Guess when we will win our second flag.

[Dal_Santos_Gal]

2066

What an omen!!!!!!

Dammit, I was reading down thinking 2066 myself and you had beaten me to it.

It better be 2011 thou, I don't know how many more years we can deal with this.

[Born in Moorabbin]

Don't know what you mean there Gabba.

[Born in Moorabbin]

Dunno, but one thing's for sure, I'll be there!!!!! I have now seen every losing GF since 1965, and missed being there in '66!!!!!!!

[Shades]

2066

[Enrico_Misso]

When we get a forward line that can stand up and deliver when it really counts.

[Leo.J]

2011

[Gabba]

Don't know what you mean there Gabba.

Beat Fitzroy in the GF but because they were minor premiers they could challenge us and we lost the rematch...

[Stillwaiting]

Don't know what you mean there Gabba.

Beat Fitzroy in the GF but because they were minor premiers they could challenge us and we lost the rematch...

I bet we are the only team that happened to. That was1913, I wonder how that may have changed our history.

As for the next flag, I don't think it will be with this group, maybe between2020 and 2030, if are lucky

[St. Luke]

2011.

This, beat me to it...

People can be pessimistic til the cows come home, chances are we'll be top 4 again! Only an idiot would write is off in 2011! I reckon we'll be in it up to our eyeballs! No doubt in my mind! Window shut? No chance? What a load of crap!!!

2011 for me also!

[Dr Spaceman]

2011.

This, beat me to it...

People can be pessimistic til the cows come home, chances are we'll be top 4 again! Only an idiot would write is off in 2011! I reckon we'll be in it up to our eyeballs! No doubt in my mind! Window shut? No chance? What a load of crap!!!

2011 for me also!

Agree St. Luke.

We certainly are entitled to feel disappointed, even shattered, but that doesn't have to lead to pessimism.

We'll regroup & reload; Ross will re-strategise; we'll bring in a player or two (or three ) and we'll go again.

[saintnick12]

2011.

This, beat me to it...

People can be pessimistic til the cows come home, chances are we'll be top 4 again! Only an idiot would write is off in 2011! I reckon we'll be in it up to our eyeballs! No doubt in my mind! Window shut? No chance? What a load of crap!!!

2011 for me also!

Agree St. Luke.

We certainly are entitled to feel disappointed, even shattered, but that doesn't have to lead to pessimism.

We'll regroup & reload; Ross will re-strategise; we'll bring in a player or two (or three ) and we'll go again.

2011 for me too!

There's nothing to suggest we won't be top four again and from there anything's possible. After Roo went down and we lost 3 out of 4 games and were down in the next one against West Coast, most here had written us of for this year.

We must keep the faith and believe...

[plugger66]

Before we win our third.

[Thomas]

hopefully before I start pushing up daisies.

WTF: I am bored I need a footy fix

[saintdooley]

2043

Surely we'll recruit a Xavier boy well before then. That should change your mind !!

nahh, what has any Xavier boy done for our club? Cayden walked out on us and went nowhere, and Ball went to collingwood what is pretty much a crime.
we bring bad luck to the club

[Thinline]

No, not the nab cup, the real deal.

2020 for me, after this lot are done and dusted, and we've had a full rebuild.

2018.

I agree though, don't think we'll win one with this side.

As good as our core is, I think we're unfortunate in that they don't have the mentality to get it done when it matters most, ever.

Like that Geelong side circa 89-95ish.

What does that actually mean?

FWIW I reckon we'll improve next year.

Top four and in the right kind of form with the right kind of physical situation and we'll again give it a shake.

I mean imagine if our lessers and B graders could lift 10 or 15% to help supplement our core group? It's kind of mind boggling what could be achieved if you think of it that way.

Pies will be there or thereabouts (although I do sense a hangover given their youth), Dogs list is shaping up nicely and I reckon they'll be red hot, Freo will probably go okay again, Geelong have fifth to eighth written all over them.

Other than these teams who'll really improve ENOUGH?

[snowdelisaint]

Shanghai Saints
AFL Premiers 2118

[Moods]

What do ppl reckon our answer would have been after the 2008 season?We'd just been smashed in 2 finals and looked MILES behind the best 2 teams. The following year we were into it up to our necks.

In 2010 we drew the GF against the stand out team of the year, and beat the next rated team in the 1st final. I'm telling you, WE ARE NOT THAT FAR AWAY! I really believe that anything can happen next year. WE have been unlucky, but hell all we need is for a couple of things to fall our way, tweek game plans a faction, a couple of blokes like a Stanley or a Miles come through and we are right there AGAIN.

