Where do St Kilda go from here??

[Sanctorum]

Last night's appalling effort against the Sydney Swans was a clear sign that St Kilda is a basket case, devoid of effort, devoid of ideas, devoid of spirit, and especially, devoid of character. In fact, lacking in every facet of the game. Well may we laud the 2 goals by Josh Battle, but I think it was more lamentable that Paddy McCartin was unable to convert his golden opportunities. I can't think of a time since the early 2000's where the Saints have been so down, and supporters' faith and hopes likewise. If there is light at the end of the tunnel then the St Kilda train has run off the rails before entering the tunnel!

Where do the Saints go from here?

It is conventional in elite sporting competitions for the senior coach to take the rap - the buck almost always stops with that individual, and Richo will certainly be feeling the pressure to quit. I personally don't hate the man, and as I have commented elsewhere, feel that it is the St Kilda Director of Coaching who should fall on his sword, because after 12 years at the one club he has to accept full responsibility. If Richo is asked to resign, then Danny Sexton should go at the same time.

Sacking Richo however is not necessarily going to change things, because there is not a line up of successful coaches waiting in the wings. Some posters are plugging for Sam Mitchell but as good as he was as a player, I don't think he has proven anything as a coach, and I very much doubt that he will get a senior coaching gig in the next 3 years at least. You need only look at Stuart Dew taking on the Gold Coast Suns, an appointment that would have been made at the strong behest of the AFL. As an assistant coach in recent years Dew was always regarded as the next best thing, but he is doing no better with the Suns than any of his predecessors.

Gold Coast Suns, and now also St Kilda, have become "coaches graveyards", and appointing untried rookie coaches into these 2 clubs is quite pointless.

For all of the equalisation measures the AFL have put in place in the past 10 years to make the competition more even, it is really only the Bulldogs that have managed to break through for a premiership - you can't count Richmond because they have always been "up and about" in the years prior to their 2017 success. Sure, both Melbourne and North Melbourne, after years of little success are shaping up well this year and have developed their playing lists much better than the Saints. It remains to be seen if they will actually get a flag anytime soon but at the very least they are giving their supporters a lot of hope.

My thoughts on equalisation are that the AFL should build on the "Paul Roos at Melboune" model which has been an obvious success - many will decry Paul Roos as a dour defensive coach, but there is no denying that he was able to build a winning mind-frame culture at Melbourne, and that is half the battle. A "winning mind-frame culture" is most certainly lacking at St Kilda, so I see that to be the main objective for the Saints in the coming 12 months, and that can only be developed by a highly respected , experienced, and successful AFL coach.

The contenders? Apart from Roos, people like Sheedy, Malthouse, Matthews - but perhaps the AFL could look at offering contracts to the likes of Clarkson, Chris Scott, even non-coaches such as Neil Balme, blokes who have been successful at the elite level and who can develop a strong culture of success.

[chico2001]

Good work sanctorum. Winning culture is everything and they need a winner and a smart one at that to run the football side of the club. Absolute joke who is running the club now and a few key people have to go not just the coach.Just cant believe some of the faceless people behind the scenes who do nothing and never will. I would like to see a toe cutter from my old company (BHP) visit the club for a month and then you would see some carnage. After that though we would see some efficiencies/productivity increase happening as well. We must remember saints are in debt big time.

[Con Gorozidis]

We'd be better off in the VFL with our side playing out of Moorabbin.

The club is that low.

Huge Debt. No new fans. Horrific on and off field.
Huge crisis looming.

[happy feet]

Merged with either the Gold Coast and sent there or merged with GWS and sent to Tasmania.

[happy feet]

Merged with either the Gold Coast and sent there or merged with GWS and sent to Tasmania.

[DJ Higgins]

Merging is a bit extreme. We have the most wooden spoons so sucking isn't new. Giving up is and that is what we have done now. Players are not playing for each other the club or the coach. Need a change end of this year

[degruch]

We have the most wooden spoons so sucking isn't new. Giving up is and that is what we have done now.

I agree, it's a new low for us...we seem to be entering new lame, characterless territory and I don't know why. Geez, only about 3 years ago I was serving some Tigers fan about their weak sentimentality and acceptance of mediocrity, lauding St Kilda's character to rebuild boom or bust time and again...I'd hate to see that guy now!

[shanegrambeau]

I haven’t been following this situation as deeply as you all and so I feel a bit trollish not knowing how the actual players have traveled along the course of the past few years. I’ve jus two things to say/ask.
1) until the mid-latter part of the 2017 season it al ost appeared that Ricoh and the other coaches actually had a bunch of half-decent but far from brilliant and some talented but flawed players playing better than expectations. The plummet only started from late season and picked up speed with injury, fatigue, bad luck etc., still, I accept that it might have spun into a death spin.. but saying that...
2) How about damien Hardwick and how the tigers fanns beyed for his blood as they did with Wallace? And now?

