Lyon Press Conference Pre-R7 v Port

[shrodes]

https://www.saints.com.au/video/1537222 ... 3924353001

Journo:
Ross, how do you respond to last week, this week?

Lyon:
Yeah, it was critical, isn't it? Port will be, you know, have been stung as well.
So we've just dived into the education space, trying to fix our ball movement.
You know, we're pretty keen to get our energy back.
So we gave em a few days off and so they're pretty vibrant because we're solution focused without throwing out all the platitudes.
But so we continued education this morning.

As coaches, we just tweaked our team defence last week and we just sat off the Bulldogs a lot.
We were pretty passive in defence and I mean, we term it a collapse back team.
So which hasn't been our trademark.
So we made some tactical errors from our end and that's the reason they had, you know, the 135 uncontested marks, which we owned as a coaching group.
So we've got to re-educate to get our team defence.
Because coming into the year, we wanted to get a bit more in the front half. And we're like 17th for that.
So it's not a quick fix, but we're pretty clear on how to educate and improve it.
So they're the main things really.

And even that first quarter was just a helter skelter.
A lot of sizzle, but not much result, and they took a lot of opportunities.
You know, I thought we still fought on, but really squarely focused on Port.
Had a really good look at them. Obviously, you know, they'll be keen to bounce back, it's always tough over there.
But good teams win in interstate. We want to build to becoming, you know, a good team, a great team.
So it's part of the challenge.

Up until last weekend, we're pretty proud of our efforts.
But if we really drill in, you know, we're inconsistent bar maybe one or two games, it's just, you know, contrasting halves.
So we're trying to get a four quarter performance of, you know, the sort of footy we want to play.

Journo:
Have you done anything differently this week?

Lyon:
Yeah, a little bit. Even our meetings, we just sort of just stimulate them, just split them into groups, rotate them around.
Just showed off ball use, playing really well against Collingwood, second half Geelong.
What that sort of looked like, just dive back to our... because principals are either right or wrong.
We feel they're right, even though you evolve a little bit.
So you get back to your principals and just try and bring them to life.
So it's a simple model.

Like if you're in elite sport, professional sport, you're going to have losses.
I mean, you just got to accept the losses and, you know, identify the actions that you need to train and improve.
I mean, that's our lot. I don't think we're a 22 and 0 team.
Obviously, you know, the ledger is 2-4, but if we get stuck on that, you don't improve.
So we're focused on improvement and education.

Journo:
Will Paddy Dow play?

Lyon:
He'll play in the seconds, because he had the bone bruising.
That's a long... didn't really understand it.
But basically, the bruised bone sort of drops out, then it refills.
So it is, in a sense, like a fracture.
So it's taken a fair bit of time, but he's feeling good.
But we've got to do the right thing, set him up for success, so he'll play VFL this weekend.

Journo:
How confident are you about Max King and also...

Lyon:
Well, he'll train.
And who else?

Journo:
Allison, I think.

Lyon:
Well, Allison, I don't know, will he play VFL this week?
Yeah, he'll play VFL this week as well.
Max King trained, did our first training session, he's training today.
So it's not guaranteed, but it's looking more likely.
So for our fans, obviously, it's pretty important to us.
So hopefully, like from my end, I'm hoping he gets up as well.
But it's more likely than unlikely.

And then the following week, we'll get Wood back and a couple of others.
Liam Henry two weeks later, so it just adds to the mix.
We had seven players under 21 last week, of which the only other two teams were Gold Coast and West Coast.
So we understand where they're at and the narrative.
But we'd like a Wood and a Henry, those sort of guys back in the team if we can.
But every club's got their own challenges, but I'm just talking to St Kilda's.

Journo:
And speaking of challenges, your two hammies, Henry four to six weeks, now Dan Butler four
to six weeks. You're not getting light hammies, you're getting big hammies.
You know, your luck's not there early in the season.

Lyon:
Well, yeah, is it luck? I'm not too sure what it is.
So I think Henry, I think there's been a few tendons around.
Yeah, so I mean, Henry was six to eight, Butler's four to six.
We think they're both on the lower end of that range.
So Butler's a product of an interrupted preseason.
He had surgery on his Achilles and then had to go back in, so he's frustrated.
But since I've been here, he's been incredible for me, he kicked 35 goals last year.
So we'll just build him back up.
And Henry was a point of difference.
So was it all about six or 10 weeks for those guys or me and the team in the club?
No, but we've got a lot longer term horizon, but in the near term, yes, it's hurting.
But every club's got those.

Journo:
Interesting tactical concession saying that you sat back too much last week.

