Gutsy top win but not happy with Birss, Milne & Fiora

[luke.l_26]

Imo, Milne is an integral part of the team.
Sure he makes mistakes and stuff, but so do most people.
His presence in the forward may not be damaging, but he does the hard yards and contributes to the team.
I actually think Milne is showing signs of improvement and looks to be getting back to his peak.

[evertonfc]

The guys on SEN couldn't figure out whether Birss was injured or dreadfully slow.

I know he's very much one paced, but was he injured or is he really struggling?

Either way, Geary's well in front of him and so is Eddy, too.

Imo, Milne is an integral part of the team.
Sure he makes mistakes and stuff, but so do most people.

Generally, those people who make mistakes end up in dole cues or playing in the VFL.

He makes far too many luke.l_26, and for all the good things Milne does, he needs to stop stuffing up and costing us goals. He could be worth an extra 2-3 goals to the team every week if he did.

Schneider and Clarke may render Milne irrelevant by the end of the year, but I hope pulls his finger out and actually learns a) not to play on b) to run quickly in a straight line and c) to kick accurately.

He used to be quick and an accurate kick, but he's neither anymore. No pace at all. So one sided as well. Truly, he is, unfortunately, a one trick pony - and a predictable one at that.

Must improve or he will become redundant. Why can't he just go back to basics?

[SuperSaint]

The guys on SEN couldn't figure out whether Birss was injured or dreadfully slow.

I know he's very much one paced, but was he injured or is he really struggling?

Either way, Geary's well in front of him and so is Eddy, too.

Imo, Milne is an integral part of the team.
Sure he makes mistakes and stuff, but so do most people.

Generally, those people who make mistakes end up in dole cues or playing in the VFL.

He makes far too many luke.l_26, and for all the good things Milne does, he needs to stop stuffing up and costing us goals. He could be worth an extra 2-3 goals to the team every week if he did.

Schneider and Clarke may render Milne irrelevant by the end of the year, but I hope pulls his finger out and actually learns a) not to play on b) to run quickly in a straight line and c) to kick accurately.

He used to be quick and an accurate kick, but he's neither anymore. No pace at all. So one sided as well. Truly, he is, unfortunately, a one trick pony - and a predictable one at that.

Must improve or he will become redundant. Why can't he just go back to basics?

Well said evertonfc. Very much my thoughts also, as my earlier post. Wish I end up eating my words with Milne at the end of the year but I really feel the odds of him turning his game around are very slim.

[Oh When the Saints]

How many touches did Cameron Ling have after Birss was moved onto him for the second half?

[Bernard Shakey]

We won, what more do you want?
It was a practise match, and everyone did their job.

Want to get stuck into all and sundry, wait till the end of next month.

[jill]

Oh my god - have posted recently tonight re Milne - so sick of negative comments - yes the kids were fantastic - am over how many Geelong players were missing , & am so over commentators who see a few games a year & pass judgement - eg I think for the last couple of years Milne has become more disciplined,more team orientated. Was a great day for "BELIEF!"

[plugger66]

The guys on SEN couldn't figure out whether Birss was injured or dreadfully slow.

I know he's very much one paced, but was he injured or is he really struggling?

Either way, Geary's well in front of him and so is Eddy, too.

Imo, Milne is an integral part of the team.
Sure he makes mistakes and stuff, but so do most people.

Generally, those people who make mistakes end up in dole cues or playing in the VFL.

He makes far too many luke.l_26, and for all the good things Milne does, he needs to stop stuffing up and costing us goals. He could be worth an extra 2-3 goals to the team every week if he did.

Schneider and Clarke may render Milne irrelevant by the end of the year, but I hope pulls his finger out and actually learns a) not to play on b) to run quickly in a straight line and c) to kick accurately.

He used to be quick and an accurate kick, but he's neither anymore. No pace at all. So one sided as well. Truly, he is, unfortunately, a one trick pony - and a predictable one at that.

Must improve or he will become redundant. Why can't he just go back to basics?

terrible account of his game. was in the best 6-8 and helped win the game. Get rid of your basis.

[saint66au]

Generally, those people who make mistakes end up in dole cues or playing in the VFL.

Sorry Evertonfc..I'm not being a smart@ss..but you are the self-appointed grammar king on here ..so I just HAD to pull you up on this one

Are dole cues something you play snooker with when you are unemployed???

[sunsaint]

cheers joffaboy

sitting here enjoying a beer, with not a care

how you can be critical of any player after that win is beyond my comprehension

I'm being critical because this thread was specifically created to do so.

....Too many beers I think

Personally, just my opinion, for what its worth, but I think a few regulars here should be banned from post match comments until they have watched the game at least three times.

Great game, good result, go Saints!

[stmarie]

I was there and all I can say is I was proud of the whole team
As soon as the boys put the pressure on in that second quarter Geelong became just like any other team and made mistakes

[spert]

I was disappointed with Fiora's game and Birss too..not enough intensity at the ball or the man. Milne only did just enough and still doesn't work hard enough off the ball. Good effort by the team overall though.

[saint-stu]

That really is a pathetic post. I respect what you have to say, but at least 'try' to defend you views realistically.

That type of response always weakens someones opinion.

I don't think that was. I found it amusing and thought it really outlines the weakness in the argument.

The point was, all players make mistakes.. and you can't throw them out of the team for one incident.

[maverick]

I have no bias, I want every player on the list to do well.

