Preview Round 2 - GWS v St Kilda [Saturday 21 March 2026 • 4:15 PM (AEDT) • Engie Stadium]

[tony74]

Two games down and already we look like the tyres are running slightly flat. I watched the Hawks last night and they played as a tight unit- excellent team football, not a bunch of individuals running around with no road map like we have been. There is a big finger that needs to be pulled out at RSEA park.

It just wasn’t Tom that was under the weather-we have been running out our games very well. We are fit

 

[teenagerampage]

Higgins and Butler didn't seem to work ..I have doubts Higgins and Ryan will work. Higgins likes to be the main man.

 

[akaifu]

3rd goal. We have a spare defender fat side in no man’s land. We have a loose Melbourne forward near the 50.

Jsos is following a man to the goal square, Wilkie decides to go back to his man instead of standing the leading lane.

Multiple poor handovers and lack of gut running to plug the space.
View attachment 2556417
5th goal.

Wilkie has him on the hand over and is nowhere near him. Boxshall doesn’t go hard enough to compete.
View attachment 2556419


Neither in the cold light of day look like Hammer is at fault.

3rd goal: Who knows what the communication on-field was but Wilkie takes the handover from Silvagni and shows no intent to do so with JVR, so he's Caminiti's responsibility. And even if Caminiti thought he was taking Mihocek, he shows no intent to man Mihocek - he literally just stands there for a full second doing nothing. Wilkie may have been able to impact the contest, and yes there's probably other players who probably could've prevented the mark, but fundamentally it doesn't excuse Caminiti from being that unaccountable to his man. He did not do his job properly

5th goal: Yeah you have a point here, this one doesn't look like his fault

 

[stavro#4]

3rd goal: Who knows what the communication on-field was but Wilkie takes the handover from Silvagni and shows no intent to do so with JVR, so he's Caminiti's responsibility. And even if Caminiti thought he was taking Mihocek, he shows no intent to man Mihocek - he literally just stands there for a full second doing nothing. Wilkie may have been able to impact the contest, and yes there's probably other players who probably could've prevented the mark, but fundamentally it doesn't excuse Caminiti from being that unaccountable to his man. He did not do his job properly

5th goal: Yeah you have a point here, this one doesn't look like his fault

You are talking rubbish here. If we are critiquing Caminiti, he should have had touch. That's about it. But that's also a screen grab as JVR is moving. A second before that, he is signaling for a long bomb to the square.

There is an open lane at this point he is leading into. Touch or not. unless someone is standing that space. its over if a half decent kick comes in and it was a good kick.

If Wilkie had already handed over - which is what looks likely. Then he needs to stand the space.

ultimately, the ONLY player you can really blame either goal on, is Wilkie in the 2 instances that you highlighted as Caminiti's error.

I stand by my point, If that's the level of defence we have dished up it doesn't matter who stands JVR the outcome is the same.

 

[Miha]

Hammer should be playing forward

 

[akaifu]

You are talking rubbish here. If we are critiquing Caminiti, he should have had touch. That's about it. But that's also a screen grab as JVR is moving. A second before that, he is signaling for a long bomb to the square.

There is an open lane at this point he is leading into. Touch or not. unless someone is standing that space. its over if a half decent kick comes in and it was a good kick.

If Wilkie had already handed over - which is what looks likely. Then he needs to stand the space.

ultimately, the ONLY player you can really blame either goal on, is Wilkie in the 2 instances that you highlighted as Caminiti's error.

I stand by my point, If that's the level of defence we have dished up it doesn't matter who stands JVR the outcome is the same.

So you're saying Caminiti is doing his role by standing there stationary deep in the goal square with no other opponent near him while his direct opponent takes off for the lead?

 

[stavro#4]

So you're saying Caminiti is doing his role by standing there stationary deep in the goal square with no other opponent near him while his direct opponent takes off for the lead?

You have hammered Caminiti as a key back. I said he has to have touch. That’s on Caminiti.

But even with touch. It won’t stop the goal unless we defend the space.

Here are the images. Who is at fault here? Because it isn’t Caminiti, besides a complete break down of our defensive scheme. It’s on Wilkie to guard that space over evening the numbers when the ball is transitioning 60 out from goal with little pressure coming in.


The second image clearly identifies the breakdown as Wilkie is in the correct space of the leading lane.

He calls JSOS to get the man on the boundary.


The correct action here is for:
Wilkie to stick to the space.

JSOS to follow his man to the square.

I think it’s Wood standing between Culley and the 2 Dees at 45. He needs to hold and put the onus on the Melbourne kicker to hit a 15 meter kick wider or across his body as opposed to floating a 40 meter kick into JVR who in the end had all the space because Wilkie went the man that was already covered.

