Autopsy Round 9, 2022: St.Kilda v Geelong

[AirWinmar]

I love watching Long go round ... it feels like he's adopted a policy more aligned with "Make them THINK you're going to kill them" rather than "Kill'em all and let the tribunal sort it out" this year, and it's working pretty brilliantly for him.

I'd hate to have Long running at me ...

I don't think there'd be many keen to play on him

 

[AirWinmar]

Seb had 23 and 3 tackles (which I don’t think goes close to showing his impact) so given our spread was so high it is hard to fit him into our top 3.

I’d probably have him in those votes over Zak personally but it’s touch and go

He was better that Zones easy I thought. Went at 91% DE - wtf!!

 

[MUFKilda]

F I N A L S

 

[gringo2011]

He was better that Zones easy I thought. Went at 91% DE - wtf!!

I reckon they were similar, both had lower numbers than others but their impact from bursting out of centre helped win us the match. Jones is easier to spot doing it and that blocking and helping teammates out probably got him over the line.

 

[ScrappyDo]

F I N A L S

Mods please remove this and give MUF a week off for good measure.
George

 

[Minga]

I don’t think anyone’s mentioned this yet but Brad Crouch

5

Brad Crouch

Age

30

Ht

186cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

26.1

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

14.0

5star

M

2.7

3star

T

5.5

5star

CL

5.0

5star

D

20.3

5star

K

11.1

4star

HB

9.1

5star

M

1.5

2star

T

3.9

5star

CL

4.6

5star

D

21.6

5star

K

10.0

4star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.4

4star

T

4.2

5star

CL

2.6

5star

plays some of his best footy against Geelong. Here are his numbers for the three times he’s played them at the Saints.

Round 9 2022:

36 disposals
18 contested possessions
5 clearances
7 tackles
80% time on ground

Round 22 2021:

2 goals
24 disposals
5 tackles
5 clearances

Round 9 2021:

28 disposals
13 contested possessions
9 tackles

Proof’s in the pudding. Cant wait to see what he does against them later this year when we get them at GMHBA.

 

[phantom13]

I reckon they were similar, both had lower numbers than others but their impact from bursting out of centre helped win us the match. Jones is easier to spot doing it and that blocking and helping teammates out probably got him over the line.

Jones goal was also argurably our spark.

I thought they were both really good with lowish numbers (knowing full well raw stats rarely show impact)

 

[MUFKilda]

Mods please remove this and give MUF a week off for good measure.
George

Saints are back to being Fab!

 

[Diehard Saint]

Jones goal was also argurably our spark.

Loved the Ryder tap over the back to Billings though! Pure class.
So reminiscent of the one to Robbie Gray that killed us a few years back.

In fact, just love Paddy, full stop.

 

[Armoooo]

Watched the third quarter again, a few notes:

• Seb Ross is playing like Chris Judd Light
• Sharman looks like he belongs, seems pretty sure of himself. Could become a Gunstan type.
• King had so many "almost", he'd win the battle of strength, fumble the last second mark, but he'd have time to recover and get the ball to advantage. As he gets stronger he's going to have that extra half a second to get his hands ready, he is going to take a lot of marks.
• McKenzie does a lot of little things (gently shinned the ball to Gresh at one point)
• Gresham is playing like Neale, but more dangerous in the forward line.
• Sinclair is scary good now, honestly should be a chance for the brownlow the way he's been playing.

 

[bird_man]

It was good to see Gresham bounce back after 3 fairly average games.

We need him to play like that every week if we are going to any chance of top 4 I reckon

 

[George]

Mods please remove this and give MUF a week off for good measure.
George

Typical United fan

 

[phantom13]

Loved the Ryder tap over the back to Billings though! Pure class.
So reminiscent of the one to Robbie Gray that killed us a few years back.

In fact, just love Paddy, full stop.

Paddy was best on for mine by some margin. Talk about influence, third quarter was owned by him and he didnt have a disposal.

Watched the third quarter again, a few notes:

• Sharman looks like he belongs, seems pretty sure of himself. Could become a Gunstan type.
• McKenzie does a lot of little things (gently shinned the ball to Gresh at one point)
• Sinclair is scary good now, honestly should be a chance for the brownlow the way he's been playing.

