Our Percentage

[samuraisaint]

After the most recent crushing defeat last night I noticed that our percentage is a disgraceful 61.1. Especially disgraceful when you consider that we have actually won four games, two against sides currently in finals contention.
If this situation doesn't improve we will be on track to post our lowest percentage for a home and away season since 1955! There probably isn't a poster on this forum who was even born then.
FYI: other poor percentages since 1955 include 65 in 1979, and 64 in 1985; years in which we only won three matches for the entire season.
For mine this doesn't bode well for some of our line coaches. And before I am flamed mercilessly for saying this; consider who beat us by 9 goals last night...We had enough experience out there to at least keep the loss respectable considering who the Suns had out.
The differences between this year and last year, which certainly wasn't a great season by any means, is the complete ineptitude of our midfield. The kicking into the forward line is a joke and with the calibre of personnel we had last night absolutely disgraceful.
My only hope is that because of the occasion next week we actually turn up.
I hold grave fears for the match against Sydney at the SCG in two weeks though if this uncompetitiveness continues.

We have saved ourselves the ignominy of suffering through our first season without posting a century since 1960 by avoiding that poor record against the odds. I can only hope that we turn up the gas one more time this season against the Doggies...

[SainterK]

Can't score..

Need to persist in developing a forward line with Roo up the ground...

Above that, we need some outside pacey types to get it in there.

[samuraisaint]

Yes, that is obvious. I am a glass half full kind of guy and I disagreed with posters who said that we would probably have a worse year in 2015 than 2014, but even I am starting to worry now. Without Lenny in the midfield and Joey's performances significantly declining, and unlikely to improve in the twilight of his career, I now harbour doubts as to our competitiveness next season as well. Particularly towards the end of July when young sides traditionally tire.

[saintspremiers]

Great post. Sad but very true. Pressure will be on Richo also in a year if the pattern continues and if we don't have injury issues.

I think injuries would've accounted for a 5 percentages point drop approx.

[Bluthy]

We've only been able to be competitive for 2 quarters this year and then get over run which has been a worry. I put it down to the bad mixture of very old legs and very young legs and virtually nothing in between combined with a lack of outside run. WE are ok if we can keep it in close but as soon as they start getting it on the outside we get destroyed as we chase futilely tail. I'm hoping next year we should be able to keep the pressure on for 3 quarters and stop those blow outs which are pretty demoralising.

[spert]

Too many players not getting hands on the ball enough. I don't see any obvious game plan, and generally I think our team game, discipline and skills have fallen away badly. The pressure should well and truly be on the coach..it's a below-par effort IMO.

[plugger66]

Too many players not getting hands on the ball enough. I don't see any obvious game plan, and generally I think our team game, discipline and skills have fallen away badly. The pressure should well and truly be on the coach..it's a below-par effort IMO.

Wasnt there a game plan last week? Im sure you posted something like that. Im amazed that we dont have a game plan when we lose but we do when we win. Won just about as many games as last year with a much weaker list.

[kosifantutti]

Percentage was much worse before Dockers game, but it's still a poor reflection on our season.

The main reason for the blowout last night was the shocking mistakes in the back half. Numerous kicks from full back went straight to the opposition and resulted in goals. Fisher hand balled to an opponent in the goal square. Roberton sprinted and stretched to keep the ball in play for his opponent.

[spert]

Too many players not getting hands on the ball enough. I don't see any obvious game plan, and generally I think our team game, discipline and skills have fallen away badly. The pressure should well and truly be on the coach..it's a below-par effort IMO.

Wasnt there a game plan last week? Im sure you posted something like that. Im amazed that we dont have a game plan when we lose but we do when we win. Won just about as many games as last year with a much weaker list.

P66 the Freo game was the expected big effort for Lenny and showed what can be done when a team is motivated. When I hear AR say he didn't know where that came from(the win), it gives me no confidence in his ability to motivate the team, and last night's return to playing like headless chickens sort of backs it up.

[samuraisaint]

Percentage was much worse before Dockers game, but it's still a poor reflection on our season.

The main reason for the blowout last night was the shocking mistakes in the back half. Numerous kicks from full back went straight to the opposition and resulted in goals. Fisher hand balled to an opponent in the goal square. Roberton sprinted and stretched to keep the ball in play for his opponent.

Yes, absolutely right. And these two incidents are excellent examples of what I was talking about when I referred to the loss being especially disgraceful in light of the experienced personnel we had on the ground last night. Fisher is a 200 game veteran of Grand Finals, and this is Roberton's fifth season of senior footy. Although they are not the midfielders I was referring to, these are two examples of extremely stupid play from senior players which we have been watching for the past three months.

[Con Gorozidis]

Percentage was much worse before Dockers game, but it's still a poor reflection on our season.

