Game Day Round 11, 2020: St.Kilda v Geelong *BYTEL DEBUT*

[George]

 

[Murraj1966]

If we win top 4 becomes a real reality to our finish this year.

With the loss of Jones though I'm not feeling optimistic but to be fair I still haven't really felt optimistic all year as I'm just waiting for it all to fall in a heap. Thankfully they keep surprising me and I hope it happens again tonight.

Saints by 18. Bytel 20 touches 10 contested.

 

[Crusty Undies]

If we win top 4 becomes a real reality to our finish this year.

With the loss of Jones though I'm not feeling optimistic but to be fair I still haven't really felt optimistic all year as I'm just waiting for it all to fall in a heap. Thankfully they keep surprising me and I hope it happens again tonight.

Saints by 18. Bytel 20 touches 10 contested.

Dream big. Bytel 50 touches, 49 contested, more clearances than anyone else has possessions.

 

[Hubnester]

Hard to believe it's game day. I feel like I've barely recovered from the last game.
Hope the boys have recovered better than I have...

 

[Sarcoidevo]

Not holding my breath but a win and 15 for Bytel would loosen my loins

Unfortunately I am begrudgingly expecting a loss and 10 though (maybe its old Sainter in me) ..... hope in hell I am wrong!!

 

[SainterOf92]

So pumped for this game hope I can get some sleep when night shifts over. Carn Saints!

 

[PoppedCorn]

Tbh im happy with what ive seen so far apart from norf and freo.
So im not expecting anything tonight and whatever happens im not fussed tbh

Its a marathon not a sprint, especially this year

No injuries is what matters, plus itd be nice if we dont get our pants pulled down

 

[jwikked]

I’m happy we’ve got the early slot. It was a shocker having the footy finish so late on Thursday night.

 

[_Maximus_12]

Two contrasting styles and contrasting a lists. Despite wins against Richmond & Port, this feels like the more important game for our momentum. Bytel seems like he’s got the temperament to go up against their midfield and not be overawed. Think we can run over the time of them if we can nullify their midfield

 

[bennymc7]

I rate the cats as the most well drilled side in the comp.. got the feeling they'll shut us down ala Freo and north..

Think they win by 3 goals

 

[L_W_P]

Will be interesting to see how the Geelong defence lines up tonight.

They are seriously tall which helps them on King, Battle, Membrey and the resting ruck. But how they deal with kent, Hind, Butler and Gresham is another story.

If we can find a way to get first use in the middle then I think we can do some serious damage. Ryder and Marshall should account for Stanley and Blicavs but we need to be smart. Tapping the ball 2 feet from the contest is only going to feed Danger, Selwood and co.

I'd be looking to hammer the ball 5+ meters away from the stoppage so that our guys can get on their bikes and outrun the Cats.

Saints by 10 points. Marshall BOG. Bytel with 10 touches and 10 tackles on debut.

 

[SaintersUnite]

Can’t see us winning this but would love to be proven wrong.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[pebblesofsand]

Thanks a lot for this St Cicatriz. Great analysis of the both the individual issue (Longs game) and the overall (how our defence is working (and growing) collectively).

I have no doubt that Long is seen as the "future" and therefore will get more chances over the likes of Savage and Webster - but that is no reason for so called "supporters" of the club to mislead and then bash players efforts simply to advance their own flawed arguments.

Tough game tonight where we may once again lose the centre and stoppage clearances so we will be dependent on maintaining our forward efficiency levels.

A bit of the Richmonds will be required tonight - win the ball back in defence and the move the ball quickly to take advantage of our goal kicking small forwards.

Expect that Scott will try to counter that by leaving players deep so hopefully we can change our entries and hit some lead up targets to mix it up. So perhaps the likes of Sinclair, Hill will be looking for Battle and Membrey a bit more than normal.

Hope Bytel shows a bit - a Dunstan like first up effort will be handy.

 

[Grav]

Last week Ratts gave Steele a rest in the forward line (not sure how long for) Billings replaced him in the centre, so obviously Ratts doesn’t mind mixing it up. Now seeing that we appear to look a little thin on mids this week maybe we see a few more rotations through the forward line including using Battle in the centre square.

 

[Ricmel]

I rate the cats as the most well drilled side in the comp.. got the feeling they'll shut us down ala Freo and north..

Think they win by 3 goals

I feel like this game should be 50/50 but Cats are a very disciplined team and I think that makes them favourites. We simply won't get the "out the back" goals we have been feeding on all year.

