Autopsy Rnd 6 Adelaide vs StKilda

[gringo2011]

Yep, really need to finish top to give things a shake now. Lions, Swans, Freo, Cats, Hawks & Gold Coast will he hard to displace.

We are in the next 6 somewhere. A fit King and Henry and improvement from the kids and we should be a chance to push into that top 6 bracket next year.

I watched the VFL game yesterday and while Henry was good to have back he looked a long way off ready to slot straight back in. Was barely sighted in the second half and his disposal was terrible by foot. He looks a few weeks off being ready to run out a VFL match still.

King you could genuinely just drop in. A KPF could park at the top of the square and at worst bring others into the game while stretching defences.

 

[gringo2011]

The chat on Flanders has been horrendous.

He has played six games for us. If he was still struggling after a season, I would start to have a little worry.

Tonight we saw close to his best. Hopefully we see more of it.

I really wanted him but have been really disappointed by him. Yesterday was the first time he looked like he was worth the trade. That's what I was expecting him to be like every week. The Crows midfield is a weakness. It might just be that he's a gun as the third mid in a good side but struggles as a main driver. That's fine but we need someone to become the main driver then.

 

[gringo2011]

Sharman would be a great 3rd forward. It would free him up massively and allow him to complete on less talented blokes closer to his size.

Im hoping we can somehow get Jed Walter and King could stay on the park next season, because I think those guys plus Sharman, Owens, Higgins and Ryan could be a really lethal forward line.

His tap ons, run downs and work ethic are great, he needs to nail his chances to take the next step. He's frustratingly close this year.

 

[ScrappyDo]

You can see we are so close to being a very good side as bad as we were in the 2nd quarter and most of the3rd

Max Hall in the centre is the anwser

Hall was great but unfortunately still blazed it into the forward 50 when he could have taken it another 15 metres. He'll learn quick l imagine.

 

[gringo2011]

I’m sure the Brisbane Lions would love to take a fixture start like us so they could finish the season with 10 straight games in Queensland heading into finals. Oh wait they only play at the Gabba twice before round 7, not much different to us? We have nothing to complain about. Hopefully we get on a run and capitalise on our end of season fixture!

The fixture is weighted so that the top teams have a difficult fixture and the bottom teams get an easier run. We seem too get slotted in anywhere there is a hole and never the easy run.

 

[gringo2011]

Would be better to get a good run at home early to help start the season off strongly rather than be behind the eight ball and chasing.

Plenty other teams are gifted great early runs at home. Not us.

Yeah, the AFL give Gold Coast an easy start every year knowing that the ladder fixes the top 8 most years by round 8.

 

[Jade Buddha]

Now the rage has subsided it's weird, that game probably had our best passages of play under Lyon. The speed and slick movement through traffic was elite at times. Also really good in the VFL yesterday. We are showing improvement.

The issues seem to be that we really need one of the young mids to take a massive step up or get a premium mid in. TDK is better in the ruck that Marshall but doesn't dominate like we thought he might. A big athletic thug full back would have made a difference too. That said if we hadn't lost the midfield battle when they got on top, we wouldn't have needed the full back.

I think as you say, stick King in the side with that quick build up you probably win that match.

Ball movement was fantastic at times. My first live game this season. Really impressive.

 

[gringo2011]

Not having Hall in for centre clearance is what I don’t understand, went in there in the last had 2 really good clearances and stopped a couple of crows clearances

He's our best kick inside 50 and usually good for a goal or two. I can see why we don't want him in the midfield but then he'd barely been sighted all night so what was there to lose.

 

[gringo2011]

Ross thinks the centre bounce is what lost us the game, so you could definitely be onto something.

Yeah, agree we got cut to ribbons once they started winning easy clearance. Often off one kick out of the centre too. Having dominant KPFs lets you dump it in with confidence that it will at least be a halved contest.

