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Reimagine Moorabbin
- Aug 17, 2015
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lewdogs has written up a terrific preview for this weeks game. I'll add it to the first post as well as just below;
It has been a difficult season so far for our beloved Saints after the AFL joyride that was 2020. Expectations were high going in that despite our tough draw we could maybe go another step further this year, and it all started well with a gutsy win against the Giants. Then up against Melbourne we were dominating the game early and looked great. I’m not sure what happened in the second quarter of that Melbourne game, but some evil curse seemed to befall us and we went bad quick. The Essendon game the following week was an unmitigated disaster and we’ve been barely keeping our heads above water since – each time there’s a glimmer of a life jacket (the Eagles game), we quickly find said life jacket is pockered full of holes (the Tigers, Port and Dogs games).
And yet here we are with life in our season. How did we get here you ask? Well it’s simple, we’ve still managed to win games. They haven’t always been pretty, they haven’t always been easy, but we have eked out wins and find ourselves at 5-6, with two games left until the bye.
It has been a season marred by injury and form loss. Coffield and Long, mainstays of our backline in 2020, have found themselves at Sandringham. Dan Butler has gone from Jeeves to the murderer in Cluedo. And if Brad Hill’s form was any colder he could play Arnie in that terrible Batman movie.
So with the media coming at us, the fans up in arms and opposition supporters sharpening their classic St Kilda quips, how do we get things back on track? Well I am here to tell you Saints fans it is simple and it can start as early as this week…
Yes, it’s the tonic to all AFL woes. Essendon fans who were microwaving their memberships only two months ago are now back on board with gooey membership cards on hand. The ski slopes will be abandoned this winter as Dees fans stick around and the Dogs are the greatest midfield that ever lived on a football field. Why you ask? Well they are winning games of football.
It’s all so simple. So how do we start this week? To be honest I don’t know but here’s an uninformed preview with a few ideas…
The Swans have been a bolter in 2021, rejuvenated through some gun young players, their older guys seem to be loving their footy again and they are playing well. Last week they were tested by the Blues, only to run away in the last quarter. The Blues midfield gave them some concerns and Harry McKay a few headaches, but in the end it was the class of Papley and Franklin that was just too good.
One of the big factors this year has been Tom Hickey, and he returns this week. The battle of Hickey v Ryder will be massive – Tom brings so much energy all over the ground, but Ryder can definitely cause him some issues with his tap work, which hopefully our midfielders can make the most of.
The big worry for me is always Buddy. He is a champion of the game and averages 3.4 goals a game against the Saints. He is just coming back into some form and we will need to stop his influence on the game if we are to have any chance.
The game of course takes place at the SCG because of the Melbourne lockdown. I don’t think we have won at the ground since 2009. Having said that, the Swans haven’t had any issue with belting us at Docklands either, so hopefully this Sydney/Cairns jaunt can see us get some vibe back amongst the side.
Expect a good old-fashioned scrap on the inside as Ryder/Steele/Crouch/Dunstan go up against Hickey/Parker/Kennedy/Mills. It will be intriguing to see who we send Dunstan to after he did a good job on Cunnington last week. Perhaps Parker will be his man.
The middle is where the crux of the game will be played, and if we are to have any chance of winning we need to get on top. It is certainly an area of the park where we match up quite well against the Swans. Hopefully we can get some ascendency and create some chances, which will lead to
The source of so much of our frustration and disappointment this year has been poor goal conversion. Our terrible goal kicking creates a many-fold problem – it not only doesn’t help our score, it means that the opposition get a lead once they get chances which gives them confidence and causes our heads to drop etc etc etc. It is a really REALLY big problem that comes back mostly to our confidence issues.
However, I tend to think that once it rains it will pour goals for the Saints. When we get over this issue we will have a day when things really go our way, so let’s hope it is on Saturday.
We have lacked it this year. Whether it’s the lack of form from Coffield and Long, the loss of Paton, who knows, but we just can’t seem to rebound the ball from defence. If we are to change the way we play in 2021 and start getting back to WINNING (as mentioned earlier) we need to find a way to rebound the ball. It is an area that other sides have developed whereas we have gone backwards. Again, let’s hope it starts on Saturday.
It has been a difficult season so far for our beloved Saints after the AFL joyride that was 2020. Expectations were high going in that despite our tough draw we could maybe go another step further this year, and it all started well with a gutsy win against the Giants. Then up against Melbourne we were dominating the game early and looked great. I’m not sure what happened in the second quarter of that Melbourne game, but some evil curse seemed to befall us and we went bad quick. The Essendon game the following week was an unmitigated disaster and we’ve been barely keeping our heads above water since – each time there’s a glimmer of a life jacket (the Eagles game), we quickly find said life jacket is pockered full of holes (the Tigers, Port and Dogs games).
