Defense stands tall

[supersaints]

Missed the game completely due to local Golf championships

Always appreciate others opinion on the game , but haven't seen anything about the defence.

Last I read the papers experts and posters on the forums - most seemed to think we would get monstered by the GWS talls, particularly as they kicked quite a few on Sydney

I presume Delaney played ok, and we have not called on Bruce yet.
We wre also missing Fisher

I know that GWS are a bit inexperienced and we have to face some bigger bodied tallish sides but we seem to be doing something right. Are we zoning off well, closing off lead spaces or some other game plan going on

Comments appreciated

[PADDLEPOP1001]

Loved the overall effort, even in the 3rd quarter when we were 3 goals down the effort was there tackling and harrasing their opponents ,I think The players like Richardsons gameplan and Richardson is not scared to make changes or give them big jobs!A few yesterday which were great moves some obvious some not,Delaney /Patton ,Delaney killed him!Gilbert /Cameron .Gilbert did a great job even though his disposal wasn't great.Curren/Treleor .He"s there playmaker and Curren harassed him and made him earn every possession.Saunders/Congilio .Saunders is going to be a player can tag and also be great on the break .Roo well I think we just forget how good this bloke is they rave about Buddy and Cloke but this bloke is a machine his game had to be seen to be believed will be leading the Brownlow at the moment!Hickey was also brilliant!

[supersaints]

Thanks for the heads up Paddlepop1000

[Con Gorozidis]

I Loved Delaneys game. Knows how to get strong body on early and get a fist in when he has to.
Gave Patton nothing.

Gilbo did his usual game where he switched between awesome and terrible.
Dempster made some howlers but then totally redeemed himself with a brilliant last quarter where he was marking and covering everywhere like his AA year .

[White Winmar]

With Gilbo, I doubt I've ever seen a player whose difference between his best and worst is so great. Overall, he did a great job on Cameron and others he took on. On the flip side, his clangers cost us dearly at times. Watching the replay, this was more evident than ever. It's something that has always been a weakness. We need him desperately and his best is AA standard. Hopefully, as he gains form and confidence, the errors will decrease.

[White Winmar]

Don't forget we still have Fisher and Bruce in reserve. Unless Sam's back becomes a "Hamill knee".

[citywest]

Gilbo has been good but due to his age and where St Kilda are at I think Pelchen will look at trading him at the end of this season. Most probably to Hawthorn and it would be something along the lines of this......Hawthorn get Sam Gilbert and our 3rd round selection (pick 40 if we finish 15th), and St Kilda get Hawthorn's 1st pick (pick 18 if Hawthorn finish 1st.

[BigMart]

Big test next week against 4 monsters

I thought we did well against 2 but struggled with Giles

[Old Mate]

Gilbo has been good but due to his age and where St Kilda are at I think Pelchen will look at trading him at the end of this season. Most probably to Hawthorn and it would be something along the lines of this......Hawthorn get Sam Gilbert and our 3rd round selection (pick 40 if we finish 15th), and St Kilda get Hawthorn's 1st pick (pick 18 if Hawthorn finish 1st.

The Pelican will only trade our established players IF we get a very good deal which your suggestion is not. IE Dal Santo for Longer (Dal Compo pick) and McEvoy, picks 24 and 59 for Savage, picks 18 (Dunstan) and 19 (Acres).

[citywest]

Gilbo has been good but due to his age and where St Kilda are at I think Pelchen will look at trading him at the end of this season. Most probably to Hawthorn and it would be something along the lines of this......Hawthorn get Sam Gilbert and our 3rd round selection (pick 40 if we finish 15th), and St Kilda get Hawthorn's 1st pick (pick 18 if Hawthorn finish 1st.

The Pelican will only trade our established players IF we get a very good deal which your suggestion is not. IE Dal Santo for Longer (Dal Compo pick) and McEvoy, picks 24 and 59 for Savage, picks 18 (Dunstan) and 19 (Acres).