Lyon:
Yeah, yeah, we did.

Journo:
How often...

Lyon:
We're coming forward now.

Journo:
Yeah, so you're coming forward this week.
My untrained eye tells me that most good teams come forward quite often.

Lyon:
Yeah, yeah, fundamentally, both teams will press on ball and off ball, they'll get back, so it all depends where it is.
But we just sat off them a lot and they shifted it a lot.
And we just got pulled apart a lot, which is not typical of us.
So we made a tactical error and it was hard to fix.
So look, I'm owning that, and my coaches, we own that, we're a bit disappointed with that because you paid to get it right.

Journo:
You're paid to get it right, but also this is the time of year to try a few different things and see, you know, sort of, because you're obviously seeing what might, if it might work, etc, etc.

Lyon:
Yeah, yeah, and some of that we did last year, we did it better, obviously. [chuckles]
But, you know, so, but at the source, look, I thought they were very good.
At the source, they won it.
They dominated centre-bounce clearance.

And Naughton and that were quite powerful because they were getting the ball to one-on-ones, and it was quite difficult.
So, yeah, we learn a lot, but yeah, we're trying to, no, we want to improve, right?
So, yeah, we're confident over the short, the medium, and the long-term we can, because that's the job.

Journo:
You talked about, sorry, you talked about giving them a couple of extra days off.
There's been all this talk about the fixture earlier in the season, etc, etc.
Do you get a sense that they're...

Lyon:
Yeah, they're energetic, they're vibrant, you know, they feel safe.
They were a bit flat and I said, "There've been deeper holes than this."
So I think that lifted them.

You know, I think what you are as a leader, they'll be.
So certainly with Enright, Harvey, and myself, and those guys, we're disappointed, we're feeling it.
But we also know there's only one way to work your way out of it, you know.
So it's part of the new cycle.

But so we should have been hit up.
We were disappointing. I was disappointing.
That's not without challenge, the AFL.
And, you know, but that's why we come in, don't we?
You know, that's the stressiest part of being alive.

Journo:
Yeah, Ross, a delicate one, potentially, that Harley Balic's death has been...

Lyon:
Yeah, very delicate, yeah.

Journo:
...become the subject of an investigation by Sports Integrity Australia.
And that his father has come out and said that the AFL drugs policy is a large one, sub-quoting here, a large part of the reason why he passed away and why he was in trouble.
Do you have a comment to make on that as Fremantle coach at the time?

Lyon:
Yeah, I was Fremantle coach at the time.
And I was...and I think the Balic family will tell you, in particular his mum, I was very close to Harley, had a personal relationship, spent a lot of time one-on-one with Harley.
So I understand it deeply, but it's not for me to dive into it.
What I will say is...I'm not even sure what I'll say.

So I think if the AFL illicit policy is really about that medical model, my experience and what Harley shared with me, he clearly sat in where he needed support and medical attention.
And because I've got no visibility on really what occurs behind the scene, but you just make the judgment that that occurred.
So look, who wants to lose a son, a daughter?
It's very emotional even talking about him. So I think I'll leave it there.
And he's a pretty special young man.

Journo:
Can I just ask generally about the adult drug policy? Do you think parents should be informed or should it be like a doctor, patient?

Lyon:
That's a... I haven't got the answer, you know. So I suppose, I know with my parenting, I'm not looking for any organisation to take care of my kids.

[WellardSaint]

Wilkie was caught out several times.
And each time, he was angry.
He had a game he'd rather forget.

As a leader, I'd expect him to speak up at each break when Boris spoke to the defenders- and say 'guys, this cr@p ain't working'


Why wasn't it addressed at qtr time, 1/2 time, etc.
'Insanity' is repeating the same thing that fails, hoping it will work

[WellardSaint]

When I read the first few paragraphs, i coulda sworn it was a parody.

Who speaks like that?

[nostalgicsaint]

Just watched it.

Measured. Ownership. Perspective.

Rated it.

Particularly the point around our horizon.

[The_Dud]

So looks like all of us who were calling out the coaching/tactics last week were spot on.

[SaintPav]

I’m surprised Ross was so honest in his pre game interview last week.

It reminded me somewhat of when he let slip after the grand final draw that he wish the replay was on the following Sunday.

Malthouse admitted in The Final Story, the documentary about the game, that he immediately picked up on this and thought “we’ve got them”.

[SaintPav]

What’s the purpose and benefit of the tactic of sitting back in a game of keeping’s off?

[SteeleSaints]

I used to look forward to Lyon's conferences, not now I think he is full of sh*t and has conned a lot of people for a long time. Tactically wise he is a good coach but the clubs player injury and load management under his tutelage is nothing but putrid.