And yet here we are with life in our season. How did we get here you ask? Well it’s simple, we’ve still managed to win games. They haven’t always been pretty, they haven’t always been easy, but we have eked out wins and find ourselves at 5-6, with two games left until the bye.
It has been a season marred by injury and form loss. Coffield and Long, mainstays of our backline in 2020, have found themselves at Sandringham. Dan Butler has gone from Jeeves to the murderer in Cluedo. And if Brad Hill’s form was any colder he could play Arnie in that terrible Batman movie.
So with the media coming at us, the fans up in arms and opposition supporters sharpening their classic St Kilda quips, how do we get things back on track? Well I am here to tell you Saints fans it is simple and it can start as early as this week…
WINNING
Yes, it’s the tonic to all AFL woes. Essendon fans who were microwaving their memberships only two months ago are now back on board with gooey membership cards on hand. The ski slopes will be abandoned this winter as Dees fans stick around and the Dogs are the greatest midfield that ever lived on a football field. Why you ask? Well they are winning games of football.
It’s all so simple. So how do we start this week? To be honest I don’t know but here’s an uninformed preview with a few ideas…
THE OPPOSITION
The Swans have been a bolter in 2021, rejuvenated through some gun young players, their older guys seem to be loving their footy again and they are playing well. Last week they were tested by the Blues, only to run away in the last quarter. The Blues midfield gave them some concerns and Harry McKay a few headaches, but in the end it was the class of Papley and Franklin that was just too good.
One of the big factors this year has been Tom Hickey, and he returns this week. The battle of Hickey v Ryder will be massive – Tom brings so much energy all over the ground, but Ryder can definitely cause him some issues with his tap work, which hopefully our midfielders can make the most of.
The big worry for me is always Buddy. He is a champion of the game and averages 3.4 goals a game against the Saints. He is just coming back into some form and we will need to stop his influence on the game if we are to have any chance.
The game of course takes place at the SCG because of the Melbourne lockdown. I don’t think we have won at the ground since 2009. Having said that, the Swans haven’t had any issue with belting us at Docklands either, so hopefully this Sydney/Cairns jaunt can see us get some vibe back amongst the side.
MIDFIELD BATTLE
Expect a good old-fashioned scrap on the inside as Ryder/Steele/Crouch/Dunstan go up against Hickey/Parker/Kennedy/Mills. It will be intriguing to see who we send Dunstan to after he did a good job on Cunnington last week. Perhaps Parker will be his man.
The middle is where the crux of the game will be played, and if we are to have any chance of winning we need to get on top. It is certainly an area of the park where we match up quite well against the Swans. Hopefully we can get some ascendency and create some chances, which will lead to
GOAL CONVERSION
The source of so much of our frustration and disappointment this year has been poor goal conversion. Our terrible goal kicking creates a many-fold problem – it not only doesn’t help our score, it means that the opposition get a lead once they get chances which gives them confidence and causes our heads to drop etc etc etc. It is a really REALLY big problem that comes back mostly to our confidence issues.
However, I tend to think that once it rains it will pour goals for the Saints. When we get over this issue we will have a day when things really go our way, so let’s hope it is on Saturday.
REBOUND
We have lacked it this year. Whether it’s the lack of form from Coffield and Long, the loss of Paton, who knows, but we just can’t seem to rebound the ball from defence. If we are to change the way we play in 2021 and start getting back to WINNING (as mentioned earlier) we need to find a way to rebound the ball. It is an area that other sides have developed whereas we have gone backwards. Again, let’s hope it starts on Saturday.
TIP
In this life, one must have hope. As the great science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote, “It is better to live with disappointment and frustration than to live without hope”. And thus is the life of a St Kilda supporter.
So can we get our rebound back? Can we convert our goals this week? Can we find our mojo? Can we win at the SCG for the first time since 2009?
Well I bloody hope so.
Saints by 1 point.
In this life, one must have hope. As the great science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote, “It is better to live with disappointment and frustration than to live without hope”. And thus is the life of a St Kilda supporter.
So can we get our rebound back? Can we convert our goals this week? Can we find our mojo? Can we win at the SCG for the first time since 2009?
Well I bloody hope so.
Saints by 1 point.
