How far can the saints go?

[asiu]

yep ... got that

3 zip us

3/2 our way in our 5 finals (i think thats it)

thats two grannys we’ve kept them out of

we might not pay that the respect its due
nor probably even remember it
nor think how lucky we were
with Rooey dragging us back into the first one

if i was a doggies supporter
i’d be sticking sharp things into the seats on your trains
at every opportunity
‘n cursing your bird collecting heritage

luckily .., i’m an us , not one of those poor sad angry bitter
oh wait ...oh yea ...
premiership winning futher muckers

roll on tomorrow ay ... here we come in 21

happy nye dude , other dudes and dudettes
Go Us

[B.M]

Lots of good sides in it

Brisbane, WCE, Geelong, Port are in a great position

And of course Richmond

Carlton, Freo, Gold Coast are going to improve

Melbourne, GWS and Essendon are unpredictable but could possibly play finals

My big tip is WESTERN Bulldogs to push top 4

Then there’s Collingwood - who knows how they’ll respond to the off season?

Adelaide, Hawthorn, Kangaroos will be rebuilding

So what I’m saying is that it’s not a fait accompli that we just waltz through to the finals. We have a good enough list to make finals but we need growth from players, luck with injury and improvements to the game plan.

Expectation is high, that in itself worries me!

[shanegrambeau]

Lots of good sides in it

Brisbane, WCE, Geelong, Port are in a great position

And of course Richmond

Carlton, Freo, Gold Coast are going to improve

Melbourne, GWS and Essendon are unpredictable but could possibly play finals

My big tip is WESTERN Bulldogs to push top 4

Then there’s Collingwood - who knows how they’ll respond to the off season?

Adelaide, Hawthorn, Kangaroos will be rebuilding

So what I’m saying is that it’s not a fait accompli that we just waltz through to the finals. We have a good enough list to make finals but we need growth from players, luck with injury and improvements to the game plan.

Expectation is high, that in itself worries me!

You mention 13 teams !
All of which are capable and have beaten us!
I am hoping that some of these ‘improving’ teams will see a false dawn.

1) Brisbane - Peaked? and won’t get the luxury of hub-at-my-house in ‘21
2) WCE and Geelong - too old
3) Port - genuine threat.
4) Richmond - still a threat
5) Carlton, GC, Freo - they’ll be up and competitive with us.
6) Melbourne- will lose every game but still beat us.

7) We will slaughter the rest. Leave them where they lay.

[B.M]

Brisbane peaked?

Who are their players who are past it??

Rich possibly, Birchall yes and who else?

Last years team with probably a fit Joe Daniher, hmm they’ll be ok

Geelong will be not much different to this year, where they weren’t too old to make a gf
Out Ablett
In Cameron, Higgins and Smith
They are a massive chance!
They are a certainty to play finals

WCE too old
Only really Hurn and Kennedy are old and they are still playing good footy
12 home games, will win most if not all of them, that’s a good start!

I know we want to feel good about our chances, and I think we do have a chance. But you have to realistic and acknowledge other teams chances.

I have us around the mark to play finals again. Which is good, but we are far from certainties

[shanegrambeau]

Brisbane peaked?

Who are their players who are past it??

Rich possibly, Birchall yes and who else?

Last years team with probably a fit Joe Daniher, hmm they’ll be ok

Geelong will be not much different to this year, where they weren’t too old to make a gf
Out Ablett
In Cameron, Higgins and Smith
They are a massive chance!
They are a certainty to play finals

WCE too old
Only really Hurn and Kennedy are old and they are still playing good footy
12 home games, will win most if not all of them, that’s a good start!

I know we want to feel good about our chances, and I think we do have a chance. But you have to realistic and acknowledge other teams chances.

I have us around the mark to play finals again. Which is good, but we are far from certainties

Mmnn,...Brisbane, maybe I was a tad optimistic...yes, alright, Brisbane might be good, or even great, but they won’t have that Gabba for every game, and they should get a tougher fixture ....mind you, I trust the AFL to serve them goodies as usual.

Geelong are old...come on...Danger, Selwood ..these players ? They just have to be diminished. They will start playing sneaky and clever, as all old champs do, so we must be wary.

West Coast...mmnn...are their young guns proven? They took a long time to come good this year, and perhaps post-COVID, they’ll have a good rhythm, let’s hope not. Darling and Kennedy are old no?

Perhaps I am being too generous to Richmond?

[cwrcyn]

Apart from North Melbourne, most, if not all, other clubs can put a case forward to say they will improve. All the club's around us on the ladder can get better, and there may only be one or two games we can lock in as a win.

Whoever makes the top 8 in 2021 will have earned it. I have never seen such an even top 10 teams

[B.M]

Agreed - I reckon 14 teams can potentially play finals

Thing is, only 8 can, so I reckon it will come down to injuries and momentum.

If the Saints can get on a bit of a roll, they will start believing and confidence is an amazing thing
Lose a few and doubt sets in, which builds pressure

I think King is the key
If he has a 40 goal season and continues an upward trajectory, we will play finals
If he has second year blues (which may happen) we have no performing power forward!

[shanegrambeau]

Agreed - I reckon 14 teams can potentially play finals

Thing is, only 8 can, so I reckon it will come down to injuries and momentum.

If the Saints can get on a bit of a roll, they will start believing and confidence is an amazing thing
Lose a few and doubt sets in, which builds pressure

I think King is the key
If he has a 40 goal season and continues an upward trajectory, we will play finals
If he has second year blues (which may happen) we have no performing power forward!