 

[gringo2011]

hard to be too disappointed,have to think clark is gone at seasons end,does ok when on ground,in fact one i trust with ball in hand,actually we have a few which is a positive,but saw he was near 18 minutes on bench at one point,then later he was 13 minutes on bench again,gotta put an end to that,nice knowin ya hunter

hilly has to give it away at seasons end,another i trust with ball in hand,but a complete liability without it,doesnt do a fn thing,maybe chase once in a while,but no tackling,no pressure,no jack shxt

hopefully injury responsible for that tdk effort,but even before that i was getting sick of watching mcandrew do as he pleased and berry waltzing out of the center,i see cook was named as the jacob van rooyan medalist,pedlar got a mention,how about berry?couldnt get a game last year,we made him look like a superstar petracca/harley type,bursting out of the center meters in the clear

Hill was magnificent last night. He's still the only guy that runs at absolute top pace to give a get out of jail kick out of defence. I've been his biggest critic over the early years but his 2026 is his best in Saints colours by a huge margin. Can't fault much he's done in any match so far.

Clark got a 3 year contract I think.

 

[MrFoster]

TDK had a back issue late in the first/early 2nd quarter, can barely run. Stupid to keep playing him I think. Got killed in the middle there after, there’s no way you can jump/play ruck with an aching back.

Windhager is ineffective as a half back, put Nas back there who can actually set up play..

So the mids at the centre bounce should be Hall, Windhager and Garcia.. Windhager being the defensive cover like Steele.. The way Charlie Edwards just break a tackle and waltzed out of the centre bounce in the 2nd quarter was embarrassing, we were just non-competitive there in the 2nd/3rd quarter.. and Ross didn’t do anything.

 

[gringo2011]

Wood is one of my fav players, but seems off the pace, and doing a couple of nice things during a game isn't enough. It is time to get Hastie in there and develop him as a winger.
From what I can see in Pou is that he's not great below his knees, and they need to put him back to the VFL and work on his contested game and defensive side, and get him with a sprinting coach to work on his burst speed a bit.
Hall has been having trouble shaking tags, and needs a bit more freedom around the field- he looked OK in the midfield for bursts last night.
Garcia looked like he was playing some sort of tagging role, but it didn't work in the third quarter as he got nowhere near the ball, but he will only get better.
Sharman and Owens are just not getting enough of the ball over four quarters as goal kickers and the forward system is just not working- they guys were kicking to Higgo one against two again, same as last season and Lyon needs to fix this forward entry issue- I haven't seen a lot of change.

It's a hard one with Wood. He still does some smart mature player things but looks well down on the past. Hastie looks really close but he's still a bit prone to absolute howler kicks. His role looks like the Sincs role of attacking HB but with a less of reliable kick. I can see the benefits and the downside. Maybe defensive wing is his ideal with his messier kicking action.

 

[Xxxx66]

He's a very good lead up mark. He's getting 6 good shots on goal most weeks. Not sure if Dougal would have been the difference. Probably actually Macrae, Dow or Steele was missing. A mature midfielder who could turn the clearance tide when we got found out by a first gamer.

That last 10 minutes looked like Hall stepped in and started to win clearance. Nas had a few amazing moments yesterday but he looks like he could be injured. Really need him to stand up when he's taking $2 million a year otherwise.

I think you have nailed it Gringo. We are missing that one A grade mid, hopefully one of the kids steps up or we buy one. Add a Butters type and Max King and we're a different team. Dougal has lost a few yards of pace and has never been a strong one on one player at the best of times. Coupled with the way the ball came in, he would have made no difference. Also playing shorter helped counter their smaller brigade. We are on the right path imho

 

[saintbill]

Wilkie having 5 on him really doesn't tell the story last night. He was ridiculously good one on one.

Walker took 1 pack mark on him, had another delivered lace out from a centre clearance, but there were a few unlucky ones. Wood responsible for 2. Got caught holding the ball, then gave a poor aerial contest and Walker got a cheap one out the back.

Some excellent kicking and a bit of luck masks the real story, Wilkie dominated general play.

 

[gringo2011]

I think you have nailed it Gringo. We are missing that one A grade mid, hopefully one of the kids steps up or we buy one. Add a Butters type and Max King and we're a different team. Dougal has lost a few yards of pace and has never been a strong one on one player at the best of times. Coupled with the way the ball came in, he would have made no difference. Also playing shorter helped counter their smaller brigade. We are on the right path imho

Butters would make us a dominant inside brigade. Shame he won't be interested.

