Get Excited

[damienc]

I've officially joined the excitement bandwagon that is the St Kilda Football Club.

We have improved. A lot.

We still have a long way to go.

Clearly. But we've also come a long way. A very long way in just one season.

There is much to like about the way we are going about things at the moment.

Even when we are bad we are not that bad. Ok, we are not getting across the line in the close contests. But we are so close we can almost taste it.

Getting close to top teams is no mean feat. The reigning premier and a team that has won seven in a row.

The shinboners have always been a handful. This year they are very, very good but we got mighty, mighty close.

The young guys are doing what we all hoped. Dunstan, Billings, Newnes, Ross, Savage. Yes Savage is still young thank god.

Really liking Hickey's ruck work. We just need all of them to do more, more often.

Acres had a quiet one after his blockbuster. But that's ok. I really like this kid and I am sure he is going to play a big role in our future.

Our latest adventure on the footy field proves to me we have what it takes if we want it enough.

If we make a contest, we create pressure. Pressure makes opposition teams make mistakes. We showed that against NM and HAW.

We have to create pressure in their 50 and resist it in ours.

Our older blokes are leading the way. Roo, Joey, Dempster, Fisher, Geary.

Gilbert drives me nuts. He gets plenty of the pill but his disposal at times is not very smart. Someone needs to tell him: DON'T KICK IT TO THE OPPOSITION.

We need more buyin from the young blokes. I mentioned some names but there are some others. Templeton, Goddard, Saunders, Murdoch, Gresham, Kearny, White, McCartin.

They need to step up and keep stepping. Keep trying. Keep learning, Keep listening. They are our future. Our hopes. Our dreams.

We have a good coach. Make that coaches.

We have the proof we can take it to any team in the competition if we want to. We need to have that hunger and self belief every week.

We are not there yet. But the signs are good. This is a different footy team this year. I am excited.

[prwilkinson]

Great stuff!

[bigcarl]

I'm excited, too, but the fact that we have just two wins on the board after seven rounds takes the gloss off. Yes we probably deserved better but that's the reality of where we are at. When it comes down to it winning is what counts

[longtimesaint]

I'm excited, too, but the fact that we have just two wins on the board after seven rounds takes the gloss off. Yes we probably deserved better but that's the reality of where we are at. When it comes down to it winning is what counts

When you look at our draw it is easy to see why we only have two wins.
5 teams in the top 8 in the first 8 rounds and three of them interstate.
Of the other teams we have played Melbourne is 9th and Port Adelaide is 10th. -we haven't played any bottom teams and only Collingwood around our level.
Compare this to bulldogs who have played all seven at Etihad and even round 8 is at the G.
We were not likely to beat top 8 teams this year but we could easily have beaten Hawthorn (should have) and North (could have)
If we had been 4-3 after that first seven it would have been exceptional.
When you look at the draw we could finish with 9 or 10 wins as we play all the lower teams and some twice.

[Bluthy]

You can't help but to be excited by how we are going. I love the depth we are building and the exciting, high scoring style of footy we are showing we are capable of.

I think you have to temper that a bit by realising that a lot of clubs have got to the stage we are at and haven't gone on with it eg. Richmond and Port. Collingwood were where we are at last year with a list everyone said was bulging with young talent and ready to have a big crack at the finals. I think we can put a tick next to Stage 1 - rebuild of the list with young talent. Stage 2 is making finals, Stage 3 is top four and Stage 4 is winning that damn elusive flag.

We have to keep being brave and stick to the plan of youth development They've been courageous reworking our forward line and midfield by blooding youth. But I worry that our old backline of Geary, Dempster, Fish and Gilbo is like a comfy pair of traccy pants that is too easy for Richo to put on without thinking about it. They know each others game like the back of their hand after standing back to back in the heat of grand finals so you expect them to be a solid defensive unit. Richo was a backman and his bias is to reliability in that area over excitement and attacking flair. But youth gives you excitement and energy and attacking energy and has revitalized the team. Teams like GWS and Dogs are rebounding powerhouses that look scary already.

