Stan on his mistake in the 97 grannie

[saynta]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ ... 5dc8605de2


STAN ALVES’ love affair with football that has lasted more than 50 years and 1000-odd matches has sadly soured due to the congested nature of our game.

Alves has retired from his long-time special comments role with ABC Radio in part due to what the game has become at the elite level.

“I started looking for what was wrong in the game. I was seeing packs of blokes and all this open space. We have lost what made our game unique. And while our kids have never been better prepared, they are playing a code that doesn’t allow them to showcase their skills,” Alves, 72, said.

But he still loves the code and has become a regular face at local football down Edithvale way, where he lives.

This week he shared memories of his 266 games with Melbourne and North Melbourne (1977 Premiership) and 110 as coach of St Kilda.

ST KILDA COACHING

In the end I let myself down in terms of communicating with people above who started to tell me how to coach, and having a go at me for bringing in meditation and empowerment of the players. KEVIN SHEEDY said to me later that I needed to be a better politician. I got pig-headed.


1997 GRAND FINAL

I still wake up in the middle of the night. My biggest mistake wasn’t made on Grand Final day, it was made during the year because I didn’t develop some of the lesser lights for when we got injuries. In the Grand Final I probably should have thrown STEWIE LOEWE in the ruck later in the game.

[WellardSaint]

Hindsight is always 20/20 vision, somebody once said.
At the time, he thought he was doing all the right things, and he got us to the big dance.

If he'd tried to develop some of the lesser lights, would we have lost some games though?

[spert]

I just think the balance of the 97 team was lost in the finals when Lazar and Joel Smith got injured and Everitt out. Three very important players leading up the the finals.

[saynta]

I just think the balance of the 97 team was lost in the finals when Lazar and Joel Smith got injured and Everitt out. Three very important players leading up the the finals.

I think you are right. Also did we leave Skinny Lapin out?

[Con Gorozidis]

Bloody love Stan.

[Darth Vader]

I just think the balance of the 97 team was lost in the finals when Lazar and Joel Smith got injured and Everitt out. Three very important players leading up the the finals.

I think you are right. Also did we leave Skinny Lapin out?

No he played. Pretty sure he kicked a nice goal just after half time to give us a bit of a lead before the horror show started.

[wally]

I think Shanahan wasn't agile enough on Jarman although he did his best

[supersaints]

I think Shanahan wasn't agile enough on Jarman although he did his best

He should have moved Shanahan, no doughy about it... Jarman tore strips of him and was the reason we lost IMO

[StPeter]

Lappin played but had a bit of shocker after great early season form.

From memory he was injured through the season and never really recovered his early form.

[saynta]

They dropped someone that pissed me off. Don't remember who.


St. Kilda
B: 19 Steven Sziller 31 Jamie Shanahan 1 Justin Peckett
HB: 18 Jason Cripps 15 Darryl Wakelin 8 Max Hudghton
C: 34 Jayson Daniels 29 Andrew Thompson 5 Austinn Jones
HF: 22 Matthew Lappin 23 Stewart Loewe (Capt) 17 Rod Keogh
F: 25 Barry Hall 24 Jason Heatley 7 Nicky Winmar
Foll: 42 Brett Cook 35 Robert Harvey 3 Nathan Burke (Capt)
Int: 2 Tony Brown 13 David Sierakowski 16 Robert Neill

Coach: Stan Alves

[ace]

Loewe got flogged by a ruckman with instructions don't let him mark.
Winmar's mind was elsewhere, his father had just died, so McLeod tore him to shreds.

[saynta]

Loewe got flogged by a ruckman with instructions don't let him mark.
Winmar's mind was elsewhere, his father had just died, so McLeod tore him to shreds.

Loewe's mind was elsewhere too, but i'm not going to go into details 21 years after the event.

[skeptic]

I just think the balance of the 97 team was lost in the finals when Lazar and Joel Smith got injured and Everitt out. Three very important players leading up the the finals.

I think you are right. Also did we leave Skinny Lapin out?

