Autopsy Round 16, 2019: North Melbourne v St.Kilda *BILLINGS' 100TH*

mad-saint-guy

Premiership Player
Apr 13, 2005
3,904
3,847
Toronto, ON
AFL Club
St Kilda
I can't remember a time when I've been less interested in watching St Kilda play. Same s**t week after week. Bruce, Marshall, Billings, Carlisle, Wilkie, Steele, Membrey and Dunstan are the ones who I'd give a pass mark to for this game.

I'd love to see a team like this selected for the remainder of the year

B: Webster, Carlisle, Coffield
HB: Clark, Wilkie, White
C: Billings, Steele, Hannebery
HF: Hind, Battle, Gresham
F: Lonie, Bruce, Membrey

Foll: Marshall, Steven, Ross
Int: Acres, Dunstan, Parker, Sinclair
 
I went down to RSEA to watch the game......quietly expected the worse…..and the Saints delivered in spades for the first 1/4...….it was gut wrenching......how many times this season have I/we said that.

Snuck in for the pre game tour of RSEA.....the now completed AFLW facilities are eye popping.

I was surprised at how big the crowd was down there...…...the atmosphere was great pre game and that vanished very quickly during the 1st 1/4(especially when Battle went down in the first 3 minutes).....it was like being at a service at Tobin Brothers at 1/4 time...….I felt very very disappointed for all that turned up.

But the place was jumping when we got within 15 points in the last and when on a roll in the 2nd.

It's a strange feeling at the moment......the club is just "treading water".....we all know what's going to happen......it's just when.

The results are close to being pretty much the same every week....it's bizarre.

The crowd was waiting to see if we kicked 10 goals and between 60-70 points........was bizarre listening to that expectation..........and of course....that was delivered.

As previously posted.

Hunter.....he was very encouraging yesterday.

Bruce.......was a delight watching him.....6 straight...think he did that against the Suns up there in 2015.....have been critical of him over the last 2 years but he delivered yesterday.

Pretty much everything has been said..........it's all quite deflating.......I'll be hiding in a bunker somewhere when next weeks game is on.
 
Oct 2, 2010
19,480
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St Kilda
Hi guys,

Pardon the intrusion.

Just wanted to say Marshall looks an absolute beauty. Reckon he will develop into the best ruckman in the league in the next couple of years in the Dean Cox mould. At times made Goldy look like a schoolboy with his strength.

Good luck for the rest of the season.
Don't tell that to Riewoldt and Dal Santo who both still think he is a forward not a ruckman.
 
Jan 10, 2011
34,367
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Ormond AFC
I can't remember a time when I've been less interested in watching St Kilda play. Same s**t week after week. Bruce, Marshall, Billings, Carlisle, Wilkie, Steele, Membrey and Dunstan are the ones who I'd give a pass mark to for this game.

I'd love to see a team like this selected for the remainder of the year

B: Webster, Carlisle, Coffield
HB: Clark, Wilkie, White
C: Billings, Steele, Hannebery
HF: Hind, Battle, Gresham
F: Lonie, Bruce, Membrey

Foll: Marshall, Steven, Ross
Int: Acres, Dunstan, Parker, Sinclair
So pretty much exactly what was picked this week baring injury. Doubt any changes win yesterday. We are a poor side. We can blame who we like but when I see the skill yesterday I know many players just aren’t good enough. Even those he rate the list and think the main problem is the coach must be having doubts.
 

St DAC

Club Legend
Feb 15, 2005
1,544
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West Gippsland
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I don't have any doubts. I'm quite sure we aren't good enough.

I reckon we could have Yabby Jeans at his peak coaching this mob & not get much better results. Frankly, we just aren't much good. We have a surplus of C to B grade talent, and nowhere near enough top talent. Until that changes for the better the senior coach is irrelevant.
 

mightymalaka

What we have here is a failure to communicate!
May 7, 2018
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So pretty much exactly what was picked this week baring injury. Doubt any changes win yesterday. We are a poor side. We can blame who we like but when I see the skill yesterday I know many players just aren’t good enough. Even those he rate the list and think the main problem is the coach must be having doubts.
That's a bit of a contradiction in terms is it not Plugger?

If you think the list is crap, after 6 years at the helm then the main problem has to be the coach!
He has had plenty of time to mould his side in his image! Yet we have over half the team without established positions!

