Autopsy Saints forget how to kick a ball and lose to Hawthorn.

[Saintos The ITK]

I wonder how many times when Nas has called for the ball from a player setting up for a set shot, he's actually put it through the sticks.

Twice.

 

[pebblesofsand]

I'm expecting another swarm around the ball, win the ball then kick it fwd to where we turn it over because Higgo is lining up against Sicily and Barass.

We'll kick around 8 goals and lose by not a lot.

So you could say Ross Is consistent but then again he could be just plain stubborn.

Yeah - played out as I expected (except that the i50's were way worse that I could have imagined).

Observations - Tauru is a marketers dream

NWM played like he had a load of his mind. Next Tuesday?

Hall - excellent

Do we have anyone tall who could play forward and provide a genuine get out contest?

When Ramsden went off I thought we would have swung Caminiti fwd and played Keeler back for a while.

 

[dudeintheswamp]

Its time to come down from the mountain

 

[tomjoad]

The forward line is painful to watch at the moment. Something needs done in these last remaining games to change it up because it's difficult to watch.

I know Keeler is still developing but he just doesn't compete or work hard enough to keep justifying his spot. And given we chose to ruck Owens over him, there is no point having him in the team. Moose may have less talent but his effort has never been questioned and I'd back him in to at least put up a contest.

Of the other forwards - Higgins is still out of form. Butler looks past it. Wood and Sharman have the yips which is costing us badly. Henry a non-event. Owens competes but didnt impact much. Although, I loved his bump on Battle late. That's the physicality we need more of.

Hall is the only one who performed and he was outstanding. What a find he has been. Getting him up around stoppages the past two weeks has been an excellent coaching move and something I hope we continue to do.

I thought that Henry showed a flicker here and there actually. Don't get me wrong he's still got a way to go, but he's coming from a long way back.
The season is shot, if he can find touch by the end of the year then 2026 is already looking better. He should keep his spot.
Keeler...yeah, he needs to go back for a spell.

 

[beside the seaside]

I'd get Dodson in for Keeler. Kicked 4 last week, give him a taste.

The forward line needs a massive overhaul. Thought Butler was awful. No one can take a mark. I think we need to keep Marshall to use him as a forward option and see if we can change up the dynamics.

The good news is we seem to have sorted the midfield lately, thanks in a large part to Hugo. And the backline is really taking shape too.

Tauru off no pre-season and in his third game already looks like one of our best players. So excited about him.

Good endeavour but the forward line has basically cost us three weeks in a row.

 

[Sully111]

Twice.

It's not exactly a high percentage play.

 

[BigPowerForward]

Most teams in the top 8 have 2 or more 195+ KPFs. We currently have Keeler. We generated a sh1tload of I50s but if you can't bring the ball to ground consistently, you're relying solely on pinpoint passing.

It goes without saying that King has been a huge loss but so has Howard. He would have allowed Caminiti to go forward and IMO intercept marks IF50 would have been considerably reduced and guys like Higgins, Butler and Hall get more opportunities at crumbing goals.

 

[Cairnsman]

There's a lot of positive stuff happening about this list build, you can really see the green shoots, injuries and depth issues will hopefully turn out to be the silver lining our future was built on.

The fact we are taking it up to sides who are top 4 contenders but not getting the win is probably the thing I'm the most happy about, mainly because not only does it preserve a higher DP, but also because the players will know the list development is trending in a positive direction despite not getting the wins. It would be a different story if we were getting smashed on a regular basis so hats off to the dual narrative strategy...its working.

And on Lyon, he's coaching as well as he ever has, imagine what he could do with a top 4 list, his coaching can't be underestimated at the moment, Ross 3.0 is a very well balanced version of his 3 iterations.

We just need some luck for once, we need a crap more success at the trade table over the next 2 or 3 years, and it would be nice if we get some luck with injuries for once.

 

[thekizzler]

I thought Tauru struggled a fair bit defensively last night. This is not a criticism. Of course only game 3. But I feel like his highlights glossed over any discussion over the poor aspects of his game.

As said by Ross in the presser, Fremantle slow ball movement allowed Tauru the time to jump and spoil everything but Hawks quicker ball movement meant it was a lot more difficult.

There was a lot of Tauru flying defensively and not making contact with the ball. He was out marked a couple of times when he chose to mark instead of spoil.

I also don't think it was a coincidence in regards to Hawthorn scoring 24 times from 42 inside 50's. There were several occasions when Tauru flyed, didn't make contact with the ball and Hawks had bulk numbers at ground level to score.

