Fraser Gherig

[Armoooo]

You don't know what you got 'til it's gone do ya...

Is that from Frasers point of view,St Kildas, or the fans .....

The fans but I guess it could be Fraser's aswell, not so sure about the club's point of view on the whole issue, having said that though there still are quite a few fans with mixed emotions as previously stated by numerous posters in this thread.

[stinger]

I understood he was retiring so that he could go and live with his girlfriend in Switzerland/Italy?

Maybe the relationship has broken up?

it's as simple as that.....no secret...been in the newspaper reports that his relationship with the girl is over......

[Armoooo]

I understood he was retiring so that he could go and live with his girlfriend in Switzerland/Italy?

Maybe the relationship has broken up?

it's as simple as that.....no secret...been in the newspaper reports that his relationship with the girl is over......

Awww poor G, everyone was so happy for him aswell

[st_Trav_ofWA]

so his retiremnt was for love alone ...... awwwww how sweet

[fingers]

big softy

[LTN16]

I hate to say this but I don't want Frase back.

I think its time to give some of the young blokes a go down forward like Jarryd Allen and give big Kosi a full season at FF and see how he goes. I think if we get Frase back for 1 year it will be a waste of a draft pick when we could of had a young future FF and it will also hurt the development of players like Allen.

[st_Trav_ofWA]

I hate to say this but I don't want Frase back.

I think its time to give some of the young blokes a go down forward like Jarryd Allen and give big Kosi a full season at FF and see how he goes. I think if we get Frase back for 1 year it will be a waste of a draft pick when we could of had a young future FF and it will also hurt the development of players like Allen.

crap if allen is any good he will force his way into the side .. players have to earn their spot in the side and just playing him to develop him is the stuff teams on the rebuild do not teams who are a realistic chance of a flag

and picking frase up at pick 70 in a shallow draft is not going to hinder our development all that much

[Teflon]

I smell a Lyon in the background here.......I also have concerns over M Gardiner here....and a requirement for a King/Kosi ruck combo in 2008?

hope not.

anyway, it appears that the approach came from fraser, not from us.

imo kosi at ff is key to our chances in 2008, but fraser would be a handy foil for him

According to Mischa's messiah GT on SEN this morning this is ALL Ross Lyon.....hhmmm......does make you wonder if so...why youd need to chase down a 31 yr old retired fwd whod lost passion for the game......unless you needed to fill the square and use Kos elsehwere cause Gardiners about knackered............

I do hope this is all not so...but it seems odd thats all.

[Oh When the Saints]

What would Thomas know?

Why did both Drain and Archie say that Gehrig was the one who approached the club, ringing RL to ask about playing again?

[St Fidelius]

I smell a Lyon in the background here.......I also have concerns over M Gardiner here....and a requirement for a King/Kosi ruck combo in 2008?

hope not.

anyway, it appears that the approach came from fraser, not from us.

imo kosi at ff is key to our chances in 2008, but fraser would be a handy foil for him

According to Mischa's messiah GT on SEN this morning this is ALL Ross Lyon.....hhmmm......does make you wonder if so...why youd need to chase down a 31 yr old retired fwd whod lost passion for the game......unless you needed to fill the square and use Kos elsehwere cause Gardiners about knackered............

I do hope this is all not so...but it seems odd thats all.

Gardiner has been "knackered" for years...

you only have to look back into the 2005 GF to see that....

I hope I'm wrong but to me it's a bit like Matthew Allen IMO

[Teflon]

What would Thomas know?

Why did both Drain and Archie say that Gehrig was the one who approached the club, ringing RL to ask about playing again?

Oh Grant still has the goss....even stated hed have the goss on gehrigs GF break up in a matter of days....dont worry bout old Grant...hes still terrorising some of the players no doubt....gotta keep relevance in the media somehow its the adage of a good vulture.

And if I was Lyon and wanted Gehrig to be picked up by us without any fear of draft tampering repercussions for St Kilda I too would say "he approached us but theres no guarantees......." -what esle can they say......."weve been badgering him for months and are now just manufacturing a story to get him to the club....well be in touch???"

Its not that hard to imagine........and I reckon Grant may have heard something along the lines of what Im tipping...

[bigcarl]

unless you needed to fill the square and use Kos elsehwere cause Gardiners about knackered.

a big mistake if we play kosi anywhere other than ff, IMO, even if it means using blake or someone else as second ruck.

our biggest weakness last year was in not being able to turn opportunities to goals and i see kosi's ability to take a contested mark as vital to turning this around in 2008.

[Teflon]

unless you needed to fill the square and use Kos elsehwere cause Gardiners about knackered.

a big mistake if we play kosi anywhere other than ff, IMO, even if it means using blake or someone else as second ruck.

our biggest weakness last year was in not being able to turn opportunities to goals and i see kosi's ability to take a contested mark as vital to turning this around in 2008.

Im not arguing for that - Im speculating what the coach may be thinking though.

I dont think Kosi is a ruckman - but I KNOW Blake aint one.

[bigcarl]

Im not arguing for that - Im speculating what the coach may be thinking though.

