Autopsy Cats get the cream down the highway.

[Ads734]

Not sure if Geelong went to sleep or not but the scoreboard can get really ugly down there if you’re not careful so at least we did a decent job there.

Clearly there are no words for Nas. If he goes then just close the joint up.

I know he’s young but for the love of god someone needs to tell Wilson that football is a contact sport and he should keep playing VFL until that sinks in. We don’t need another Brad Hill who for some reason is still in the side.

Didn’t get a lot of the ball but thought Henry showed some positive signs. Is it just me or has he lost a bit of zip? Hopefully it’s just the lack of preseason.

It’s sad that Steele has basically just become a 21 disposal 10 CP type guy. We’ve actually got too many young mids showing positive signs to persist with Steele and Macrae surely.

Steele did have 14 tackles just btw. Allows Naz to get clean clearances….

 

[austinnn]

Where not short of midfielders we need another 195+ key forward like Riccardi or Cadman type we need to find that player, Aleer will strengthen the back end & he would of been handy yesterday.

Wasn't Riccardi a trade possibility recently? He must have re-signed.

Barrat (194cm) should get a gig down back soon, I think Keeler building an AFL body, TDK, Caminiti, and Tauru all spending time in the F50 and if we're lucky the return of the Ming will increase our tall forward stocks but yes you are right, we could do with maybe one more. Marshall, Cordy, and Wood aren't our future.

Forwards on our current list (talls in bold):

• Higgins (short)
• Collard (short)
• Owens (mid size, unreliable goalkicker)
• King (inj)
• Butler (short)
• Keeler (skinny, no tank, still learning)
• Marshall (needed elsewhere, unreliable goalkicker, outgoing)
• Howard (needed elsewhere, inj)
• Cordy (needed elsewhere, outgoing)
• Henry (needed elsewhere, short)
• Phillipou (needed elsewhere, midsize)
• Tauru (needed elsewhere, skinny)
• Wood (unreliable goalkicker, outgoing)
• Said (short)
• Hall (needed elsewhere, short)
• Heath (needed elsewhere, learning)
• Sharman (193cm - perfect)
• Caminiti (needed elsewhere, still learning)

Any possibles on the FA scene?

 

[austinnn]

I really don't want to hear about pressure and effort anymore. That's a non negotiable. Last 4-5 weeks we've contested well, we lack polish and that results in lots of turnover losing structure,etc. Really need to sort our skills out. Some of it is cohesion tho and that will get better as we play more games together

It should be a non-negotiable, however with a young group, we must accept that pressure and effort will be less consistent than with a team of hardened seniors. The good news is that Ross has fast tracked a few of the young players (Caminiti, Phillipou, Garcia, Wilson, Owens, Windy, Boxy) so that consistency may not be so far away.

But skills and leadership are our biggest voids right now.

 

[AirWinmar]

One thing with Hill is i noticed he seemed to be doing a lot of directing the last couple of weeks, which is valuable

 

[austinnn]

We’ve played 18 games now and guess how many we’ve had against bottom 8 teams, on our home ground?

1.

18 games, and just 1 against a bottom 8 team on our home ground.

It’s extraordinary that from 18 games so far we’ve played just 5 against the bottom 8 teams, but when you dig deeper, and see that 3 of those 5 were interstate, and just 1 on our home ground, it just reaches new levels of obscenity.

It’s hard to imagine that a team could have ever had a more difficult first 18 games in a season.

1 home game against a bottom 8 team from 18 games.

And we won that game by 80 points.

It’s like starting a 100m race from 10m behind everyone else. At least all the other lower ranked teams.

It has been a wretched fixture for sure, I'm sure it's had an impact on our season's results. But we just have to be a better team so in a way it's been good to not have the safety net of a soft fixture. The down side is everyone even Saints supporters judges the coach and team on results without reflecting on the fixture.

 

[gringo2011]

I suppose we should only play him when we know in advance he’s not going to be a liability against your criteria.

It's a fair point though. It's not a slight against two kids. Tauru has hardly played any form of footy in 2025. Hastie has only played a handful of games himself. Exposing two kids to a very attacking Geelong side is not something that a lot of coaches would think is the best way to chase a win. Tauru in a stacked top 8 side running around getting easy touches on the 5th best forward would make him look 10 times the player.

Only the coaches know if these are kids that can handle the pressure and the slap that losing position does to them. Hopefully this is a steep learning curve and a reminder to not switch off for a second.

 

[SG34]

We were far worse 25 years ago, and improved rapidly as the young blokes got games into them. I haven't been pissing and moaning about our current performances, we have the third youngest list in the league, the results go with that territory.......

That era, when we had all those guys under GT won’t happen again. Not with the AFL expansion.

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

DE & turnovers cost us that one.

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

Fair points.
And I’d have picked Tauru. Anyway.
The only change might be Jones for either Henry or Hastie. Zac would would have given more value IMO.

I think the Richmond and Geelong cases are very interesting.

Here is the thing.
Richmond did not succeed by stockpiling high draft picks. So this idea that we drop four points to get better picks is not justified by the Richmond story. Rioli (Daniel) was pick 15 and a star yes, and Shai Bolton is incredible, but he was pick 29. The rest of their draft picks were duds. Exception is Dusty! But he was 8 years prior.

