Shane Birss delisting....

[Raven]

It's a damned shame, I really rated Birss. There must be something Ross Lyon didn't like about him, he seemed very serviceable in each game he played for us this year. I didn't watch every Scorps game, but wasn't he consistently rated in the best players list?

I just can't believe someone like Fiora is retained while Birss gets the boot. I don't have anything against Fiora, but I'd prefer Birss to him any day. Different type of player I suppose.

Fiora seems to get a lot of chances. He must be doing something right. I can't really figure it out.

[Winmar7Fan]

I reckon he was unlucky but if the coach isn't going to play him then why keep him?

Can't see much improvement on what he's shown so far. If that's not good enough or what they want from him then it makes sense to move him on.

Unlike you with your Avartar. Huge improvement

[BigMart]

Good player - unlucky......he could do a job in the seniors better than quite a few others (at least 6) - a smart, competative player....with a lot of skill - a bit slow

[bigcarl]

Birss....... must be very, very unlucky.

Played a forward defensive role on Heath Shaw and held him to less than ten touches while kicking three goals and barely gets another similar opportunity all season.

yes, the stiffest of the delistings i thought.

what i liked about him was that apart from his good defensive abilities he was also a handy goal-kicker, something that should never be overlooked in a forward.

[saintbrat]

Welcome to the Birss Hour,

Finey has taken him to heart and is giving him the full hour I think

[marksnsparks]

Can Birss and Attard be picked up again as Rookies?

[Saints43]

I didn't realise this...

Mark Fine on SEN said that Birss played eight games for the Saints this year and still managed to pick up the Casey B&F.

[saintbrat]

I didn't realise this...

Mark Fine on SEN said that Birss played eight games for the Saints this year and still managed to pick up the Casey B&F.

he didn't get the Best and fairest- Finey was wrong

he was second and Rixy third James Wall was the deserved winner
http://www.scorpions.com.au/latest/late ... rpion.html

Birssy played no more games than X

[Saints Premiers 2008]

what was birss' best qualities as a footballer???

im really struggling apart from occassionally popping up for a guy now and then

and even then his goal-kicking gets highlighted because we don't have many mids that kick goals regularly anyway

[To the top]

As I have mentioned before, I can understand recruiting the likes of a Cousins, Gram and even Brooks and Watts from other clubs.

All for valid reasons.

But past that I can not see why guys who have not commanded a regular game in reaching 50 AFL appearances should come to St Kilda and be in our best 22 - or anywhere near it.

Good clubs do not get rid of good footballers.

[maverick]

Birss is the classical too good for VFL and not good enough for AFL IMO.
Good kick, excellent goal sense, reasonable over head, but one paced, doesn't find the pill enough and has no real tricks.

At this stage of his career he may be better than CJ, Geary, Eddy and even Armo & Steven, but all of them have more potential.

Birss is unlucky, but really if him Eddy, McQualter or Fiora left, it really is much of a muchness.

I would have kept Birss and delisted Geary, but as with the above none of them are setting the world on fire.

How many of Gwilt, Fiora, Howard, Eddy, Geary, McQualter would other teams want???

[jonesy]

Dissapointed old chicken run copped the chop. Thought he was a good depth player...surely better than the likes of Fisher,Fiora,Howard,Mcqualter,Eddy and co. I know these guys are contracted still,but sheesh,we need depth, Birss provided that,was capable of doing a better than average job on a given day. The previous names are only capable of doing an average job at there best.

Attard- Bad luck he did his knee 15 months ago,but it was the correct decision. We are not a charity organisation,although with some players on our list you'd be excused to think otherwise at times. We have enough honest toiling taggers who can't get the ball and when they do can't dispose of it efficiently.

Ferguson- Enough chances,correct decision.

Rix- Correct

Charlie Gardiner- Probably would of kept him for insurance

It would be good if we could cull about 10 others also...next year.

[The_Dud]

very surprised to see Birss go, especially ahead of the likes of Fiora

[midas_touch]

Would definitely rather have kept him over Fiora...oh well best of luck to Birssy for 2009 and beyond.

[WayneJudson42]

Would definitely rather have kept him over Fiora...oh well best of luck to Birssy for 2009 and beyond.

Birss was yet another player who has shown "glimpses". Personally I rate the guy, but maybe he doesn't fit into the bigger picture?

Maybe we have to many of his type? An extra yard or two of pace, and I reckon he would've stayed. We need legspeed, which explains why we kept Fizz, X and CJ.

Good luck to him for the future.

[Eastern]

No more Rix rocks Rux which will be missed on here

It is surprising that the poster of multiple, repetative, multiple, repetative posts hasn't started on that yet. Give it time !!

