Where we are at

[CQ SAINT]

Keeler may pass Heath.

There's room for both in the side, just not with Marshall as well.

In the modern age, Keeler might work as a midfielder.

That's more than possible. 198 and 90 throwing his weight around in the centre clearances. The kid likes to tackle and bump, he is deceptively strong, has a beautiful step an incredible leap and can get a jump on a good gallop.

[B.M]

Seen him play?

[meher baba]

I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

[Vortex]

I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

Sharman is the answer to all our midfield problems, he's got good running patterns and is a beautiful kick for goal, can also pinch hit at full back and rotate through the forward line as a small forward to crumb the loose ball after creating an aerial contest, he's also worked on his endurance and can run all day, he just needs a run of games.

[CQ SAINT]

I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

Reductio ad absurdum? Is that like this list isn't as young as its seem, because in a few years, the players will all be a few years older?

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play? Marshall just running around tapping ball ups is he.

Perhaps this might give you an idea of why we drafted him and you can assess for yourself if he might make a decent mid, he certainly moves well, though I'm sure you'd probably be stuck on why others didn't draft him.

[shanegrambeau]

March 27, 2010

The last time St Kilda defeated Sydney up there.

Paul Roos was their coach.

And Ross the Boss was ours.

Long time between drinks, but RTB's record in red white, and black up there remains as strong as oak and concrete - 13 years and still going.

Saints must be unbackable favorites.

[Teflon]

I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

Reductio ad absurdum? Is that like this list isn't as young as its seem, because in a few years, the players will all be a few years older?

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play? Marshall just running around tapping ball ups is he.

Perhaps this might give you an idea of why we drafted him and you can assess for yourself if he might make a decent mid, he certainly moves well, though I'm sure you'd probably be stuck on why others didn't draft him.

I think it’s reductio deadshyttus
Different meaning …he’s waffling again

[meher baba]

[quote="CQ SAINT" post_id=2011908 time=<a href="tel:1685624649">1685624649</a> user_id=22474]
[quote="meher baba" post_id=2011895 time=<a href="tel:1685619607">1685619607</a> user_id=2658]
I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

Reductio ad absurdum? Is that like this list isn't as young as its seem, because in a few years, the players will all be a few years older?

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play? Marshall just running around tapping ball ups is he.

Perhaps this might give you an idea of why we drafted him and you can assess for yourself if he might make a decent mid, he certainly moves well, though I'm sure you'd probably be stuck on why others didn't draft him.


[/quote]

I think it’s reductio deadshyttus
Different meaning …he’s waffling again
[/quote]

I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

Reductio ad absurdum? Is that like this list isn't as young as its seem, because in a few years, the players will all be a few years older?

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play? Marshall just running around tapping ball ups is he.

Perhaps this might give you an idea of why we drafted him and you can assess for yourself if he might make a decent mid, he certainly moves well, though I'm sure you'd probably be stuck on why others didn't draft him.

I think it’s reductio deadshyttus
Different meaning …he’s waffling again

Says the poster who has relentlessly spammed this forum for the past week.

[meher baba]

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play?

In the ruck, I think.

The poster said Keeler might make a good "midfielder." If by that he was meaning "ruckman", then I apologise to him. However, since when are ruckmen described as "midfielders"?

[CQ SAINT]

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play?

In the ruck, I think.

The poster said Keeler might make a good "midfielder." If by that he was meaning "ruckman", then I apologise to him. However, since when are ruckmen described as "midfielders"?

What would you describe our no.1 ruckman as or what attributes do you think he brings to the ruck?

[Teflon]

[quote="CQ SAINT" post_id=2011908 time=<a href="tel:1685624649">1685624649</a> user_id=22474]
[quote="meher baba" post_id=2011895 time=<a href="tel:1685619607">1685619607</a> user_id=2658]
I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

Reductio ad absurdum? Is that like this list isn't as young as its seem, because in a few years, the players will all be a few years older?

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play? Marshall just running around tapping ball ups is he.

Perhaps this might give you an idea of why we drafted him and you can assess for yourself if he might make a decent mid, he certainly moves well, though I'm sure you'd probably be stuck on why others didn't draft him.

I think it’s reductio deadshyttus
Different meaning …he’s waffling again
[/quote]

I’m excited because I feel we’re getting closer to seeing a poster suggest playing Max King in the middle.

