Changes for Round 2

[bergholt]

Sydney in Sydney was a tough, surprisingly good-to-watch game which ended up as a very solid win, despite that we were beaten on most statistical indicators.

Next week the Kangas, I'd suggest something similar. They're a limited side with youth and enthusiasm, so we'll have to work hard and capitalise on opportunities as we seem to be a little off top form.

Potential outs:

Kosi (suspension)
Joey (if his shoulder pulls up badly)

I liked Kosi's game but he's probably out. That's about it, everyone else pulled their weight. Milne and McEvoy maybe the next closest but neither will be dropped. And I suppose it's possible Dawson could be suspended.

Potential ins:

Gardiner (fit again)
Clarke (fit again)
Stanley (just because)
Pattison (talked up in the paper)
Smith (emergency this week)
Eddy (emergency this week)

No others in the running, and I'd be surprised if Pattison got a game without injuries forcing it.

Most likely changes:

OUT: Koschitzke (susp)
IN: Gardiner

But also possible is:

OUT: Koschitzke (susp), Montagna (inj)
IN: Gardiner, A Smith

[robbie muir]

I can't see why Dawson would be suspended. If you are talking about the incident in the last quarter with the Irishman all he did was spoil. He made absolutely no contact with the head.

[saint66au]

Sydney in Sydney was a tough, surprisingly good-to-watch game which ended up as a very solid win, despite that we were beaten on most statistical indicators.

Next week the Kangas, I'd suggest something similar. They're a limited side with youth and enthusiasm, so we'll have to work hard and capitalise on opportunities as we seem to be a little off top form.

Potential outs:

Kosi (suspension)
Joey (if his shoulder pulls up badly)

I liked Kosi's game but he's probably out. That's about it, everyone else pulled their weight. Milne and McEvoy maybe the next closest but neither will be dropped. And I suppose it's possible Dawson could be suspended.

Potential ins:

Gardiner (fit again)
Clarke (fit again)
Stanley (just because)
Pattison (talked up in the paper)
Smith (emergency this week)
Eddy (emergency this week)

No others in the running, and I'd be surprised if Pattison got a game without injuries forcing it.

Most likely changes:

OUT: Koschitzke (susp)
IN: Gardiner

But also possible is:

OUT: Koschitzke (susp), Montagna (inj)
IN: Gardiner, A Smith

Stanley is injured

How did A Smith go for Sandy on Saturday?

If Joeys fine but Kosi goes then its just a straight swap him for gardy IMO

[St Loxton]

With the probable loss of Kosi at FF, potentially we could bring Gards into the No.1 ruck spot and set Mc Evoy down at FF, unsure at the state of Stanleys injury as he too could be down there. Like to see Tom Lynch given a go as a lead up forward.
If Zac gets time off this week (i dont think he should) Eddy or A Smith could be in as a shuffle of our back six.

[bergholt]

How did A Smith go for Sandy on Saturday?

i don't know if he played at all, hard to know who plays in practice matches. my current speculation is that eddy and a smith were the two emergencies in sydney, with pattison playing in melbourne, but that's unconfirmed.

[chook23]

Kosie 3-4 weeks

history does not help (current points system and carry over points etc)

Even if the match review panel considers Koschitzke's action to be only medium impact, the demerit points will equate to a three-game suspension.

But the base points tally will increase by 30 per cent for serving three games from three striking charges within the past three years.
And he has another 53.52 points carried over from the most recent penalty for striking Adelaide's Richard Douglas in Round 16 last season.

While the points total equates to a four-game suspension, he could reduce it to three by pleading guilty.

reckless Kosi .............let yourself and team down.

No good to anyone in the stands.

[saintsRrising]

How did A Smith go for Sandy on Saturday?

See:

Have posted a report on BF.

Despite the 4 goal loss, and an injury to Stanley, there were a number of good performances by Saints players. Gardiner, Pattison and Lynch all very good. Raph and A. Smith were solid.

Archer & Walsh got some invaluable experience in defensive posts, with Cahill getting some room in the FF role.

Other players : Heyne, Johnson, L. Fisher.

[older saint]

Kosi out sus

Gardiner in

McEvoy to FF.

[borderbarry]

Give Raph another week at Sandy. Lynch would have to be considered.

[saintsRrising]

Have posted a report on BF.

Hope Sqizzy does not mind....but here is his report which is IMO quite helpful and interesting....

Had a look at the game at Princes Park :

Stanley - showed everyone who'd look his groin (put it away Rhys!!!). Seemed in pretty good spirits, so I'd hope it was precautionary. Bit disappointing, as he was one of the main reasons I'd gone for a "squizz" and he did the injury early on.

Johnson - did some amazing kicks in the warm up, with head high kicks over 50m. Just couldn't get into the game though, and they ended up putting him in the ruck in the last quarter.