 

[Dr Spaceman]

Well over a six day period we beat Port by 14 points and lost to Adelaide by 1 point.

So under the Pluckaduckworth Lewdis method, we actually won the whole thing.

We get to hold the Pie Floater In A Barrel Trophy for the next 12 months

 

[Sully111]

I'm actually quite fired up as a supporter today.

Hope we get a roll on and start tearing shit up.

 

[PJays]

Time to get out my crystal ball.

Saints are 2-4. Could be 3-3, could be 4-2. But we're 2-4.

You can break the remaining season into two components.

The next 7 games- the travelling 7.

3 more interstate trips in next 7 weeks.

The last 10 - the home stand. 10 consecutive games in Victoria. 8 at Marvel, 1 at MCG and 1 in Geelong.

The next 7:

Wins - WC, Rich (Marvel)

Losses - Syd, Freo (away), GC (Darwin)

Could go either way- Carlton, Hawthorn (Marvel)

I think we go 3-4 which puts us 5-8 heading into the home stand.

I'd like to think we win 7 of those last 10, going to 12-11.

That should be enough for a 10th placed finish and a wildcard game where, in all likelihood we play Dogs, Geelong or Adelaide and get beaten.

Still early days, and anything could happen (imagine being a Dogs fan 2 weeks ago and now they're in disarray. Essendon the opposite).

But that's how I see 2026 panning out.

 

[Joffaboy]

An excuse? Acceptance of mediocrity? Ok either can be leveled at this post but I will post it anyway.
5 minutes into the 3rd, I thought we were looking at an 8 goal plus loss. We had lost all structure, getting smashed in the clearances, TDK hampered with a back and Adelaide had shaken off their Dawson blues.
After that point we really fought it out and could have snatched it. Happy with our ball movement through the middle before Adelaide could get back therefore opening the forward 50.
The disappointing thing was the 9 goals straight. A young team which we still are can have this happen. It is then up to the coaches to stop it somewhat and allow the team to catch a breath and take the pace out of the game.
Even from a nuffie fan perspective, it was obvious it all started at the centre ball ups. TDK couldn't compete and Rachele was just waltzing it out of the middle, hitting their big forwards on the tit.
When TDK eventually succumed to his injury, Marshall steadied the ruck, but when Hall was chucked in the guts in the 4th we started winning the clearances.

The coaching was reactive and we only got back into the contest when they were forced to make these changes. Lyon has form on being stubborn and seems loathe to move the magnets. The 2010 GF, we were getting smashed, Gardiner goes down, so Kosi in the ruck, Gilbert takes Kosi's role forward and we almost win.
So to me sharp critisism of the coaching. They didn't make the obvious move of Marshall in the ruck and Hall in the guts to stem the run by Adelaide.
Oh and why the hell do they bench Clark for 17 minutes? When he was on he was extremely good. Really poor rotation management.
So I am cutting the players some slack and putting it directly on the coaching.

 

[Captain Paddy]

just watching the Sunday footy show

Isaac Smith

7

Isaac Smith

Age

37

Ht

188cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

13.0

5star

HB

8.4

5star

M

5.5

5star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

19.4

4star

K

11.1

4star

HB

8.3

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.5

3star

CL

1.3

4star

D

19.2

5star

K

10.6

4star

HB

8.6

5star

M

7.6

5star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.6

3star

and Rory Sloane

9

Rory Sloane

Age

36

Ht

183cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.7

5star

K

11.7

4star

HB

11.9

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

6.6

5star

CL

5.7

5star

D

15.3

4star

K

7.3

3star

HB

8.0

4star

M

1.3

1star

T

3.3

4star

CL

4.2

5star

D

22.2

5star

K

8.6

4star

HB

13.6

5star

M

3.2

4star

T

6.0

5star

CL

4.6

5star

(two guys that played AFL) were using logic and reason regarding how they think we’re building in the right direction and that it can’t take time to gel when you bring in so many people

Damo and Tony Jones (two severely unauthentic guys) talked over the two ex AFL players and said they aren’t being too easy on us.

