IntraClub Practice Match

[python]

Thought Peake looked sharp, was working hard and getting a bit of the ball. Milne got yelled at a few times in the last by roo, i thought it was quite funny, happened about twice in 5 mins, just because he was trying to be too clever with the ball. I wonder how often it happens during the season? You cant help but love milne for it though.

Jack Steven looked really good, was hitting targets as well as anyone i thought. Found it interesting that he was in the yellow with the rest of the best 22, whilst Armitage was not. Whether that means anything or not, i dunno, but Armitage seemed to be very vocal out there which is a good sign that hes trying to step it up to the next level.

The tall guys, like Gaertner and Stanley did some nice things i thought, just the quick pick ups and speed impressed me for such tall guys.

Tommy Walsh is a bit off the pace at this point, he was playing against dawson and blake i think, two pretty good backman, but he seemed not quite used to the game yet. but that's to be expected.

[MCG-Unit]

leigh fisher got a bit of the ball i thought he was alright in the second half.

Thanks, that's news I'm glad to hear....one of my favourite players

Good to also read positives on Steven and Peake, I was hoping Miles might push for selection as well

[emmdee]

Roo/Gilbert/CJ/McEvoy/Armitage/Peake/Schneider/Goddard/dawson/Jack/Joey/Gwilt/Zac/
Milney tried hard but got caught a few times going to ground, like the look of Nick heyne, (solid body), Cahill did a couple of nice things down back, was great to see CJ vs Armitage in the middle for a short time...

[super dooper]

Great turn up from the saints fans tonight. Footy is back and i love it!!!

As for the game:

Roo - looked the goods today although his opponent was pretty ordinary. Work rate amazing.

Steven - Impressed in the 3rd qt in particular, he is not far off!!!

Goddard/Montagna - oozed class, enough said!

Schnieder - played a more midfield role, will be interesting to see if his fitness is good enough to allow him to play that role more permanetely

Armitage - did ok, still not entirely convinced

Gilbert - Read the play very well

Geary - Did a couple good things, but didn't get enough of the pill

McEvoy - rated his game, had one particular passage where he recieved the ball on a second effort and then hit Roo on the lead!

Walsh - Has a very very very very long way to go, lets not get too excited here. I think the best thing here is to have no expectations and take it from there.

Bring on next friday night

[Foz]

I thought Jack Steven was outstanding and seemed to get better the longer the game went. Midfield time already was interesting. Reminds me in style of a Jimmy Bartel - unobtrusive but gets the job done and creative. Dosen't seem to have massive pace but can find the footy.

Theres been a bit of talk about whether Armo or Jack Steven will be vying for spots. My guess is they play different roles, both can kick goals but Armo will be used as the ex # 14 where as Jack may be more the link running Bartel-esqe player in time.

I tended to watch the 'greens' closely. Macca obviously has gone ahead, Stanley looks like another year may be just what he needs to keep maturing.

Who Else? Will Johnson & Miles were ok, wonder about disposal but nice efforts first up. Pace a good thing.

Heyne showed signs, strong body. Thought Cahill did a few nice things too, probably his 1st real preseason so can only get better.

Peake looks like a reincarnation of Farren Ray. Pacey, likes own space, disposal and awareness at times questionable. Call it a Freo thing? I can see the importance if Peake finds his feet though - would be very valuable link player.

[Dis Believer]

Tried to keep an eye on the kids I expected to be pushing up this year - specifically wanted to see how Armo went. Worked into the game well and got a fair bit of it.

Was very impressed with McEvoy, rucked the whole game and looks to have filled out a bit. Thought Geary looked very good and was super impressed with Jack, the kid is a player and has got some pace.

And I am not pulling the trigger after one practise match, but Milney could be closer to the end than we think. Lost his feet a lot today, looked rushed when he got the ball and had a bad case of the fumbles. Hope it was just pre-season rust.............

[SainterK]

Not only did Peake look good, I liked his body language. Lot of clapping and encouraging the boys, seems to have settled in well.

Steven, the kid is classy.

Ben McEvoy, body shape has changed so much, love what I saw as he really competed. Though Gardiner didn't play much, taking it slow I guess.

