into politics as you clearly have no idea and will be very disappointed.

We had NO chance as the 2nd highest finishing team of wearing anything other than our away strip.

[Moccha]

[/b]
Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

Well he lied to you barks.

So.........whey should you allow them to stuff your life up and your health?

Time to get a bit angry and take the emotion out of it...then its a lot easier.

I'm sure he didn't feel like it was a lie and thought that this indeed would be the case, BUT

I warned them all at the AGM in 2008, TWO YEARS ago that we might play Collingwood in a GRAND FINAL and we might be forced to wear a clash jumper, so that it is imperative that OUR away jumper is as close to OUR HOME jumper as possible!

Obviously they just didn't listen!

You are good at mouthing off and stating the bleedin' obvious, but HOW do you propose the club would have changed this? The AFL CLEARLY decided what jumper was going to be worn. It has happened to EVERY OTHER CLUB as well, not just us. Did you make an appointment with Andrew to discuss this yourself or protest out the front? Hope you don't ever get into politics as you clearly have no idea and will be very disappointed.

We had NO chance as the 2nd highest finishing team of wearing anything other than our away strip.

Yes but the away strip is lame and as Barks has stated it should be traditional tri colour with a white back

[saint75]

[/b]
Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

Well he lied to you barks.

So.........whey should you allow them to stuff your life up and your health?

Time to get a bit angry and take the emotion out of it...then its a lot easier.

I'm sure he didn't feel like it was a lie and thought that this indeed would be the case, BUT

I warned them all at the AGM in 2008, TWO YEARS ago that we might play Collingwood in a GRAND FINAL and we might be forced to wear a clash jumper, so that it is imperative that OUR away jumper is as close to OUR HOME jumper as possible!

Obviously they just didn't listen!

You are good at mouthing off and stating the bleedin' obvious, but HOW do you propose the club would have changed this? The AFL CLEARLY decided what jumper was going to be worn. It has happened to EVERY OTHER CLUB as well, not just us. Did you make an appointment with Andrew to discuss this yourself or protest out the front? Hope you don't ever get into politics as you clearly have no idea and will be very disappointed.

We had NO chance as the 2nd highest finishing team of wearing anything other than our away strip.

Yes but the away strip is lame and as Barks has stated it should be traditional tri colour with a white back

One of our better away strips IMO. Nothing beats the original guernsey though.

[oneteam]

[/b]
Greg Westaway responded with, we will be wearing OUR HOME JUMPER in a GRAND FINAL!

Well he lied to you barks.

So.........whey should you allow them to stuff your life up and your health?

Time to get a bit angry and take the emotion out of it...then its a lot easier.

I'm sure he didn't feel like it was a lie and thought that this indeed would be the case, BUT

I warned them all at the AGM in 2008, TWO YEARS ago that we might play Collingwood in a GRAND FINAL and we might be forced to wear a clash jumper, so that it is imperative that OUR away jumper is as close to OUR HOME jumper as possible!

Obviously they just didn't listen!

You are good at mouthing off and stating the bleedin' obvious, but HOW do you propose the club would have changed this? The AFL CLEARLY decided what jumper was going to be worn. It has happened to EVERY OTHER CLUB as well, not just us. Did you make an appointment with Andrew to discuss this yourself or protest out the front? Hope you don't ever get into politics as you clearly have no idea and will be very disappointed.

We had NO chance as the 2nd highest finishing team of wearing anything other than our away strip.

Yes but the away strip is lame and as Barks has stated it should be traditional tri colour with a white back

One of our better away strips IMO. Nothing beats the original guernsey though.

The original guernsey 1886?
or do you mean the original guernsey 1897- 1914?
or the next one from 1915-1918/
or the original one from 1919 -1922
or the original one in 1923?

We can't forget that the idea of a traditional guernsey , rwally means the one you are most used to, and which we wore in 66?

but if we won a flag in 1920, what would you say now is our traditional jumper/

[SaintPav]

I'm sure Greg Westeway is a nice bloke but he is the exact opposite to loud mouthed Eddie Everywhere. The guy needs to get out more often. We need a pres with more presence.

[snowdelisaint]

According to the club website only 1000 people showed up.

[saintmia]

I certainly didnt expect to see much of the boys today, was happy with what we got. I thought Roo looked miserable, but maybe I imagined it as I was crying quiet tears most of the time.

I had to go today, because, well, I had to. But also couldnt wait to leave. It is a good opportunity to try and find the reason why you pay the big $$ for memberships and tickets, and surround yourself with people as blind (for the club) as you.

Last year was so different. There was promise and hope.

This year, I dont know what to say....

The highlight of my day was the sausage in bread. First thing I'd eaten since breakfast Saturday.

[oneteam]

I'm sure Greg Westeway is a nice bloke but he is the exact opposite to loud mouthed Eddie Everywhere. The guy needs to get out more often. We need a pres with more presence.

and that will achieve what ?

another loud mouth kennett or Eddie?

