Why We Lost

[sainter58]

Nick Riewoldt was St Kilda's best with five goals but his early misses kept West Coast in the game at a time when scoreboard pressure could have fractured the Eagles' fragile confidence.

THIS IS WHY WE LOST THE GAME....NO MORE SAID

[skeptic]

so our best player lost us the game?

[WayneJudson42]

Trade him

[bigcarl]

what lost us the game (apart from the outrageous free kicks ledger) was our insistence on going to roo at all costs and the absence of another forward marking target.

kosi was out so you would have thought for structure's sake we would have put someone else up there who could take a mark and kick a goal.

allen would have been worth a shot. gehrig has the runs on the board. bj has the attributes needed. even gilbert.

we have the options and we didn't use them and the result was predictable.

complete arrogance to think that riewoldt (champion though he is) can single-handedly beat two opponents every week.

our forward structure stank and we paid the price. couldn't even beat a team that wants to lose.

[maverick]

what lost us the game (apart from the outrageous free kicks ledger) was our insistence on going to roo at all costs and the absence of another forward marking target.

kosi was out so you would have thought for structure's sake we would have put someone else up there who could take a mark and kick a goal.

allen would have been worth a shot. gehrig has the runs on the board. bj has the attributes needed. even gilbert.

we have the options and we didn't use them and the result was predictable.

complete arrogance to think that riewoldt (champion though he is) can single-handedly beat two opponents every week.

our forward structure stank and we paid the price. couldn't even beat a team that wants to lose.

Completely agree, the second tall didn't need to offer any more than a contest, something Allen had been doing before he was dropped.

[meher baba]

I totally agree with you bigcarl

It was bleeding obvious as far back as the NAB Cup that Gardi hasn't got the mobility to play any role other than an ok second (or, at a pinch, first) ruckman. And I think that having two lumbering ruckmen who can't do much else is one too many in modern AFL. I note that our lift in form happened while Gardi was injured

So why did the selection panel go with more or less a straight swap of Kosi for Gardi? This was never going to do the job

Either we underestimated how hard it is to win against the Eagles at home any time, or remain deluded about the potential benefits of playing King and Gardi in the same 22 or both

[Otiman]

So, the problem is Nick Riewoldt's missus? Get rid of Steph then.

[sainter58]

it appears you people don't understand football. If Roo had kicked those goals we would of been 40 points ahead..Game over.. Instead his misses from 20 meters out in front, kept the eagles in the game...

[saintsRrising]

So Roo and Gardi are the culprits???

Fair dinkum....TWO THIRDS of our team were below standard....and Roo was not one of them even if he did miss some very gettable goals.

[bigcarl]

So Roo and Gardi are the culprits??? Fair dinkum....TWO THIRDS of our team were below standard....and Roo was not one of them even if he did miss some very gettable goals.

i've got no criticism to make of riewoldt.

however, the decision to count on him to kick us a winning score single-handedly (without an alternative marking target) must rate as one of the most dopey in recent history.

many reliable avenues to goal. not just one.

i'd be tempted to bring back gehrig. whack him at ff and have kosi and riewoldt interchanging at chf/ruck/wing.

if not fraser (who incidentally does have the runs on the board) then allen or even bj or gilbert.

it would just give us some flexibility when things go sour during a match.

the option would be there, for example, to play roo at chb or wing. or swing kosi on to the ball.

fully aware that structure isn't everything on the football field. but it IS important.

[skeptic]

it appears you people don't understand football. If Roo had kicked those goals we would of been 40 points ahead..Game over.. Instead his misses from 20 meters out in front, kept the eagles in the game...

i take it no 1 else missed any goals for the rest of the game and that if Roo had kicked those goals than we could have played defensive footy for 3/4s.

