Preview Round 14: St.Kilda vs Gold Coast - Etihad Stadium (H), Sunday 25 June 2017, 4:40pm AEST

[NarklesHelmet]

Paddy won't push any forwards out unless there's an injury or:

• He starts pressuring better and improves his second efforts, and
• He starts kicking goals in the seniors. His goal kicking is awful at the moment

Until he improves on the above when we have no injuries, the coaches have no choice, he won't be getting a game as it stands at the moment. Another pre-season into him and it will be a different story though I suspect.

 

[#gosaintas]

Paddy won't push any forwards out unless there's an injury or:

• He starts pressuring better and improves his second efforts, and
• He starts kicking goals in the seniors. His goal kicking is awful at the moment

Until he improves on the above when we have no injuries, the coaches have no choice, he won't be getting a game as it stands at the moment. Another pre-season into him and it will be a different story though I suspect.

Lucky we have Mav and hop along Roo in the fwd line. Impossible to dislodge those two.

 

[bobbyjack]

A couple of points:

1. Club champion and living legend Roo doesn't get shafted so a key forward can be nursed into elite status from so-far average output. Paddy was a No 1 draft pick? That's nice but guess what? So was Nick Riewoldt. And he has many more runs on the board and is still getting it done. When Paddy is an undroppable, undeniable, consistent force then Nick will get a tap on the shoulder, but no armchair rides just because we're afraid he'll go.

Some keyboard warriors here seem to think this is just about trades and picks and football is fuel for their forum bantz, but in the old days to take a spot off a champion, you had to beat them first, or wait for them to retire. Talking about our club having the balls to drop Roo? Please. How about having the balls to keep Paddy hungry enough to earn his spot by something other than default, in the face of media condemnation or trade threats.

2. AFL site annoyed me by reporting that GAJ will "miss his 300th game". Idiots. Someone else will play it for him, will they? He'll be back for game 301? Just a bit of thought and they could have said his 300th game will be a round later.

3. Nothing wrong with Steele being given a bit of time in the VFL. He's a young guy coming off a limited pre-season and his longest run of AFL games ever, he can recharge and let Dunstan show us what he's about, or alternately show potential suitors what he can offer.

4. Gold Coast beat us last year. Even with all their outs, we may thrash them and we may not. If we assume we will, we're toast. Make no mistake, we're the hunted in this round so those young pretenders in the surf lifesaver gear will be looking to prove themselves. Look sharp, Saints.

Bloody good post!


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[Yawkey way]

It's a really interesting situation with roo and paddy but hardly unique this plays out at one club or another every year.

Last year I watched on as boomer and one of my favourites from the opposition jimmy Bartel were given the thanks for coming can you clean out your locker, it didn't sit well with me.

It's so often a vexed question with ageing champions who are still best 22, do you play them and keep out a young gun or do you demand best 22 or bad luck.

For me it depends on the position of the club, the form and fitness of the champ and the quality of the replacement.

Roo when fit is still in our best four, the club is a chance for finals and paddy is underwhelming imho.

Roo stays if he can get himself fit and my advice to paddy would be demand selection on form, there is always a spot for a player who is kicking the door down in the reserves. At present he isn't doing that and imho doesn't have much to complain about.

The reality is nicks future is not linked to paddy, it's really his body one more injury or a couple more weeks of the bloke who can barely bend down limping around the ground and that will be it.

 

[gringo2011]

This is where it's confusing.

If Richo won't play all of Roo, Bruce, Membrey and Paddy, and if all 4 are in form, then one has to miss out. And that one is Paddy.

So it's all well and good to tell Paddy he has to go back to Sandy and do this and do that. But it seems that if he does this and does that, and even if he does this and that very well, then he still misses because you apparently can't play all 4 of them.

People can say it doesn't matter what number he was drafted at but it does. It matters to the club which is already being publicly taken to task by certain media for making the wrong decision. And it would matter to Paddy who would be querying his future with a club that can't fit him in.

I don't normally have a lot of time for Mick Turner however his reported comments today regarding Paddy make a lot of sense. Yes the Saints should be playing Paddy for the sake of his development (the Tom Hawkins example is once again quoted). But his point about playing too long in the VFL and starting to think you're a VFL player is well made.

Paddy might be contracted til the end of 2018, but if Roo plays in 2018, and it's widely considered he will, how will Paddy get a game if nothing else changes?

And if that's the case I'm sure he will be gone at the end of 2018.

And we won't be able to ask the world for him.

