Can the saints go the next level in 2009 with this 22?

[SaintsSeptember]

Hayes and Ball are pretty good.
Goddard and/or Gram will probably be playing midfield next year. Goddard to star.

But like I said , we have young players Armitage, Eddy, Geary, Steven who will have an opportunity to show that they have got the goods.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Highlighted players are duds or past it. They will pop up and play a good one occasionally and thats it.

St Kilda only got to 4th last year after other teams fell over and 2 rounds out from the end of the home and away season they were a big chance to miss the 8. Their list hasnt really improved on last year and is in decline. 7th - 10th is the most likely finish and my opinion is they'll miss the 8.

Steven King a dud? He held up his end of the deal for us last year.

 

[GOAT LOVER]

Steven King a dud? He held up his end of the deal for us last year.

Are you serious???

The only reason he got so much game time is the fact there was no-one to replace him.. If you think he is not a dud or past it now (he once was very good) then no wonder the saints are heading South

 

[Squizz]

Are you serious???

The only reason he got so much game time is the fact there was no-one to replace him.. If you think he is not a dud or past it now (he once was very good) then no wonder the saints are heading South

Is that like the CHICKEN LOVER on South Park?

King was very good last year - would take his 22 games, 60 tackles (most in his career), and 408 hitouts from 2008 again this year.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Are you serious???

The only reason he got so much game time is the fact there was no-one to replace him.. If you think he is not a dud or past it now (he once was very good) then no wonder the saints are heading South

So he was good enough for Premierships 2007 and then suddenly past it.
And you tell me I can't be serious.

 

[Virgil]

The forward line and midfield rotations look somewhat lacking.

 

[bucksisbest]

Nowhere near Hawks or Cats , not that anyone is.
A lot of that squad have shown their best , and their depth is very unimpressive.

 

[GOAT LOVER]

Is that like the CHICKEN LOVER on South Park?

King was very good last year - would take his 22 games, 60 tackles (most in his career), and 408 hitouts from 2008 again this year.

Thats Fantastic, Out of curiosity, where did he finish in your B&F and how long do you think he has left?? I would rather an up and comer to gain experience. Once again Saints supporters dreaming high but living & breathing mediocrity.

 

[krouii]

personally i dont think the saints will improve on their 2008 season, the cats and hawks are the 2 powerhouse teams who should both make the grand final again, and thats the next level for the saints who look good on paper but never seem to deliver. they will either match their 2008 or slump.

 

[GOAT LOVER]

So he was good enough for Premierships 2007 and then suddenly past it.
And you tell me I can't be serious.

Fabian Deluca couldve played in the ruck for Geelong last year and they wouldve won the flag. Kings stats for the GF were 5 kicks, 5 marks, 9 handballs, 10 hitouts, 2 frees for, 5 frees against - almost earned him the Norm Smith i would suggest

 

[cs61]

Good backline, massively under-rated.

Solid midfield, probably lacking a bit of leg-speed and are really missing Luke Ball at full fitness. Some class players, lacking the depth maybe some of other other premiership contenders have to take them to the next level.

Riewoldt is an absolute weapon up forward, but I don't think Kosi is living off much more than his name as a forward.

Solid mature ruck division, which is all you need.

Its not bad, but its lacking a few things and they appear to be going stale rather than seeing any fresh faces come through. Most other contenders or premiership sides have had young players with break out years coming through, but St Kilda are living off their same stars from 2004 (or what's left) primarily, and they are in desperate need for an injection of young (quality) talent to help them go to the next level.

Top 8, and top 4 chance. But they would need a lot of luck to steal a flag IMO, and are paying for perhaps not injecting enough youth into their side, and perhaps some lazy list management whilst they were peaking.

Still a very competitive side though, they just seem to be trying to fill holes which IMO always gets exposed eventually.

 

[Power King]

In terms of going to the next level, that is, grand finalists, you don't have significant depth for this level so will need a very good run with injuries.

Also need Lyon not to be a ****stick in the coach's box.

Also need certain players to have career best seasons (or at least equal their career best form), namely Ball, Hayes, KOZI, riewoldt and goddard

 

[Monocle]

Baker Max Blake
Dal Santo S.Fisher R.Clarke
Goddard Hayes Gram
X. Clarke Riewoldt Schnieder
Milne Koschitzke Jones

King Ball Montagna

Int: Gardiner, Eddy, Armitage, Maguire[/B]


Sorry I don't think so.. my greatest concern is their durability. I have highlighted the players who have great difficulty staying on the park. That for me is what rules the Saints out.. just to many injury prone players.

