St Kilda vs Kangaroos: Match Review, Practice Match 2007:

[Johnson#26]

St Kilda vs Kangaroos: Match Review, Practice Match 2007:

Squads – St Kilda: Jason Gram, Xavier Clarke, Leigh Fisher, Lenny Hayes (cc), Fraser Gehrig, Steven Baker, Leigh Montagna, Brett Voss, Luke Ball (cc), Aaron Fiora, Brendan Goddard, Shane Birss, Justin Koschitzke, Barry Brooks, Sam Fisher, Nick Dal Santo, Jason Blake, Matthew Clarke, Michael Rix, Matt Maguire, Andrew McQualter, James Gwilt, Robert Harvey, Jarryd Allen, Robert Eddy#, Jarryn Geary#, Jayden Attard#, Stephen Milne.

Kangaroos: Hamish McIntosh, Brady Rawlings, Daniel Harris, Glenn Archer, Lindsay Thomas, David Trotter, Kasey Green, Leigh Brown, Brad Moran, Andrew Swallow, Drew Petrie, Corey Jones, Nathan Thompson, Michael Firrito, Lachlan Hansen, Aaron Edwards, Matt Riggio, Brent Harvey, Daniel Pratt, David Hale, Eddie Sansbury, Gavin Urquhart, Ben Warren, Shannon Watt, Leigh Adams#, Matt Campbell#.

Match Notes: 1st Quarter:

 Arrive in the latter stages of the opening term, St Kilda 27, Kangaroos 7.
 Matt Campbell scores a point, 27 vs 8.
 Dal Santo moving smoothly, showing great vision in heavy traffic.
 Nathan Thompson playing on Sam Fisher.
 Firrito looks to back out of a contest, not pretty, and Saints supporters let him know about it. Not his style on past evidence.
 Dal Santo produces a precision left footer; a hot ball held overhead by Michael Rix 25m out from goal, he scores full points, 33 vs 8.
 McIntosh against Matthew Clarke in the ruck, Daniel Harris and Firrito also in the onball division.
 Now Matt Maguire against Nathan Thompson.
 Kasey Green playing well.
 Dodgy free kick to Nathan Thompson for an in the back, he converts, 33 vs at quarter time.

Quarter Time:
St Kilda: 5.3 (33)
Kangaroos: 2.2 (14)

Match Ups of note:
• Matthew Riggio vs Stephen Milne
• Kasey Green vs Robert Harvey
• Shannon Watt vs Jarryd Allan
• Leigh Brown vs Matt Maguire
• David Trotter vs Shane Birss
• Michael Firrito vs Lenny Hayes
• Drew Petrie vs Fraser Gehrig
• Brent Harvey vs Andrew McQualter
• Glen Archer vs Brett Voss
• St Kilda ruck division: Matthew Clarke (R), Lenny Hayes (R/R), Steven Baker (R), Nick Dal Santo (C).
• Kangaroos ruck division: Hamish McIntosh (R), Brady Rawlings (R/R), Daniel Harris (R), Andrew Swallow (C).

Match Notes: 2nd Quarter:
 Robert Harvey vintage passage of play on the wing in close.
 Pratt marks 65m out from goal, blazes away without looking, a poor choice. Matthew Clarke fills in the hole.
 Matt Campbell a point.
 Justin Koschitzke and Hayes off.
 Nathan Thompson behind, 29 vs 17.
 Milne a point.
 A beauty from a set shot in the pocket by Brett Voss on the wrong side for a right footer to the Heatley Stand end, 33 vs 17.
 Koschitzke on, Gehrig off.
 James Gwilt on, Maguire off.
 Current St Kilda bench: Montagna, Blake, X.Clarke, Rix.
 Current St Kangaroos bench: Sansbury, Urquhart, Adams#, Archer, Warren.
 Goal to Roos, scored by Aaron Edwards.
 Steven Baker finds Blake on the lead, 45m out, 45 degree angle, misses. 34 vs 23.
 Harris works his way through traffic and strikes Edwards on the chest with a beautiful pass, Edwards goals.
 Dal Santo a basketball tap down to a teammate, chain of handballs leads with a Jarryd Allan goal (quite impressive, he is). 40 vs 29.
 Allan is impressing, but missed the mark once or twice by foot. Looks a player (note: drafted pick 59 in the 2006 National Draft).
 Barry Brooks a top overhead grab against Brad Moran, 45m out, 45 degree dangle, misses. 41 vs 29.