IMO Paddy should be in this week, against a team we're at least a chance of dominating. Would've at least given him a chance to have a breakout game after having faced the Swan, Bulldogs & Crows (in Adelaide) defences.

Today's footy needs players who can play several positions or have a second string to their position. Bruce is extremely mobile and runs back to defence and provides options for kickers all the way up the ground, Riewoldt still covers more ground than most tall forwards in the comp, Membery is playing a running role where once the ball is bounced he is off towards the play and adds something like an extra wingman even though he sets up around CHF. Unfortunately there is probably only one stagnant big forward left these days and that's Tomahawk.

He's more effective because of his size than Paddy, Cloke is probably the other one and he looks like the game has passed him by. Paddy probably needs games but he needs to also get himself into a state of fitness that makes him look like he means business and start to play a game that makes him a threat that drags a defender to him. He's at least looking good at VFL level but I still have the memory of that game where he had about 2 touches.

 

[Timeoftheseason]

Any chance they would pull Ablett just so he plays his 300th at home next week ? Would be a big call since they can still make the finals.


Sent via An Owl , HAL is on a break.

Yeh maybe the lure of playing his 300th in front of 600 people was too enticing...

 

[gringo2011]

It's a really interesting situation with roo and paddy but hardly unique this plays out at one club or another every year.

Last year I watched on as boomer and one of my favourites from the opposition jimmy Bartel were given the thanks for coming can you clean out your locker, it didn't sit well with me.

It's so often a vexed question with ageing champions who are still best 22, do you play them and keep out a young gun or do you demand best 22 or bad luck.

For me it depends on the position of the club, the form and fitness of the champ and the quality of the replacement.

Roo when fit is still in our best four, the club is a chance for finals and paddy is underwhelming imho.

Roo stays if he can get himself fit and my advice to paddy would be demand selection on form, there is always a spot for a player who is kicking the door down in the reserves. At present he isn't doing that and imho doesn't have much to complain about.

The reality is nicks future is not linked to paddy, it's really his body one more injury or a couple more weeks of the bloke who can barely bend down limping around the ground and that will be it.

Yeah as a club we are in a different position with very few old guys left. We aren't so deep there are good kids demanding spots and having to move players on to save kids walking. North came to the end after running close and really had to reload and Geelong has been slowly replacing one or two a year for ages.

 

[plugger66]

Lucky we have Mav and hop along Roo in the fwd line. Impossible to dislodge those two.

Well Mav has nothing to do with Paddy playing and Roo even at his fitness at the moment is clearly better for the side than Paddy. We aren't rebuilding anymore. Paddy gets a game when he is better than a tall forward.

 

[#gosaintas]

Roo should play on the wing, rest up until he's fit or retire.
Mav should be playing at Sandy.
Paddy should be playing in the seniors.

 

[plugger66]

Roo should play on the wing, rest up until he's fit or retire.
Mav should be playing at Sandy.
Paddy should be playing in the seniors.

Roo isn't fir enough to play on the wing but he is fit enough to still be our best forward. Its not that hard to understand. By the way do you have to knock a Saints player every week? Not a bad theory.

 

[#gosaintas]

Roo isn't fir enough to play on the wing but he is fit enough to still be our best forward. Its not that hard to understand. By the way do you have to knock a Saints player every week? Not a bad theory.

He's even admitted he wasn't fit enough to play recently and shouldn't have. The guy's on one leg. Richo needs to grow some balls. Develop Paddy in the one's and play Roo only if he's fit enough to play up the field. Mav is stinking it up every week and should be playing at sandy until he finds form.

 

[plugger66]

He's even admitted he wasn't fit enough to play recently and shouldn't have. The guy's on one leg. Richo needs to grow some balls. Develop Paddy in the one's and play Roo only if he's fit enough to play up the field. Mav is stinking it up every week and should be playing at sandy until he finds form.

Well if we listened to you we wouldn't have a captain this year.

 

[#gosaintas]

Well if we listened to you we wouldn't have a captain this year.

Yeah we would, it would be Newnes, as it should be.

 

[gringo2011]

He's even admitted he wasn't fit enough to play recently and shouldn't have. The guy's on one leg. Richo needs to grow some balls. Develop Paddy in the one's and play Roo only if he's fit enough to play up the field. Mav is stinking it up every week and should be playing at sandy until he finds form.

It's worry that no one is taking Rooey's spot when he's on one leg.

