Autopsy Round 15, 2021: Richmond v St.Kilda *CONNOLLY DEBUT*

[Sully111]

It's no coincidence that when a team plays with a higher level of pressure, commitment and intensity, how the opposition appears not to click and look flat.

I don't think we're the first team to apply pressure to richmond.

They were shanking easy passes etc with no pressure on them at all.

It was the worst I've seem them play in a long time.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Richmond were pus, but we’re very low on confidence and momentum at the moment and you don’t just flick those things on like a switch, and we’re still missing a big chunk of our best team, so it’s not really reasonable to expect any better than what we produced on Friday night. In slippery conditions.

It was about as good as we could have dreamed of. As was most of the first half the week before (when missing even more of our best 22).

 

[Sully111]

Richmond were pus, but we’re very low on confidence and momentum at the moment and you don’t just flick those things on like a switch, and we’re still missing a big chunk of our best team, so it’s not really reasonable to expect any better than what we produced on Friday night. In slippery conditions.

It was about as good as we could have dreamed of. As was most of the first half the week before (when missing even more of our best 22).

Big improvement from us, no doubt.

 

[sammm]

Video

Debutant Leo Connolly spoke to STK Media after our Round 15 win against Richmond.

www.saints.com.au

Talking about heading to the ground after being named as the medi-sub.

"A pretty nervy car ride I imagine heading in there?"

"I don't think I said a word. I was with Tommy Highmore and Brad Crouch and I just didn't say anything. Those two were talking the whole way. I was very nervous."

its probably a good thing that he got his first game like that.

 

[Joffaboy]

This was my biggest take away from the replay TBH.

None of their guns fired, their systems didnt click and they looked flat.

Im stoked we got the win but something about swallows and summers.

I would put a lot of that to a good gameplan against them. They get the ball forward anyway they can, however out of defence we defended fairly forward and really didn't allow thenm to get out the back.

After the first ten minutes the game was on our terms the whole night, even to the extent that we completely iced the 4th qtr, took about 7 minutes of game time off the clock, Seb Ross kicked a goal, and then bored the neutral supporter to sleep with holding the ball up on half back and chipping it around for the last 10 minutes.
Very Geelongesque with the way they usually destroy us. The ground was slippery, we defended high, and took any speed out of the game to stop any momentum Richmond might get.

helps though that Richmond probably had their worst display since we beat them in 2017.

 

[BrutThough]

I think there are few things to this. He's either got better at his disposal or having two gun inside players along side him gives him more time and space to use it better. We will only know by how he backs up his game on Friday night. Perhaps Crouch was manned up because he's been creating a lot of our drive in the previous weeks. Perhaps they sat someone on him to target winning the ball back. Kicking the ball forward and getting it in quick is a devastating weapon in 2021, we seem to be all about slow build up through control but then don't finish well so munting the ball forward gives our forwards more chances and under less pressure from defenders.

I'd also say having him sit under Ryder is making a big difference as well.

 

[Xxxx66]

I think there are few things to this. He's either got better at his disposal or having two gun inside players along side him gives him more time and space to use it better. We will only know by how he backs up his game on Friday night. Perhaps Crouch was manned up because he's been creating a lot of our drive in the previous weeks. Perhaps they sat someone on him to target winning the ball back. Kicking the ball forward and getting it in quick is a devastating weapon in 2021, we seem to be all about slow build up through control but then don't finish well so munting the ball forward gives our forwards more chances and under less pressure from defenders.

I don't think we're the first team to apply pressure to richmond.

They were shanking easy passes etc with no pressure on them at all.

It was the worst I've seem them play in a long time.

I'll go glass half full.
We rattled them, got in their heads, didnt get bullied, handled the conditions better. Our defence changed the way they moved forward. They lost a few players due to our more aggressive approach.
No doubt they were below their best kicking just two goals.
Celebrate the wins mate!

 

[AirWinmar]

This was my biggest take away from the replay TBH.

None of their guns fired, their systems didnt click and they looked flat.

Im stoked we got the win but something about swallows and summers.

