Preview Preview- Round 1 2018: SAINT Kilda vs Brisbane

[winged1]

Want to see what we can do on a dry deck. Can' t much from the Swans game as that was a ******* disgraceful effort. Berry I'm excited to see.

Berry is the man, 19 and holding down an on ball position.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Berry is the man, 19 and holding down an on ball position.

Serious leadership credentials too, will probably be formally recognised as early as next year.

 

[jackess]

Berry is the man, 19 and holding down an on ball position.

Does all the small things right. The coaches must love him.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Maybe they preferred his flexibility.

I suspect they prefer his potential as a KPP.

 

[Ironmonger]

Could come straight in if Jack Steven doesn’t come up.

Maybe, but he isn't listed as one of the emergencies.

 

[tate13]

I'm not overly optimistic, but perhaps that's years of conditioning at hand. Like the team - I must say I'm a little surprised about Matho (is he injured?) not even being named. I think he's a solid midfield option and to see some of those names selected ahead of him is a worrying sign for him. Also feel for Bastinac - thought he ended last year solidly and provided a goal kicking option in a team devoid of them. Having said that, looking at the team - if we get the ball movement flowing on the Etihad deck, the pace will be a feature.

 

[Hollow Knight]

You have to go with Bell over Matho at the moment purely on running power alone.

Matho might shade Bell for midfield craft but no point if he can only do it for three quarters.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

I'm not overly optimistic, but perhaps that's years of conditioning at hand. Like the team - I must say I'm a little surprised about Matho (is he injured?) not even being named. I think he's a solid midfield option and to see some of those names selected ahead of him is a worrying sign for him. Also feel for Bastinac - thought he ended last year solidly and provided a goal kicking option in a team devoid of them. Having said that, looking at the team - if we get the ball movement flowing on the Etihad deck, the pace will be a feature.

Really squeezed out by the additions this year - Cameron, Christensen, Robbo and Rayner. But if we have a shocker he will no doubt come into consideration.

 

[chopperduck]

And a fit list. Will only take a couple of injuries for the likes of Matho and Basti to get into the team. Bundy, Bell and Robbo all back from injury and Charlie, Hodge and Rayner new additions. 6 spots in a 22 man team compared to late last year.

 

[mish33]

You have to go with Bell over Matho at the moment purely on running power alone.

Matho might shade Bell for midfield craft but no point if he can only do it for three quarters.

Also happy to go with the senior player for round 1 if it's a line ball call. Fagan did it last year with frost too. The younger player is much less likely to drop their head, keeping up the pressure for places.

 

[notliondown]

It's actually hard to criticise the selections this week... Ballenden is certainly a surprise. The Bell selection is the most controversial but you can also see why.

I don't actually think we match up too badly on the Saints and our team is the strongest is been in years. It's actually a pretty decent mix.

My biggest concern is simply not enough time together. Hodge, Cameron, Rayner, Christensen and to a degree Robinson are effectively new players for us this year - which is damn near a third of the team if they all end up on the field at the same time. With 2 pretty pointless JLT games it's really hard to assess how we gel as a team at this stage and it's almost certain to be clunky at times.

Rather than the Saints killing us, I sort of expect us to suffer quite a few self inflicted wounds. If we can limit own goals (literally) and manage to gain familiarity quickly I think we'll do well.

Worst case is we gain experience together as a team. Given the strength of the list and the likely rotations through the team this year knowing and learning how we play together will be critical.

 

[MacMum]

Big day tomorrow! One more sleep and it's back, baby!!

Go you beautiful boys and girls

 

[Balony_pony16]

You have to go with Bell over Matho at the moment purely on running power alone.

Matho might shade Bell for midfield craft but no point if he can only do it for three quarters.

Yeah prob right. I do think guys like bell & matho will just be hanging onto their spots (could see these guys rotate on form) until Starcevich comes on. Sooner rather then later I hope.

 

[Balony_pony16]

It's actually hard to criticise the selections this week... Ballenden is certainly a surprise. The Bell selection is the most controversial but you can also see why.

I don't actually think we match up too badly on the Saints and our team is the strongest is been in years. It's actually a pretty decent mix.

My biggest concern is simply not enough time together. Hodge, Cameron, Rayner, Christensen and to a degree Robinson are effectively new players for us this year - which is damn near a third of the team if they all end up on the field at the same time. With 2 pretty pointless JLT games it's really hard to assess how we gel as a team at this stage and it's almost certain to be clunky at times.

Rather than the Saints killing us, I sort of expect us to suffer quite a few self inflicted wounds. If we can limit own goals (literally) and manage to gain familiarity quickly I think we'll do well.

Worst case is we gain experience together as a team. Given the strength of the list and the likely rotations through the team this year knowing and learning how we play together will be critical.

Yeah I’m pretty happy even if I don’t like some guys long term like bell. But you gotta play kids when they are ready and I 100% back Fagan to make the right Call kid debuts. Eventually we will see bailey, starcevich, Cox types best 22, and they will push the Bell types (unless they have some massive jump in improvement) out of the team. Until then this sort of team doesn’t surprise me.