Half Time:
St Kilda: 5.3, 6.5 (41)
Kangaroos: 2.2, 4.5 (29).

Best – St Kilda: Dal Santo, Baker, Allan, Blake, Harvey, Ball, Voss.
Kangaroos: Swallow, Harris, Green, Thompson.

• Nathan Thompson hobbles off towards the rooms with trainers aided by crutches, his lower left leg/knee strapped/with a cast applied.
• Andrew McQualter on the bench and with trainers, perhaps a minor quad/thigh strain?

First half summary: St Kilda are simply too classy, although the Roos are working hard and winning enough of the ball, they lack the star quality to hurt the Saints on the scoreboard, with Edwards to shoulder much of the burden in the absence of Nathan Thompson. The Saints appear to still be in the second gear, yet still with the game, generally, under control.

Third Quarter Teams (as they lined up, Kangaroos in brackets):*
B: Goddard (Archer), S.Fisher (Edwards), Maguire (Jones).
HB: ?? (Campbell), Gram (Brown), ?? (Thomas).
C: Harvey (Trotter), Dal Santo (Swallow), X.Clarke (Adams).
HF: Milne (Riggio), Blake (??), Montagna (??).
F: ?? (??), Koschitzke (Hansen), Gehrig (Watt).
R: Clarke (McIntosh), Ball (Harris), Hayes (Rawlings).
INTER: Gwilt (Moran), Birss (Sansbury), Brooks (Firrito), Rix (Pratt), Geary (Warren), Fiora (Hale), Eddy (Urquhart), L.Fisher (??).

*Some players/positions missed. Apologies.

Match Notes: 3rd Quarter:
- Edwards receives a soft in the back free kick, and goals. 41 vs 35.
- Ball sublime in the clinches, bounces off others line a pinball.
- Sam Fisher reels in a strong grab.
- Koschitzke a strong mark on the line, unselfishly chips to Milne in the pocket on an angle, a behind. 42 vs 35.
- Goddard and Sam Fisher, picking off everything across halfback.
- Kasey Green now with the task on Ball.
- Edwards a behind.
- Milne a left foot snap, misses.
- At the halfway mark of the term, Dal Santo, Hayes, X.Clarke, Harvey, Koschitzke, Montagna and Voss all off for a spell for the Saints, Laidley does likewise with his bigger names.
- Matthew Clarke looking the part in the ruck, filling in the hole in defence with aplomb.
- Milne breaks through with a major. 48 vs 35.
- Gram playing nicely.
- Green playing well as a senior player.
- Milne takes a breather, Maguire replaces him.
- Edwards rested for the Roos, but returns soon after to goal via an awful call by the umpire, with a fifty meter penalty to boot. He duly goals from the square, sending Saints fans into a state of fury.
- The rub of the green has not gone the way of the men from St Kilda.
- Free plucked from a ruck contest to David Hale, a point. 48 vs 43.
- Xavier Clarke misses. 50 vs 44.
- Milne misses from the pocket on the bell. 52 vs 44.

Three Quarter Time:
St Kilda: 5.3, 6.5, 7.9 (53)
Kangaroos: 2.2, 4.5, 6.8 (48)

Notes:
• North press hard, extremely scrappy play, without any real trend emerging, in a low to the ground contest suiting the in-and-under, Brett Ratten style of football.

Match Notes: 4th Quarter:
- Gehrig receives no free kick, Voss snaps a behind. 52 vs 44.
- Hayes reported for charging Lindsay Thomas, who cashes in on the resultant fifty meter penalty with a thumping, long range goal from outside the fifty. 52 vs 50.
- Milne marks inside fifty to score the goal that steadies the ship. 58 vs 50.
- Swallow doing in hard, Baker even harder, knocking the young Roo off his feet.
- Corey Jones a goal from 50m. 59 vs 56, a tight finish looms.
- A rushed behind to St Kilda.
- A free and goal to Barry Brooks, who flew for a screamer earlier, the game now in the Saints bag for the keeping. 65 vs 56.
- Gram looking the goods.
- Gwilt marks hard on the lead, yet does not make the distance from 50m out.
- X.Clarke snaps and misses.
- A free to Corey Jones, and he nails the goal from 45m. 66 vs 62. Down to the wire…
- A free to Milne in the back from the resultant bounce, a goal. 72 vs 64.
- Pratt concedes a rushed behind which may well have been three points in the NAB Cup had he been unlucky. 73 vs 62.
- Siren sounds to end a long final quarter, the Saints victorious by 11 points.