I know ppl are frustrated about the last couple of years - but I reckon ppl forget how poor we have been in the past. I want a flag as bad as anyone. When BJ took that mark and kicked that goal in the last 1/4 of the first GF I stood up and roared and felt my mouth contort. I realised that I was about to cry. I sat straight back down and told myself to get a grip. In the past 2 years the only time I have cried or felt like crying was to do with footy. Obviously I have been pretty blessed to be in that position, but my point is that this team has given me hope. I can't ever recall feeling like that in 35 years of going to the footy. I NEVER thought my team would win the flag.

Despite many of the rumblings and venting that goes on here (and fair enough) I really am appreciative of what this footy team and club have given me this past 24mths. I also truly believe that next year could easily be the year.

2011 - THE YEAR OF THE SAINT!!!

[Calais]

What do ppl reckon our answer would have been after the 2008 season?We'd just been smashed in 2 finals and looked MILES behind the best 2 teams. The following year we were into it up to our necks.

In 2010 we drew the GF against the stand out team of the year, and beat the next rated team in the 1st final. I'm telling you, WE ARE NOT THAT FAR AWAY! I really believe that anything can happen next year. WE have been unlucky, but hell all we need is for a couple of things to fall our way, tweek game plans a faction, a couple of blokes like a Stanley or a Miles come through and we are right there AGAIN.

I know ppl are frustrated about the last couple of years - but I reckon ppl forget how poor we have been in the past. I want a flag as bad as anyone. When BJ took that mark and kicked that goal in the last 1/4 of the first GF I stood up and roared and felt my mouth contort. I realised that I was about to cry. I sat straight back down and told myself to get a grip. In the past 2 years the only time I have cried or felt like crying was to do with footy. Obviously I have been pretty blessed to be in that position, but my point is that this team has given me hope. I can't ever recall feeling like that in 35 years of going to the footy. I NEVER thought my team would win the flag.

Despite many of the rumblings and venting that goes on here (and fair enough) I really am appreciative of what this footy team and club have given me this past 24mths. I also truly believe that next year could easily be the year.

2011 - THE YEAR OF THE SAINT!!!

quoted because it's the smartest thing I've read in a while

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

2011.

This, beat me to it...

People can be pessimistic til the cows come home, chances are we'll be top 4 again! Only an idiot would write is off in 2011! I reckon we'll be in it up to our eyeballs! No doubt in my mind! Window shut? No chance? What a load of crap!!!

2011 for me also!

Agree St. Luke.

We certainly are entitled to feel disappointed, even shattered, but that doesn't have to lead to pessimism.

We'll regroup & reload; Ross will re-strategise; we'll bring in a player or two (or three ) and we'll go again.

I certainly hope you're right, but the thing is that we've been hearing that sort of thing for the past two seasons. Things would start to go awry, during those two seasons, and someone like you would come on here and tell us that all will be OK and that we'd "regroup", or whatever and win it, but then it didn't happen, either year. We'd ultimately come up short, so please forgive those of us who don't see it happening next year, because we've heard it all before and it didn't come to fruition. It now looks far less likely that it will be next season, which is why the "optimism" may be more like "wishful thinking".
As I said, I hope you're right though, because that would be awesome and would mean some turnaround, from the "rabble" we became in GF2.

[Moods]

2011.

This, beat me to it...

People can be pessimistic til the cows come home, chances are we'll be top 4 again! Only an idiot would write is off in 2011! I reckon we'll be in it up to our eyeballs! No doubt in my mind! Window shut? No chance? What a load of crap!!!

2011 for me also!

Agree St. Luke.

We certainly are entitled to feel disappointed, even shattered, but that doesn't have to lead to pessimism.

We'll regroup & reload; Ross will re-strategise; we'll bring in a player or two (or three ) and we'll go again.

I certainly hope you're right, but the thing is that we've been hearing that sort of thing for the past two seasons. Things would start to go awry, during those two seasons, and someone like you would come on here and tell us that all will be OK and that we'd "regroup", or whatever and win it, but then it didn't happen, either year. We'd ultimately come up short, so please forgive those of us who don't see it happening next year, because we've heard it all before and it didn't come to fruition. It now looks far less likely that it will be next season, which is why the "optimism" may be more like "wishful thinking".
As I said, I hope you're right though, because that would be awesome and would mean some turnaround, from the "rabble" we became in GF2.

