6 v 7

[Yorkeys]

7 beat 6 again.
Trying to line up with last year I think we put up a better fight v GWS than Doggies v Hawks tonight - and we had a clearly inferior team in last year's final in comparison with the Doggies team tonight.
I also think GWS were/are more talented than Hawks.
See Ugle-Hagen and Weightman had shockers while Dear and Watson played very well.
I think Ross is putting together a team that fights games right out and has improving flexibility. No dominant Bont, no Doggies? Conversely, our team game progressed nicely. Looking fwd to next season.

[Sainternist]

Geez! Do Hawthorn even need Battle on their team?

[samuraisaint]

7 beat 6 again.
Trying to line up with last year I think we put up a better fight v GWS than Doggies v Hawks tonight - and we had a clearly inferior team in last year's final in comparison with the Doggies team tonight.
I also think GWS were/are more talented than Hawks.
See Ugle-Hagen and Weightman had shockers while Dear and Watson played very well.
I think Ross is putting together a team that fights games right out and has improving flexibility. No dominant Bont, no Doggies? Conversely, our team game progressed nicely. Looking fwd to next season.

We need two pure midfielders though. That much is obvious - even in the final game where we beat Carlton, you can see we lack run and carry. We should pick them up in this year's draft.

[Sainter_Dad]

We need two pure midfielders though. That much is obvious - even in the final game where we beat Carlton, you can see we lack run and carry. We should pick them up in this year's draft.

How very St Kilda of you!!!

We need 2 players - ready made - to make St Kilda Great

Lets get 2 x 18 yo recruits and make them the focus of all of our praise/admiration/hope

I pity kids coming to St Kilda

[samuraisaint]

We need two pure midfielders though. That much is obvious - even in the final game where we beat Carlton, you can see we lack run and carry. We should pick them up in this year's draft.

How very St Kilda of you!!!

We need 2 players - ready made - to make St Kilda Great

Lets get 2 x 18 yo recruits and make them the focus of all of our praise/admiration/hope

I pity kids coming to St Kilda

The kids we have now are going alright.

I think Dow will be good when he gets a full pre-season and hopefully a good run with injuries.

But no matter which way we look at it - our midfield is a weakness. The Suns should be ripe for raiding - they are going nowhere. Hopefully the club have their eyes peeled. GWS too, although they are a good side, have plenty of midfielders who aren't getting an opportunity.

[SaintWiki]

7 beat 6 again.
Trying to line up with last year I think we put up a better fight v GWS than Doggies v Hawks tonight - and we had a clearly inferior team in last year's final in comparison with the Doggies team tonight.
I also think GWS were/are more talented than Hawks.
See Ugle-Hagen and Weightman had shockers while Dear and Watson played very well.
I think Ross is putting together a team that fights games right out and has improving flexibility. No dominant Bont, no Doggies? Conversely, our team game progressed nicely. Looking fwd to next season.

Even if you are correct in suggesting GWS being more talened than the Hawks, that's only one measurement for success. Last nights final demonstrates that a bunch of very good players struggle when lining up against a real happy team with immence belief in themselves and are confident that their team mates have their back.

[King Max]

7 beat 6 again.
Trying to line up with last year I think we put up a better fight v GWS than Doggies v Hawks tonight - and we had a clearly inferior team in last year's final in comparison with the Doggies team tonight.
I also think GWS were/are more talented than Hawks.
See Ugle-Hagen and Weightman had shockers while Dear and Watson played very well.
I think Ross is putting together a team that fights games right out and has improving flexibility. No dominant Bont, no Doggies? Conversely, our team game progressed nicely. Looking fwd to next season.

Why were Saints 2023 clearly inferior to Bulldogs 2024?

Both finished 6th.

[Yorkeys]

Bontempelli, Darcy, Red headed mid, Lobb; Cordy, Caminiti late in -first final, Byrnes had not reached his current form, Wood was not playing as well as now, Max not at his best. Sharman yet to blossom. Doggies had a realistic chance at top 4 this year, in 2023 we were hanging on to the 8 by our finger nails.

[Life Long Saint]

Geez! Do Hawthorn even need Battle on their team?

Could play forward. Maybe what he wants?

[magnifisaint]

Geez! Do Hawthorn even need Battle on their team?

Could play forward. Maybe what he wants?

He's a useless forward. That's why he plays CHB.

[ctqs]

Bontempelli, Darcy, Red headed mid, Lobb; Cordy, Caminiti late in -first final, Byrnes had not reached his current form, Wood was not playing as well as now, Max not at his best. Sharman yet to blossom. Doggies had a realistic chance at top 4 this year, in 2023 we were hanging on to the 8 by our finger nails.

No we weren't. We were in the 8 all year and only out of the top 6 for one week.

[Mr Magic]

Geez! Do Hawthorn even need Battle on their team?

Could play forward. Maybe what he wants?

I read somewhere that recruiting Battle and Barass would allow Sicily to play forward

[Life Long Saint]

Geez! Do Hawthorn even need Battle on their team?

Could play forward. Maybe what he wants?

I read somewhere that recruiting Battle and Barass would allow Sicily to play forward

That would be foolish. Sicily's intercept marking and ball use is one of the Hawk's best weapons.

[King Max]

Bontempelli, Darcy, Red headed mid, Lobb; Cordy, Caminiti late in -first final, Byrnes had not reached his current form, Wood was not playing as well as now, Max not at his best. Sharman yet to blossom. Doggies had a realistic chance at top 4 this year, in 2023 we were hanging on to the 8 by our finger nails.

Dogs were half a game ahead of 9th going into the last round. We were two games clear of 9th at the same stage last year.

