Preview Changes v Saints

[Boyd oh Boyd]

An extended bench would be amazing for us. Means we can play Sweet to back up English and suddenly our ruck situation actually looks decent instead of bottom tier.

I'm certain (barring injury) we'll see Lipinski and Richards back in regardless. Could be Naughton and someone else out, those two in. Gardner and Young may both get lucky. Both are more mobile than Trengove and Sweet anyway which will suit facing Saints since they're a fairly mobile team.

Membrey and King up forward won't be too much trouble for our interceptors I'd like to think, so Trengove may not be needed. Young can match up on King, Cordy on Membrey, then we have Keath and Wood being able to intercept

Saints keep either Ryder or Marshall forward when the other's rucking as well, need someone to keep them in check.

 

[Virgin Dog]

Outclassed and saints in the same sentence?

If we are any good at all we beat them and do it easy, but that being said round 1 was a massive worry for me so who knows what we will serve up ?

That's what I'm talking about - Saints were bad Round 1, but we were pitiful.

And our wings are likely to be Hayes + Richards. Would you take them, or Billings + Hill? I stand by us being outclassed on the wings, and potentially even the midfield. They beat us in the ruck, they beat us on the wings, and Steele could nullify Bont.

The midfield battle actually doesn't look good for us honestly. We need to beat them up forward

 

[Mattdougie]

That's what I'm talking about - Saints were bad Round 1, but we were pitiful.

And our wings are likely to be Hayes + Richards. Would you take them, or Billings + Hill? I stand by us being outclassed on the wings, and potentially even the midfield. They beat us in the ruck, they beat us on the wings, and Steele could nullify Bont.

The midfield battle actually doesn't look good for us honestly. We need to beat them up forward

Saints are a bottom 6 teams

Billing’s is a bog average footy player.

Our midfield is ten times the class they have.

But again that being said we lose to saints I’d suggest it’s going to be a very very long year, I don’t rate them at all

 

[Virgin Dog]

Saints are a bottom 6 teams

Billing’s is a bog average footy player.

Our midfield is ten times the class they have.

But again that being said we lose to saints I’d suggest it’s going to be a very very long year, I don’t rate them at all

Billings had a very good 2019, he's looking better with every game. Their wings are far better quality than what we have on offer.

I don't particularly rate Saints either, but they match up relatively well on us. I don't think this will be a walk in the park, but a loss would concern me too. I expect it to be within a couple goals

 

[Mattdougie]

Billings had a very good 2019, he's looking better with every game. Their wings are far better quality than what we have on offer.

I don't particularly rate Saints either, but they match up relatively well on us. I don't think this will be a walk in the park, but a loss would concern me too. I expect it to be within a couple goals

Billings has a good year coz he played in a trash team no one really bothers to man up any of their players.

It’s a must win game for us because I can’t see us beating the plastics.

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

That's what I'm talking about - Saints were bad Round 1, but we were pitiful.

And our wings are likely to be Hayes + Richards. Would you take them, or Billings + Hill? I stand by us being outclassed on the wings, and potentially even the midfield. They beat us in the ruck, they beat us on the wings, and Steele could nullify Bont.

The midfield battle actually doesn't look good for us honestly. We need to beat them up forward

We beat them all over the park for match-ups. The only way we lose the game is if Zaine Cordy is kicking it in and Bevo throws his coaching manual out the window.

Round 1 was a complete shambles. Absolutely no cohesion. It doesn’t matter what quality you have if the structure is all over the place.

 

[Virgin Dog]

We beat them all over the park for match-ups. The only way we lose the game is if Zaine Cordy is kicking it in and Bevo throws his coaching manual out the window.

Round 1 was a complete shambles. Absolutely no cohesion. It doesn’t matter what quality you have if the structure is all over the place.

We beat them up forward and down back, no doubt.

But their wings are far superior to ours. Their ruck beat ours when they last met. Their midfield lacks star power but isn't awful. They have one of the games best taggers in Steele, and if he manages to shut down Bont then the midfield battle could start resembling Round 1. I doubt we lose this, but I'm also not overly confident going in

 

[mad-saint-guy]

For what it's worth, this is my take on our most likely 22 (which is a fair way off the 22 I'd pick)

B: Geary, Howard, Wilkie
HB: Roberton, Carlisle, Long
C: Hill, Steele, Hannebery
HF: Butler, Membrey, Billings
F: Lonie, Marshall, King

Foll: Ryder, Gresham, Jones
Int: Clark, Dunstan, Ross, Kent

Emg: Battle, Sinclair, Coffield, Paton

Defence is very strong and outside run is good. Ruck is excellent. Forward line is the biggest weakness with King very raw, Ryder not much good forward and Butler, Lonie and Kent all mediocre smalls. We'll need the inside mids to stand up in a big way - Steele to nullify either Bont or Macrae and Jones will resume his human wrecking ball role from round one which he played very effectively.