Let's get some perspective - GF 2 was ONE GAME. Let's also be realistic, the pies were a better team than us this year. WE were 1 point, 1 POINT away from a premiership. WE were a rabble in the 2nd GF for a myriad of reasons. A) we couldn't kick GETTABLE goals to save ourselves. B) We had more injuries. C) They had been the better team all year. The replay was always logically going to favour them.

The way I saw Lenny and BJ and to a lesser extent Rooey will our boys back into the game in GF 1, I am confident that we will give a very account of ourselves again next year or in the words of BJ and Lenny - Die trying.

[OneEyedSainter77]

Look its not a case of when CAN we win the next one because I'm confident we'll be right up there next year as well... who else wil challenge Collingwood next year - NO ONE. We are the only team with the capability of beating Collingwood - we damn well near did it in GF1 and that was with a very substandard team.

All we need to do is address the areas where things aren't right and we can perfect the areas where things are going right but could be better - that's halfway to winning the flag.

My lack of confidence lies in being able to win the big one, To me the hardest thing about winning a Premiership is actually making the Grand Final - well we did that twice now so that hurdle is beaten. Now we just need to win one. But that's far easier said than done.

This might sound sacriligeous but it would not surprise me in the slightest if we made the Grand Final and lost it AGAIN next year - why do I feel this way? - because its our culture. It used to be losing (virtually) every week in the eighties, it used to be wallowing around the bottom of the ladder while showing some promise for the future in the mid nineties and early 2000's - now since 2004, it is our culture to get so close and not win. 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 - all five of these years our season ended at the hands of the team that wins the Premiership.

The thing is, I think our team realise this and come Grand Final day, that's even more unnecessary pressure on them because they know they have to try their guts out and they know how hard it is to win one now.

So to me, we CAN win the flag 2011.

We WILL win the flag whenever we can get over this mental hurdle... I honestly think this problem is all in the head.

[St. Luke]

Look its not a case of when CAN we win the next one because I'm confident we'll be right up there next year as well... who else wil challenge Collingwood next year - NO ONE. We are the only team with the capability of beating Collingwood - we damn well near did it in GF1 and that was with a very substandard team.

All we need to do is address the areas where things aren't right and we can perfect the areas where things are going right but could be better - that's halfway to winning the flag.

My lack of confidence lies in being able to win the big one, To me the hardest thing about winning a Premiership is actually making the Grand Final - well we did that twice now so that hurdle is beaten. Now we just need to win one. But that's far easier said than done.

This might sound sacriligeous but it would not surprise me in the slightest if we made the Grand Final and lost it AGAIN next year - why do I feel this way? - because its our culture. It used to be losing (virtually) every week in the eighties, it used to be wallowing around the bottom of the ladder while showing some promise for the future in the mid nineties and early 2000's - now since 2004, it is our culture to get so close and not win. 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 - all five of these years our season ended at the hands of the team that wins the Premiership.

The thing is, I think our team realise this and come Grand Final day, that's even more unnecessary pressure on them because they know they have to try their guts out and they know how hard it is to win one now.

So to me, we CAN win the flag 2011.

We WILL win the flag whenever we can get over this mental hurdle... I honestly think this problem is all in the head.

I agree with this! Getting there won't be the biggest issue.

I think we'll see a more determined and focused team next season. I really do. Smarter footy!

[spert]

We will win a flag when we get a balanced team -we have a top defence, but we seem to be relying too much on heroics from Lenny and Roo to get us over the line in most games. We have a clear problem with our forward line structure, need to find a full forward and a good half forward flanker, and probably another quick onballer- can we do this in 2011??

[Moccha]

Don't know what you mean there Gabba.

Beat Fitzroy in the GF but because they were minor premiers they could challenge us and we lost the rematch...

They handed out retrospective Brownlows, maybe they should do the same for Premierships

[gringo]

I am an eternal optimist despite being a saints fan. 2011- we can get a bit of improvement from our young guys, we won't have to make as big or as solid bubble this time, Rooey and Gram should have better seasons, Raph is like another recruit who can free up a forward and they deserve one.

Collingwood has a very labour intensive game plan and may drop off a little, they are not individually as good as Geelong were. There is no other stand out top 4 team beside the pies. The Dogs could reload with a little injury luck, Carlton is coming but we still look ahead of those 2.

We have been shat on by the footy gods, our luck deserted us twice -those smug pricks must let up sometime.