Are you thinking of Shane Wakelin perhaps?

Did a shoulder

[older saint]

Matthew Young out after prelim and bought in Neill.

Biggest mistake was leaving Prelim at 3/4 time thinking WB were home.
Also should have instructed Keogh to come in off the square and polax Jarman like they did to harves

McLeod was on Lappin. His 2 GF's saw his opponent win Norm Smith Medals ( Shannon Grant 1999).

[saynta]

Matthew Young out after prelim and bought in Neill.

Biggest mistake was leaving Prelim at 3/4 time thinking WB were home.
Also should have instructed Keogh to come in off the square and polax Jarman like they did to harves

McLeod was on Lappin. His 2 GF's saw his opponent win Norm Smith Medals ( Shannon Grant 1999).

Yep, I think that was the one. Never a fan of Robbie but I was of Matthew.

Keogh was one tough sob so I agree with your comment.

Never forgave Shanahan. But then neither did the Saints.

[Linton Lodger]

Loewe got flogged by a ruckman with instructions don't let him mark.
Winmar's mind was elsewhere, his father had just died, so McLeod tore him to shreds.

Loewe's mind was elsewhere too, but i'm not going to go into details 21 years after the event.

Indeed he and Winmar shouldn't have played.

[Linton Lodger]

At the end of the day the losses of Everitt and Vidovic killed us. With both of them Adelaide would not have got near us, with one of them (particularly Lazar) we still would have taken them.

[saintspremiers]

Loewe got flogged by a ruckman with instructions don't let him mark.
Winmar's mind was elsewhere, his father had just died, so McLeod tore him to shreds.

Loewe's mind was elsewhere too, but i'm not going to go into details 21 years after the event.

Indeed he and Winmar shouldn't have played.

Easy to say in hindsight. But we are talking a GF and two legends of the club. They would’ve demanded to play, and hoped their losses would’ve provided motivation to play well. And the club has to back that attitude.

[Enrico_Misso]

Matthew Young out after prelim and bought in Neill.

Biggest mistake was leaving Prelim at 3/4 time thinking WB were home.
Also should have instructed Keogh to come in off the square and polax Jarman like they did to harves

McLeod was on Lappin. His 2 GF's saw his opponent win Norm Smith Medals ( Shannon Grant 1999).

Yep, I think that was the one. Never a fan of Robbie but I was of Matthew.

Keogh was one tough sob so I agree with your comment.

Never forgave Shanahan. But then neither did the Saints.

Yes Keogh should have done to Jars what he did to Mil Hanna 2 years earlier at Waverley!

[Saintmatt]

It all turned pear shaped in R21 in the 3rd q against the Pies. Joel Smith did his road accident-style ACL - there went our precision kicking weapon off half back.

R22 - Lazar does his ACL against Port on the Sunday night. There goes our enforcer Talisman.

QF1 - Everiit breaks collarbone. There goes our ruck and forward option who was impossible to match up on and a super kick for goal.

PF - Matty Young pings hammy and doesn’t come up. There went our line breaking run and carry off half back.

Winmar’s dad and Stewie’s family issue just topped it off.

In hindsight - we were limping into the GF and we’re lucky to be as close as we were for large parts of that game.

[saint64]

It all turned pear shaped in R21 in the 3rd q against the Pies. Joel Smith did his road accident-style ACL - there went our precision kicking weapon off half back.

R22 - Lazar does his ACL against Port on the Sunday night. There goes our enforcer Talisman.

QF1 - Everiit breaks collarbone. There goes our ruck and forward option who was impossible to match up on and a super kick for goal.

PF - Matty Young pings hammy and doesn’t come up. There went our line breaking run and carry off half back.

Winmar’s dad and Stewie’s family issue just topped it off.

In hindsight - we were limping into the GF and we’re lucky to be as close as we were for large parts of that game.

Agreed, but we weren't the only team with problems - Tony Modra, who was the Coleman medallist in 97, did his knee in the Prelim (although maybe Shanahan would have matched up better on Modra than he did on Jarman).