Preview Round 6, 2019: St.Kilda v Adelaide - Marvel Stadium, Saturday 27th April, 4:35PM AEST

[MOLTEN GANGLANDS]

360 tonight Roo said Billings is in the best form out of he, Bont and Kelly :O

 

[Premium]

360 tonight Roo said Billings is in the best form out of he, Bont and Kelly :O

Billings has performed well in every game , so his form would be better - the thing is we need him to do it through the whole season.

There are guys I want to see put in a complete season - Acres - Gresham - Sinclair - Steele - to really announce themselves.

But Acres to me is the one who could really turn it on , he just seems to create space , opens up play and just seems to always has time.
We know Gresham is special and Steele is getting better every game.

We are in a good spot atm , just can't wait until we get Carlisle and Hannebery right.

 

[joop]

Great decision. I watch him get 55 possessions with at least 3 goal assists and he hasn't looked back.
Inspired decision and showed JB's character to go back, get the pill, and get the message.
Played out the year had a mammoth preseason and killing it this year.

Richo deserves credit.

But wasn’t that the reason for Billings wanting out and other players leaving with him...? Oh wait....

 

[jwikked]

Great decision. I watch him get 55 possessions with at least 3 goal assists and he hasn't looked back.
Inspired decision and showed JB's character to go back, get the pill, and get the message.
Played out the year had a mammoth preseason and killing it this year.

Richo deserves credit.

He’s having a great year this year, but I’m not sure dropping him last year has anything to do with it. It’s not like he came back into the seniors and played nearly as well as he is now.
You seem desperate to heap praise, whenever possible, on Richo to rub it in the faces of everyone who wanted him sacked last year.

 

[Max the great]

Wow, I have had Battle as a major factor in our ability to look solid down back with out Carlisle. He spoils really well and has great closing speed/ endurance. He's almost so competent that he gets over looked. Looks like he's been there for 10 years, he reminds me of the Wakelins.

Battle has been awesome IMO.. strong, committed, great hands and very smart. Love him as a backman, super move putting him there and I think we will see the benifits of that move for many many years.

 

[Max the great]

Are people still clinging to the hope of Longercoming good? He is slow, uncoordinated and lazy. Marshall is in great form and has highlighted Longer's deficiencies in a big way.

Yer this Longer crap is mind boggling... some of the narratives on here really confuse the hell out of me but this one takes the cake.

We are 4-1 playing great football, finally have a ruckman who isn't a liability that looks to be a special talent and we want to bring Longer in which would curb his influence and slow his development... is this real life? Roma is thriving on his opportunity why on earth would we jeopodize that? Especially for a VFL quality footballer in Longer!

Cheers for the effort Longer. You tried mate but there's a new kid in town and the jobs his. Enjoy the VFL champ.

 

[Max the great]

Could we place Longer up forward?

Have you seen Longer play football?

 

[Max the great]

Mihocek reminds me of Acres, maybe we should make him a more targeted forward, his marking has come on this year.

Wait.. what? We talking about the same Acres that is thriving in a midfield/ wing role? Absolute madness.

 

[Kildonan]

I feel like we've got the game plan and tactical nous this year to shut Adelaide down.

I watched the ANZAC match Collingwood v Essendon. Early in the match, Collingwood were superior and looked as if they were going to run away with the match. Essendon picked up though and were the better team for most of the match after QT. What I did notice is that Collingwood got sloppy. They stopped doing the hard things that they were doing early. Their kicking went downhill too. I don't doubt fatigue had a role in this and Essendon's improved effort also had a role. What did occur to me was that we have been spoiled as football fans this year by our club. Our players are fitter than most of their opponents (this was especially evident against Melbourne), and this has given us the tactical edge. What I witnessed about Collingwood was a team that could no longer do the things I expect our players to do (and our players have so far delivered). Essendon's pressure was immense at times. They forced errors from Collingwood, and shut down their marking game. Essendon have a counterattack style tactic that utilises their speedy players usually through the guts, as directly as possible. The only reason they lost was due to their own poor kicking. Interestingly Shiel was one of the main culprits there. Maybe the loss of Fantasia was the difference in this match as he may have stretched Collingwood's defence just that bit extra. Saad was excellent and almost won them the match. There were seven Bombers who had kicking efficiencies under 60%.

