Changes for next week

[maverick]

Can't believe we think sacking forwards is the way to go.
Our mids and defence have been shocking.
I would drop Steele, Sinclair, Stevens and Clark
Weller, Dunstan, coffield and rice to come in
Next to go are newnes, armitage, brown and longer
Longer is very lucky and brown is needed for Jacobs/walker
Forwards at least need a chance.

[desertsaint]

we can't drop the entire team, and the mids were the ones that have underperformed for two games - richo left them intact after the poor effort against brisbane - and we saw complacency in action on friday. drop a leader to really send a message put sinclair on the bloody wing or back at sandy. billings at half forward. and stop throwing players around the field willy nilly. armo as an experienced leader showed little of either. three talls is not working and bruce was horrendous. actually they all were, but the forwards were victims of our downfield players.
not sure what to do about our ruck - marshall not ready and would not help his development to get destroyed by jacobs.
more should go, but realistically newnes, armo, stevens, clark, steele out for coffield, lonie, dunstan, weller, white.
hard intro for these guys as adelaide will be roaring not to start 1 and 2. they are a much bigger, tougher team - but we need to send a message that poor leadership and endeavour will not be tolerated.
i expect we'll see only two to three changes however.

[skeptic]

Yep, let’s continue to play Paddy to give him experience until what? Round 8? Round 10?

By then our season will be truly done and dusted!

Lack of second efforts and refusal to chase is a real worry.

I don’t know how ppl are seeing a lack of effort... bizarre to me. Chasing and presenting are the only features of his game that IMO he’s doing right.
Kicking and marking though...

[stonecold]

Yep, let’s continue to play Paddy to give him experience until what? Round 8? Round 10?

By then our season will be truly done and dusted!

Lack of second efforts and refusal to chase is a real worry.

Refusal to chase, he had a run down chase/holding the ball in Friday's game!!!!!

[bigcarl]

In: Gilbert, Dunstan, Weller, Hickey
Out: Longer (inj), Stevens, Long, Clark

Lucky: Brown, Paddy, Steele and nearly everyone else associated with BAD Friday. A putrid and very disappointing effort.

Hickey's stood up well for us in the past when we've had no one else to turn to and I think we've got to back him to do the same again.

Gilbert gives us someone who can pinch hit in the ruck and some dash in defence. I don't understand why he is out of favour. A very versatile and experienced player. Carlisle may also have do do some ruckwork to help them out.

Although I came in favour of three tall forwards last week, I'm worried about it. Paddy needs to show more and so do Membrey and Bruce.

One of the big differences between the teams on BAD Friday was they had a forward (Brown) who could a) get the ball and b) CONVERT!

Put him at full forward for us and we'd have been every chance of winning that match. Our guys kicked three points between them,

Yes, I know delivery was crap, etc, etc, but you should never underestimate the value of a good key forward in giving the midfield a viable target.

I fear that we may be absolutely poleaxed this week. Betts will have a day out if they get on top early.

For Christ's sake, Saints, bring your A game.

[degruch]

I hope you mean StevenS!

[bigcarl]

I hope you mean StevenS!

Oops. Good pick up degruch, thanks for that. Fixed.

[mightysainters]

In: Dunstan, White, Weller, Marshall
Out: Longer, Stevens, Newnes, Clark,

[saynta]

we can't drop the entire team, and the mids were the ones that have underperformed for two games - richo left them intact after the poor effort against brisbane - and we saw complacency in action on friday. drop a leader to really send a message put sinclair on the bloody wing or back at sandy. billings at half forward. and stop throwing players around the field willy nilly. armo as an experienced leader showed little of either. three talls is not working and bruce was horrendous. actually they all were, but the forwards were victims of our downfield players.
not sure what to do about our ruck - marshall not ready and would not help his development to get destroyed by jacobs.
more should go, but realistically newnes, armo, stevens, clark, steele out for coffield, lonie, dunstan, weller, white.
hard intro for these guys as adelaide will be roaring not to start 1 and 2. they are a much bigger, tougher team - but we need to send a message that poor leadership and endeavour will not be tolerated.
i expect we'll see only two to three changes however.

