2019

[kell]

Looking at the current crop of cellar dwellers there upside for Brisbane, Gold Coast and Carlton. The same can't be said for the Saints. In this context there is a real risk the Saints will be heading for another wooden spoon in 2019. It is difficult to imagine even with an early draft pick that the Saints fortunes are going to lift in the short term. This year has seen NO improvement across the list or in our performance. We are slow and simply cant convert in front of the goals. We are treading water in terms of development. Free agency hasn’t worked for us and our drafting over the last decade has been a disaster. If major changes are no implemented we will not make the finals let alone win a premiership over the next 10 years. In terms of performance the club is in real trouble. One can’t help ponder whether this is the fate of the Saints in the long-term to the extent that the AFL will simply rely on the heavy hitters like Collingwood Geelong and Richmond to drive people to the games and the Saints will simply make up the numbers.

[saynta]

I refuse to believe the future is as bleak as the picture you paint.

[parkeysainter]

This forum is a very sad, sad place.

[saynta]

This forum is a very sad, sad place.

Yep. Nothing uplifting about it at all. Pathetic really.

[parkeysainter]

This forum is a very sad, sad place.

Yep. Nothing uplifting about it at all. Pathetic really.

Mate, if you were having a tough day you would avoid this place. It was ok when I first joined.

[takeaway]

What a pessimistic view. Feel sorry for you.

We matched it with GWS, one of the fast and clever sides of the comp, and if we had kicked for goal reasonably, would have been 5 goals up at half time, and probably won. Even their coach confirmed they were lucky not to be well down. Fix our kicking, and it will make a HUGE difference. If we keep playing like last night, and convert, we will be very competitive next year.

[parkeysainter]

What a pessimistic view. Feel sorry for you.

We matched it with GWS, one of the fast and clever sides of the comp, and if we had kicked for goal reasonably, would have been 5 goals up at half time, and probably won. Even their coach confirmed they were lucky not to be well down. Fix our kicking, and it will make a HUGE difference. If we keep playing like last night, and convert, we will be very competitive next year.

Add in another 2 or 3 good players from other clubs, another top 5 pick like Bailey Smith, changes to assistants, an easier draw due to ladder position and another pre-season to our under 25 players...we will be much, much better in 2019.

[Con Gorozidis]

What a pessimistic view. Feel sorry for you.

We matched it with GWS, one of the fast and clever sides of the comp, and if we had kicked for goal reasonably, would have been 5 goals up at half time, and probably won. Even their coach confirmed they were lucky not to be well down. Fix our kicking, and it will make a HUGE difference. If we keep playing like last night, and convert, we will be very competitive next year.

Add in another 2 or 3 good players from other clubs, another top 5 pick like Bailey Smith, changes to assistants, an easier draw due to ladder position and another pre-season to our under 25 players...we will be much, much better in 2019.

Would be a miracle if we fluke one good player from another club. 2-3 is out of the question.
As for Bailey Smith. Do we really want another sth east suburbs private school boy on our list.
Id prefer Izak Rankine.

[Con Gorozidis]

Having said that -
Hawks are on the slide. Swans on the slide. Suns are a basket case with no future imo. North is mediocre. Dogs are rebuilding and may be stuffed.
So we wont finish bottom.

[portosaint]

What a pessimistic view. Feel sorry for you.

We matched it with GWS, one of the fast and clever sides of the comp, and if we had kicked for goal reasonably, would have been 5 goals up at half time, and probably won. Even their coach confirmed they were lucky not to be well down. Fix our kicking, and it will make a HUGE difference. If we keep playing like last night, and convert, we will be very competitive next year.

Add in another 2 or 3 good players from other clubs, another top 5 pick like Bailey Smith, changes to assistants, an easier draw due to ladder position and another pre-season to our under 25 players...we will be much, much better in 2019.

Would be a miracle if we fluke one good player from another club. 2-3 is out of the question.
As for Bailey Smith. Do we really want another sth east suburbs private school boy on our list.
Id prefer Izak Rankine.

Izak Rankine. Cross everything!!!

[Myron Gaines]

It’s difficult to think we get out of the bottom 4. Carlton look destined to stay around the bottom for another 2+ years, Gold Coast are a rabble but have talent. They are difficult to predict. The Lions I think will win 8+ & get themselves out of the bottom 4. The Dogs are rebuilding again, Freo a bit like us, they are underperforming.

Early predictions: Saints, Blues, Dogs & Suns bottom 4. Freo in the mix.

