Forget Finals

[Teflon]

Quicker we put this finals talk to bed the better
Let’s not get distracted from what we need to do end of year
1. Bring in another quality draft kid
2. Trade well
3. Cull deadwood

Guys like Kent from now on should not be played ahead of kids - I’d rather see Connolly, Byrnes, Bytel et al get games over this list clogger

Butler - needs to be dropped ....if Higgins is ok it’s a Monty for mine ....

Billings, Ross, Dunstan - we will lose some anyway so maximise what we get (Billings woeful today and Ross’s pie floater kicks who out team mates under pressure will not be missed).

[B.M]

I’ve never subscribed to the ‘play the kids’ philosophy

Best 22 every week with the best chance of winning

Otherwise you’ve raised the white flag

As soon as a club does that, it sends a signal that it’s ok to lose

[Teflon]

I subscribe to the realist theory of “do what you need to do for your side to be a genuine contender”
We are skill wise light years off the power sides do I’ll play the long game thanks
Give the kids a run
Been let down by so called “experienced leaders” and the same old crew far too often

[saint6709]

Quicker we put this finals talk to bed the better
Let’s not get distracted from what we need to do end of year
1. Bring in another quality draft kid
2. Trade well
3. Cull deadwood

Guys like Kent from now on should not be played ahead of kids - I’d rather see Connolly, Byrnes, Bytel et al get games over this list clogger

Butler - needs to be dropped ....if Higgins is ok it’s a Monty for mine ....

Billings, Ross, Dunstan - we will lose some anyway so maximise what we get (Billings woeful today and Ross’s pie floater kicks who out team mates under pressure will not be missed).

Agree with a fair bit of this - don't want to see Kent again - if you want to play at the top level you need to have at least some basic skills on your non preferred foot

[saint6709]

Quicker we put this finals talk to bed the better
Let’s not get distracted from what we need to do end of year
1. Bring in another quality draft kid
2. Trade well
3. Cull deadwood

Guys like Kent from now on should not be played ahead of kids - I’d rather see Connolly, Byrnes, Bytel et al get games over this list clogger

Butler - needs to be dropped ....if Higgins is ok it’s a Monty for mine ....

Billings, Ross, Dunstan - we will lose some anyway so maximise what we get (Billings woeful today and Ross’s pie floater kicks who out team mates under pressure will not be missed).

Agree with a fair bit of this - don't want to see Kent again - if you want to play at the top level you need to have at least some basic skills on your non preferred foot

[saint6709]

Quicker we put this finals talk to bed the better
Let’s not get distracted from what we need to do end of year
1. Bring in another quality draft kid
2. Trade well
3. Cull deadwood

Guys like Kent from now on should not be played ahead of kids - I’d rather see Connolly, Byrnes, Bytel et al get games over this list clogger

Butler - needs to be dropped ....if Higgins is ok it’s a Monty for mine ....

Billings, Ross, Dunstan - we will lose some anyway so maximise what we get (Billings woeful today and Ross’s pie floater kicks who out team mates under pressure will not be missed).

Agree with a fair bit of this - don't want to see Kent again - if you want to play at the top level you need to have at least some basic skills on your non preferred foot

[The_Dud]

Like I said last week, the bad thing about beating the Lions is that it built hope and expectation, which always leads to disappointment at St Kilda!

[CURLY]

Clarke
Higgins
Gresham
Coffield
Paton
Heath

Fair group of young blokes to return.

[Teflon]

You watch
We’ll beat Eagles
Lose to Carlton
Chokers but reality is you get confidence from bringing in some skilled players....have a look at how confident you feel when certain players (now add Connolly) get the ball in hand???? You just know in a pressure situation 8/10 times they’ll make and execute the correct decision
I never once thought Kent or Dunstan to be fair would kick those set shots today
Kent in panic moments is a liability with zero left foot as a team how can you have confidence in blokes like that to execute in tight games??
Get the balance right
Go after abs look for kids with natural foot skills/decision making first and foremost
Ball kicked well travels faster than any speedy turnover merchant can run !
Hit the draft

[happy feet]

I’ve never subscribed to the ‘play the kids’ philosophy

Best 22 every week with the best chance of winning

Otherwise you’ve raised the white flag

As soon as a club does that, it sends a signal that it’s ok to lose

I remember Doc telling Harvey and Burke (I think) you have last 6 games and you will play every week. I liked this approach and if we can’t make the finals why bother playing players when they are going to be traded or delisted. Give our younger players a chance to show what they have got.

[Sanctorum]

Fair enough, we're all disappointed with the loss to Port, but it was by no means the team's worst performance this year and if they bounce back with a strong win over the Eagles next week finals is not impossible.

It's a reminder again today that Port's weakest 6 players were much better than St Kilda's, and in the last 10 minutes when the game was still up for grabs Port's experience was the difference.

