Training Pre Season

[gringo2011]

Yeah i see them as definitely better placed than we were when we started our rebuild, but they're still at least a couple of years behind us I reckon- especially seeing how good Clark and Coffield look to be.

There are a few similarities there for sure. I would say that our younger talent is better set but it now comes down to drafting and development. Geelong were fantastic at it for years, they drafted and developed as good as any team. They seem to have stopped that strategy and now go top up heavy. That deep pool of young talent seems to have stopped and at some point the wall hits like it did North. I would say North have been pretty good drafters for where they were finishing and have some okay youth but need stars like us.

Collingwood, Freo and Geelong are all surprisingly average at drafting now. Sydney the opposite with the ability to draft better than any team I have ever seen. They hardly waste a pick ever.

 

[DarkSaint]

Paddy could have had 10 if we knew how to deliver the footy inside 50 and I would have looked like a Nostradamus

Literally if he managed to grab that one mark which he dropped and didn't get burnt by Dunstan's long ball/Sebs shocking kick between 3 players and another player that ignored him while he was open, he literally would have had 6 marks inside 50 all from very straight forward angles.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Literally if he managed to grab that one mark which he dropped and didn't get burnt by Dunstan's long ball/Sebs shocking kick between 3 players and another player that ignored him while he was open, he literally would have had 6 marks inside 50 all from very straight forward angles.

Don't forget he also fumbled that ball a couple of times when trying to pick it up in between the goal and point posts, and could have from memory basically strolled into goal had he managed to pick it up. The wind being against in two of the quarters and Carlton having numbers dropping back to mark the balls in front of him as they fell short also made it much harder for him.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Collingwood, Freo and Geelong are all surprisingly average at drafting now. Sydney the opposite with the ability to draft better than any team I have ever seen. They hardly waste a pick ever.

Yeah, they're so good at it they could afford to give us Membrey for free

 

[_Maximus_12]

Without making too many excuses, we probably need to consider the impact of the players having leave prior to their first competitive hitout for 2018.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Without making too many excuses, we probably need to consider the impact of the players having leave prior to their first competitive hitout for 2018.

Yeah they certainly seemed to still be in holiday-mode early in the game in particular, while Carlton really came to play.

 

[Mikka84]

Without making too many excuses, we probably need to consider the impact of the players having leave prior to their first competitive hitout for 2018.

Tend to agree. Bemused how it was agreed upon in the first place.

 

[_Maximus_12]

Tend to agree. Bemused how it was agreed upon in the first place.

I might be wrong but I believe it was either that, or some leave during the season. If that’s the case I’d prefer them turn in that sort of effort in the JLT than when 4 points are on the line.

 

[St BKD]

I'm saying statistically on the raw data not on potential. I'm just a realist, we are a team with potential not actualised talent yet. I don't see why it's bizarre. I'm still full of hope but I'm not going in blind either. I can see us going top 4 or bottom 4 and anywhere in between depending on luck and development. You can believe that we are a brilliant list full of amazing talent but until it's fully realised we will be statistically a worse team on paper.

For starters you mentioned Ziebell. He is ordinary. Waite, Higgins and Brown? Come on mate. One of my best mates is a one eyed Norf fan and even he knows these blokes are no good.

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[gringo2011]

For starters you mentioned Ziebell. He is ordinary. Waite, Higgins and Brown? Come on mate. One of my best mates is a one eyed Norf fan and even he knows these blokes are no good.

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Are you serious, did you watch Brown at all last year? He will be a coleman medalist very soon. I think he was leading it with about three rounds left last year. If Bruce or Paddy was playing anything like Brown we'd be flogging off over it. He kicked like 65 goals something.

Higgins is a star, Ziebell is very good, Waite is very good, and even Cunnington is supremely underrated. If your mate doesn't rate those guys he should ring the club and have them sent to us. All would be in our top 10 players with out a doubt.

I don't know how people think all of our kids are superstars without any actual output of any note and deny the validity of all stats because they don't acknowledge the potential our kids have then don't rate players from other clubs that would be better than a very large portion of our list.

 

[PaddysurDaddy]

Are you serious, did you watch Brown at all last year? He will be a coleman medalist very soon. I think he was leading it with about three rounds left last year. If Bruce or Paddy was playing anything like Brown we'd be flogging off over it. He kicked like 65 goals something.

Higgins is a star, Ziebell is very good, Waite is very good, and even Cunnington is supremely underrated. If your mate doesn't rate those guys he should ring the club and have them sent to us. All would be in our top 10 players with out a doubt.

I don't know how people think all of our kids are superstars without any actual output of any note and deny the validity of all stats because they don't acknowledge the potential our kids have then don't rate players from other clubs that would be better than a very large portion of our list.

zeibell's meh, but agree on the rest

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Are you serious, did you watch Brown at all last year? He will be a coleman medalist very soon. I think he was leading it with about three rounds left last year. If Bruce or Paddy was playing anything like Brown we'd be flogging off over it. He kicked like 65 goals something.

