Preview Round 18, 2021: St.Kilda v Port Adelaide - Marvel Stadium, Saturday 17th July, 1:45PM AEST

[lewdogs]

ST KILDA tall Josh Battle is set to miss the remainder of the season after scans discovered bone stress in his ankle.

Saints medicos will meet with a surgeon next week to determine the next steps for the 22-year-old, however the club is confident he'll be fit to tackle pre-season ahead of next year.

Big loss. Even if it's just to be used as a sub, which he is perfect for.

Godspeed Josh, see you next year.

 

[Saint_Dos]

An interesting array of emergencies this week without Battle there.
Expecting Lonie to be medi sub but actually think we would be smarter to go Joyce.

Lonie being fielded as medi-sub would potentially leave us with Long, Butler, Kent, Byrnes, Billings and Lonie playing as small fwds.
Bytel could leave us with Steele, Crouch, Dunstan, Ross, Jones and Bytel as inside mids
Hunter could leave us with 3 rucks on field. Pretty sure he is really just emergency in case something happens pre bounce.
Joyce having to be fielded would give us 2 kpds and 2 medium def's and force Sinclair/Hill to play further up the field. Would be far easier to manage if the injury wasnt a like for like.

Worst case of an injury for us is Howard going down. Joyce would provide a cover (albeit nowhere near the quality) for this area if the worst occurred.

 

[sunny3193]

Yes was there with the brains trust & selection committee they concur.

Suprised the lad Battle not listed , thought Clark trained well not far away.

Actually thought it was solid session..2 hours mainly focusing on transition.

Coffield trained well also.

Good vibe about the place ….Grandstand had glass put into facility so things moving along well

Haha, I think the Brains Trust could get a gig in any Jack Irish movie.
Battle seemed to hurt his left foot/ankle and left the ground.
If you thought it a solid session, perhaps my impression is that of a newby.
Did you notice that Coff was being encouraged to run? Once through the backline at the South Road end, and the second one I noticed was when he was playing as a forward at the Highway end. He does look good doing that.
I took a photo of the grandstand and posted it here. Brings back memories.

 

[Plugger35]

Disappointing news about Battle, he may not have been in our best 22 currently but him out for the rest of the year weakens our depth.

That’s a bit of hindsight. Their form before last night was as good as ours. Yes we beat Brisbane easily but it’s over a whole season. I’d say we should think we can beat any side but if all sides are at their best we aren’t the best side. We can beat port because they aren’t in great form and also have heaps of injuries. I think the best sides win when not at their best. We aren’t that side yet.

Freo's recent form hasn't been as good as ours, they scraped across the line against Collingwood, lost to Carlton and then beat up on a woeful Hawthorn rabble.

We've beaten Richmond, Collingwood and Brisbane all pretty convincingly, two of those being premiership contenders.

 

[gringo2011]

That’s a bit of hindsight. Their form before last night was as good as ours. Yes we beat Brisbane easily but it’s over a whole season. I’d say we should think we can beat any side but if all sides are at their best we aren’t the best side. We can beat port because they aren’t in great form and also have heaps of injuries. I think the best sides win when not at their best. We aren’t that side yet.

They only beat Hawks, Goldy and Collingwood. Lost to Carlton, Bulldogs and Port. Now Geelong. To me their form line looks like they beat up on weaker teams and fall down against good ones. We hadn't done much but do that either but the Brisbane game was a huge scalp especially away from home. It shows we can match it with the best. Richmond less so but still a good effort.

 

[BangersAndMash]

Big call out to Stewart66 for his advice on watching training this morning.
If you were there today mate, I was the spunk standing next to the fence
Some feedback for everyone.
Not an especially intense session.
More practice and keeping your eye in.
Several lower rated players not there (Lonie, Bytel, Frawley, McKernan, Allison etc), I guess they’d be with Sandringham.
Of the injured players: Coffield, Clark trained. Higgins and Hannebery ran laps with Higgins looking very stiff and sore. No sighting of Paton, Carlisle or Wood. Gears was on coffee run.
Expect no change to the team.
Coffee was fine, cheap too.

I was down there too mate. I usually get along at some stage now I’m not working as much.

I had the big shaggy dog that looks like a bear


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[George]

I know Battle was played out of position but maybe this wasn't helping, either.

 

[plugger66]

An interesting array of emergencies this week without Battle there.
Expecting Lonie to be medi sub but actually think we would be smarter to go Joyce.

Lonie being fielded as medi-sub would potentially leave us with Long, Butler, Kent, Byrnes, Billings and Lonie playing as small fwds.
Bytel could leave us with Steele, Crouch, Dunstan, Ross, Jones and Bytel as inside mids
Hunter could leave us with 3 rucks on field. Pretty sure he is really just emergency in case something happens pre bounce.
Joyce having to be fielded would give us 2 kpds and 2 medium def's and force Sinclair/Hill to play further up the field. Would be far easier to manage if the injury wasnt a like for like.