That’s when the genius of our James Frawley acquisition bears fruit.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/jam ... zqwdm.html

[asiu]

wyot

"Write your own ticket" means, a person, usually a rookie to a particular career, has, with his own talents and efforts, arrived a point where he need no longer defer to his superiors within his chosen field. He can start deciding exactly how he wants his future career to happen, suiting his own terms and goals, not those of others.

thanx W

i got there in the end ... ta

[Vortex]

Agreed - I reckon 14 teams can potentially play finals

Thing is, only 8 can, so I reckon it will come down to injuries and momentum.

If the Saints can get on a bit of a roll, they will start believing and confidence is an amazing thing
Lose a few and doubt sets in, which builds pressure

I think King is the key
If he has a 40 goal season and continues an upward trajectory, we will play finals
If he has second year blues (which may happen) we have no performing power forward!

That’s when the genius of our James Frawley acquisition bears fruit.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/jam ... zqwdm.html

Possibly be more like Frawley comes into the backline if we are having issues up forward to allow Battle to go up foward....agree it's genius.

[samuraisaint]

You could make a case for nearly every side to make the top eight this year - remember North were rated as having the sixth best midfield before the 2020 season.

We've bolstered our back line and midfield with proven performers, which is certainly going to help us, and Higgins is going to be very handy in our forward line.

Massive improvement from Clark, Coffield and Marshall last year helped, and they'll be better again this year. With the Gresh prince to return, and with a midfield which features Hannebury, Crouch, Jones roving Ryder's ruck-work, we won't be the quickest side, but we'll certainly have the physical edge over most teams in the centre. I think this trading in physicality has been a strategic move by coach and list manager.

Hill on the wing, Long running off half back, Butler on the half forward flank with Billings on the other, and we have certainly tightened up our weakness of not have any run off the flanks and up the wing. We now have a lot of creative players in our front half too.

I like our back line with Howard at FB, Carlisle at CHB, and the uncompromising Battle maybe playing Roberton's/Shinner's role across half back, and Frawley to cover injuries certainly makes us better. Frawley could be the story of the year.

Looking forward to seeing King's improvement in his third season at the club, with Membrey holding down the key forward posts. They'll have their down weeks; sure, but they'll surprise a lot of teams too.

Don't forget we are still going to be facing Covid travel restrictions and border closures in 2021 too, so the season will throw up some interesting challenges, but I believe that we can beat most sides with the obvious exceptions being Geelong, Collingwood, North Melbourne because they match up on us so well, and West Coast in Perth. The rest of our matches we are in up to our necks.

We have a tough fixture but some of the sides in the top eight will drop out, and others may just struggle on any given day, so we can't base our future predictions purely based on past performances otherwise we'd still be losing to Hawthorn, Essendon and Carlton twice every year which we no longer do.

Thirteen wins in 2021 in the H&A for mine. I think we can definitely knock off any side which finishes in the bottom half of the eight in a final.

[B.M]

Did Marshall improve last year

He was outstanding in 2019 finishing runner up in the Trevor Barker Award.

He played a different role last season, and was a serviceable forward and good back up ruckman.

I predict Marshall will win the B&F in 2022 as the number 1 ruckman, resting forward.

[Vortex]

Yeah I reckon Romo was in a holding pattern in 2020 but a was still a vital cog. I agree he has more gears.

[B.M]

He’s just a better ruckman than forward.

He can do a job forward and kick the odd goal, but as a ruckman he’s a 18ppg player

[CQ SAINT]

I felt like Marshall was ready to impact up forward in 2019 and was then forced to ruck and had a very good year.
His ability to follow the ball, impact at clearances and take decent contested marks still bodes well for him as a power forward.
I still think he may be ready to have a huge impact closer to goal.
Id love to see him move to FF and get King moving in 2 directions at CHF.

[B.M]

Marshall is a lot better ruckman than forward.

He’s more a resting ruckman forward than a permanent forward

Gun ruckman though

[B.M]

Marshall is a lot better ruckman than forward.

He’s more a resting ruckman forward than a permanent forward

Gun ruckman though

[CQ SAINT]

I believe he is a very good ruckman. I saw the run he had at it in 2019. He is not as good as a 32 year old Ryder though. I am yet to see him focus on a forward role, perhaps we will see more of that this year, hopefully deep forward with all these small forwards at his feet. He is a lot stronger than he was in 2018, when he wasn't given a solid crack at it.

[SaintPav]

We’re in contention, definitely.

[To the top]

If Marshall is a “gun” ruckman what does that make Ryder, who is a “gun” ruckman

Marshall with his all round attributes is a potential “gun” forward with licence - and a handy back up ruckman

We are very fortunate in having King and Marshall, both able to impact games due to their mobility and skills

They can both get up and around the ground leaving the other one forward - then there is Membrey playing above his size

[B.M]

Ryder is a better tap ruckman

Marshall is better around the ground

You only have to look at the numbers to understand that

It depends what you value more

[skeptic]

That’s hitting the nail on the head

Marshall is really not that good in the centre hit outs and is found out from time to time. He’s excellent around the grounds.

IMO he’s more suited to being a forward that rotates into the ruck and pushes up the ground... he needs to be accompanied by a Ryder type though

[CQ SAINT]

Ryder is a better tap ruckman

Marshall is better around the ground

You only have to look at the numbers to understand that

It depends what you value more

Which numbers in particular, kicks, handballs, efficiency or marks?

Marshall is certainly younger and more mobile and better on the ground. But now we have Crouch and still no power forward. Ryder gets around the ground pretty well. Do you mean Marshall is a better midfielder?

[B.M]

A ruckman is a midfielder

They start in the middle of the ground (on baller or follower or whatever you want to call them)

Rowan by numbers was better in 2019 as a ruckman than in 2020 as a forward.

[B.M]

The best ruckmen win the footy around the ground.