3 Prelims this decade...

[Sainternist]

Well if you don't like living in the real world I suggest you not post!

and a reality check for you - this is an internet forum

[TimeToShineFellas]

Well if you don't like living in the real world I suggest you not post!

and a reality check for you - this is an internet forum

Thanks for the update! Thought everyone around here was serious and employed by the StKFC

[Quixote]

It hurts

[St Fidelius]

The mental preparation of our team 'week in week out' has been found wanting for years IMO

You don't have to be the best side in the competition to win on the day and the Hawks proved that.

We have dropped so many games we should have won in the last 4 or so years IMO.

We need the Saints to be both mentally and physically prepared "week in week out"..

Do that and we will always be a chance IMO

[bozza1980]

It is a quirky stat but we have lost 6 prelim finals in our existence and all 6 teams that have beaten us in the Prelim have gone on and won the flag.

Our time will come, 3 prelims in 5 years, if you keep yourself there or thereabouts good things await.

[True Blue Sainter]

The mental preparation of our team 'week in week out' has been found wanting for years IMO

You don't have to be the best side in the competition to win on the day and the Hawks proved that.

We have dropped so many games we should have won in the last 4 or so years IMO.

We need the Saints to be both mentally and physically prepared "week in week out"..

Do that and we will always be a chance IMO

Mental preparation does go a huge part to winning games, particularly the games you're expected to win. You're bang on the money, we've dropped a lot of games due to complacency and not being prepared for the opposition adopting a different game plan than what we initially expected.

[tweedaletomanning]

It hurts

SPOT ON!!!

IT BLOODY HURTS!!

[bobmurray]

For the life of me I cannot understand why people spend so much time reflecting on why.

Why is that

[St Fidelius]

For the life of me I cannot understand why people spend so much time reflecting on why.

Doesn't every club reflect???

I remember reading about Barry Breen in the 70s being told before each and every game by a psychologist on just how good he is and how much he is respected and how much he means to the the team...

This was done on a match to match basis, by the reports I was reading as a kid....

This was way back then...

Surely we are better now FFS

If it was good enough for someone to envision this 30 farken years ago, then maybe the club should enlist some personal sports psychologists NOW

Again, It's not that hard...

It's finding the RIGHT PEOPLE TO DO THE JOB IMO

MAKE IT HAPPEN SAINTS AND DON'T WAIT!

[ctqs]

Brian Goorjian is probably the best basketball coach in Australia, and is especially good at developing young talent. He had a habit of getting teams to semi finals and grand finals, but never winning the big one. I've been lucky enough to speak to him quite a few times over the years. He once told me his philosophy. "If you keep kicking at the door, you'll eventually kick it in."
It was simple, but effective. He's since won a swag of NBL titles, and is the only coach to win three in a row.
That has to be our mantra.

[Moccha]

Brian Goorjian is probably the best basketball coach in Australia, and is especially good at developing young talent. He had a habit of getting teams to semi finals and grand finals, but never winning the big one. I've been lucky enough to speak to him quite a few times over the years. He once told me his philosophy. "If you keep kicking at the door, you'll eventually kick it in."
It was simple, but effective. He's since won a swag of NBL titles, and is the only coach to win three in a row.
That has to be our mantra.

Kick the door in.

We're too scared to even knock

[ctqs]

I hear ya. I keep saying it. To win a flag you need spit and polish. We don't have much spit anymore. Even the polish isn't as shiny as it once was.

[st_Trav_ofWA]

Brian Goorjian is probably the best basketball coach in Australia, and is especially good at developing young talent. He had a habit of getting teams to semi finals and grand finals, but never winning the big one. I've been lucky enough to speak to him quite a few times over the years. He once told me his philosophy. "If you keep kicking at the door, you'll eventually kick it in."
It was simple, but effective. He's since won a swag of NBL titles, and is the only coach to win three in a row.
That has to be our mantra.