The main reason for the blowout last night was the shocking mistakes in the back half. Numerous kicks from full back went straight to the opposition and resulted in goals. Fisher hand balled to an opponent in the goal square. Roberton sprinted and stretched to keep the ball in play for his opponent.

Yes, absolutely right. And these two incidents are excellent examples of what I was talking about when I referred to the loss being especially disgraceful in light of the experienced personnel we had on the ground last night. Fisher is a 200 game veteran of Grand Finals, and this is Roberton's fifth season of senior footy. Although they are not the midfielders I was referring to, these are two examples of extremely stupid play from senior players which we have been watching for the past three months.

Roo
Joey
Fisher
Dempster
Gwilt
Schneider
Armitage
Ray

That is 8 senior players.

The suns had 4

Broughton
Stanley
Harbrow
Rischi

People need to accept our Sr players are no longer capable of doing the business.
We have a bunch of kids who are completely green and then a bunch of Sr guys who have completely tailed off.
There is nothing in between (50-100 games).

[kosifantutti]

We have a bunch of kids who are completely green and then a bunch of Sr guys who have completely tailed off.
There is nothing in between (50-100 games).

Do you mean literally or you don't rate Roberton, Savage, Steven and Stanley?

[mr six o'clock]

Our % is bad because we miss too many easy shots .
We have kicked 170 goals 171 points this year . 50 / 50
Plus numerous OOF snapshots .
Last nights game was a classic example , we were playing well around the end of the second quarter and start of the third but were getting no scoreboard pressure as we missed some easy shots . they took there chances and 15 minutes into the 3rd they were suddenly six goals up and it was game over !
The north game is another example , we weren't completely hopeless but when your first 9 scoring shots are points , no scoreboard pressure means your out of the game .
Perhaps if the coaching staff took the radical move of allowing players to spend an hour taking set shots at goal during training we may improve , but someone at the club with a sports science degree would probably have a chart to show this makes no difference .

[samuraisaint]

Spot on - and this is what I meant when I posted that our line coaches may start to feel the pressure. Our foward coach is not getting results.

[St. Luke]

The worst bit for me is week after week hoping Melbourne keeps slipping up in the race for the 2014 spoon. Its not a deserving send off for Lenny that in his final year we've gifted him with the worst prize in AFL! Surely our game against Freo was more than just good luck, or a poor game by our opponents. the game against the Suns was semi-predictable...but woeful all the same. Talk about a disappointing season for us....still, I'll remain more optimistic for 2015.

I think a descent pre-season under Richardson would have helped. Lets hope we can get our house in order for next season & attack it with some more purpose than the rabble we currently resemble

[dragit]

Our % is bad because we miss too many easy shots .
We have kicked 170 goals 171 points this year . 50 / 50
Plus numerous OOF snapshots .
Last nights game was a classic example , we were playing well around the end of the second quarter and start of the third but were getting no scoreboard pressure as we missed some easy shots . they took there chances and 15 minutes into the 3rd they were suddenly six goals up and it was game over !
The north game is another example , we weren't completely hopeless but when your first 9 scoring shots are points , no scoreboard pressure means your out of the game .
Perhaps if the coaching staff took the radical move of allowing players to spend an hour taking set shots at goal during training we may improve , but someone at the club with a sports science degree would probably have a chart to show this makes no difference .

Most clubs are going around the 50/50 mark for goals/points… some slightly better, Hawthorn are the only side well ahead here at roughly 60/40

No surprise that the inside 50 ladder looks very similar to the win/loss ladder. We are 2nd last to Melbourne for inside 50's

You get it in there more, you kick more goals & win more games.

Our midfield depth is very weak, our forward line is pretty impotent, our backline is a lethal combination of being slow and under-sized (and injury riddled).

Don't get too disheartened, we just have a very average list at the moment… the percentage is lying, but they are still trying.

[Bluthy]

Also Richo hasn't been implementing massive flooding or pure negative footy ala Lyon/Roos or heavy zoning. He seems to want the players to learn to stand on their own two feet playing a fair bit of one on one even if that means we lose by a fair bit early days. Its also a good way to scrutinise which players are up for the challenge rather than hiding them away in a zone system.

[samuraisaint]

I just hope we can flick the switch again one last time this year for Lenny's Testimonial Sunday evening. A good turnout of the faithful and a good first quarter Saints please.

[sunsaint]

Too many players not getting hands on the ball enough. I don't see any obvious game plan, and generally I think our team game, discipline and skills have fallen away badly. The pressure should well and truly be on the coach..it's a below-par effort IMO.

Wasnt there a game plan last week? Im sure you posted something like that. Im amazed that we dont have a game plan when we lose but we do when we win. Won just about as many games as last year with a much weaker list.

