Decisions and actions that cost the Saints a Flag

[Life Long Saint]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

[saynta]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

[kosifantutti]

Luke Ball was a big moment player.

I will never forget that Rd 14 game vs the cats in 09, when big show took THAT mark.

I remember who kicked it to him.

Didn't do much else that day. Came off the bench and he was on his own. Didn't take much skill to lob it to the top of the square.

[SaintPav]

Don't get me wrong, Luke was a very good player but Luke Ball version 2010 was not the same version 2007-2009.

Couldn't spread at the Saints.

Luke got himself very fit at the Pies and probably made up his mind to leave well before the end of 2009.

If he did, it was still because of his treatment by Lyon.

Maybe. Don't know as I wasn't there but I do remember how he played that year.

I did hear that the working class coach from Reservoir was not enamoured with self-entitled private school boys.

[Life Long Saint]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Seemed to me that having Loewe, Heatley and Everitt constituted enough prongs in attack that year. We won 9 or 10 in a row leading into the GF that year.
Havig three talls cycle through the forward line and Jones, Lappin and Winmar bobbing up made us hard to beat.
Not sure that we really missed Smith that much.

[plugger66]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Seemed to me that having Loewe, Heatley and Everitt constituted enough prongs in attack that year. We won 9 or 10 in a row leading into the GF that year.
Havig three talls cycle through the forward line and Jones, Lappin and Winmar bobbing up made us hard to beat.
Not sure that we really missed Smith that much.

You miss any good player but we certainly missed Spider and Vidovic more than anyone else. Spider had a very good year and Vidovic would have been better than Cook on the day.

[SaintPav]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Seemed to me that having Loewe, Heatley and Everitt constituted enough prongs in attack that year. We won 9 or 10 in a row leading into the GF that year.
Havig three talls cycle through the forward line and Jones, Lappin and Winmar bobbing up made us hard to beat.
Not sure that we really missed Smith that much.

You miss any good player but we certainly missed Spider and Vidovic more than anyone else. Spider had a very good year and Vidovic would have been better than Cook on the day.

It totally rooted our structure and we lost a big advantage. It let them put Pittman on Loewe all day for example.

It didn't help that Stan didn't have a plan B to counteract the move of McLeod and Jarman which everyone could see was going to happen.

[plugger66]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Seemed to me that having Loewe, Heatley and Everitt constituted enough prongs in attack that year. We won 9 or 10 in a row leading into the GF that year.
Havig three talls cycle through the forward line and Jones, Lappin and Winmar bobbing up made us hard to beat.
Not sure that we really missed Smith that much.

You miss any good player but we certainly missed Spider and Vidovic more than anyone else. Spider had a very good year and Vidovic would have been better than Cook on the day.

It totally rooted our structure and we lost a big advantage. It let them put Pittman on Loewe all day for example.

It didn't help that Stan didn't have a plan B to counteract the move of McLeod and Jarman which everyone could see was going to happen.

Yep unfortunately Max was a year away from being our FB. Had we known his closing ability more he would have been ideal for Jarman.

[remboy]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Seemed to me that having Loewe, Heatley and Everitt constituted enough prongs in attack that year. We won 9 or 10 in a row leading into the GF that year.
Havig three talls cycle through the forward line and Jones, Lappin and Winmar bobbing up made us hard to beat.
Not sure that we really missed Smith that much.

You miss any good player but we certainly missed Spider and Vidovic more than anyone else. Spider had a very good year and Vidovic would have been better than Cook on the day.

It totally rooted our structure and we lost a big advantage. It let them put Pittman on Loewe all day for example.

It didn't help that Stan didn't have a plan B to counteract the move of McLeod and Jarman which everyone could see was going to happen.

Yep unfortunately Max was a year away from being our FB. Had we known his closing ability more he would have been ideal for Jarman.

From memory Max played on Nigel Smart and did well (of course, I've tried to wipe it from my memory so I could be wrong). Losing Vidovic and Everitt was the killer. When they were both in the side it felt like we had an advantage over everyone else. Spider could contest the ruck and then push forward and nobody could go with him. What could have been.

[saynta]

Don't get me wrong, Luke was a very good player but Luke Ball version 2010 was not the same version 2007-2009.

Couldn't spread at the Saints.

Luke got himself very fit at the Pies and probably made up his mind to leave well before the end of 2009.

If he did, it was still because of his treatment by Lyon.

Maybe. Don't know as I wasn't there but I do remember how he played that year.

I did hear that the working class coach from Reservoir was not enamoured with self-entitled private school boys.

