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Luke Ball

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Fehring said:
The ABC reported he had 24 to half time, which would have seemed about right. He clearly had 40 touches. Had at least 8 in the last when he was "out of it".
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From memory the leading stat getter for Sandy at half time was Geary and Ball was below Gallagher towards the middle/bottom of the list. That ranged from 25 - 15. That's why I'm still adamant that he did not have 40 because Sandy were then smashed in the next 2 quarters of footy.
 
who cares how many touches he got? he was best on ground and has to come in this week. should have played last week, we got smashed in the clearances.

personally I think him and LENNY will be our best players in finals.
 
ILY Leonard said:
who cares how many touches he got? he was best on ground and has to come in this week. should have played last week, we got smashed in the clearances.
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Ball was not BOG.

Of the Saints players Gery was IMO clearly better.

Ball got no where near 40 touches.

Played a good game and not a great game.
 
This whole thing will be really interesting (or heartbreaking) to see how it all plays out.

If leaving best 22 members like Ball out gets us a flag, Lyon will probably be confirmed as one of the great coaching minds. If it doesn't, we'll be forever haunted by the what ifs and undoubtedly Lyon will never live down what would be seen as a huge coaching oversight (goes for guys like Max as well).

or on the other hand, as I suspect/hope we could just end up at full strength come finals and a fired up Ball will be in top form.
 
Ther eis of course the whole scenario of dropping Max and Ball from the seniors and simply keeping them fresh by running around the VFL to then reintroduce during finals. As was shown last week with Max and his injury you could assume that if he was playing for the Saints and made the same effort, we could not afford to simpyl take him off for a half of footy or he might have twinged it properly going that extra effort. I'm not yet ready to write either he or Ball off as far as finals go, Lyons identified that contested ball has dropped off and every man and his dog can see that Balls inclusion will only help that, just if he has been feeling tight around the groin or lost kicking penetration or pace since the end of the season for us (when we were assured of top spot basically) it would come under player management to relegate him to a lesser form to keep up his match fitness, work on things he needs to as well as monitor him if there are any niggles or problems out in the elements.

Ball in partivular will still go hard at the ball and bust his gut, but you won't see him being self destructive or super tenacious in the VFL. So I can't help but think this is simply a way to keep match fitness up more so than Ball being heavily out of favour. Finals will probably tell the story though.
 
TassieSaint said:
This whole thing will be really interesting (or heartbreaking) to see how it all plays out.

If leaving best 22 members like Ball out gets us a flag, Lyon will probably be confirmed as one of the great coaching minds. If it doesn't, we'll be forever haunted by the what ifs and undoubtedly Lyon will never live down what would be seen as a huge coaching oversight (goes for guys like Max as well).

or on the other hand, as I suspect/hope we could just end up at full strength come finals and a fired up Ball will be in top form.
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Well I think most of us could live with us missing a flag if we had Ball & Hudghton playing in the side. Missing out on a flag with those guys fit and on the sidelines would be a lot harder to stomach.

At the end of the day, as long as we win the flag it really doesn't matter who is in the 22. However if we miss out on a flag there will be questions asked, especially if you leave a couple of experienced, quality players like Ball & Hudghton out.

Anyway it's probably a bit premature to be critical of Lyon, the side for the finals hasn't been picked yet and he has done a great job so far this year. However now is the time he has to make the right calls and deliver. Anything less than a flag and he will cop plenty of criticism, rightly or wrongly. The same thing happened with Alves, he did a fantastic job coaching us in '97 but he still copped plenty of flak when we lost the GF. A year later and he was out of a job.
 

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AFaiL said:
Ditto

I'm contemplating not going to the game tomorrow in protest.

And I don't miss games.
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C'mon man, let's be serious here.

For one, you not going to the game will result in absolutley nothing. Secondly, RL and the club know a shit load more than any of us on here, trust em, they know what they're doing, even if it appears a little idiotic at the moment.