Out of our exciting young backs of Goddard, Lee, Murdoch, White, McKenzie, Rice - there has only been one granted a senior game this year- Lee got a couple forced by injury. It scares me that Richo is starting to focus on wins rather than development. Is the plan for Dempster and/or Fish to play on next year when we should be having a crack at finals? Otherwise Goddard, Lee, Carlisle, Robertton will be a very green backline who have barely played together. Richo needs to bite the bullet and blood some more young players in our backline otherwise their development will stagnate. It may mean going back to go forward, but so be it. Wins are not the be all and end all this year.

And we have to be careful not to get lured into "top up" mode that has ruined Richmond and probably stopped us staying up longer when we were contending. We need to be gutsy and keep feeding the young kids in from the draft, and having the courage to blood them in senior games. YOu want to stay up a long time like Sydney, Hawks and Geelong to maximise your chances at flags.

But yes, looking good, but need to keep the courageous, strategic approach layed down by Pelchen going. Draft clever, skillful players. Many teams have been ruined by getting too cautious and thinking their list has "made it" with just a bit of big-bodied tinkering required. Development is all relative to the rest of the comp. If you are not moving forward, you are going backwards. And we only have to look at the developing monster that is GWS to realise we have to keep being aggressive and bold with our list as we don't have any of the huge advantages they have.

[Devilhead]

Losing Roo is going to leave a huge hole in our team - whilst we have definitely improved he has been huge this year and at the moment we have no one to replace him

Probably need at least two more years out of him before another can step up to fill the void

That said the team is moving in the right direction and developing nicely

[Stephen Theodore]

Great stuff!

+ 1

[Trev from the Bush]

Don't understand where you are coming from Bluthy. Are you seiously suggesting a backline as good as was yesterday should make way for young wannabes who have yet to dominate at VFL level? Seriously?

[philtee]

Great OP.
1. Held one of the comp's top-scoring sides to just 11 goals, with our under-sized backline toiling above expectation.
No North player kicked more than 2 goals.
2. Stifled their backline with sharp zone defence for at least two quarters. They couldn't find an easy way out.
If only we had scored from the periods of dominance.
3. Won the 2nd half. Won the 3rd quarter. Won the last quarter.
4. Had the love of the jumper and the self-respect to launch a comeback from a 26-point deficit.
5. Had the guts to roll the dice and try for the win with first-touch play-on footy. Consider that goal at the 12 min mark of
last quarter, from back pocket to forward 50 in just seconds - Lonie to Savage to Riewoldt to Billings. Can I use the word
breathtaking here ?
Downside - Slaughtered the ball too many times going foward, hesitation or poor skills were a killer, as in Hawthorn and GWS games.

[Animal Enclosure]

It scares me that Richo is starting to focus on wins rather than development.

I know it's probably unfair to jump on this line in isolation but Richo had the following set up for at least 1 centre bounce during the 3rd quarter (when it was still game on);

Bruce
Acres
Gresham
Dunstan

Against

Goldstein
Ziebell
Cunnington
Swallow

Richo has always got an eye on development....while trying to get a result as well (which is vitally important).

The issue with the 3 old fellas in defence (I won't include Geary as he's not quite Dad's Army yet) is that their obvious replacements aren't quite ready yet. Goddard would probably be playing but the heat stroke really effected his pre season more than most of us realised. He's been playing catch up ever since...expect him to play most of the 2nd half of the season.

Carlisle slots straight in for Chips and we probably have Robbo as Dempster's replacement if we don't snag a 3rd tall defender like Marchbank. Rice, White, DMac & Coughlan are babies. It's all about getting their bodies ready & their minds up to playing senior footy.

I've loved Joey's new role...it's both reinvigorated him & given JWeb a great role model to base his game on.