I think it only highlights their inferiority complex. Sheedy was the same with Hird,

[saynta]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Seemed to me that having Loewe, Heatley and Everitt constituted enough prongs in attack that year. We won 9 or 10 in a row leading into the GF that year.
Havig three talls cycle through the forward line and Jones, Lappin and Winmar bobbing up made us hard to beat.
Not sure that we really missed Smith that much.

Well, we can agree to disagree.

While those injuries badly affected us, so too did the personal problems of Cuz and Loewe on the big day. There is no way that the crows should have beaten us in normal circumstances. The fact that they did led me to suffer one of the worst days of my life.

I have always mainained that something should have been done to stop Jarman.

[SydneySainter]

Drafting McEvoy over Rioli.

[SaintPav]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Seemed to me that having Loewe, Heatley and Everitt constituted enough prongs in attack that year. We won 9 or 10 in a row leading into the GF that year.
Havig three talls cycle through the forward line and Jones, Lappin and Winmar bobbing up made us hard to beat.
Not sure that we really missed Smith that much.

You miss any good player but we certainly missed Spider and Vidovic more than anyone else. Spider had a very good year and Vidovic would have been better than Cook on the day.

It totally rooted our structure and we lost a big advantage. It let them put Pittman on Loewe all day for example.

It didn't help that Stan didn't have a plan B to counteract the move of McLeod and Jarman which everyone could see was going to happen.

Yep unfortunately Max was a year away from being our FB. Had we known his closing ability more he would have been ideal for Jarman.

They were killing us across HB and on top in the midfield and the rucks so it might not have made any difference. The ball would have spilt out and some other hack like Bond would have kicked a few.

Stan should have been onto it earlier and he should have played Shane Wakelin.

The Crows had some pretty good players out as well like Ricciuto, Modra and Vardy.

[prwilkinson]

The treatment Paul Chapman received on his hamstring to get him up for the 2009 Grand Final which was banned immediately after the match.

[Old Mate]

The treatment Paul Chapman received on his hamstring to get him up for the 2009 Grand Final which was banned immediately after the match.

With Weapon in charge of the S&C program surely Dank was holding an advisory role

[asaint]

Not playing Max H in 09.

[samuraisaint]

Joel Smith doing a knee playing on Osborne, Vidovic breaking his leg in Round 22, Everitt getting a broken collarbone in the Qualifying Final.

[saynta]

Joel Smith doing a knee playing on Osborne, Vidovic breaking his leg in Round 22, Everitt getting a broken collarbone in the Qualifying Final.

100% correct.

[bigred]

Smith was a highlight reel in 1997....

This thread sucks just so you know.

[saynta]

Smith was a highlight reel in 1997....

This thread sucks just so you know.

I agree with you there. On both counts.

[gringo]

Joel Smith doing a knee playing on Osborne, Vidovic breaking his leg in Round 22, Everitt getting a broken collarbone in the Qualifying Final.

100% correct.

I was there when Smiths leg snapped. I nearly speed we were about 10 meters from it. He was amazing that year and it was a huge loss. Fricken Osbourne looked like he did it on purpose, he had a few knees himself and he looked like the cat that stole the cream when he jumped into his leg.

[prwilkinson]

Joel Smith doing a knee playing on Osborne, Vidovic breaking his leg in Round 22, Everitt getting a broken collarbone in the Qualifying Final.

100% correct.

I was there when Smiths leg snapped. I nearly speed we were about 10 meters from it. He was amazing that year and it was a huge loss. Fricken Osbourne looked like he did it on purpose, he had a few knees himself and he looked like the cat that stole the cream when he jumped into his leg.

Yeah I remember that, horrific. I think Loewe took a huge speccy in the goal square that day. Great game.

[Scollop]

Losing Vidovic and Everitt to injury in consecutive weeks in 1997

Smith was also a big loss.

But we won a lot of games without him in the team.
We couldn't cover the loss of two big blokes especially against Adelaide in the GF

No, but Smith added another prong to our forward attack which ever other team in the competition couldn't match that year.

Losing Vidovic and Everitt definitely cost us. The signs were there with Adelaide midfield on top even in the first half when we were in front. Rehn dominated.

One of our best mids was poor on the day too. He had a pretty fair excuse though...his old man Neil died the day before the 1997 grand final.

[samuraisaint]

The rule in the 1910s which allowed the top team to challenge if they lost the first grand final - Fitzroy finished first, us third, we won the Final by a mile, they challenged and just scraped home in the replay the following week.

[SaintPav]

What a stupid rule. There should have been a third game.