News 2013 Saints Media thread

[sammm]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-01-10/ahmed-saad

On the rise: Ahmed Saad

By Mark Macgugan 10:16am AEDT Thursday, January 10, 2013


On the rise: Ahmed Saad

At a glance: A latecomer to Australian football having represented Egypt in soccer as a youth, Saad caught recruiters' attention with a 50-goal season for the Northern Bullants in 2011. After he ran the quickest time over 20m at the NAB AFL Combine later that year, St Kilda signed him via a trade deal with Greater Western Sydney. The move has already started to pay dividends, with the small forward booting 28 goals in 16 games last season to take out the club's most promising player award. The 23-year-old overcame some challenges to make an impact in his first year. An injury during pre-season slowed him down, and he had to wait until round six to debut. A practicing Muslim, he then went 30 days without consuming food or water during daylight hours for Ramadan in July/August. All the while, Saad continued to provide a vital injection of speed to the Saints' forward line. His lengthy set shot routine also gained attention, but proved extremely effective.

Plays like: He's no carbon copy, but Saad looms as the long-term replacement for the club's champion small forward Stephen Milne. The pair worked a lot together over the past year and form an imposing combination at ground level inside forward 50.......

 

[sammm]

http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/...t-coast-bulldogs/story-e6frfkp9-1226552471806

ST KILDA
EASY GAMES:The Saints should dodge a few bullets early, avoiding a 2012 finalist until Round 5. That’s a nice stepping stone into the year, while a six-week midseason stretch of games against the Dogs, Roos, Eagles (home), Dees and Tigers – with a bye tossed in the middle – gives another chance to spear up the ladder.
CRUNCH GAMES:The stakes will be high for the Anzac Day clash with Sydney in Wellington, adding to the excitement. Another two duels with former mentor Ross Lyon’s Fremantle are on the cards, while the Saints face Richmond, Essendon, Carlton and the Roos a combined six times. Those matches will be pivotal with those sides clunked in the same ladder bracket as the Saints in 2012.
TOUGH GAMES:Road trips to face Adelaide, Fremantle and Sydney will be mighty tricky, but the Saints will tackle Collingwood and Hawthorn just once each – both at their Etihad fortress.
ONE WITH ADDED SPICE:The Brendon Goddard showdown in Round 4 will be big. It has already been hailed as a “grudge match” externally, while there will again be intrigue when the Saints meet Lyon’s Dockers. You can bank on some hype when Stephen Milne and Harry O’Brien come toe-to-toe in Round 6 as well, after the goal sneak allegedly made a homophobic sledge to the Magpies defender last year.
SUMMARY:Three Friday night games as well as the Anzac Day clash is a ripping result commercially, but not a great result for the fans. Eight times the Saints play outside of Melbourne (including Geelong), a number comparable to non-Victorian clubs. On the field it’s a fairly balanced draw.
OPENING MONTH:Round 1 v Gold Coast (MS)
Round 2 v Richmond (MCG)
Round 3 v GWS (MO)
Round 4 v Essendon (ES)


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/afl-fixture-previews-part-five-port-adelaide-richmond-st-kilda-sydney-west-coast-bulldogs/story-e6frfkp9-1226552471806#ixzz2HtPT2mU3​

 

[Tongue In Cheek]

You can bank on some hype when Stephen Milne and Harry O’Brien come toe-to-toe in Round 6 as well, after the goal sneak allegedly made a homophobic sledge to the Magpies defender last year.

You can bank on some hype when Stephen Milne and Harry O’Brien come toe-to-toe in Round 6 as well, after the latter was awarded a free kick for "chopping" at a critical point in the dying stages of the game in one of the worst umpiring decisions of the season.

 

[stkildathunda]

Saints Family Day will be held on Sunday Mar 10 at Frankston Oval.

 

[stkildathunda]

I tweeted club today to give them heads up about poor quality membership stickers (fading already!) but seems they are already onto it!

St Kilda FC ‏@stkildafc
@stkildathunda Fading is due to a supplier error. replacement stickers (using approved UV inks) will be sent to members in the coming weeks! ALL members will receive a replacement sticker!

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

Car stickers?

I wonder if they have super duper stickers that are good at surviving an automatic high pressure car wash 1-2 times a week...Last years one didn't survive too long

 

[Sunshine Saint]

I tweeted club today to give them heads up about poor quality membership stickers (fading already!) but seems they are already onto it!

St Kilda FC ‏@stkildafc
@stkildathundaFading is due to a supplier error. replacement stickers (using approved UV inks) will be sent to members in the coming weeks! ALL members will receive a replacement sticker!