We all want to see more of the new guys to get excited about where the club is heading but in the meantime we can enjoy Chips last year, Gilbo's resurgence & Shinner's courageous play.

[bigred]

I'll get excited when we put our foot on the throat of this competition and lean into it.

[Con Gorozidis]

Get on board!

[Beno88]

Losing Roo is going to leave a huge hole in our team - whilst we have definitely improved he has been huge this year and at the moment we have no one to replace him

Probably need at least two more years out of him before another can step up to fill the void

That said the team is moving in the right direction and developing nicely

You're right, and while he'll never be another Roo, Josh Bruce is really starting to impress me with his aerobic ability. His running game has improved out of sight. He'll probably never be as good as the best, but I'm pretty happy he's learning from the best.

[6621104]

Bruce will become the Roo of our next era. that goal in the last?? when he passed , ran on and received the pass in return demonstrated he has already learnt that, though he is a good one on one mark, few defenders good enough to match him body to body can match his run. Firrito was left dragging the chain.

[LTN16]

[citywest]

I agree with Bluthy regarding playing the youth, especially Goddard. Once he is ready to go he should come into the senior side and stay in (provided his form is at least average or better). Fisher should only be played when injuries strike. If we can get at least 10 games into Goddard this year that would be a great result. The other one is Gresham. Keep playing him as long as he tackles like hell and gets his usual 15 disposals.

The problem I envisage though is McCartin. We need to keep playing him too but who goes out for him? At the moment there is no spot for him unless one of Rooey, Bruce or Membrey gets injured.

Longer as well actually. When does he play? Do we 'rest' Hickey and bring Longer in?

Lots of problems coming up for the selectors.....nice problem to have though.

[SaintPav]

Second sentence demonstrates just how much you know about modern day footy, Citywest.

[st.byron]

I agree with Bluthy regarding playing the youth, especially Goddard. Once he is ready to go he should come into the senior side and stay in (provided his form is at least average or better). Fisher should only be played when injuries strike. If we can get at least 10 games into Goddard this year that would be a great result. The other one is Gresham. Keep playing him as long as he tackles like hell and gets his usual 15 disposals.

The problem I envisage though is McCartin. We need to keep playing him too but who goes out for him? At the moment there is no spot for him unless one of Rooey, Bruce or Membrey gets injured.

Longer as well actually. When does he play? Do we 'rest' Hickey and bring Longer in?

Lots of problems coming up for the selectors.....nice problem to have though.

That would be the same McCartin you said was, "The greatest recruiting disaster of all time". Now we need to keep him in the team.....

[citywest]

I agree with Bluthy regarding playing the youth, especially Goddard. Once he is ready to go he should come into the senior side and stay in (provided his form is at least average or better). Fisher should only be played when injuries strike. If we can get at least 10 games into Goddard this year that would be a great result. The other one is Gresham. Keep playing him as long as he tackles like hell and gets his usual 15 disposals.

The problem I envisage though is McCartin. We need to keep playing him too but who goes out for him? At the moment there is no spot for him unless one of Rooey, Bruce or Membrey gets injured.

Longer as well actually. When does he play? Do we 'rest' Hickey and bring Longer in?

Lots of problems coming up for the selectors.....nice problem to have though.

That would be the same McCartin you said was, "The greatest recruiting disaster of all time". Now we need to keep him in the team.....

From the perspective that we used the number 1 pick on him. That is what I meant smart alec.

[Trev from the Bush]

Congratulations Citywest. That must be some sort of a record.

A month and three days to bite back at an inoffensive post!

[The Fireman]

you can't not be hopeful after this seasons effort so far...the 3 thrashings have shown we have a ways to go and the club as well as us need to keep a lid on it. next season will be interesting and will tell the tale of how long we have to go to be in the top mix. Carlisle in and the spotlight on the hopefuls..billings , Paddy, Freeman, acres , dunstan etc...



I enjoyed watching us demolish a side who has been on the rebuild longer than us.