Membership - massive improvement
On field - 4th , 2nd , 2nd?
funding to footy dept- Ross said last night thanks to the board and exec for giving footy everything they ask for.

I want to see the coach, captain and ceo. Not the president.

[Enrico_Misso]

According to the club website only 1000 people showed up.

Well I'm no judge of crowds then.
Thought it was HEAPS more than that.
By the difficulty finding a park within a km I think everyone there must have driven 3 cars!

[saint66au]

I certainly didnt expect to see much of the boys today, was happy with what we got. I thought Roo looked miserable, but maybe I imagined it as I was crying quiet tears most of the time.

I had to go today, because, well, I had to. But also couldnt wait to leave. It is a good opportunity to try and find the reason why you pay the big $$ for memberships and tickets, and surround yourself with people as blind (for the club) as you.

Last year was so different. There was promise and hope.

This year, I dont know what to say....

The highlight of my day was the sausage in bread. First thing I'd eaten since breakfast Saturday.

Nicely put...especially about the sausage in bread..it had been a while since id eaten too. Certainly had no appetite last night

Suprised the club are saying only 1000 there. Certainly seemed more than that to me, although after looking at pics from last year id say numbers were down
Smiled at the membership tent on the far side of the ground. Obviously set up there as a win would had the crowd packed clear across the oval

[ozrulestrace]

I think the main reason I attended was to seek some answers-some honest answers as to what happened yesterday.

If they were physically sore and damaged then say it.

If they were mentally unable to cope then say it.

If the captain could explain why he, along with others had a poor performance, then admit it and then move on.

Don't give us platitudes, we hurt to, but I'm so bewildered by yesterday's performance I just wanted to hear from the team themself why it all turned to shyte.

MInd you Zac Dawson's black eye probably told us a lot.

[plugger66]

I know people want the players to stick around but having been at the function last night it was probably the last thing they wanted to do. Yes they get great money but they have just lost or drawn 3 flags in 2 years so they really need each others company and family and friends. If you think we are upset i can assure you they are hurting 3 times as much and some there own doing from last night.

[older saint]

Do not blame the players as they would be under instruction fro mthe club management, coaches etc.

Realistically the players probably do not want to talk to people and there is always the possibility of copping a spray from some one half full still from the night before.
A wake to me always seems like a waste of time and really a LOSER mentality of celebrating getting there rather than winning ( like singin the song in 97).

that said the club and its relationship to the members would have to be one of the worst inthe AFl of the Vic clubs. Unfortunately he club see members as revenue items and while offering incentives which seem good to them, it is purerly done to raise more income. IT IS A BUSINESS.

This has got worse and worse and i do not see a change soon. As much as i hate it Collingwood supporters feel important to the club and like a family ( i know many do not have their own or know them). there is a pasion and a feeling of worth with their members, St.kilda do not offer that and unfortunately have not seen the benefit it could provide to ensure when we do have our down cycle memberships do not fall by 1000's . It is more than a Tshirt for a discount price or a hat or scarf, it is an attitude and appreciation in everything which is presented,in the same way sponsors are shamelessly plugged !

[saintmia]

1000 no way, had to be more?!

Wish I had of got 2 sausages...

[saintbrat]

that said the club and its relationship to the members would have to be one of the worst inthe AFl of the Vic clubs. Unfortunately he club see members as revenue items and while offering incentives which seem good to them, it is purerly done to raise more income. IT IS A BUSINESS.

This has got worse and worse and i do not see a change soon. As much as i hate it Collingwood supporters feel important to the club and like a family ( i know many do not have their own or know them). there is a pasion and a feeling of worth with their members, St.kilda do not offer that and unfortunately have not seen the benefit it could provide to ensure when we do have our down cycle memberships do not fall by 1000's . It is more than a Tshirt for a discount price or a hat or scarf, it is an attitude and appreciation in everything which is presented,in the same way sponsors are shamelessly plugged !

what evidence do you have of these? I have heard differantly in some aspects of their connection to fans.. they are so big that to be 'collingwood' is as I heard a person at their fan=mliy day say-"it's a country on it's own-" the media don't help

the report on saints site is taken from AFL.com.au

I have read up to 3,000 and easily that.. ..

along with Zac dawsons eye- Grams sling- shoulder- Eddy's arm in plaster- there is a photo on slattery with him using abrace on the field yesterday.. and limping players

was very pleased to see the parents of the players - who seem to know each other - being given space to be seen by their boys- to know their support is there..

the day is planned for celebration- if they didn't then many of you would be deriding them for NOT havning anything.... there is no way to plan for loss
they can always do better- can't we all-- always learning and experience has already shown we learnt from last year- just in the process of being in Finals..

[Bigmal47]

Probably afraid of a lynch mob, I don't mean Tom and his family