Haven't had a good run have they. They emailed me to tell me that our membership cards were faulty and that they were reissuing them, as they were missing printing on them. And now the stickers. Might be a good thing, that we no longer get a scarf.

 

[FlyingSledghamer]

I tweeted club today to give them heads up about poor quality membership stickers (fading already!) but seems they are already onto it!

St Kilda FC ‏@stkildafc
@stkildathundaFading is due to a supplier error. replacement stickers (using approved UV inks) will be sent to members in the coming weeks! ALL members will receive a replacement sticker!

What if they make them sniff and taste stickers instead. "mmm the red bit really tastes like goosenberry!"

 

[stkildathunda]

What if they make them sniff and taste stickers instead. "mmm the red bit really tastes like goosenberry!"

The Snozzberries taste like Snozzberries!

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

Ah crap I forgot to let them know they put two memberships in my membership letter.

Lol.

Do we have any Rohan's here? Might prevent me from having to send an email.

 

[mysainters]

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1237790/hoppers-in-hunt-for-star-saint/?cs=10

Former Saint news, Jason Gram may be picked up by coach Aker....

 

[Sunshine Saint]

What if they make them sniff and taste stickers instead. "mmm the red bit really tastes like goosenberry!"

I believe the West Coast have scratch and sniff membership cards. But should we really be going down that path?

 

[sammm]

former saint Aussie Jones

http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/1237554/gains-from-pain-of-footy-pre-season-torture/?cs=81

Gains from pain of footy pre-season torture

By Bendigo Gold coach Aussie Jones

Jan. 16, 2013, 1 a.m.
After retiring at the age of 29 with a year to run on a contract, I have had my decision reasonably well debated since.

The question I am asked more than others is ‘why did you retire so early?’.
The following outline of an average AFL pre-season in my time, 1995 to 2005, might allow some people to understand and gain perspective on just how hard today’s players work.
One area that I found hindered St Kilda’s consistency on-field was a lack of consistency throughout the fitness and conditioning staff.
I estimate that over 11 years, St Kilda would have employed up to 20 different fitness staff, all with different ideas and regimes.
We simply never were able to capitalise on having a really strong influence from this department.
On average, in my time, a pre-season would consist of 16 sessions per week.
The basis would be four physically and mentally demanding skills sessions lasting anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours.
A high level of intensity was not only expected, but demanded from coaches and team-mates.
The hardest aspect for me was the running sessions. Four a week, including one on Saturday mornings, that pushed you to the brink every time. There was not much thought of management or wellbeing then, even if it was only in the recent past.
The area that brings back the most nightmares though was the weights.
As a young kid you just want to run and kick the footy, but at a high level being strong and ready is obviously paramount.
Maximum efforts on chin-ups, bench press, squats and dead lifts among other exercises after an exhausting skills or running session almost broke me, regularly.
Finally, there would be a mix of bike, swimming, yoga or boxing squeezed in to any gap available in a week. Again, this came down to the fitness coach and his favourites.
Some players love pre-season, but most don’t.
As footballers, we want to touch the footy and play games.
And then you get a player like Robert Harvey. Harvs was an inspirational figure for me throughout my career and I will shed a little light now on why.
As a 13-year-old, Robert ran a marathon. His father had ran them before and was training for yet another. Robert joined him and completed the marathon at his first attempt.
The one area that could afford you some grace over pre-season was age. In my second last pre-season, the St Kilda Football Club in its wisdom directed Harvs not to join us pre-Christmas and save himself for the big year.
Within two weeks of doing his own training, Robert was ordered back to our pre-season to lessen the load. Quite extraordinary to think, a man on his own, and now knowing what an AFL pre-season consists of, could outdo and outwork a group of men almost half his age.

There are some tall tales in footy, but I can assure you the legend of Robert Harvey and his workrate is all fact.
The Bendigo Flight Centre Summer Cup is an initiative to reward our best trainer over pre season with a holiday package to Queensland.
Recently we ran a time trial, with Daniel Toman, Lachie Crosbie and Matt Farrelly rounding out the top three.
Daniel’s time of 7 minutes 25 seconds for 2.4km was outstanding.

