Preview Round 5, 2019: Melbourne v St.Kilda - MCG, Saturday 20th April, 4:35PM AEST

[plugger66]

More a test of acres than roma.

Acres did well against ceglar and big ben, he made a contest.

I don't think we are going to be so fortunate every week- some teams will absolutely get hold of us playing acres in the ruck.

The good news is roma's tank is that good that he only needs ~5 mins a quarter rest.

Teams can (and will) monster us in those 5mins though... perhaps starting this week?

Gawn is incredibly clever with his positioning around the ground- if anyone's going to exploit acres, it's him.

(Btw I'm all for keeping bruce out of the ruck though- it costs us too much up fwd having him in there)

Gawn has smashed everyone in hit outs this year yet they have struggled. The midfield will know they are going to lose so their set up is vital

 

[The Enemy Within]

I'd be surprised if that were true. He's back to full training, trained Friday and the day of the game.

I wouldn't be surprised if he were to walk at the end of the year but I don't see why he'd be back to full training if he wasn't planning on playing.

Fully understand that & Cho eluded to that but he still said he was unsure whether he was available no injury just not ready to play.

 

[plugger66]

Horses for courses Melb are 1 of the sides you need to play 2 ruckman against especially if Preust plays & the benefit is Roma can still play a role up forward if we do bring in the 2nd ruck.

No. You don’t change a strength for a weakness. We lose the ruck anyway. Want proof of that look at last years ruck contest and the final result. Nearly gawns best ever game and longer was no good at all

 

[bird_man]

Fully understand that & Cho eluded to that but he still said he was unsure whether he was available no injury just not ready to play.

Fair enough, I'm not sure how he get he likely won't play a role this year out of that though.

 

[bennymc7]

Clark stays for me... was on track for a good game before Dmacs injury forced him back

In- Hind, Geary
Out- DMac, Kent

Stuv not right IMO, something more sinister there clearly, hope he's ok

 

[Diehard Saint]

Had a flick through your board over the off-season and at moments last year.

So much doom and gloom. Basically waiting for Richo to get sacked. Some were even praising our list and pointing out where you'd gone wrong. I think a lot of you fell into the trap of overrating our potential.

You neglected to realise how many guys you have in that beautiful sweet spot of 23-28, with many of them having done multiple pre-seasons together. In addition to this, those just below the age profile, like Gresham, Clark and Battle are more than capable of contributing. Those just outside, like Geary and Brown, aren't over the hill.

Tbh, I haven't really watched much of you play and I'm not suggesting you're genuine contenders. However, with some refreshed coaching and the age profile you can put out most weeks, it's absolutely no surprise to me that you're playing good footy and could well finish the year on 10-12 wins. Attract some good talent and who knows what happens next year.

A lot here suffer from “the grass is always greener” syndrome.

I suppose it is natural, when you are so close to a list, to look just for the negatives and it does help when we don’t -at the moment- have an out an out star like Cripps, and the media keeps harping on about the fact that we have an ordinary list with no stars. And that we win, mind you, because other teams are off their game or injured!!

Add this to the natural pessimism of Saints supporters ( for good reason) and you get what you read!

Then you include what looks like will be very, very good players in Walsh, Rozee, Lukosious...pick a name...while we have to wait to see Max King, who we are pinning all our hopes on, despite the fact that he’s coming off a knee, having already been burnt by our number 1 pick for obvious reasons. ( Not having a go at Paddy, but the facts are facts.)

Then there’s Richo...well I’m not even going to go there it’s been such a divisive topic on here.

So there’s a little insight into the Psyche of a Saints tragic. Thanks for your post.

 

[Jade Buddha]

We won't need another ruck, the 2nd ruck can be split between Acres and Bruce while the other goes forward.

We've carried an extra half back each week so far, will we go there again, my guess is yes so wouldn't be surprised if Hind gets the nod over Dmac.

With Stuv, the longer he is left out with no explanation other than he isn't right yet the more the speculation will increase. It's only human nature but why would you go to Geelong if your current team appear to be on the up? Is part of the problem the saints?

 

[L_W_P]

Parker gonna be our Rioli. Richo said a couple of years ago that the recruiting team needed to get him a Cyril Rioli pressure player.

Look at the Hawks with Rioli (Parker) Puopolo (Kent) Simpkin/Langford (Lonie) Breust (Gresham) and Smith (Billings) and how we are emulating that now that Ratten is running the forward 50.

If Steven is ready to go then I think we will see minimal changes - Steven & Geary in, Dmac (conc) & Paton (omit)

If we want to squeeze Hind in then I think Clark would be the 'like for like' to miss out. I can see the argument for Kent (rolling Clark forward or playing Hind in that same role) but I think the match committee are going to back in this structure and run with the depth chart in place.

 

[D2D3]

Great news, we are playing at the MCG and the Gresh Prince just loves it there.

This will be the first huge test for Rowan Marshall. Gawn is one of the game’s best. Preuss is pretty handy too (good luck Acres if he plans on being 2nd ruck again).

Their midfield is strong, we will need to step up through the middle to be a chance here.

Against hawthorn it looked like Acres worked out his best bet is just to wrestle, concede the hit out and then go straight into playing as if he was a rover all along. Doing so exposed the Hawks in there a little.

Hopefully can back it up against Melbourne.

 

[Yawkey way]

Melbourne won the hit-outs 73 - 13, they lost the centre clearances 15 - 13 and won the total clearances 44 - 37.