Lotta good points in here but on these three in particular

- Sharman had a mostly negating role on Stewart and whilst Stewart had alot of the pill (27 i think) s decent chunk would have been kickouts and he just couldnt roll off to intercept and play third man up because Sharman was getting in good spots and kept working over and over again for repeat efforts. He wont win many plaudits for it and based purely on stats one might think Stewart had a big win but if you look again at impact and influence Stewart had almost none and Sharman still managed to kick one (and probably should have had a second)

- Cannot stress how important Dan Mac is structurally for us. Always covers the out number for the oppo going forward, always creates an option on the exit. The man has a limitless tank and is all heart the way he plays. Dan just one thing, no more switches from deep in the pocket in the last quarter please mate.

- Might not be a player in the comp who is "neater" gathering and disposing of the ball. Especially if he adjust mid drop for a little outside of the foot push. Everything he does looks clean, composed and creative.

 

[FQFjt]

Loved the Ryder tap over the back to Billings though! Pure class.
So reminiscent of the one to Robbie Gray that killed us a few years back.

In fact, just love Paddy, full stop.

If you watch closely, you'll see Paddy start celebrating as soon as Billings takes possession but before the goal. Almost as if he was just celebrating the exquisite tapwork - and who can blame him.

 

[phantom13]

If you watch closely, you'll see Paddy start celebrating as soon as Billings takes possession but before the goal. Almost as if he was just celebrating the exquisite tapwork - and who can blame him.

Truthfully even being THAT good a tap ruckman (and Paddy is probably the best pure tapman in the league) you still need EVERYTHING to go right for that to work out.

• Gresh runs the decoy to clear the space
• Tap has to find a hand (even a tiny fumble and Billings is tackled or it spills out)
• Billings has to hit in stride, half a second too early or too late and he has to step or stretch and probably is off balance

I think he knew as soon as it hit Billings in stride in the hand that it was going through.

 

[Sun Ra]

If you watch closely, you'll see Paddy start celebrating as soon as Billings takes possession but before the goal. Almost as if he was just celebrating the exquisite tapwork - and who can blame him.

It's like a straight drive for six - as soon as you hit it you know what the result is. Paddy knew Billings wasn't missing that goal.

 

[PlayerNumber9]

That's not what I meant (point taken though - I should have phrased it differently) - I'd suggest, based on what we've seen, that Mr Ross is a very engaged dad who loves his kids to bits, and isn't leaving their care and upbringing soley to mum

I was more meaning that he's probably getting better sleep, and is able to be fully focused when he's "on the clock", leading to a much "sharper" Seb on gameday.

I don’t know about that - there was an article talking about him getting home after the Cairns game, walking in the door and immediately stepping in to care for the kids - at 3:00am.


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[phantom13]

I forgot about Joel Selwood running into Paddy in a ruck contest...

Thats gotta be right up there with the dumbest free kicks ive ever seen in modern footy.

 

[Barrels]

F I N A L S

Something Yoonited are unlikely to be in for the near to medium future…

 

[Diehard Saint]

This is on the Saints website, but a great read if you haven’t seen it…


“A glance, a chance: Ryder reveals the secret behind that tap.”

As soon as the ball kissed his hand and sailed behind him into space, Paddy Ryder didn’t even have to turn around to know he’d hit it to absolute perfection.

“Yeah, I knew it came off sweet,” he says, a grin plastered across his face.

Much like how Ryder didn’t have to glance back to see the product of his work on Saturday afternoon, Saints fans don’t need to dig through the memory banks to perfectly recollect his piece of stoppage brilliance against Geelong.


GET YOUR 2022 SIR DOUG NICHOLLS ROUND GUERNSEY DESIGNED BY NICKY WINMAR NOW!
A seamless over-the-head tap from a boundary throw-in – a match-winning trait Ryder has proven his skill at in the years prior – landed right in the path of the returning Jack Billings, who streamed through the contest with a timely left-foot snap to mark the highlight of the afternoon.

All it took, according to Ryder, was a quick glance at Billings, an undisclosed signal to acknowledge it and the rest of the set play to unfold, hopefully, like clockwork.