Brian Goojian isnt really a the best bloke to look up to ....
Eastside Spectres merged under the goorg,
South East Melb Magic merged under the Goorj
Victoria Titans folded under the Goorj
Sydney Kings died under the Goorj ........
the bloke is the death knell of aussie basketball no other man has seen the demise of more teams then the mighty Goorj

it also helps for the gorj to be the national coach so any tallented aussie kid see that playing in his team id a easy ride to the boomers so his teams are always in the contention for championships

[Richter]

The real sadness for us of the Hawks getting up is that this was exactly where we should have been in 2005-6.
After peaking early in 2004 we had a shot at the finals which we were big underdogs in. We failed (like the Hawks last year).

In 2005 we lost a prelim against Sydney that we we were favourites in.

In 2006 we lost an EF against Melbourne that we should have won......

--------------------------------------------------------------------

In all the GT debate I have never seen this given as anyone's reason why he should have been sacked. But it was the reason why, though I liked him, I was not sad that he left.

He did not get the job done when we were expected to on the big stage...... twice.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

This year, we got as far as anyone could have realistically hoped for. We lost our last game when we were big underdogs.

Ross Lyon has done a good job of turning around the sinking ship of 2007.
Now he needs to (i) consolidate on this year's performance, then either (ii)turn us into a team that wins finals unexpectedly or (iii) a team that wins finals when it is expected to.

As St Fid said, it is about mental strength. Easy to say, extremely difficult to achieve. I hope that RL has it and can instill it into our team.

[rodgerfox]

He did not get the job done when we were expected to on the big stage...... twice.

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I didn't expect us to win either of those finals.

I thought it was nigh on impossible against Sydney. How can you win a prelim with 7 of your starting 18 not even on the park??

Correction, I did think we would beat Melbourne. And we were easily until we lost 4 key players during the game.

[Richter]

I didn't expect us to win either of those finals.

I thought it was nigh on impossible against Sydney. How can you win a prelim with 7 of your starting 18 not even on the park??

Correction, I did think we would beat Melbourne. And we were easily until we lost 4 key players during the game.

I did.

I have always agreed with your argument that injuries did in for us..... but great teams, great coaches find a way to over come the difficulties. That's what makes them great.... winners.....

The problem with the Melbourne game was that we went in with (my memory fades).... but at least 2 underdone players (Raph Clarke and Aaron Hammil, ?X also). So yes, injuries dudded us, but GT rolled the dice by choosing too many 50/50 players in that game. He paid for it with his job, and we paid for it by being essentially out of contention of r at least a couple of years.

[rodgerfox]

I didn't expect us to win either of those finals.

I thought it was nigh on impossible against Sydney. How can you win a prelim with 7 of your starting 18 not even on the park??

Correction, I did think we would beat Melbourne. And we were easily until we lost 4 key players during the game.

I did.

I have always agreed with your argument that injuries did in for us..... but great teams, great coaches find a way to over come the difficulties. That's what makes them great.... winners.....

That's true - however there are 'difficulties', and then there are 'difficulties'.

What we faced in 05 and 06 was beyond anything that any team in the history of the game had to overcome.

05 was the one that got away.

The Freo game in R21 killed us off. The fact we even made the prelim was a serious effort considering.

[rodgerfox]

The problem with the Melbourne game was that we went in with (my memory fades).... but at least 2 underdone players (Raph Clarke and Aaron Hammil, ?X also). So yes, injuries dudded us, but GT rolled the dice by choosing too many 50/50 players in that game. He paid for it with his job, and we paid for it by being essentially out of contention of r at least a couple of years.

Kosi wasn't fit either.

And G did his ankle after kicking 4 in the 1st quarter, and Harves did his hammy.

The irony is that we were cricitised for not risking injured players against Sydney the year before.

Oh well. That's history now.


Another interesting fact is that Croad went into a GF with a broken foot, ditto Campbell Brown and Crawford had 2 injured knees.


So really, the 'never play injured players in a finals' myth might finally be put to rest.


