Billings

[bigred]

All is good.

Just keep gifting games.

Another 12-15 possessions of absolutely nothing.

[axcellence]

paper roll thin selection integrity

Or cheese with holes in it

[saintkid]

All is good.

Just keep gifting games.

Another 12-15 possessions of absolutely nothing.

Well said Bigred. We've watched him carefully this season and he is clearly the most overrated player we have had at the club for a long time, possibly no-one more so. He shirks a contest, waits for the easy ball, struggles to win his own ball and has no physical presence out there. Softest player to wear the red, black and white in my time. Been on the list for 5 years now and the first season player group show more brawn and guts than Billings. Still looks like a boy out there playing a man's game, no leadership style at all in the way he plays and his skills under pressure are also very average. 2 weeks ago against Melbourne he actually pulled away from a contest, literally sh*t himself and many at the ground saw it clearly, including opposition supporters. It reflects poorly on the coaching staff which keep playing him week in week out and it's got to be purely on the basis that he was taken at No,3 and in the hope that he comes good in some capacity to save some face for another woeful pick. On the basis of form, he has been crap and should have been dropped over a month ago.

[saintadamski]

It is difficult for me to write about Billings, given that the very thought of this dud makes my hands shudder - makes it difficult to type.
One of the most frustrating things for me is that the Saints coaching and recruiting staff seem to live in some ridiculous bubble, where rational thought, and the bleeding obvious cannot penetrate.
Billings is: SLOW, WEAK, DUMB, COWARDLY. He has ABSOLUTELY NO fierceness or aggression at the ball or player. The fact that he was taken by pick 3 by the Saints ahead of Bontempelli shows us the ineptitude, and incompetence of our recruiting staff.
The fact that he is played week in , week out..insipid performance after insipid performance, disappoints me as to the fruitless trust and faith by our coach....which inevitably will be his undoing and the end of his career.
Richo still has time to change. He still has time to stop playing Billings, Newnes, Savage, Marshall etc - the duds. Does ANYONE see any of these guys as players to take us to a premiership....the very thought is absurd!!!
Please Richo....change what you're doing, and save your career at least.

[Saintly66]

Maybe the fact he is getting harassed in the streets and therefore closed all social media accounts may have something to do with his performance. Definitely doesn’t look happy the kid

[saintadamski]

Maybe he was told off by his third grade teacher. Maybe his dog died when he was only 12. Maybe his Mum made him spaghetti instead of pizza before a game which upset the poor guy.
I love hearing the excuses that have nothing at all to do with the fact that he is simply not a talented footballer. In life we learn from our mistakes...recruiting him was a mistake....now the question is, what will the St.Kilda football club actually do about it? I suspect keep playing him, and keep losing.

[Saintly66]

Maybe he was told off by his third grade teacher. Maybe his dog died when he was only 12. Maybe his Mum made him spaghetti instead of pizza before a game which upset the poor guy.
I love hearing the excuses that have nothing at all to do with the fact that he is simply not a talented footballer. In life we learn from our mistakes...recruiting him was a mistake....now the question is, what will the St.Kilda football club actually do about it? I suspect keep playing him, and keep losing.

You taking the piss out of me or?
I’m just putting it out there as why possibly he is playing like he is. I’m one that would get on with things, some aren’t like that.

[saintadamski]

I'm explaining why he is playing like he is, and always has played - poorly...there is no use looking for alternative explanations in this case, as they will return no factual result.
I implore the Saints recruiters to look at the top teams. You can put a basic set of tick boxes next to each player.
- Fierceness/competitiveness/tackling (Not Billings - cross x)
- Speed (Not Billings - cross x)
- Courage (Not Billings - cross x)
- Skill (by foot or in the air) (Not Billings - cross x)

Now let's look at Alex Rance at the Tigers
- Fierceness/competitiveness (BIG TICK - incredible)
- Speed (tick)
- Courage (BIG TICK)
- Skill (by foot or in the air) (tick)

[congorozides]

Trent Dumont was pick #30 in 2013.

A kid from a rough suburb in Nth Adelaide.

How we mocked the Roos when he was charged with assault n 2014.
Our little star wouldnt do that. He went to Scotch College. His mummy and daddy are rich.

What I'd do for Trent Dumont in our side now.

[saintadamski]

What I'd do for a side of Trent Dumonts!
One of the KEY MARKERS of an AFL football star is their mongrel, their fierceness, their 'stop at nothing' to win and compete nature
Judd, Dusty, Josh Kennedy, Hodge, Selwood, McGovern, Tex Walker...the list goes on and on. Saint Nick was one!
We are where we are, because of years of failure by Saints recruiters to recognise the psychological makeup of who they are recruiting. To continue to keep drafting 'meek nice guys' instead of soldiers who live for battle.
Until we change this, we will win more wooden spoons than we can handle

[derby Street]

Trent Dumont was pick #30 in 2013.

A kid from a rough suburb in Nth Adelaide.

How we mocked the Roos when he was charged with assault n 2014.
Our little star wouldnt do that. He went to Scotch College. His mummy and daddy are rich.

What I'd do for Trent Dumont in our side now.

What absolute Bullsh*t Con - a kid from a rough suburb in North Adelaide? Golden Grove - it is not even remotely a rough North Adelaide suburb, (It is actually where I live) Trent also happened to go a private College. Pedare College. Get your facts right.. You should have baled out when you said you were going to. Another fabrication?

[repta]

Absolutely desperately needs a run in the seconds.
Zero answers about how to harden him up.
He needs some real help. If he ever does show anything he would be tagged out of it. Big issues. Tank strength all resulting in low self esteem and therefore misses goals and makes incorrect decisions.

