SEN listeners don’t rate us 📻

[Sainternist]

An article from the mindless institution that is SEN just popped up in my newsfeed whereby it has been running poll with their listeners, asking them which teams are on the rise and which teams are on the slide.

It turns out Hutchy’s pea-brained fraternity thinks we are gonna be on the slide next year. Apparently, in the minds of their numpty audience, making finals in 2023 was merely a fluke. Sure, it’s always a chance to happen, but for it to be a unanimous prediction seems a little stiff.

Anyway, if the average SEN-listening drongo thinks we’ll be no good in 2024, I guess we are going into yet another season as real underdogs. What’s new, eh!

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/11/30/ ... s-of-fans/?

[Saints58]

I do rate us and I am a SEN listener and caller at times.
Plus who cares what they think we will go under the radar again.
You might find Dawne Russell is often talking us up and he often defends St. Kilda
The listeners are right in the fact that we need to back it up in 2024.

[NickyDal]

If we don't get savaged by injuries again we are a shot at top 4...

[shanegrambeau]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

[longtimesaint]

The only one we have lost is Gresham as Billing’s played one maybe two games and Coffield none.
We have recruited well with Dow and Henry and anything we get from the draftees is a bonus.
Also hopefully we will have Membery and King match fit this year.
Also we should get further development from Owens, Windhager, Phillipou and Wanganeen-Milera.

[skeptic]

I reckon we’ll make finals

[shanegrambeau]

The only one we have lost is Gresham as Billing’s played one maybe two games and Coffield none.
We have recruited well with Dow and Henry and anything we get from the draftees is a bonus.
Also hopefully we will have Membery and King match fit this year.
Also we should get further development from Owens, Windhager, Phillipou and Wanganeen-Milera.

Agree
You make it sound much better
I still think I can understand how oppo fans thought we were lucky and expect us to slide, you make a good point about lost talent in the sense that certain players didn’t get on the park

But I’m optimistic, as you say, those players will improve and improve enough to offset to decline of older players.

We also have revised expectations too, after the thrills of 2020.
Paton
Byrnes
etc
Maybe even King?
Our forward entries need to improve in leaps and bounds imo

Edit : Fixturing might also a prob for us, given it is very favorable to some other teams. Something we’ll have to overcome but not necessarily a deal breaker

[Waltzing St Kilda]

The SEN geniuses also see Melbourne sliding. Why? They could easily have won the flag, and probably would have had not thug Maynard ironed out Brayshaw. Plus they've recruited well.

As for us ... Dow, Henry, Bonner, a slew of promising kids in this year's draft plus Hotton and Keeler in effectively their first year, the natural improvement to NWM, Owens, Windhager and Sharman, hopefully fewer injuries to key players like Steele and King, not to mention RTB in his second year (in the past it's taken him at least one season to get his team fully adapted to his style) ... all these improvements are admittedly under the radar (i.e. not as splashy as recruiting a star player or getting top picks in the draft) ... but they all point to a side that should be better in 2024, not worse, pending injuries.

[Scollop]

I turn off when most of the numpties and nuff nuffs call in, plus it's difficult to listen live to SEN these days for more than 1 or 2 ad breaks. The ads drive me nuts. I think during some of the high ratings periods they do 20 minutes or more per hour

I like their podcasts and you can go straight to the section you want to listen to, or the guest interviews.

As far as the poll is concerned I have no comment or concerns, however it raises an interesting point.

What are the club's expectations?

We have several threads running regarding which players we expect to show improvement and whether our drafting and trades will improve us, but Nothing about what Bassatt and Lethlean and Lyon expect.

We had a relatively successful 2023 and especially because we made finals, I think at some point before round 1 starts, that they need to let members know what the goals and objectives are for 2024.

[shanegrambeau]

I turn off when most of the numpties and nuff nuffs call in, plus it's difficult to listen live to SEN these days for more than 1 or 2 ad breaks. The ads drive me nuts. I think during some of the high ratings periods they do 20 minutes or more per hour

I like their podcasts and you can go straight to the section you want to listen to, or the guest interviews.

As far as the poll is concerned I have no comment or concerns, however it raises an interesting point.

What are the club's expectations?

We have several threads running regarding which players we expect to show improvement and whether our drafting and trades will improve us, but Nothing about what Bassatt and Lethlean and Lyon expect.

We had a relatively successful 2023 and especially because we made finals, I think at some point before round 1 starts, that they need to let members know what the goals and objectives are for 2024.

I don't think the club will encourage those kinds of predictions that officials from all clubs have made in the past. These embarrassing statements like, 'Top 4 by 2025' etc., have a very bad recent history. Lesson learned.

[King Max]

We’ve got the best crop of youngsters, we’ve had for at least 10 years. And we had a horrible run of injuries last year.

Of course we’re going to slide down the ladder

[NickyDal]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

We were not lucky to make finals this year. We were in the top 8 all year and thoroughly deserved our place. And when you factor in all our injuries it makes it even more meritorious!!!

[SaintPav]

More like 20 years!

[bobmurray]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

We were not lucky to make finals this year. We were in the top 8 all year and thoroughly deserved our place. And when you factor in all our injuries it makes it even more meritorious!!!

