Riewoldt was where he belongs last night.

[Sainter_Dad]

I have long held the belief that Nick should play a true CHF/Flanker role. Give him the freedom to run, and his field kicking is generally very good. We need to develop a game plan that is not kick it to Roo for the time that he eventually decides to hang up the boots. If Bruce is that option, fantastic, if not we need to find a FF. NOT Riewoldt. If Bruce does not work out over the long term (and I so hope he does) we cannot just revert to Roo. Let him run, make it so hard for him to be matched up, let him be the person delivering it into our forward fifty. Only then will we have multiple avenues to goal.

[matrix]

yup
let him run
has the tank of a marathon runner so let him go around racking up quality touches
if the knee holds up i reckon itll give him even more years in our colors
has been using his left an awful lot in general play too ive noticed

let the racehorse free i say

[Moods]

Agree 100%.

Roo is good enough to play close to goal and have an influence, but his real asset is his running and athleticism. Hopefully we've finally found a player who can complement Roos running with strong marking up fwd.

Ppl forget, in the first half of 09, when Kos was in great form, our fwd line and team functioned perfectly.

[gringo]

He was really hobbling last night. It looked as if he was old a sore. I hope we can give him an easier time than being stuck in the goal square getting his face punched instead of the ball.

[The Redeemer]

yup
let him run
has the tank of a marathon runner so let him go around racking up quality touches
if the knee holds up i reckon itll give him even more years in our colors
has been using his left an awful lot in general play too ive noticed

let the racehorse free i say

Agreed, let the dude run as running is one of his strongest assets. He is a great field-kick too so when he is further up the ground, the ball gets to where it needs to.

Great game from Nick. It is fantastic to see the forward 50 open with Membrey, Bruce and Lonie running around.

[FQF]

He was the difference early on when the game was in the balance. Stats might not show it, but his effort and leadership allowed us to have that match-winning second quarter.

[jonesy]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

[ShanghaiSaint]

great thing about last night was unpredictability no longer 2-3 on roo with a kick landing at his feet. he had much more freedom and it was great to see that. Bruce will give roo 2 more year playing for sure.

[remboy]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

I think everyone wa aware that it wasn't healthy but we didn't have Bruce and Membrey to kick to before. I think having Riewoldt play between half forward and half back will begreat for him ( and will be impossible to match up on) and could also allow us to slot another tall into the forward.

[Moods]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Has to be a genuine viable alternative though Jonesy - otherwise Roo will naturally draw the ball I reckon. Bruce has shown this last couple of weeks that bombing it in long to him is a viable option. We haven't had that since Kosi in the first part of 09.

[bigcarl]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Yep, in the extreme

[asiu]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Yep, in the extreme

Yep.

[Trev from the Bush]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Not staggering at all, just the reality that we haven't had the cattle up forward as a viable option. It took over 50 games by Stanley to admit he wasn't the answer. Kosi was spent in 2012 and 13 (probably 2011 as well) so we have been bereft of a tall marking option other than Rooey.

Now that Bruce has put his hand up (and appears to be succeeding in the role) Rooey can sve some petrol tickets by not busting a gut to run from one end of the ground to the other. Given his total lack match preparation prior to round one I thought he was outstanding last night. He still hadhis customary dozen marks but his running and pressure acts were worth two players.

And he can still mark and kick goals.

[Eastern]

Let's not forget that Paddy McCartin will get a taste some time this year and (hopefully) will be a regular part of our forward line next year !!

[Trev from the Bush]

Let's not forget that Paddy McCartin will get a taste some time this year and (hopefully) will be a regular part of our forward line next year !!

True. But he can wait until deep into the season. He does not have the endurance yet and needs to work (hard) on all aspects of the game.

[jonesy]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Not staggering at all, just the reality that we haven't had the cattle up forward as a viable option. It took over 50 games by Stanley to admit he wasn't the answer. Kosi was spent in 2012 and 13 (probably 2011 as well) so we have been bereft of a tall marking option other than Rooey.

Now that Bruce has put his hand up (and appears to be succeeding in the role) Rooey can sve some petrol tickets by not busting a gut to run from one end of the ground to the other. Given his total lack match preparation prior to round one I thought he was outstanding last night. He still hadhis customary dozen marks but his running and pressure acts were worth two players.

And he can still mark and kick goals.

