Ross Lyon on "On the Couch" Tonight !!

[Eastern]

I heard Gerard Healey mention that Ross is their guest on the couch tonight. Fox Sports 1,2, or 3 at 8.30 tonight !!

[Solar]

anyone with fox want to giv us a little run down?

gotta love the post game presser on the AFL site, interesting to hear him every week. Very smart operator and starting to open up a little.

[LTN16]

I heard Gerard Healey mention that Ross is their guest on the couch tonight. Fox Sports 1,2, or 3 at 8.30 tonight !!

Can't wait for it. Should be good.

[Sunday Red]

Thanks for the heads up. Should be good to hear our latest 'convert' Mike Sheahan ask a few questions!

[saintbrat]

announced on SaintsCentral too

[Eastern]

announced on SaintsCentral too

Saints_Media used to come on here and announce these things. It doesn't seem to hapen any more. Does anyone know why? !!

[saintbrat]

he's busy I think
the department appears to have been down sized-- where there were 4 now there are 2

AND the Saints are " in demand"- he/ she's probably really busy

[Eastern]

he's busy I think
the department appears to have been down sized-- where there were 4 now there are 2

AND the Saints are " in demand"- he/ she's probably really busy

OK. That makes sense. Thanks for that !!

[saintbrat]

I noted he/she does try and post if there are changes to events etc...

just not some of the incidental things
.

[Iceman234]

On soon.

He must be a fave of the show - second time this year?

Pleasing.

[saintspremiers]

anyone with fox want to giv us a little run down?

gotta love the post game presser on the AFL site, interesting to hear him every week. Very smart operator and starting to open up a little.

Probably because this site could be deemed "anti-AFL" and if there was any connection from an official Saints source it may hinder us getting a fair deal in anything

[vacuous space]

I'm just doing a write up now

[Iceman234]

I'm just doing a write up now

Excellent - I just had an 18 minute phone call....

[SainterK]

I'll let everyone else fill you in, but he handled himself well.

I love his "I know a bit about football" self confidence, he just seems to emit self belief rather than arrogance.

[linz]

Gawd here goes!!
Lyon was relaxed & James Hird was in love with his answers.

Normal sort of expletives given ie It's in the players hands, that's why he doesn't sing the club song etc. with them.

Praised the efforts of our principal ball winners like Roo, Dal, Kosi, Goddard etc.

Overall humble as you would expect. All you can try & do is win each week .... blah blah. Long way to go & you can only improve on reflection.

A great learning curve last week. Now weaknesses can be identified & corrected as a result of the competition. Will keep us on our toes.

Anyway, I may have missed a lot, but he reminds me a lot like
Allan Jeans. Funny that!!

I reckon

[vacuous space]

OTC opened the interview by showing some footage of our R12 match against Sydney last year. They brought up a graphic detailing the differences sine then in contested ball, tackles and (IIRC) forward 50 tackles. Our contested ball since then has gone from -10 to +15, we've gone from 11th to first in tackles and up to 3rd in forward 50 tackles from somewhere around the bottom. Lyon said he felt that he always had the support of the senior players - he named Riewoldt, Hayes, Harvey and Hudghton.

Dal and Milne paid the price for the team effort that week, but they weren't alone i not carrying out the wishes of the club. Lyon later challenged the midfield (specifically Dal and Joey) to train harder to escape tags. Of all our players, he said he'd most like to have the ball in Dal Santo's hands (ahead of Goddard FWIW).

Regarding the gameplan, Lyon outlined changes that were made following finals last year. The team felt that we needed a philosophical change to compete with Geelong and Hawthorn. There was a lot more emphasis put on stoppage play and generating goals from stoppages. Lyon desribed our zoning as more of a 'combination' defence - that the players had licence to roll of their opponents. They showed footage earlier in the program of efforts the Bombers made to get around the zone rather than getting trapped by it like teams like Freo did. There were other changes as well, but I'm struggling to remember them (if anyone can remember feel free to help out).

Asked about Hudghton, he said that match committee hadn't yet worked out how they'll get him back in, but he imagines it'll free up Fisher and Gilbert from more defensive roles. Healy suggested Maguire might be too slow for defence. Ross said that they're trying different things with Goose as he's starting to get a bit frustrated. He feels they could use him back, up forward or even as a mobile ruck if the opportunity presents. It does seem like they're trying to find a pathway for him back into the senior side. Lyon said they feel he will play a role this year, they just don't know how big a role yet.

Credit was given to Matthew Drain for the Farren Ray acquisition. Drain sat Lyon down and explained why he thought Ray was a good fit for us. It was felt that Ray could help fill the gaping hole left by Harves retirement. They looked at video from last preseason of Zac Dawson on Fevola and spoke to Danny Frawley about him before making the decision to bring him in. They felt that Max was vulnerable to injury at his age and we needed a backup to keep Fisher and Gilbert away from FB. Dawson had to be talked into coming here. He didn't want to continue on the fringes, so a commitment was made by both player and club before he came here.

Some insight was given into our assistants. They talked a bit about Jobe Watson's influence on the game. Apparently Ross and Tony Elshaugh (mid coach) had a lively debate as to whether to sit on him or not. Ross was very worried about Watson's contested ball numbers. In the end they opted not to tag him - in part because of the score line. Sheehan asked whether it was fanciful to think that they stole a Geelong coach to gain some insight. Lyon said it wasn't fanciful at all. He said they were very impressed by his perspective on their forward line. Tudor thought our forward got in each others way too much and left a lot to be desired in the pressure department. He didn't say whether Tudor brought with him any secrets to Geelong.