 

[Saintos The ITK]

Wilkie has posted the first two games in.

 

[Saintos The ITK]

There was a centre bounce moment against the dees where one of our players just stood there within arms reach and just watched the dees player take off with the ball. Absolutely effort. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I was so shocked I can’t remember who or when. I think it was late in the game. Would have stood out for a reaming from rtb one would have thought.

 

[Ilovewindy]

So funny that damo would never say this to Rtb face

 

[akaifu]

You have hammered Caminiti as a key back. I said he has to have touch. That’s on Caminiti.

But even with touch. It won’t stop the goal unless we defend the space.

Here are the images. Who is at fault here? Because it isn’t Caminiti, besides a complete break down of our defensive scheme. It’s on Wilkie to guard that space over evening the numbers when the ball is transitioning 60 out from goal with little pressure coming in.

View attachment 2556443View attachment 2556444View attachment 2556445
The second image clearly identifies the breakdown as Wilkie is in the correct space of the leading lane.

He calls JSOS to get the man on the boundary.


The correct action here is for:
Wilkie to stick to the space.

JSOS to follow his man to the square.

I think it’s Wood standing between Culley and the 2 Dees at 45. He needs to hold and put the onus on the Melbourne kicker to hit a 15 meter kick wider or across his body as opposed to floating a 40 meter kick into JVR who in the end had all the space because Wilkie went the man that was already covered.

Right. So you agree that Caminiti should've been in touch with his man

I never said it was fully his fault because we have no clue what the direct instructions are from the coaches. But the fact of the matter is that he stood there hesitating for long enough that his direct opponent got clear separation to take the mark

Whether Wilkie was there or not is a moot point because if he was really supposed to zone off and cover the space, Caminiti should be responsible for protecting the spare man by preventing JVR from running straight through him

You can come up with whatever you want regarding how others could've impacted the contest, because in most cases that's how a team sport works, but it won't change the fact that Caminiti made a critical error that led to a goal for his direct opponent

 

[StCicatriz]

our issues are not caminiti. he's doing well for his age and position.

1st issue is efficiency of I150 entries
2nd issue is defending the transition

you can argue the midfield is continuing to splutter.

 

[StCicatriz]

Damo is a coward and TBH he's seen his peers fly past him in terms of their output. he's irrelevant and on the last dregs of his career before he completely slips away.

he knows what he is doing. the easiest comment in football to make is that the saints have done something wrong. its easy because you can justify it with their lack of success regardless of what the comment is. he's very quick to go that angle repeatedly yet when he's in front of ross suddenly he's not so bullish and comes in with a completely watered down take. never presses the hard questions. never actually comes away with new detail or some new insight as to what the problems are and how to fix them. its recycled news everyone already knows.

but alas, if he had any courage what so ever he would have been more pointed with his questions directed at ross or if would be on a similar attack to clubs like Geelong or Collingwood. But here we are.

if he had any smarts who so ever, he not only would be coming to the public with the problems as he perceives them but also suggestions on what needs to be done to turn that around. that has never happened over the last 16 years. its always this indirect comment theyve done something wrong... doesn't really identify a root cause to the problem or provide any detailed commentary on it and then never offers up a solution.

it's a complete waste of media and as such no one pays any attention to him anymore. people are more prepared to listens to cornes who can be very critical to attract an audience. **** i reckon people invest more time in listening to the two idiots from SA radio.

and he wonder's why people like morris have flown past him in terms of audience.

 

[stavro#4]

Right. So you agree that Caminiti should've been in touch with his man

I never said it was fully his fault because we have no clue what the direct instructions are from the coaches. But the fact of the matter is that he stood there hesitating for long enough that his direct opponent got clear separation to take the mark

Whether Wilkie was there or not is a moot point because if he was really supposed to zone off and cover the space, Caminiti should be responsible for protecting the spare man by preventing JVR from running straight through him

You can come up with whatever you want regarding how others could've impacted the contest, because in most cases that's how a team sport works, but it won't change the fact that Caminiti made a critical error that led to a goal for his direct opponent

You said Caminiti was at fault for the third and fifth goals.

He can have all the touch on his man you want, He can play back shoulder whilst doing so. He will be beaten to that ball because there is no cover.

He can play infront of his man and is a sitting duck on the highball over him.

He is at no way responsible for either goal YOU said he was. The forward will always get the separation and unless there is a man covering the space in front -which ive just shown you where the Wilkie error was. There is nothing Caminiti or anyone else can do.

There is no pressure on the kicker (Langford?) so its a clean entry.

so you claiming Caminiti made a critical error is horse crap, Because you can't stop that entry in that space and with that type of cleanliness of the delivery no matter how JVR is defended in that instance.