Geary also, much more developed...has benefited from a big summer in the gym.

Thought it was nice to hear from Nicky Dal during half time, think the leadership business suits him.

I thought Zac looked lively, I like how if he has the time he really finds a target.

Was there fairly early, and Kosi had been out there in some capacity as he had his training gear on. Quite the crew sitting in the stands, eating a nice healthy subway dinner.

Finally Roo, looks a picture of health....and personally I am liking the new natural hair colour.

Weather was perfect, very enjoyable afternoon.

Oh and here is a link for an AFL report

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/ ... fault.aspx

[Teflon]

Interesting watching Bombers/Eagles tonight and hearing the commentary saying they thought the Bombers really missed Andrew Lovett's run/carry through the middle...

Make no mistake this guy is/was EXCATLY what St Kilda needed and he would have set us alight numerous times this year.......just imagine the speed of ball movement into our fwd 50 he offered us??....that in itself would have altered how we looked this year....

ffffrrrrkkkkk.

[fugazi]

Steven and Armo went head to head for most of the game...both impressed.

McEvoy was the best ruckman on the ground I thought...better around the ground too. Still outmuscled by Kingy but looked very confident this year.

Geary and Peake were both good, Peake came into in the second half.

By the way, I thought the format of qtrs broken in half (therefore 8ths) really spoilt the game...just as a rhythm started to develop, the bloody siren would go....I don't know how that can be beneficial to judging the players really, but it screwed up the spectacle.

[stkfc1]

Thought Joey deserved a mention. Was super slick today. CJ was also

very impressive. Looks like he hasn't missed a beat. He and Armo had a

good tussle for a bit.

Armo was good considering he didn't exactly have much support.

As mentioned Steven was good.

McEvoy certainly looks a better player. Does some nice things off the ball.

Was really impressed with Peake. I was happy when we drafted him.

And after seeing him today, I'm stoked! You can see he has that extra

burst over the first few meters that gives him space and uses it well.

Extra note: noticed Nathan Buckley there today. I'm not sure what he was

doing, he spent most of the time with his head down furiously texting on

his mobile.

[Milan Faletic]

Was a little tricky to get used to the players in the Green and Gold.

Farren Ray was excellent and stood out to me.

Roo looked in superb condition. Kicked 6 goals and probably could have kicked 10.

Peake has a good build and showed a bit. Could be a good pick up.

CJ was good. Joey was quick but kicking was a little off although it was gusty.

Kallan Geary tried hard. Blake worked hard. Leigh Fisher worked hard but was straight in to the dressing rooms and another player (unnamed) said he was a bit sore.

Walshy laid a great tackle on Milney which got the crowd excited but then went to kick it backwards and missed two players by a long way. Built like a tank though, very Hamill-ish.

BJ fumbled quite a bit but got the ball. Geary was ok. Gwilt did a bit.

Milney got caught at least three times trying to slip through the tackle. However, he was trying hard.

Schneider missed a shot that was almost identical to the first shot in the GF and the sighs, moans and gulps were palpable. McEvoy has bulked up and looked excellent. Sam Fisher was good and Jack Steven was very good.

As Fugazi mentioned (and it good to meet you) the short 6.5 minute periods meant that there was a lack of continuity. Michael Roberts said it was to avoid making rotations.

I thought the whole thing was run very professionally by the club. The players were very generous with their time afterwards and signed lots of autographs and took lots of photos. I managed to get photos with Milney, CJ, McEvoy and Kosi.

It was pretty good to collect my scarf and cap so easily. They handed out Go Saints banners for free. It was a good atmosphere. Michael Roberts was the MC who was later at the pub afterwards with a few others and the forumites were there. He interviewed Dal and RL did the media after the game.

It was nice to finally meet a few of you at the pub and it was a shame there weren't more people there but it was fun.

[The OtherThommo]

Roo has had his first preseason in 5 - the ENTIRE competition now needs to be scared. Plus, he's put on 3Kgs. Remember Leigh Matthews salutations last year i.e. Roo is the most valuable player going around because he kicks goals.

He will play closer to goal, and he will frighten most. That's why he's the best player in the game.