[older saint]

In order of upside in next couple seasons with what is currently on the lists:

Brisbane
Freo
Dogs
Saints
CG
Carlton

Carlton have cripps, curnow Dow
CG - rabble no one wants to stay at - please send to Tasmania

Saints and dogs about the same - dogs advantage have a grade players - Bont, Mcrea

Freo - better than many think - A graders in Fyfe and Neale, Brayshaw, Cerra, Langdon,

Brisbane - Many quality kids, Andrews, Hipwood,McCluggage, Berry, Rayner - Zorko a quality player also

[chico2001]

This a forum where people can have their say. If you dont like it then answer with facts that cant be disputed.

Saints have 3 players out and a lot of posters want to move some of them on such as Bruce. Roberton may not come back and Mccartin averages a goal a game. All clubs have players on the injured list except Richmond. Saints are 7 games out of the eight and by the end of the year will be probably be 9 games out. It was not a tough draw but 4 out of 4 at home to finish off the year. They will have had 13 games at ES this year. They will pick up 1 high pick in the draft and maybe pick up one"good" player from another club. Skill level is not high, same for goalkicking. The senior coach does not have a good record after 5 years and apparently the assistants are going to be sacked. The board has well known issues and the club is in debt. They are publicly on notice from the AFL to lift performance going forward. Another pre-season will help the younger players get stronger and improve their skill set. Some of the more senior players are on the way down, not up.

I cant see much upside with saints for 2019. There are no solid indicators to show there will be improvement. There has to be a major turnaround somehow but miracles' dont happen except if you land a Dusty martin or Tony Locket.
A smart Board would move heaven and earth to get 2-3 "good" players but cant see that happening.

Bottom 6 in 2019 I reckon and an improvement up the ladder in 2020. That is where it is at, no point having a go at a poster for being negative or pessimistic....If something like this makes you sad.....FFS ...Get over it.

[takeaway]

This a forum where people can have their say. If you dont like it then answer with facts that cant be disputed.

Saints have 3 players out and a lot of posters want to move some of them on such as Bruce. Roberton may not come back and Mccartin averages a goal a game. All clubs have players on the injured list except Richmond. Saints are 7 games out of the eight and by the end of the year will be probably be 9 games out. It was not a tough draw but 4 out of 4 at home to finish off the year. They will have had 13 games at ES this year. They will pick up 1 high pick in the draft and maybe pick up one"good" player from another club. Skill level is not high, same for goalkicking. The senior coach does not have a good record after 5 years and apparently the assistants are going to be sacked. The board has well known issues and the club is in debt. They are publicly on notice from the AFL to lift performance going forward. Another pre-season will help the younger players get stronger and improve their skill set. Some of the more senior players are on the way down, not up.

I cant see much upside with saints for 2019. There are no solid indicators to show there will be improvement. There has to be a major turnaround somehow but miracles' dont happen except if you land a Dusty martin or Tony Locket.
A smart Board would move heaven and earth to get 2-3 "good" players but cant see that happening.

Bottom 6 in 2019 I reckon and an improvement up the ladder in 2020. That is where it is at, no point having a go at a poster for being negative or pessimistic....If something like this makes you sad.....FFS ...Get over it.

That's right, a forum where people can have their say - if they think a view is overly pessimistic they can say so. They have different views, and are expressing that view.
I can see more upside to the Saints in 2019 than you. I reckon we will be mid rung, possibly close to the 8. Subject to injury levels of course.

[chico2001]

This a forum where people can have their say. If you dont like it then answer with facts that cant be disputed.

Saints have 3 players out and a lot of posters want to move some of them on such as Bruce. Roberton may not come back and Mccartin averages a goal a game. All clubs have players on the injured list except Richmond. Saints are 7 games out of the eight and by the end of the year will be probably be 9 games out. It was not a tough draw but 4 out of 4 at home to finish off the year. They will have had 13 games at ES this year. They will pick up 1 high pick in the draft and maybe pick up one"good" player from another club. Skill level is not high, same for goalkicking. The senior coach does not have a good record after 5 years and apparently the assistants are going to be sacked. The board has well known issues and the club is in debt. They are publicly on notice from the AFL to lift performance going forward. Another pre-season will help the younger players get stronger and improve their skill set. Some of the more senior players are on the way down, not up.

I cant see much upside with saints for 2019. There are no solid indicators to show there will be improvement. There has to be a major turnaround somehow but miracles' dont happen except if you land a Dusty martin or Tony Locket.
A smart Board would move heaven and earth to get 2-3 "good" players but cant see that happening.