[Scollop]

What I'd like to see is Steele, Windy and Owens start at the first bounce. I'd like to see more of Stocker in the middle too.
Mix it up. Give Marshall an extended break in the forward line with Caminiti rucking for a full quarter...or try resting/managing Rowan at some stage in the next few weeks. When does St Kilda have a bye?

I know you learn from the game played last week, but there was a lot of looking backward.

Unnecessary for Ross to be talking about what has already happened, but I suppose he's not going to let the opposition know what he's planning for this week...

Journo:
You're paid to get it right, but also this is the time of year to try a few different things and see, you know, sort of, because you're obviously seeing what might, if it might work, etc, etc.

Lyon:
Yeah, yeah, and some of that we did last year, we did it better, obviously. [chuckles]
But, you know, so, but at the source, look, I thought they were very good.
At the source, they won it.
They dominated centre-bounce clearance.
And Naughton and that were quite powerful because they were getting the ball to one-on-ones, and it was quite difficult.

[WellardSaint]

What’s the purpose and benefit of the tactic of sitting back in a game of keeping’s off?

I don't listen to commentators, but even they saw folly.
Fox guys kept saying we 'were guarding grass, not players'.

Astounding.
134 uncontested marks.
At no point in the game did the brains trust (cough) realise it was stupid

[Otiman]

Watching the presser at the moment but love the transcription.

[SteeleSaints]

When I read the first few paragraphs, i coulda sworn it was a parody.

Who speaks like that?

Agree it was corporate waffle its a shame others cant see through it...he is full of it. There is no doubt he is a very good tactical coach, but every thing else around him smells IMO.

[Devilhead]

What’s the purpose and benefit of the tactic of sitting back in a game of keeping’s off?

With the match being our 3rd match in 11 days maybe the coaches were wary of our players being tired and hence they went in with a less taxing gameplan so we didn't fall off the cliff after half time

Also feels to me like coaches maybe thought that the Bulldogs were error prone and likely to ... even without pressure .... make mistakes and turnover the ball moreso than us

They were wrong .... very wrong

[MC Gusto]

Quality from RTB
Honest, transparent, accountable
In for the long haul

[mr six o'clock]

Reading between the lines we're screwed!
Bet large
Bet Port
Bet responsibly

[Otiman]

Reading between the lines we're screwed!
Bet large
Bet Port
Bet responsibly

Don't think you needed a Ross Lyon presser to tell you that.

[spert]

Lyon has been caught out quite a bit this season tactically, then had to rejig plans half way through games to catch up- not too confident with him this time around.

[Yorkeys]

What’s the purpose and benefit of the tactic of sitting back in a game of keeping’s off?

Ross was shielding the players. It wasn't a tactic it's what the players delivered.

[Vortex]

Whilst I didn't like the excuses being rolled out I think Ross is the right man for overseeing this young group develop, we are going to need an elder statesmen type personality who has a lot of of strong connections in the media which is an underrated aspect of what Ross brings to the table. Stability and patience is going to be the biggest ingredient needed over the next 3 to 5 years.

[SinCitySainter]

What’s the purpose and benefit of the tactic of sitting back in a game of keeping’s off?

Ross was shielding the players. It wasn't a tactic it's what the players delivered.

Rubbish. We defend grass every game.
I guess you think the bombing to 30m out is just the players and not a tactic.
If as you say this just all the players and not the coach at all then Lyon needs to be fired today as he has no control over the gameplan or the tactics.
Yes, our players make skill errors but when the same tactics are applied constantly that is deliberate.
So either Ross wants that or the players are deliberately rebelling against him.

[magnifisaint]

We should be bringing out the lawnmowers.

[Yorkeys]

What’s the purpose and benefit of the tactic of sitting back in a game of keeping’s off?

Ross was shielding the players. It wasn't a tactic it's what the players delivered.

Rubbish. We defend grass every game.
I guess you think the bombing to 30m out is just the players and not a tactic.
If as you say this just all the players and not the coach at all then Lyon needs to be fired today as he has no control over the gameplan or the tactics.
Yes, our players make skill errors but when the same tactics are applied constantly that is deliberate.
So either Ross wants that or the players are deliberately rebelling against him.

Is there a concise plain English version of this anywhere?

[B.M]

Almost like he’s half pissed?!

[nostalgicsaint]

Almost like he’s half pissed?!

Not at all.

[axcellence]

I like Lyon. I disagree with the team selection though. Max should have been replaced with a tall and still hasn’t been.