Whats happened to Coffield

[st.byron]

I want to know what’s happened to Battle, Coffield, Butler, Long, Clark.
So many players that last year were going to be the core of our next successful decade have gone backwards and look like treacle. Something is not well at St.KFC. When a whole group of collectively talented and promising players just lose their way and consistently play like shadows of their potential, there must be something collective going on. They’re a talented bunch of players FFS. So f***** sad. Just like the bloody Richo era. Our development of young players is hopeless.

Just a thought for consideration......... most of our young players in that 2020 year were very closely supervised due to the COVID YEAR, All living in a kind of lockdown in Qld. Living in close quarters with coaches, senior team leaders etc, only able to go out surfing, fishing and cafes for coffee. Not much time to be doing what the young footy players usually do to let off steam, especially at night time.

Actually I can remember seeing a video on the Saints.com.au early in the careers of Clark, Coffield, Paton & someone else. They all lived together, it was typical of young players living together, laughing about who couldn’t cook, who was messy & didn’t clean the house etc. & the hours they kept.

Then the next year (I think it was) I read where Clark went to live back at home with parents and Paton had moved in with Gears & his wife. Those 2 players seemed to mature in their footy nouse at the time, more so than Coff & the other house member who no longer is with the Saints.
Another player I can recall who moved in with Gears in his early time at the Saints was Billings, who eventually became a member of the leadership group.
When Newnes was living with Seb Ross & his then partner, that was when Newnes was playing at his best. Newnes’ form dropped off when he moved out.

Some young lads need to be in the right company or have strict boundaries to keep them focussed.

Maybe, just maybe some of those young fellows you mention St B are the types that need very close structure in their lives to keep performing at their best????????

You could be right Loris. It’s just that it’s an across the board deterioration. About the only guy I can see who really improved is Sinclair. Everyone else is treading water or going backwards. To me that’s too broad a sample to be put down to young fellas needing structure. There’s something not okay in the dynamics around the playing group, coaches and admin. There must be. Just like there was in the Richo era and we thought the change of coach and addition of Roughead and Rath would shift it. But it appears not.

[B.M]

Jamie Cripps is a seagull.

Perhaps being dragged and handed the phone after pulling out of a contest to avoid contact against Frankston was a turning point for him?

He’s a forward pocket in a good team that plays a role.

[Saints58]

I remember saints supporters talking about another bloke who was inconsistent played in a few different positions but didn't do a lot where ever he played.
A lot of people said he carnt play to soft doesn't know what he is doing. He is to skinny not strong enough.
People wonted to trade him in his first 4 years but we persisted with him and he turned out ok his name Brendan Goddard.
So lets get off Coff and let him settle he will be a great player it takes time with some players It is frustrating but he is not the worst on the list.

[skeptic]

I remember saints supporters talking about another bloke who was inconsistent played in a few different positions but didn't do a lot where ever he played.
A lot of people said he carnt play to soft doesn't know what he is doing. He is to skinny not strong enough.
People wonted to trade him in his first 4 years but we persisted with him and he turned out ok his name Brendan Goddard.
So lets get off Coff and let him settle he will be a great player it takes time with some players It is frustrating but he is not the worst on the list.

Goddard was maligned by many here for a good few years. Touted as the worst number #1 pick since Hodge.
Draft was very misleading those years

[bigcarl]

He’ll be fine. They take time. Can play and isn’t soft

[cwrcyn]

What I saw in Goddard was a young man completely driven to be the best player he could be. He played with purpose and confidence. In Coffield I see a young man second guessing himself and the decisions he makes on the football field. The basic skill set is similar, but the internal drive appears different.

[Yorkeys]

Does not seem to use his speed to get to contests, commit or break away. Seems out of his depth all of a sudden - there must be a non footy reason, surely.

[shanegrambeau]

Perhaps it is our new reality in our backline these days?
Long is gone. (Pretty much)
Paton gone.
We have no CHB.
We are regularly over run with just Wilkie and Howard.

Into the upper backline have come run and carry types like Hill and Sinclair.

Then he can feel snapping on his heels as the new boys Joyce, Highmore and Clav arrive.

Perhaps Coff sees his role as more of a CHB now and he ain’t ready?

[Teflon]

Does not seem to use his speed to get to contests, commit or break away. Seems out of his depth all of a sudden - there must be a non footy reason, surely.

Not sure speed is his strength
Reads it well do he’s an interceptor but suspect like many at the club his confidence and development have stalled

[bangaulegend]

He has talent but IMO was slow to show he was a top 10 pick & I will admit I doubted he was worthy of that pick but last year he was very good & I had to eat humble pie however this year he has been (as per my original post) a shadow of what we saw last year but why? Is it the game plan ,is it a confidence thing or is it as B.M says he is just not that good

[mad saint guy]

He is clearly down on confidence, out of form and struggling to adjust his role. These things are understandable for a young, inexperienced player. What I really don't get is how he has gone from being lightning quick to looking like a plodder. Is it lack of fitness?

[Ghost Like]

He is clearly down on confidence, out of form and struggling to adjust his role. These things are understandable for a young, inexperienced player. What I really don't get is how he has gone from being lightning quick to looking like a plodder. Is it lack of fitness?