Final score:
St Kilda: 5.3, 6.5, 7.9, 10.13 (73)
Kangaroos: 2.2, 4.5, 6.8, 9.8 (62)

Goals – St Kilda: Milne 5, Ball, Brooks, Allan, Rix, Voss.
Kangaroos: Edwards 4, Jones 2, Thompson, Thomas.

Best – St Kilda: Dal Santo, Milne, Hayes, X.Clarke, M.Clarke.
Kangaroos: Swallow, Green, Harris, Edwards.


*Please note – I missed the first Kangaroos goal, and the first three of the Saints.

Match Summary:
The shackles have been shrugged for rookie St Kilda coach Ross Lyon, who registered his first win as head coach of his new team in a hard fought 11 point triumph over a dogged Kangaroos outfit under grey skies at Carlton’s MC Labor Park this afternoon.

The Saints held the edge in class for the majority of the afternoon, only a late flurry of Kangaroos goals keeping Dean Laidley’s men in the hunt, eventually downed by 11 points, five Stephen Milne goals the difference between the two sides. He could easily have done even more damage had he brought with him his kicking boots, with a number of shots at goal falling astray.

Unfortunately, the afternoon was marred by the potentially season ending knee injury suffered by Roos spearhead Nathan Thompson, who went down late in the second term clutching his left knee, leaving the field to the sanctuary of the change rooms aided by a pair of crutches, his left knee heavily strapped.

Should Thompson, as expected, require season-ending surgery, it will spell danger for his side, which would then be robbed of their two major avenues to goal from previous years, in Thompson himself and the new retired Saverio Rocca, who is trying his hand at punting in American football. The responsibility may now fall on the shoulders of the promising 23-year-old Aaron Edwards, who bagged a ton in the VFL last season, having spent a few years on the West Coast Eagles rookie list previously.

The Saints held the upper hand for most of the day, with the interchange stewards kept busy by Lyon’s constant rotation of his onball stars in Nick Dal Santo, Robert Harvey, Luke Ball and Lenny Hayes, who made his return from a knee injury suffered against the same side back in round nine last season.

The hard working Andrew Swallow and gritty Daniel Harris were the Kangaroos most productive onballers on a day suited to their low-to-the-ground fashion, whilst Dal Santo’s ability to control the ball in heavy traffic combined with the defensive rebound provided by the likes of Brendan Goddard, Jason Gram and Xavier Clarke was worth its weight in gold.

Today’s encounter is the final official hitout for both teams in the lead up to the opening round of the 2007 Home and Away season, with the likelihood of a bevy of intra-club matches to be held throughout the week, as well as the ability to ease back senior stars and rookies through the VFL practice circuit.

St Kilda takes on Melbourne on a Friday night in a rematch of their loss in last season’s final series, while the Roos meet Collingwood the following afternoon, also at the MCG.

Player Review:
St Kilda:

Jason Gram: Looked terrific off the halfback flank and streaming through the midfield in characteristic fashion. Set to take his game to a new level, or at least reach the lofty standards of his breakout season in 2006. 7/10

Xavier Clarke: I have not seen Clarke for a while due to injury, although today was probably the most accomplished I have seen from the young man selected with the fifth choice in the 2001 National Draft. Rebounded with ease off halfback, and the Saints seem to seek him out the back of the packs by hand, allowing his silky left boot to set up play further down the field. I have been quite skeptical in the past, although I enjoyed what I saw today. Must remain fit and healthy. 7/10

Leigh Fisher: On and off the field, did not have an impact. 2.5/10

Lenny Hayes (cc): In his much publicised return from reconstructive knee surgery, Hayes looked as if he hadn’t missed a beat, commanding the midfield with aplomb. Hit the ball and the packs hard, and was creative by hand. Prior record notwithstanding, his report for charging Lindsay Thomas should, to my mind, receive a reprimand at best. Arguably the heart and soul of the St Kilda charge, and is, perhaps, their most important enforcer. 7/10

Fraser Gehrig: The G-Train didn’t feature with any great regularity, and when he did, it was usually further up the field than usual. 3/10

Steven Baker: Looked as steady and uncompromising as ever in the midfield in a variety of tagging roles, be it negating Brent Harvey or locking down the prolific Swallow. 6.5/10

Leigh Montagna: On and off the ground, was never able to really stamp his authority on the contest. 3/10