I don't agree on Armitage. Has only played 2 games in 12 months and was one of our best on Friday.

I agree that there has to be changes made this week. Longer has to go but I doubt that the coach will be game enough to replace him with Marshall. I would though, the kid has to get a go sometime.

Clark and Newnes out for Weller and Dunstan with someone else to go to make way for either Rice or White.

I would also think about dropping Long as he doesn't get enough of the ball. Against this I can see why the coaches are anxious to get games into him.

Difficult decsions need to be made in difficult times and thes are difficult times.

Sammy was the held over emergency and didn't get the chance to shine against Coburg. They might want to play him to inject some desperation into the side.

[congorozides]

Savage is pretty ordinary. Poor decision making.

[DJ Higgins]

main point being made is that we are screwed either. We have a tough run coming up and you dont want young players getting smashed by 100 points especially in their first game. Id drop Clark for Dunstan and replace Longer with Gilbo or Hickey and then brace ourselves for an absolute pounding based on the last 2 weeks

[spert]

The Sandy v Coburg game showed Dunstan, Weller and White put up pretty good efforts and they should at least come in.

[The Fireman]

maybe it was the loss we had to have...maybe just an aberration.. after they have their arses kicked this week we may see a different side .?

After witnessing the worst performance I can remember I'm hoping for the above.

[kosifantutti]

Yep, let’s continue to play Paddy to give him experience until what? Round 8? Round 10?

By then our season will be truly done and dusted!

Lack of second efforts and refusal to chase is a real worry.

Refusal to chase, he had a run down chase/holding the ball in Friday's game!!!!!

Two actually.

[SaintPav]

Paddy needs to stay in because according to the stats he’s doing just as well as Patton, Cameron, Boyd, Brown, Lockett, Pavlich at the same stage of their careers.

He’s a dead set cert to be a gun; just need to get him to 100 games as quickly as possible.

[samuraisaint]

Shouldn't be dropping players at this stage. If injured; replace them. Otherwise give them two more games to acclimatise - including Long, Paddy and Clark. If they are struggling after round 4 then drop players who are not performing with those who are in the reserves. Players when dropped should have to display consistent effort for at least a month in the reserves for them to be considered for senior selection, injuries notwithstanding.
Don't reward mediocrity at Sandringham with senior games, and don't remove all responsibility and accountability from senior players by dropping them after a bad game. Let them redeem themselves in the seniors. If they don't then drop them, but make them work their way back.

[meher baba]

I only drop in and out of this site from time to time and it's therefore quite funny to observe the trends over time: eg, the enormous love for Dunstan on here all of a sudden compared to a year or so ago.

And that's quite a long term shift: look at how Clark has gone from champ to chump in a week!

And what about poor old Bailey Rice? Last year, he was a superstar in the making, only requiring selection in the first team to become an AA. This year, he hardly gets a mention.

And I see that some would even like to see Weller and Lonie come back.

As I've always said, the best way a player can improve his popularity on SS (and Big Potty for that matter) is to get injured or consigned to Sandy for a few weeks.

Armo had a real crack on Friday, as did a few others who everyone on here seem to want to drop all of a sudden.


Yes, you might feel like dropping some of the poor performers of the last two games, but it's not as if we've got superstars waiting in the wings.

Dunstan is ok, and will probably come in, but he's hardly a game-changer.

Like all draftees in their first year, Coffield might become anything, but - unlike Clark - I didn't think he looked ready in the JLT.

Weller is a proven performer who had a terrible 2017. He'd most likely come in for Long, who I reckon has shown signs of stepping up a level, so why dash his confidence now.

Marshall is a slow and far from super fit unit who I don't think would offer as much upfront as Paddy, who is surely worth investing some more time in. However, given that Marshall has been an emergency in the past two weeks, maybe the plan is to bring him in as a ruckman. Another option there is, of course, Hickey: a great player around the ground for a ruckman, except that he isn't really a ruckman (well, at least, he doesn't seem to be able to ruck too well).