Like everything in footy, there is no haerd and fast rule to these things. Some times they pay off, sometimes they don't. The difference between whether it was a mistake or not, depend solely on the scoreboard at the end of the day.

We lost. So it was a mistake.

Hawthorn won. So it was a brilliant risk!


Fine line.

[spert]

We lacked and still lack players with the mental toughness to go to 110%. from what RL has said post our recent Prelim loss, he will address that area.

[rodgerfox]

We lacked and still lack players with the mental toughness to go to 110%. from what RL has said post our recent Prelim loss, he will address that area.

He coached against us for several years, and has coached for us for 2 years - and he's only decided to address that now??

I wonder if he'll address Roo's kicking within the next couple of years?

[Richter]

The Freo game in R21 killed us off. The fact we even made the prelim was a serious effort considering.

Yes, the "whispers in the sky"! How could I forget that. Selective memory on my behalf. It was an awesome effort to get back after that.

Like everything in footy, there is no hard and fast rule to these things. Some times they pay off, sometimes they don't. The difference between whether it was a mistake or not, depend solely on the scoreboard at the end of the day.

We lost. So it was a mistake.

Hawthorn won. So it was a brilliant risk!

Fine line.

So true. Makes you wonder if it isn't all down to fate?

It's at those times we're really tested as a club. To make the decision that whilst luck has a great part to play so does application, fortitude, courage and loyalty (though not necessarily to former coaches..... ). And even then it may not be enough.

All part of being a football (and in particular a Saints) follower.

[ctqs]

Brian Goorjian is probably the best basketball coach in Australia, and is especially good at developing young talent. He had a habit of getting teams to semi finals and grand finals, but never winning the big one. I've been lucky enough to speak to him quite a few times over the years. He once told me his philosophy. "If you keep kicking at the door, you'll eventually kick it in."
It was simple, but effective. He's since won a swag of NBL titles, and is the only coach to win three in a row.
That has to be our mantra.

Brian Goojian isnt really a the best bloke to look up to ....
Eastside Spectres merged under the goorg,
South East Melb Magic merged under the Goorj
Victoria Titans folded under the Goorj
Sydney Kings died under the Goorj ........
the bloke is the death knell of aussie basketball no other man has seen the demise of more teams then the mighty Goorj

it also helps for the gorj to be the national coach so any tallented aussie kid see that playing in his team id a easy ride to the boomers so his teams are always in the contention for championships

That's not quite true. It was poor administration and had nothing to do with him as a bloke or coach. I've never known a coach to be the person to decide whether a club lives or dies. On the contrary, you could argue it was his ability to keep his teams thereabouts that kept them alive for as long as they were. And he's only been the national coach for the past few years, so that wasn't the reason he could attract and develop the best young players.

[spert]

We lacked and still lack players with the mental toughness to go to 110%. from what RL has said post our recent Prelim loss, he will address that area.

He coached against us for several years, and has coached for us for 2 years - and he's only decided to address that now??

I wonder if he'll address Roo's kicking within the next couple of years?

It takes a couple of years to get to know a playing list and how they perform in certain situations..the coach would like to think he can work on some players' strengths and weaknesses, but after two seasons, he will now have a clearer picture of who will make up the core of a potential premiership team, and who will not.

[rodgerfox]

We lacked and still lack players with the mental toughness to go to 110%. from what RL has said post our recent Prelim loss, he will address that area.

He coached against us for several years, and has coached for us for 2 years - and he's only decided to address that now??

I wonder if he'll address Roo's kicking within the next couple of years?

It takes a couple of years to get to know a playing list and how they perform in certain situations..the coach would like to think he can work on some players' strengths and weaknesses, but after two seasons, he will now have a clearer picture of who will make up the core of a potential premiership team, and who will not.

It takes a good coach about 6 weeks to work that out.

[Richter]

......have a clearer picture of who will make up the core of a potential premiership team, and who will not.

It's fairly obvious who that is. Even if half of Saintsational want them traded......