It is baffling MSG. When the mind is confused, the body inevitably follows. I think when we make up positions to assist others we forget how much it effects those that should rightfully own that position.

[Scollop]

I want to know what’s happened to Battle, Coffield, Butler, Long, Clark.
So many players that last year were going to be the core of our next successful decade have gone backwards and look like treacle. Something is not well at St.KFC. When a whole group of collectively talented and promising players just lose their way and consistently play like shadows of their potential, there must be something collective going on. They’re a talented bunch of players FFS. So f***** sad. Just like the bloody Richo era. Our development of young players is hopeless.

Just a thought for consideration......... most of our young players in that 2020 year were very closely supervised due to the COVID YEAR, All living in a kind of lockdown in Qld. Living in close quarters with coaches, senior team leaders etc, only able to go out surfing, fishing and cafes for coffee. Not much time to be doing what the young footy players usually do to let off steam, especially at night time.

Actually I can remember seeing a video on the Saints.com.au early in the careers of Clark, Coffield, Paton & someone else. They all lived together, it was typical of young players living together, laughing about who couldn’t cook, who was messy & didn’t clean the house etc. & the hours they kept.

Then the next year (I think it was) I read where Clark went to live back at home with parents and Paton had moved in with Gears & his wife. Those 2 players seemed to mature in their footy nouse at the time, more so than Coff & the other house member who no longer is with the Saints.
Another player I can recall who moved in with Gears in his early time at the Saints was Billings, who eventually became a member of the leadership group.
When Newnes was living with Seb Ross & his then partner, that was when Newnes was playing at his best. Newnes’ form dropped off when he moved out.

Some young lads need to be in the right company or have strict boundaries to keep them focussed.

Maybe, just maybe some of those young fellows you mention St B are the types that need very close structure in their lives to keep performing at their best????????

This

[B.M]

Dropped again

[magnifisaint]

Looks finished

[SaintJohno]

It will be good to see how he responds. If he digs deep and does everything he can to get it back and then take it to the next level then this will be the fork in the road perhaps. Let's hope.

[B.M]

Already been dropped once, then they played him forward for zero impact

Preferring Sinclair, Webster and Highmore back

From 5th in the B&F to not in a decimated side, it is quite the fall from grace

[The_Dud]

Another promising young player we’ve managed to stuff up.

[lewdogs]

I'd like to see him go away over this next off-season and get really really fit. Finish top 10 in the time trial. We know he's good enough but he does not look fit, looks oversized and slow.

[Ghost Like]

Another promising young player we’ve managed to stuff up.

This is it in a nutshell. "How to turn a Top 10 draft pick into dust" should be the title of a DVD St Kilda should make money from.

This is not an indictment on the individual but an indictment on the club as a whole. Hello coaches, hello fitness, hello development. We are a joke if what we have running about tomorrow night is better than Coffield.

Pays to have a few B&F credits, some will feel happy.

[skeptic]

I think it also perhaps highlights the lack of leadership at the club as far as the list is concerned
When Riewoldt and co were the promising young up and comers… it was Hamil, Harvey, Burke, Loewe etc to name a few that helped mould them. Then you had a few others like Gehrig, Powell, Peckett and Jones that whilst by no means perfect, could lead the way on the field.

They helped mould the next leaders of the club in Hayes, Roo, Ball, Goddard, Dal, Kosi, Milne and Monty who were the main core for a decade

Who are our leaders now?

[cwrcyn]

Perhaps he's just not doing the things required of him. Young players can go through form slumps. To just blame the club for his recent decline in output is fitting a narrative that's becoming popular on here. Lots of angry, pitchfork wielding villagers rushing at the coach with eyes bulging with rage. All sorts of theories on how the club is failing its players. It's the president, no....it's the coach.....hang on, it's the development.....wait....it's the culture.......it's Lethlean!!!!

There are so many reason's why an individual player's form may be down. But what I have observed is there are things in Nick Coffield's game that i would argue were there when people on here were raving about him last year. Even then, he was poor in one on one contests and would sometimes not attack the contest with vigour. In a high performing team those things can get overlooked when the wins keep coming. When the collective performances decline, the individual warts get exposed. He has weaknesses in his game. They seems to be in relation to concentration and intent rather than talent. He needs to work on them with his coaches. He can turn it around.

[Zed]

Already been dropped once, then they played him forward for zero impact

Preferring Sinclair, Webster and Highmore back

From 5th in the B&F to not in a decimated side, it is quite the fall from grace

I had him pegged as going up another level this year and in discussions for the 40 man AA squad.
I haven’t been that wrong about a Saints player in all my life.
Looks nothing like the player he was promising to become.

Shades of Jack Billings who let self doubt fester and ruin his development to become the star he should have become .
Still hope for Coff - needs a cracking injury free preseason to get super fit. If 2022 is a repeat of 2021 then we have lost him.

But we still lack proper development coaches and sport psychs. Lack of onfield leaders doesn’t help.

[CURLY]

Jordon Clark pick 6 not playing seniors.

Close Thread

[Yorkeys]

Wasting his talent. Weak in the contest. When his parents remind him he will need an income if he is not re-signed he may pick up, but looks disinterested. Been given a lot of chances.