Interesting Comment........

[Burkey 1]

David Armitages article in the herald Sun where he said that they were : Flat" against the Bulldogs & North Melb & that it came down to the way you have trained, I agree but you have to ask why has training not been at the intensity it should be given our ordinary results thus far ???

I have serious reservations with Matt Daveron our new fitness guy, something is not right down there with fitness, attitude etc, maybe there is too much love & happiness going on instead of good old fashioned HARD BLOODY WORK !!!!

Sorry, my rant for the week.

[spert]

I'm a bit worried about this comment from a player. There seems to be some kind of issue with intensity at the contest this season, and seeing practically all the Saints at Sandy hardly raised a whimper this weekend..what is going on at Seaford, is Watters not driving this thing properly?

[supersaints]

I have posted previously that I thought this guy was a worry. When in charge of the bulldogs I thought they were the worst in terms of endurance and fitness in the way they capitulated after half time.
IMO we are heading in the same direction. Hope Pelchin sees it too, or even more satisfying would be that I am completely wrong and the Saints know exactly what is happening and why and fix it soon. We are heading for some serious hidings unless we get it right.

[mullet]

I have posted previously that I thought this guy was a worry. When in charge of the bulldogs I thought they were the worst in terms of endurance and fitness in the way they capitulated after half time.
IMO we are heading in the same direction. Hope Pelchin sees it too, or even more satisfying would be that I am completely wrong and the Saints know exactly what is happening and why and fix it soon. We are heading for some serious hidings unless we get it right.

I would call yesterday a serious hiding

[plugger66]

Pretty sure the fitness guy has nothing to do with how flat the players are at training. Maybe the psychologist is the problem.

[remboy]

Maybe the players have got something to do with it.

[Greg T]

I heard him on the radio today ,poor training,and seemed to expect the result .
Not a good comment in public,but sure does explain why
The wheels have come off so quick.
Seems we're imploding again.

[supersaints]

Pretty sure the fitness guy has nothing to do with how flat the players are at training. Maybe the psychologist is the problem.

Hope your right, that's an easier fix than underconditioned players.
Personally I believe they are lacking endurance and fitness , got no doubt that the six day breaks are contributing. I'm no psychologist, but I do know how hard it is to be " up and running" and going great guns when the body is not capable.

[Moorabbin Man]

There could be many reasons they're flat, perhaps the realisation for some that they'll will not get a premiership. Sounds like they need a psychologist. They need to go back to basics, beat their opponent, focus on each and every contest in a game and enjoy themselves. Then who knows what may happen over 18 - 24 months? They need to get into a positive mind set and get some energy.

[plugger66]

Pretty sure the fitness guy has nothing to do with how flat the players are at training. Maybe the psychologist is the problem.

Hope your right, that's an easier fix than underconditioned players.
Personally I believe they are lacking endurance and fitness , got no doubt that the six day breaks are contributing. I'm no psychologist, but I do know how hard it is to be " up and running" and going great guns when the body is not capable.

I will have a guess and say the fitness guy has nothing to do with a 90 possession differential in quarter one of a game.

[remboy]

After playing the number of games that he has Armo should know how to prepare for a match in such a way that he's ready to play as soon as the ball is bounced. Same for everyone else who's played more than a couple of seasons.

[Greg T]

I have posted previously that I thought this guy was a worry. When in charge of the bulldogs I thought they were the worst in terms of endurance and fitness in the way they capitulated after half time.
IMO we are heading in the same direction. Hope Pelchin sees it too, or even more satisfying would be that I am completely wrong and the Saints know exactly what is happening and why and fix it soon. We are heading for some serious hidings unless we get it right.

Agree with all of that .
Seems he's gone 1 better now,were shot after 1/4 time .
We shouldn't even be in this position anyway.
Being flat after 6 rounds into the year is extreme
Poor management IMO .

[dragit]

Maybe they should have all gone to the movies instead of training.

[plugger66]

I have posted previously that I thought this guy was a worry. When in charge of the bulldogs I thought they were the worst in terms of endurance and fitness in the way they capitulated after half time.
IMO we are heading in the same direction. Hope Pelchin sees it too, or even more satisfying would be that I am completely wrong and the Saints know exactly what is happening and why and fix it soon. We are heading for some serious hidings unless we get it right.

Agree with all of that .
Seems he's gone 1 better now,were shot after 1/4 time .
We shouldn't even be in this position anyway.
Being flat after 6 rounds into the year is extreme
Poor management IMO .

Yesterday had nothing to do with anyone but the players. Always looking for reasons. I will give a simple one. The players have been poor the last through weeks. The fitness guy has nothing to do with intensity or the skill level of players.

[Eastern]

Didn't I hear/read somewhere that "Footy People" from outside the club who come in find that the intensity at training at St Kilda is close to, if not the highest in the AFL? It could be that you can only stay "Up" for so long. Having said that, I hope the boys get their intensity back, and soon !!

[Munga]

The Lyon times were the best we've had. The fittest, and least injuries. Watters needs to get better support staff around him, but is he to blame for hiring these guys?

[happy feet]

I couldn't give a stuff if the players are not happy. They are all played bloody good money to perform. They are treated like bloody royalty and paid handsomely for what can only tenuously be described s a job. Have a good look in the mirror, stop being a pack of sooks and get with it.