 

[goodie23]

Naive question, for two reasons

1. Each Saints supporter will have a different opinion as to what constitutes our 'best 22', your chosen team is far from definitive.
2. It's not about best 22, it's about the players that are actually on the park each week, and how they play as a team. That's a list 31 strong last year.

Essentially you're asking a loaded question and unsurprisingly most people are answering in the negative.

 

[mr.11]

What happens if Saints miss out on finals altogether?(i dont expect them too) and what if they have a crappy finals appearance?

 

[ShinSplints]

What happens if Saints miss out on finals altogether?(i dont expect them too) and what if they have a crappy finals appearance?

We then have 6 weeks off and start all over again for 2010!

Best thing about this group we have a great nucleus that woith good management and development will have us contending top 4/Flag for the next 4 years.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Baker Max Blake
Dal Santo S.Fisher R.Clarke
Goddard Hayes Gram
X. Clarke Riewoldt Schnieder
Milne Koschitzke Jones

King Ball Montagna

Int: Gardiner, Eddy, Armitage, Maguire[/B]


Sorry I don't think so.. my greatest concern is their durability. I have highlighted the players who have great difficulty staying on the park. That for me is what rules the Saints out.. just to many injury prone players.

Good point about the durability. The thing in the Saints favour is the vastly improved player medical/training management started last year. Saints supporters are hoping the club gets it's moneys worth.

Max Hudgeton is now on a personalised training program which saw reduced injuries in 2008 so I am hoping for the best with him.
It will be interesting to see if the "bulked up" R Clarke can finally get a good run. Personally I think his brother is a bit more of a worry injury wise.
Koschitski continues to be a worry, he is a bit like "Juggernaught" from the X men, not easily injured but if you crash into things enough something will happen. Last year he was responsible for Luke Ball's only injury. I am not too worried about Luke at the moment.
King had his moments last year and we can only hope that between King and Gardiner (who has improved) we have a ruck on the park each week.

Maguire is an unknown. He was not particularly injury prone before he broke his leg, and his injuries last year were a complication of that. Whether he will be able to make a successful comeback after so much time off is another issue.

 

[Mervyn Beasley]

Baker Max Blake
Dal Santo S.Fisher R.Clarke
Goddard Hayes Gram
X. Clarke Riewoldt Schnieder
Milne Koschitzke Jones

King Ball Montagna

Int: Gardiner, Eddy, Armitage, Maguire

From last years finals

INS: Maguire, Baker, Xavier, Ball


With the above 4 players coming back there is depth although Riewoldt is heavily relied on. Xavier is MUCH MUCH better than what the opinion of BF has him at. A lot of Ifs but wondering with these 22 fit and firing can the saints reach the cats and hawks???

IMO this is a better team than 2008 and I like to think Ross Lyon, Armitage, Jones, Eddy after a few years will be much better for it.

Not whilst you have this inconsistent, under performing, injury prone, and spatially unaware full forward.
Replace him with a 70+ power forward and you would be right up there.
Unfortunately this is not something you can generally do overnight.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Not whilst you have this inconsistent, under performing, injury prone, and spatially unaware full forward.
Replace him with a 70+ power forward and you would be right up there.
Unfortunately this is not something you can generally do overnight.

Does that mean you won't swap him for Roughead on an exchange program?

 

[The Donners]

Baker - Tough but ineffective.
Hudgton - Tough as nails, tries hard, a coach's dream.
Blake - Shouldn't be on any AFL team's first 22 players.
Dal Santo - One of the greatest kicks of the modern era, needs to harden up and not look for the cheap possession.
S.Fisher - Love his game.
R.Clarke - Last 6 games saved his career. Ditto Blake.
Goddard - Reads the play well and positions himself well.
Hayes - Mr. Dependable.
Gram - Love his run, lacks accountability.
X. Clarke - Pure enigma.
Riewoldt - Great player, needs to convert more goals.
Schnieder - Plays a role, goes missing.
Milne - Proven goalsneak. Lacks versatility.
Koschitzke - Overrated big man. Would be one to trade.
Jones - Tries hard, shocking execution by foot.
King - Great ruckman, may struggle to carry the load without quality support.
Ball - Absolute gun. If fit is competition elite.
Montagna - Looks good when firing, needs to put a full year together like '07 (?).
Gardiner - Finished.
Eddy - Adds depth.
Armitage - Promising youngster, if anything lacks speed.
Maguire - After some serious injuries, questions will be asked whether he can keep up to speed with opposition forwards.