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00:42MINS
Published label.timestamp.days.plural ago

RD9 | Saints hit the front with two in a red-hot minute​

Back-to-back goals from Jack Billings

14

Jack Billings

Age

28

Ht

185cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

5.1

5star

T

2.9

4star

G

0.7

4star

D

19.7

5star

K

11.7

5star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.7

4star

T

2.9

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

13.8

4star

K

9.2

4star

HB

4.6

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.2

4star

and Mason Wood

32

Mason Wood

Age

30

Ht

192cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

7.8

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

CL

0.3

2star

D

8.3

2star

K

2.7

1star

HB

5.7

3star

M

1.7

2star

T

1.3

2star

CL

0.0

1star

D

15.8

4star

K

8.6

4star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.6

3star

has seen the Saints hit the front
“I’m always looking for connection with the mids. I look over and out of everyone, JB was looking right at me. His eyes… I could tell just from the way he was looking at me that he wanted the ball,” Ryder told saints.com.au.

“I just gave him a little signal where I wanted him to get to and then I had to make sure I got front position on (Mark) Blicavs. As the ball came in, I sort of put my arm back a couple of times just to keep him there behind me, because I didn’t want him jumping over the top.”


Paddy plucks a perfect 10 coaches' votes
Ryder fans his right arm out as he demonstrates warding off the invisible Cats ruckman, before slapping his hands together to mirror the footy skipping off his outstretched palm like a stone on the water.

“Just at that endpoint, (Blicavs) tried to wrap me up a little bit, but because I had the front position and the ball was right there in front of me, all I needed to do was allow the speed of the ball to just come off the top of my hand,” he said.

As soon as it came off, I knew it was in the right spot and I turned hoping that JB was there coming through. By the time I turned and looked, he was already dropping it onto his foot.​

- Paddy Ryder

“I just had a feeling it was going to go through at the throw-in.”

Years before his around-the-clock ruck ruck skills enthralled red, white and black onlookers, Ryder’s tap-work was burned into their minds more so out of frustration than adoration.

The final seconds Round 19, 2017 against Port Adelaide still lives fresh for many, with Ryder, then the Power’s leading ruckman, delivering a near-identical piece of ruck brilliance to Robbie Gray

9

Robbie Gray

Age

36

Ht

183cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.9

5star

K

9.8

4star

HB

10.1

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

3.2

5star

G

1.4

5star

D

13.3

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

7.3

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.6

4star

G

0.6

4star

D

10.4

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.4

4star

G

1.4

5star

to snatch victory away from the Saints with eight seconds left to play.

Billings had front seat at the time as St Kilda collapsed inwards at the penultimate stoppage to open up the path the Port Adelaide goalsneak needed to hammer home a crushing blow.

Robbie Gray

9

Robbie Gray

Age

36

Ht

183cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.9

5star

K

9.8

4star

HB

10.1

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

3.2

5star

G

1.4

5star

D

13.3

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

7.3

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.6

4star

G

0.6

4star

D

10.4

3star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.4

4star

G

1.4

5star

may have delivered the final blow, but Paddy Ryder was the architect behind St Kilda's undoing in Round 19, 2017. Photo: AFL Photos.
But those passages of play aren’t just flukes. There’s undeniably an element of luck involved, but the Saints have taken the time to enhance its midfield connection to the point where set plays can be conceived with only so much as a glance and subtle hand signal.

To knowing where each player’s strength lies, their preferred foot, their position at stoppage or the chinks in their opposition’s armour, all come into play when hatching intricate passages.

Ryder says with so many moving parts and variables, it only takes one slight misalignment or bit of bad luck for the plan to unravel at one of many potential hurdles. The feeling is that much better when all falls into place.

 

[Mowman]

If you can jump on Saints website and watch RND9 uncut V Geelong

Ratts comes across pretty impressive in how he speaks

 

[Diehard Saint]

If you can jump on Saints website and watch RND9 uncut V Geelong

Ratts comes across pretty impressive in how he speaks

Yep, I love these videos.
Great to hear Wilkie and Doogs also having a say.

 

[Mowman]

Yep, I love these videos.
Great to hear Wilkie and Doogs also having a say.

His message has been really consistent every week of what he wonts and most weeks he asks the players on their thoughts.
Great pump up for Longy about his game

 

[Dr Spaceman]

If you can jump on Saints website and watch RND9 uncut V Geelong

Ratts comes across pretty impressive in how he speaks

I noticed early in the season how well Ratts is speaking in comparison to previous years.

He’s talking with real authority, enthusiasm and compassion.

It really stands out and is very impressive

 

[sammm]

His message has been really consistent every week of what he wonts and most weeks he asks the players on their thoughts.
Great pump up for Longy about his game

Long must feel great about himself. His self confidence should be high