Brett Voss: Stuck hard on Archer, and probably just shaded his more illustrious opponent. An extremely hard worker, and is taller than he appears on TV. 6/10

Luke Ball (cc): Hard and strong over the ball and exquisite by hand, a fit and healthy Ball is crucial to the Saints chances. 6.5/10

Aaron Fiora: Spent periods warming the pine, and when on never really stood out. 3/10

Brendan Goddard: Seems to have picked up where he left off in 2006, commanding the Sherrin at halfback and setting up play further down the field. Played tall and did the job to near perfection. 7/10

Shane Birss: Flashed in and out of the player early before fading in the second half. Borderline for round one, fitness notwithstanding. 3.5/10.

Justin Koschitzke: A positive return from his oft discussed chronic poor luck in the medical room, but came through today’s assessment ok, marking particularly well overhead and never shirking an issue.

Barry Brooks: The best I’ve seen him play (– again, I have not seen terribly much of the boy from King Island – although without the effect of his four goals against Brisbane in round 22 last season. However he seems to have raised his fitness levels to the required standard, and was employed in attack with handy results. 5/10

Sam Fisher: Did the job steadily down back. Another who is taller than first meets the eye. 5/10

Nick Dal Santo: Sublime footskills on a damp day says it all. Poise and vision terrific early before easing off in the second half. 7/10

Jason Blake: Busy early, another to slip out of the action in the second half. 5/10

Matthew Clarke: Should he hold his line and length, Clarke could be one of the more inspired buys of the 2006/2007 off-season. Rucked beautifully, and was excellent in filling gaps in defence. Is more mobile than you may previously have thought. 6.5/10

Michael Rix: Played in attack, nothing special. 2.5/10

Matt Maguire: Used in fits and spurts by Lyon on the comeback trail from injury, and played quite well. 5/10

Andrew McQualter: An okay first quarter and a bit before he was sidelined with what appears to be an upper leg complaint. Severity unknown. 2.5/10

James Gwilt: Came into the game late, but the sting was out of it by then. Jury out. 3.5/10

Robert Harvey: The old master was in his element early in the wet conditions, and still has what it takes to have an influence on the game in ’07. 6/10

Jarryd Allen: Very impressive. Enjoyed a bright patch in the second quarter, and a handy third stanza, displaying a classy left foot and strong mark off a quick lead. One to keep an eye on with Casey, I like him. 5/10

Robert Eddy#: Barely sighted. 1/10

Jarryn Geary#: Another not to feature heavily, tackled well. 2/10

Jayden Attard#: Battled hard, and when on the ground was thereabouts at ground level. Worth persisting with as a rookie. 2/10

Stephen Milne: Booted five, but could easily have had three or four more had he proven accurate in front of the big sticks, his bread and butter, although a number were from the pockets and tight corners – needs to economise and play the percentages a little more, and attempt to find space in the forward corridor. That said, was always a threat. 7/10.



Kangaroos:

Hamish McIntosh: Battled gamely in the ruck against the experience of Clarke, and was probably shaded on the day. Like Collingwood’s Guy Richards, he needs to work his way into the game more around the ground and provide a tall target across the field. 4/10

Brady Rawlings: Hung tough in the engine room, but did not with enough leather to be a danger. 5/10

Daniel Harris: Battled on gamely all day and reveled in the conditions. With a yard more pace, he would be rated much higher. 7/10

Glenn Archer: Old man river played a solid in attack and at times in defence, between spending stints on the bench. 4/10

Lindsay Thomas: Looked the part kitted out in the long sleeves, and was always thereabouts when the Roos went into attack, booting a thumping goal from long range to draw close to the Saints late in the day. 5.5/10

David Trotter: Unfortunately for a man drafted in 2003, Trotter was unable to have any say on the outcome. On what I’ve seen of him so far, I have my doubts as to whether he’ll make the grade, as he lacks explosiveness and creativity, and did not win enough of his own ball. 2/10

Kasey Green: Played an accomplished game onball, with, generally, a centimeter or two over his opponents, and was a consistent ball winner all day. 6.5/10

Leigh Brown: Nothing special, conditions did not suit. 2/10

Brad Moran: Another not suited by the conditions, but had a handy final term. 3/10

Andrew Swallow: Has the worth ethic of a player in the making. Ran hard, won his own ball and, on the whole, used it well. AFL Prospectus was on a good thing when it labeled him a future skipper of the Roos. 7/10

Drew Petrie: Worked well pitted against the size of Gehrig, and managed to hold him in check. May be required in attack in the absence of Thompson. 5.5/10

Corey Jones: Not as prolific as usual, found generally in attack. 4/10

Nathan Thompson: Was promisingly busy in front of goal in the early going before going down tragically with what looks on the surface to be a season ending knee injury. 2/10

Michael Firrito: Hardly his greatest performance, won a bit of the ball on the deck but was never anything brilliant. Spent time cooling his heels on the bench. 3/10

Lachlan Hansen: Save for a patchy second term, the Roos prized third draft choice of 2006 was barely sighted.

