Changes for this week

[mohannair]

I saw Chips & Kosi going for Scan. Will they play this week? Also heard Zac will be back this week.

Another inclusion could be Gardi.

Plenty of headache for the section committee.

[saintsRrising]

I saw Chips & Kosi going for Scan. .

Means little....Saints players are scanned often now....at least 4 scanned this week...

On Zac...Lyon said he is in if he passes fitness test.


Gardi for Stanley

Zac.....most lekely Demspter, maybe Geary



...and if it was me Steven for Mini (offensively has been ok..but offensively has lost his Mojo)..

[Legendary]

Hope they drop a defender (Dempster) for Zac rather than a runner (Geary) ... can't afford to be too top heavy.

[skeptic]

i really hope Zac doesn't come back... he just messes up our structure so much...

we play a lot better w/o him

Zac and Mini... when they're both on the ground its like playing with 16 men.

Don't get me wrong i like them both but IMO they've both been horribly out of form all year

[Teflon]

Zac has a role against Cats.

A role against Pies.

A role against Dogs

All those sides have multiple, large, fwds against which zac has a role.

IF we were playing Carlton.....Id say no zac.

[stinger]

ross said that zac was the saints full back...if he is fit he will play,........simple really......

[Thinline]

Zac has a role against Cats.

A role against Pies.

A role against Dogs

All those sides have multiple, large, fwds against which zac has a role.

IF we were playing Carlton.....Id say no zac.

yes

[older saint]

Based on fitness

IN: Dawson Gardiner
Out: Stanley, ( unless Kosi sore and then he will be rested) ,

2nd one is a tough one. Dempster possibly. I think Geary may stay as earmarked for Bakers spot if Bakes not back. Mini's pressure has been good the last couple weeks which is required from him - not goals. Even started inthe middle on Sunday which shows RL trying different things. Eddy has been very good in selfless acts and pressure.

Back 5 of Gwilt, Blake, Gilbert, Fisher, Geary seems settled.

Worth noting last legit game for Sandy this week so Dawson may run there?

[saintspremiers]

ross said that zac was the saints full back...if he is fit he will play,........simple really......

It is, or you could base all your viewpoints on how we match up to two rubbish teams in North and Port, rather than looking at the finalists as Teffers has correctly done.

[SainterK]

Wouldn't be surprised if we see Armo in, I know he is returning from injury and hasn't been named in the best, but wouldn't Ross want some senior games into them before finals?

For this reason, this week

In Armo, Steven
Out Lenny, Milne (rest)

Probably wrong, but it's just a guess

[gringo]

Wouldn't mind Joey and Dal sitting out a week. Both had recent nose breaks and are looking a bit sore. Steven might get another go as maybe A. Smith and Armo.

[Sobraz]

Dempster surely to be dropped.... Crap player... Zac to take his spot...

Give Gardi another week off, leave Rhys in....

1 change...

Would like to see Steven for Mini - Wont happen..

[saint3d]

Wouldn't mind Joey and Dal sitting out a week. Both had recent nose breaks and are looking a bit sore. Steven might get another go as maybe A. Smith and Armo.

Dal Santo had a week off not that long ago.

[skeptic]

Zac has a role against Cats.

A role against Pies.

A role against Dogs

All those sides have multiple, large, fwds against which zac has a role.

IF we were playing Carlton.....Id say no zac.

A role against the Dogs= being manhandled by Barry Hall

A role against the Pies = making their average forwards look good by not punching the ball effectively

A role against the Cats... well ok I don't think he plays them that badly

Still I reckon our current back 6 structures well w/o him and the extra runner is a good tool for the rotations and match ups

ALSO... vote Steven or Armo instead of Mini

[BonoRocks]

A role against the Dogs= being manhandled by Barry Hall

A role against the Pies = making their average forwards look good by not punching the ball effectively

A role against the Cats... well ok I don't think he plays them that badly

Still I reckon our current back 6 structures well w/o him and the extra runner is a good tool for the rotations and match ups

100 agree, zac is a rabit in the headlights and still cant believe we went into a grand final with him in the wet and left out one of the best full backs of the last decade in what was going to be a low scorring affair.