So when we had players on there own or giving a better one on one option over the past 2 years we'd kick it to Roo with three backing back onto him in a terrible situation....makes sense. Our forward entries were so inefficient it was laughable,yet nothing ever changed,until now,finally the brains trust clicked,and thank god they have,because we were so boring and predictable to watch. Watching Bruce taking contested marks makes me want to go to the footy again, and Roo can do as he pleases around the ground

[remboy]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Not staggering at all, just the reality that we haven't had the cattle up forward as a viable option. It took over 50 games by Stanley to admit he wasn't the answer. Kosi was spent in 2012 and 13 (probably 2011 as well) so we have been bereft of a tall marking option other than Rooey.

Now that Bruce has put his hand up (and appears to be succeeding in the role) Rooey can sve some petrol tickets by not busting a gut to run from one end of the ground to the other. Given his total lack match preparation prior to round one I thought he was outstanding last night. He still hadhis customary dozen marks but his running and pressure acts were worth two players.

And he can still mark and kick goals.

So when we had players on there own or giving a better one on one option over the past 2 years we'd kick it to Roo with three backing back onto him in a terrible situation....makes sense. Our forward entries were so inefficient it was laughable,yet nothing ever changed,until now,finally the brains trust clicked,and thank god they have,because we were so boring and predictable to watch. Watching Bruce taking contested marks makes me want to go to the footy again, and Roo can do as he pleases around the ground

But prior to this year we didn't have Membrey and Bruce was in defence for most of last season. It's only now that we've got guys who can present, demand the ball and make a contest when it comes in.

[jonesy]

Last year I watched time and time again Stanley be ignored,and any other player that was in a better position... It was braindead football. It shouldn't matter about the name,or the size of they player if they are in a better position. Funnily enough the best game Roo played last year was when they played him further up the ground against Freo and used stanley who looked like a freak that day,we beat a top 4 side by 10 goals,go figure

[Jacks Back]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Not staggering at all, just the reality that we haven't had the cattle up forward as a viable option. It took over 50 games by Stanley to admit he wasn't the answer. Kosi was spent in 2012 and 13 (probably 2011 as well) so we have been bereft of a tall marking option other than Rooey.

Now that Bruce has put his hand up (and appears to be succeeding in the role) Rooey can sve some petrol tickets by not busting a gut to run from one end of the ground to the other. Given his total lack match preparation prior to round one I thought he was outstanding last night. He still hadhis customary dozen marks but his running and pressure acts were worth two players.

And he can still mark and kick goals.

So when we had players on there own or giving a better one on one option over the past 2 years we'd kick it to Roo with three backing back onto him in a terrible situation....makes sense. Our forward entries were so inefficient it was laughable,yet nothing ever changed,until now,finally the brains trust clicked,and thank god they have,because we were so boring and predictable to watch. Watching Bruce taking contested marks makes me want to go to the footy again, and Roo can do as he pleases around the ground

But prior to this year we didn't have Membrey and Bruce was in defence for most of last season. It's only now that we've got guys who can present, demand the ball and make a contest when it comes in.

Membrey has not done very much IMHO. He needs to get the ball and kick goals and he's not really doing that yet. I knows it's only two rounds in though so hopefully he can get a bit more into it soon.

[crippsy]

Staggering it took this long for the penny to drop that the kick it to Roo at all costs mentality was a liability

Well if most players were delivering the ball into our forward 50 and had a chance to kick it to ryan gamble, charlie gardner, brett eddy, andrew mcqualter or rhys stanley i would guess most players would kick it to our 6 time b&f, 2004 mvp, and 5 x all australian player!

[spert]

I don't think Roo will be able to sustain the running forward role he played on Sat night throughout the whole season, he's not getting any younger and he will probably be interchanged more often. Membrey only needs to present, grab a few marks and kick a couple of goals deep to keep his place, and I think he is still settling in, so be patient.

[Bunk_Moreland]

So when we had players on there own or giving a better one on one option over the past 2 years we'd kick it to Roo with three backing back onto him in a terrible situation....makes sense. Our forward entries were so inefficient it was laughable,yet nothing ever changed,until now,finally the brains trust clicked,and thank god they have,because we were so boring and predictable to watch. Watching Bruce taking contested marks makes me want to go to the footy again, and Roo can do as he pleases around the ground

I think you are underselling both the coaching and the ability of Riewoldt in your argument.

