Game Day Round 8 St Kilda vs West Coast

[EdCurnowRules]

Well, that happened.
It appeared the season was back on track in the first half, the masten-haters went quiet for just a moment or two distracted by the beautiful game, and we all started getting those warm feelings back in the groin region. What happened next is befuddling to say the least – but that was last week.

On to this week..


Where and When

Marvel Stadium, Saturday May 11, 1925hrs Eastern



About

Whatever you might make of the St Kilda footy club it’s probably fair to say that despite years of mostly abject failure on field the saints, for whatever reason, don’t attract the aversion and contempt so often handed down to other clubs – speshally the vics... We find them tame, unoffensive, toothless and consider them to be like a member of the family we don’t have anything to do with – for example a younger 2nd cousin we really never bothered getting to know. We don’t mind if they’re around, but we couldn’t care less if they aren’t...
Tom Cole’s West Coast Eagles on the other hand are very different. Long periods of being ultra-competitive punctuated by winning flags has made this the most successful club outside of Victoria, and among the most successful clubs in the comp since the league went national*. We are the ire of many a Victorian based football lover and also that of 22-25% of the football lovers of WA. Combine this with our thievery of top Vic talent over the last decade or so, think Cole, Judd, Shuey, Gaff, Vardy, Mutimer… Its little wonder we are so widely disliked.
St Kilda lack a genuine rival – Brisbane maybe; they used to be scheduled to play the doggies during rivalry round. They are the perennial underdogs and we can all identify with that in some way.
*bahahahaha – national, really?


History
Cole’s Eagles boast a 29-18 winning record against the saints, and a 4-1 record in recent times. Our last loss to the saints was in round 20, 2017 by a narrow margin at this weekend’s venue. In round 8 of 2017 the eagles pulled off a miraculous victory at home against a determined St Kilda outfit, where junk-time goals blew the margin out a bit.


Trade
Pick 12 for 1992 premiership ruckman Paul Harding is a good place to start, a pick St Kilda used on a zero-game player. Pick 18 (Daniel Kerr) and David Sierakowski for galloping Coleman medallist Fraser Gehrig feels was a win-win, while pick 40 for Jamie Cripps now seems non-consensual (thievery at a minimum). The saints got good value from boat-rocker Michael Gardiner for a low pick, a man who may have been the difference in the grand final rematch had he not been out injured that week and who once threatened to kill me during a game of junior footy.
St Kildas biggest mistake will no doubt prove to be the trading of sporty big man Tom Hickey and pick 60 (used to match a bid on Jarrod Cameron) for pick 39.. What were you thinking St Kilda? Gee whiz…


Injuries
West Coast has not had a great run this year so far, the silver lining being the imminent return of required players for September, should we keep it together in the meantime. Barrass, Rioli and Naitanui would be welcomed back into this side in a heartbeat but alas are not available. Arguably these three fellows are in our best handful of players when fit.
The Saints are missing captain courageous Jarryn Geary and active small Lonie. Jack Steven is missing also, and we all hope he gets well and returns to footy soon. Other probable first pick Saints not playing include Roberton, McCartin, Hannyberry, Carlisle and the untried Max King.


The match ups
Midfield
St Kildas midfield is awesome. Harvey, Bourke, Winmar, Spida Everitt – wait, this isn’t 1997… The Saints midfield is garbage, and without Stuart Loewe and Ozzy Jones up front and Justin Peckett marshalling the troops in defence I feel that the saints are in big trouble here. Shuey & Co should feast on the ruck work of potential future AA ruckman Tom Hickey Oscar Allen, making the break even very difficult for the lads from Moorabbin.

​

More seriously, the saints have been reborn through the middle of the ground, they complement each other well and are growing together. These lads are giving Membrey, Bruce and the fleet of St Kilda small forwards plenty of opportunities. The eagles midfield has been down on its best work and will need to lift to maintain supply to their forwards. The saints seem to have players in the 2s in form and pressuring for spots so expect a couple of changes to the side that got hammered by GWS last week.