[Yorkeys]

A good coach still needs good cattle. Give us Martin, Rance and Naismith and I think we would perform better (doh!). But Hardwick is a good coach. There is indisputable evidence Richo is incompetent at senior level. He is so incompetent he can't even see it and negotiate an exit with honour. Saying try harder, run faster, kick straighter is what fans at home say to the TV. For $600k a year a bit more ingenuity is needed. Playing Lonie for instance. Tries like the billyo and all respect to him for that but the man not up to it and shouldn't be put in that position. Someone has told Richo its an even competition and he uses that often (can't read a win loss table, I guess), so if it is even how do you think you can win with at least two passengers Lonie and Weller and several that also seem not up to standard e.g. Savage, Newnes. Churn until you find some cream, waiting for lead to turn into gold is not going to cut it.

[mohannair]

I hope we don't sack the Coach. Its not the coach, its the players. We have around 10 players who have less than 50 games experience.

Losing Roey, Joey, Robertson, Bruce etc is a massive loss.

It takes time and we have to persist. It took years for Melbourne and Richmond to be where they are.

Look at the Dog's no where near the team they were couple of years ago...

It has to change from the top and not from the coach below

[Con Gorozidis]

I haven’t been following this situation as deeply as you all and so I feel a bit trollish not knowing how the actual players have traveled along the course of the past few years. I’ve jus two things to say/ask.
1) until the mid-latter part of the 2017 season it al ost appeared that Ricoh and the other coaches actually had a bunch of half-decent but far from brilliant and some talented but flawed players playing better than expectations. The plummet only started from late season and picked up speed with injury, fatigue, bad luck etc., still, I accept that it might have spun into a death spin.. but saying that...
2) How about damien Hardwick and how the tigers fanns beyed for his blood as they did with Wallace? And now?

Tigers clearly made the right call sacking Wallace.

Hardwick started at the bottom and was winning half his games. He has made finals four times.

Richo has won only 34 of 100 games.

That's the hard reality.

[iwantmeseats]

Comparisons to Richmond are ridiculous.
Come on. They have masses of elite talent. We have exactly zero elite talent.

[David-Lee]

I haven’t been following this situation as deeply as you all and so I feel a bit trollish not knowing how the actual players have traveled along the course of the past few years. I’ve jus two things to say/ask.
1) until the mid-latter part of the 2017 season it al ost appeared that Ricoh and the other coaches actually had a bunch of half-decent but far from brilliant and some talented but flawed players playing better than expectations. The plummet only started from late season and picked up speed with injury, fatigue, bad luck etc., still, I accept that it might have spun into a death spin.. but saying that...
2) How about damien Hardwick and how the tigers fanns beyed for his blood as they did with Wallace? And now?

Tigers clearly made the right call sacking Wallace.

Hardwick started at the bottom and was winning half his games. He has made finals four times.

Richo has won only 34 of 100 games.

That's the hard reality.

Not to mention Hardwick had maybe the greatest developer of young talent. Mark William's as his assistant. Then just when he realised everyone on the team and half the board loved Choco more than him he convinced the board to let him fire him. Then he acts vindicated after winn and ng the GF.

Like Ross the Boss acting like a legend after Grant Thomas sculpted a fierce playing group.

[David-Lee]

I haven’t been following this situation as deeply as you all and so I feel a bit trollish not knowing how the actual players have traveled along the course of the past few years. I’ve jus two things to say/ask.
1) until the mid-latter part of the 2017 season it al ost appeared that Ricoh and the other coaches actually had a bunch of half-decent but far from brilliant and some talented but flawed players playing better than expectations. The plummet only started from late season and picked up speed with injury, fatigue, bad luck etc., still, I accept that it might have spun into a death spin.. but saying that...
2) How about damien Hardwick and how the tigers fanns beyed for his blood as they did with Wallace? And now?

Tigers clearly made the right call sacking Wallace.

Hardwick started at the bottom and was winning half his games. He has made finals four times.

Richo has won only 34 of 100 games.

That's the hard reality.

Not to mention Hardwick had maybe the greatest developer of young talent. Mark William as his assistant. Then when he realised everyone on the team and half the board loved Choco more than him he convinced the board to let him fire him. Then he acts vindicated after winnng the GF. The players like Rance and Martin and more claim Choco was the one who made them the players they are...

Like Ross the Boss acting like a legend after Grant Thomas sculpted a fierce playing group.


Mark Wiliams Director of Football

Brett Ratten Head Coach


We win 60% of our games over the next 2 years as they rebuild and tune them we strike at the top 4.