[skeptic]

Agree with MSG entirely.

Birss how shown so much more and is much more than a number of players that have been kept on the list

would easily take him ahead of Fiora, Jones, McQualter

I wonder if maybe RL is trying to scare him a little (hopeful)

[Con Gorozidis]

Would definitely rather have kept him over Fiora...oh well best of luck to Birssy for 2009 and beyond.

Birss was yet another player who has shown "glimpses". Personally I rate the guy, but maybe he doesn't fit into the bigger picture?

Maybe we have to many of his type? An extra yard or two of pace, and I reckon he would've stayed. We need legspeed, which explains why we kept Fizz, X and CJ.

Good luck to him for the future.

lets be honest. the reason he was delisted is because some half-wit signed L Fisher and Fiora to long term contracts.

none of those guys you mentioned are that fast. can we stop perpetuating the myth that fiora is fast? he does not have leg speed. hes a mid-paced cruiser.

on the pace issue - i would say that no-one in the saints regular line-up is geniunely fast. we dont have any genuine leg speed.

[plugger66]

Agree with MSG entirely.

Birss how shown so much more and is much more than a number of players that have been kept on the list

would easily take him ahead of Fiora, Jones, McQualter

I wonder if maybe RL is trying to scare him a little (hopeful)

Scare him into being a good player in the SAFL. Very nice of RL.

[ctqs]

Would definitely rather have kept him over Fiora...oh well best of luck to Birssy for 2009 and beyond.

Birss was yet another player who has shown "glimpses". Personally I rate the guy, but maybe he doesn't fit into the bigger picture?

Maybe we have to many of his type? An extra yard or two of pace, and I reckon he would've stayed. We need legspeed, which explains why we kept Fizz, X and CJ.

Good luck to him for the future.

Yeah but it's no good having speed if you can't get the ball or stuff it up when you do? Birss has a crack, as does CJ, who is quick though his skills are really ordinary. Fiora has pace and is a good kick, but is too soft for my liking. I hope we re-draft Birss.

[St Fidelius]

In my opinion Birss must have had a falling out with RL...

I could not believe he was dropped in round 22 and didn't play in the finals and the selection of Fiora in the Prelim Final over him baffled me...

There must be a reason to that IMO

[saintbrat]

Birssy is going to be on SEN on the afternoon program- so could be anytime between now and 6.55pm

[Raven]

Birssy is going to be on SEN on the afternoon program- so could be anytime between now and 6.55pm

Coming up next, they said.

[meher baba]

Let's not get too carried away here. Birss was taken at pick 26 and then only managed to be selected for 41 AFL games in his first 4 and a half seasons at the Bulldogs: a period during which they lost 2 out of every 3 games they played and were were more or less the bottom side in the AFL.

Then, as the Dogs began to turn it all around from mid-2005, with their exciting brand of rebounding football, Birss more or less dropped out of the picture, playing only 3 games in 2006 when the Dogs made the QF.

Traded to the Saints, he played 18 games in his first season and a half with us, when we had heaps of injuries and were playing like crap, and then once again faded away as we swept through to the finals. Such is Birss's tendency to be selected when a team is doing badly and then dropped when it starts to do better that he actually only played in 26 winning teams (plus two draws) out of 71 games of AFL.

The fact that Birss was not considered to be good enough to be selected ahead of Jones, Eddy and McQualter sums it up to me. Like others on here, I thought he looked like he was a better player than any of those 3, but Lyon (like Eade before him) has clearly determined that Birss doesn't adequately fill any role available to him in the team.

He has averaged less than 0.5 goals, less than 14 possessions and less than 3 tackles per game. He does not win enough ball or make enough tackles to be an inside midfielder, but he is not truly fast enough or kick enough goals to be an effective outside midfielder or wingman. His disposal is reasonable, without being outstanding.

Fiora is faster, more damaging with the ball when in form, equally capable of kicking a goal (although his strike rate should be better) and is much better in the air. He had a shocking 2008, but is clearly (at least to my eyes) much more of an AFL standard player than is Birss.

Jones is a fairer comparison. I would rate Birss ahead of Jones in most areas except tackling and perhaps effort (and perhaps leg speed, although I've never been sure that Jones is really as fast as many people think: I'd love to see the results of some club tests). But Lyon sees a spot in his team for a less skilled hard-working tackler ahead of a relatively low output outside player. And I reckon he's right.

[mad saint guy]

Birrs traded for pick number 61
61 = Josh Hill(Claremont now WB)

Pretty sure it was pick 59.

59 to WB for Birss
59 to WC for McDougal?
59 and Gardiner to for 43

We then used 59 to draft Allen, WC used 43 to draft Tim Houlihan