Higgins is a star, Ziebell is very good, Waite is very good, and even Cunnington is supremely underrated. If your mate doesn't rate those guys he should ring the club and have them sent to us. All would be in our top 10 players with out a doubt.

I don't know how people think all of our kids are superstars without any actual output of any note and deny the validity of all stats because they don't acknowledge the potential our kids have then don't rate players from other clubs that would be better than a very large portion of our list.

I thought that Brown was a classic case of AFL drafters not looking outside the square.

1. Brown, plays underage footy, touted for first round, then does his ACL. Not drafted.
2. Returns to Tasmania and gets over his injury then makes a comeback in the Tassie footy.

Now at this point ANY AFL club could have thought, this kid was going to be good , he got injured but now he's better.
Anyone could have got him for a Rookie pick. Nope. Cos all those 2012 Rookie picks were so valuable they had to make him play in the VFL for a season, then take him as a second rounder.

 

[SaintSteele9]

I’m not even sure if the numbers back it up but I feel like we are notoriously slow starters in games, and Wednesday night was a great example (yeah yeah wind whatever). Why? How? Has to be taxing physically and mentally playing from behind from the get-go a lot of the time surely

 

[Therealsaint]

Are you serious, did you watch Brown at all last year? He will be a coleman medalist very soon. I think he was leading it with about three rounds left last year. If Bruce or Paddy was playing anything like Brown we'd be flogging off over it. He kicked like 65 goals something.

Higgins is a star, Ziebell is very good, Waite is very good, and even Cunnington is supremely underrated. If your mate doesn't rate those guys he should ring the club and have them sent to us. All would be in our top 10 players with out a doubt.

I don't know how people think all of our kids are superstars without any actual output of any note and deny the validity of all stats because they don't acknowledge the potential our kids have then don't rate players from other clubs that would be better than a very large portion of our list.

Higgins and waite will both be done within 2 yrs,ziebel is pretty good but not a star, but brown no doubt fantastic last year

 

[gringo2011]

Higgins and waite will both be done within 2 yrs,ziebel is pretty good but not a star, but brown no doubt fantastic last year

He’s under rated Ziebell, he does the hard man role and leads from the front. He’s like a mid forward Geary with more skill and a bigger body. I rate him.

 

[CursingFijian]

Championship data ran 100,000 simulations of the 2018 season and the Saints finished top of the table 2000 times.

Just saying.

https://www.zerohanger.com/champion-data-simulates-2018-season-18323/

toxic you gotta be happy with a simulated top four finish?

 

[gringo2011]

Championship data ran 100,000 simulations of the 2018 season and the Saints finished top of the table 2000 times.

Just saying.

https://www.zerohanger.com/champion-data-simulates-2018-season-18323/

toxic you gotta be happy with a simulated top four finish?

Collingwood is the only one that looks out of place to me. The Pies have a better list than a bottom 8 side but they are very imbalanced and seem to be poorly coached. Buckley is the opposite to Richo, he seems to have sides that play below where they should naturally sit. They have their usual super easy draw but there is so many question marks over them and the way they lost to GWS makes it hard to believe they will just flick he switch on, round one.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Collingwood could be in big trouble if they don't get close to their full side in by R1, as they apparently have a very difficult draw to start the year. So many that they desperately need to have up and firing weren't available for their game the other day.

 

[gringo2011]

Collingwood could be in big trouble if they don't get close to their full side in by R1, as they apparently have a very difficult draw to start the year. So many that they desperately need to have up and firing weren't available for their game the other day.

Yep supposedly they have about 5 players who are all in their best dozen or so all starting with a less than ideal preparation. Buckley could be in a fair bit of trouble if they start badly.

 

[Human Person]

Yep supposedly they have about 5 players who are all in their best dozen or so all starting with a less than ideal preparation. Buckley could be in a fair bit of trouble if they start badly.

Buckley is in trouble every year.

 

[Mowman]

Collingwood could be in big trouble if they don't get close to their full side in by R1, as they apparently have a very difficult draw to start the year. So many that they desperately need to have up and firing weren't available for their game the other day.

We can only hope so

 

[Diehard Saint]

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/which-way-is-up-for-the-saints-20180302-p4z2k9.html

Good article by Peter Ryan in today's Age.

 

[aussierulesrules]

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/which-way-is-up-for-the-saints-20180302-p4z2k9.html

Good article by Peter Ryan in today's Age.

Fair to say that finding that ideal balance is a massive key to our fortunes this year and for mine the other night was further evidence that we are better with the two tall marking targets, plus the more mobile and agile Membrey.

 

[DarkSaint]

We must play the 3 talls especially if Bruce is to be used as a back up ruckman.

Way too easily last year when Bruce was in the ruck did Membrey get out marked due to the opposition having 2 extra talls than us

 

[mufti15]

We must play the 3 talls especially if Bruce is to be used as a back up ruckman.

Way too easily last year when Bruce was in the ruck did Membrey get out marked due to the opposition having 2 extra talls than us

Would be nice if we stopped bombing it high and long every time