Question is how much of that was because of our game. Hard to tell on TV, but our structures must have been working well. Tigers seemed to struggle with moving the ball and a lot of their i50's seemed shallow on the eye test. Our mids got the better of their mids.

I reckon we clicked well and didn't allow them into the game.

One interesting thing is Hardwick did seem fairly calm in his presser for a side that got belted. Would he have been that calm a few flags ago if they got belted like this?

 

[Premium]

Wow shitpost extraordinaire

Some people just don't realize the grass may not be greener on the other side.
We now have a side that is extremely skilled and if Dunstan is the only one with bad disposal no problems because his game is to fight for the ball and dish it out anyway he can and even his chaos balls into the forward line can put other teams defenders under pressure not knowing were the ball is going.

 

[AirWinmar]

Probably the best game Battle has played on the wing?

Seems strange to me we continue to play him in that position but it was good to see him have an impact.

Ryan Byrnes has earnt a rising start nomination just for his consistency. If he doesn't get one this week it can't be far off.

Maybe and hopefully it ends up being the best thing for Battle long term. So far it has seemed a terrible positioning and detrimental to our performance, but in the long run who knows- may be a masterstroke

 

[lewdogs]

its probably a good thing that he got his first game like that.

Yeah it's funny, Samson Ryan for all the debut videos etc probably would have preferred Leo's debut.

 

[gringo2011]

I wasn’t suggesting that our year hasn’t been really disappointing (even in spite of being crunched by injuries), but much more that what’s gone wrong is largely very “fixable” and that we don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and pretend like we’ve got to start all over again, with say a brand new rebuild.

As long as we don’t lose anyone of significant note unexpectedly at the end of the season (especially Ryder), we’re pretty much going to go into next season with as much, if not more of a chance of being successful in 2022 as we thought we could be going into this year.

We’ve seen what a monumental difference just having Ryder and Roma in the team together makes, so imagine how much better again we could be if we add in Gresham, Jones, Billings (?), Clark, Paton and anyone we add in the upcoming offseason. To the team we smashed Richmond with.

With another preseason into the likes of King, Clark, Coffield, Byrnes, Bytel, Battle, Highmore, Connelly, etc.

As bad as this year has been, and despite having never really been close to full strength, we’ve still beaten two of the top 8 teams, the 9th team (interstate, while missing 9 of our best 22!), and pretty much pissed away two more wins against other top 8 teams (including Sydney in Sydney), so that suggests that when we put it all together we’re still a highly capable team. Even with a bunch of our best players out.

I haven't seen anyone want to start again, just add more pieces. If players can't or won't contribute and if the systems internally can't be fixed we need to replace some pieces though. Development is still extremely hit and miss, drafting is better but can still improve. Libba looks much more reliable but still some odd choices.

Ratts game plan still looks lacking in flexibility and until last Friday buy-in looked like it wasn't happening. To move beyond a middler we need improvement from a lot of players and to get cohesion. I thought they looked like they played more asa team on Friday. Blocking for each other and putting their bodies on the line.
A lot of our improvement will come from the guys you mentioned improving their individual output and reliability but we still need to hit the draft. Injury and output will not stay up so you need back up. Having a couple of really top end players is still the thing that will win premierships. We still need those from the draft or internally.

Hopefully we keep our eyes on the longer term. We look a side that would be 5th to 15th depending on injury at the moment. We need to bridge that gap to make a top 4 side.

 

[CursingFijian]

Some people just don't realize the grass may not be greener on the other side.
We now have a side that is extremely skilled and if Dunstan is the only one with bad disposal no problems because his game is to fight for the ball and dish it out anyway he can and even his chaos balls into the forward line can put other teams defenders under pressure not knowing were the ball is going.

Gun-stan is suddenly dining out with the footy aristocracy.

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

Think you might be suffering from looking at Dunstan through the lens of what he has given us in the past few years rather than the past few weeks.

His game against the Tigers, head-to-head with a future hall-of-famer in Dusty (and if you think Dusty wasn’t trying, watch the game again; he did a heap of defensive work out there), was not only easily in the top 10 from any midfielder competition-wide this year, it was (considering the oppposition and the Friday night stage), the best game from a midfielder wearing Saints colors since Lenny gave him his number.

