Jack Bytel's progress from his back injury

[B.M]

Ross needing to lift?

He won the b&f and polled 14 Brownlow votes!

[skeptic]

Ross needing to lift?

He won the b&f and polled 14 Brownlow votes!

The frustration with Ross is that we’ve all seen his best and it’s elite. Would like to see it a bit more.

[SAINT-LEE]

Oh for f***'s sake. He will probably debut round one.

I watched him with my the balls in my eye holes, running laps. He looked damn fit.

[lewdogs]

Interesting that Bytel is fitter than Dunstan. Can see him taking Dunstans spot, Luke will need to lift.

[BackFromUSA]

Ross needing to lift?

He won the b&f and polled 14 Brownlow votes!

Brilliant accumulator.

Has improved his defensive side.

Needs to:

- move the ball on quicker to ensure we are moving forward with speed to give forwards better / cleaner opportunities

- improve the speed and penetration of his disposal

- run back harder to be part of defensive play

Not sure umpires see that stuff.

Forwards and defenders do.

[B.M]

Seb Ross is the least of our concerns

And is probably the most consistent player over the last 3 seasons.

Good footballer, we need more players as good or better

[B.M]

Coaches only see that stuff

And have voted him B&F two of the last three seasons

[freely]

Oh for f***'s sake. He will probably debut round one.

I watched him with my the balls in my eye holes, running laps. He looked damn fit.

I'm having trouble with this image. Can you elaborate?

[CQ SAINT]

Coaches only see that stuff

And have voted him B&F two of the last three seasons

and then agreed to let Acres and Steven go and get Hill and Jones.

[guitars4]

Jack is going to have to work real hard to push into the side this year, I can't see it happening unless the wheels fall off. If he's lucky he might get a debut but I'm guessing it will be well into the back half of the season.

If he is as good as has been stated then he should walk into the team. You make him sound very average.

I'd be wrapped if he is the second coming of Chris Judd and Luke Hodge, as we know it does happen. But if by chance social media has got it wrong and he isn't a once-in-a-generation player, and he's able to push into our team this year because the team is performing badly, then my early predictions of us being a finals capable team will have been horribly, horribly wrong.

Ted that is the best post you have ever posted & I agree with you

[B.M]

Hill and Jones were a shade better then Steven and Acres in 2019

[CQ SAINT]

Hill and Jones were a shade better then Steven and Acres in 2019

Yeah. Just a shade. But they will provide all the attributes Ross lacks, Steven couldn't produce and Acres wasnt capable of delivering regularly.

[B.M]

Attributes like what?

Being a good player??

[CQ SAINT]

Line breaking run and creative ball use. While he has been our most consistent player in recent years, he often fails to bring others into the game. He fails to think as quick as he acts and he often kicks and handballs blindly. Hill and Jones are quick, win contested possessions, find time and space and create scoring opportunities. They also run hard defensively.
They will enhance Ross' game if he looks for them and thinks before just kicking the ball forward.
Steven was absent or unfit last year and Acres was inconsistent. Hill and Jones are peaking.
Look at it in terms of possessions for metres gained.

[Scollop]

Coaches only see that stuff

And have voted him B&F two of the last three seasons

Dylan Roberton should have been the winner of the TBM in 2017. In my opinion, Robbo was more important for our wins than Ross in that particular season.

Robbo probably our most attacking player (from the back half) since Chips.

I reckon if Richo wasn't coach, Ross wouldn't have had 2 B&F's. Yes he has been a good player for us and credit to him for his consistency, but not our mvp and wasn't in 2017 either

[Secret Kiel]

Coaches only see that stuff

And have voted him B&F two of the last three seasons

Dylan Roberton should have been the winner of the TBM in 2017. In my opinion, Robbo was more important for our wins than Ross in that particular season.

Robbo probably our most attacking player (from the back half) since Chips.

I reckon if Richo wasn't coach, Ross wouldn't have had 2 B&F's. Yes he has been a good player for us and credit to him for his consistency, but not our mvp and wasn't in 2017 either

I'm guessing you don't understand how the TBM votes are assessed.

[B.M]

Richo was not the only person who voted

Doesn’t matter who you thought should have been b&f

It only matters who actually was

Ross has won 2 x TB awards

Oh,
And line breaking... Ross has the fastest acceleration and speed of all our Mids.

[CQ SAINT]

Richo was not the only person who voted

Doesn’t matter who you thought should have been b&f

It only matters who actually was

Ross has won 2 x TB awards

Oh,
And line breaking... Ross has the fastest acceleration and speed of all our Mids.

I knew you would mention his acceleration, pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball. He is an impressive athlete but disappointingly average with the ball in hand. Purely a stoppage footballer, which is not a problem, he just has to accept it and exploit his power to bring line breakers and good ball users into the game.

[saynta]

Richo was not the only person who voted

Doesn’t matter who you thought should have been b&f

It only matters who actually was

Ross has won 2 x TB awards

Oh,
And line breaking... Ross has the fastest acceleration and speed of all our Mids.

I knew you would mention his acceleration, pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball. He is an impressive athlete but disappointingly average with the ball in hand. Purely a stoppage footballer, which is not a problem, he just has to accept it and exploit his power to bring line breakers and good ball users into the game.

Ah. I see. Rubbish a player with false praise.