P66 the Freo game was the expected big effort for Lenny and showed what can be done when a team is motivated. When I hear AR say he didn't know where that came from(the win), it gives me no confidence in his ability to motivate the team, and last night's return to playing like headless chickens sort of backs it up.

I am with you on this one spert - we have all watched/heard AR's post match summations during the year, and it always amounts to unacceptable effort...
Alright maybe freo was 20% off on the day, (and that's all it takes in today's footy) but if the team can run out and play for "Lenny" like that and then serve up cr@p either side of round 18 and the season - then its not ALL about the current list or personnel that runs out on the day

[sunsaint]

Also Richo hasn't been implementing massive flooding or pure negative footy ala Lyon/Roos or heavy zoning. He seems to want the players to learn to stand on their own two feet playing a fair bit of one on one even if that means we lose by a fair bit early days. Its also a good way to scrutinise which players are up for the challenge rather than hiding them away in a zone system.

seem to remember the "too much emphasis on attack" being a reason that got Watters sacked...

[plugger66]

Too many players not getting hands on the ball enough. I don't see any obvious game plan, and generally I think our team game, discipline and skills have fallen away badly. The pressure should well and truly be on the coach..it's a below-par effort IMO.

Wasnt there a game plan last week? Im sure you posted something like that. Im amazed that we dont have a game plan when we lose but we do when we win. Won just about as many games as last year with a much weaker list.

P66 the Freo game was the expected big effort for Lenny and showed what can be done when a team is motivated. When I hear AR say he didn't know where that came from(the win), it gives me no confidence in his ability to motivate the team, and last night's return to playing like headless chickens sort of backs it up.

I am with you on this one spert - we have all watched/heard AR's post match summations during the year, and it always amounts to unacceptable effort...
Alright maybe freo was 20% off on the day, (and that's all it takes in today's footy) but if the team can run out and play for "Lenny" like that and then serve up cr@p either side of round 18 and the season - then its not ALL about the current list or personnel that runs out on the day

So its the coaching? Did the coach decide to only try for one game or motivate for one game. We have a much worse list than last year aand we could still win the same amount of games.

[Bernard Shakey]

I've seen all those years you mention and many others where we were worse than we are this year.
Don't forget we no longer play on quagmires and scores are much higher on average these days.

[sunsaint]

...
Where does this "theory" that we have a worse list than last year come from - we have more highly regarded skilled kids, the 20-25yr olds have got more games into them and the old guys output is status quo - your opinion and not the point of discussion (which you will try to turn it towards)
And you are only trying to be too cute or ignorant of what was written above by writing that the coach only tried to win/motivate one game - No ONE has said that ... anyway
the point is not about win/loss compared to last year - the OP is about percentage and that indicates that our competitiveness has dropped away

[plugger66]

...
Where does this "theory" that we have a worse list than last year come from - we have more highly regarded skilled kids, the 20-25yr olds have got more games into them and the old guys output is status quo - your opinion and not the point of discussion (which you will try to turn it towards)
And you are only trying to be too cute or ignorant of what was written above by writing that the coach only tried to win/motivate one game - No ONE has said that ... anyway
the point is not about win/loss compared to last year - the OP is about percentage and that indicates that our competitiveness has dropped away

Thats true about percentage but to argue the list isnt worth would be silly. Dal and Milne gone. Even Kosi and Blake are probably better than some that have played a few this year. Also Geary hardly played, 4th in the B&F last year. Gilber and Fisher less games than last year. Jack who won the B&F by 50% more than the next person has been carrying an injury all year. Only Lenny of the older experienced players has been clearly better. Yep a few good young kids but they are kids and have been up and down as all kids are. Even Armo has missed many games this year. Yep we are getting smashed more this year but that is due to the experience missing weekly. Or it could be the coach. Can you tell me his errors in the game plan because I seriously dont understand footy enough to see them. Ps forgot Joey. Had a poor year. maybe thats the coach or maybe it isnt.

[Bluthy]

Also Richo hasn't been implementing massive flooding or pure negative footy ala Lyon/Roos or heavy zoning. He seems to want the players to learn to stand on their own two feet playing a fair bit of one on one even if that means we lose by a fair bit early days. Its also a good way to scrutinise which players are up for the challenge rather than hiding them away in a zone system.

seem to remember the "too much emphasis on attack" being a reason that got Watters sacked...

Well Watters had about 8 game plans apparently sometimes changing them mid quarter. We tried the Lyon uber-defensive system and it came up short. Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney have shown that the modern game is about having a defensive mind set as your base but having the structure and courage to take the risk to transition into attack quickly to kick winning scores. Rather than a fortress model its more of like a boxer who puts the hands up to soak up the blows but when he feels the opponents momentum dipping, opens up to unleash quick blows. Richo isn't letting them retreat into a fortress and we are out of our weight division so we are coping blows left, right and centre. But our time will come to land some blows (as Freo discovered).