As a fan-base, we are absolutely kidding ourselves if we think Luke Dunstan playing like he has the past few weeks - and especially on Friday night - is not a part of our team moving forward.

Heck, he’d be more than a part of it, he’d be the type of midfielder you could build a team around and in tandem with Steele and Crouch, a massive part of the type of contested midfield combination that wins you finals and premierships.

Its probably more likely that we’re kidding ourselves to think that a few weeks of good form indicates that Spook definitely is a part of our team moving forward.


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[CursingFijian]

Hubs and 16 minute quarters? St Kilda to win the flag from here.

 

[Joffaboy]

Some people just don't realize the grass may not be greener on the other side.
We now have a side that is extremely skilled and if Dunstan is the only one with bad disposal no problems because his game is to fight for the ball and dish it out anyway he can and even his chaos balls into the forward line can put other teams defenders under pressure not knowing were the ball is going.

Personally thought young Byrnes disposal was way worse than Dunstan's. Anyway if he gets 32 and shanks 7, thats still 25 disposals. Also because the umpires know he is a dodgey kick, he was not penalised once for he three or four kicks that went OOB.

 

[Diehard Saint]

Hubs and 16 minute quarters? St Kilda to win the flag from here.

No way they can cut the quarters now. No integrity whatsoever.

 

[gringo2011]

Gun-stan is suddenly dining out with the footy aristocracy.

View attachment 1166255

I love a redemption story. Good on Dunny, he's a mentally tough character to have climbed his way out of the footy abyss and not just be sitting with a foot on the fringe but to actually play a BOG performance and have multiple weeks of above average output. I'm really proud of him. That's not something you get to say about Set Kilda or it's players too often this year.

 

[Sully111]

Some people just don't realize the grass may not be greener on the other side.
We now have a side that is extremely skilled and if Dunstan is the only one with bad disposal no problems because his game is to fight for the ball and dish it out anyway he can and even his chaos balls into the forward line can put other teams defenders under pressure not knowing were the ball is going.

I beg to differ.

 

[gringo2011]

Its probably more likely that we’re kidding ourselves to think that a few weeks of good form indicates that Spook definitely is a part of our team moving forward.


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Maybe but I'll take any little glimmer of hope. He's always been a great character, just couldn't get the footy bit right consistently. He's had a fairly good sample size now. Perhaps he's just a late bloomer like Ricky Henderson or Jarrod Lyons.

 

[g_TRAIN]

I love a redemption story. Good on Dunny, he's a mentally tough character to have climbed his way out of the footy abyss and not just be sitting with a foot on the fringe but to actually play a BOG performance and have multiple weeks of above average output. I'm really proud of him. That's not something you get to say about Set Kilda or it's players too often this year.

It shows character. Would have been easy for him to throw in the towel when he was playing VFL.

A good lesson for anyone that persistence, hard work, and a good attitude can pay off

 

[#gosaintas]

It shows character. Would have been easy for him to throw in the towel when he was playing VFL.

A good lesson for anyone that persistence, hard work, and a good attitude can pay off

Agree. Really impressive to fight back like that. Pretty rare. Hope he makes it now. I was never a fan but gotta respect these last gmes for both Sandy and Saints.

 

[hayes]

Dunstan as a pure mid is still a pass from me because we’ve seen this movie before but there’s always room for a run with player who can win the ball as well.

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

Maybe but I'll take any little glimmer of hope. He's always been a great character, just couldn't get the footy bit right consistently. He's had a fairly good sample size now. Perhaps he's just a late bloomer like Ricky Henderson or Jarrod Lyons.

I’ve got everything crossed that you’re right. I thought he could eventually develop into. Cunnington clone… I’d take a Lyons clone in a second.


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[Winmar2Lockett]

Dunstan as a pure mid is still a pass from me because we’ve seen this movie before but there’s always room for a run with player who can win the ball as well.

My worry is how he goes on the dry track at Marvel. He would have been a beauty in the Moorabbin slop back in the day.


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