I did wonder when I saw that Port had gone in with tall forwards why Ratten didn't switch Tim Membrey to spells in defence, a role that he had taken a number of times this year with great effect, most recently against the Lions last week - he may well have helped to restrict the impact of young gun Mitch Georgiadis who kicked 4 goals!

A lesson that the coaches will need to remember in future games....

There's also the factor of the players presumably having had to pack their bags before the game, say goodbye to their partners/families and head straight to the airport for the long flight to Perth, not the best preparation for a big game!

[B.M]

It was Harvey and Bowey

Burley had already been in the side 18 months

[samuraisaint]

Higgins, Bytel and Hannebery IN.
They are in our best 22. They need to be in the team - not a sub.

We need to play our best side for the next five weeks. We'll win more than we lose if we do. Go all out to win all the games we can, and if finals comes as a result of that - bonus!

[Crossy66]

Higgins, Bytel and Hannebery IN.
They are in our best 22. They need to be in the team - not a sub.

We need to play our best side for the next five weeks. We'll win more than we lose if we do. Go all out to win all the games we can, and if finals comes as a result of that - bonus!

Feel like Bytel has missed out on a large chunk of development years. Playing at AFL level doesn't necessarily make you a better AFL player. Sometimes it can do more harm than good.
Enjoying your footy , building confidence by getting 35+ each week and coming in when you are flying is the preferred path.

[Wayne42]

The best thing,

only 5 more weeks of this frustrating shite and we are done for 2021.

Hope the trade and draft periods provide some highlights for the Saints in 2021, if not, it's just another barren year.

[samuraisaint]

The best thing,

only 5 more weeks of this frustrating shite and we are done for 2021.

Hope the trade and draft periods provide some highlights for the Saints in 2021, if not, it's just another barren year.

The best thing about our percentage is that we will get the draft pick we deserve. Our percentage is so low that we will definitely finish the lowest on the ladder of any of our opponents who have won the same number of games as us, guaranteeing us a decent draft pick if we don't make the eight.

If we make the eight, we play finals. Bonus!

[bangaulegend]

Still a faint chance but we aren't ready for finals anyway.

[Teflon]

Hands up who see us beating Cats at Geelong?? honestly we could t beat a severely undermanned port on our home deck?????
We’ll probably do cats lose to blues either way play kids next year the focus for mine starts this off-season no more “choose your adventure” fitness programs or sleep ins or 2 hour days ....

[The Fireman]

Torn

[samuraisaint]

Clarke
Higgins
Gresham
Coffield
Paton
Heath

Fair group of young blokes to return.

Add Joyce and Hannebery to that list and we could be significantly strengthened in the next one to two weeks.

[samuraisaint]

Still a faint chance but we aren't ready for finals anyway.

Still want to make it if possible.
Great for sponsors and attracting new members and talent.

If we fail we may finish as low as twelfth because of our percentage - which is a win/win for mine. If we make finals; great! If not, we finish lower than any other team on the same number of wins as us, thereby guaranteeing us the draft pick we deserve.

[samuraisaint]

Hands up who see us beating Cats at Geelong?? honestly we could t beat a severely undermanned port on our home deck?????
We’ll probably do cats lose to blues either way play kids next year the focus for mine starts this off-season no more “choose your adventure” fitness programs or sleep ins or 2 hour days ....

Won't beat Geelong at Geelong, no way. We aren't playing well enough.

We'll beat Carlton though.

Agreed about the players taking ownership of their pre-season training being a joke. Leave those programs to the professionals. For mine, we need a Brendan Edwards/Kennedy's Commandos type of pre-season at the end of the year. Basic, strenuous, rigorous endurance, strength and explosive power focused training is what is required to get conditioning, along with skills. "Fatigue makes cowards of us all" - Coach Vince Lombardi

[Scollop]

Like I said last week, the bad thing about beating the Lions is that it built hope and expectation, which always leads to disappointment at St Kilda!

That's terrible if you call last weeks win a 'bad thing'. There's a lot of history to say it's a pretty accurate post but c'mon mate. Surely there's 1 or 2 optimistic bones left in that weary body

[minneapolis]

Torn

Stitches.

[kosifantutti]

The best thing,

only 5 more weeks of this frustrating shite and we are done for 2021.

Hope the trade and draft periods provide some highlights for the Saints in 2021, if not, it's just another barren year.

The best thing about our percentage is that we will get the draft pick we deserve. Our percentage is so low that we will definitely finish the lowest on the ladder of any of our opponents who have won the same number of games as us, guaranteeing us a decent draft pick if we don't make the eight.

If we make the eight, we play finals. Bonus!

Are you saying because of our % we could finish 8th but not 9th or 10th. That makes sense.