What Happens Next...

[axcellence]

[Vortex]

Yeah I think bottom 4 awaits us for sure.

If Hill isn't dropped this week along with a couple others then I think the coach will be dead man walking.

[Sanctorum]

Two and Four is not a good start but far from a disaster.

What happens next is that they bring in the Crisis Management Counsellors to formulate a plan to get the team back on track - the crisis is total lack of confidence which has spread through the team like a virus and a lot of that is due to the absence of Paddy Ryder and Rowan Marshall, the big guns that take control of all the centre bounces and stoppages.

This team proved against GWS in round 1 and WCE in round 4 that they are capable of playing really good football.

With both Ryder and Marshall in the team against Hawthorn at Marvel on Saturday the emphasis this week must be to convince the players that they CAN match it with the best teams in the comp, as they did in 2020, and restore their belief in themselves and their team mates!

St Kilda's coaching panel, especially Brett Ratten, Brendan Lade and Jarryd Roughead, have the experience and people skills to make this happen....

[freely]

Clark Howard Webster

Coffield King Wilkie

Jones Steele Ross

Higgins Membrey Billings

Butler Wood Ryder

Marshall, Crouch, Sinclair

Carlisle, Byrnes, Bytel, Battle, Highmore


King needs a run at CHB to get some confidence back

Wood comes in as a lead up target, we recruited him so why not give him a go

Ryder and Marshall can play out of the square when resting.

Byrnes and Bytel just need to play and not on a HFF but through the midfield

I think King needs to watch his brother and other young players who showing signs of success. To be fair delivery is crap but he needs to be moving to get noticed and not live nearly at the wing for 1/3 of the game. Structure forward is starting to resemble Richos old habits.

Dunno why people are surprised that our forward entries are the same as under Richo - Rotton was our forward coach, remember?

[shanegrambeau]

Sorry I should know this if I call myself as a fan, but have St Kilda ever had a ‘Review’ of the sort some clubs like Geelong and other clubs had, where they pay some mob to come in and tell everybody what they already know?

Somehow, these kinds of reviews seem to be valued because of the mysterious ‘third party’ factor.

I think, if nothing else, the vulnerability it exposes the clubs which undertake them, somehow functions like a ‘circuit breaker’ to stop the loops that spin around and maintain the status quo.

What would such a ‘Review’ hold for a club like St Kilda in 2021? Would it be an unnecessary distraction or an insult to Ratts and his team? I remember Mark Thomson was nine too pleased when Geelong did one back in ‘06 or whenever it was.

[Yorkeys]

two choices: continue head in sand belief in older out of form players and go 17th for duration while scratching head and quoting self evident sterile stats or accept reality, modify style, blood players physically ready, devote a lot of time to identifying player types we need and manouvering to get them. Have to sell hope now and faith that coaches/management see a way forward or record membership will become a memory. Carslisle, Hill, Butler, Lonie, Long just dead weight at the moment. Future includes Byrnes and Bytel, not the mythical Hannebery unicorn. Dunstan surely better for all his limitations than some guys that get automatic selection. I hope SL is as mentally strong and smart as he seems so far.

[Impatient Sainter]

Yeah I think bottom 4 awaits us for sure.

If Hill isn't dropped this week along with a couple others then I think the coach will be dead man walking.

How stupid do we look now trading out our 2nd rounder for Higgins!

[Vortex]

Two and Four is not a good start but far from a disaster.

What happens next is that they bring in the Crisis Management Counsellors to formulate a plan to get the team back on track - the crisis is total lack of confidence which has spread through the team like a virus and a lot of that is due to the absence of Paddy Ryder and Rowan Marshall, the big guns that take control of all the centre bounces and stoppages.

This team proved against GWS in round 1 and WCE in round 4 that they are capable of playing really good football.

With both Ryder and Marshall in the team against Hawthorn at Marvel on Saturday the emphasis this week must be to convince the players that they CAN match it with the best teams in the comp, as they did in 2020, and restore their belief in themselves and their team mates!

St Kilda's coaching panel, especially Brett Ratten, Brendan Lade and Jarryd Roughead, have the experience and people skills to make this happen....

2 and 4 is most definitely not a disaster for a team that ISN'T in crisis. What IS a disaster is the possibility this team might only beat North and maybe the Suns for the remainder of the season. Can this list pull out of whatever is going on down at the club.

And there is no one that would disagree this team WAS capable of matching it with any team however right at the moment find anyone other than the most delusional and clueless fan that thinks we will be capable of anything more than bottom 2 or 4.

What has happened to make players just give up. That's your crisis. Something is rotten to make that happen en masse.

Bottom 4. Right now I can't see us being higher.

[loris]

Who is a Saints man through & through and his courage and loyalty cannot be questioned to the red, white & black - Geary

Players have trusted him over the years. Even though he is not the most skilful of players, players have continually voted him into the leadership group, even when Roo was around. I’m sure Gears could be the man to give valuable feedback to the coaches and football department, even if it wasn’t too palatable for them.

He wasn’t fearful of giving negative feedback to Richo..... & Richo at the time stated at the time he was totally surprised by the honest feedback Gears gave him.