Aaron Edwards: As if on cue, Edwards stepped up to the plate when Thompson went down in booting four goals, although two were from tiggy-touchwood free kicks. May be the main man up front for the Roos this year, is he up to the challenge? It will prove interesting viewing, as there is no doubting his potential. Can he match it with the best at AFL level after wiping the state leagues off the park? 6/10

Matt Riggio: Made a few poor decisions when on, generally tagged Stephen Milne. Similar to Collingwood’s Sam Iles, although the latter appears to have a larger tank and the capacity to run longer stints in the midfield. 2.5/10

Brent Harvey: Successfully checked by Baker, and was never able to free himself of the shackles. 3/10

Daniel Pratt: Not a major influence, needs to add more attacking rebounding flair to his game. 3.5/10

David Hale: Like McIntosh, was handy in the ruck but needed to do more around the ground. 4/10

Eddie Sansbury: Not prominent. 1.5/10

Gavin Urquhart: Had a late run where he never really was able to exert an influence. Will need VFL experience prior to contemplating the next step. 1.5/10

Ben Warren: You cannot miss him with his shock of blond hair, and is a dead ringer for Fremantle’s Scott Thornton. Spent lengthy periods on the bench, and never overly impressed when on late, when run down in close. 1.5/10

Shannon Watt: Locked down Gehrig and Koschitzke solidly. Always consistent, yet always missed by the footballing public, does his job without fuss. 5/10

Leigh Adams#: I must say that although he wasn’t a prolific leather user throughout the day (late when he was on the field of play), Adams did impress me with his work ethic, and his ability, despite his lack of size, to lock the ball in. Will be one who generally does well at state level. 2/10

Matt Campbell#: Lacked the theatrics of recent weeks, and was never really a feature. 3.5/10


Any questions or comments, fire away.

[pharro]

Judging by this report, I take it StKilda won by 12 goals.

[Johnson#26]

Not at all. They had a lot more of the ball, it seemed. Just my thoughts, you guys didn't play terribly well minus big names yet still clung in there. Not the worst that could happen.

[ReturnOfTheKing]

Agree with some of your thoughts.

Disagree with others.

Riggio similar to Sam Iles?

[Master Chief]

Well regardless of how accurate/inaccurate it is, I congratulate and thank you for a comprehensive report mate, must have taken quite a while so cheers for that!

First time I've ever been nice to a Pies fan.

[Woodson]

Originally Posted by Master Chief

Well regardless of how accurate/inaccurate it is, I congratulate and thank you for a comprehensive report mate, must have taken quite a while so cheers for that!

I agree. Much appreciated.

[RoyalBlue]

Good luck on paying so much attention, but references to rubbish Collingwood players should be kept to a minimum.

[mark73]

Originally Posted by Johnson#26

Not at all. They had a lot more of the ball, it seemed. Just my thoughts, you guys didn't play terribly well minus big names yet still clung in there. Not the worst that could happen.

No, seriously, I think you must've been at a game where a team called St.Kilda won by 12 goals. Without even commenting on us you severely overrated St.Kilda's performance. With the players we had out they should've won by 12 goals and yet won by 11pts. Hansen was barely sighted? EASILY had the better of Koschitzke and was ranked one of our better players. Had a few turnovers which is common for kids but again, what game were you at? I'm also not aware if you know who Campbell, Trotter and Riggio are. I thought their awareness and where to run to was spot on for a trio of youngsters..

[sross]

Thanks for the report Johnson#26. It's great to get a report from an independent source instead of one that is painted with rose coloured glasses.

[gokangas]

Appreciate the time taken to compile your report.

Interested in your thoughts on Harvey. Many gave him BoG for the Kangaroos - you rate him poorly, and Hansen in the best again for most watchers yet you write him off.

