Kildonan
18 Jun 2006, 14:03
Saints still believe (http://saints.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=274373)
17 June 2006
Luke Buttigieg
Sportal for afl.com.au
St Kilda's form so far in 2006 may have been "hot and cold", but assistant coach Matt Rendell says the club has certainly not given up hope of being a legitimate contender for this year's premiership.
A week after winning a hard slog against reigning premier Sydney in heavy conditions at the SCG, the Saints were no match for Adelaide in the round 12 opener at Telstra Dome on Friday night, going down by 63 points.
But while Rendell says it won't be the end of the world if the club fails to end a premiership drought that is heading towards 40 years this season, he believes recent history suggests the Saints can still turn things around this year.
"I think if it doesn't happen this year and we lose some senior players at the end of the year, our opportunities are still big because we might be in the top quartile of average age at the moment but I think we drop to the bottom quartile next year," Rendell told Triple M radio on Saturday afternoon.
"You would say we're a pretty young team and they've gained a lot of experience over the last three or four years. Certainly they're not an excuse but you need all your good players playing and we haven't been able to manage that in the last few years."
"I think in 2004 we showed in the first half of the year when we had no injuries, we showed what we can do with a good pre-season behind us. But we're not writing off this year at all."
"This time last year we were in the exact same position and caused plenty of havoc come finals time, we beat Adelaide over there and they had their full contingent. That gives a lot of sides hope, not just us."
Rendell did qualify his comments regarding the resurgence of the second half of the 2005 home-and-away season though, with the fact that West Coast, Adelaide, Collingwood, Sydney and Melbourne have been playing so well not lost on him.
"I've said to numerous people it feels like deja vu from last year," Rendell said. "We were about where we are now and stormed home and managed to get into the top four. But I think there's a few teams going better at the top end this year."
"We've got to win our games and hope one or two of them drop off in the second half of the year."
"Hopefully we get our act into gear and we'll probably get a few players back after the break or not long after the break so that'll probably help us but our depth is being sorely tested at the moment. Bar a few young kids we've got 24 or 25 to pick from."
Coach Grant Thomas was quick to point out after the win over the Swans that it would only be a season-defining one if the group could produce similar performances more regularly, and Rendell admits consistency is an obvious area for improvement.
"The beauty of the game is you've got to be consistent in that area and we've been hot and cold for most of the year to tell you the truth, as we were probably until this time last year and then we got going in the last eight or nine rounds and were very consistent," he said.
"We have certainly struggled week to week with it and it probably doesn't help when you've got blokes like Lenny Hayes, and Andrew Thompson out of your midfield."
17 June 2006
Luke Buttigieg
Sportal for afl.com.au
St Kilda's form so far in 2006 may have been "hot and cold", but assistant coach Matt Rendell says the club has certainly not given up hope of being a legitimate contender for this year's premiership.
A week after winning a hard slog against reigning premier Sydney in heavy conditions at the SCG, the Saints were no match for Adelaide in the round 12 opener at Telstra Dome on Friday night, going down by 63 points.
But while Rendell says it won't be the end of the world if the club fails to end a premiership drought that is heading towards 40 years this season, he believes recent history suggests the Saints can still turn things around this year.
"I think if it doesn't happen this year and we lose some senior players at the end of the year, our opportunities are still big because we might be in the top quartile of average age at the moment but I think we drop to the bottom quartile next year," Rendell told Triple M radio on Saturday afternoon.
"You would say we're a pretty young team and they've gained a lot of experience over the last three or four years. Certainly they're not an excuse but you need all your good players playing and we haven't been able to manage that in the last few years."
"I think in 2004 we showed in the first half of the year when we had no injuries, we showed what we can do with a good pre-season behind us. But we're not writing off this year at all."
"This time last year we were in the exact same position and caused plenty of havoc come finals time, we beat Adelaide over there and they had their full contingent. That gives a lot of sides hope, not just us."
Rendell did qualify his comments regarding the resurgence of the second half of the 2005 home-and-away season though, with the fact that West Coast, Adelaide, Collingwood, Sydney and Melbourne have been playing so well not lost on him.
"I've said to numerous people it feels like deja vu from last year," Rendell said. "We were about where we are now and stormed home and managed to get into the top four. But I think there's a few teams going better at the top end this year."
"We've got to win our games and hope one or two of them drop off in the second half of the year."
"Hopefully we get our act into gear and we'll probably get a few players back after the break or not long after the break so that'll probably help us but our depth is being sorely tested at the moment. Bar a few young kids we've got 24 or 25 to pick from."
Coach Grant Thomas was quick to point out after the win over the Swans that it would only be a season-defining one if the group could produce similar performances more regularly, and Rendell admits consistency is an obvious area for improvement.
"The beauty of the game is you've got to be consistent in that area and we've been hot and cold for most of the year to tell you the truth, as we were probably until this time last year and then we got going in the last eight or nine rounds and were very consistent," he said.
"We have certainly struggled week to week with it and it probably doesn't help when you've got blokes like Lenny Hayes, and Andrew Thompson out of your midfield."