The way to beat St Kilda may lie in the frantic defensive pressure that Essendon displayed against Collingwood, preventing us doing the extra work that sees us outnumber our opponents at almost every contest. This is not how Adelaide play, though, and if left alone to play our own style of football we may well run away with this match too. I doubt Adelaide will underestimate us. It will be interesting to see their approach on how to counter "Saints Footy".

 

[CursingFijian]

50 combined games vs 366. These matchups will be compelling viewing and our boys are going to have to play well to ensure we are in it.

 

[bergholt]

I really just hope we don’t mess with the magnets too much.

Agreed. So many bad options if Bruce is out, I can't see any really good ones. This week the coaching staff really earn their money.

 

[bergholt]

Agreed. So many bad options if Bruce is out, I can't see any really good ones. This week the coaching staff really earn their money.

Actually, just thinking about this. The real challenge is to replace Bruce's tank. He spends like 80-90% of the game on the ground running up and down. That's crucially important in our current gameplan. If we replace him with someone with a smaller tank then that means more of that load falls onto others (or else it doesn't get done, which is worse).

In order of preference from that point of view:

Hind: is a runner so presumably he's got a lot to work with in the tank
Joyce: no idea about his but he was still going well in the last quarter in round 1
Longer: has never been known for having a huge tank, but he has done 8 AFL pre-seasons so surely he's better now?
Marsh: from what people have said on here, sounds like he's not fully match-fit yet, so that would be a risk

But each of them have challenges:

Hind: completely different type of player, means we no longer have a tall forward in the side
Joyce: no idea if he's ever played forward, or send Battle forward and disrupt the defence - Joyce + Brown together would seem to limit rebound
Longer: means Marshall has to move out of the ruck, and his clearance ability and possessions round the ground have been crucial
Marsh: sounds like the best drop in replacement, can play forward and give a contest

So we can either change the structure (Hind); change the defence (Joyce); change the midfield (Longer); or pick an underdone guy (Marsh).

Shitty options! I'd probably go with Marsh to keep the team stable, and back him to be strong enough mentally to keep running all day. No idea if that will work though.

 

[CaptainRisky]

Sorry, maybe I misunderstood the comment above. Was Saintbloke saying we can't gauge the amount of improvement? I thought it said something along the lines of "we can't know if there has been any improvement". That's what I was responding to. My apologies.

All good , no dramas mate
Go saints

 

[D2D3]

Agreed. So many bad options if Bruce is out, I can't see any really good ones. This week the coaching staff really earn their money.

Let's be real. If Bruce is out there are two actually viable options. 1) Longer comes in and Marshall goes forward. 2) We play small with Membery as the main marking target and Marshall helping out when he's not needed in the ruck.

If they were planning on Battle playing forward it would of happened when Paddy went down and Marsh has played a grand total of one game up forward for Sandy.

 

[Grav]

Talking about how good Billings is going, I seriously believe that extra boxing training with Sam Soliman has made the difference. For a few years I partook in the art of Marquess of Queensberry Rules, then when I returned to footy, I personally didn’t have a care in the world about how tough the opposition were.
I see Billings in the same boat, is now tough enough to take a hit & can roll with the punches, look at a couple of our “ “ melees, Billings is one of the first into the fray, now that’s confidence..

 

[pebblesofsand]

Let's be real. If Bruce is out there are two actually viable options. 1) Longer comes in and Marshall goes forward. 2) We play small with Membery as the main marking target and Marshall helping out when he's not needed in the ruck.

If they were planning on Battle playing forward it would of happened when Paddy went down and Marsh has played a grand total of one game up forward for Sandy.

