Well, there goes about 80% of the side's ticker. Bad outcome for the Saints. Should not have been considered as a trade. The mercenaries in charge continue to do as they please, more interested in their CV than the club, i often feel.

It is a midfielder's award, true. The award which I think is the most prestigious, besides your club's B & F, is the coaches' association award. However, that's pretty much always won by midfielders too, so the fact that midfielders win it all the time probably isn't ridiculous Would be interest...

I'd say it says more about Seb doing the role he is asked to do. Coaches know the expectations and performance of the players far better than do fans.

Congrats, Seb. I think Marshall was the most valuable player to the side this year, but best and fairest is not the same as MVP.

Good post, barks. Hard to disagree with it. Every time he talks, Finnis is underwhelming. Like you, I'm a little annoyed that the club has such a mercenary flavour to it.

There's something about the way Matt Finnis talks that makes me lack all confidence in him. This is an unfair judgement, I know. But there's just something about it. I think he's the kind of guy who might want always to take the safe, easy, kind approach. I question his ability to be ruthless and to...

I agree that Bruce should be off limits. Absolutely should not be traded. When his touch is on, his hands and goal kicking are first rate. When his touch is off, he still busts a gut, gives us a target and puts in excellent second and third efforts. The kind of player you build pieces around, not th...

Ratten, it seems to me, likes the long bomb into the forward line. I think he was responsible for it as an assistant at the start of the year (correct me if I'm wrong) ??? Did you only start watching the Saints this year? The LONG BOMB has been integral to the Saints for many a year now.... Of cour...

Ratten, it seems to me, likes the long bomb into the forward line. I think he was responsible for it as an assistant at the start of the year (correct me if I'm wrong) and as caretaker coach he mentioned a couple of times that we need deep entries, not shallow entries, which means bombing it to 20 r...

There is a lack of decorated players, for sure. What's more alarming to me is that we lack players who play like champions. I mean in their mindset. We lack mental toughness. Leigh Matthews said in 2005 he went out to shake Lenny Hayes' hand before a game and had never seen the eye of the tiger more...

They're probably worried about something called myositis ossificans. If there is bleeding into the muscle belly and it doesn't heal properly, the blood can become calcified, which becomes very painful and limiting. Basically a little lump of bone inside your muscle. Normally 3-4 weeks of rest. Using...

One of the hardest players to stop in his generation in the whole comp.

Goal sense and crumbing ability as good as has ever been.

Alistair Clarkson, after the recent game against the hawks, said Seb Ross is a very, very smart footballer. Get him people to distribute the ball to and some structure and he will become really damaging. One of our best players.

I think he said in his press conference that Pierce lowered his colours but will learn from it. I like the look of Marshall and Rice. Marshall is ahead of McCartin for mine. Wouldn't mind seeing a forward line of Lonie, Marshall, Long, Paton, Membrey, Acres with Gresham in the guts and Billings on a...

My problem is that the club just seems like a big marketing department full of mercenaries. It seems like there is nobody there who actually cares about the place. It's about time somebody came out and said that we are disgracing what the club stands for instead of trying to act all positive, like e...

I don't follow this too closely at all but i watched a bonar highlights video. My observation is that he lacks fundamental skills and technique. His kicking action is all over the place. I'm declaring my ignorance, having watched only a couple of minutes of highlights, but he struck me as a Jarod Br...

Simmons is the real deal in the NBA and will be a dominant player for the next 10+ years. Will be Rookie of the Year this year and is a very, very special basketballer. He'll earn something like 300+ million USD in his career. Even if he was the very best AFL player he would earn what, 10 million? 15?

I think we're trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by making McCartin a lean, fit runner. He's a big boy. He could have used his natural size advantage in marking contests. If we try to make him another Josh Bruce he won't have a size/power advantage any longer and he won't ever be able to r...

Long has the tools. Very creative, fast enough, good tackling skills. We just need to give him a few seasons, same as for 90% of draftees.

Ok I get it. Big fish and Trout. Ha ha. You can't land a big fish when you have a trout. We need to have a Murray Cod instead. Trout picked Paddy because of the good strong family. His other criteria is being in a good 'school' (fishy) We wait with 'baited' breath for the draft... Hope nobody 'carp...

Lots of hope invested in Freeman. He looks good but, based on the 3 times I saw him in the VFL this year, I don't think he's going to be the Dangerfield type that people saw him being when he was 18. Freeman looks like he can be a good contributor, but to me, his ceiling at the moment is to be very ...

This is not a thread about realistic prediction. Just imagine through whatever blessed means that you can choose a Saints player to have a huge 2018. Massive! I don't know exactly the percentage increase in output, but you get the point. Whom do you choose? (For whatever reason...improve team's chan...

I'm glad we kept our cool and didn't make trades for the sake of making trades. We should only make good deals and a good deal wasn't there for us so much this year. Saad (as all players) has his reasons for choosing Essendon as his desired destination. So I wonder how long the Bombers had been in t...

How is Weller worth pick 2? I've only seen him a few times, but I can't believe it's being considered.

I'm interested in how many people on here really know what Bains does. I don't really but my understanding is contrary to the prevailing view that he is a list manager. I understand him to be in charge of TPP, contract negotiations with existing and prospective (traded for) players and list strategy...

I can't go for this kind of inductive reasoning. It took Seb a few seasons and now he has played 2 very good seasons. But that's all. For every player like Seb who was unremarkable for 4 seasons and at a crossroads, as many fail as succeed. Good on him. magnifisaint is right that it proves Seb is a ...