Steven is a player precisely because he is the classic devekopment kid - started very young, hurried everything, now he's growing into his body and is a natural footballer.

He'll be a Top 10 midfielder in the AFL in 3 years. Why? Because he wants to be. He's the least of our worries. Armo needs to watch the kid. I know who's chasing who.

Milne? Gone. Will play games at his preferred venues because he helps us gets 4 points. But, he will be eased out over the journey , because his big game performances are toxic. He IS a liability.

[markinUSA]

Is it true that Raph has been injured? I didn't see any mention of that on the club's website or on its Facebook site.

[st_Trav_ofWA]

just on the milne thing ... he isnt a spring chicken anymore and its pretty common knowllege that the older blokes take some time to get going , he will be fine just give it a few weeks ... (just dont expect him to be sent into the midfield )

[python]

Just want to point out that at one point riewoldt had a bad handball, which resulted in a 50-50 ball in the backline, which led to me and my mates saying "cmon number 12, theres a spot up for grabs and you do that!" etc etc. And in the time itd taken us to say that, the man had moved over 60 meters and was lining up for goal. Freakishly fit. Being a saints supporter all my life (im 21), its still stunning to see his fitness at work. I felt sorry for Daniel Archer who i saw at one point was lined up on him. Amazing to watch.

[The OtherThommo]

Yeah, but, Trav, his recent finals' performances will count now - that's why I say he'll play games where he can help get us to finals (i.e. at Etihad), but be eased out by finals time.

[The OtherThommo]

Monty (python), that's what Roo does - be neither amazed or chastened, he is that good. Unfortunately, on GF day his torn adductor limited his sideways movement. But, as The Boss said, he kept presenting and provided enough contested ball wins for his teammates to capitalise.

[degruch]

Yeah, but, Trav, his recent finals' performances will count now - that's why I say he'll play games where he can help get us to finals (i.e. at Etihad), but be eased out by finals time.

If someone else steps up (I'm hoping a Heyne or Steven, maybe a leading forward in Lynch or Gwilt...who knows what else might pop up this year???), I tend to agree. The GF proved his fragility under fire beyond doubt IMO. The only worrying thing is, the same could be said for Schnieder (and maybe a few others)

[The OtherThommo]

Not just the GF, d'g. His record in big games away from The Lid is poor. Had a fair game when we beat Sydney at the G in '04, but that's it. The rest is a CV of an also ran.

[Quixote]

Thanks for all the reports crew.

Anyone know why Tom Lynch didn't play?

[ace]

Not great positives but hardly any negatives as well apart from Raph hurting his hammy.

What AGAIN.
If he can't keep his hammies in shape he may have to go and join Gold Coast to be near Xavier.

[plugger66]

A couple of things. Hutchins didnt play. Kallan Geary wore his number. There was no where near 10000 there. Maybe 3-4000 thousand. And finally on Milne. Wouldnt take any notice of a stupid intra club game. If he plays well during the season he will play in finals or do we say Milney you have kicked 20 in the last 4 weeks but we are dropping you now as the finals start next week. Not going to happen.

[borderbarry]

Does anyone have any news on Raph's injury? And it was the only one?

[saintsRrising]

Thanks to all for great reports.

To me it is all basically good news as the players in the main that we need to step up and try and force their way into our best 22 are all up and about with the younger players having physically matured.

These players are:

Steven
Armo
Geary
McEvoy

and the not so young Peake.

Ben as a ruckman is a special case as he is fighting with Gardi and King for 1 of the two spots availbale in the 22.

The other 4 are fighting for say 2/3 spots..subject to injuries creating more (ie say Peak in for Raph).

Compared to 2009 where Max basically did not play we have only really lost Ball.

Dempster is on the cusp of the 22. Perhaps just in or out depending on match ups.

For extra depth if injury strikes we have Eddy, Gwilt, L Fisher, Pattison who are all at least competent at AFL level.

Many others are about to develop as players in 2010..but perhaps who will see little senior games. ie Stanley, Lynch etc..

Looks to me that we will start 2010 primed...

[chook23]

Could not make it last night................

did Pattison play?