[CQ SAINT]

Richo was not the only person who voted

Doesn’t matter who you thought should have been b&f

It only matters who actually was

Ross has won 2 x TB awards

Oh,
And line breaking... Ross has the fastest acceleration and speed of all our Mids.

I knew you would mention his acceleration, pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball. He is an impressive athlete but disappointingly average with the ball in hand. Purely a stoppage footballer, which is not a problem, he just has to accept it and exploit his power to bring line breakers and good ball users into the game.

Ah. I see. Rubbish a player with false praise.

Not rubbishing him at all. As a 2 time B&F winner, we need 3 or 4 players better than him to improve as a side. Steven and Acres won't be there.
Billings, Hannerbery, Hill and Jones will pass him this year and he will find his niche in a better side.
Steele and Dunstan will remain strong on the inside and Clark should also take big strides this year giving us a strong core of stoppage players and ball movers.

[saynta]

Richo was not the only person who voted

Doesn’t matter who you thought should have been b&f

It only matters who actually was

Ross has won 2 x TB awards

Oh,
And line breaking... Ross has the fastest acceleration and speed of all our Mids.

I knew you would mention his acceleration, pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball. He is an impressive athlete but disappointingly average with the ball in hand. Purely a stoppage footballer, which is not a problem, he just has to accept it and exploit his power to bring line breakers and good ball users into the game.

Ah. I see. Rubbish a player with false praise.

Not rubbishing him at all. As a 2 time B&F winner, we need 3 or 4 players better than him to improve as a side. Steven and Acres won't be there.
Billings, Hannerbery, Hill and Jones will pass him this year and he will find his niche in a better side.
Steele and Dunstan will remain strong on the inside and Clark should also take big strides this year giving us a strong core of stoppage players and ball movers.

There are numerous posters on this forum who rubbish Ross at every opportunity. IMHFO, they are poor judges of football talent.

Ther is no way Jones will pass Ross next year as he is not half the footballer Ross is.

I am however hopeful that Billings, Hannebery and Hill will rise to the standard set by Ross in winning his two best and fairest. Hill has the best chance of doing that imo.

[Secret Kiel]

Richo was not the only person who voted

Doesn’t matter who you thought should have been b&f

It only matters who actually was

Ross has won 2 x TB awards

Oh,
And line breaking... Ross has the fastest acceleration and speed of all our Mids.

I knew you would mention his acceleration, pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball. He is an impressive athlete but disappointingly average with the ball in hand. Purely a stoppage footballer, which is not a problem, he just has to accept it and exploit his power to bring line breakers and good ball users into the game.

when you say it's a pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball and is average with ball in hand what exactly do you mean? Statistically he's very impressive on nearly every measure and up there with the best in the comp with how he uses the ball.

[CQ SAINT]

Richo was not the only person who voted

Doesn’t matter who you thought should have been b&f

It only matters who actually was

Ross has won 2 x TB awards

Oh,
And line breaking... Ross has the fastest acceleration and speed of all our Mids.

I knew you would mention his acceleration, pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball. He is an impressive athlete but disappointingly average with the ball in hand. Purely a stoppage footballer, which is not a problem, he just has to accept it and exploit his power to bring line breakers and good ball users into the game.

when you say it's a pity he doesn't use it after he gets the ball and is average with ball in hand what exactly do you mean? Statistically he's very impressive on nearly every measure and up there with the best in the comp with how he uses the ball.

He reads the fall of the ball well at stoppages but often stops and changes direction when he has it, usually to get onto his preferred foot. He often turns in an arch and kicks blindly.
He often slows down to kick and doesn't trust himself enough to hit a 30m pass to a leading forward, this could be a lot better.
When it works we gain advantage, when it doesn't it puts undue pressure on our forwards and outside runners and it looks like the bomb forward is our game plan.
On the inside he waits too long to handball, usually trying to evade or absorb a tackle. His periphal vision is not great and certainly not a natural skill for him.
Almost all of these possessions count as effective and metres gained.
These are not knocks but I believe they are a fair assesment of his abilities.
When he gets out on his own he can be damaging but he rarely gets back and rarely pushes forward.
He is a great athlete, a powerful, possession accumulating stoppage player.
Steele and Dunstan go under-rated making space for him.

[To the top]

Ross has glaring deficiencies and the reason St Kilda is a bottom side is aligned to Ross winning our Best & Fairest

Ditto Geary as Captain

Ross, as a mid, has kicked just 22 goals in 124 games

Simply, his disposals do not result in St Kilda scoring confirmed also by the above statistic

And compare to Armitage and Steven

The reason I rated Acres above the likes of Ross, Steele and Dunstan was that Acres disposals when allowed to play as a mid resulted in goals

[Saintmatt]

Ross has glaring deficiencies and the reason St Kilda is a bottom side is aligned to Ross winning our Best & Fairest

Ditto Geary as Captain

Ross, as a mid, has kicked just 22 goals in 124 games

Simply, his disposals do not result in St Kilda scoring confirmed also by the above statistic

And compare to Armitage and Steven

The reason I rated Acres above the likes of Ross, Steele and Dunstan was that Acres disposals when allowed to play as a mid resulted in goals

And also that Acres could be pushed forward to play as a pinch-hit marking forward and was a reliable shot for goal for us. Ross barely gets past half forward.