So you wouldn't take pick 18 for Gilbo and pick 40???? Are you serious?????

Sam Gilbert turns 28 on the 19th of August so I seriously doubt he will still be playing the next time we play in finals let alone Grand Finals. We already have a ready made replacement for him in Josh Bruce who will be 22 on the 8th of June. By next year we will not need Gilbo but we will need more midfielders again. And as you can see from Dunstan, if your recruiters get it right you can grab an elite midfielder with picks in the late teens.

I am sure that Pelchen is seriously looking at this scenario because apart from Gilbo and maybe Armo, we don't really have that much currency at the trade table. I'm not necessarily saying he should be trading Armo but I reckon he may consider him.

[I Love Peter Kiel]

'Delvene' Delaney has been a great pick-up!

[Old Mate]

Gilbo has been good but due to his age and where St Kilda are at I think Pelchen will look at trading him at the end of this season. Most probably to Hawthorn and it would be something along the lines of this......Hawthorn get Sam Gilbert and our 3rd round selection (pick 40 if we finish 15th), and St Kilda get Hawthorn's 1st pick (pick 18 if Hawthorn finish 1st.

The Pelican will only trade our established players IF we get a very good deal which your suggestion is not. IE Dal Santo for Longer (Dal Compo pick) and McEvoy, picks 24 and 59 for Savage, picks 18 (Dunstan) and 19 (Acres).

So you wouldn't take pick 18 for Gilbo and pick 40???? Are you serious?????

Sam Gilbert turns 28 on the 19th of August so I seriously doubt he will still be playing the next time we play in finals let alone Grand Finals. We already have a ready made replacement for him in Josh Bruce who will be 22 on the 8th of June. By next year we will not need Gilbo but we will need more midfielders again. And as you can see from Dunstan, if your recruiters get it right you can grab an elite midfielder with picks in the late teens.

I am sure that Pelchen is seriously looking at this scenario because apart from Gilbo and maybe Armo, we don't really have that much currency at the trade table. I'm not necessarily saying he should be trading Armo but I reckon he may consider him.

Yes I am serious. Whilst you have to be forward thinking and plan for the next finals tilt it doesn't mean you sell all your senior players that won't be around by then. Gilbert adds more value being around and mentoring the young players whilst assisting us in being competitive than a pick 18 would. I'd also back Trout to select a decent kid at 40 given his recent history (Newnes, Saunders, Markworth etc.)

[Bazza1970]

Can't see Hawthorn's possession game suiting Gilbert's left foot.

[dragit]

Can't see Hawthorn giving away another first round pick… they'll be looking at free agents for any mature players.

At any rate, Gilbert is not worth a first round pick, but like Geary, is worth more to us than what another club would pay.

[Beno88]

I thought our backline was shaky at best. Delaney was the only defender who consistently punched in a contest. Dempster, Gwilt and Gilbert continually tried to out mark their opponents, often resulting in GWS marks or crumbing shots at goal. GWS scored every second time they went inside 50.
I know none of those three players are natural one on one defenders, but they must learn to punch in a contest or we will be absolutely pulverised by decent teams.

[plugger66]

Gilbo has been good but due to his age and where St Kilda are at I think Pelchen will look at trading him at the end of this season. Most probably to Hawthorn and it would be something along the lines of this......Hawthorn get Sam Gilbert and our 3rd round selection (pick 40 if we finish 15th), and St Kilda get Hawthorn's 1st pick (pick 18 if Hawthorn finish 1st.

20 rounds left and you are npw guessing the team he will be traded to and the pick number. By the way hawthorn wouldnt give us a first rounder for Gilbert. madness.

[samoht]

I thought our backline was shaky at best. Delaney was the only defender who consistently punched in a contest. Dempster, Gwilt and Gilbert continually tried to out mark their opponents, often resulting in GWS marks or crumbing shots at goal. GWS scored every second time they went inside 50.
I know none of those three players are natural one on one defenders, but they must learn to punch in a contest or we will be absolutely pulverised by decent teams.