 

[sammm]

ST KILDA members can access tickets to the first ever home and away game to be played outside Australia.
The Saints will take on the Sydney Swans at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand on Anzac Day, April 25.
Saints members can purchase premium seating on the wing or gold seating near the goals. This offer is exclusive to Saints members until Friday, January 18.
Members can also purchase a non-member ticket for friends or family, with prices starting at $4 for junior members and up to $19.50 for adults. All prices are in Australian dollars and include any ticketing fee.
All details and a booking form can be found at http://www.saints.com.au/NZ/ticketing-information
Fans can also have the opportunity to book corporate suites, attend a gala cocktail or attend the official pre-match lunch. Details can be found at http://www.sainters.net/corporate/nz_corp.php

 

[stkildathunda]

Family the reason behind Dylan Robertons exit from Fremantle -

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/fa...ampaign=Feed:+HeraldSunAfl+(Herald+Sun+|+AFL) #loyaltyunites

 

[Mister E]

Family the reason behind Dylan Robertons exit from Fremantle -

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/family-the-reason-behind-dylan-robertons-exit-from-fremantle/story-e6frf7jo-1226557331147?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: HeraldSunAfl (Herald Sun | AFL) #loyaltyunites

Good story, a lot of the time we have no idea what these guys are going through...and we become judgemental very quickly

Hope he has a good career with us

 

[stkildathunda]

Saints find spring in Colorado

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-01-20/colorado-spring

 

[stkildathunda]

Good story, a lot of the time we have no idea what these guys are going through...and we become judgemental very quickly

Hope he has a good career with us

Problem with Roberton was that everyone thought he was "delisted, recycled" player and that means he'll never get fair go. Fact is Ross Lyon and Fremantle wanted to keep him and there was a contract on table which he turned down as he wanted to come home. Ive mentioned it before, he is really really going to surprise alot people this year.

 

[goodie23]

Problem with Roberton was that everyone thought he was "delisted, recycled" player and that means he'll never get fair go. Fact is Ross Lyon and Fremantle wanted to keep him and there was a contract on table which he turned down as he wanted to come home. Ive mentioned it before, he is really really going to surprise alot people this year.

There can't have been a contract on the table otherwise we wouldn't have been allowed to sign him as a delisted free agent. There may have been discussions but the rules prohibit a player with less than seven seasons experience being signed as a free agent.

 

[Squizz]

There can't have been a contract on the table otherwise we wouldn't have been allowed to sign him as a delisted free agent. There may have been discussions but the rules prohibit a player with less than seven seasons experience being signed as a free agent.

It's like the discussion we had on the other thread (where you were spot on).

Comes down to whether he gets delisted. Freo could have forced him into the draft, but appears they elected not to.

Free agency rule for a player with 7 seasons or less:

If he delists himself, he is subject to the draft, and may be selected by any club.

If delisted by his club, the player is a free agent and is eligible to field offers from all rival AFL clubs.

The player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

The player can move automatically to the new club of his choice.

His original club, which chose to delist him, does not receive any compensation pick for the loss of the player.

http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-free-agency-how-it-works-20121001-26ue3.html#ixzz2IUxDMYFd

 

[Tongue In Cheek]

Fact is he was offered a contract after a trade couldn't be done.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/15381097/absent-docker-to-jump-ship

Roberton asked to return to his home state for personal reasons, but the Dockers offered him a new contract after they couldn't organise a trade.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

I think Roberton will be the Milera of last year. The one that nobody really picked to do much in his first year but impresses the coaches and ends up in the R1 side and plays a fair bit of footy.

Maybe Saad is a better analogy. Work his way into the side and then stay there. And expected to be a player for quite some time.

I think my main point is that he'll get some game time next year. Probably.

 

[Defacto]

I think Roberton will be the Milera of last year. The one that nobody really picked to do much in his first year but impresses the coaches and ends up in the R1 side and plays a fair bit of footy.

Maybe Saad is a better analogy. Work his way into the side and then stay there. And expected to be a player for quite some time.

I think my main point is that he'll get some game time next year. Probably.

i think he'll get some game time. along with the rest of the players. it'll be tougher for him than saad/milera where there wasnt really any competition. especially with schneider injured.

 

[hayes]

Wasn't Roberton in and out of the Freo side though, or was that due to injury? I'm not expecting a lot from him mainly because I can't think of whose spot he'd take in the backline.

 

[goodie23]

I love this initiative from the club

The creative types at the Saints have their work cut out for themselves with nine new recruits over the off-season.
With that in mind, saints.com.au would like to put the call out to Saints supporters to come up with new nicknames for our nine recruits.
Tweet or facebook message us suggestions for nicknames for our new boys, starting today with Trent Dennis-Lane, Spencer White and Lewis Pierce.
The best nomination will win a signed photo of the player they have nicknamed.

http://www.saints.com.au/news/2013-01-21/nickname-a-saint