Maybe i don't know anything about football, but i think that the fact that the other 21 players included let them back into the game and didn't go on with the job may have contributed.

if we'd come out and kicked the 1st 4 goals of the 2nd 1\4 we still would have "crushed there spirit". We didn't get any run on after the 1st 20min of the game. That's what cost us

[QuestionOfAccuracy]

We committed 65 clangers. You don't win too many games with 65 clangers.

[cowboy18]

We committed 65 clangers. You don't win too many games with 65 clangers.

Were 29 of those free kicks against?

[maverick]

So Roo and Gardi are the culprits???

Fair dinkum....TWO THIRDS of our team were below standard....and Roo was not one of them even if he did miss some very gettable goals.

And why was that SRR, last week they were champions which was down to the coach, this week's reason is????

[saintly_safes]

was as frustrated as all the other posters with his misses in the firt quater but would have lost by 10 goals if he hadnt been there & was by far & away our best player on the day has a heart as big as pharlap pitty his kicking woes raised their ugly heads again

[Saints Premiers 2008]

roo's kicking is still terrible regardless of how well he played around the ground etc

[plugger66]

So Roo and Gardi are the culprits??? Fair dinkum....TWO THIRDS of our team were below standard....and Roo was not one of them even if he did miss some very gettable goals.

i've got no criticism to make of riewoldt.

however, the decision to count on him to kick us a winning score single-handedly (without an alternative marking target) must rate as one of the most dopey in recent history.

many reliable avenues to goal. not just one.

i'd be tempted to bring back gehrig. whack him at ff and have kosi and riewoldt interchanging at chf/ruck/wing.

if not fraser (who incidentally does have the runs on the board) then allen or even bj or gilbert.

it would just give us some flexibility when things go sour during a match.

the option would be there, for example, to play roo at chb or wing. or swing kosi on to the ball.

fully aware that structure isn't everything on the football field. but it IS important.

G had as much hope of playing as Loewe. I would have thought there was only 2 options and that was Allen or Ferg. Neither though have been in good form so they went with MG which in hindsight was wrong. I just hope people on here know realise just because you are tall doesnt make you a forward.

[WayneJudson42]

Th lack of a reliable forward other than Roo is a worry. Problem was that with Max down, you need Blake in the back 6, and can't rotate him forward.

[maverick]

Th lack of a reliable forward other than Roo is a worry. Problem was that with Max down, you need Blake in the back 6, and can't rotate him forward.

And when has Blake played forward successfully?

Am with Plugger, Allen or ferg and possibly McEvoy were the only options, all have played forward with some success.

[bigcarl]

I would have thought there was only 2 options and that was Allen or Ferg. Neither though have been in good form so they went with MG which in hindsight was wrong.

in hindsight. gimme a break. you know as well as I do that he's no good as a forward, so don't give me hindsight.

just a very poor decision that might have cost us a shot at the top 4.

btw, ross is on record as saying this about gehrig.

Meanwhile, Lyon said former spearhead Fraser Gehrig was getting closer to a potential return to the AFL, although whether he makes it back to senior football remains to be seen.

"He's been training, he's fit, he's strong," Lyon said.

"As far as I'm concerned he's on the long-term injury list and he's rehabbing to play AFL footy again," he said.

but plugger, i think we both agree that the kick-it-to-roo gameplan doesn't work

[plugger66]

I would have thought there was only 2 options and that was Allen or Ferg. Neither though have been in good form so they went with MG which in hindsight was wrong.

in hindsight. gimme a break. you know as well as I do that he's no good as a forward, so don't give me hindsight.

just a very poor decision that might have cost us a shot at the top 4.

btw, ross is on record as saying this about gehrig.

Meanwhile, Lyon said former spearhead Fraser Gehrig was getting closer to a potential return to the AFL, although whether he makes it back to senior football remains to be seen.

"He's been training, he's fit, he's strong," Lyon said.