I understand totally why you would reach the conclusion you have, every single Saints supporter has been frustrated over the years with the delivery and decision making of our players regarding Roo.

I would like to make a couple of observations though.

Riewoldt is a dominate figure on the football field, one of the hardest running and most competitive footballers I have ever witnessed. he is also very demanding when he wants the ball.

This is a positive and a negative. Positive is that when you kick it towards Roo, it is usually a good bet that he will mark it, the negative is that because he is so good it is the easy and first thought option.

I heard Brendan Goddard talking about Riewoldts presence on a football field. Goddard, one of the best decision makers and most penetrating kicks in the League made the observation that when you have the ball in a pressure situation, you only have moments to make a decision. When playing for the Saints he would look up and invariably Riewoldt had run to advantage and the best position of any option. Riewoldt is just so good that he almost always knows where to run, and a player under pressure will try and get it to him.

I only put this out there as alternative views and reason why the ball is always kicked to Riewoldt and probably the reason we have been looking for a second tall option Maister, Lee, White, Stanley, now Bruce, now McCartin as a long term prospect

if Bruce can hold down the second tall marking option, Roo is freed up like he was on the weekend, serving two purposes, one, we get to see a forward line post Riewoldt, two, Rooey uses his massive tank to cause damage upfield playing like an old fashioned wingman. I always thought Roo was a born wingman.

[stevie]

Yeah great post Bunk. I noticed at the game that Roo came up to the wing to receive the ball a few times. This freed up space behind him for our small guys to run into. Then they could either have a shot or look for the pass to Bruce or someone running to the true CHF spot.

It's only watching live that you appreciate the amount of running that Roo - and most other players - do during the game. A few times he tracked back into defence, especially during the Suns mini comeback in the last. He was geeing up the young blokes as he could see their belief was maybe wilting. Bennell missing that shot - a goal woulda made it 17 pts with still ten on the clock - was a relief. The. It was sealed when Sinclair goaled.

Speaking of Bennell, does anyone think Seanie might be in trouble for his professional trip? Didn't that used to be a reportable offence? I remember the old cheat Fletcher used to get weeks for it years ago.
And speaking of Seanie, I asked my 11 year old daughter on the way home from Metricon who she thought was the best for the Saints. She said that number 24 was really good!

[kosifantutti]

Yeah great post Bunk. I noticed at the game that Roo came up to the wing to receive the ball a few times. This freed up space behind him for our small guys to run into. Then they could either have a shot or look for the pass to Bruce or someone running to the true CHF spot.

It's only watching live that you appreciate the amount of running that Roo - and most other players - do during the game. A few times he tracked back into defence, especially during the Suns mini comeback in the last. He was geeing up the young blokes as he could see their belief was maybe wilting. Bennell missing that shot - a goal woulda made it 17 pts with still ten on the clock - was a relief. The. It was sealed when Sinclair goaled.

Speaking of Bennell, does anyone think Seanie might be in trouble for his professional trip? Didn't that used to be a reportable offence? I remember the old cheat Fletcher used to get weeks for it years ago.
And speaking of Seanie, I asked my 11 year old daughter on the way home from Metricon who she thought was the best for the Saints. She said that number 24 was really good!

I don't think tripping by hand was ever reportable.

[kosifantutti]

Yeah great post Bunk. I noticed at the game that Roo came up to the wing to receive the ball a few times. This freed up space behind him for our small guys to run into. Then they could either have a shot or look for the pass to Bruce or someone running to the true CHF spot.

It's only watching live that you appreciate the amount of running that Roo - and most other players - do during the game. A few times he tracked back into defence, especially during the Suns mini comeback in the last. He was geeing up the young blokes as he could see their belief was maybe wilting. Bennell missing that shot - a goal woulda made it 17 pts with still ten on the clock - was a relief. The. It was sealed when Sinclair goaled.

Speaking of Bennell, does anyone think Seanie might be in trouble for his professional trip? Didn't that used to be a reportable offence? I remember the old cheat Fletcher used to get weeks for it years ago.
And speaking of Seanie, I asked my 11 year old daughter on the way home from Metricon who she thought was the best for the Saints. She said that number 24 was really good!

I don't think tripping by hand was ever reportable.

Well it seems I was wrong. One of the Freo or Cats players was fined $1,000. Dempster they said was attempting to tackle and it slipped down to the foot.