Rd 1 Saints v Suns - match thread

[Devilhead]

4pts is 4pts

Gold Coast started with 3 straight wins last year and they have a very astute coach and some high quality youth

We had 2 debutants + Kent and multitudes of outs - Acres, Marshall and Hunter should play next week against Essendon

The free kick differential was telling - against the odds we won

Time to focus on next week

[Joffa Burns]

Lots of saints scarves hanging out car windows on the Monash.

Enjoy!

[Aussie Jonestown]

When you look at results in Round 1 there’s always a lot of uncertainties and weird results. When you wake up in the morning and check your back pocket you’ll find 4 pts. All that matters .

Four points

1. Team Selection is abysmal
In what universe are Marshall and Clarke not in the best 22 ?

2. St.kilda defeated the worst team in the AFL Gold Coast with two injured midfielders at home by 1 point.

3.Gold Coast were the better team in the last quarter with the game on the line.
If two metre Peter had a shot for goal and not centred the ball who knows what the result might have been.

4. Alan Richardson is a liability.

[Kilda]

For such an inexperienced backline, they held up reasonably well. Webster looked assured on his trusty left foot and Darragh Joyce competed solidly. One of the more unheralded today was Callum Wilkie. A positive down back.

Parker showed glimpses of being an excitement machine and Newnes was dashing through the corridor.

Bewildering how Marshall was not selected as he’s agile and can take marks around the ground. That quality was lacking today.

[Scollop]

Lots of saints scarves hanging out car windows on the Monash.

Enjoy!

Get both hands back on the wheel Joffa

[Saint wagga]

4pts is 4pts

Gold Coast started with 3 straight wins last year and they have a very astute coach and some high quality youth

We had 2 debutants + Kent and multitudes of outs - Acres, Marshall and Hunter should play next week against Essendon

The free kick differential was telling - against the odds we won

Time to focus on next week

I agree with this 100%...let’s just give it a few weeks for a formline to declare itself. I hope we give guys a chance to develop in their best position and really think pierce/Marshall is worth trying!

[Saintly66]

Another dubious free and goal 27 -13

Hardly dubious, just clumsy on dmac’s part unfortunately.

Your allowed to run at the ball he wasn’t holding or pushing with his hands.

Lol, thought it was there given the time in the game. Thought on the whole the umpiring was garbage, Long was a little undisciplined which didn’t help.

[twirlyhair]

When you look at results in Round 1 there’s always a lot of uncertainties and weird results. When you wake up in the morning and check your back pocket you’ll find 4 pts. All that matters .

Four points

1. Team Selection is abysmal
In what universe are Marshall and Clarke not in the best 22 ?

2. St.kilda defeated the worst team in the AFL Gold Coast with two injured midfielders at home by 1 point.

3.Gold Coast were the better team in the last quarter with the game on the line.
If two metre Peter had a shot for goal and not centred the ball who knows what the result might have been.

4. Alan Richardson is a liability.

Sad sack personified

[twirlyhair]

For such an inexperienced backline, they held up reasonably well. Webster looked assured on his trusty left foot and Darragh Joyce competed solidly. One of the more unheralded today was Callum Wilkie. A positive down back.

Parker showed glimpses of being an excitement machine and Newnes was dashing through the corridor.

Bewildering how Marshall was not selected as he’s agile and can take marks around the ground. That quality was lacking today.

Marshall was not selected as GC ruckman towers above and is an excellent tap ruckman. New rules would have left us bereft in the middle clearance wise. Horses for courses selection.

[Crossy66]

Much improved game plan compared to the we want to defend like the swans experimental season last year. Brown as FB is a big inclusion next week. Sure we faded, but Def. Headed in the right direction.

Who is Brown going to line up on? He isn't a match for Stewart or for Stringer

Let's develop our young team. I'd give Joyce a go on one of those blokes and play Battle on the other.

They have McKernan and Bellchambers so we need to play both Marshall and Pierce. Having Brown as well makes us too top heavy imo.

Can the coach make a statement or will he go the conservative short term option and play Brown at FB?

Need browns experience. Joyce got lost in the air and battle caught out of position, although tbf, he got better as the game wore on.
They will need to move battle forward for joyce to play next week. If they want to persist rucking bruce, that would work.
Really missed the extra tall forward when bruce rucked.

[stkfc1]

What is nice to see if we have some good young defenders coming through. Joyce, Wilkie and Battle all did some nice things and will only get better. We've also found a couple of player in the front end in Kent and Parker. Our midfield is still a massive concern for mine.

[realdeal]

When you look at results in Round 1 there’s always a lot of uncertainties and weird results. When you wake up in the morning and check your back pocket you’ll find 4 pts. All that matters .

Four points

1. Team Selection is abysmal
In what universe are Marshall and Clarke not in the best 22 ?

2. St.kilda defeated the worst team in the AFL Gold Coast with two injured midfielders at home by 1 point.

3.Gold Coast were the better team in the last quarter with the game on the line.
If two metre Peter had a shot for goal and not centred the ball who knows what the result might have been.

4. Alan Richardson is a liability.

Sad sack personified

Is he wrong?

[twirlyhair]

Not saying he is totally wrong, just saying he likes to cry...so sad sack yes

[Yorkeys]

Put them somewhere safe. They may become rare collectors items.

[Cordz2]

Dean Kent got less than 14 touches, but I hope he stays next week.
He does some very good work.
We need to give him time to develop, I think he only played 7 games last year.

He can develop at Sandy.

[Cordz2]

4pts is 4pts

Gold Coast started with 3 straight wins last year and they have a very astute coach and some high quality youth

We had 2 debutants + Kent and multitudes of outs - Acres, Marshall and Hunter should play next week against Essendon

The free kick differential was telling - against the odds we won

Time to focus on next week

I agree with this 100%...let’s just give it a few weeks for a formline to declare itself. I hope we give guys a chance to develop in their best position and really think pierce/Marshall is worth trying!

+1

[wasaintsfan]

So much negativity and unsure why? Some clear sign of improvements.. IE our score accuracy ....

So you don't count 3 shots on goal that went out on the full...which is insipid.

Lol or those tackles that didn't stick... How bad were they??? Hmmmm no I'd rather focus on the tackles that did stick and the fact we scored 13.7 where last year that probably would've been 6.14.
Not saying we are going to set the world on fire but there was vast improvement in way we scored. Way we ram game out. Way we set up and we probably showed more skill today than any game last year...

[saintsRrising]

Overall I think the Saints went well.

The main problem for mine that too often players fumbled, or were not clean with the ball. This made the game close rather than comfortable win.

The backline did not quite gel in the first quarter with the result that too many Suns were able to get into space unmarked which led to some easy goals. But considering many of them had had few AFL games, and as a unit they had not played together before this was not surprising. After the first quarter they tightened up.


The Saints looked much quicker than last year, which bodes well against the Dons next week as in recent years the legspeed of their players had caused us a lot of issues.

[Raph Goat Clarke]

Just watching the replay on fox footy now. The free kick Long gave away in our forward 50 after Jack Steven marked was genuine bulls***. the were both pushing each other in the chest with one hand. Long lands one on the gold coasts players chest, an open palm push and that's what the free kick was for. Horrible umpiring display. Not that saints were great but that umpiring was straight biased - especially with all those deliberate out of bounds calls.