We function a whole lot better with him not in the side, we are top heavy down back with him there.

[clarky449]

A role against the Dogs= being manhandled by Barry Hall

A role against the Pies = making their average forwards look good by not punching the ball effectively

A role against the Cats... well ok I don't think he plays them that badly

Still I reckon our current back 6 structures well w/o him and the extra runner is a good tool for the rotations and match ups

100 agree, zac is a rabit in the headlights and still cant believe we went into a grand final with him in the wet and left out one of the best full backs of the last decade in what was going to be a low scorring affair.

We function a whole lot better with him not in the side, we are top heavy down back with him there.

how many games did Zac play last year and how many did Max play? Dawson held his own last year. Max battled with injury.

[spert]

Been disappointed with NDS over a few weeks now, looks Ok when he has the ball, but just not going at it hard enough, maybe needs a rest to freshen up?

[kannus_]

I can't believe no one in the post has actually made the suggestion or even realised that our Back 6 looks better now that Goddard is playing 75 to 80% game time there in the last two weeks. It makes such a fdifference having Goddard bringing the ball out of our D50 rather than a Blake or Dempster.

The other thing I would like to see is an analysis of which defender from the Saints has the most goals kicked on them during the game.
You are all quick to bag Dawson(I am not his biggest fan either) but surely on average Jason Blake has had alot more goals kicked on him on an average during the season than Dawson has.

Blake just has the luxury that he doesn't play on one forward the whole game so instead of having a bag of 5 or 6 against his names he actually has multiple opponents kicking one two or three goals against him a game. He is one of our weak links in the backline but unfortunately no one sees this.

[Dr Spaceman]

A role against the Dogs= being manhandled by Barry Hall

A role against the Pies = making their average forwards look good by not punching the ball effectively

A role against the Cats... well ok I don't think he plays them that badly

Still I reckon our current back 6 structures well w/o him and the extra runner is a good tool for the rotations and match ups

100 agree, zac is a rabit in the headlights and still cant believe we went into a grand final with him in the wet and left out one of the best full backs of the last decade in what was going to be a low scorring affair.

We function a whole lot better with him not in the side, we are top heavy down back with him there.

how many games did Zac play last year and how many did Max play? Dawson held his own last year. Max battled with injury.

I agree with RL that Zac is our only real Full Back option. Yes he's been down a bit this year and has had an interrupted season, but I think he can still play a huge role in September.

Those who still go on about Max (and I loved the bloke) & the GF seem to overlook the fact that he was injury prone (particularly in later years) and that he struggled with the new game plan. They also overlook that he was also prone to make mistakes during games and to turn the ball over. But also Max belonged to an earlier time when he could get away with playing very close and at times infringing on his opponent. There was every chance that he would have played that way in the GF and if the umps had started paying frees against him, as they do against such tactics nowadays, he would have been in real trouble.

Not everyone has warmed to Zac but the fact he played in the GF and Max did not had no bearing on the outcome IMO.

[skeptic]

I agree with RL that Zac is our only real Full Back option. Yes he's been down a bit this year and has had an interrupted season, but I think he can still play a huge role in September.

Those who still go on about Max (and I loved the bloke) & the GF seem to overlook the fact that he was injury prone (particularly in later years) and that he struggled with the new game plan. They also overlook that he was also prone to make mistakes during games and to turn the ball over. But also Max belonged to an earlier time when he could get away with playing very close and at times infringing on his opponent. There was every chance that he would have played that way in the GF and if the umps had started paying frees against him, as they do against such tactics nowadays, he would have been in real trouble.

Not everyone has warmed to Zac but the fact he played in the GF and Max did not had no bearing on the outcome IMO.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the decision to play Zac in the GF last year... he earned his spot and did ok.

He's just been horribly out of form for the majority of this season... I don't think he deserves his spot...