Ultimately whether you think the team has talent or not, the end results after 6 long years is that it is on him!
He's not alone....Club attempts at recruiting/Drafting and development have all been spectacular fails over the journey
But in the end he must be the one to carry the can. As i'm sure he himself is aware of!

Of course it does not magically fix everything overnight but besides gutting the whole list, it's time to give the reins
To a fresh voice to see what he can draw out of this very spoilt, underachieving group!

Yes we are a poor side at the moment but i have absolutely no doubt we are a hell of a lot poorer than what we should be!
Time for this club to drag itself out of the Sh!t it has created for itself and lift the standards all round!
Enough of this meek, amateurish rubbish. Let's just hope that the powers that be choose the right option this time
And the club can set about restoring some much needed respect and passion!
 
May 12, 2006
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Lal Lal
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Four times this year we've lost a quarter by more than 31 points.

Round 7 v GWS: lost 1st quarter by 37 points, final margin 44 points.
Round 9 v Collingwood: lost 4th quarter by 36 points, final margin 41 points.
Round 14 v Brisbane: lost 3rd quarter by 50 points, final margin 56 points.
Round 16 v North Melbourne: lost 1st quarter by 40 points, final margin 39 points.

Certainly a theme there.
 

St Kilda Death

Premiership Player
Sep 18, 2013
4,699
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NOLA
Four times this year we've lost a quarter by more than 31 points.

Round 7 v GWS: lost 1st quarter by 37 points, final margin 44 points.
Round 9 v Collingwood: lost 4th quarter by 36 points, final margin 41 points.
Round 14 v Brisbane: lost 3rd quarter by 50 points, final margin 56 points.
Round 16 v North Melbourne: lost 1st quarter by 40 points, final margin 39 points.

Certainly a theme there.
No doubt smashed midfield each time but
R7 no snake or brown, darragh slaughtered by the best forward in the game.
Since then been without Geary and webster, smashed by small forwards.
No closing speed in defence.
Id try parker back there.
 
Jan 10, 2011
34,367
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Ormond AFC
That's a bit of a contradiction in terms is it not Plugger?

If you think the list is crap, after 6 years at the helm then the main problem has to be the coach!
He has had plenty of time to mould his side in his image! Yet we have over half the team without established positions!

Ultimately whether you think the team has talent or not, the end results after 6 long years is that it is on him!
He's not alone....Club attempts at recruiting/Drafting and development have all been spectacular fails over the journey
But in the end he must be the one to carry the can. As i'm sure he himself is aware of!

Of course it does not magically fix everything overnight but besides gutting the whole list, it's time to give the reins
To a fresh voice to see what he can draw out of this very spoilt, underachieving group!

Yes we are a poor side at the moment but i have absolutely no doubt we are a hell of a lot poorer than what we should be!
Time for this club to drag itself out of the Sh!t it has created for itself and lift the standards all round!
Enough of this meek, amateurish rubbish. Let's just hope that the powers that be choose the right option this time
And the club can set about restoring some much needed respect and passion!
This has. Othing ti do with whose fault it is. I don’t care if it’s richo or. The recruiters or the people is development. It was just a question on the players and those who still have rated the list. I knew you and others want to keep bringing it back to the coach but in this case it was a simple question. We know richo is gone so not much point in going on about that. If you do rate the list still that’s fine and if that was the case what lists do you think are below us and who are our elite and A grade talent. I have us with no elite and maybe one A minus and sadly for us he is basically in only his second full year. You could argue billing and gresh but I doubt gresh is close to A grade as a mid.
 
Jan 10, 2011
34,367
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St Kilda
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Ormond AFC
No doubt smashed midfield each time but
R7 no snake or brown, darragh slaughtered by the best forward in the game.
Since then been without Geary and webster, smashed by small forwards.
No closing speed in defence.
Id try parker back there.
I’d try Parker at sandy. He doesn’t deserve to play unfortunately our depth has gifted games to some players.
 
Feb 19, 2009
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Moorabbin
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Well I timed the mid year family break to Bali beautifully by the sounds of things.

Spent last Saturday bike riding and white water rafting so missed the last qtr v Tigers.

And enjoyed watching the two Creed movies back to back on the flight home yesterday so couldn’t subject myself to the horror of Hobart.

Pity we couldn’t extend the break by another week...


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Likewise. Flew to Thailand yesterday. If only I was here until the end of the season.