In short, No, St. Kilda simply don't have the cattle to move a step closer.

I can't see a team tasting success with the likes of Blake, Baker, Jones, R Clarke, X. Clarke, Schnieder, Eddy and Gardiner all in the one team (or first 25 players), that's too many players for Riewoldt, Ball and co to carry the slack for when they're missing in action.

Top 8 due to the top 6 players, bottom half of the top 8 due to the bottom 6 players.

 

[Squizz]

Does that mean you won't swap him for Roughead on an exchange program?

I thought Zac was our new power forward!!!

 

[Squizz]

Don't mind if people have a view that the Saints can't challenge, but Baker ineffective? Pfffttt. Blake who finished top 10 in the B&F shouldn't be in any AFL teams 22? Double Pfffttt. Montagna who also finished top 10 in 2008 needs to get back to 2007 form? Well you get the drift. Schneider & Dempster are recent premiership players - geez the Swans did well to carry them.

Gardiner, Maguire, and the Clarkes are assumed to all remain injured for the rest of their lives? None of our recruits (including first round pick from last year) will ever make the grade?

Can't believe Gilbert doesn't make the list.

Surely people aren't still sooking about having their daks pulled down in Round 22.

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

Look, criticism of St Kilda for being too Riewoldt-reliant is fair, informed, intelligent comment. In the 2nd half of last year we looked ordinary going forward only when we didn't have another marking target to compliment Riewoldt & Koschitzke, especially when Kosi was in the ruck or resting.

Questioning St Kilda because of their defence is unfair, uninformed, unintelligent comment. I would have thought after the career Max Hudghton has had we would have learnt he is not "punching above his weight", but is doing what he is, and always has, been capable of doing. While I can concede why many are still waiting to judge Raph Clarke favourably, Max has more than earned his stripes. St Kilda also has one of the best third-man up running defenders in the game in Sam Fisher, as well as the best defensive coach in Steve Silvagni. If you don't agree with that last point, you can welcome him back into commentary if you like.

At the end of last year there were TWO clearly superior teams, not three. Anyone from Carlton in tenth all the way up to the Doggies in third could have beaten another team from that group on their day.

I think St Kilda are capable of getting back to where they were (ladder position) last year, but getting ahead of Hawthorn and Geelong, especially at the MCG, will be very difficult.

Incorrect, There was a clear gap between the top 3 teams and the rest. And within that top 3 Hawthorn were the team that peaked at exactly the right time and no one was going to stop them. The Dogs kicked themselves out of the game in their prelim final against the Cats.

 

[GoodFootyNorth]

For me the only way it could happen would be if Ball and Maguire get back to their best, and if Goddard and Koschitzke step up and have A grade years, in combination with your other good players from this year playing well again.

 

[The Donners]

Don't mind if people have a view that the Saints can't challenge, but Baker ineffective? Pfffttt. Blake who finished top 10 in the B&F shouldn't be in any AFL teams 22? Double Pfffttt. Montagna who also finished top 10 in 2008 needs to get back to 2007 form? Well you get the drift. Schneider & Dempster are recent premiership players - geez the Swans did well to carry them.

Gardiner, Maguire, and the Clarkes are assumed to all remain injured for the rest of their lives? None of our recruits (including first round pick from last year) will ever make the grade?

So X Clarke has been injured for 7 straight seasons has he? So Raph Clarke has actually done something in more than 6 games has he? So Gardiner has played 1 good game for St. Kilda has he? And Matt Maguire has played < 100 games in 7 seasons so yeah, there's a distinct possibility he'll be injured for the rest of his career!

And don't blame me for St. Kilda's poor drafting since 2003!

Can't believe Gilbert doesn't make the list.

Surely people aren't still sooking about having their daks pulled down in Round 22.

I can assure you I look forward to the rematch in round 8 because aside from the fact we were missing 20 players, round 22 of 2008 is as relevant as our round 5 (1995) 116 point shallacking of the Saints.