A sort of reductio ad absurdum for the suggestion by some that we should be putting all of our best players on the ball.

However,,truth to tell, Max is good at winning ground ball. He’d go a hrlkuva lot better in the middle than Keeler, that’s for sure!

Reductio ad absurdum? Is that like this list isn't as young as its seem, because in a few years, the players will all be a few years older?

He's a ruckman Meh!!. Where do you think they play? Marshall just running around tapping ball ups is he.

Perhaps this might give you an idea of why we drafted him and you can assess for yourself if he might make a decent mid, he certainly moves well, though I'm sure you'd probably be stuck on why others didn't draft him.

I think it’s reductio deadshyttus
Different meaning …he’s waffling again

Says the poster who has relentlessly spammed this forum for the past week.
[/quote]

Be gone little man you’re not even making sense …

[happy feet]

March 27, 2010

The last time St Kilda defeated Sydney up there.

Paul Roos was their coach.

And Ross the Boss was ours.

Long time between drinks, but RTB's record in red white, and black up there remains as strong as oak and concrete - 13 years and still going.

Saints must be unbackable favorites.

And I was there sitting in the Swans members and it was so sweet. This old chook Swans supporter lost it at us, it was brilliant.

[Otiman]

I definitely said and meant midfielder. In centre stoppages with Marshall as ruck.

Look at Conor Nash.

I don't know if you could have all of Marshall, Owens, Keeler in there but it would be an interesting experiment.

[B.M]

He’s not agile enough to play as an inside mid

[Yorkeys]

I definitely said and meant midfielder. In centre stoppages with Marshall as ruck.

Look at Conor Nash.

I don't know if you could have all of Marshall, Owens, Keeler in there but it would be an interesting experiment.

Of course you could. As long as winning games, kicking goals didn't matter.
Extend that thought, each game guys could pick a position from a raffle hat as they walk out. Would break up the tedium, add another betting option. Bonding.

[Teflon]

I often wonder why we’ve struggled for the past decade but this little bit of insight off BF dispels a lot of myths and clarifies why we had a fire sale on senior players …

********

The cap was fa-kucked when Pelchen took over.

We had a month to sort it out otherwise it would have been another Carlton situation (which would have probably meant the end of the club).

Everyone cries foul with pushing Ball, BJ, etc out but without blokes taking massive pay cuts we would have breached the salary cap & copped the resultant fines & draft penalties.

Carlton had the resources to survive (even though it killed them for a decade)... I doubt we would have.

All can be traced back to GT. He gave his group of boys massive contracts that were impossible to wind back.

[shanegrambeau]

Beating Sydney feels better than beating North, that is for sure.

Can we back it up?

What are the variables from our side?

Discipline ? So far 3/5? Sticking to structures, not doing rash me,me, me things?

Enthusiasm So far 4/5 definitely trying hard but definitely dropped off a few times/games recently

Potential 4/5 Great youngsters, some champ power,

Matured Skill Index 2.5/5 Not blessed in the engine room, average or worse.

Fitnesss 5/5 Fit! I think??

Club finances 3/5 reasonable all things considered

Pulling power as destination club 2/5 improving

Power as a club in AFL land 1/5 We are right at the bottom

That is where I think we are at

[Teflon]

John Ralph (yes muppet) interesting take on our upcoming draft/list strategies…

***********

Who will Saints Move On to Make Room for DeKoning

By John Ralph

St Kilda are in a period of transition under coach Ross Lyon, who is learning about his list on the fly. But how are they going to create up to $1.5m in cap space to land Tom De Koning and co?

Ross Lyon already knew Max King was a “special” talent to build a flag tilt around before he ran himself so hard he threw up at three quarter time in the loss to Hawthorn.

But in a first season at St Kilda he describes as a “year of exploration” he will have already learnt so much about his list in just 11 AFL games.

Last weekend as he drew breath to consider the club’s progress at the mid-season break this much was true in the world according to Ross.

St Kilda has vastly more young talent than the club had hoped even 18 months ago, with Matthaes Phillipou capable of anything, Mitch Owens a gloriously unique talent and the re-signed Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera humming along nicely.

And it has much more depth than it could have believed as Jack Billings and Tim Membrey played VFL while last year’s breakout midfielder Marcus Windhager worked on his deficiencies again for Sandringham.

Now comes the really interesting part for a team that has thrived under Lyon.