[Robertsonroo]

Like others I appreciated the rankings that you gave....The game had its ups and downs but I walked away with more negatives than positives, despite the small margin...I believe that we could have won this game if a number of things had been put into place yesterday or over the summer.
- The kicking into the forward line was deplorable...after Thommo left the field we had a small forward line but the players (surely not under the coach's instructions) kept giving marking practice to the three tall backs that St.Kilda placed on the last line
- We have pathetic defensive skills....I cannot name one player who deliberately stands in front of his opponent when the ball is coming into our backline....I'm sick of players having to punch from behind or get that 'startled' look when they are outmarked by an opponent that they gave a 5 metre start to.
- I always believe that you use practice matches to TRY new things....I hate to say this , again, but the main difference in the results of Saints vs Roos games in previous years has been Robert Harvey. Yesterday our 'brains trust' had a perfect opportunity to try a new tactic against him...instead he stayed un-marked all day and did his usual link-up job that continues to hurt us. Don't tell me we have a secret plan or secret weapon just waiting to let loose on him when we meet. It will be the 'same-old' approach to a quality player.
- We have maintained our NUMBER ONE ranking....we are still the WORST team in the AFL when kicking-in after a point.....after THREE years of mistakes and embarrassments, didn't we try to fix this over summer?

[mark73]

Originally Posted by sross

Thanks for the report Johnson#26. It's great to get a report from an independent source instead of one that is painted with rose coloured glasses.

I think you need to define "rose coloured glasses" I wasn't that impressed with St.Kilda. They had (apart from Riewoldt) a full team, against a team that had it's guts missing, and won by 11pts. But if you're happy, then all the best.

[sross]

Originally Posted by mark73

I think you need to define "rose coloured glasses" I wasn't that impressed with St.Kilda. They had (apart from Riewoldt) a full team, against a team that had it's guts missing, and won by 11pts. But if you're happy, then all the best.

I didn't say I was happy, I did not see the game so I read the reports with interest and thank the posters. I feel the North players, especially the younger ones, are pumped up too much on this board. I know it is probably wishful thinking on the part of the posters but you have to be realistic, they will not all be the champions they are painted on here. A report from a non North person does not have that "optimism".

[Cold Shot]

Originally Posted by Robertsonroo

Like others I appreciated the rankings that you gave....The game had its ups and downs but I walked away with more negatives than positives, despite the small margin...I believe that we could have won this game if a number of things had been put into place yesterday or over the summer.
- The kicking into the forward line was deplorable...after Thommo left the field we had a small forward line but the players (surely not under the coach's instructions) kept giving marking practice to the three tall backs that St.Kilda placed on the last line
- We have pathetic defensive skills....I cannot name one player who deliberately stands in front of his opponent when the ball is coming into our backline....I'm sick of players having to punch from behind or get that 'startled' look when they are outmarked by an opponent that they gave a 5 metre start to.
- I always believe that you use practice matches to TRY new things....I hate to say this , again, but the main difference in the results of Saints vs Roos games in previous years has been Robert Harvey. Yesterday our 'brains trust' had a perfect opportunity to try a new tactic against him...instead he stayed un-marked all day and did his usual link-up job that continues to hurt us. Don't tell me we have a secret plan or secret weapon just waiting to let loose on him when we meet. It will be the 'same-old' approach to a quality player.
- We have maintained our NUMBER ONE ranking....we are still the WORST team in the AFL when kicking-in after a point.....after THREE years of mistakes and embarrassments, didn't we try to fix this over summer?

Thanks for the report as well, didn't agree with everything as the Saints hardly inspired me either. However I walked away with the same sentiments. Got to the game about half way through the second quarter and whilst we seemed to have removed the sideways rubbish our foot and hand skills are still below par. Yes it was a practice match but two weeks out from round one senior players should be showing alot more than they did (Brown, Rawlings come to mind). The loss of Thompson overshadows the few positives that I could take away from the game. I thought Trotter was good when he had the ball, he is at least prepared to run the lines and kick long. But as always our general delivery to the forward line is very poor, kicking out from full back is like a lucky dip and Robert Harvey must wonder what a north jumper looks like up close!

[Mr Reliable]

Thanks for the match report. I added up your ratings (quickly) and you rated St K 124 (with no score to Kossi who you rated encouragingly) and NM 94 (with no score to Hansen who was unsighted).

124 to 94 is a slaughter in a two-horse race.

Either North played better than you thought or St K players wasted the footy and you overrated them.