Jackson Ferguson

[Con Gorozidis]

I am fairly sure one of Ferg and Curren will get promoted before round 6.

I like both players. So I guess it depends on their form and the Saints team balance and form. Our backline is very very good. Sure we lack a tall but even so, it is not easy to get a game in our back-line with so many gun players (including 2 recent all- Australians).

Our mids are still questionable - so maybe Curren can sneak in there if CJ is struggling.

Who knows! All things to look fwd to in an exciting season.

p.s I think we dodged a bullet of an over-paid bogan like Mitch Brown when we have a good solid athletic tall country kid like Jackson Ferguson on our books.
Id rather stick with Jacko .

[SainterK]

p.s I think we dodged a bullet of an over-paid bogan like Mitch Brown when we have a good solid athletic tall country kid like Jackson Ferguson on our books.
Id rather stick with Jacko .

Different types of players I think?

Pretty sure Jackson is aiming to bump out Fisher for CHB...

[Gershwin]

This fixation on height, weight, age has me amused.
Can he play? Do you see anything that suggests that he might make the grade?
eg. gets to the right spot, reads the play, ball-magnet, fierce desire, tough as nails, etc.

[gringo]

In due course the Lyon years will be seen for the disaster they were.
Lovett/Ball debacle was only the cherry on the cake.
Unwatchable game style and "the bubble" more of his great achievements.
DOG of a bloke.
Good riddance!

They may be seen as the last crack at a GF for years. I cant stand the fact RL decided to take that approach because the way we have previously approached it obviously worked. Why wouldnt he have tried that way? Pathetic coaching. 2 GF's and no wins. Our club has always been much more successful than that.

The funny thing is people without bias and who understand footy have rated RL in the top 3 coaches for about the last 5 years. What would they know though.

Ross has a knack for getting the most out of coachable solid types. His down fall was probably that he started to get cocky with his recruiting of rehashed players because it had been good to him for so long. Schnider, King, Gardiner, Dempster etc. all came in and made a difference but in the meantime he lost patience with some guys with a little more of the unpredictable about them. He sacked the injury prone guys and the inconsistent players like X, goose and Brett Voss and built a side on discipline but with a really solid core of stars.

Once the stars lost some of their sparkle there was no plan B. It is now coming home to roost while he took the money and ran. He is tactically good but probably lacked the bigger picture vision. Too much time in Sydney with no accountability and the backing of the AFL to fix the broken stuff.

People are biased and angry but he acted with what many consider a lack of character and integrity so he will probably always carry the ire of Saints fans with him.

[plugger66]

I think you left out the word some between the words of and saints.

[BigMart]

At least we'll be remembered for having contested two GF's under the Lyon Regime?!

Also remembered for failing to win anything!! And in the end it had an effect on the list in the following years (his development policy, or lack there of).... This has been highlighted since, but a bit late now...

Couple of things on Lyons success

He devised a great game plan early doors and revised it in the pre season of 09 and it worked.... But did not evolve it in the ensuing years and fell behind, to be overtaken by the 'press'

He had a list at the right age and experience at the top to be at the pointy end regardless.... His A grade talent was undeniable, and group leadership superb... But ultimately fell at the final hurdle...

Really he was just one win further on than GT with a healthy list and vastly more experienced group. He did a great job with that group, but you cannot say a lot of coaches couldn't have coached that group successfully.

I reckon he was an outstanding strategic and technical footy coach.... Poor developer of entire list, and younger players....
Pig headed, arrogant, strong willed, cold, calculating, tough, uncompromising and ruthless.....

Why he won't be a sheedy, malthouse, Parkin, jeans, pagan..... They were both. This meant sustained success and therefore ultimate success. All were willing to rebuild from where ever.... Ross wanted a team in contention.

He has a lot to thank GT for as far as handing him a bonded A Grade list.

On Ferguson
He took the second or third fwd at Sandy.... Did well

Very similar size and type of development and style to an 06\07 Gilbert

[Con Gorozidis]

This fixation on height, weight, age has me amused.
Can he play? Do you see anything that suggests that he might make the grade?
eg. gets to the right spot, reads the play, ball-magnet, fierce desire, tough as nails, etc.

He is skilful. Reads it ok. Makes decent decisions. Can the play game.
Only 20. Took Simpkin until 21 to really step it up to AFL level. Ferg is more than just height and weight on a player list.

[White Winmar]

This fixation on height, weight, age has me amused.
Can he play? Do you see anything that suggests that he might make the grade?
eg. gets to the right spot, reads the play, ball-magnet, fierce desire, tough as nails, etc.

Spot on Gershwin. I too, am amused by this obsession with size. Unless it's in the bedroom, I beg to differ. Swans won the flag with Richards, 193 cm, and Grundy at 191 cm as their two big defenders. Scarlett, 191, same as Simpkin. Give me judgement, closing speed and an ability to read the play, over size, any day.

[bergholt]

This fixation on height, weight, age has me amused.
Can he play? Do you see anything that suggests that he might make the grade?
eg. gets to the right spot, reads the play, ball-magnet, fierce desire, tough as nails, etc.

Pretty hard to judge all that from an Internet forum given 95% of us have never seen him play! If height and weight are all we have to go on then I guess that's how we'll have to make our judgements.

[SuperDuper]

This fixation on height, weight, age has me amused.
Can he play? Do you see anything that suggests that he might make the grade?
eg. gets to the right spot, reads the play, ball-magnet, fierce desire, tough as nails, etc.

It has been well noted on numerous posts that the saints had a lot of goals kicked against them by tall forwards last season, e.g. dean Cox kicked 5 from memory, spending half his time in the ruck!

I have vivid memories of both Blake and Gwilt playing on guys who were simply too tall for them, resulting in the saints players giving away free kicks that lead to goals.

So, the fact is it would be very helpful if we had someone with those qualities you mention, and is tall!!
That is why height of players gets mentioned on these threads. It is not some `fixation'.
It is a realisation that, having acquired a back-up ruckman, a tall defender is the most glaring hole in the list right now
It cost us games last year, and w only missed the eight by not very much

[avid]

This fixation on height, weight, age has me amused.
Can he play? Do you see anything that suggests that he might make the grade?
eg. gets to the right spot, reads the play, ball-magnet, fierce desire, tough as nails, etc.

It has been well noted on numerous posts that the saints had a lot of goals kicked against them by tall forwards last season, e.g. dean Cox kicked 5 from memory, spending half his time in the ruck!

I have vivid memories of both Blake and Gwilt playing on guys who were simply too tall for them, resulting in the saints players giving away free kicks that lead to goals.

So, the fact is it would be very helpful if we had someone with those qualities you mention, and is tall!!
That is why height of players gets mentioned on these threads. It is not some `fixation'.
It is a realisation that, having acquired a back-up ruckman, a tall defender is the most glaring hole in the list right now
It cost us games last year, and w only missed the eight by not very much

Hear Hear. Size is obviously a factor in these cases.
Though not the only one.
(I remember the day at Moorabbin when they shifted our young willow-the-wisp half forward flanker to fullback -- he became a sensation there overnight, without any of the supposed physical attributes of your classic big backman.) (#25, long sleeves, blonde hair.)
My "obsession" with heights and weights is only that I wish they would tell us what they actually are.