"As far as I'm concerned he's on the long-term injury list and he's rehabbing to play AFL footy again," he said.

but plugger, i think we both agree that the kick-it-to-roo gameplan doesn't work

G isnt coming back. I said last week MG is no good at all at FF but I would think RL would know a lot more than me. He would have been given a task and obviously failed to do it. The kick it to Fev game plan seemed to work for Carlton today. The problem wasnt kicking it to Roo it was our skill and attitude.

[maverick]

I would have thought there was only 2 options and that was Allen or Ferg. Neither though have been in good form so they went with MG which in hindsight was wrong.

in hindsight. gimme a break. you know as well as I do that he's no good as a forward, so don't give me hindsight.

just a very poor decision that might have cost us a shot at the top 4.

btw, ross is on record as saying this about gehrig.

Meanwhile, Lyon said former spearhead Fraser Gehrig was getting closer to a potential return to the AFL, although whether he makes it back to senior football remains to be seen.

"He's been training, he's fit, he's strong," Lyon said.

"As far as I'm concerned he's on the long-term injury list and he's rehabbing to play AFL footy again," he said.

but plugger, i think we both agree that the kick-it-to-roo gameplan doesn't work

G isnt coming back. I said last week MG is no good at all at FF but I would think RL would know a lot more than me. He would have been given a task and obviously failed to do it. The kick it to Fev game plan seemed to work for Carlton today. The problem wasnt kicking it to Roo it was our skill and attitude.

Except that the kick it to Fev gameplan has other tall options in their forward line that if ignored kick goals. Kreuzer (McEvoy) & Fisher (Ferguson) as examples.....

[bigcarl]

The problem wasnt kicking it to Roo

that's where you and i differ. he's a great player but we cannot afford to aim every ball at him.

you could do that with lockett. in similar circumstances he might have kicked 10 or 12. but he was a one-off.

kick-it-to-roo makes us too predictable and easy to counter. they just whack two guys on him secure in the knowledge that we'll go it to him nearly every time.

we have other tall (and not so tall) marking options. use them.

one of allen, gehrig, mcevoy, bj, gilbert or even ferguson or charlie might have been useful in stopping the double team.

kosi will be back this week, possibly for m. gardiner.

if he plays ruck for even part of the game it still leaves us a marking target short in the forward line.

so for mine there is a spot beckoning for one of the above.

[saint66au]

My 5c worth on why we lost..

1. Max's injury was crippling. No-one else in our side is even in his universe when it comes to stopping FF's one out. Had we had him to put on LeCras, things might have changed.

2. We should have iced the game at 1/4 time. Score should have been 8 goals to 2, and very nealry game over. Not the first time a sloppy display ini front of goal in the 1st qtr has bitten us on the bum

3. Yes we gave away some ill-disciplined frees, but we got NOTHING going the other way. Inexperienced umpire got sucked into hometown screaming crowd decisions...Im not saying cheating or corruption or anything of that nature, just gometown decisions that have been happening since the Pies got everything in front of their Social Club in then 70's

4. Our foot skills were deplorable. Annoys the crap outa me to hear people scream "KICK IT" all the time, only to see said kick land in an opponents lap (see Fid's post from the other day) Watch the Hawks Geelong game from Friday night. The good teams now share the ball around by hand all the time. Coach-speak for it is "spread". You wanna see long bombs down the guts?? Go get "the Sensational Sevenites" out of your VHS collection.

5. Worsfold threw moves out there right out of left field that we didnt/couldnt counter. A Staker/Ebert/Lynch midfield?

Oh and while I'm ranting..it didnt affect the result, but Fox Footy's coverage was crap. Terrible direction and worse commentary. Saving a few bucks in airfares by usinig local commentators. let alone a retired legend of one of the Clubs playinig without any balance is just not on. The coverage goes right around the country you clowns...so when we play Port on Sunday can we have Nathan Burke and Andrew Thompson doing special comments? No..thought not

[markp]

WC were more fair dinkum than us, pure and simple.... I hope the players are as appalled as we are, and come out breathing fire on sunday.