You are absolutely being biased going after Hammer in those instances. Ive given you the screen grabs I told you exactly how it had to be defended in that moment - which in short was we should have given up the boundary kick to Culley over anything else.

Whether Caminiti makes it as a longterm key back, I have NFI. im not debating that. But he doesn't deserve to be hung out to dry because JVR had a field day against us and the least a young key defender deserves, is coverage from his AA captain.

 

[gringo2011]

our issues are not caminiti. he's doing well for his age and position.

1st issue is efficiency of I150 entries
2nd issue is defending the transition

you can argue the midfield is continuing to splutter.

And forwards are failing to convert. Mids are looking a bit shit, backs look disorganised and overly tall, forwards can't mark or kick.

All three lines are running around working hard but aren't showing enough skill or smarts to impact their roles as a unit. Transition looks okay at times but falls down inside 50. Players don't work to block space or run to be in space and three players go at one ball where if it turns over it leaves the area.

 

[akaifu]

You said Caminiti was at fault for the third and fifth goals.

He can have all the touch on his man you want, He can play back shoulder whilst doing so. He will be beaten to that ball because there is no cover.

He can play infront of his man and is a sitting duck on the highball over him.

He is at no way responsible for either goal YOU said he was. The forward will always get the separation and unless there is a man covering the space in front -which ive just shown you where the Wilkie error was. There is nothing Caminiti or anyone else can do.

There is no pressure on the kicker (Langford?) so its a clean entry.

so you claiming Caminiti made a critical error is horse crap, Because you can't stop that entry in that space and with that type of cleanliness of the delivery no matter how JVR is defended in that instance.

You are absolutely being biased going after Hammer in those instances. Ive given you the screen grabs I told you exactly how it had to be defended in that moment - which in short was we should have given up the boundary kick to Culley over anything else.

Whether Caminiti makes it as a longterm key back, I have NFI. im not debating that. But he doesn't deserve to be hung out to dry because JVR had a field day against us and the least a young key defender deserves, is coverage from his AA captain.

Dude you're literally putting words in my mouth, I'm pretty sure I said "5th goal idk who's fault it was" and I admitted that you had a point after you shared the SS. You were right, I'm happy to agree

As I said before, I never said the 3rd goal was fully Caminiti's fault. My initial post may have implied it but I was highlighting Caminiti's mistake that you literally said you agree that he made. You can clearly see that as soon as JVR takes off for the lead, Caminiti hesitates for whatever reason and doesn't react until it's too late. If Wilkie is in the hole, then he should be protecting him by preventing JVR from flying. If Wilkie is not (which in this case he isn't), then he should at least be able to compete on the lead like he did for the goal Salem pinpointed the pass (I think it was the 4th?), and not be lagging behind by several metres

I'm not claiming either goal was preventable even if Caminiti did the right thing. What I'm saying is that Caminiti failed to do his job in that 3rd goal and I already explained why. It doesn't matter whether Wilkie made an even bigger error or not, Caminiti still made the error

You calling me biased and my takes "horse crap" and "rubbish" just because I disagree with you is completely unfair. If I was biased, I wouldn't bother going through the footage trying to find ways to defend him

You guys can defend Caminiti the defender all you want, I'd prefer not to engage with these discussions anymore, but IMO all parties would be more satisfied when he's returned forward

 

[Remboy]

Everyone is ignoring the obvious fact that we should have kept Cordy. Would have made light work of JVR, been able to play second ruck and gone forward and kicked a couple of goals.

 

[stavro#4]

Dude you're literally putting words in my mouth, I'm pretty sure I said "5th goal idk who's fault it was" and I admitted that you had a point after you shared the SS. You were right, I'm happy to agree

As I said before, I never said the 3rd goal was fully Caminiti's fault. My initial post may have implied it but I was highlighting Caminiti's mistake that you literally said you agree that he made. You can clearly see that as soon as JVR takes off for the lead, Caminiti hesitates for whatever reason and doesn't react until it's too late. If Wilkie is in the hole, then he should be protecting him by preventing JVR from flying. If Wilkie is not (which in this case he isn't), then he should at least be able to compete on the lead like he did for the goal Salem pinpointed the pass (I think it was the 4th?), and not be lagging behind by several metres

I'm not claiming either goal was preventable even if Caminiti did the right thing. What I'm saying is that Caminiti failed to do his job in that 3rd goal and I already explained why. It doesn't matter whether Wilkie made an even bigger error or not, Caminiti still made the error

You calling me biased and my takes "horse crap" and "rubbish" just because I disagree with you is completely unfair. If I was biased, I wouldn't bother going through the footage trying to find ways to defend him

You guys can defend Caminiti the defender all you want, I'd prefer not to engage with these discussions anymore, but IMO all parties would be more satisfied when he's returned forward

Alan,

You’re saying the goal probably isn’t preventable even if Caminiti does everything right, but at the same time calling it a failure of his role. If the end result doesn’t realistically change, then you’re nitpicking one moment in a broken chain rather than identifying the actual cause.