Simpson vs Richardson

VS

One is a premiership coach with the full support of the highly functional, wealthy and successful organization that he works WITH, the other a guy who works FOR a broke, broken down, dysfunctional bottom dweller. Who’d be a St Kilda coach? * that… Simpsons plan haven’t quite been working out recently, so look for subtle alterations this week. Who knows what Richardson’s plans are? Highly doubtful that there’s any at all…


Jamie Cripps vs St Kilda’s back six

VS

[URL='http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi7ifib9ILhAhUXk3AKHSdwChsQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http://www.google.com.au/url?sa%3Di%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26ved%3D%26url%3Dhttp://www.zimbio.com/photos/Jamie%2BCripps/AFL%2BRd%2B2%2BSt%2BKilda%2Bv%2BGold%2BCoast/g9xZJ02o4uk%26psig%3DAOvVaw1FnusGqyVy5B7teXOcq6Zs%26ust%3D1552696728046403&psig=AOvVaw1FnusGqyVy5B7teXOcq6Zs&ust=1552696728046403']One of the hardest working forwards around, Cripps relies on gut-running to outwork his opponents around the forward half. Add to that his toughness around the ball and ability to kick a bag on occasion, and you have yourself a very dangerous footballer. Much like the entire West Coast side, Cripps’ form hasn’t been where it needs to be since his remarkable return from injury against Collingwood in round three. There were signs last week; look for him to reignite against his old mob on a fast deck with a closed roof – 4 goals and 4 score assists.


Tom Hickey vs Longer and Marshall

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The big bloke Marshall is getting forward and hitting the scoreboard, where Longer is a mobile option around the ground. Our Tom doesn’t look mobile, but he is, he is effective at ground level and is proving to be a reliable kick both in general play and on goal. We’ve unearthed a beauty here. If Tom can keep doing what he’s doing and keep improving we will win this battle in the middle, with our backmen needing to take care of Marshall when he goes forward.



The Heroes


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Etched into St Kilda folklore is the hero Barry Breen. He scored the winning behind to deliver the saints their only premiership, against Collingwood, 500 years ago. Good on ya Barry.. Our Dom, also etched in folklore, also delivered against the pies at a most crucial time, is also a hero.

Barry is probably more handsomer than Dom and has a catchier name, but still a draw.



The Verdict

Despite putting a fair bit of s**t on St Kilda here, I am looking forward to a tough contest. The saints have everything to play for and will be aiming to impress again the premiers at home. The saints are on the up and up, but the Eagles should be able to handle it.

West Coast Eagles by five Jack Darling goals





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[RookiePick]

I think this should be a good game. The Saints are going surprisingly well considering where most thought they would be before the season started, especially given their injury woes.

A real danger game for us in our sputtering form but we did show some positive signs last week. Like a cantankerous racing car hitching and misfiring on ignition we aren't far from catching and unleashing some destructive footy. Hopefully we get it right this outing.'

The Crippler to find his mojo and kick a handful against his old side. The midfield to start finding some space to lower the eyes and hit targets going forward. Last week was a turning point and we will take another step on the road to form this week under the roof at Docklands.

We're coming.

 

[Luuuc]

Perfect test for us at the moment. A team we should beat if we put in 100%, but also a team that has a real honest crack, who we should know will beat us if we're not fair dinkum about it.
So, no excuses.

 

[KERRPOW]

Win this and it keeps our season there abouts.

Lose and well, look forward to Kanye

 

[Trouto]

I just hope it doesn't rain...

 

[campaigner___]

Everyone trippin'.

Reigning premiers by 30 points.

St Kilda showed promise in the early rounds of this season with a 1 point win to Gold Coast before being smashed by Adelaide and GWS by around 40 points.

 

[Trouto]

Everyone trippin'.

Reigning premiers by 30 points.

St Kilda showed promise in the early rounds of this season with a 1 point win to Gold Coast before being smashed by Adelaide and GWS by around 40 points.

yeah, we might be the reigning premiers, but that title counts for nothing this year...in fact, it might be one of the reasons we play so patchy, we got tickets on ourselves. We nearly lost to gold coast at home...

 

[campaigner___]

yeah, we might be the reigning premiers, but that title counts for nothing this year...in fact, it might be one of the reasons we play so patchy, we got tickets on ourselves. We nearly lost to gold coast at home...