[spert]

The club's position on the ladder is where we are at- doesn't matter how close we got, or if we were only a kick here and there from winning, good form late in the season blah blah. We were too far off the pace to challenge, and went backwards from last season and that's it. Need to address a lot of problems going into next season.

[Yorkeys]

Bontempelli, Darcy, Red headed mid, Lobb; Cordy, Caminiti late in -first final, Byrnes had not reached his current form, Wood was not playing as well as now, Max not at his best. Sharman yet to blossom. Doggies had a realistic chance at top 4 this year, in 2023 we were hanging on to the 8 by our finger nails.

Dogs were half a game ahead of 9th going into the last round. We were two games clear of 9th at the same stage last year.

How did we go against the Dogs this year?

[Yorkeys]

The club's position on the ladder is where we are at- doesn't matter how close we got, or if we were only a kick here and there from winning, good form late in the season blah blah. We were too far off the pace to challenge, and went backwards from last season and that's it. Need to address a lot of problems going into next season.

You may be missing a poorly made point. We are building a strong competitive culture. Our development of that intangible is better than Footscrays. As a hypothesis.

[King Max]

Bontempelli, Darcy, Red headed mid, Lobb; Cordy, Caminiti late in -first final, Byrnes had not reached his current form, Wood was not playing as well as now, Max not at his best. Sharman yet to blossom. Doggies had a realistic chance at top 4 this year, in 2023 we were hanging on to the 8 by our finger nails.

Dogs were half a game ahead of 9th going into the last round. We were two games clear of 9th at the same stage last year.

How did we go against the Dogs this year?

You’re not really addressing Saints 23 v Dogs 24 but if you want to go there, how did they go against us last year?

[Otiman]

I think we might have won a final if we scraped in, but don't think we'd go beyond that.

Brisbane, Geelong, Sydney and GWS all well ahead of us.

[Sainternist]

Geez! Do Hawthorn even need Battle on their team?

Could play forward. Maybe what he wants?

He's a useless forward. That's why he plays CHB.

Would be karma if he ended up being a fringe player for them.

[Scollop]

Geez! Do Hawthorn even need Battle on their team?

Could play forward. Maybe what he wants?

He's a useless forward. That's why he plays CHB.

Would be karma if he ended up being a fringe player for them.

It happened to Brodie Grundy at Melbourne...I understand they were looking for a replacement for Luke Jackson, but crazy decision to recruit a ruck specialist when they already had Max Gawn.

Happened to Rory Lobbe when Beveridge tried to play him as a Forward/fill in ruckman..crazy decision when they already had Sam Darcy, Aaron Naughton and Jamara... perhaps Beveridge thought Tim English was heading West.

I think similarly Battle could be surplus to Hawthorn if they get Tom Barrass AND...if Sicily stays in the backline. Scrimshaw is a far better kick than Battle and makes better decisions.

Possibly Battle replaces Sam Frost who is 30 and only has a 1 year deal for next year

[Life Long Saint]

Happened to Rory Lobbe when Beveridge tried to play him as a Forward/fill in ruckman..crazy decision when they already had Sam Darcy, Aaron Naughton and Jamara... perhaps Beveridge thought Tim English was heading West.

Lobb was Fremantle's leading goal kicker the year that the Dogs recruited him.
Not a crazy decision at all.
They had hoped to play Naughton in defence as he was drafted as a defender.
Darcy and Ugle-Hagen were still quite inexperienced.

[Scollop]

Happened to Rory Lobbe when Beveridge tried to play him as a Forward/fill in ruckman..crazy decision when they already had Sam Darcy, Aaron Naughton and Jamara... perhaps Beveridge thought Tim English was heading West.

Lobb was Fremantle's leading goal kicker the year that the Dogs recruited him.
Not a crazy decision at all.
They had hoped to play Naughton in defence as he was drafted as a defender.
Darcy and Ugle-Hagen were still quite inexperienced.

In 2021 Ugle-Hagan was mainly playing VFL, but he cemented his position half way through 2022 with some match winning performances. That was before Lobb arrived. I think the year before Lobb was recruited they also had Josh Bruce and Josh Schacke as back up. Most people would call that excessive.

Beveridge has been blessed with a lot of talent at the Bulldogs. Beveridge struggled to fit all his tall forwards in to the side when they’re all fit. It’s a formula that didn’t work and it confused the players up the ground.

Beveridge does that a lot. He mixes up the side and they haven’t had a settled line up since 2021 when they made the Grand Final.

Beveridge makes it difficult for his team when he puts 3 tall roosters into the forward line …all demanding the footy. It’s not like you have say…only 1 of those guys acting as the spearhead with a support act and a 3rd tall. They’re all spearheads!! They all want to be the dominant forward. I don’t think Ugle-Hagan is a team player (but that’s another topic altogether).

The Western Bulldogs accidentally found a spot for Lobb down back when Beveridge finally realised that Alex Keath is a spud. Luckily for The Dogs and Beveridge, Keath got concussed and injured a few times and Beveridge was forced to play Lobb permanently down back.

[Life Long Saint]

Beveridge makes it difficult for his team when he puts 3 tall roosters into the forward line …all demanding the footy. It’s not like only 1 of those guys acts as the spearhead with a support act and a 3rd tall. They’re all spearheads!! They all want to be the dominant forward. Beveridge struggled to fit all his tall forwards in to the side when they’re all fit. It’s a formula that didn’t work and it confused the players up the ground.

Would have been an issue despite Lobb's arrival.
Defence has always been a weakness for the Dogs...I don't think they anticipated Liam Jones to be as good as he has been.
They tried Bruce there, and they were going to play Naughton there, too...
Lobb has certainly found a home down back.