Zac Dawson to make Round 1 debut

[Teflon]

The arguments about Dawson and backline set ups to stop Hall are mute IF we win the midfield contest. Win that and Barry omes further up the ground to get a kick and becomes far less dangerous.

As for the coach asking players whether Dawsons the man for the job.......not a fan of "coaching by consensus" myself.....has to much of a "Kev Rudd Forum/think tank" feel to it and screams "Im not sure what Im doing".

Thats why we have 5 coaches. Just let the players play.

[spert]

The midfield must be accountable and not let the ball get into the opposition forward zone as much. Put Baker on Hall -should be good for a laugh.

[Saints Premiers 2008]

The arguments about Dawson and backline set ups to stop Hall are mute IF we win the midfield contest. Win that and Barry omes further up the ground to get a kick and becomes far less dangerous.

As for the coach asking players whether Dawsons the man for the job.......not a fan of "coaching by consensus" myself.....has to much of a "Kev Rudd Forum/think tank" feel to it and screams "Im not sure what Im doing".

Thats why we have 5 coaches. Just let the players play.

asking players wouldnt give zac the greatest confidence if they said no

[stinger]

he was the dorks representative in the grand final 100 meter sprint wasn't he...?......not bad for a guy who is 195 cm....shows that there is an upside to him....

[True Blue Sainter]

he was the dorks representative in the grand final 100 meter sprint wasn't he...?......not bad for a guy who is 195 cm....shows that there is an upside to him....

May well have been stinger, but is that sort of nullified considering there are 22 players on their list who weren't considered for the sprint? (I.e. those playing on the big day!).

[SainterK]

I guess it depends on what you perceive as a good result, it would be silly to expect BH not to bag a couple. I personally think it's not a bad match up, Zac has the obvious advantage of youth and Barry would be slowing down these days one would expect?

what would youth have to do with anything if hall is much stronger and better at using his body in the contest???

i think it could potentially be a bad match up...a match up that could cost us the game if he gets a few early..builds the confidence and forces a much better players to be his opponent

Can I say I told you so

Seriously though, how old did Hall look....

[WayneJudson42]

I guess it depends on what you perceive as a good result, it would be silly to expect BH not to bag a couple. I personally think it's not a bad match up, Zac has the obvious advantage of youth and Barry would be slowing down these days one would expect?

what would youth have to do with anything if hall is much stronger and better at using his body in the contest???

i think it could potentially be a bad match up...a match up that could cost us the game if he gets a few early..builds the confidence and forces a much better players to be his opponent

Can I say I told you so

Seriously though, how old did Hall look....

Did all right that Dawson boy...

[FullMonty]

Played well.
Good first game, welcome to the club Zac!

[Enrico_Misso]

Zac was terrific.

I got him in my Dreamteam.
And I guess by next week he will be in everyones dreamteam.

Fantastic pickup !

[SainterK]

Seems like a good kid, I enjoyed his comments after the game....he seems determined to earn some respect and lose some of the stigma attached to his name.

I liked when they asked "do you know the song" he said he hadn't even thought of that

[Dawson 4 brownlow]

Yeah if he continues he will win the brownlow

[Hurricane]

I presonally thaught he was super impressive. Did everything right and kept a very dangerous player pretty quiet.

Had a lot to prove and IMHO until Goose and Max return will be more than suitable cover. Even after they come back I wouldnt put him out of the team if he keeps preforming that way.

BANG BANG

[golden hawk]

Seems like a good kid, I enjoyed his comments after the game....he seems determined to earn some respect and lose some of the stigma attached to his name.

I liked when they asked "do you know the song" he said he hadn't even thought of that

i am glad he had a good game , was sad he never got to lose that stigma at the hawks , got on emergency list couple of times but it woulds have been hard to break in at the time he was on that list , hope he does well and gets more games except against hawks of course

[golden hawk]

Zac was terrific.

I got him in my Dreamteam.
And I guess by next week he will be in everyones dreamteam.

Fantastic pickup !

i got him in my super coach

[borderbarry]

Very impressed with him. Got good pace, size, and courage.

[Otiman]

I wonder if he'll keep his spot once Max comes back.

[saintsRrising]

I wonder if he'll keep his spot once Max comes back.

Based on that game, why not?

PROS

Goose is not yet ready...

Max can play on short to talls..

It frees up the tall Sam to be a running flanker/mid
It allows Gilbert to be used as running flanker.....or swung up forward in burst..

CONS
One might be worried that two tall "stoppers" is too many in todays running game.

[vacuous space]

One might be worried that two tall "stoppers" is too many in todays running game.

Two tall stoppers are required. Right now it's Hudghton and Blake, but if Dawson plays really well, we can play Blake elsewhere. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. It's one game against an ageing key forward in which we really stifled their forward movement. Let's see how he goes next week before we start putting him in our best 22.

[milney044]

I just want to congratulate Zac on a very promising debut for the Saints. His bump on Hall early was fantastic and showed he wasn't intimidated and comitted to the challenge. He beat Hall one on one on several occasions which was pleasing to see. I had my worries leading into the game but he stood tall and appeared confident when he had the footy. Promoising signs, well done Zac.

[InkerSaint]

Did you see that Sydney midfielder storming up the corridor in the 3rd, only to have Zac shirtfront him and drop him like a sack of spuds? Bring on the rematch with Anthony Rocca!

[evertonfc]

The major, major plus out of Dawson playing would be that Hall isn't the player he used to be, and can be beaten these days. That would give Dawson an incredible shot of confidence to say "I beat Barry Hall in my first game for St Kilda" - and he'll start to believe that he can make a difference for us.

Let's hope this is the case. Well done Zac, you had a very good game - looking forward to seeing more of these efforts in the future.

[saint66au]

The arguments about Dawson and backline set ups to stop Hall are mute IF we win the midfield contest. Win that and Barry omes further up the ground to get a kick and becomes far less dangerous.

As for the coach asking players whether Dawsons the man for the job.......not a fan of "coaching by consensus" myself.....has to much of a "Kev Rudd Forum/think tank" feel to it and screams "Im not sure what Im doing".

Thats why we have 5 coaches. Just let the players play.

....just cos you pulled Loris up on a typo somewhere....I should point out that the correct word is MOOT

[rixxo]

Best bump i saw last night was Dawso's hit on big bazza .Hadn't heard much of him till the game but i reakon he proved he has was it takes as long as he's consistant.

[Sobraz]

Is a great size for a key defender, and has plenty of good attributes...

A really good game last night... Goose may find it hard to get back in.... 3 key defensive spots needed, with Max, Blake, Zac and Goose the main contenders... 4 doesnt fit into 3...

[claystreet]

I like his leap, and that bump on Hall was classic.