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st_trav_ofWA

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 17, 2015
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a few things stick out for me ...
one Acres looks like he is playing for a trade.. he isnt doing the team thing and i think is trying to make himself look mare attractive to potential new homes (although he may have been just playing it up with his parents in the stands) the normal team thing of tapping it on passing it off ect he is trying to bite off more than he can chew.. he isnt a smart player so he needs to be given simple roles i think we are using him to his body size and the player we want him to be not the player he is..

Parker is a waste at the moment... i think he is a player and really can be a big value to the team but with our team he isnt going to get the opportunity to do that as we cant pull off the simple let alone the sublime that he needs to feed off... its a tough once cause you dont want to train the rawness out of him but we need him to fill the role more , but that said we have far tomany role players and we are screaming for raw talent ... he will get dropped most likely but i dont think its going to help (or hurt) the team but it may put him off track to become the player we hope as Sandy isnt exactly going to give him the launch pad to build on ..

i would love to know what the pregame adress was because that first qtr was the softest weakest most uninterested ive seen our team play for a long time put that with that scond qtr against Bris and the last qtr against Richmond and there is obviously something not right that we turn off for a qtr each week
 
Jan 10, 2011
34,367
57,683
AFL Club
St Kilda
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Ormond AFC
a few things stick out for me ...
one Acres looks like he is playing for a trade.. he isnt doing the team thing and i think is trying to make himself look mare attractive to potential new homes (although he may have been just playing it up with his parents in the stands) the normal team thing of tapping it on passing it off ect he is trying to bite off more than he can chew.. he isnt a smart player so he needs to be given simple roles i think we are using him to his body size and the player we want him to be not the player he is..

Parker is a waste at the moment... i think he is a player and really can be a big value to the team but with our team he isnt going to get the opportunity to do that as we cant pull off the simple let alone the sublime that he needs to feed off... its a tough once cause you dont want to train the rawness out of him but we need him to fill the role more , but that said we have far tomany role players and we are screaming for raw talent ... he will get dropped most likely but i dont think its going to help (or hurt) the team but it may put him off track to become the player we hope as Sandy isnt exactly going to give him the launch pad to build on ..

i would love to know what the pregame adress was because that first qtr was the softest weakest most uninterested ive seen our team play for a long time put that with that scond qtr against Bris and the last qtr against Richmond and there is obviously something not right that we turn off for a qtr each week


I think you might be shocked about what a pre game address is like these days. Its really just instruction. The rar rar is out. Maybe we bring it back. I suggest that the players have just checked out. They know the coach is going, the season is shot and the injuries have just got to much. It could be a really long 7 weeks.
 

st_trav_ofWA

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 17, 2015
5,810
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I think you might be shocked about what a pre game address is like these days. Its really just instruction. The rar rar is out. Maybe we bring it back. I suggest that the players have just checked out. They know the coach is going, the season is shot and the injuries have just got to much. It could be a really long 7 weeks.
yeah ive been in them before i know its not the oldschool bake from yesteryear... Ross Lyon was all about pushing the message putting the opposition on the backfoot early about hitting the contest hard first up it was all weight of numbers impose the game we want to play on them not letting them dictate how we play..to dish out what we dished out early.. obviousle that wasnt the message to play catchup like that but how the message to start got implemented so poorly early is a concern.. if we played poorly all game you can frogive that as a better team pushed thier plan better and we couldnt compeate but when we ran the rest of the game much closer to our brand it is clearly a case of the players being checked out of the season
 
I read somewhere that Nick foot paid 12 free kicks to NM 0 to us

Not at all surprised. Pretty sure he’s done it to us before. I don’t usually remember all the umps’ names, but I remembered him immediately and even mentioned him to the friend I was watching with at the time.

Also that “not 15” umpire Stevens, although to be fair he’s umpired us a few times since and been ok. Maybe it’s just when we play the Hawks with him.
 
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This has. Othing ti do with whose fault it is. I don’t care if it’s richo or. The recruiters or the people is development. It was just a question on the players and those who still have rated the list. I knew you and others want to keep bringing it back to the coach but in this case it was a simple question. We know richo is gone so not much point in going on about that. If you do rate the list still that’s fine and if that was the case what lists do you think are below us and who are our elite and A grade talent. I have us with no elite and maybe one A minus and sadly for us he is basically in only his second full year. You could argue billing and gresh but I doubt gresh is close to A grade as a mid.