St Kilda has delayed a heap of contracts while Lyon and list boss Steve Silvagni assess what they have along with head of talent and acquisition Graeme Allen.

Those out of contract include Zac Jones, Jade Gresham, Nick Coffield, Jimmy Webster, Jack Bytel, Jack Higgins, Oscar Adams, Ryan Byrnes, Tom Highmore and Dan McKenzie.

For player managers patiently awaiting progress on talks for those players and more, it is getting closer to crunch time.

And yet the likelihood will be that St Kilda will play hard ball to create up to $1.5 million of cap space to go after A-grade talent that will actually take it closer to a premiership.

Rather than roll over deals for middle-tier players who have already been handsomely rewarded.

St Kilda has finally shed itself of the Dan Hannebery deal, has Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield on expiring deals of over $500,000, is in the final year of a Zac Jones deal paying him around $600,000.

Jack Billings has two more years and just over $1 million left on his deal but according to Lyon is now clearly a small forward after years of experimentation on the wing.

Lyon commented with an air of bemusement as he entered Moorabbin over summer that the Saints paid the same salaries as Geelong.

As in: Who are we over-paying given their brilliant output compared to ours?

Coffield is still 6-8 weeks away with recurring calf issues but the backline is well-balanced: Cal Wilkie, Dougal Howard, Josh Battle as the talls and Jack Sinclair, Liam Stocker and Wanganeen-Milera the smalls.

If Coffield does fit into the defence it will come with a significant cost saving on his next deal.

Lyon explained on Saturday that St Kilda’s small forwards were simply outperforming Billings after a limited prep off a broken leg, but with Jack Higgins, Dan Butler and Brad Hill in excellent form it’s hard to see how that changes.

If a rival believed it could get the best out of Billings it would clear $1 million of cap space chase quality talent, even if the Saints didn’t get an early pick back in return.

Quite clearly Jones will take a pay cut if he stays next year, while Jade Gresham is due for pay talks this fortnight but hasn’t shown he deserves a pay rise on a deal that is above $600,000 a season.

By targeted savings _ even with Max King’s new deal kicking in while re-signing Jack Higgins and Mason Wood _ it is easy to see how much cap space St Kilda has to play with.

The clear list gaps are an explosive mid-forward who wins clearances and kicks goals in a midfield where Seb Ross, Jack Steele and Brad Crouch are so honest yet similar players.

If only Jordan De Goey had not blinked that prayer would have been answered, although Jack Sinclair is just 28 and emerging as a full-fledged star.

St Kilda is likely to be a bidder for Tom De Koning and is interested in Port Adelaide’s Miles Bergman.

De Koning clearly looks the best of those options given St Kilda’s list needs but Bergman is a halfback who could easily roll up to the opposite wing to Wood or release Jack Sinclair to play permanent midfield.

Rowan Marshall has had a heck of a season playing pure ruck with some help from Zaine Cordy (13 ruck contests a game up until round 7), then Mitch Owens (28 in round 8) before Caminiti helped out in the past fortnight due to Owens’ concussion.

St Kilda could pitch to De Koning the role as King’s clear back-up who also releases Marshall forward, given he has kicked only one goal with his heavy ruck work load compared to 13 in 2020.

Just as Fremantle was able to shed millions in cap space and go after the game-changer it wanted in Luke Jackson, St Kilda’s improvement means it is ready to launch.

Those decisions ahead on contracts will be tough _ and likely involve some bruised egos.

But while Lyon has done the early-season heavy lifting now we get to see what Silvagni and Allan have in store.

[Teflon]

From Panda


Billings 500k
McKenzie 500k
Gresham 600k
Jones 600k

Membrey 700k
Coffield/Clark 500k

All have not and currently not playing consistent footy or injured

3.4million

Our current playing list is not much better than hawthorns when you compare like for like.
We are close to a bottom 4 team….just over performed with good coaching .

[saynta]

We were 8 and 4 last year weren't we? When we had Ratts as coach. Did we over perform last year or was Ratts a f****** better coach than is acknowledged on this forum? Or by the club , it would now seem.

Actually we were 8 and 3 last year which just tops this year's performance, before we slid into a black hole

Me , I think we have a top 8 list and the coaches are just the icing on the cake.

Although you have to be impressed by the assistants if not the big show.

McKenzie and Jones are a week off resuming, all going well. Hayes has joined in training with the main group too.

Things are looking up.