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Open Mike

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Chuckie357 said:
How bout we discuss Collingwoods ongoing long term drug problem and see if that upsets you
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When in doubt, attack the club someone supports. A+. 10/10.
 

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Don't know anything about him but he seems a nice bloke Plymptom. You forget how unlucky the saints were from those prelims to gfs. Such a tough break.
 
ThirtyThr33 said:
Don't know anything about him but he seems a nice bloke Plymptom. You forget how unlucky the saints were from those prelims to gfs. Such a tough break.
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Some of us can't.
 

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Good episode. I'd have rathered a more overall look at the club instead of just looking at the lost Grand Finals. I grew up in a St.Kilda family and was the black sheep who went off and barracked for a different club because at the time - mid to late 70s - they were more successful. But, living not too far from Moorabbin, I ended up going to more Saints games than North games and, when I was old enough, even though I could go to North games on my own I would join my Dad and sister in the Linton St Social Club after games and on Thursday nights. Even now when I call my Dad and talk footy, we always talk St.Kilda. As an outside supporter, I think I'd have a balanced view about the Saints.

Let's get it straight - St.Kilda lost in 2009 and drew in 2010 because they weren't in front at the right time. Sounds obvious but they were fantastic in both games but couldn't quite get the job done. They could have won both but didn't and that's the way it goes. As unlucky as they were, Geelong and Collingwood would have been stiff had they lost. St.Kilda didn't do anything wrong - it's pointless going over why they lost/drew - it's not like they choked. I think the story from that era came later when they fell away so dramatically after 2011 although I think that was covered in a special last year. The team's performances on a particular day are not the issue.

I think a better focus would have been the club's tendency to implode with poor decisions at precisely the time for calm. Sheldon, Alves and Thomas were all sacked a year after winning a final and slipping (not slumping) the following year. St.Kilda were fantastic in 1991-92, 1997-98 and 2004-05 but the first two in particular were only little blips of success followed by a trip to the blunt end of the ladder after a surprising coaching decision. I'm not sure about Sheldon, but Alves and Thomas were certainly due to personality conflicts with the board. I'd love Mike to get Andrew Plympton in for a full 30min show to explore the sacking of Alves for a calmer, nicer coach like Trevor Barker would have been. The appointment of Tim Watson based on that with no coaching background seems incredible. The club as a whole seems to do its best work down the bottom building up (I think they are doing that nicely now) but gets the wobbles as it reaches the top.

The other angle could have been the "Saints Disco" era from the 80s but I think that's been well documented. I like the Saints and would like to see them do well under Alan Richardson. They have great potential on their list and should push for finals soon. It's what happens when they get there that I'll find fascinating.
 
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It's a game of inches and split-second moments.

With Riewoldt's 300th game just passed on the weekend with all the fanfare, we could very well have been lauding him as the 300-game dual premiership captain or 300-game premiership captain...and then probably no doubt as the best Saint of all time.

I will always look at St.Kilda in 2009 as the one that got away - but also as a team that couldn't have done much more in the hunt for the flag. Even though it still hurts the players of that time, they should also remember that they gave it absolutely everything. Absolutely everything.

That happens in life, and not just in footy. Walking away from something in life having given it everything is a lot different to walking away from something unsuccessful having not given it your all.

St.Kilda in 2010 was a bit different - they were 5-3 after round eight having lost a couple of games to average sides (Carlton in round seven, Essendon in round eight). Riewoldt from memory was also out injured for part of the year as well.

To make the grand final was an effort in itself - and I too thought the Saints were home when BJ took 'that' mark and kicked the goal late in the game. The footage of Lenny Hayes accepting the Norm Smith with absolutely no voice left the impression that 2010 was similar to '09...Saints really couldn't have done a lot more. They overcame a 24-point half-time deficit in a grand final and came within a bounce of an elusive cup.

The game and the experience of losing one by a whisker in '09 after being the best side all year, and drawing in 2010, along with the game itself, must have been one heck of a drain on the group...hence the 56-point loss the next week. They'd used up every last morsel of resolve.
 
Well I really enjoyed that.
 

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Any Saints fans able to shed light on what Barry Hall meant by he had to get out of St Kilda and his culture?
 
TheLoungeLizard said:
Any Saints fans able to shed light on what Barry Hall meant by he had to get out of St Kilda and his culture?
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I think he just meant the whole 'party boy' culture down there didn't he? He also said he didn't even care if they won or lost. That's some culture right there.
 
Disappointed about the lack of talk about 2010 GF2, you know, the game that St Kilda actually lost, so it would have been in keeping with the theme of the rest of the episode. :P
 
Beerfish said:
I think he just meant the whole 'party boy' culture down there didn't he? He also said he didn't even care if they won or lost. That's some culture right there.
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I thought that was a reflection of him. I'm pretty sure it meant a lot to Robert Harvey.
 
cartwright said:
I thought that was a reflection of him. I'm pretty sure it meant a lot to Robert Harvey.
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Shame Harvey's attitude didn't rub off on the rest of the group then. Given the culture there, I doubt Barry was the only one with that attitude. To his credit though he also said it was why he left and that St Kilda was probably better off for him doing so. I wonder how many that felt similarly to Barry didn't.

It was also interesting how somebody said that there was never any talk at the club of their great history or the good times because there just simply isn't any.
 
I also scoffed at the fact that towards the end of the episode when asked by Mike why the club had been so unsuccessful, each and every one of the people interviewed mentioned 'luck' as part of their answer. Sure it takes a little bit of luck here and there to end up on the dias, but if you simply rely on luck to get you over the line then of course you're going to fall short more often than not.
 

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