I think without injury we could easily be a side around 8 to 14 but with the injuries on top of no elite talent we are not winning much with any coach. They haven't publicised it but there aren't many players left from 5 years ago, we have been clearing decks for some time. A new coach could get us back up with an injury free run but it won't be a coaching miracle.

Richo has had a good go at it and he must be partially responsible for the list build and he's gone. I think he's a battler coach that got a lot out of a little but doubt he's got the next step in him.
 
Jan 10, 2011
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St Kilda
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Ormond AFC
I think without injury we could easily be a side around 8 to 14 but with the injuries on top of no elite talent we are not winning much with any coach. They haven't publicised it but there aren't many players left from 5 years ago, we have been clearing decks for some time. A new coach could get us back up with an injury free run but it won't be a coaching miracle.

Richo has had a good go at it and he must be partially responsible for the list build and he's gone. I think he's a battler coach that got a lot out of a little but doubt he's got the next step in him.


Again I don't care if Richo had a good go or if he is responsible. Anyway to be close to the 8th rated list you have up to 10 behind us. I can think of one for sure and that's Gold Coast then I struggle. And its a fair effort to be rated up to 8th with no elite players. You must have a few in the A grade area. I reckon it would be a coaching miracle to get us to 8th next year.
 
Again I don't care if Richo had a good go or if he is responsible. Anyway to be close to the 8th rated list you have up to 10 behind us. I can think of one for sure and that's Gold Coast then I struggle. And its a fair effort to be rated up to 8th with no elite players. You must have a few in the A grade area. I reckon it would be a coaching miracle to get us to 8th next year.


You don't have to be better just knock off teams at your or around level. We aren't heaps behind a few teams in the 8 at full strength. We will be given a soft draw again on this year.
 
Jan 7, 2011
35,108
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Heaven. I mean Victoria.
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St Kilda
That’s what I thought about the Blues & Roos.

Carlton under Teague have won 3/5 with their two losses under a goal.

North under Shaw are 4/5.

Since replacing the coach they are different teams that has extended beyond the honeymoon period of a caretaker coach.

The players need a change. They’ve become complacent & stale under the same voice.
Yep, I suspect a whole lot of this.

Watching what's happened at Norf and Carlton, Lethers must be absolutely champing at the bit to pull the trigger, to see if we get a similar result.
 

VDS66

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 4, 2011
21,166
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a few things stick out for me ...
one Acres looks like he is playing for a trade.. he isnt doing the team thing and i think is trying to make himself look mare attractive to potential new homes (although he may have been just playing it up with his parents in the stands) the normal team thing of tapping it on passing it off ect he is trying to bite off more than he can chew.. he isnt a smart player so he needs to be given simple roles i think we are using him to his body size and the player we want him to be not the player he is..

Parker is a waste at the moment... i think he is a player and really can be a big value to the team but with our team he isnt going to get the opportunity to do that as we cant pull off the simple let alone the sublime that he needs to feed off... its a tough once cause you dont want to train the rawness out of him but we need him to fill the role more , but that said we have far tomany role players and we are screaming for raw talent ... he will get dropped most likely but i dont think its going to help (or hurt) the team but it may put him off track to become the player we hope as Sandy isnt exactly going to give him the launch pad to build on ..

i would love to know what the pregame adress was because that first qtr was the softest weakest most uninterested ive seen our team play for a long time put that with that scond qtr against Bris and the last qtr against Richmond and there is obviously something not right that we turn off for a qtr each week
I'd say Blake knows he's up for trade and is getting games due to injuries IMO.
 

Saintbloke

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 26, 2015
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Too many show-ponies who don't put their heads over the ball when the going gets tough. That's what I've been seeing this season.
 

Jade Buddha

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Nov 16, 2014
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For as long as I can remember saints have always had players with a hard edge, whether that be physical, verbal (usually both) and teams used to be wary of us. Whether we were talented enough or not there were never opposition players running around having a giggle because they new there'd be a square up somewhere. I'm not saying they needed to be dirty but intimidating someone like Luke Hodge. He reminds me of an old school saints player.

Ditterich, Neale, Sarau, Cunningham, Muir, Plugger, Powell, Hammil, Gehrig, Hayes even Koby Stephens more recently . We just don't have these kinds of players any more, maybe Geary but he's generally a more of a good bloke, respectful.

How did this disappear? I know footy is far more scrutinised but other teams still have this - on the weekend Cunnington, Ziebell.

Is this because of the good character criteria that was introduced by Trout?

I just don't recognise a saints team with no mongrel, no edge.
 
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