Reigning premiers by 40 points because you backchatted

 

[Trouto]

Reigning premiers by 40 points because you backchatted

Here's hoping

 

[eaglesnutcase]

Just hang on to beat GC at home now away to SK....Mmmmmmm! David King says we are gorn!! A floggin'in the rain at home and a floggin" at that shithole Geelong.Wouldnt want to be too many more of them.We've lost that pizzaz[?] of last year.Last year it was somebody out? no worries we'll bring in a kid and he'll do the job now its Barass out..Oh s**t hes our premiershipo FB we are gunna struggle.Attack,attack,attack!!!!!!! If you give too much respect to some of these talented young sides they will run over you [ on form i'm dreading playing Carlton over there].We need to smash somebody in Melbourne to both wake us up and wake up the footy world.We have not gone away we are just reloading!!

 

[Gravitas]

Just hang on to beat GC at home now away to SK....Mmmmmmm! David King says we are gorn!! A floggin'in the rain at home and a floggin" at that shithole Geelong.Wouldnt want to be too many more of them.We've lost that pizzaz[?] of last year.Last year it was somebody out? no worries we'll bring in a kid and he'll do the job now its Barass out..Oh **** hes our premiershipo FB we are gunna struggle.Attack,attack,attack!!!!!!! If you give too much respect to some of these talented young sides they will run over you [ on form i'm dreading playing Carlton over there].We need to smash somebody in Melbourne to both wake us up and wake up the footy world.We have not gone away we are just reloading!!

Nice username to post ratio.

 

[Luuuc]

We've lost that pizzaz[?]

If I interpret your intended meaning correctly, the actual spelling & grammar you're looking for is "We've lost those pizzas"
Pizzas of course being the food traditionally eaten when celebrating a satisfying victory.

 

[eaglesnutcase]

Nice username to post ratio.

Old!

 

[eaglesnutcase]

If I interpret your intended meaning correctly, the actual spelling & grammar you're looking for is "We've lost those pizzas"
Pizzas of course being the food traditionally eaten when celebrating a satisfying victory.

If you put pineapple on it we are through!!

 

[Inside Bull]

Nice preview thanks. West coast by 5 darling goals less 25000 noises of affirmation

 

[TY24]

If we win this game we should all lobby for a roof to be put on Optus Stadium.

 

[Beutbrute]

Love the preview. Hope there won't be any noise of affirmation at the Saints home game, unless it's from our away supporters of course.
'

 

[HoneyBadger35]

I request a 100 point Eagles victory to surpass the previous best Saints away moment - Ezy kicking an insurmountable haul of two goals, including the game winner.

 

[HurleyHepsHird]

This pretty much confirms it, keep Sheed in the centre and Gaff on the wing.

The men in the guts: Who goes in, who clears it, best combos - http://m.afl.com.au/news/2019-05-08/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-your-clubs-centrebounce-specialists

 

[aflfootyfanatic]

um I reckon we're screwed, just sayin'
We only beat ******* gold coast by 23 points!!! We have so much work to do, and with saints playing very well this yr I don't think our chances are very high.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

um I reckon we're screwed, just sayin'
We only beat ******* gold coast by 23 points!!! We have so much work to do, and with saints playing very well this yr I don't think our chances are very high.

 

[aflfootyfanatic]

enough said.

 

[woosha24]

If I interpret your intended meaning correctly, the actual spelling & grammar you're looking for is "We've lost those pizzas"
Pizzas of course being the food traditionally eaten when celebrating a satisfying victory.

JK doesn't eat pizzas. Only HJs will do.

 

[Astro7]

Roll the dice...who bloody knows what will happen or which Eagles will turn up..
or what explanation Simmo will give at post match!?
Or what the players will say they need to do to improve?
Just hope they get over the line with an improved performance on last week?
Bewitched, befuddled and bemused!

 

[eaglesnutcase]

Roll the dice...who bloody knows what will happen or which Eagles will turn up..
or what explanation Simmo will give at post match!?
Or what the players will say they need to do to improve?
Just hope they get over the line with an improved performance on last week?
Bewitched, befuddled and bemused!

Im with you Astro;i dont know what to think.Those two thrashings have thrown my thinking out the window.I thought on paper [ and the GF ] that we were the new Hawthorn.On paper we are as good if not better. Theres nobody better placed than Simmo to know how they went about it.TV says NN in full training and Rioli playing as early as this weekend.I hope we are not "waiting" for players coming back before we relaunch.