At the end of the day this match will probably come down to which side kept themselves in better shape during quarantine and who is up for the contest mentally. As a saint supporter I'd love for Trengove to be left out. Means a younger, less experienced defender goes to King or Marshall/Ryder, and that you're likely to give us a huge advantage in the ruck whenever Bruce has to pinch hit.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Doggies_13 or mods, heading needs changing to St Kilda - thanks!

 

[Mattdougie]

For what it's worth, this is my take on our most likely 22 (which is a fair way off the 22 I'd pick)

B: Geary, Howard, Wilkie
HB: Roberton, Carlisle, Long
C: Hill, Steele, Hannebery
HF: Butler, Membrey, Billings
F: Lonie, Marshall, King

Foll: Ryder, Gresham, Jones
Int: Clark, Dunstan, Ross, Kent

Emg: Battle, Sinclair, Coffield, Paton

Defence is very strong and outside run is good. Ruck is excellent. Forward line is the biggest weakness with King very raw, Ryder not much good forward and Butler, Lonie and Kent all mediocre smalls. We'll need the inside mids to stand up in a big way - Steele to nullify either Bont or Macrae and Jones will resume his human wrecking ball role from round one which he played very effectively.

At the end of the day this match will probably come down to which side kept themselves in better shape during quarantine and who is up for the contest mentally. As a saint supporter I'd love for Trengove to be left out. Means a younger, less experienced defender goes to King or Marshall/Ryder, and that you're likely to give us a huge advantage in the ruck whenever Bruce has to pinch hit.

Funny how fans look at things differently

Think your backline is rubbish and probably part of the reason you have been no good for ten years or so.

Hill is a good player but not good enough to take a bottom 6 team to any great heights.

Ryder and Hannebery were both let go for reasons, nearly cooked and if you are hoping they are your savers then I predict big issues going forward.

We struggle against you blokes no matter where we are on the ladder but man for man it’s not even close imo

 

[Virgin Dog]

For what it's worth, this is my take on our most likely 22 (which is a fair way off the 22 I'd pick)

B: Geary, Howard, Wilkie
HB: Roberton, Carlisle, Long
C: Hill, Steele, Hannebery
HF: Butler, Membrey, Billings
F: Lonie, Marshall, King

Foll: Ryder, Gresham, Jones
Int: Clark, Dunstan, Ross, Kent

Emg: Battle, Sinclair, Coffield, Paton

Defence is very strong and outside run is good. Ruck is excellent. Forward line is the biggest weakness with King very raw, Ryder not much good forward and Butler, Lonie and Kent all mediocre smalls. We'll need the inside mids to stand up in a big way - Steele to nullify either Bont or Macrae and Jones will resume his human wrecking ball role from round one which he played very effectively.

At the end of the day this match will probably come down to which side kept themselves in better shape during quarantine and who is up for the contest mentally. As a saint supporter I'd love for Trengove to be left out. Means a younger, less experienced defender goes to King or Marshall/Ryder, and that you're likely to give us a huge advantage in the ruck whenever Bruce has to pinch hit.

Cheers for sharing.

For me, it's the centre of the ground where I think you'll cause us most trouble. We are without Hunter for a month, and our other wing is already a revolving door for half back flankers and VFL players. We will probably end up with Hayes and Suckling/Richards, which is pretty poor compared to Hill and Billings (who I expect would be your other wing).

Marshall got the upper hand over English last time we played you guys, although it wasn't a huge gulf between them. I still think Marshall wins the battle here though.

Steele has become a very dangerous tagger/run-with player, and if he manages to nullify Bont then I think you guys could have the upper hand this week. Our midfield is stronger on paper, but in practice it may not be so simple.

If we go in with Gardner and Young as our main KPDs against you guys, expect King to kick his first bag. Gardner is so far from AFL quality that any key forward he plays on will have a field day. Young is still raw and undeveloped, so has good and bad days. Last year he kept Jeremy Cameron goalless the whole time he played on him in one of our GWS games, while in Round 1 this year he looked like he'd barely touched a footy in his life.