There is a group of backmen who have talent: Gilbo, White, Austin (I'm assuming, given that we traded for him), Goddard and maybe Clavarino and even the much-loved Bailey Rice, but I reckon the backline is the least of our problems at the moment, so I wouldn't be rushing to make any changes there.


IMO, what we need isn't to drop lots of guys and replace them with other guys who aren't any better. What we need is for some key players - McCartin, Bruce, Membrey, Billings, Gresham, Ross, Steele, Newnes, etc. - to step up and deliver something.

[sunsaint]

Maybe Weller, probably Dunstan - I don't know
What I do know is that for the safety of fellow SS forumites and the sanity of SC
Longer must play
Besides I do want to see him over all other options go up against Jacobs, and I don't want AR to throw a patsy sacrificial lamb to the slaughter
Jeesh I have just watched that hack reject Geelong ruckman ryhs Stanley kick two goals and it's not even half time yet

[congorozides]

If Dunstan doesnt come in Richo should be sacked on the spot.

I dont understand why White and Rice arent getting a go.

You cant just keep playing the same old hacks week in week in week out and expecting a different result. Some of our regulars are simply not up to it. Some of our older players are cooked (e.g. Brown).

We need to continue the rebuild with younger players.

[SaintPav]

I’m seeing double?

[Saintly66]

If Dunstan doesnt come in Richo should be sacked on the spot.

I dont understand why White and Rice arent getting a go.

You cant just keep playing the same old hacks week in week in week out and expecting a different result. Some of our regulars are simply not up to it. Some of our older players are cooked (e.g. Brown).

We need to continue the rebuild with younger players.

White and Rice haven’t gotten a go yet due to the fact richo plays it consistently “safe”.
Richo is full of crap and that is a fact not coming here to spurt hate towards him etc just calling it as it is.
Promised coffield he’d line up round 1 and what do you know he didn’t pick him.
Crapped on about Rice being important in the future and hasn’t played him in just over two years...let’s wait till we god forbid make a grand final and we’ll wheel him out for his first game...poor kid should have picked Carlton.
In regards to a delisting last year richo went for coffee with the kid said yep we’ll hang onto you...2 hours later the former player receives a call off trout saying “sorry mate richo couldn’t effing spit it out we’re going to delist you sorry mate”
The same player who for the previous two pre seasons in JLT was told by richo we’ll play you then wasn’t. Then when it came to the tail end of the season used the excuse of “we won’t play you because we want to play others so see if we should delist them”.
Seriously have some substance Richo, then again at Carlton he was known for just blowing hot wind up people’s arses.

[stonecold]

Maybe Weller, probably Dunstan - I don't know
What I do know is that for the safety of fellow SS forumites and the sanity of SC
Longer must play
Besides I do want to see him over all other options go up against Jacobs, and I don't want AR to throw a patsy sacrificial lamb to the slaughter
Jeesh I have just watched that hack reject Geelong ruckman ryhs Stanley kick two goals and it's not even half time yet

No, play Hickey and all the very best to him!!!!!

After all, he used to be Simon Madden only two seasons ago, apparently!!!!!

All the best Hickledik!!!!!

[sunsaint]

Ok SC - have a chat with AR and tee it up
Let's face it Hickey only has to get 2 possessions and he's a 200% improvement

[stonecold]

Ok SC - have a chat with AR and tee it up
Let's face it Hickey only has to get 2 possessions and he's a 200% improvement

No, what he has to do is provide some sort of presence (physical), that would be a start!!!!!

[bigcarl]

If Longer is injured we've no alternative but to play Hickey, really. He held down first ruck without a problem in 2016. It's true he doesn't throw his body around like Longer. On the other hand, he's a better footballer.

We've got some other hard nuts in the midfield that can lend a hand as enforcers.