[gringo]

I think you will find guys like Gwilt, Fisher, Stanley etc. missed large parts of preseason and won't be fully fit. The kids will be getting tired quicker than experienced players. In that last game Seb Ross was skipping because he was so cramped near the end of the game. Unless you get on the Essendon juice you can do anything about interrupted preparation and youthful muscular development. We haven't had a great run of it and it's compounding.

[plugger66]

I think you will find guys like Gwilt, Fisher, Stanley etc. missed large parts of preseason and won't be fully fit. The kids will be getting tired quicker than experienced players. In that last game Seb Ross was skipping because he was so cramped near the end of the game. Unless you get on the Essendon juice you can do anything about interrupted preparation and youthful muscular development. We haven't had a great run of it and it's compounding.

We were 10 goals down after the first quarter.

[BringBackMadDog]

I couldn't give a stuff if the players are not happy. They are all played bloody good money to perform. They are treated like bloody royalty and paid handsomely for what can only tenuously be described s a job. Have a good look in the mirror, stop being a pack of sooks and get with it.

You have to be kidding "tenuously" described as a job?? In my job i dont need 30 or 40 injection a year just to get to work in the morning, I certainly dont have to wade in frezzing cold water every frigging week, and I sure as hell dont have to have numerous surgeries the first few weeks of every holiday I get. Plus I also dont have 100's of reporters watching and reporting on every single aspect of my professional and personal life.
These guys earn every $$ they make, in fact they probably dont get paid enough

[Dr Spaceman]

I couldn't give a stuff if the players are not happy. They are all played bloody good money to perform. They are treated like bloody royalty and paid handsomely for what can only tenuously be described s a job. Have a good look in the mirror, stop being a pack of sooks and get with it.

You have to be kidding "tenuously" described as a job?? In my job i dont need 30 or 40 injection a year just to get to work in the morning, I certainly dont have to wade in frezzing cold water every frigging week, and I sure as hell dont have to have numerous surgeries the first few weeks of every holiday I get. Plus I also dont have 100's of reporters watching and reporting on every single aspect of my professional and personal life.
These guys earn every $$ they make, in fact they probably dont get paid enough

Well said

[St. Luke]

That game we played against North Melbourne was insulting to say the least. I've swapped codes for the remainder of the season. Hard to cough up my hard earned to watch such lack-luster performances. But then I feel guilty about some of the guys in the side who do seem to give a toss.

On paper we still look like a side that could compete well and win enough games to see some sort of finals campaign. But seriously, halfway through (not even) and it's season over. Pretty poor.

Watters needs to get a rocket up em!

[PADDLEPOP1001]

I couldn't give a stuff if the players are not happy. They are all played bloody good money to perform. They are treated like bloody royalty and paid handsomely for what can only tenuously be described s a job. Have a good look in the mirror, stop being a pack of sooks and get with it.

You have to be kidding "tenuously" described as a job?? In my job i dont need 30 or 40 injection a year just to get to work in the morning, I certainly dont have to wade in frezzing cold water every frigging week, and I sure as hell dont have to have numerous surgeries the first few weeks of every holiday I get. Plus I also dont have 100's of reporters watching and reporting on every single aspect of my professional and personal life.
These guys earn every $$ they make, in fact they probably dont get paid enough

Well said

Not sure if I should feel sorry for these guys as they do get paid "nice bucks" and have the option to become AFL footballers or not ,all the above are part of the job ,I think Ice baths and dips in the bay and a few surgeries are part and parcel!

[joffaboy]

Pretty sure the fitness guy has nothing to do with how flat the players are at training. Maybe the psychologist is the problem.

Hope your right, that's an easier fix than underconditioned players.
Personally I believe they are lacking endurance and fitness , got no doubt that the six day breaks are contributing. I'm no psychologist, but I do know how hard it is to be " up and running" and going great guns when the body is not capable.

I will have a guess and say the fitness guy has nothing to do with a 90 possession differential in quarter one of a game.

Apparently its because they cant get a good coffee in Seaford.

That would depress anyone.

[cwrcyn]

The older I get, the more I feel for AFL players. The demands on their bodies are insane, and I sometimes feel like their coaches are killing them in the pursuit of success. They are pushed to the absolute limit every week. Thirty years ago, we used to refer to 'finals pressure' and used to see that the game was turned up a few notches during finals. Now it's finals pressure in every part of every game. A huge percentage of players are carrying injuries well before the halfway mark of the season, and they just have to push on. It really has become the survival of the fittest.

I'd hate to be an AFL footballer in today's game. Fitness, speed, and endurance wins the day, and football ability runs a distant second in the modern game. Run and spread, run and spread, forward press, defensive pressure, put your head over the ball, run and spread, run and spread. That's our game in a nutshell. No wonder the rules committee is proposing a cap on the interchanges. The coaches will argue that they need the interchanges to protest the players from soft tissue injuries, but they'd make their players run though a wall of flames if it meant the opportunity of winning. Look what Essendon's coaching staff have done to their players.

I'm sure many will look back and wonder why they killed themselves in the pursuit of a little red ball.