What have we learnt after 3 Rounds?

[skeptic]

1. We have the cream…
Our list has a high number of players who, when we’re up and about, can tear opposition teams apart both through individual acts of brilliance, or excellent game performances.
You look at the names: Billings, Ross, Weller, Lonie, Sinclair, Savatage, Dunstan, Webster, Roberton to name a few… any one of them could feature both on the highlight reel or amongst the best in a game.

But…

2. We still need the cake.
The obvious problem with those names above is that last week, almost all of them featured amongst the most heavily maligned players following that rubbish performance. Billings was quiet and ineffective, Ross had 2 kicks to half time, Weller was terrible, Lonie and Sinclair non-existent, Dunstan and Sav were the turn over kings, Webster kept falling over… Roberton was just plain awful.
Obviously the majority of this list falls into the developing player of tomorrow category, and with that label comes inconsistency. Understandable. My point is that whilst we have all this promise, we’re still lacking the consistently good players most weeks to lead the way. We don’t have the Hayes/Ball/Dal Santo/Monty mids to carry the load, and let these guys develop their games. As far as the midfield goes, we only really have Steven and Montagna in this group with Armitage not far behind.
We need more of that initial group to step up like…

3. Jack Newnes – What a champ!
He has really taken his game up a level – seemingly has successfully transitioned from ok young player to a good and reliable contributor. He’s cool, calm, disposal has improved, is getting more of the ball… would be right up there for the Trevor Barker Medal after three games.

4. The Ruck structure needs work
Despite his Herculean effort in round 1, I don’t think we can go into games with Tom Hickey as our only recognised Ruck. The plan at the moment seems to be that Hickey rucks, Roo and Paddy move up the ground, Bruce up forward – then Hickey rests, Bruce rucks, Roo and Paddy stay forward.
I don’t love it. Bruce is wasted in the ruck.

The problem is, like everyone else, I don’t see the clear solution. It seems as though we have 3 rucks in Hickey, Longer and Holmes that can only play ruck. Nobody that can pinch hit… and our only multi-positional ruck/forward in Pierce seems destined not to make it.

Ideas are welcome… just address your suggestions to Linton St, Moorabbin

5. The Interchange Cap is a bit of a puzzle
Many were sceptical of the claim that the club was put back substantially by the missed game Vs Brisbane. Whilst it may not have necessarily impacted hugely on match fitness, it may well have impacted on our capacity to test out the theory on strategically use the bench. We ran out of steam and rotations vs Port… the Bulldogs, well goodness only knows what went wrong there… Collingwood was more a case of ran out of players.

6. We are not a team that only kicks 5 goals in a game
The Bulldogs beat us and beat us badly in the end. They pressured and pressured us until psychologically, something broke. The players just kept fumbling, spraying kicks, dropping the ball, missing targets etc. Far be it from me to suggest we won’t get touched up again this season… but we aren’t that bad a team.
I think what it comes down to is that we need to improve more in the middle… develop or get a few more players that are more consistent and can help us run the ball out of there.

7. In General AFL news
- The Tigers are pretenders yet again. Chances of them winning a final look pretty slim right now… and even if they do it seems unlikely that they are anything but making up numbers
- Freo may well be finished. Do I dare dream.
- The way to beat the Western Bulldogs is to match them in the middle… Under pressure they panic. I reckon they’ll crash.
- Hawks are looking good as usual… Adelaide don’t look so bad either
- Nobody looks unbeatable as of yet

[chook23]

Your comments in 1. a very generous IMO

We need more players that are cream.

Some mentioned are a long way short of cream IMO

[Impatient Sainter]

Simple the team wasnt ready to go in Round 1 - plus the Bulldogs game was a major wake up call!

[saynta]

The problem is, like everyone else, I don’t see the clear solution. It seems as though we have 3 rucks in Hickey, Longer and Holmes that can only play ruck. Nobody that can pinch hit… and our only multi-positional ruck/forward in Pierce seems destined not to make it.

You have written off a 21 year old 202cm ruckman yet to play a game.

[saintsRrising]

Your comments in 1. a very generous IMO

We need more players that are cream.

Some mentioned are a long way short of cream IMO

Fully agree. We lack enough elite, or potentially elite, players. You look at Billings and he stands out like a beacon compared to our other youngsters.

We have assembled a great support cast of young players with coverage in most positions but we badly need some more genuinely elite players.

Some like Lonie, or McCartin amongst others, may become elite...but Billings is our only youngster that I can be 99% will be an absolute gun in several years time.

Individually many look capable of being competent to good first 22 players, but who will be absolute stars? To be a Top 4 team or better you need a handful of real stars. We currently lack genuine future stars. It is good that we have built a solid team, but we now need some more absolute cream to finish it off if we are to become a top 4 team or better.

Yes we looked great against the Pies, but based on the Pies 3 games to date they are a bottom third team this year.

We badly need both Freeman and Carlisle to play to their potential.....but there are big BUTs with both. As it is in say 2 years Freeman takes Joeys spot, and Carlisle Fishers as our key back. The Bruce/McCartin duo will hopefully be enough in key forwards. Goddard will hopefully develop enough to be a good key defensive back to go with Carlisle. We look to have good support cast from small forwards to flankers to rucks. Hickey and/or Longer may even become really good.