 

[Gadzorks]

I think this game is a possible steal for us.

I expect the saints will finish above us by the end is the season but the loss Riewoldt, Montagna and Dempster will be big for a couple of reasons.

One is the hodge factor - even though we don't expect him to play all the games we know his impact is already significant so it stands to reason the loss of 3 with major experience must also impact.

Also Dempster and Montagna missed a lot of 2017 but the game plan set up at the start of 2017 planned for all 3 to be playing. The game plan would have been revised in their absence but revamped for 2018. I expect it will take some time for them to gel along the lines of our pre and post bye performance last year, and that they are going to be vulnerable early. Will be frustrating when a lot seems the same but key players are not there.

Notliondown makes a great point about our experience being pseudo newbies but I think the difference is expectation - we know and expect to have to make decisions without intrinsic expectations but the saints are mostly the same without the key players. That expectation could have them making as many errors as us and it just might get us over the line.

 

[charles202]

Nice to see we have a mix of speed, endurance and some mids with some size.

Been frustrating seeing us lose the physicality battle in the midfield over the last 5 years as we played kids versus men.

We still have some kids out there but the likes of Berry and Rayner will be felt by the Sts despite their tender years.

No complaints about selection but looking at our list a couple more wingers would be handy but they are almost the final piece of the puzzle types...so all in good time.

 

[Kernel Kurtz]

Berry is the man, 19 and holding down an on ball position.

He's everything We wanted Reddo to be and he is there already, I can't wait till he dominates that role.

 

[Kernel Kurtz]

I'm not overly optimistic, but perhaps that's years of conditioning at hand. Like the team - I must say I'm a little surprised about Matho (is he injured?) not even being named. I think he's a solid midfield option and to see some of those names selected ahead of him is a worrying sign for him. Also feel for Bastinac - thought he ended last year solidly and provided a goal kicking option in a team devoid of them. Having said that, looking at the team - if we get the ball movement flowing on the Etihad deck, the pace will be a feature.

We might see Basti come back if we need a bit more cohesion between zones , or even a bit more level headed kicking instead of just dropping it on the boot . Usually a player that looks for a decent target (usually).
Matho well I'll be convinced when he can run back as hard as he can forward.
Few excuses about his tank last year with regards to this so here's hoping he goes to the required level.

 

[jjami15]

Just a small take away (and realisation of first round) from last night's game but damn it was fast. I haven't been across St Kilda and if they're an overalll fast team but I wouldn't say that we are exactly a team with a lot of foot speed. We do have a couple but my main concern is down back as none of them are fast you would say and think that we will get burnt by this tomorrow (would rather be wrong). Our team structures will have to be on point if we are to win this one and happy to have Hodge marshalling the troops down back.

It was also evident last night with Paddy Dow that the pre-season has nothing on the real season as a number of times I saw him struggling to keep up when the ball was in his area. This brings me back to Rayner who as we know doesn't have the best endurance so I think we will have to reign in our expectations a bit. This is where having the 'sub' was beneficial for younger players.

Understand it sounds quite pessimistic but hey I can't be called be realistic either.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Just a small take away (and realisation of first round) from last night's game but damn it was fast. I haven't been across St Kilda and if they're an overalll fast team but I wouldn't say that we are exactly a team with a lot of foot speed. We do have a couple but my main concern is down back as none of them are fast you would say and think that we will get burnt by this tomorrow (would rather be wrong). Our team structures will have to be on point if we are to win this one and happy to have Hodge marshalling the troops down back.

It was also evident last night with Paddy Dow that the pre-season has nothing on the real season as a number of times I saw him struggling to keep up when the ball was in his area. This brings me back to Rayner who as we know doesn't have the best endurance so I think we will have to reign in our expectations a bit. This is where having the 'sub' was beneficial for younger players.

Understand it sounds quite pessimistic but hey I can't be called be realistic either.

It was a fast game overall but I don't think either team had a particularly speedy backline. We do lack a quickish HBF which is why it would have been nice to see Allison or Cutler picked but overall this side has more pace than most we have put on the field in the last four or five years.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Worst selection night meltdown ever.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Worst selection night meltdown ever.

Post-game might make up for it.

 

[3KZ is Football]

New season, new opportunity for Bell. I think he had a ‘shocker’ last year and my brain is still aches when I think of his terrible decision making when I travelled to Launceston to watch us against Hawthorn last year. BUT, BUT, BUT, he has been selected and we should give him a go. Not sure what his role will be. If Lester plays as a genuine wingman, then perhaps Bell will play the pinch hitting role Lester played last year in defence and forward. Expecting to see Bell bobbing in and out of the game, jagging a goal or two and putting some physical pressure on in defence when we need an extra number.

 

[Harris Specter]

Yeah absence of Cutler, Allison and Cox means that we are a slower team. Other than Zorko, Cameron, Hipwood and possibly Robertson, we haven't got much blistering pace.

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Yeah absence of Cutler, Allison and Cox means that we are a slower team. Other than Zorko, Cameron, Hipwood and possibly Robertson, we haven't got much blistering pace.

Squizzy?