Bottom 6 in 2019 I reckon and an improvement up the ladder in 2020. That is where it is at, no point having a go at a poster for being negative or pessimistic....If something like this makes you sad.....FFS ...Get over it.

That's right, a forum where people can have their say - if they think a view is overly pessimistic they can say so. They have different views, and are expressing that view.
I can see more upside to the Saints in 2019 than you. I reckon we will be mid rung, possibly close to the 8. Subject to injury levels of course.

Sure, but you have to come up with genuine reasons why they will be mid rung. That would be an amazing improvement, it would mean winning an extra 8-9 games next year. What can you see and enlighten fellow posters about how we will win an extra 8 games in 2019? Forget the injuries, every team has that issue.The posters who in your view are overly pessimistic have given an explanation for their views.

[desertsaint]

well if we're keeping the one person who has peformed most poorly, and that person is in the most important position team performance wise, it doesn't reflect well on our chances.

[vacuous space]

Richo is the biggest obstacle to believing in 2019. Why would I believe that 2019 will be different? Why wasn't 2018 different? Why did we persist with all the things that weren't working long after the season was shot? Why wasn't there more experimentation? Why did we handball so much? Why did we so frequently bomb into to an outnumbered forward line? Why did we run so few numbers through the centre? Why were so few of our early draft picks used in the centre? Why would we bring in guys who played in the centre for Sandy and then not play them in the centre at AFL level? Why did we pick underperforming players week after week after week? Why is Mav Weller? Why did we constantly pick older players over younger ones when the season was clearly over? Why, Richo, why? Why is Richo contracted for two more years?

I want to believe. I want so badly to believe. I just don't.

[Waltzing St Kilda]

Richo is the biggest obstacle to believing in 2019. Why would I believe that 2019 will be different? Why wasn't 2018 different? Why did we persist with all the things that weren't working long after the season was shot? Why wasn't there more experimentation? Why did we handball so much? Why did we so frequently bomb into to an outnumbered forward line? Why did we run so few numbers through the centre? Why were so few of our early draft picks used in the centre? Why would we bring in guys who played in the centre for Sandy and then not play them in the centre at AFL level? Why did we pick underperforming players week after week after week? Why is Mav Weller? Why did we constantly pick older players over younger ones when the season was clearly over? Why, Richo, why? Why is Richo contracted for two more years?

I want to believe. I want so badly to believe. I just don't.

Harsh but true.

[takeaway]

This a forum where people can have their say. If you dont like it then answer with facts that cant be disputed.

Saints have 3 players out and a lot of posters want to move some of them on such as Bruce. Roberton may not come back and Mccartin averages a goal a game. All clubs have players on the injured list except Richmond. Saints are 7 games out of the eight and by the end of the year will be probably be 9 games out. It was not a tough draw but 4 out of 4 at home to finish off the year. They will have had 13 games at ES this year. They will pick up 1 high pick in the draft and maybe pick up one"good" player from another club. Skill level is not high, same for goalkicking. The senior coach does not have a good record after 5 years and apparently the assistants are going to be sacked. The board has well known issues and the club is in debt. They are publicly on notice from the AFL to lift performance going forward. Another pre-season will help the younger players get stronger and improve their skill set. Some of the more senior players are on the way down, not up.

I cant see much upside with saints for 2019. There are no solid indicators to show there will be improvement. There has to be a major turnaround somehow but miracles' dont happen except if you land a Dusty martin or Tony Locket.
A smart Board would move heaven and earth to get 2-3 "good" players but cant see that happening.

Bottom 6 in 2019 I reckon and an improvement up the ladder in 2020. That is where it is at, no point having a go at a poster for being negative or pessimistic....If something like this makes you sad.....FFS ...Get over it.

That's right, a forum where people can have their say - if they think a view is overly pessimistic they can say so. They have different views, and are expressing that view.
I can see more upside to the Saints in 2019 than you. I reckon we will be mid rung, possibly close to the 8. Subject to injury levels of course.

Sure, but you have to come up with genuine reasons why they will be mid rung. That would be an amazing improvement, it would mean winning an extra 8-9 games next year. What can you see and enlighten fellow posters about how we will win an extra 8 games in 2019? Forget the injuries, every team has that issue.The posters who in your view are overly pessimistic have given an explanation for their views.

Posters who are pessimistic have given an explanation for their views? Where? I don't think a few of them would be capable of that. They just blurt out negative statements.

