PC2011/12RP St.Kilda - The Lost years? (The rebuild)

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St Kilda in 2013

The Saints had a disappointing year and won only five games during the season, half what they won the previous year in Scott Watters first year as coach. Jack Steven had a breakout year for the club in the midfield, taking home the best & fairest award, but there was not much else happening at the beleaguered Saints during the 2013 season.

Long-time club stalwart Nick DalSanto left for greener pastures at North Melbourne during the off season and Watters was unceremoniously dumped in favour of the incoming Hayden Sumner who will take over as head coach for the new season. St Kilda can only improve on what they gave their fans last season and Sumner may be able to get them climbing up the ladder again.

 

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Saints close successful trade period
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St Kilda has closed out a successful AFL Trade Period by securing the services of young ruckman, Billy Longer and key defender, Josh Bruce after the Saints agreed to trades with the Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney today.

Longer moves to the Saints in exchange for pick 25 and 41, with the Lions also returning pick 48.

The Saints then on-traded pick 48 to GWS in exchange for Bruce.

The pair officially joined St Kilda on the final day of the 2013 Gillette AFL Trade Period, joining former North Melbourne defender Luke Delaney and former Hawthorn midfielder Shane Savage at the Saints.

Delaney came to St Kilda in exchange for pick 77, while Savage came to St Kilda in exchange for pick 18 and ruckman Ben McEvoy.

The Saints have also significantly improved their draft position over the trade and free agency period, with three first-round draft picks (3, 18 and 19).

"We are extremely pleased with the results of the 2013 AFL trade period. Our player list is undergoing a strategic transition that is committed to the long term success of the St Kilda Football Club", said Head of Football, Chris Pelchen.

"We understand the challenges ahead of us but are confident that the decisions being made will build a solid foundation on which future success will come. To achieve our objective of acquiring three draft selections inside the top 20 for the first time since 2001, while still bringing four new young players to the club, is an excellent outcome for the Saints.”

Longer is the only ruckman to be drafted in the top eight over the past four years, when the Lions took him with pick eight at the 2011 NAB AFL Draft.

He was named in the All-Australian Under 18 team after an impressive showing as Captain of Victoria Metro in the 2011 NAB AFL Under 18 championships.

202cm Longer has played nine senior games in his first two seasons in the AFL system.

“Billy has a lot of raw talent, is strong in the contest and has also shown signs of being a more than capable forward,” coach Hayden Sumner said.

“His understanding of what it takes to prepare is growing and he is determined to do the work required. The challenge is now there for our young ruckmen Billy, Tom Hickey and Lewis Pierce to take their games to the next level.”

The 196cm Bruce played 14 games in his two seasons with GWS.

The Canberra-born backman adds to the Saints’ tall defensive stocks, along with Delaney who was traded in from North Melbourne earlier in the week.

Sumner said the Saints had monitored Bruce’s progress in his two seasons with the Giants.

“Josh's progression over the last 18 months has been significant. At 196 and 96kg he has the size and athleticism to play a number of roles in the defensive half,” Sumner said.

“With only 14 games of AFL experience, he's still a young, developing player but he is an excellent competitor and has a great attitude.”

 

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Another stop towards a new era
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IT HAS been a busy but highly rewarding couple of months for St Kilda’s list management and recruiting team. At the forefront of the evolution and revolution is Ameet Bains, and the Saints list manager spoke exclusively to SAINTS.com.au on Thursday night.

With three picks inside the top 20, St Kilda selected Jack Billings, Luke Dunstan and Blake Acres – a trio of players Bains was stoked to acquire given their versatility and obvious talents.

“From our viewpoint, we like to think if we are picking guys in the first round then they can do a number of different things,” Bains said.

“We’ve had the pleasure of watching Jack [Billings] over the course of the last couple of years. In our eyes he’s a very dynamic player, he’s got match-winning capabilities and in terms of his kick – he’d be close to, if not the best, on both sides in the draft.”

It is high praise for an 18-year-old, but Bains isn’t just impressed with his footballing ability, he’s also rapt with Billings’ mental approach to the game and believes this strong mindset will hold him in good stead for a long and prosperous AFL career.

“He didn’t actually miss too many games [this year] but carried a knee injury through most of the season. He will still able to perform at a reasonably high level so that gave us a bit of extra confidence about his mental strength.”

“He’s proven himself to be an elite talent, a half forward that can go through the midfield and someone that has excelled at all levels of his play,” Bains said.

St Kilda’s next selection after pick three was 18, and it was used on South Australian midfielder Luke Dunstan – who, like Billings, displayed excellent leadership and emotional stability to complement his elite on-field talents.

“Luke’s a big-bodied inside midfielder from South Australia. He captained the SA team that won the championships this year and shared the MVP honours for the state. Again, he’s a fantastic player, a very good ball-winner, elite decision-maker particularly with his hands and a leader in the making.”

Dunstan is a born midfielder who racks up substantial numbers at will, but he is far from a Billings clone according to Bains.

“He’s more of a traditional inside midfielder, more physically developed and probably more of a genuine ball-winner in a midfield sense,” he said.

With two mid-sized centremen already selected, St Kilda went for another proven possession-hunter with a twist – West Perth youngster Blake Acres.

Acres has struggled with shoulder injuries this season, but surgery in July has primed him for a full pre-season in his first year at St Kilda and Bains was ecstatic the agile utility drifted to pick 19.

“Blake has played across half-back, wing and through the midfield for Western Australia. He is also a midfielder and I guess coming off the back of what we did in the trade period – addressing other needs including key defenders – we were able to get an overall balance if you like.”