I understood you. just hope you're wrong on this one and that fraser's simply had a change of heart.

[saintsRrising]

What would Thomas know?

Why did both Drain and Archie say that Gehrig was the one who approached the club, ringing RL to ask about playing again?

Plus Drain saying he was woken up at am in the morning...

If it was all premeditated....Drain would have had the forms filled out already...

[LTN16]

crap if allen is any good he will force his way into the side .. players have to earn their spot in the side and just playing him to develop him is the stuff teams on the rebuild do not teams who are a realistic chance of a flag

and picking frase up at pick 70 in a shallow draft is not going to hinder our development all that much

Well thats just your opinion

Well were Port a realistic chance of a flag last year ??

Thats what happens when you play youth like Westhoff, Boak, Gray ect...

The way we are going now we will never improve but I can see Collingwood and the Power improving sh*tloads.

[BAM! (shhhh)]

I hate to say this but I don't want Frase back.

I think its time to give some of the young blokes a go down forward like Jarryd Allen and give big Kosi a full season at FF and see how he goes. I think if we get Frase back for 1 year it will be a waste of a draft pick when we could of had a young future FF and it will also hurt the development of players like Allen.

crap if allen is any good he will force his way into the side .. players have to earn their spot in the side and just playing him to develop him is the stuff teams on the rebuild do not teams who are a realistic chance of a flag

and picking frase up at pick 70 in a shallow draft is not going to hinder our development all that much

I 100% agree, but to try and look at the big picture further...

First question is whether Fraser Gehrig is going to enhance our premiership chances by that much after the moves we just made... I think it's he does, because he demands a premier defender and is very good off the left boot, caveat being that he was more inconsistent than ever last season, and certainly appeared to be near the end.

The 2nd question is Allen. We've just delisted Brooks and Watts, so if he's seen as a forward, he's going to ahve every chance to take the job and run with it in the V. If he's good enough in the V, it's unlikely Gehrig plays 22 in the season so we probably see him.

Third factor of course is forward line structure, whch all we can do is speculate on anyway, but concensus seems to be that Kosi (not Allen) steps into the role if Gardiner and King are healthy (on rare occasion?)... but to consider more closely, would the seasons gameplan really be built on that kind of assumption? Is Rix a more likely call up than Allen (for example?) when one of the rucks isn't available? Is Kosi a ruck or a forward will probably remain a question all through next year, barring a brilliant AA season at one position or other.

Finally, the value of a kid at #70. It's been speculated we'd save that for PSD anyway, but hard to say.

BAM! (summary):
1) Gehrig makes the Saints better, but mainly by not making the forwardline worse via retirement. Not convinced he'll be able to go in '09.
2) IMHO, Allen hasn't earned an AFL spot.
3) IM not so H O, Kosi is an excellent ruckman, passable forward, and will be wasted in the forwardline if that's where we start him, winding up back in the middle of the ground by midseason.
4) It's pick 70. If G hadn't retired, nobody would have noticed the lack of pick 70.

[B W and R all over]

Well were Port a realistic chance of a flag last year ??

Thats what happens when you play youth like Westhoff, Boak, Gray ect...

The way we are going now we will never improve but I can see Collingwood and the Power improving sh*tloads.

Didn't Port use pick 70 last year on a recycled player (Rodan) who ended up being a crucial part of a side that made the Grand Final?

[The Fireman]

crap if allen is any good he will force his way into the side .. players have to earn their spot in the side and just playing him to develop him is the stuff teams on the rebuild do not teams who are a realistic chance of a flag

and picking frase up at pick 70 in a shallow draft is not going to hinder our development all that much

Hasn't Allen been injured?

[RooandKosi]

Gehrig at FF = Flag simple as that!!

we need him back.

[aussiejones]

At pick 70 he is a bonus ..... just the salary cap is a question ?

it sure will be interesting to see his 'attitude' to the game .

at worst he will take a top back man
at best 50+ goals

if we have others candidates fo FF and Gtrain is having an off day .....then switch em around .

Perhaps Frase smells a GF in 2008 ....and would hate to miss out

[saintspremiers]

In an ideal world, we would not be interested in Frase, but we can only play with the 38 players on our list + rookies......IF the club was confident Gardiner could have impact next year then sure, Kosi at FF would be awesome.

IF Gardy is at best 50/50, The G-Train, only 30 to 50% less salary than 2007 is good value insurance, even if he only plays the 16 Melbourne based games in 2008.

[LTN16]

Didn't Port use pick 70 last year on a recycled player (Rodan) who ended up being a crucial part of a side that made the Grand Final?

No they used pick 86.

[stinger]

What would Thomas know?

Why did both Drain and Archie say that Gehrig was the one who approached the club, ringing RL to ask about playing again?

Plus Drain saying he was woken up at am in the morning...

If it was all premeditated....Drain would have had the forms filled out already...

yep....

[Animal Enclosure]

Frase will probably only be on the comparable pay to a no.70 pick anyway. I think we are very very tight with the cap so The Train will be playing for the love of the game, not the cashola