Boy how disheartening was that?

[scallopsroe]

Yep.

I can’t believe how mentally weak we are. It’s not talent or system - we were good enough to get 5 up on North and 6 up on Freo ... and disintegrated against both when challenged. Terribly disappointing.

Huge reality check - I’d like to see Ratten get nasty at selection - his hallmark was supposed to be about skill and finishing off your work. Time to walk the talk.

Our brittleness has been a sorry feature of our system since 2012. We roll over too easily. Sad but a reflection of the club's mentality fo many years

[Devilhead]

That's 2 devastating losses now after being 6 goals up - one is a blip - two should not be tolerated

Team changes need to be made - time to send a message to the playing squad ...... and the supporters

[Crossy66]

Yep.

I can’t believe how mentally weak we are. It’s not talent or system - we were good enough to get 5 up on North and 6 up on Freo ... and disintegrated against both when challenged. Terribly disappointing.

Huge reality check - I’d like to see Ratten get nasty at selection - his hallmark was supposed to be about skill and finishing off your work. Time to walk the talk.

Our brittleness has been a sorry feature of our system since 2012. We roll over too easily. Sad but a reflection of the club's mentality fo many years

So do you think it has been our brittleness since 2012 that's the problem?

[Devilhead]

The fact that we came back from 19pts down with 6 mins to go just makes this loss even worse

That injury depleted Freo side put 55pts on us in 2.5 quarters

Ratten should be tearing flesh off them

Leadership was absolutely non existent

Some senior players .... if you could call them players ..... should be dropped permanently

[SaintPav]

That last kick to Colonel Klink wasn't 15 metres either.

[Saintmatt]

It really is offensive.

Losing like that.

It is quite disrespectful to the fourty six thousand members that have hung around, with most on the couch because they cant go out anywhere. We get to sit through that s***. I wonder if any of them will actually consider this when they kick back in Noosa this evening.

There are no excuses. It was lazy and insipid.

I knew it in the lead up to this game that I should know better than to start looking forward to it. Every time you start looking forward to it, they f****** let you down again.

s*** effort St.Kilda.

A really s*** effort.

Enjoy your quaranteen.

Don’t disagree with how you feel.

Pissing wet in Melbourne - can’t go out - and they serve up that insipid s*** after 1/4 time.

[Saintmatt]

Yep.

I can’t believe how mentally weak we are. It’s not talent or system - we were good enough to get 5 up on North and 6 up on Freo ... and disintegrated against both when challenged. Terribly disappointing.

Huge reality check - I’d like to see Ratten get nasty at selection - his hallmark was supposed to be about skill and finishing off your work. Time to walk the talk.

Our brittleness has been a sorry feature of our system since 2012. We roll over too easily. Sad but a reflection of the club's mentality fo many years

It’s an outcome of the most shitful onfield leadership going around.

[tglennisback]

I’m glad we didn’t pinch it. Losing is a bitter pill, scraping back in to win takes all the pressure off. There would be no learning from that looking at it from a long term perspective. Hopefully it’s a long sad 2 ½ hour bus ride.

I have had it with them until next year.

Treat it as a long preseason.

At least they got to witness true grit close up.

[Devilhead]

Whatever was said after the North loss obviously didn't sink in

So what does Ratten need to do to make the message fkn stick?

[Saintmatt]

Whatever was said after the North loss obviously didn't sink in

So what does Ratten need to do to make the message fkn stick?

I literally hope he didn’t say a thing. It’s for those that were on the ground to work out why the hell they chose to stop running and cracking in. Disgraceful, leaderless rubbish.

We’re not far away from (justifiably) being known as downhill skiers .. that’s about the biggest insult a team can wear.

[roskilde]

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/fru ... 55b72.html

Frustrated St Kilda coach Brett Ratten will show no mercy at selection after watching the Saints give up a winning lead for the second time this season in a confidence sapping loss for the club.

He said too many players did not contribute when required as he indicated his patience would wear thin quickly if individuals thought they could rely on others to do the job.

Ratten was disappointed the Saints were unable to bring the game back on their terms when Fremantle challenged, which allowed the Dockers to kick 11 of the first 12 goals kicked after quarter-time to reel in a 37-point deficit.

[ace]

I got deja vu.
I dozed and then thought I had gone back in time to play North again.
Could not get the ball out of defence,
Could not get the ball past mid way if we did.
Got smashed at centre clearances.
We seemed to be full of overlap run in the first quarter then zero run after that.

[CQ SAINT]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

[saintsRrising]

Our games so far this year indicate that we are a a team of downhill skiers at present. Hopefully it is due to having so many younger players in the team.

When all is going well we look wonderful. But if the opposition gets their A-Game going we go missing bigtime.

We saw this in the North, Pies and Freo Games.

In particular we lack genuine quality inside mids that can turn the game back our way. But it is not just that, it is most of the team that drops it intensity and goes missing and we start playing as individuals. And when the other team is playing as a team, that means we are easily overpowered.

[ace]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

I was NOT at the game.
You can't see the strategic view of the game on TV but get a close up instead.