Milne was ordinary in the first 3 qtrs, and was good in the 4th.
Issue is, as a senior player playing against effectively the cats ressies, he should be in the best imo.

Birss is struggling for mine.

Fiora needs to get more of the ball but is doing ok when he gets it.

Thought Eddy and Armo were promising and geary rebounded very well

Gram and Baker were rusty early but finished well.

Montagna and Dal were a class above and Kosi dominated against a poor defence.

[Animal Enclosure]

I agree with the original post to a point, Milne is still very frustrating and, for a vastly experienced senior player still makes some dreadful errors. Having said that he was very good in the last half & created some vital forward thrusts.

Birss looks terrible when getting the ball but can shutdown opponents. He'll probably play early in the season with Bakes out (who by the way showed how good a footballer he is yesterday despite some on here writing him off).

Fiora looks slow of mind and foot. Has been very ordinary in the two games thus far. I hope it's just a slow start for him as he looked very good last season. Pressure is on him now with a number of young mids pushing up for his place.

Blake was good. Gutsy as usual, very important when the big fellas went off.

Just finished watching the replay (missed the live coverage yesterday playing cricket) & overall one thing is for sure... another frustrating year of umpiring is ahead!

[BAM! (shhhh)]

Wow. Just wow.

I think this thread says far more about the biases people bring to a game than about anything that actually transpired yesterday.

The good: Armitage, Geary, Kosi, Dal. The bad: the rucking and the injury concerns.

Blake? A very Blake game, works his behind off to get the ball, but a running defender he is not, just got away with questionable choices a couple of times, put him on the positive side of the ledger, but did his best to undo the good work it took to get him there.

Birss was just about a non factor. Not horrible, certainly not good, but are we really expecting him round 1?

Milne wasn't exactly everywhere man, but he played his role just fine in that game, and ended up on the scoresheet, and played a very good 4th quarter. I notice we're not maligning Sam Fisher for not doing anything until saving our bacon in the last quarter with good contested marking and disposal.

Fiora didn't set the world on fire, but wasn't bad either...

All up? Typical NAB cup game, I really struggle to read anything into it other than Armo and Geary are having a real crack at making this team... but it was nice to get the win.

[Ghost Like]

Personally I think we can forget about Birss, not in our best 30, a back up to our back ups IMO.

I was more concerned that when the heat was on in the last quarter, that Rix and Jones are two players who should not be played through but I'll give them the allowance they are not experienced yet and also not in our best 30.

Fiora whilst not great yesterday should not be hung drawn and quartered after what I believe was his break through season for the Saints last year.

Milne's last quarter was terrific, right up to the last 10 seconds when he layed the tackle on Mackie.

We have some terrific kids who really look like they want to play AFL and over this next season or two should make all the above players redundant, this can only make the Saints a stronger unit...it's all evolving in the right direction IMO.

[iwantmeseats]

I have no bias, I want every player on the list to do well.

Milne was ordinary in the first 3 qtrs, and was good in the 4th.
Issue is, as a senior player playing against effectively the cats ressies, he should be in the best imo.

Birss is struggling for mine.

Fiora needs to get more of the ball but is doing ok when he gets it.

Thought Eddy and Armo were promising and geary rebounded very well

Gram and Baker were rusty early but finished well.

Montagna and Dal were a class above and Kosi dominated against a poor defence.

I think Fiora is balancing on a knifes edge at the moment. He infuriates me. His disposal under pressure is very suspect, and is too much of a outside player for my liking. I want to see him win some hard ball.

Blake is another who also gets me frustrated alot. Kudos to him though, good last week, and good again yesterday. For gods sake though, he aint no running midfielder or half back, so when he gets the ball he has to have support around him. Got caught out in that respect a bit.

[Spinner]

I have no bias, I want every player on the list to do well.

Milne was ordinary in the first 3 qtrs, and was good in the 4th.
Issue is, as a senior player playing against effectively the cats ressies, he should be in the best imo.

Birss is struggling for mine.

Fiora needs to get more of the ball but is doing ok when he gets it.

Thought Eddy and Armo were promising and geary rebounded very well

Gram and Baker were rusty early but finished well.

Montagna and Dal were a class above and Kosi dominated against a poor defence.

I think Fiora is balancing on a knifes edge at the moment. He infuriates me. His disposal under pressure is very suspect, and is too much of a outside player for my liking. I want to see him win some hard ball.

Blake is another who also gets me frustrated alot. Kudos to him though, good last week, and good again yesterday. For gods sake though, he aint no running midfielder or half back, so when he gets the ball he has to have support around him. Got caught out in that respect a bit.

Yesterday, Fiora took way too long to dispose of the ball. Way too long to make decisions. That was the reason for some of his shocking errors.

Im hoping he adjusts to match speed before the start of the season.

[Mr X from the West]

Birss, Fiora and Rix should not be in our best 22.

Birss is simply too slow. Fullstop. Forget about any injury on Saturday, my comment applies to him all the time.

Fiora seems to be able to play OK at the Dome but take him away from there and he's a changed man. There are better options.

Rix will not displace any of Gardiner, King or Kosi. Never gets a stat and won't ever play in a Premiership team.

[riccardo]

terrible account of his game. was in the best 6-8 and helped win the game. Get rid of your basis.

All your basis belong to us.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

I genuinely love Milne, think he should be retained rotating with C. Gardiner to give him more of a sudden impact. He is not a full 100 minutes player, he is very much a 10 minute per quarter opportunist, which, admit it now, we all love.