Worst case of an injury for us is Howard going down. Joyce would provide a cover (albeit nowhere near the quality) for this area if the worst occurred.

Yes but what if a mid goes down or a small forward. I think you play the odds and have bytel as the sun especially as he can’t play at sandy anyway

 

[plugger66]

Disappointing news about Battle, he may not have been in our best 22 currently but him out for the rest of the year weakens our depth.



Freo's recent form hasn't been as good as ours, they scraped across the line against Collingwood, lost to Carlton and then beat up on a woeful Hawthorn rabble.

We've beaten Richmond, Collingwood and Brisbane all pretty convincingly, two of those being premiership contenders.

Well one which is true. Anyway my point stands. A good side wins when not at their best. That’s the level we need to aim for.

 

[Remboy]

Yes but what if a mid goes down or a small forward. I think you play the odds and have bytel as the sun especially as he can’t play at sandy anyway

If you've got the option the sub should be a mid. You can't afford to be a midfield rotation down for most of a match
It would hurt a lot more than losing a tall.

 

[plugger66]

They only beat Hawks, Goldy and Collingwood. Lost to Carlton, Bulldogs and Port. Now Geelong. To me their form line looks like they beat up on weaker teams and fall down against good ones. We hadn't done much but do that either but the Brisbane game was a huge scalp especially away from home. It shows we can match it with the best. Richmond less so but still a good effort.

Yes true about Brisbane but like I keep saying it’s not as bad as it seems and not as good as it seems Look how much we copped after the pies game. We won and people were disappointed. It was a win. It wasn’t as bad as people made out. I will be more convinced about is if we beat port. Before that I’m neutral on our form

 

[Remboy]

Well one which is true. Anyway my point stands. A good side wins when not at their best. That’s the level we need to aim for.

To not be at our best? Seems a strange thing to aim for.

 

[plugger66]

To not be at our best? Seems a strange thing to aim for.

It is strange. I don’t think we should aim for that. I do know you can’t be at your best for 22 games though.

 

[Saint_Dos]

Yes but what if a mid goes down or a small forward. I think you play the odds and have bytel as the sun especially as he can’t play at sandy anyway

I would have thought if a mid goes down we have enough cover with Byrnes, Ross, Crouch all not listed as starting inside mids + Billings, Ross and Kent who can go through there. Same with small fwds most teams play 2-3, we have Butler, Kent, Long, Byrnes, Billings

If Wilkie, Dougs or Highmore go down we would almost have to send Membrey back permanently rather than just for 5min a qtr.
They are playing Dixon, Georgiades, Todd Marshall and Ladhams. We are already going to be stretched.

 

[plugger66]

I would have thought if a mid goes down we have enough cover with Byrnes, Ross, Crouch all not listed as starting inside mids + Billings, Ross and Kent who can go through there. Same with small fwds most teams play 2-3, we have Butler, Kent, Long, Byrnes, Billings

If Wilkie, Dougs or Highmore go down we would almost have to send Membrey back permanently rather than just for 5min a qtr.
They are playing Dixon, Georgiades, Todd Marshall and Ladhams. We are already going to be stretched.

We will see. Most clubs play a mid or a small. Defence is a team defence anyway.

 

[Saint_Dos]

We will see. Most clubs play a mid or a small. Defence is a team defence anyway.

I expect they will make it Bytel or Lonie.
Just my thoughts to what we should be doing

 

[Saintos The ITK]

So, just logged in for the day.
What are we whinging about today Sainters??

 

[Remboy]

I know Battle was played out of position but maybe this wasn't helping, either.

Just wait until he’s playing HBF for someone else next year Lol.

 

[plugger66]

So, just logged in for the day.
What are we whinging about today Sainters??

The banger isn’t open Thats the negative. The chicken shop is. That’s a positive

 

[Remboy]

The banger isn’t open Thats the negative. The chicken shop is. That’s a positive

Stay strong Plugger. It’s only five days.

 

[plugger66]

Stay strong Plugger. It’s only five days.

If only.

 

[SaintBilly]

The banger isn’t open Thats the negative. The chicken shop is. That’s a positive

Dim sims and coke zero still available then? Not to mention your VB?



And did someone say KFC?

 

[plugger66]

Dim sims and coke zero still available then? Not to mention your VB?



And did someone say KFC?

Coke Zero? Wouldn’t touch the stuff. No sugar coke for me. Dimmies still in play and on my second vb as I type watching the British open. Heaven wouldn’t be better.

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

So, just logged in for the day.
What are we whinging about today Sainters??

Well we can't really melt over team selection.

Suppose we all hate NSW

 

[Sarcoidevo]

What's the deal with Saints v Port game being pulled from betting sites ...... no odds whatsoever?

We were $2.10 underdogs a few days back

Surely the venue still isnt up in the air?