But it sure looked like the reason we could not clear the ball out of defence was a full forward press which we were clueless in knowing how to over come.
We certainly were not able to run in mass support and had no outlet players providing targets.
It also looked like we were being smashed at centre bounces.
We may get our hands on it but coffed it up before clearing it.
They simply applied more pressure.
Whereas our players looked like they were content to follow their opponents to the ball.
No hard aggressive run until the last 5 minutes when we thought we could snatch the game.

This weeks training must focus on overcoming a full forward press.

[Sainter_Dad]

Yep.

I can’t believe how mentally weak we are. It’s not talent or system - we were good enough to get 5 up on North and 6 up on Freo ... and disintegrated against both when challenged. Terribly disappointing.

Huge reality check - I’d like to see Ratten get nasty at selection - his hallmark was supposed to be about skill and finishing off your work. Time to walk the talk.

Our brittleness has been a sorry feature of our system since 2012. We roll over too easily. Sad but a reflection of the club's mentality fo many years

If it is worth saying - it is worth saying half a dozen times

However .......

I think this is a symptom of an underlying problem - we lack leadership on the field. Not just from our captain - but we lack the Lenny Hayes type player who grabs the team and shakes them out of their slumber - we look for high marks or courageous tackles to pull us from a stupor. It has become even more evident since runners have been limited - but we are headless when it comes to a little bit of pressure and look to a void in on field leadership.

[Crossy66]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

Interesting observations that you can only make when you are at the game. From watching the tv, the freo plan looked identical to collingwood a few weeks back.
Perhaps longmuir, an ex Collingwood assistant, did his homework on how to counter our run. Perhaps we can expect more clubs to do the same, so we'll need a plan b.

[Devilhead]

We haven't had a Plan B since 1966

[st.byron]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

Yep CQ Saint. Agree. Was also there. We were swamped after quarter time. Our running game that broke open the first quarter was stifled, we went sideways, stuffed around and then lost confidence and our delivery dropped off.

[SAINT-LEE]

As I reflected in another post we will be lucky to claim 7 wins.
Many reasons,,,,


Ill highlight categories....
Trade Ins:

Hill - can do ok but hasnt "won" a game for us or played even statistically above avg in 2020....this is a fact not my opinion.
He was absolutely a joke vs Freo...a laugh out loud joke.

Young Guns:

Marshall - still a newbie but bearing the weight of #1 - has slumped badly on form from 2019. Has good moments...lots of upside. Got smashed in CB's for 3 quarters, completely ineffective. His inability to get first touch and tap to advantage meant mids were immediately scrambling for a ball and swamped or put under pressure to chase Freo mids. Marshall needed Ryder yesterday badly.

King is emerging, gets fewer marks than you'd expect. But does try to create advantage for ground game. Behinds are expected but not forever...

50-100 Gamers:

Players like Gresham who are somehow untouchable, are just flat, he is statistically down 38% at present overall from 2019. Somethings odd with him. He is not impacting play enough.
There's Lonie and others who consistently hit and misfire.


7 wins for 2020.

[The Fireman]

Just another marvellous saints memory to cherish for ever and ever

[saintsRrising]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

That explains a lot.

However the full press is hardly new and so one can oly wonder way Ratts was so slow to react.

[tony74]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

That explains a lot.

However the full press is hardly new and so one can oly wonder way Ratts was so slow to react.

I can inform you the coaches reacted. The players did not. The amount of players who did not register one pressure act or even one possession ( particularly in the third quarter) was pathetic. No bus trip, no humidity, no lack of plan B is to blame. Just a pathetic performance and they know.

[The_Dud]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

That explains a lot.

However the full press is hardly new and so one can oly wonder way Ratts was so slow to react.

I can inform you the coaches reacted. The players did not. The amount of players who did not register one pressure act or even one possession ( particularly in the third quarter) was pathetic. No bus trip, no humidity, no lack of plan B is to blame. Just a pathetic performance and they know.

Thanks Tony.

Glad to hear the club is putting the onus on the players and not looking for ridiculous excuses.

[whiskers3614]

What we couldnt overcome was a full press. Looked completely different on the replay but I was there. In the first qtr we set up.accross HB and pushed forward with overlap. Our new style.
Longmuir then sent his whole defence into their half and they ran us ragged.
What puzzles me is we went with them and blew our structure. For most of the 2nd and 3rd their was 36 players in one half.
They swamped the centre square and basically ran repeat 50m sprints. We tried to go around them and got swamped. They ran hard and we couldnt keep up. Then when we got the ball we resorted back to bombs away from the defensive side of centre. We got out-coached, out-played and out run.
Hill Paton Billings Carlisle and Ross all got sucked into a game of chasey and we just keep trying to push the ball wide and find space. It was pathetic.

That explains a lot.

However the full press is hardly new and so one can oly wonder way Ratts was so slow to react.

I can inform you the coaches reacted. The players did not. The amount of players who did not register one pressure act or even one possession ( particularly in the third quarter) was pathetic. No bus trip, no humidity, no lack of plan B is to blame. Just a pathetic performance and they know.

Do the captain vice captain and highest paid player realize how putrid they personally were?