But we need more really good players than Steven, Billings and Armo. We need more cream than the one or two stars that may emerge from our current group of youngsters.

Yes we took Gresham, but he went at 18, and so he will most likely along with Dunstan and Acres be good support mids rather than an out and out star.


Note that stars are not always early picks, and so hopefully some of our later picks will become stars. Sinclair could be one such if he can find more of the ball. But right here and now there are few players who look to have that "star" something about them.

[Mr Magic]

I wonder if the injuries and the resultant diminished # of interchanges used by us against Collingwood allow us the option of 'testing' using 2 ruckmen in a game.
There has been the thought that you cannot waste a spot on the bench for a second ruckman because it impinges on the side's ability to effectively use the 90 interchanges.
If we can take last Saturday as an example then maybe we can afford a second ruckman on the bench as we don't necessarily have to use all 90 interchanges in a match?

[skeptic]

Your comments in 1. a very generous IMO

We need more players that are cream.

Some mentioned are a long way short of cream IMO

I think maybe our definition of the word may vary...
I don't mean elite players but more than ones that can pile on top and help you run away from it.

Using 2004 as an example, players like Guerra, Goddard to a lesser degree, Clarke etc were the cream whilst your Hayes, Harvey, Ball, Dal, Powell were the cake... The consistently good players.

We need more cake

GIVE ME CAKE

[skeptic]

The problem is, like everyone else, I don’t see the clear solution. It seems as though we have 3 rucks in Hickey, Longer and Holmes that can only play ruck. Nobody that can pinch hit… and our only multi-positional ruck/forward in Pierce seems destined not to make it.

You have written off a 21 year old 202cm ruckman yet to play a game.

Thank you for that sole observation...

I wouldn't say I've written him off. But the signs aren't looking good for Pierce at the moment.

Several times, on talent he has been described as potentially the best of all of our ruckman. That said, he's seldom in the best at Sandy, i don't recall him ever being listed as an emergency (and if he has, that's the exception rather than than norm), Holmes has completely overtaken him...
An objective observer would have to say that at the very least he'd be under some pressure.

What's your opinion Saynta?

[Bluthy]

It's so hard to tell where we are after just 3 rounds. We did well against Port away from home, done over by dogs who look top four, and then were really good against Pies who are in our weight division. But then Pies maybe had one of those days whereas our skills suddenly looked Hawks like.

- We seem to be developing a very attacking, play on at all costs style - didn't work against the dogs because of their stifling pressure and our poor skills but we were trying to move it quickly
- We see capable of kicking high scores because we have a range of goal kickers (including midfielders) who are encouraged to risk running forward - hopefully "kick-it-to-Roo" is on its last legs
- We are capable of "expanding" our game out to fully use the big expanses of MCG. That is an encouraging side because (obviously) you need to play the G well to win a premiership. I think Lyon struggles with that - he keeps using the same "swamping, stifling" style and gets run over on the G where there is more room for runners
- Our young players tend to be all up, or all down, which is trait of young players who struggle to have the inner steel and experience to change the momentum of games. Hopefully we can become more consistent.
- The "oldies" have mostly acquitted themselves very well. Whether they can keep the standard up with legs getting older by the week remains to be seen.
- We've been lucky (or well managed by medical and conditioning staff) with injuries so far and that really helps. Some key injuries could easily put us up against it a bit.
- I think Hickey has cemented himself as our number 1 ruck. Longer will have to work hard to push him out unless they want to continue with the Longer as ruck, Hickey as ruck/fwd experiment. Would we want to go into a grand final with one ruck? That's a risk.
- Players are really developing their two way gut running - we are able to get 2, 3, 4 guys to support the ball carrier and keep our forward thrust going whereas last year it was often just 1 and would break down.
- There is a great spirit and sense of team and purpose in the group. That was maybe questioned after doggies/Roo's 300th but shone through on Sat.
- Richo is a "steady" coach. He doesn't panic over losses or get too carried away with wins. He always fronts up with a solid focus and positive attitude.
- Players that have been a bit questionable like Weller, Savage, Newnes, Ross, Webster have the capability of being very good players for us. However its whether they can sustain the highs rather than dropping back to the lows they have also shown that is the query. We will have good young talent pushing through each year so they need to get their base line standard up
- The worries over two of our tops picks have eased. Billings in his 3rd year is showing serious signs of being a superstar. - game splitting passes, goals and goal assists everwhere. Paddy is starting to show exactly why we picked him with no. 1. They said players will walk taller with him out there and they are right. His courage and physicality in splitting that pack (not to mention amazing hands) and sending pies defenders flying everywhere inspired the team. Any saints player watching that would have said "I need to do that - I need to be that desperate". It's the Jonno Brown effect. And Pies defenders for the rest of the game would have been subliminally worried by a huge guy coming smashing from behind at any marking contest. Defenders being physically worried is exactly what Paddy brings to the table.