Pattison - dunno why he cops so much criticism. At his height, he probably is never going to be a strong tap ruckman. But his work as a forward was excellent and took a number of marks and laid a heap of effective tackles.

Gardi - real good. Chased, tackled and presented all day. The Bullants had a couple of sizeable ruckmen, so wasn't as if he was up against kids. Even pulled off a nice left foot pass under pressure.

Lynch - excellent. Notwithstanding he isn't a powerhouse overhead, has very good running capacity and seems to know where the ball's going. Kicked a few goals, including a couple of gems (set shots hard up on the boundary and snap from 40m). Very vocal.

A. Smith - pretty good. Maybe didn't get as much as you'd like (still would have had 20 possessions though). Used it reasonably well. Can't remember him having any shots on goal though.

Heyne - played on ball. Seemed to go in a little harder than I've seen previously. Got plenty of sledging from a few opponents (including that nob Hadley). Didn't get too many touches forward of centre though.

Archer - still learning, but can get off the ground for a large lad. Played back most of the time and made a number of authoritative spoils. Kicked woefully in the warm-up, but when he had a shot during the game slotted in through the middle.

Cahill - good athlete and kicked a few goals. Still plays from behind a little too much for mine (has a greap leap which is better used from the front) and "sort of" chases out of F50. Maybe didn't have a full pre-season after a late season injury in '09, so will wait and see.

Walsh - surprised me in that he can kick a long ball (over 50m not a problem). Still learning the caper and got turned inside out a few times, and was a little slow to react to a long lead from his opponent. Good signs though.

Raph - got a fearful spray from Gardi for his second poor choice early in the game (kicked across ground in defence to a contest). Got dragged. Covered the ground well though, and ran out the game.

Fisher - just OK. The Bullants had a number of quick players, and despite Fisher being very good in close they burned him off a few times.

Think that was all.
__________________

[SainterK]

How come Lynch never comes into peoples calculations much?

[realdeal]

Its been stated that Majceski wouldnt have been expecting contact, yet he was right in the contest, closer than 5m from the ball.

I still hate all this you cant run past the ball to bump rubbish, your allowed to shepard for a teammate in a better position and thats what he did, and don't get me started on the whole 'you shouldnt bump if you have an oppurtunity to tackle' crap, bumping is a legal part of the game. Its like saying you MUST kick the ball instead of handballing if you have the chance.

Kosi didnt jump off the ground, and he kept his elbow tucked in. In saying that i understand Kosi getting A week for high contact but mutiple weeks is just overkill. but thats the AFL world circa 2010.

[meher baba]

Gardi would be a definite in, you would think.

I think Gardi for Kosi makes us slow and clunky and I wouldn't suggest it. If we are simply going to bring someone directly into the team to play Kosi's role, then don't muck around and go for Lynch or Stanley IMO.

Otherwise, it would be one of Raph or Eddy for Kosi (Dempster is presumably not available). Eddy could play forward (albeit creating a smaller forward line). In the case of Raph, there would be a reshuffle, with perhaps Gwilt moving up forward.

Who would Gardi then come in for? On the basis of match performance, I would say McEvoy. I doubt I'll have too many friends on here though.

So my ins and outs are

IN: Gardi, Raph/Eddy (can't pick between them, to be honest)
OUT: Kosi (suspended), McEvoy (dropped)

[meher baba]

How come Lynch never comes into peoples calculations much?

I guess because coaches don't generally go with experimental players early in the season, and Lynch didn't really do quite enough with his opportunities in the NAB cup to demand an AFL place just yet.

Stanley, on the other hand, looked really exciting in the NAB Cup, so more posters (but not me) are suggesting that he should get a go in Rd 2.

[bigcarl]

Stanley, on the other hand, looked really exciting in the NAB Cup, so more posters (but not me) are suggesting that he should get a go in Rd 2.

he's injured isn't he?

[esaint66]

Like to see Tom Lynch given a go as a lead up forward.

+1

[SainterK]

How come Lynch never comes into peoples calculations much?

I guess because coaches don't generally go with experimental players early in the season, and Lynch didn't really do quite enough with his opportunities in the NAB cup to demand an AFL place just yet.

Stanley, on the other hand, looked really exciting in the NAB Cup, so more posters (but not me) are suggesting that he should get a go in Rd 2.

Sounds a fair observation.

I agree that we do not necessarily need to bring in another tall this week, keeping in mind North are missing Petrie which probably evens out losing Kosi to suspension.

I personally would prefer Lynch to come in as I think he is a possibility to fill our third forward position. Depending on what view you take, it is a potential weakness in our lineup, and it would be good to get some game time and experience into him.