[saintadamski]

Hey Repta
I believe, that unfortunately you can't just 'harden' up someone who is by nature a wet rag - I wish you could.
All you need to do is listen to Billings talk to know IMMEDIATELY who he is, and what his nature is....soft, meek, not articulate, zero. If I was a recruiter I would recognise this immediately and move on.
I truly believe that animal instinct and mongrel is born, not bred. you can train skills, but not natural toughness.

[skeptic]

See here's the problem...

There's something about our club regarding development... this mirrors exactly what happened with Dunstan.

Remember!!!

Luke started really well and we were all saying future captain for sure.

Then he stagnated. Simply wasn't getting enough possessions per game. A lot of ppl started saying the coach was impressed by his bullock work
We played him without fail to the point that just about every Saints fan was sick of him. Some even wanted him delisted/traded.

Then what happened in 2017?

After a few mediocre games we dropped his ass to Sandy.
On the back of some really good performances over several weeks he forced his way back in to the seniors... and he sucked. We dropped.
On the back of some really good performances over several weeks he forced his way back in to the seniors, he had one really good game, then he stunk. We dropped him.

He continued to work on the things that he needed to, to improve his game

Late in 2017, he got the call back and he's played like a top 22 player ever since... even his poorer games have been equal to most of what he dished up at his best in 2016.

I just don't get what this weird stigma that exists at St. Kilda regarding dropping developing players to find form at Sandy.

It's really where Billings needs to go. Not forever... not marked never to return... just work on the aspects of his game where he struggles

[Teflon]

I reckon BIllings will end up at Bombers - parents still big coterie members there
He’ll probably end up a great player but can’t see it with us
Bend Dodoro over - their top pick for our 5 years of development....

[Sainternist]

I reckon BIllings will end up at Bombers - parents still big coterie members there
He’ll probably end up a great player but can’t see it with us
Bend Dodoro over - their top pick for our 5 years of development....

Whether or not his parents are coterie club members of Essendon FC or ISIS means very little in determining on where he plays. We should never be dealing with Essendon again for as long as Dodoro is still around.

[kalsaint]

Billings 4 kicks and 2 tackles.
Gresham 6 & 0.
Effort from both was embarrassing.

I thought Gresh tried hard all night... he bobbed up here and thefe

I'm sure he was playing more as a mid fielder today. While stats aren't everything, mid fielders tend to get plenty and often rattle the scoreboard when running forward. Nuh, both had a bad run today.

[saintkid]

What I'd do for a side of Trent Dumonts!
One of the KEY MARKERS of an AFL football star is their mongrel, their fierceness, their 'stop at nothing' to win and compete nature
Judd, Dusty, Josh Kennedy, Hodge, Selwood, McGovern, Tex Walker...the list goes on and on. Saint Nick was one!
We are where we are, because of years of failure by Saints recruiters to recognise the psychological makeup of who they are recruiting. To continue to keep drafting 'meek nice guys' instead of soldiers who live for battle.
Until we change this, we will win more wooden spoons than we can handle

Nice post.....so true. These less than amature, moronic recruiters have damaged and failed the club so much with that 'meek nice guys' drafting, as you put it. Billings and Paddy recent high draft picks were a big bust and the club just continues to live in hope that they will come good. One of them being on the list now for 5 years! I don't get any pleasure singling out one player but Billings shows stuff all of the qualities mentioned above week in week out. That effort against Melbourne where he pulled away from a contest and literally sh*t himself was the last straw for us. Not from a player that has been gifted games for 5 years based on a No. 3 pick that has failed miserably. It was purely embarrassing and even worse, hearing the flak from the opposition supporters near us. A coach of substance with the hunger to bring home a premiership would have dragged him on the spot and even more so, would have dropped him ages ago.

[spert]

Let's get off Billing's back. He has top skills, seems like a nice guy and mostly tries hard, but is over-rated by too many Sainters, and not a game changer that many think he might be. He simply needs a run at Sandy to get himself focussed like any other player struggling with aspects of his game...might do him the world of good.

[suss]

There are a few ordinary comments in this thread. The kid is down on form - so what. Perhaps we should be “supporting” the kid rather than bashing him.

God help me if he reads the tripe on here.

[saynta]

There are a few ordinary comments in this thread. The kid is down on form - so what. Perhaps we should be “supporting” the kid rather than bashing him.

God help me if he reads the tripe on here.

Plus one.

[ROLS-LEE]

There are a few ordinary comments in this thread. The kid is down on form - so what. Perhaps we should be “supporting” the kid rather than bashing him.

God help me if he reads the tripe on here.

Agreed. But
Worst thing I've seen from him is he didn't put his body on the line in a marking contest.
To me it means that he values not getting hurt over the team and his mates. Should have been dropped on that alone.

[bigred]

I would have sent him to Sandy weeks ago. Probably only for a game, because you would play him in the middle and he would get a lazy 25+ touches. That would probably see him back in the seniors with some confidence and a run at it.

Instead we see him scratching for a dozen pressured, nothing touches. Nine weeks of it.

The way it is now, if they keep playing him in the firsts, he can either break through it and make something of it, or just keep plodding.

The problem with being a good player is that everyone can see it. When you don't perform then it pisses people off. He needs to break through it... since they wont drop him.

Billings is symptomatic of where I think our coaches just play favourites for far too long.

They do that on "trust". Well, I think that if trust is true to form, the players should trust that they will get a fair go if they are sent to Sandringham for a week or two to find that form.

[Teflon]

Play him off HBF
Use his foot skills bringing ball out of defence
Let the play come to him rather than create it up forward when he has no confidence
But Alan doesn't change things...

[freely]

Finally heard them say on Footy Class what I've always thought - he's gonna be a great player...for a different club!