Dominating the hit outs doesn’t mean much and never has imo. As long as the opposition ruckman provides a contest and is competitive around the ground who cares who taps it, was is and always will be about who gets possession of the ball.

 

[pebblesofsand]

Technically speaking Acres should have got a free kick for over the shoulder every time he contested a ruck contest. It was ridiculous the amount of times McEvoy or Ceglar made high contact and got away with it.

 

[WhiskySaint]

It’s been mentioned already a bit, but Clark looked good in the first half until he was moved to cover DMac.

I think he had 13 touches to half time. If he plays the same in the second half he end up with 26 and this place goes nuts about him.

 

[saintkildaman]

Not against Dunny being back for either Kent or Clark, would be useful around the trenches this week. If Kent goes out Gresh to spend more time inside 50 on his favourite hunting ground.

 

[VDS66]

Yeah but when Kent's on the nose something needs to be done...

It all comes out in the wash...

 

[Tommy Wigs]

Against hawthorn it looked like Acres worked out his best bet is just to wrestle, concede the hit out and then go straight into playing as if he was a rover all along. Doing so exposed the Hawks in there a little.

Hopefully can back it up against Melbourne.

Yep he did that a couple of times. Was great to see Blake back himself.

 

[BrutThough]

It’s been mentioned already a bit, but Clark looked good in the first half until he was moved to cover DMac.

I think he had 13 touches to half time. If he plays the same in the second half he end up with 26 and this place goes nuts about him.

Thats some David King logic there.

Part of him fading in the second half was just that he is young and doesn't have the same fitness base for consistency over the 4 quarter. I don't think he played back the whole 2nd half, and even then, 1 disposal for the amount of time the ball was down there is disappointing. I want to see him playing games but if Steven is going to come in and play majority of the game as a midfield, then Clark is the logical out for him.

 

[L_W_P]

Thats some David King logic there.

Part of him fading in the second half was just that he is young and doesn't have the same fitness base for consistency over the 4 quarter. I don't think he played back the whole 2nd half, and even then, 1 disposal for the amount of time the ball was down there is disappointing. I want to see him playing games but if Steven is going to come in and play majority of the game as a midfield, then Clark is the logical out for him.

"It's a big loss for the Giants. Cal Ward was averaging 30 kicks a game until his knee gave out..."

 

[cooperrules]

OK, what is going on with Jack Steven?

I was told at the end of last season billings and stuv were the worst affected by chos madness. Didnt really take any notice as i just couldnt give a * at the time. Maybe there is more to it.

 

[plugger66]

We won't need another ruck, the 2nd ruck can be split between Acres and Bruce while the other goes forward.

We've carried an extra half back each week so far, will we go there again, my guess is yes so wouldn't be surprised if Hind gets the nod over Dmac.

With Stuv, the longer he is left out with no explanation other than he isn't right yet the more the speculation will increase. It's only human nature but why would you go to Geelong if your current team appear to be on the up? Is part of the problem the saints?

Maybe he wants to be close to him family. And to get away from the city. Nothing sinister

 

[Saintbloke]

Sometimes things like footy are not the highest priority when other things are going on in a person's life.

 

[WhiskySaint]

Thats some David King logic there.

Part of him fading in the second half was just that he is young and doesn't have the same fitness base for consistency over the 4 quarter. I don't think he played back the whole 2nd half, and even then, 1 disposal for the amount of time the ball was down there is disappointing. I want to see him playing games but if Steven is going to come in and play majority of the game as a midfield, then Clark is the logical out for him.

This is a fair enough point and I agree with you that he looked absolutely cooked and that is part of the reason he didn’t get a lot of the footy in the second half.
There was a little sarcasm in the post as well that people on here too heavily weight stats in how well a player performed.

I personally disagree that he is the logical out for Steven as I think Steven will play more time forward then Mid.

For me it’s,

Gears for Patton
Hind for DMac if he’s not ok to play
Steven (if available) for Kent.

 

[BigPowerForward]

I was told at the end of last season billings and stuv were the worst affected by chos madness. Didnt really take any notice as i just couldnt give a **** at the time. Maybe there is more to it.

Billings seems to have been scarred by Cho's madness! He's going very poorly at the moment
Maybe Steven feels that he can't give a 100% commitment on game day and he doesn't want to attract more attention to himself if he performs below expectation. There could be other reasons he is not playing but I highly doubt the coach's madness is one of those reason

 

[Persevering Saint]

This week will be a true test for Marshall when he’s paired against two physically superior but also very athletic ruckman in pruess and Gawn.
Wonder how we will counter this

Wasn't this exactly what we said about the Hawks rucks?

(or is that the joke?)

 

[cooperrules]

Billings seems to have be scarred by Cho's madness! He's going very poorly at the moment
Maybe Steven feels that he can't give a 100% commitment on game day and he doesn't want to attract more attention to himself if he performs below expectation. There could be other reasons he is not playing but I highly doubt the coach's madness is one of those reason

Trust me chos just a media puppet now. Stucs thing is the great unknown. Hes had to carry this club for years. A year off to sort it out will be good for him. Could add a few more years to his playing days. They need to stop saying he may or may not play. Last thing he needs is to be in the media every week. Put him on the lti and get a mid in the midseason draft.

 

[Joffaboy]

Trust me chos just a media puppet now. Stucs thing is the great unknown. Hes had to carry this club for years. A year off to sort it out will be good for him. Could add a few more years to his playing days. They need to stop saying he may or may not play. Last thing he needs is to be in the media every week. Put him on the lti and get a mid in the midseason draft.

Why should we trust you?