Who cares about Nexus
No one gives a F**k about Joffaboy, a poster who hates people.

[mickey]

As one of the most passionate Sainters living in SA I was devo hearing SEN was in financial trouble. If I have to go back to 5AA and Stephen Rowe .... it just can't happen. There's a guy called Nathan that rings SEN all the time and talks about the Saints .. if he's a Saintsational poster, thanks mate for always talking about us. I do agree nobody rates us every year but I've also always believed that one year it'll come together when we don't expect it. Maybe next year, who knows ? We are the most loyal supporters on this site and our day will come.... we deserve it.

[Yorkeys]

Presumably they also think SEN is good listening, Kane Cornes has pope like infallibly and Dwayne cares what his callers say.

[SaintWiki]

I think we will definitely improve this year for reasons mentioned here but of course so will many other teams, but I am expecting to make the finals.

Possibly the key reason that I believe we'll keep improving is RL being in charge, I'm confident he will give it everything he's got, and more, to ensure he doesn't retire as 'the coach that failed to achieve a flag' - even considering the fact I was appalled he didn't achieve a flag with the star studded team he had when coaching us last time and of-course in the way he dumped us.

I like SEN's Dwayne Russell's program and listen to it when I can, however, living in a remote area (NW WA) I am forced to listen online and the breakfast program switches over to WA commentators who are so moronic with Tim Gossage and Scotty Cummings (Gossage by far the worst) and although I know it was a waste of time I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't contacted SEN to spill my guts. I know the Melbourne breakfast show isn't much better but you do get some useful stuff between their petty crap and ads.

[NickyDal]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

We were not lucky to make finals this year. We were in the top 8 all year and thoroughly deserved our place. And when you factor in all our injuries it makes it even more meritorious!!!

Who cares about Nexus
No one gives a F**k about Joffaboy, a poster who hates people.

Are you okay Bob?

[NickyDal]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

We were not lucky to make finals this year. We were in the top 8 all year and thoroughly deserved our place. And when you factor in all our injuries it makes it even more meritorious!!!

Who cares about Nexus
No one gives a F**k about Joffaboy, a poster who hates people.

I forgot to mention, when I was a wee tacker I had Bob's number 6 on my back. He was a great player...

[Sanctorum]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

I disagree with that assessment Shane, the only player that had contemporary talent that has gone is Gresham, of the others neither Billings, McKenzie, Bytel nor Coffield played blocks of consecutive games that would suggest they still have talent.

Conversely, Liam Henry, Paddy Dow and Riley Bonner (despite delisted by Port) are not 'unknowns' and have shown they are quality players, which is why the list managers brought them into the team.

You could be right about Owens, I prefer to compare him to Bontempelli, and reckon Darcy Wilson will be another Petracca. Marcus Windhager is another one who looks likely to have a breakout season next year!

Finals in 2023 was not a fluke, and with a vastly improved list top 4 is my tip for 2024, barring catastrophic injuries.....

[Saintmike65]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

The way I see it, we’ve only lost unfulfilled talent!!

[shanegrambeau]

I do agree we were lucky to make finals in '23.
We peaked in that narrow loss to Collingwood and by mid-May, after the Adelaide debacle, we were on the slide.
However, we seemed to hang on and hang on thanks partly to other results and having a crack.
I think we might be better next year if injuries do not strike too badly, but we have lost a lot of talent and replaced it with unknowns that are promising.

It makes sense to me that oppo fans expect us to slide.

Obviously we know better.

Owens will be our Pretracca, our Nathan Fyfe and more.

The way I see it, we’ve only lost unfulfilled talent!!

Yeah I get that and I addressed the issue that many of the lost talent barely played

Bytel was picked six times and barely spent 25% of the time on the park so how do we know?
Billings still has more utility than a freshman come Round one
Coffield would be miles ahead of one
Gresh is obviously a major loss
McKenzie is cooked
I think Dow is a Bytel but hopefully more in the coaches liking . I believe Bytel was regularly 30+ possessions player in the VFL
Henry is the wild card and so surprising

Now none of that means we are not better off in the long run, but as the year starts we start behind on paper I would guess…of course anything could happen - like the breaking out of players like Pou Sharman Caminiti windy Nas etc

I’m not expecting miracles from King and Membrey at this stage although King still could be very damaging. And perhaps ‘24 will be his year?

As for Ross Crouch Hill Jones we have to prepare for decline in their output so that will be another offset to account for. Webster is a bit of a miracle in that he just keeps going. Maybe he can be a Michael Tuck ? Looks a bit like one, and go on for ever? Players like Wood and Hayes ? Roll dice ? Paton and Byrnes will battle on as will Battle himself. All in all, it has been a big exchange and I am happy and excited by it, but I think there is a bit of a hole so to speak, right now.

[saynta]

That's fine with me as I don't rate SEN . I have never listened to their rubbish.

[Vortex]

You could be right about Owens, I prefer to compare him to Bontempelli, and reckon Darcy Wilson will be another Petracca.

Owens reminds me of Dusty and Darcy Wilson has got a little bit of the Gary Ablett Juniors about him I reckon.

[Life Long Saint]

That's fine with me as I don't rate SEN . I have never listened to their rubbish.

How would know if it's rubbish if you've never listened?