It would be great if Gears could do a review of all the players. It would have to be anonymous the feedback they gave him about coaches, game plan, impact of certain players they think do have or don’t have on the team. Then he could report back to the football department and admin about how players are feeling about the current issues. Of course it would be no names, no pack drill condition.
I’m sure it would not be detrimental to Geary’s future at the Club if he was the messenger of some not very palatable information for the football department to hear. That is, if his private conversations with the players do provide him with negative feedback to give to the coaches. I’m sure Gears is aware this is possibly his last year of playing for the Saints, so it won’t impact on any contract he might be offered.

Gears is the only long term Sainter on our list and his courage over the years shows how much the red white & black guernsey means to him. All our coaches are imports - career coaches. Our admin are the same. None died in the wool St Kilda products. And our football team is beginning to resemble hand-me-downs from other AFL clubs.
Just some musing on my part....................

[bangaulegend]

Good post Loris I agree with pretty much all of it & Geary has been a warrior & he has got the absolute best out of what he has to offer his courage is unsurpassed effort 100% every time he on the park but for all of those qualities he is still not the answer to our problems it will take something special from the club as a whole to get this sinking ship floating again I just hope the people at the helm can navigate us back on a course that gives us something to hold on to

[st.byron]

Two and Four is not a good start but far from a disaster.

What happens next is that they bring in the Crisis Management Counsellors to formulate a plan to get the team back on track - the crisis is total lack of confidence which has spread through the team like a virus and a lot of that is due to the absence of Paddy Ryder and Rowan Marshall, the big guns that take control of all the centre bounces and stoppages.

This team proved against GWS in round 1 and WCE in round 4 that they are capable of playing really good football.

With both Ryder and Marshall in the team against Hawthorn at Marvel on Saturday the emphasis this week must be to convince the players that they CAN match it with the best teams in the comp, as they did in 2020, and restore their belief in themselves and their team mates!

St Kilda's coaching panel, especially Brett Ratten, Brendan Lade and Jarryd Roughead, have the experience and people skills to make this happen....

Well. That’s certainly a rosier assessment than most. Statistically 2 and 4 may not be that bad. But the nature of the 2 and 4 is very bad when it includes losses by 9, 12 and 14 goals and a team who look a shadow of their potential. What the **** has happened. Why for e.g, is Hunter Clark looking like a C grade player when last year he showed the potential to become A grade? WTF? Coffield, Butler, Long, King, Battle, Jones, Billings, Hill looking like washed out shadows of the players they can be. WTF? Howard and Wilkie not becoming the impassable defensive duo we’d hoped for. WTF? Ryder needs some ‘family time’ and it finishes up being 1/3 of the season. Hannebery 2 weeks etc. It goes on and on. WTF has happened?

[SAINT-LEE]

I’m a tragic, and I’m not worried any more than usual.

This is the end of the hype and about time!

We were not that good last year.

Let’s recognize that and work with it.

Where can we improve?

Players no.

Positions and game structures.

Yes and yes.

Let’s work on that.

Same, the players arent that bad. Losing both rucks, key defenders...we lost significant advantage, ball movement, rebound out of 50 and so went our confidence and courage.

We get structured, work on the system, get some players back and fit and we end up with 10-12 wins.

[Vortex]

Well you'd have to think it's getting close to Ratts having to coach for 2022, Arguably he's already started doing that, the big concern for me is, who has Ratts got in Sandy that has development potential. Byrnes and who else.

[Teflon]

Well you'd have to think it's getting close to Ratts having to coach for 2022, Arguably he's already started doing that, the big concern for me is, who has Ratts got in Sandy that has development potential. Byrnes and who else.

Ratts needs to overhaul Assistants clean out fresh ideas needed

[Vortex]

Well you'd have to think it's getting close to Ratts having to coach for 2022, Arguably he's already started doing that, the big concern for me is, who has Ratts got in Sandy that has development potential. Byrnes and who else.

Ratts needs to overhaul Assistants clean out fresh ideas needed

Yes possibly, but that move can't be made until the end of the season. What can't wait another week is a game plan tweak and an attitude adjustment of the players. He's going to need to turn on a 10c coin if he's any chance of making that happen. How, drop some big names.

[spert]

Listening to Ratts speak post game, it just sounds like his general attitude is :" err jeez I dunno" and that's what his coaching looked like for most of this season- players playing out of position all running around not really sure what they're doing. Sorry but Ratts is being found out big time under pressure.

[shanegrambeau]

Listening to Ratts speak post game, it just sounds like his general attitude is :" err jeez I dunno" and that's what his coaching looked like for most of this season- players playing out of position all running around not really sure what they're doing. Sorry but Ratts is being found out big time under pressure.

He seems softly spoken and humble.
Not that different to Richo.

But his face looks like it has been boiling under pressure and rage. He was a tough-as-nuts player too. I just don’t think the Ratts we see in the pressers has much to do with the Ratts down in the trenches. I hope not.

Anyway, it’s lame, but I’m not too worried about the pressers.

To be honest, I’d rather have Black Adder come up and do the presser.