“We think he’s almost the prototype modern midfielder at 189cm with a big tank.”

 

[haydo]

 

[saintkildaman]

Doing the same challenge, very hard. Good luck

 

[haydo]

Round 1 Friday, March 18 - Etihad Stadium

Preview: Western Bulldogs vs St.Kilda
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Friday night football is back at Etihad Stadium with the AFL 2014 premiership season kicking off. A lot of eyes will be watching Friday night football as the Saints who have had a complete over haul both on and off the field in the pre season take to the biggest stage of them all to put on display. 6 new players will make their Saints debut on Friday night with the Western Bulldogs having Stewart Crameri make his club debut.

St.Kilda has won 4 out of the last 5 matches but in the recent meeting against the two sides the Western Bulldogs took the four points in round 9 last year at Etihad Stadium. The Bulldogs won by 9 points in which Nick Riewoldt finished with 4 goals while Montagna and Siposs finished with 2. Dylan Addison kicked 4 goals for the Bulldogs while new player Koby Stevens finished with 3 goals and 30 possessions.



WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, Friday, March 18th, 7:40pm AEST

LAST FIVE TIMES
R9 2013, Western Bulldogs: 17.8. (110) d St.Kilda: 15.11. (101)
R18 2012, St.Kilda: 16.22. (118) d Western Bulldogs: 6.6. (42)
R3 2012, St.Kilda: 15.13. (103) d Western Bulldogs: 5.10. (40)
R12 2011, St.Kilda: 12.9. (81) d Western Bulldogs: 8.9. (57)
R6 2010, St.Kilda: 7.7. (49) d Western Bulldogs: 6.10. (46)




ST.KILDA

B: Dylan Roberton - Luke Delaney - Sean Dempster
HB: Jarryn Geary - James Gwilt - Maverick Weller
C: Farren Ray - Leigh Montagna - Jack Newnes
HF: David Armitage - Nick Riewoldt - Jack Billings
FF: Adam Schneider - Rhys Stanley - Billy Longer
R: Tom Hickey - Jack Steven - Lenny Hayes
INT: Aarryn Siposs - Luke Dunstan - Clint Jones
SUB: Shane Savage

NEW: Luke Delaney, Maverick Weller, Jack Billings, Billy Longer, Luke Dunstan, Shane Savage




WESTERN BULLDOGS

B: Ryan Murphy - Jordan Roughead - Mark Austin
HB: Jason Johannissen - Dale Morris - Easton Wood
C: Shaun Higgins - Ryan Griffen - Jack Macrae
HF: Daniel Giansiracusa - Stewart Crameri - Luke Dahlhaus
FF: Ayce Cordy - Liam Jones - Adam Cooney
R: Will Minson - Tom Liberatore - Matthew Boyd
INT: Jake Stringer - Lachie Hunter - Liam Picken
SUB: Jason Tutt

NEW: Stewart Crameri

 

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Sons of the West
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THE Western Bulldogs have continued their small dominance against the Saints with a round 1 victory at Etihad Stadium on Friday night. In front of a healthy crowd of 33, 077 people, the Bulldogs tall timber finally arrived after years of sole searching ever since Barry Hall left the club. Liam Jones and new recruit Stewart Crameri combined with 11 goals with Jones (7) and Crameri (4) providing too much for the Saints back line.

With their team placed among the wooden spoon contenders, Riewoldt (21 possessions, 7 marks and 5 goals) and veteran midfielder Leigh Montagna proved they could still deliver near match-winning performances while their young team mates build their careers.
St.Kilda coach Hayden Sumner was thrilled with the performance of both veterans.
“When we were struggling to get the ball out of defence he (Riewoldt) would go down and get off his man and give us something to kick to in the front of the clearance,” the coach said.
“He played a bit deeper and was able to get shots on goal and he’s in really good form from the pre-season, He prepares like no one else so it doesn’t surprise me that he plays and turns up and is a consistent as he is”.

Bulldogs ruckman Will Minson produced his best performance for the Bulldogs, picking up 22 possessions and winning 28 hitouts in an entertaining battle against Tom Hickey and Billy Longer.
In attack, a shootout developed between Liam Jones and new recruit Stewart Crameri, who each kicked 3 goals before the main break.
When the skill level deteriorated in the third quarter, Griffen lifted to twice set up goals for Jones and the pain combined late in the fourth quarter to give the Bulldogs the win.

“They took their chances and we didn’t,” Saints coach Hayden Sumner said.
“We talked after the game about just doing the fundamentals of the game really well, especially when you’re fatigued and under pressure. Our basic fundamentals of hitting a target, first-give hands, kicking long when you have to or hitting up someone, that probably disappeared when we were fatigued.

Prized No.3 draft pick Jack Billings made his debut and had 12 possessions and laid 6 tackles in an exciting display for Saints fans.

Liam Jones kicks a career high 7 goals in round 1 against the Saints at Etihad Stadium

GOALS
Bulldogs: Jones 7, Crameri 4, Giansiracusa 2, Morris 2, Dahlhaus, Wood, Boyd, Cordy, Griffen, Picken, Hunter
St.Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Hayes 2, Armitage 2, Longer 2, Schneider 2, Geary, Gwilt, Newnes, Steven, Stanley


BEST
Bulldogs: Jones, Boyd, Minson, Picken, Liberatore
St.Kilda: Riewoldt, Weller, Armitage, Gwilt, Roberton

INJURIES
Bulldogs: Nil
St.Kilda: Nil

REPORTS: Bulldogs: Lachie Hunter charged with striking an umpire

Official Crowd: 33, 077 – Etihad Stadium