How can we beat hawthorn?

[cam_buttles]

Unfortunately saints fans, i think we will struggle against the hawks. we are playing pretty good football but i think the hawks will make us play our chip around defensive game. I just cant see us beating them.

[Dan Warna]

round 17, 2007, we beat them playing attacking football.

[Life Long Saint]

With a stick when they're asleep!

[hilairehinshelwood]

Hopefully Lyon has worked out that saints win with attacking football and will never revert to his 2005 Sydney gameplan, surely he is not that stubborn.

Hawks i don't rate, easily beaten by 2 running teams this year the dogs and Roos.

So round 17 gameplan worked, round 8 gameplan last year didn't, so which gameplan do you choose lyon.

[Otiman]

Call their hotel rooms at 3am, and call them in for an "emergency meeting".

It's all about having good matchups.


Max on Roughhead
Gilbert on Franklin (with Blake as backup)
Dempster on Crawford
Mini on Mitchell

Play as a team, and the results should come.

[super dooper]

I think you'll find from last time we played, we played Gram on Buddy and luke Ball just about played the game of his life.

Roughy is the one that concerns me. If they gave him the quantity of supply they gave buddy he would score more goals and be leading the coleman, simple!

Beat them in midfield and it will limit their supply to their gun forwards.

We have to remember we also have gun forwards scoring goals

Roo, Kosi and Milne

[Otiman]

I think you'll find from last time we played, we played Gram on Buddy and luke Ball just about played the game of his life.

Roughy is the one that concerns me. If they gave him the quantity of supply they gave buddy he would score more goals and be leading the coleman, simple!

We have the defensive structure to contain Franklin and Roughead. Between Max, Blake, Gilbert and Chips, we have them covered as well as we want to. The more you shut them down, the more options you give them elsewhere, as well as removing our rebound potential.

[abandonallhope]

Attacking football, hard tackling, manning up and the most important geling as a team.

[Ralphy]

i think we can beat them.
i think without buddy they are overated,
Max on buddy or roughhead,

BJ,Gilbert,Blake,Fisher, on Franklin ,


think we can beat them,

[Teflon]

Beat them in midfield and it will limit their supply to their gun forwards.

Shut down Sam Mitchell and you go a long way to stopping Hawthorn IMHO. Beat them clearance wise and Franklin will be seen helping out in defence....

We can win this game I have confidence as they have holes.

[St. Luke]

We CAN do it!! Against my better judgement I'm picking the boys for a win this week! Our Grand Final starts here!! End of Story!

[plugger66]

Beat them in midfield and it will limit their supply to their gun forwards.

Shut down Sam Mitchell and you go a long way to stopping Hawthorn IMHO. Beat them clearance wise and Franklin will be seen helping out in defence....

We can win this game I have confidence as they have holes.

Hope your right but Michell wasnt great today and they won easily. They have holes but you would suggest that by ladder position we have more so apart from their holes and cutting out Mitchell how do we beat them.

[St.Kenny]

havent really been tested by way of being unsettling them. They prefer to use this against other teams and are happy to wear the consequences. What if the tables are turned and it is initiated against them for a change. Lets face it Port Adelaide have had heaps of success in this area against us.

[fingers]

havent really been tested by way of being unsettling them. They prefer to use this against other teams and are happy to wear the consequences. What if the tables are turned and it is initiated against them for a change. Lets face it Port Adelaide have had heaps of success in this area against us.

Agree - I'd lie to see someone rough Franklin up - it's the only thing that hasn't been tried this year from memory. Nothing Freo like - but just stay in his face

[StSteven]

Easy, just score more than they do.

[benoc]

Our forward line is fairly solid and needs no explaining, talls mark and smalls crumb.

The midfield is where it will be won. The players need to man up and give them no options. Hard tackling and solid pack play (ie Lenny) to get the clearances. Then moving the ball forward fast (and spreading the field wide for options).

The backs put on the pressure. Cause buddy to crack and have a bad one with mental and physical targeting. Keep a solid defender like Max for Roughhead. Good attacks coming off the back of this defence.

[spert]

With games against the top three -its all won in the midfield. If we win in the middle, we will win.

[WayneJudson42]

Yup, agree... it will be won in the middle. We also have to break their centre flood.

[bigcarl]

i think the hawks will make us play our chip around defensive game.

if we do that we might as well not turn up.

we need to do what we did on friday night, only better.

take risks, win the ball, move it fast at all costs.

get it in to our fowards quickly and directly.

tackle ferociously and chase and pressure when they have it.

they'll be as concerned about our gun forwards as we are about theirs.

buddy's a wonderful player but so is roo. roughhead's good; kosi's better imo.

this is an entirely winnable game and our guys surely will not be overawed by hawthorn's form this season.

[marksnsparks]

There's no doubt we need all our stars on form against the Hawks. We'll win if:

1. Kingy, Max, Grammy and Milney play like they played against Carlton

2.Roo practises goal kicking this week.

3. Lenny plays like he did in Q1 against Freo.

4. Gwilt gets lost getting to the Dome and can't play.

[Dan Warna]

There's no doubt we need all our stars on form against the Hawks. We'll win if:

1. Kingy, Max, Grammy and Milney play like they played against Carlton

2.Roo practises goal kicking this week.

3. Lenny plays like he did in Q1 against Freo.

4. Gwilt gets lost getting to the Dome and can't play.

I remember Maxy getting a belting from lloyd on a first game back from injury.

even the very best players have bad games.

gwilt isn't one of the very best and will have more bad games than good games, especially given he's only 21.

[marksnsparks]

I feel a bit guilty about Gwilty now (ha!)

He's been a bit clumsy lately and given away dumb free kicks, but I think he just needs a bit of time in the ones to settle in.

He deserves at least as much time as Raffa got anyway.

[Dan Warna]

I feel a bit guilty about Gwilty now (ha!)

He's been a bit clumsy lately and given away dumb free kicks, but I think he just needs a bit of time in the ones to settle in.

He deserves at least as much time as Raffa got anyway.

<shrug> nothing to feel guilty about

every one has their opinion.

I couldn't stand watch CJ with the ball this time last year, he was a liability.

right now, he's getting 15 plus possessions a game, and tackling ferociously.

probably worth more to the side than gwilt.

Birss can't break into the seniors, and CJ seems to have corrected his errant disposal.

I think we have to applaud Lyon (yep the lyon fan club are gunna jump on me for this) for persisting with CJ.

I also wonder what future for birss? he's dominating in the magoos by every revue and can't get into the seniors.

[marksnsparks]

It's such a great position to be in though eh? In form fringe players keeping the pressure on the 22 that get selected each week.

Usually Saints have filled a couple of wards at the Epworth with injured players by this stage of the season!

[Dan Warna]

It's such a great position to be in though eh? In form fringe players keeping the pressure on the 22 that get selected each week.

Usually Saints have filled a couple of wards at the Epworth with injured players by this stage of the season!

hush

I'm pretty sure the saints paid for a couple of extensions to the epworth and a few car upgrades for surgeons in the past decade.