Essentially, Tauru, Caminiti and Hastie in particular struggled when the ball hit the ground and we had no synergy in being able to stop the Hawks scoring when they got entries.

That cohesion will hopefully come in time but there is plenty to work on and could be some pain ahead as the defensive connection develops.

 

[PJays]

Gee, what a wrap Sam Mitchell gave Nas in the presser.

Basically along the lines of “I knew he was good, but didn’t realise he was that good”.

Said they just couldn’t stop him, even though they scouted him heavily in the lead-up, and tried to tag him with 3 or 4 different blokes throughout the game.

No matter where he played, they just couldn’t stop him.

And in the last quarter, Nas attended 6 centre bounces, and for the quarter he had:

15 disposals
12 kicks
6 score involvements
5 contested possessions
4 inside 50’s
3 rebound 50’s
3 clearances
2 centre clearances
2 tackles
2 behinds
386m-gained
52 fantasy points.

Mitchell joked that even when Nas was on the bench he was still worried about him!

Pay

The

Man

Yeah, and they literally said in the telecast "$1.2 million, they've matched the offer from the Adelaide clubs"

I just shook my head and stared blankly into my cup of tea for a moment.

A lesser man would've smashed his TV into a thousand pieces.

And still, if you suggest he should be offered more, given St Kilda allegedly has "more cap room than any team in AFL history" numpties on this forum will say "it's not about the money for him".

I wish I was joking...

 

[Ads734]

I'd get Dodson in for Keeler. Kicked 4 last week, give him a taste.

The forward line needs a massive overhaul. Thought Butler was awful. No one can take a mark. I think we need to keep Marshall to use him as a forward option and see if we can change up the dynamics.

The good news is we seem to have sorted the midfield lately, thanks in a large part to Hugo. And the backline is really taking shape too.

Tauru off no pre-season and in his third game already looks like one of our best players. So excited about him.

Good endeavour but the forward line has basically cost us three weeks in a row.

Would be a genuine second ruck option

 

[Ads734]

I would love to know the number of FKs post our goals they got out the centre. It seemed they got holds that led to goals when ever we went on a run.

 

[BrutThough]

I thought that Henry showed a flicker here and there actually. Don't get me wrong he's still got a way to go, but he's coming from a long way back.
The season is shot, if he can find touch by the end of the year then 2026 is already looking better. He should keep his spot.
Keeler...yeah, he needs to go back for a spell.

Fair call on Henry. It's just frustrating how long this recovery is taking because we know what he is capable of.

 

[mad-saint-guy]

Gee, what a wrap Sam Mitchell gave Nas in the presser.

Basically along the lines of “I knew he was good, but didn’t realise he was that good”.

Said they just couldn’t stop him, even though they scouted him heavily in the lead-up, and tried to tag him with 3 or 4 different blokes throughout the game.

No matter where he played, they just couldn’t stop him.

And in the last quarter, Nas attended 6 centre bounces, and for the quarter he had:

15 disposals
12 kicks
6 score involvements
5 contested possessions
4 inside 50’s
3 rebound 50’s
3 clearances
2 centre clearances
2 tackles
2 behinds
386m-gained
52 fantasy points.

Mitchell joked that even when Nas was on the bench he was still worried about him!

Pay

The

Man

The fact that he is apparently untaggable points to a trait that we haven't really discussed. Is Nas an aerobic beast? We constantly harp on about his incredible skill, decision making and reading of the play but his ability to execute despite running at an insane pace all day might be the true point of difference that could see him become a top 5 player in the comp. Pay him 2 mil a year if that's what's needed

 

[botts]

At least the kids look good. If Hastie can fix his kicking he’ll be a player. Hall and Nas both amazing, Hugo looks so much better for the run in the twos.

After those missed kicked hastie was really good. Blanketed ginni and sat on his head. Lots to like

 

[BrutThough]

I'd get Dodson in for Keeler. Kicked 4 last week, give him a taste.

The forward line needs a massive overhaul. Thought Butler was awful. No one can take a mark. I think we need to keep Marshall to use him as a forward option and see if we can change up the dynamics.

The good news is we seem to have sorted the midfield lately, thanks in a large part to Hugo. And the backline is really taking shape too.

Tauru off no pre-season and in his third game already looks like one of our best players. So excited about him.

Good endeavour but the forward line has basically cost us three weeks in a row.

Good call on Hugo. His performance the past two weeks have helped balance the midfield and brought both Steele and Macrae into the game more. And Windy seems to be impacting more on the wing.

The spell at Sandy did him the world of good.

 

[Teflon]

Yeah had a look at the fixture and we could win 4 or 5.

