Milne needs to go!

[BushDave]

Stephen Milne is and will go down in history as one of the best Forward Pocket players in the history of football.

Give the guy some respect, he is a master of his trade, whether you like the way he does it or not.

In my book he will always be a St Kilda great.

[plugger66]

Another excellent thread.

[barks4eva]

Stephen Milne is and will go down in history as one of the best Forward Pocket players in the history of football.

Give the guy some respect, he is a master of his trade, whether you like the way he does it or not.

In my book he will always be a St Kilda great.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

He really did have a shocker tonight.

[St Igmata]

Stephen Milne is and will go down in history as one of the best Forward Pocket players in the history of football.

Give the guy some respect, he is a master of his trade, whether you like the way he does it or not.

In my book he will always be a St Kilda great.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!

Not many players are given the luxury to ply their trade for a full career in the forward pocket.
Forward pocket all time great that rarely produced in big games? Blah!
Its not what a football team is all about.
The problem with the club is the idolatry placed on players such as Milne and not overall team achievement.

[andrewg]

Guys he is a 32 year old man he is slower etc he will be replaced next year or 2013 with the likes of Milera and Saad and he will have been a great servant to the club. Stephen Milne was one reason we fell short of a flag and will definitely not have a go at another one at the saints. This will be true of a number of players Blake, Kosi and Sadly Rooey but lets let them help the young ones get a few games under their belt (avoiding a Melbourne situation) and not get hung up on "the now". Frustrating loss tonight but good to see the winning tough hard culture is sticking around with Waters. Will hold us god stead for another tilt in 2015-16

[kosifantutti]

Poor game and turned it over frequently. Best days well behind him.

Are you talking about the current All Australian?

[BigMart]

All good things come to an end....

But you get in trouble for saying such things....

[Scollop]

I've got a theory as to why Milney does most of the lead chant during the Sainters song after a win....maybe it's because Milney is one of the few players with the energy to burst out with the extra words and maybe he just doesn't work as hard as he should through out games. Milney seems to be a player who isn't as exhausted as his team mates after most matches. Don't get me wrong he's given us great service and has been extremely resilient with less injuries than most of his team mates and that's a credit to his toughness. He finally cam good in '09 and 2010 and was most effective assisting the team as an extra mid when we needed him. He single handedly won games for us in h&a 2010 with some of the most amazing goals I've ever seen. And...he won me over when Roo was out with the hammy and he played a massive role in the team getting through to the Grand Final in 2010. He was rewarded by the footy world with the explayers and AFL commentators recognising his career and his great year in 2011.

But...Milney was eternally not showing up in finals and in tough games up until 2010. He wasn't effective with his opportunities tonight, but what irritates even more me is that he doesn't position himself front and square of the marking contest when the talls are leading 40 to 50 metres out. Milney has always been a player that doesn't gut run to crumb the ball at the talls feet and he gets too 'hungry' at times instead of doing the team thing in the forward half. It's as if at times he and Roo are competing within the team for who should be the leading forward. It's been happening for way too many years. They need to work better together. Roo lead time and time again tonight and for each time that Roo couldn't clunk it, Milney and the other crumbers were no-where to be seen....The Dockers ran harder and they swept up the ball in the back half and ran and spread way too easily out of our forward half...there were lots of errors from us and some absolutely shocking umpiring decisions going against also, but poor old Milney went back to the days of pre 2009 with his efforts tonight.

[Griggsy]

Yes drop him because of these first few rounds!

Let's ignore the fact he lead our goalkickers last season with 56 and ended 5th in the league. yeh, such a horrible output for a small forward. He also converted at 62% which was 2nd best for the saints.

If you are really that harsh after a couple of games then the whole team will be dropped at some point this season.

[whiskers3614]

Trouble is with Milney you have to balance the goals kicked against opportunities missed through lairising.He can set the game alight but because of his style can look really awful on his off nights.He is 32 and has enough brownie points in the bank to hang around till the young guys surpass him(can't see it happening this year!)

[St Igmata]

Again any small forward can have a bad day offensively, but he was bad defensively too.
Small forwards now have to be more than just goal kickers.
Milnes output was terrible ,both ways.
The game has changed and you must be multi dimmensional.

[samoht]

We have too many small forwards and not one of them is named Rioli.

Small forwards who aren't named Rioli are liabilities in tough games.

Hopefully one of them Saad (once he is comfortable at AFL level) has the potential - the speed, tackling pressure etc.. to provide something in our forward line in the tough games.