You've made some statements which are just your opinion, and the only one I agree with is that another pre season will improve the younger players (a positive). Senior players such as Gilbo & Armitage are on the way out, but most of the others have time left, ie Steven, Carlisle, Geary (not as bad as some think), and Brown, who is effective on the gorillas, and at the least is back up.

Reasons for rise:

5-6 more wins would see us mid rung, not 9. We may even get more than 5-6 more wins.
Our list better than our position on the ladder, vital injuries and sudden loss of 2 senior guns has affected us substantially.
Lot of our "youngsters" have now got quite a few games under their belts, are now more senior players, and imo will improve further and be more consistent. I'm talking Billings, Steele, Membrey, Dunstan, Acres, Sinclair, McKenzie, Ross, Webster and the like.
The younger ones, Gresham, Clark, Rice, Coffield, Phillips, Battle, etc how shown very good signs. Gresham already a gun.
Probably could have just provided one reason - kicking efficiency. If we had kicked well this year, we would be mid rung on the ladder.
High draft pick - good mid, plus a one or 2 pick ups, will help the list.

On re-reading above, top 4!!!!!!. Nah, need to plug a few more holes which will take another year - finals 2020!

[parkeysainter]

You're a good poster takeaway. Easily in the top 5 on this site. Your posts are rational and educated, not super negative emotional dribble. Keep them coming.

[chico2001]

Negative statements...I dont see where the rule is that posters have to be positive or negative. Stating that saints have 13 home games or the coach does not have a good record after 5 years, is that negative?

9 wins will get you 12th at best...!!!!
It is what it is....how can it be a better list than what the ladder position is?...Other sides have a worse injury list than St Kilda.
All of the players you listed are at their best right now, we are 15th. So why is that? Are Dunstan, McKenzie, Ross and the like going to carry us to 10-11 wins
If we had kicked better!!! If you cant kick after 50-100 games you are never going to be able to get to elite level. Where is that improvement coming from? Half of them wheel onto their left foot and just blaze away.The rest have no penetration.
The hope is that the young ones come good and turn into players that can kick efficiently and get plenty of it and the pick 4-5 whatever can be a good senior player in his first year. The other hope is that they can do some good trades.

[takeaway]

Negative statements...I dont see where the rule is that posters have to be positive or negative. Stating that saints have 13 home games or the coach does not have a good record after 5 years, is that negative?

9 wins will get you 12th at best...!!!!
It is what it is....how can it be a better list than what the ladder position is?...Other sides have a worse injury list than St Kilda.
All of the players you listed are at their best right now, we are 15th. So why is that? Are Dunstan, McKenzie, Ross and the like going to carry us to 10-11 wins
If we had kicked better!!! If you cant kick after 50-100 games you are never going to be able to get to elite level. Where is that improvement coming from? Half of them wheel onto their left foot and just blaze away.The rest have no penetration.
The hope is that the young ones come good and turn into players that can kick efficiently and get plenty of it and the pick 4-5 whatever can be a good senior player in his first year. The other hope is that they can do some good trades.

5-6 more wins will be 10-12 - mid ladder! Of course posters can be positive or negative, you were talking about providing explanations, a negative statement is not an explanation.
I guess your outlook is just a lot bleaker than mine. Simples.

[kell]

My opinion is based on the team's performance this year and the scope and prospect for list change. We continue to be unable to convert in front of the goals. A few posters have suggested if we had converted a few more opportunities we would have been in front. Unfortunately we didn't. Furthermore, despite exhaustive efforts to improve this deficiency there is no evidence of improvement.

A few posters have suggested that if we win a few more games next year we will improve our position on the ladder. Ipso facto.

For the 2018 draft we have one pick inside 50. Wholesale changes will require players "with value" be traded. There are only two or three player with any value who would be considered in this regard.... Billings, Newnes and Dunstall.

We need the King boys and we need Smith form the draft to get some excitement and prospect into this team....we need a priority pick !

[Joffa Burns]

What a pessimistic view. Feel sorry for you.

We matched it with GWS, one of the fast and clever sides of the comp, and if we had kicked for goal reasonably, would have been 5 goals up at half time, and probably won. Even their coach confirmed they were lucky not to be well down. Fix our kicking, and it will make a HUGE difference. If we keep playing like last night, and convert, we will be very competitive next year.

Add in another 2 or 3 good players from other clubs, another top 5 pick like Bailey Smith, changes to assistants, an easier draw due to ladder position and another pre-season to our under 25 players...we will be much, much better in 2019.

Where are the two or three good players coming from? It’s very difficult to attract good footballers when you are in our position and have little to trade player wise and no 2nd or 3rd round picks.

Free agents?