It's looking like a possibility that Naughton won't be fit for selection, so the Carlisle vs Bruce matchup could be interesting. I'd assume Howard then takes Schache.

 

[weltschmerz]

Honestly I'd throw in Cody Weightman. He delivers heaps of forward pressure which would really be good for us.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Honestly I'd throw in Cody Weightman. He delivers heaps of forward pressure which would really be good for us.

By reputation. We've never seen him play!

 

[weltschmerz]

By reputation. We've never seen him play!

True, but if he's up to it, seems like a good time to debut him.

 

[Yojimbo]

True, but if he's up to it, seems like a good time to debut him.

I think they should get out the dartboard or spinning wheel or perhaps a lucky dip after round one. Losing their social conscience
might help to, need a slogan "Just Football" to galvanise their fragile minds.

 

[Jeff 1975]

It all begins with the ruck, midfield, stoppages and marking power
The Saints have this - so we need to bring it


PS - Looking at the Saints Team - they look tall

 

[maddog37]

I think they should get out the dartboard or spinning wheel or perhaps a lucky dip after round one. Losing their social conscience
might help to, need a slogan "Just Football" to galvanise their fragile minds.

sounds like the message that we should not have been playing filtered all the way down from the top.

 

[weltschmerz]

I'm wondering about Bailey Dale. When he's at his best he's a game changer, but he can also disappear. We really need forward power this match, and Bruce and Lloyd are the only definites I can think of.

 

[Mofra]

We beat them up forward and down back, no doubt.

But their wings are far superior to ours. Their ruck beat ours when they last met. Their midfield lacks star power but isn't awful. They have one of the games best taggers in Steele, and if he manages to shut down Bont then the midfield battle could start resembling Round 1. I doubt we lose this, but I'm also not overly confident going in

Then Bont goes forward and we have Dunkley, Macrae, Smith in the centre (and I really want Libba in the side too). I agree our wing situation is dreadful and we're about to find out why Hunter is so important to us, but we are ok in the centre of the ground.
Membrey worries me far more than whoever plays in their key posts (King and Ryder/Marshall). I suspect Cordy/Wood rotate on him and he has a strength advantage over both.

 

[Boyd oh Boyd]

I'm wondering about Bailey Dale. When he's at his best he's a game changer, but he can also disappear. We really need forward power this match, and Bruce and Lloyd are the only definites I can think of.

I think I'm probably Dale's biggest fan from what I've read from here. I think he has all the tools to be a elite level forward - he burns his opponents with speed, is much better above his head then he should be for his size, is a super clean kick. I would love for him to improve his defensive stuff as that's just adequate right now. Based off a great 2019 I think he should get at least 3 poor games before his spot is up for grabs.

 

[Virgin Dog]

Then Bont goes forward and we have Dunkley, Macrae, Smith in the centre (and I really want Libba in the side too). I agree our wing situation is dreadful and we're about to find out why Hunter is so important to us, but we are ok in the centre of the ground.
Membrey worries me far more than whoever plays in their key posts (King and Ryder/Marshall). I suspect Cordy/Wood rotate on him and he has a strength advantage over both.

If Cordy can't start beating the likes of Membrey, his usefulness to the team has to be questioned. Membrey is a criminally underrated forward, but Cordy can't be outsized by someone like him, while also not being suitable to match up on guys like Kennedy, Lynch, etc. What type of key forward is he suited to if not Membrey? I like Cordy, but he needs to be winning this matchup

 

[weltschmerz]

If Libba is available, maybe him, Dunks, and Macrae in the middle, B Smith and Richards on the outside, Bont and Lipinski on HFF?

 

[Virgin Dog]

If Libba is available, maybe him, Dunks, and Macrae in the middle, B Smith and Richards on the outside, Bont and Lipinski on HFF?

I'd take that. Bont and Lipinski rotating through the middle would be good (LOVE Lippas ball use and footy smarts). Really hope Libba is fit and firing, we're missing him sorely

 

[weltschmerz]

Naughton being potentially out or lagging behind is a worry, I'm not sure who else would be best placed at CHF. I'd probably go Lloyd, Bruce, and Dickson or Dale up forward, with Weightman or Cavarra on the bench.

 

[Mattdougie]

I think this game is massive for our year

Win and we can salvage something possibly

Lose and with our percentage already it could be end of story