[plugger66]

At least we dont judge people after one game. Milne has been ok this year. Not great but certainly deserves his spot. If you drop someone you have to replace them buy the way. We havent got many coming through unless of course we judge players against playing GC every game. We are at best an 8-10 side and small forwards will struggle occasionally when you are only mediocre. Our coach said Ballantyne was the best small forward and even though he was probably only half serious I would expect Freo to drop him after last night as well. It aint going to happen though because AFL coaches are smart enough to know that is the life of a small forward.

[samoht]

We are not dropping anyone after one or two bad games.. however Milne is more often than not a liability in tough games against bigger stronger opponents like say a McPhee last night or a Harry O'Brien etc...
We can't ignore that.

Saad should at some stage probably be played in the tough games .. at least he has the speed and tackling pressure that may change the dynamics....or maybe we should persevere with a fast medium sized forward prospect instead in the tough games ?

Tough games should provide a chance for the younger fast guys to get a gig and develop.

[plugger66]

We are not dropping anyone after one or two bad games.. however Milne is more often than not a liability in tough games against bigger stronger opponents like say a McPhee last night or a Harry O'Brien etc...
We can't ignore that.

Saad should at some stage probably be played in the tough games .. at least he has the speed and tackling pressure that may change the dynamics....or maybe we should persevere with a fast medium sized forward prospect instead in the tough games ?

Or maybe we wait until Saad shows something before we replace a star of our side. To many people happy to burn guys who have credits in the bank IMO.

[samoht]

Milne is a star, but not in tough games against bigger, stronger opponents.

[St Igmata]

Milne is not the path forward.
At 32/33 he is long in the tooth.
He doesnt perform in big games.
He is a liability defensively.
The good forward pockets might not kick as many goals as Milne (However some do) but they are involved with defensive pressure.

The game has changed.

[plugger66]

Milne is not the path forward.
At 32/33 he is long in the tooth.
He doesnt perform in big games.
He is a liability defensively.
The good forward pockets might not kick as many goals as Milne (However some do) but they are involved with defensive pressure.

The game has changed.

So you want him dropped now? And replaced by who? Another young kid who will struggle and then you will want him dropped. Milne isnt the path forward but neither is Lenny so that aint a reason to drop him. Form is the reason and he has been ok this year. Certainly not at the dropping stage.

[St Igmata]

I'm not sure about dropping him but the day isn't too far off.
HOWEVER, Milne needs to work hard to guarantee his spot in the side.
Currently he doesn't work anywhere near hard enough so his spot should not be guaranteed.
He is only interested in kicking a goal.
The game is going on all around him and he is playing the seagull role.

There is nowhere near enough defensive pressure in the forward line.
He is one of the main factors
The game is not played when you have the ball in your hands. Its a 2 hour game with offence and defence.
He is marching to the beat of his own drum and is not doing the team things.

[dragit]

One of his more forgettable nights, he should have cut up McPhee when the ball hit the deck, always harder when there is an extra defender chopping out though.

[samoht]

Plugger here's a compromise !
Maybe we should just "rest" Milne then in the tough games...i.e. play him against Melbourne, Gold Coast etc, but "rest" him vs Collingwood (O'Brien) etc...
Give an opportunity to the younger, faster guys.
We know Milne struggles in tough/big games anyway.
What do you think ?

[maverick]

That is BS Milney is more team orientated than ever
Agree with P66

[St Igmata]

That is BS Milney is more team orientated than ever
Agree with P66

Team orientated?
How so?
Watch the two Carlton smalls today.
Tackling harrassing and causing turnovers.
They are relentless i chasing defenders which ultimately causes defenders to hurry even when theyre not buzzing around.
Milne is a lazy footballer and that is why he doesnt perform in the bigger games.

You give me an example of Milne being team orientated in the modern game of 22 attackers 22 defenders.
Thats the game today!

[samoht]

Milne is a St Kilda great, a star and a favourite .. but should we play him or rest him next time against an O'Brien, a McPhee who will just continue to outmark and out body him ?
It might have more to do with the fact he is too small (and not blessed with the tear away speed of a Rioli) than his work ethic.
.. he's proven that he is team oriented , it could be that he's simply too small and not equipped with the speed to get away from an O'Brien. a McPhee etc..
Can we afford him to become a liability again in the next tough game vs O'Brien say ? ,, or should that be an opportunity for a younger. maybe taller and/ or faster player to come in ?