 

[lewdogs]

He's even admitted he wasn't fit enough to play recently and shouldn't have. The guy's on one leg. Richo needs to grow some balls. Develop Paddy in the one's and play Roo only if he's fit enough to play up the field. Mav is stinking it up every week and should be playing at sandy until he finds form.

Roo looked rusty last week. Was still about 10 times better than Paddy. We are a chance to make finals and need to do our best to win each week.

Good sides have good depth. We have that now. It's unlucky for Paddy that he got injured but the fact is those in the team earnt their spot. It's not rocket science. I'd say it takes guts to play a number 1 draft pick in the 2s but its the right choice at this stage.

Also, it doesn't actually matter that much how good Paddy is now. He needs to develop his tank, we know he has the ability. What matters is how good he is in 2 years.

 

[pebblesofsand]

The problem is that the Roo Bruce Membrey McCartin problem is that its actually only a Roo Bruce McCartin problem. They would never drop Membrey and replace with McCartin unless you played Roo on the wing where he can't play at the moment + you'd have to drop Sinclair.

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[STK2020]

I think the odd man out is Bruce , his position becomes fwd / ruck roll and he cant do that .
Roo's position must be filled by an elite midfielder .

 

[#gosaintas]

It's worry that no one is taking Rooey's spot when he's on one leg.

Because at the moment, Roo is bigger than the club. Even when he knows he's not right to play, he plays.

 

[VDS66]

He's even admitted he wasn't fit enough to play recently and shouldn't have. The guy's on one leg. Richo needs to grow some balls. Develop Paddy in the one's and play Roo only if he's fit enough to play up the field. Mav is stinking it up every week and should be playing at sandy until he finds form.

There was a great opportunity for you to put your views across to Richo on Thursday... did you do it?

 

[Palantine]

Roo gets up the ground so much anyway, so even if he's not on the wing there should still be room for Paddy up forward as Membrey moves up the ground too and isn't even a tall. And we're somehow back to Bruce playing in the ruck?! wtf

It's not like Longer is taking McEvoy type marks inside fifty (or even like Hickey for that matter).

We've got an over surplus of small forwards imo either permanent or resting:

Steven, Lonie, Sinclair, Billings, Gresham, Stevens, Weller, Acres, Dunstan (with only Steven and Billings kicking goals)

In my view we're still a developing team, and there's no convincing reason to not play Paddy this weekend, so it's crap.

Aerially we get beaten most weeks, which is why Roo is so important. But we need more contested markers to come on.

I'm just super appreciative of Selection Insider which, this week in particular, if you've watched it, gave us such insightful information.

 

[gilbert the best]

when paddy was drafted it was common knowledge that it was a long term prospect and it is .at present he wouldn't get a game for any other club, and if he was traded now would be lucky to get late second rounder early third rounder.
membery plays more up the ground now so kicks less goals, and deserves his spot every week, as does roo who is amongst our best players.
that's the way I see it.

 

[#gosaintas]

Roo gets up the ground so much anyway, so even if he's not on the wing there should still be room for Paddy up forward as Membrey moves up the ground too and isn't even a tall. And we're somehow back to Bruce playing in the ruck?! wtf



I'm just super appreciative of Selection Insider which, this week in particular, if you've watched it, gave us such insightful information.

Selection Insider was a cracker this week. No wonder we can't work out our fwd line when Hamill is the fwd coach. Inspirational stuff there from the coaching brains trust. Anyone wondering about selection issues and policies just needs to watch this high quality production.

 

[Crusty Undies]

Selection Insider was very insightful, no wonder our forward line is functioning so well with a tactical mastermind such as Hamill behind it.

 

[Gangnam Saint]

Selection Insider was a cracker this week. No wonder we can't work out our fwd line when Hamill is the fwd coach. Inspirational stuff there from the coaching brains trust. Anyone wondering about selection issues and policies just needs to watch this high quality production.

Got some sympathy for the view that our assistant coaching ranks need a shake up. Not sure Sammy's lacklustre skills in front of the camera mean anything though. That's just optics not anything of substance.

 

[puppy_dog7]

Exactly, got no problem with Roo keeps his spot because on output he is still the best of the 4. The issue here is Membrey keeping his spot over Paddy who has been in better form playing on the oppositions no.1 forward this allowing Bruce more freedom (see crows game).

So we drop Membrey, the bloke who is 2nd at the club for marks. leading the club in contested marks (easily). And is 2nd behind only Ross for score involvements?

Just because he's not kicking as many goals as last year, doesn't mean he's not contributing. He's been our most consistent forward of all of them.
Would be unfair to drop him