They traded well and they made that chaos game. So coaching and trade. That’s what we need too. We won’t get there tanking.


Geelongs success is real and I think it is enviable. Yes, just one flag since that run they had, but to have stayed competitive like this is extremely enviable. They might not be flag favorite, but I think most would agree they could pinch it on their day. To even admit that, hurts. And yes, it looks sus. They must have some very favorable things going on down there.

Dow for Hastie

 

[MOLTEN GANGLANDS]

One thing with Hill is i noticed he seemed to be doing a lot of directing the last couple of weeks, which is valuable

"you! tackle the guy I let past me!"

 

[gringo2011]

Trade Steele at the end of the year. Rest 1 of them on occasion. Try Steele forward for the remainder of the year. Heaps of options.

We always talk of needing elite mids. NAS will be one. Hall could be very good. Pou we haven't had the opportunity to see. Owens has been given no opportunity. My point is we already have the potential to have an elite midfield.

Playing Macrae and Steele every week makes it too hard to see different combos because you can't put them anywhere else.

If we go into next year with Steele and Macrae both playing AND we have a fit Pou, Hall, Garcia, Owens and NAS on the list I will be super disappointed.

There are not enough mid minutes to go around.

Lyon struggles to make bold calls. Will take forever for him to drop one of Macrae or Steele.

There is every chance we are watching Steele and Macrae every week next year, whilst Pou and NAS get little bursts of mid time.

Forget about seeing Owens in there, despite being the best contested player on a list by some margin.

Garcia looks like a potential star, Nas, Phillipou, Dow, Macrae, Steele etc. Heaps of options to make up a good competitive midfield with a few looking like they are still a bit raw, there is lots there already. We need a good pressure forward and a stable and well mixed back six and a KPF who pack marks.

We have a lot there already.

 

[aussierulesrules]

That is quite astonishing does any other side compare for such low amount home games against bottom 8 teams in their home deck ?
Send to Joey M/N Riewoldt
Just shithouse fixturing from a clearly corrupt organisation

Well Port made the prelim and they’ve had 6 so far, while Hawthorn missed the prelim by a kick and they’ve had 7 (if you count a home game at Marvel v West Coast as 1). Brisbane won the flag and they’ve had 4 (same number as Richmond, who finished bottom).

Guess how many WB have had?

8!

And they’re still going to miss the 8, with all that talent. Deplorable.

They’ve had 8 while we’ve had just 1, yet we’ve only won 5 less games, won our only home game v a bottom 8 team by 82 points, and have beaten two top 8 teams to their 1.

And in their last 5 they have Essendon and West Coast at Marvel and Melbourne at the MCG!

Crows have had 5 at home v bottom 8 teams, Baggers 6. Freo just 3. Bombers 5.

Very surprisingly, despite having what Champion Data rate as the easiest draw this year, and having played 4 of the bottom 6 in their first 5 games, Gold Coast, despite having played 7 games against the bottom 8 so far, have, like us, only had the 1 at home.

They do have a huge home ground advantage no matter who they play though, like all the interstate teams.

The closest I’ve seen any other club at so far is 3, and I’ve done almost all of them now.

 

[aussierulesrules]

It has been a wretched fixture for sure, I'm sure it's had an impact on our season's results. But we just have to be a better team so in a way it's been good to not have the safety net of a soft fixture. The down side is everyone even Saints supporters judges the coach and team on results without reflecting on the fixture.

Yeah that’s the problem, those in the media just look at the W/L column and start going in off the long run up, having no clue that you’ve had the draw from hell.

Because doing even 5 minutes of research would take away from their time patting themselves on the back.

 

[SinCitySainter]

I'm not sold on him being the long term answer to anything and our game plan looks pretty meh. That said he's got the footy department in a better place and he is building his own list this time. I hope we don't sit on a decision too long if he starts next year like this one went and move him on. I think this side has enough talent and mix of ages to be a middle of the ladder side.

If he can't do that maybe someone with a more attacking focussed GP and forward thinking coaching style is a better option. I'm not knifing him yet but I'd keep the knife sharp just in case.

I completely agree with your reading of where we are at and that is the big problem. I think this side also has enough talent to be a middle of the ladder side. However, we were already middle of the ladder side when he took over and for him to be considered remotely successful we need to be playing deep into finals within the next 2 to 3 years. Five or six years into your tenure and we are no further forward than when you started is a failure.

 

[AirWinmar]

In light of the Darcy Wilson thing, did anyone else notice Danger getting in his ear at the end of the game??

 

[Windtagger]

In light of the Darcy Wilson thing, did anyone else notice Danger getting in his ear at the end of the game??

No? Can you elaborate.

Dangerfield is an incredibly dislikable man.

 

[AirWinmar]

No? Can you elaborate.

Dangerfield is an incredibly dislikable man.

After the game when the shaking hands, etc they seemed to be talking for quite awhile

 

[AirWinmar]

Probably nothing in it of course, I just thought it was a little strange