Lyon once again stated that he wasn't looking beyond Brisbane, but said that Geelong were a juggernaut that everyone's trying to figure out how to beat. He said that it took some extraordinary circumstances for Hawthorn to beat them in the Grand Final. Hopefully we'll see him back on the program later in the year.

[Sunday Red]

Ross presented extremely well.

The part that was of most interest to me was Ross' very frank answer to a question asked about recruiting Leigh Tudor. He said that he was quite deliberate about acquiring someone from that (winning) Geelong environment and he was very happy to get Leigh.

[Iceman234]

Matthew Drain would be an enormous benefit to any organisation, very astute man.

Glad we have him, and glad to hear Ross speak highly of him...

[sainter2631]

Interesting hearing him speak about Leigh Tudor. Said he was keen to bring someone from Geelong to the club to take over from Drain. Mentioned that Tudor seemed very composed and had some good points on our foward line and its issues with being "clunky"- his words.

Ross spoke about the recuitment of defenders this past pre-season and said they were looking for players to push back into defence to free Goddard and Gram into the midfield. Obviously he praised Dawson for his immense improvement.

They showed vision of Gilbert dropping a mark on the wing, leading to an Essendon goal and Ross said that overall he was pleased with how Gilbert went through the night and thought he was solid. Also showed Blake punching the ball through the goals and the panel discussed the interpretation of the rule and how defenders should react in that situation. Ross laughed it off and joked that Blake should've marked it. Good to know he doesn't feel the need to speak out against Umpiring interpretations and the Umpires in general- something Grant Thomas seemed to be always be in hot water for.

Healy talked about Maguire as now being a future replacement for Kossi or Roo if they go down with injuries and said he was now too slow to be a backman. Ross replied briefly saying that he will play a role this year but is unsure of how significant.

As mentioned by others, he praised the likes of Dal Santo, Goddard, Koschitzke, Montagna and, of course, Riewoldt for standing up this season and being excellent leaders and decision makers.

Seemed very happy and confident did Ross, and so he should be.

[sainters man]

Interesting hearing him speak about Leigh Tudor. Said he was keen to bring someone from Geelong to the club to take over from Drain. Mentioned that Tudor seemed very composed and had some good points on our foward line and its issues with being "clunky"- his words.

Ross spoke about the recuitment of defenders this past pre-season and said they were looking for players to push back into defence to free Goddard and Gram into the midfield. Obviously he praised Dawson for his immense improvement.

They showed vision of Gilbert dropping a mark on the wing, leading to an Essendon goal and Ross said that overall he was pleased with how Gilbert went through the night and thought he was solid. Also showed Blake punching the ball through the goals and the panel discussed the interpretation of the rule and how defenders should react in that situation. Ross laughed it off and joked that Blake should've marked it. Good to know he doesn't feel the need to speak out against Umpiring interpretations and the Umpires in general- something Grant Thomas seemed to be always be in hot water for.

Healy talked about Maguire as now being a future replacement for Kossi or Roo if they go down with injuries and said he was now too slow to be a backman. Ross replied briefly saying that he will play a role this year but is unsure of how significant.

As mentioned by others, he praised the likes of Dal Santo, Goddard, Koschitzke, Montagna and, of course, Riewoldt for standing up this season and being excellent leaders and decision makers.

Seemed very happy and confident did Ross, and so he should be.

With Gilbert he did miss that mark but if you watch the replay he chased from the wing to the goal square and just missed the tackle which turned into a goal

[Iceman234]

Interesting hearing him speak about Leigh Tudor. Said he was keen to bring someone from Geelong to the club to take over from Drain.

Drain doesn't exactly do the same job...probably got quotes confused?

Hope so.

[Beej]

vacuous space, you're becoming quite good at those write-ups it has to be said.

[vacuous space]

vacuous space, you're becoming quite good at those write-ups it has to be said.

Thanks. I'm a regular viewer, so I don't mind at all doing it at all. I think it's a great show. I have a lot of respect for Healy and Hird. Sheehan's okay too when he's not trying to generate headlines.

Lyon seems much more comfortable with the media these days. Then again, 18 wins from 22 games should do that to anybody. Look at Bomber Thompson. If he got any more relaxed, he'd be asleep by 3QT.

[Iceman234]

vacuous space, you're becoming quite good at those write-ups it has to be said.

Thanks. I'm a regular viewer, so I don't mind at all doing it at all. I think it's a great show. I have a lot of respect for Healy and Hird. Sheehan's okay too when he's not trying to generate headlines.

Lyon seems much more comfortable with the media these days. Then again, 18 wins from 22 games should do that to anybody. Look at Bomber Thompson. If he got any more relaxed, he'd be asleep by 3QT.

Agree, thanks mate for your contribution.

[sainter2631]

Interesting hearing him speak about Leigh Tudor. Said he was keen to bring someone from Geelong to the club to take over from Drain.

Drain doesn't exactly do the same job...probably got quotes confused?

Hope so.

What he said about Tudor was right- must've misheard what he said about Drain however.