Well when you put it that way there's only one option.

 

[D2D3]

Well when you put it that way there's only one option.

Hahahaha Very true

 

[Ricmel]

360 tonight Roo said Billings is in the best form out of he, Bont and Kelly :O

The thing I notice about Billings this year is he is going about 20% harder at the ball. In the past he has looked to me like a frightened schoolboy on the field, this year he looks like he knows he belongs and that he can take the hits.

My only knock on him at the moment is that despite the myth that he is an elite disposer by foot, he still misses a lot of targets and shots on goal. Get that right and I think he sits comfortably with Bont and Kelly.

 

[Joffaboy]

He’s having a great year this year, but I’m not sure dropping him last year has anything to do with it. It’s not like he came back into the seniors and played nearly as well as he is now.
You seem desperate to heap praise, whenever possible, on Richo to rub it in the faces of everyone who wanted him sacked last year.

Hmnm, strange response. Desperate to heap praise? Very funny.

Just because someone has an alternate view to your, doesn't mean you should get upset or make things up.

As for rubbing faces. For what? The team is 4-1, not like we have done anything for a full season, I really don't know what you are talking about.

As for Billings, you not being sure is only an opinion, I saw what he did with my own eyes and his improved form since.

 

[Quixote]

What the hell is wrong with Bruce? I'm confused.

* edit, finally got back through a days worth of posts and it seems he's sore. Jeez I hope it's not an ongoing thing with him. Aside from the structural concerns it's the leadership he's providing us this year that would be sorely missed. He's a figurehead out there for the boys. Been in ripping form too obvs.

 

[gringo2011]

360 tonight Roo said Billings is in the best form out of he, Bont and Kelly :O

Kelly looks like his legs are held on with sticky tape this year, he looks terrible. If we'd got him and he was playing like he is, it would have been worse than the Hanners trade in the media. Looks like Newnes 2018.

 

[The_Steadier]

Concerned Longer is emergency I don't want him anywhere near the team.

I genuinely think you and your 18 'like' mates are gonna eat your words (and likes) if/when billy gets a shot in the 1's this year.

Like mothers who find superhuman strength lifting cars off babies (that happens right?)...

footballers staring down the barrel of delistment oblivion are capable of remarkable improvement.

Billy has known he is at the last chance saloon since before preseason.
And despite popular (goldfish) opinion, billy has shown he has plenty of natural talent.

I'm predicting he will be as impressive as lonie has been in hauling himself off the scrapheap.

 

[halfbackflankpocket]

Clark and Coffield are worlds apart right now; one is tearing it up in the VFL most games and has had a call up to the seniors while the other is struggling for consistency in the VFL. Can’t really lump them together just because they went in the same draft.

Lets not forget that Paton - who is currently playing great footy - was drafted the same year and has now probably gone past the pair of them.

 

[gringo2011]

Wait.. what? We talking about the same Acres that is thriving in a midfield/ wing role? Absolute madness.

I meant in Bruces absence not permanently. We need someone to do it with out Marshall or Battle moving out of their spots, Marsh looks underdone and Longer....well no one wants him in. Could even rest there in other games if it works.

 

[The_Steadier]

Yer this Longer crap is mind boggling... some of the narratives on here really confuse the hell out of me but this one takes the cake.

We are 4-1 playing great football, finally have a ruckman who isn't a liability that looks to be a special talent and we want to bring Longer in which would curb his influence and slow his development... is this real life? Roma is thriving on his opportunity why on earth would we jeopodize that? Especially for a VFL quality footballer in Longer!

Cheers for the effort Longer. You tried mate but there's a new kid in town and the jobs his. Enjoy the VFL champ.

Noones talking about replacing roma with longer for sh*ts and giggles.

Roma is our best bruce replacement.

The theory is billy boy can cover roma in the ruck, while roma covers bruce.

Bruce comes back- billy boy goes back to enjoying the vfl champ