I hate the media

 

[Teflon]

Darcy Wilson at his best is unstoppable. Breaking the line with his pace really open things up for others. I just wish he was more consistent.

It will come
Right now he’s a more important hold than Phillipou imo

 

[The Jack]

I think it’s widely accepted that Adelaide have the weakest midfield of all the contending teams. In the media anyway.

Even though we played probably our best football for the year, I was disappointed in the way that midfield, minus their best mid and captain, as well as Soligo, waltzed the pill out of the centre with so much ease for such an extended period of time.

We still have plenty of work to do to get our midfield competing consistently with the best in the competition.

By the way the umpiring was putrid.

 

[bwardi]

It's so stupid how the media have a hard on for drumming up a 'saints season in crisis' narrative when our football is generally in really good shape.

We lost to Adelaide in Adelaide by 1 point FFS. Not to mention the crowd and some atrocious umpiring decisions going against us. We are still working towards our best football and 4 quarter performances, but this is the happiest I've been in a while with a 2-4 season where we could easily be 4-2.

We have been in every single game we have played this season, and while we haven't played great for patches and need to find consistency, we have not had a bad game overall. Results will take care of themselves if you keep showing up and doing the right things.

 

[Saintos The ITK]

An excuse? Acceptance of mediocrity? Ok either can be leveled at this post but I will post it anyway.
5 minutes into the 3rd, I thought we were looking at an 8 goal plus loss. We had lost all structure, getting smashed in the clearances, TDK hampered with a back and Adelaide had shaken off their Dawson blues.
After that point we really fought it out and could have snatched it. Happy with our ball movement through the middle before Adelaide could get back therefore opening the forward 50.
The disappointing thing was the 9 goals straight. A young team which we still are can have this happen. It is then up to the coaches to stop it somewhat and allow the team to catch a breath and take the pace out of the game.
Even from a nuffie fan perspective, it was obvious it all started at the centre ball ups. TDK couldn't compete and Rachele was just waltzing it out of the middle, hitting their big forwards on the tit.
When TDK eventually succumed to his injury, Marshall steadied the ruck, but when Hall was chucked in the guts in the 4th we started winning the clearances.

The coaching was reactive and we only got back into the contest when they were forced to make these changes. Lyon has form on being stubborn and seems loathe to move the magnets. The 2010 GF, we were getting smashed, Gardiner goes down, so Kosi in the ruck, Gilbert takes Kosi's role forward and we almost win.
So to me sharp critisism of the coaching. They didn't make the obvious move of Marshall in the ruck and Hall in the guts to stem the run by Adelaide.
Oh and why the hell do they bench Clark for 17 minutes? When he was on he was extremely good. Really poor rotation management.
So I am cutting the players some slack and putting it directly on the coaching.

Spot on. Rtb is being found out as a bit of an imposter. My Mrs who doesn’t know who he is saw his pre game interview and said is that bloke
A bit slow?? He fare dinkum sounded like he’d had a stroke. Might be time to enter the director of
Coaching role.

 

[Yawkey way]

Now the rage has subsided it's weird, that game probably had our best passages of play under Lyon. The speed and slick movement through traffic was elite at times. Also really good in the VFL yesterday. We are showing improvement.

The issues seem to be that we really need one of the young mids to take a massive step up or get a premium mid in. TDK is better in the ruck that Marshall but doesn't dominate like we thought he might. A big athletic thug full back would have made a difference too. That said if we hadn't lost the midfield battle when they got on top, we wouldn't have needed the full back.

I think as you say, stick King in the side with that quick build up you probably win that match.

They smashed us when their mids got on top and started coming straight out of the square hitting up leading targets.

Our defence nether had a chance after that so imo it’s not on them. What was obvious yet again is our need for a genuine gun A grade number one mid, give me bont and we’re probably only loosing to brisbane so far.

The other glaring hole is a key forward, king and caminiti when fit have that covered.

We played some good football last night, the first quarter was our best of the season imo and we fought back well to give ourselves a chance.

It’s never fun loosing but at least there were some signs of life last night. Can’t think of one player last night were I thought you’re putrid and shouldn’t be playing afl.