Every defender has moments where they hesitate or are half a step off, that happens multiple times a game. The question is whether that moment is the reason the goal happens, and I don’t think you’ve shown that it is.

Yes, he hesitated and yes he didn't have touch — I’ve never denied that. But you’re isolating that moment without properly weighing what’s happening up the ground and around him. If the system breaks down or teammates are out of position, it changes what his “job” actually is in that split second. That’s why I don’t agree with calling it a clear individual failure on Hammers behalf.

Also, saying “it doesn’t matter if Wilkie made a bigger error” is exactly where I think your argument falls over. It does matter because defensive chains aren’t judged in isolation. One breakdown can force another.

And for the record, I’m not calling you biased just because you disagree — I’m saying it comes across that way when the focus keeps landing on Caminiti even when you admit the goals probably weren’t preventable anyway.

Anyway, I think we’ve both said our piece at this point. Happy to leave it there.

 

[stavro#4]

Everyone is ignoring the obvious fact that we should have kept Cordy. Would have made light work of JVR, been able to play second ruck and gone forward and kicked a couple of goals.

Bring back Zac Dawson. He knew how to play zone defence

 

[PoppedCorn]

You blokes want a blanket?
Maybe some cheese and wine?

 

[stavro#4]

You blokes want a blanket?
Maybe some cheese and wine?

No actually I’d prefer a Banh Mi.

Whatever happened to those pre game build up Banh Mi photos?

 

[westernsainter]

Surprised to see anyone blaming our back six for our start this year.

67% of the scoring that has come against us is coming from turnovers. We're also second worst in the comp for handball metres differential.

The last fortnight has seen our i50 defence come under heat from teams moving rapidly after corralling us and forcing turnovers and it leaves them flatfooted and out of position. Most of our defensive weakness comes from that issue - if our mids can clean up their ball use and not get stuck in no-mans-land after turning it over near half-forward we will concede a hell of a lot less i50s and scores and we can get a better idea of how the talls are actually holding up. Until that happens our backs are going to be left looking pretty amateur, but it's hard to point the finger at them.

 

[Sol Goodman]

Yep way too many turn overs in the first 2 games. The connection game better improve quickly or were gone.

 

[Now is the time]

I really don’t like the balance in our backline or forward lines…. Wilkie, Silvani, Caminiti and Tauru really still seems to tall in the back line for me, think we have to pick between one of Caminiti or Silvani and have Wilkie play on the second key forward.

And Ryan and Higgins also seem to play quite similar to me leaving us without a genuine pressure forward.

Both of these together leaving us incredibly exposed at ground level at both ends of the ground and I think that stood out in both our games so far frankly. Think we’re on the backfoot again just at team selection again.

And given those available but not selected are Collard (Emergency) Travaglia, Keeler, Howard (Emergency), Hastie (emergency) Barratt, Dodson, Said, Bancroft, Fincher and Armstrong, who would you include in the 23 who is not already named?

Simply, we are missing too many first-choice selections being King, Howard, Clark and Henry, plus Byrnes, both on the equation of structure and depth.

And Macrae who I would not have in a "best 23"

Noting who is in the side, as I have highlighted elsewhere in terms of games played, so 14 players with less than 100 games of AFL experience and still developing.

Our List dictates that our best 23 play - otherwise we struggle with depth and structure.

Given all except Howard of those listed above are juniors in development phase with nil or minimal AFL exposure we are threadbare.

And we are fielding a VFL side!!

We trust there is rapid development across our juniors who are named for tomorrow which will confirm that as a team we will improve, and rapidly. And those not named.

Adding De Koning, Silvagni, Flanders and Ryan improved our side no doubt, so adding 4 to our first choice 23 which was needed.

So instead of putting that our first 19 will make us competitive, now our first 23 will make us competitive.

Spot the difference?

 

[Now is the time]

JVR's 3rd goal was Caminiti just completely losing concentration and not following the lead. JVR gets about 7m separation from a standing start which is ridiculous

5th goal idk who's fault it was but JVR is wide open with no one within a 10m radius 45m out from goal. IF he was Caminiti's direct opponent, then he has to be responsible for handing him over if he wanted to stay deep. This mistake isn't as bad because part of the blame goes on the rest of the team for not communicating, but it shows how costly one tiny mistake can be

This comes down to the experience of playing together.

And why we need Howard with Wilkie.