Pause for reflection

[samuraisaint]

It looks as though my prediction of a 12 win/9th placing will be pretty much correct, although an 11 win/11th placing is more likely. We had a 7 win walk up start in 2016 so I knew this year would be a lot more difficult to negotiate.
Add to this the number of players unavailable for the entire season - Dempster, Freeman, Goddard, Armitage, and Paddy hardly playing, that's five players who would have made a difference, and then add Fisher to that list who retired at the end of last year and you can see why we haven't improved on last year's winning percentage.
I don't really like talking about which players should be delisted at the end of a season, because the older I get the more I realise that this is a human being's livelihood we are discussing and I know that I wouldn't like it if people were predicting the end of my job on an internet chat forum.
I will say this though; today and the game against Essendon has certainly placed a bit of pressure on the club. We should have done better in both of these games - they were over very early (yes, I know we fought back bravely today, but it was similar to the 80s where we let a side get away from us with little pressure and getting goals out the back, we fight back, then we fade poorly at the end and get beaten comfortably anyway).
To play in a game where finals is a likely outcome if successful and allow a team to kick the first four goals quickly, and seven of the first eight, before you get going says that the side were not adequately prepared.
Melbourne were the better side on the day and I can live with that, but this business of allowing teams to kick multiple unanswered goals quickly to put games out of reach has been going on since 2013 and we should have fixed this problem by now.
Set kicking for goal conversion has been a problem all year, and has been very costly. 10 goals on a perfect day on a dry deck is disappointing.
We really need to add Kelly and perhaps even somebody like Lever to the side in 2018, and we have the picks and the salary cap relief to get this done surely.
I think we need to blood Rice, Marshall, NOK and bring in another ruckman to play in the forward line and to give Longer a chop out on the ruck, because whatever we are doing at the moment isn't working basically. Or play Paddy again.
I am looking forward to hopefully seeing some debutants in the next two weeks, partly because I want see what they are capable of at the highest level (like White) and partly because some of our guys out there today looked absolutely cooked and could do with a rest, I think.
I still hold out a hope of winning the final two games and having a % of 100, and I think if we can do that and bring Lever and Kelly to the club (we have the cap space and two first rounders) we can look forward to a better 2018.

[dals_da_bomb]

This deserves to be bumped.

[David-Lee]

I dont agree with everything but a very decent analysis. Thanks

[footynut]

It now time to send everyone who needs an opp to the surgeon to make sure the entire list is ready for pre-season. Play some kids, like Rice, Long, NOK (if possible), Battle, Marshall. Alter the game play, as our entry into the forward line simply sucks.

[scallopsroe]

This deserves to be bumped.

I agree, but why would Kelly or others commit to a club that is battling like we are at the moment. Our future lies with solid recruiting, using nearly draft picks wisely, and a positive coaching environment. We had stagnated this year and appear too easy to beat when the opponent gets on top. We are a young group that will need a firm hand to guide us in the next three to five years. No miracles, no excuses, no blame game, no BS, just old fashioned hard work Saints. Otherwise we are stuffed.

[mullet]

This deserves to be bumped.

I agree, but why would Kelly or others commit to a club that is battling like we are at the moment. Our future lies with solid recruiting, using nearly draft picks wisely, and a positive coaching environment. We had stagnated this year and appear too easy to beat when the opponent gets on top. We are a young group that will need a firm hand to guide us in the next three to five years. No miracles, no excuses, no blame game, no BS, just old fashioned hard work Saints. Otherwise we are stuffed.

Money!!!!

Ego!!!!

A promise that they never have to read Saintsational!!!!

Seriously though, if you go to a player and offer him the doe and pitch it all to him that we are in the right direction and that they are the missing link why wouldnt they