Same deal with Mini... deserved his spot in the GF team but has been terrible this year and we look better w/o him
I'll be absolutely fuming if Mini plays in the finals ahead of any of Geary, Eddy, Armitage or Steven

[saint3d]

I can't believe no one in the post has actually made the suggestion or even realised that our Back 6 looks better now that Goddard is playing 75 to 80% game time there in the last two weeks. It makes such a fdifference having Goddard bringing the ball out of our D50 rather than a Blake or Dempster.

The other thing I would like to see is an analysis of which defender from the Saints has the most goals kicked on them during the game.
You are all quick to bag Dawson(I am not his biggest fan either) but surely on average Jason Blake has had alot more goals kicked on him on an average during the season than Dawson has.

Blake just has the luxury that he doesn't play on one forward the whole game so instead of having a bag of 5 or 6 against his names he actually has multiple opponents kicking one two or three goals against him a game. He is one of our weak links in the backline but unfortunately no one sees this.

Nice try, but most supporters have moved on from the incessant bagging of Jason Blake. You might want to try Clinton Jones; he's the heir apparent to Blake's doesn't-get-any-credit-for-his-good-work-but-every-negative-is-highlighted-because-he-doesn't-look-much-like-a-footballer crown.

Did you know that of players that have played more than one or two games this year, Jason Blake has the highest effective disposal rate IN THE LEAGUE?

Stats can be deceiving, but in this case it means that when Blake gets the ball, you can count on a team mate registering an uncontested possession next up.

Blake isn't nearly as good a kick as Goddard, but through an enormous amount of hard work he has reached a level of consistency with his disposal that has caused me start referring to him as Mr Reliable. It seems to me you'd want exactly that type of player bringing the ball out of D50.

I'm not going to do your homerwork for you but if you manage to get that analysis of who concedes the most goals I'd sure be interested in seeing it. My hunch is it happens to coincide with when the opposition midfield isn't under much pressure and can deliver the ball really well.

Blake was one of only two players to play every match last year, and the only backman, in arguably the best defensive team in recent history. And you claim Blake is a weak link?

I think I know where the weak link is.

[saint3d]

Same deal with Mini... deserved his spot in the GF team but has been terrible this year and we look better w/o him
I'll be absolutely fuming if Mini plays in the finals ahead of any of Geary, Eddy, Armitage or Steven

Maybe nobody else noticed but I thought Mini took a huge step in the right direction last week. He was involved in several good passages of play and certainly was closer to last year's form than he's been since... well, since a long time ago.

If he hasn't been dropped yet he's not going to be on the back of last week's performance.

[plugger66]

No changes this week for me.

[skeptic]

Same deal with Mini... deserved his spot in the GF team but has been terrible this year and we look better w/o him
I'll be absolutely fuming if Mini plays in the finals ahead of any of Geary, Eddy, Armitage or Steven

Maybe nobody else noticed but I thought Mini took a huge step in the right direction last week. He was involved in several good passages of play and certainly was closer to last year's form than he's been since... well, since a long time ago.

If he hasn't been dropped yet he's not going to be on the back of last week's performance.

I hardly consider 1 good game against a lowly opponent as a ringing endorsement after a consistently poor season to date

[BonoRocks]

[
I agree with RL that Zac is our only real Full Back option. Yes he's been down a bit this year and has had an interrupted season, but I think he can still play a huge role in September.

Those who still go on about Max (and I loved the bloke) & the GF seem to overlook the fact that he was injury prone (particularly in later years) and that he struggled with the new game plan. They also overlook that he was also prone to make mistakes during games and to turn the ball over. But also Max belonged to an earlier time when he could get away with playing very close and at times infringing on his opponent. There was every chance that he would have played that way in the GF and if the umps had started paying frees against him, as they do against such tactics nowadays, he would have been in real trouble.

Not everyone has warmed to Zac but the fact he played in the GF and Max did not had no bearing on the outcome IMO.

It was going to be a wet day, low scorring, max would have been a much better defnsive option. Zac was sheltered last year in a group defence which clubs are trying to spread and expose this year.Hhave a look at Zac this year, he gets lost worrying about his man when honestly h should see the ball and go for it, Dont get me wrong id love him to prove me wrong, but I think our defence functions a whole lot better without him there.