Could be all smoke and mirrors for all we know. The last few weeks have been insignificant games against insignificant teams. Maybe he's trying not to risk some of our injury prone players in Ball, Max and Gardi (why 2 of those are playing Zebs...beyond me)

But just have faith! For once! :thumbsu:
 
AFaiL said:
I'm contemplating not going to the game tomorrow in protest.
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Why don't you do that ! And if we win without Ball, are you going to streak on grand final day - I guess that's what "supporters" like you say, right ?

I'd also prefer to have Ball in the team, but to say that you will not go to the game "in protest" is just pathetic - even for your low standards.
 
What, so people aren't allowed to have an opinion, and in turn, make a personal stand in leui of that opinion

FFS get off the high horse and stop doubting everyones faith when they dare mention not taking absolutely everything the club says as gold

Eddy over ball is a joke, full stop. It makes perfect sense to play ball on the G to really test if he can run out a game on that ground

My personal protest is just that.
 
Can't help but think Ball will play finals. Lack of pace or not, we need first hands on the ball: Ball's.

I am not so sure about Max. I think his disposal is the key to Zac's selection over him. If we play Brisbane, Collingwood, Geelong or Carlton, expect Max in the side.
 

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Shaucob_Burjan said:
Steven Salopek or 2nd rounder for Luke Ball?
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Steven Salopek = 2nd Rounder? If so we'll take him for our 2nd rounder.

Big fan of Luke Ball. Interesting what Grant Thomas said about him - Clinton Jones is taking his spot. Guess you need some accountability and the offensive midfielders in Dal and Hayes have his spot.

I get this feeling with Sydney opening up the cap with their retirees that Luke will head North. His style of play very much fits the Sydney model too. Sydney in recent years have been open to trading players too so I wouldn't be surprised if the deal got over the line (even though fewer and fewer do each year).

Needs a fresh start I think. Could benefit both clubs.
 
Ball a heart-and-soul Saint at crossroads Greg Baum | August 29, 2009

Ball a heart-and-soul Saint at crossroads

Greg Baum | August 29, 2009


http://www.theage.com.au/news/rfnew...t-at-crossroads/2009/08/28/1251394593911.html

"In the same vein, fans fear the Saints are trying to fix something that isn't broken. Or wasn't. An old Saint said it was a common trap for high-flying teams to begin to look for flaws that were not there. At St Kilda, at worst, there was a hairline fracture. But some wonder whether in making this running repair, St Kilda was not risking tearing the fabric of the club in another dimension, unseen, but vital. Sports teams are made up of more than their parts (which is why statistics are imperfect guides). The binding is as crucial as the parts. In seven seasons at St Kilda, Ball has demonstrated himself to be a heart-and-soul player, universally looked up to for his courage, selflessness and dedication. ''He inspires people by his actions,'' said an associate."

Good article.
 
MushroomRocket said:
i never knew a senior player/former captain dropped from the first 22 and emg's, especially during a premiership charge would be worth a first rounder.

even if our friend RL breaks us for the deal we can still give our pick 39 for josh kennedy from the hawks. prismall is a gun midfielder who went at pick 39 despite playing well almost all year, while bally has been in poor form and has been dropped.

despite what you think st.kilda management will be open to a 2nd or 3rd round pick considering he's out of contract at 600k and that they cant keep paying him that.
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Exactly right. Everyone on here drastically overrates players trade values. No one is going to give up there 1st pick for a player who cannot crack their current team's 1st 22. Akermanis is a triple premiership player and brownlow medalist was traded for a 2nd round pick.

Also where players were drafted has no relevance on their trade value. Would anyone give up a 1st round pick for tambling because he was picked so high? If Chapman was up for trade would his value be less because he was taken late in the draft?
 
St Kilda can't win a premiership without Luke Ball... St Kilda can't beat quality outfits without a tough in and under player.. Hayes is a class act at the in and under toughness but can't do it alone.. Luke Ball is the player that can grow in confidence with maximum game time with only pro's to add to our line up.
 

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Luke Ball

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