Stanley while exciting, is not likely to push anyone out of position this year. Purely because I was under the impression he is being developed as a ruckman, he certainly trains in that position?

[bigcarl]

Stanley while exciting, is not likely to push anyone out of position this year. Purely because I was under the impression he is being developed as a ruckman, he certainly trains in that position?

he didn't play in the ruck in the pre-season though, did he. was used more as an alternative key forward.

it's probably academic, though, because various reports from the sandringham match have him suffering a groin injury.

i'd say gardiner will come in with raph or lynch also a chance.

[SainterK]

Stanley while exciting, is not likely to push anyone out of position this year. Purely because I was under the impression he is being developed as a ruckman, he certainly trains in that position?

he didn't play in the ruck in the pre-season though, did he. was used more as an alternative key forward.

it's probably academic, though, because various reports from the sandringham match have him suffering a groin injury.

i'd say gardiner will come in with raph or lynch also a chance.

Sure, I guess I am slightly confused about what he is being developed as.

[bigcarl]

Stanley while exciting, is not likely to push anyone out of position this year. Purely because I was under the impression he is being developed as a ruckman, he certainly trains in that position?

he didn't play in the ruck in the pre-season though, did he. was used more as an alternative key forward.

it's probably academic, though, because various reports from the sandringham match have him suffering a groin injury.

i'd say gardiner will come in with raph or lynch also a chance.

Sure, I guess I am slightly confused about what he is being developed as.

he weighs only about 90kg and in the ruck he would be up against monsters who are 105/110 kg. if they were boxers they wouldn't be allowed to fight in the same division.

so i think the club was looking at possibly developing him as a forward ... at least until he fills out a bit.

he's very quick, very tall, has good hands and appears to be able to kick straight, all good attributes in a forward.

[bergholt]

Like to see Tom Lynch given a go as a lead up forward.

+1

i'm all for developing him in that spot. the only problem is that he got a game in the nab cup final and just looked like he didn't have the engine at that point to do it - he was buggered when subbed off. admittedly that was just coming off an injury so it's not surprising he was underdone, but it was also only about two weeks ago. give him time, but i can't see ross balancing half a forward line on his head this week.

[bergholt]

Who would Gardi then come in for? On the basis of match performance, I would say McEvoy. I doubt I'll have too many friends on here though.

i had mcevoy in my original list as close to the edge, but in the circumstances i just can't see ross dropping him after one quiet game. if kosi had been able to play this week then we might have seen a conundrum, but as it is the decision seems easy.

[Saintsfan]

We need to play the two power talls in our forward line due to the Kanga's having a a weakness in key defensive talls. Their medium and small defenders look the goods however we need to exploit the lack of a strong defender. We should expect Riewoldt to kick a bag against this defence.

I suggest Big Mac should spend much more time forward. He has a great set of hands so it is up to our delivery from the midfield and his ability to make space and lead to the correct area.

So for mine, out goes Kosi and in comes Gardiner. If Big Mac is not having the best of days Ross could swap Big Mac with Gardiner who is good in contested situations bar the 2005 Grand Final

[WinnersOnly]

IMO King for GARDINER...Having seen Stephen KING live Saturday night IMO he has become a liability. He contests rucks, but that is the end of his worth. Around the groud he is a slow lumbering liability who cant take an over head mark and cant hit a target by hand or foot and cant fill a defensive hole. As a matter of fact KNOBEL was a better option than KING at least KNOBEL offered some aggression.

As far as replacing KOSI I think it is time for the team to find their medium sized forward to fill the hole. Whether it be moving GODDARD forward and replacing him down back or bringing in LYNCH, HEYNE or SMITH if we are to improve this year the team needs to get games into one of the above...

No point in going with the same set up in Stanley as he will be ousted as soon as Kosi returns. Better to have the medium sized option prepared. IMO for McQUALTER needs to keep his position he needs to be groomed for a back pocket posi - rotate he and Bakes occasionally.

[SainterK]

IMO King for GARDINER...Having seen Stephen KING live Saturday night IMO he has become a liability. He contests rucks, but that is the end of his worth. Around the groud he is a slow lumbering liability who cant take an over head mark and cant hit a target by hand or foot and cant fill a defensive hole. As a matter of fact KNOBEL was a better option than KING at least KNOBEL offered some aggression.

As far as replacing KOSI I think it is time for the team to find their medium sized forward to fill the hole. Whether it be moving GODDARD forward and replacing him down back or bringing in LYNCH, HEYNE or SMITH if we are to improve this year the team needs to get games into one of the above...

No point in going with the same set up in Stanley as he will be ousted as soon as Kosi returns. Better to have the medium sized option prepared. IMO for McQUALTER needs to keep his position he needs to be groomed for a back pocket posi - rotate he and Bakes occasionally.

Agree