I do think we can win. If our defence maintains its' structure and we can get good drive from half back then we could possibly overwhelm them with speed of ball movement - Jones not playing is a big blow. Hill and Billings need to play right up to their best standard and Membery finding some form would be a big help.

Rohan is a big out for them.

 

[Saintbloke]

Not too sure how we'll do in this game, but as a top 3 team we should do OK. I thought the GC was not a great effort but we stood up in the final term. There is room for improvement by a few players and they all need to switch on tonight, though Jones will be missed, but I still don't think Phillips should have been dropped.

 

[Ricmel]

Interesting on Cats game day thread they are equally nervous about this game.

 

[Ricochet]

I'm not loving how some guys are conceding a loss already we should be showing believe in the boys I just hope the players are not in the same frame of mind.
Good luck to bytel hope he has a decent game would like him to play the next three games Wether he gets touches or not

 

[gringo2011]

Two contrasting styles and contrasting a lists. Despite wins against Richmond & Port, this feels like the more important game for our momentum. Bytel seems like he’s got the temperament to go up against their midfield and not be overawed. Think we can run over the time of them if we can nullify their midfield

We are only 2 games clear of 11th place and Essendon and Melbourne have both got a game in hand. This period will be massive, sides that can keep their heads and lists in tact and bank wins will get a huge chance at top 4. Drop a couple and you are back in the pack.

Every game is massive at the moment. With the side we have in we might be on the back foot but Ratts seems to relish pulling apart other sides above us one the ladder. Hopefully he's been spending his time picking Scott apart.

 

[gringo2011]

Interesting on Cats game day thread they are equally nervous about this game.

It's been a while since anyone feared the Saints, it's a good feeling. Most of my mates laughed at us and bragged about percentage boosters when they played us. Hopefully we continue striking fear into other supporters, I'm like a bullied kid that had a holiday growth spurt and can't wait to get back to school to kick some heads.

 

[gringo2011]

View attachment 931854


Thanks a lot for this St Cicatriz. Great analysis of the both the individual issue (Longs game) and the overall (how our defence is working (and growing) collectively).

I have no doubt that Long is seen as the "future" and therefore will get more chances over the likes of Savage and Webster - but that is no reason for so called "supporters" of the club to mislead and then bash players efforts simply to advance their own flawed arguments.

Tough game tonight where we may once again lose the centre and stoppage clearances so we will be dependent on maintaining our forward efficiency levels.

A bit of the Richmonds will be required tonight - win the ball back in defence and the move the ball quickly to take advantage of our goal kicking small forwards.

Expect that Scott will try to counter that by leaving players deep so hopefully we can change our entries and hit some lead up targets to mix it up. So perhaps the likes of Sinclair, Hill will be looking for Battle and Membrey a bit more than normal.

Hope Bytel shows a bit - a Dunstan like first up effort will be handy.

Hopefully Long gets Danger playing forward and stops him getting a touch. High hopes for Bytel, I'll try not to build him up this time, I went overboard with Byrnes and probably contributed to the sense of disappointment when he wasn't a superstar in his first outing. If he get 10 to 15 touches with a couple of runs in the mids he will have had a very good first up run.

 

[Veer Right]

I'm not loving how some guys are conceding a loss already we should be showing believe in the boys I just hope the players are not in the same frame of mind.
Good luck to bytel hope he has a decent game would like him to play the next three games Wether he gets touches or not

They are being superstitious by saying we will lose hoping that means a win.

 

[gringo2011]

I rate the cats as the most well drilled side in the comp.. got the feeling they'll shut us down ala Freo and north..

Think they win by 3 goals

Both those games were us snoozing when we thought we'd already won before nailing the door shut. I doubt we snooze like that against a good side. If we fail this time it's either a Collingwood style collapse or a 4 quarter grind. Hopefully their old bodies are slower to recover than our youth heavy side. Conditioning will be huge in this period and no-one has a guidebook for it. A lot will be luck with injury and fatigue.

 

[BrutThough]

They are being superstitious by saying we will lose hoping that means a win.

Its refreshing compared to what the Dogs, Tigers, Carlton, Port, Sydney and even at times Gold Coast supporters were saying before we played them.

 

[bennymc7]

Hopefully Long gets Danger playing forward and stops him getting a touch. High hopes for Bytel, I'll try not to build him up this time, I went overboard with Byrnes and probably contributed to the sense of disappointment when he wasn't a superstar in his first outing. If he get 10 to 15 touches with a couple of runs in the mids he will have had a very good first up run.

Wilkie the obvious match up for danger imo