Hopefully it’s Surgery time in a few weeks

Agree
Must avoid late season nothing wins at all costs
Bigger draft picks to fry tks

 

[gringo2011]

Yeah - played out as I expected (except that the i50's were way worse that I could have imagined).

Observations - Tauru is a marketers dream

NWM played like he had a load of his mind. Next Tuesday?

Hall - excellent

Do we have anyone tall who could play forward and provide a genuine get out contest?

When Ramsden went off I thought we would have swung Caminiti fwd and played Keeler back for a while.

Or even dropped Sharman back to get some confidence up. Tauru goes forward.

 

[ScrappyDo]

I thought Tauru struggled a fair bit defensively last night. This is not a criticism. Of course only game 3. But I feel like his highlights glossed over any discussion over the poor aspects of his game.

As said by Ross in the presser, Fremantle slow ball movement allowed Tauru the time to jump and spoil everything but Hawks quicker ball movement meant it was a lot more difficult.

There was a lot of Tauru flying defensively and not making contact with the ball. He was out marked a couple of times when he chose to mark instead of spoil.

I also don't think it was a coincidence in regards to Hawthorn scoring 24 times from 42 inside 50's. There were several occasions when Tauru flyed, didn't make contact with the ball and Hawks had bulk numbers at ground level to score.

Essentially, Tauru, Caminiti and Hastie in particular struggled when the ball hit the ground and we had no synergy in being able to stop the Hawks scoring when they got entries.

That cohesion will hopefully come in time but there is plenty to work on and could be some pain ahead as the defensive connection develops.

We simply missed having neither of Webby or Stocks playing. Those 3 you're talking about are still just pups so it's nothing to bother about.

 

[gringo2011]

The forward line is painful to watch at the moment. Something needs done in these last remaining games to change it up because it's difficult to watch.

I know Keeler is still developing but he just doesn't compete or work hard enough to keep justifying his spot. And given we chose to ruck Owens over him, there is no point having him in the team. Moose may have less talent but his effort has never been questioned and I'd back him in to at least put up a contest.

Of the other forwards - Higgins is still out of form. Butler looks past it. Wood and Sharman have the yips which is costing us badly. Henry a non-event. Owens competes but didnt impact much. Although, I loved his bump on Battle late. That's the physicality we need more of.

Hall is the only one who performed and he was outstanding. What a find he has been. Getting him up around stoppages the past two weeks has been an excellent coaching move and something I hope we continue to do.

Players are coming out of the forward line to help the midfield and backs and leaving 6 defenders on 1 or 2 players. Forwards are cooked from running by the time they get back inside.

 

[BrutThough]

Agree
Must avoid late season nothing wins at all costs
Bigger draft picks to fry tks

Does anyone seriously believe that we arent going to try and win games when we finally come up against teams arounds us in the ladder? Or seriously want us to play like crap in those games?

Anyone who does must be filthy watching Tauru play because if we didnt try at the end of the last year, we would have got a higher draft pick instead of him.

 

[tomjoad]

I'd get Dodson in for Keeler. Kicked 4 last week, give him a taste.

The forward line needs a massive overhaul. Thought Butler was awful. No one can take a mark. I think we need to keep Marshall to use him as a forward option and see if we can change up the dynamics.

The good news is we seem to have sorted the midfield lately, thanks in a large part to Hugo. And the backline is really taking shape too.

Tauru off no pre-season and in his third game already looks like one of our best players. So excited about him.

Good endeavour but the forward line has basically cost us three weeks in a row.

Forward line looks confused to me, players seem unsure. There were passages of yesterday's game where guys like Sharman and Keeler were both leading to the same spot rather than providing two separate options and drawing a Hawks player away from the contest.

 

[ScrappyDo]

Need to drop Butler and bring in the Moose. Maybe his papers are already stamped but it shouldn't matter.

 

[stavro#4]

Does anyone seriously believe that we arent going to try and win games when we finally come up against teams arounds us in the ladder? Or seriously want us to play like crap in those games?

Anyone who does must be filthy watching Tauru play because if we didnt try at the end of the last year, we would have got a higher draft pick instead of him.

I think that’s the issue. We will win games as is.

We need to strike the right balance with our draft pick in a thin draft.

 

[BrutThough]

I think that’s the issue. We will win games as is.

We need to strike the right balance with our draft pick in a thin draft.

Our best and most exciting picks of the past 20 years were picks 11, 10 and 10.

Enjoy the few wins we may or may not get and let the draft take care of itself instead of being an armchair draft expert creating hysteria and misery over a two spot difference.