- Nov 7, 2012
- 9,448
- 30,890
- AFL Club
- St Kilda
- Other Teams
- Bristol City FC, Urawa Red Diamonds FC
It's already been mentioned in our autopsy thread but it bears repeating, I think there are two huge elements in our teams playing this season, two things that despite our sloppy skills and Dixon-ed goal kicking, have helped us through games.
The first thing is the determination. We aren't playing a heap better than last season (better but not a different league better), what's changed is the boys are not dropping their heads, and games that would previously slip from our feeble grasp are now being clawed back by our players who have rediscovered their spirit.
The second thing is I actually think the 2019 Saints especially are a team which has made an absence of the big stars of the competition a positive. We have very even performance from the top 6 to the bottom 6, and to a certain extent who's in or out doesn't have a huge bearing on the team's performance, besides maybe Marshall and a couple of others.
In the commentary during 3Q of the Hawks game, Hodge mentioned that he'd talked to players who'd played against the Saints this year to get a sense of us and one common comment was "They play as a team" and I think that's kind of related. System beats personnel.
The first thing is the determination. We aren't playing a heap better than last season (better but not a different league better), what's changed is the boys are not dropping their heads, and games that would previously slip from our feeble grasp are now being clawed back by our players who have rediscovered their spirit.
The second thing is I actually think the 2019 Saints especially are a team which has made an absence of the big stars of the competition a positive. We have very even performance from the top 6 to the bottom 6, and to a certain extent who's in or out doesn't have a huge bearing on the team's performance, besides maybe Marshall and a couple of others.
In the commentary during 3Q of the Hawks game, Hodge mentioned that he'd talked to players who'd played against the Saints this year to get a sense of us and one common comment was "They play as a team" and I think that's kind of related. System beats personnel.