That was my take on it, too.
Gilbert was clearly on top of his opponent, but his kicking let him down a couple of times.
Our other defenders struggled, often against bigger opponents, and were often panicky - although Dempster kept Cameron quiet at least (who seemed to be off his game).

Despite Roo's and Hickey's efforts, the ball seemed to spend a lot longer in our forward line, and it felt like we had to work a lot harder to score; that GWS was scoring easier.
GWS seemed to find space - whereas we relied heavily on marking the ball (Roo and Hickey).

[skeptic]

i'm shocked you think we would get pick 18 and 40 for Gilbo

[Dr Spaceman]

'Delvene' Delaney has been a great pick-up!

He looks more like Strop

[Jacks Back]

I don't know why but Delaney reminds me of Dawson - in a good way.

[gringo]

I thought our backline was shaky at best. Delaney was the only defender who consistently punched in a contest. Dempster, Gwilt and Gilbert continually tried to out mark their opponents, often resulting in GWS marks or crumbing shots at goal. GWS scored every second time they went inside 50.
I know none of those three players are natural one on one defenders, but they must learn to punch in a contest or we will be absolutely pulverised by decent teams.

That was my take on it, too.
Gilbert was clearly on top of his opponent, but his kicking let him down a couple of times.
Our other defenders struggled, often against bigger opponents, and were often panicky - although Dempster kept Cameron quiet at least (who seemed to be off his game).

Despite Roo's and Hickey's efforts, the ball seemed to spend a lot longer in our forward line, and it felt like we had to work a lot harder to score; that GWS was scoring easier.
GWS seemed to find space - whereas we relied heavily on marking the ball (Roo and Hickey).

Most coaches would prefer you tried to mark it in defence when possible. If you punch out, the ball goes back in dispute and can result in a goal. Better odds when you attempt to mark at least. You mark it rebounds, you drop it, it is in dispute the same as when you punch it. Obviously it has to be realistic.

[Beno88]

I thought our backline was shaky at best. Delaney was the only defender who consistently punched in a contest. Dempster, Gwilt and Gilbert continually tried to out mark their opponents, often resulting in GWS marks or crumbing shots at goal. GWS scored every second time they went inside 50.
I know none of those three players are natural one on one defenders, but they must learn to punch in a contest or we will be absolutely pulverised by decent teams.

That was my take on it, too.
Gilbert was clearly on top of his opponent, but his kicking let him down a couple of times.
Our other defenders struggled, often against bigger opponents, and were often panicky - although Dempster kept Cameron quiet at least (who seemed to be off his game).

Despite Roo's and Hickey's efforts, the ball seemed to spend a lot longer in our forward line, and it felt like we had to work a lot harder to score; that GWS was scoring easier.
GWS seemed to find space - whereas we relied heavily on marking the ball (Roo and Hickey).

Most coaches would prefer you tried to mark it in defence when possible. If you punch out, the ball goes back in dispute and can result in a goal. Better odds when you attempt to mark at least. You mark it rebounds, you drop it, it is in
dispute the same as when you punch it. Obviously it has to be realistic.

In theory that makes sense, but I've played football at various levels for more than 20 years, and never have I heard a coach tell anyone to mark instead of punch in defence. If you have any doubt, you punch, clear the ball from the contest.

[Animal Enclosure]

Gilbo is the new whipping boy & it's an absolute disgrace.

Last week he was fantastic & his disposals were almost faultless (except for one OOB IIRC). Saturday he took apart the best young forward in the league & kept him to 1 goal.

While he did turn the ball over a few times, it was almost always due to being under severe pressure.

Saying that Josh Bruce is a ready replacement is total rubbish. Bruce will never been the attacking & versatile player that Gilbo is. He's a big, athletic defender but has nowhere near the pace nor the ability to break the lines.

People are getting a bit carried away with Pelchen's statement about increasing top 20 draft picks.

IMO we wont trade anyone this year & will just take our 4-5 picks at the ND & a few new rookies.