Autopsy Saints roll the Cats.

[gringo2011]

Its no good for anyone's development to play in a team without a full back.
Howard was mature , but not old at the time.
We'd drafted Clavarino, that sucked.

( interestingly, in reading this, he was never "that guy " , we might have wrecked his career - https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/oscar-clavarino/ )

We should have drafted one. We had a quick jump to mid table and stayed in no man's land. It was an attempt to disguise their list mismanagement.

 

[gringo2011]

Definitely valid reasons and it's not a criticism by any stretch. I just think history shows that kind of manic pressure isn't sustainable week on week as the no1 method. It needs to be backed up with other attributes like some class outside kicking. If we had a fit list it would be better with more seasoned players who can switch tempo when needed.
Hopefully it comes with time, but ATM it's fine for where we're at. Most importantly the team can take some belief and in 2 games we've uncovered 3 new players in Hall, Irish and Hammer V2. Progress is progress.

I think that we were unlucky that the umpires kept them in it. Most teams would've been snuffed out.

 

[Sully111]

Definitely valid reasons and it's not a criticism by any stretch. I just think history shows that kind of manic pressure isn't sustainable week on week as the no1 method. It needs to be backed up with other attributes like some class outside kicking. If we had a fit list it would be better with more seasoned players who can switch tempo when needed.
Hopefully it comes with time, but ATM it's fine for where we're at. Most importantly the team can take some belief and in 2 games we've uncovered 3 new players in Hall, Irish and Hammer V2. Progress is progress.

Spot on

It's not sustainable.

I was happy see it wasn't just pressure that had us going in the first half in particular. Our ball use and decision making were much much better than they had been.

Pressure and effort kept us in the game in the end though. We need more composure so it's not so damn hard. Staying at a pressure rating of over 200 for 4 quarters every week isn't going to happen.

 

[Ads734]

I might have wanted Ward or Hobbs. Can't remember to be honest. I thought I wanted Rachele who I was big on and that year we were all pumped up on the three Sandy boys, only one is any good so far. I know I wanted a mid at the time.

I'm not a recruiter so would have had no control but I stand by the fact that trying to top up to push up the ladder extended the rebuild time frame out. Something we are still paying for now. We might have over achieved since taking Windy and Owens and jump a few but looking at North and Adelaide shows the benefits of doing a systematic rebuild. Carlton and Essendon have both done similar builds to us.

Don’t agree at all sorry. Adelaide stuffed around for years as have north. Funny hawthorn succeeding without taking any top line picks. Also uou know who they took with their first pick last year? A 170cm small forward.

The best strategy is to follow Sydney , Geelong, draft as well as possible with whatever picks you have. Always aim for finals and don’t except being non competitive.

That will build sustained success and constant development, not flunking games.

I still find it funny that the drafting of Naz and Wilson came after making finals.

 

[Saints43]

That's the whole point. They used the last pick in the draft and two years later he's in their best 6 players. Geelong keep finding these diamonds out of nowhere. They do it better than most.

It has to be the environment too though.

I know Trout was just about the worst recruiter in history but he couldn't have butchered every pick. It would be like winning tattslotto three weeks in a row.

I hope Ross is building that type of environment for us.

 

[Nutsngum]

It has to be the environment too though.

I know Trout was just about the worst recruiter in history but he couldn't have butchered every pick. It would be like winning tattslotto three weeks in a row.

I hope Ross is building that type of environment for us.

I think our development had as much say as anything Trout did or didnt do.

Meanwhile, does Marshall have to black mail someone to get the recognition he deserves or something from the general media? Snubbed completely last year despite being the best ruck in the game, barely mentioned despite monstering Geelong on the weekend... just annoys me that he's going to go his entire career with zero AA mentions at this rate.

 

[St Kilda Death]

t looking at North and Adelaide shows the benefits of doing a systematic rebuild.

bit early on north I reckon mate.
They were 3-20 last year.
Dogs kept them at arms length r1
And ok they just got an upset win, but the dees looked cooked, they were without May and Lever, and the star studded midfield looks far from their 2021 best.

And crows rebuild is built on Go home boys Dawson and Rankine being their best players.

Definitely have benefitted well from rookies. Geelong are experts at finding off broadway players who end up guns.

Dangerfield, jez Cameon and Bazlenka are the epitome of broadway.

 

[austinnn]

He does a lot of 1% stuff that gets missed in the wash up. A hand on the ball of an opposition player that slows their possession a fraction, a small bump that spills the ball. He manages to get in between the ball and opposition player a lot which gives time to our mids.
I understand the frustration with him with some on here, but I wasn't the least surprised he got a contract extension.

Wait...

"A hand on the ball of an opposition player"...??

He does that? Somewhere between the violations of Hopoate and Filandia.

I mean, there's dark arts and then there's stuff that makes Lord Voldemort look like widdle Tommy Riddle.

I'm imagining the ever-balding Hunter Clark just subtly sliding his hand up to his opponent's sack, just placing it nearby, allowing his opponent to feel the deep unease, feel the warmth from the heat of Hunter's hand, perhaps the light graze of a fingertip, frozen waiting for a squeeze or caress, working out how to get Hunter's tentacles off his testicles... how could you possibly concentrate on the game with that psychodrama rolling around your head?

Yuck

 

[tomjoad]

Wait...

"A hand on the ball of an opposition player"...??

He does that? Somewhere between the violations of Hopoate and Filandia.

I mean, there's dark arts and then there's stuff that makes Lord Voldemort look like widdle Tommy Riddle.

I'm imagining the ever-balding Hunter Clark just subtly sliding his hand up to his opponent's sack, just placing it nearby, allowing his opponent to feel the deep unease, feel the warmth from the heat of Hunter's hand, perhaps the light graze of a fingertip, frozen waiting for a squeeze or caress, working out how to get Hunter's tentacles off his testicles... how could you possibly concentrate on the game with that psychodrama rolling around your head?

Yuck

We don't get the advantages of other teams. If we need to be a bit "underhanded" and if Hunter doesn't mind the fallout from it.
Then it's just good business practice, no!?

 

[tomjoad]

I think our development had as much say as anything Trout did or didnt do.

Meanwhile, does Marshall have to black mail someone to get the recognition he deserves or something from the general media? Snubbed completely last year despite being the best ruck in the game, barely mentioned despite monstering Geelong on the weekend... just annoys me that he's going to go his entire career with zero AA mentions at this rate.

I think big Ro got a good shout out from commentators during the Cats game, and it was acknowledged how important he is to us. Similarly he also gets props for being one of the best big men in the game. Just not in the top 2 or 3.
Around the ground I don't think too many other rucks get near him. However as we all know, it's just the actual ruck craft that lets him down slightly.
Probably doesn't help that he plays for us either.
Membrey and Battle are amazing new Boom recruits that have come from nowhere don't you know

 

[austinnn]

I also noticed this. On the AFL website in the '7 things we learned' article. All about the Cats.

Sorry, I have to say this is a bit silly. There's 2 teams on the field. It's as much about one team losing the game as the other team winning.

As good as we were, anyone could see the cats defence had holes all over it that we exploited, that's what gave us our initial lead and it wasn't just the case of us being brilliant, and that's exactly how it was reported.

I get frustrated at times with a lack of praise directed at our club but this is not a good example.

 

[Diehard Saint]

I think that we were unlucky that the umpires kept them in it. Most teams would've been snuffed out.

I suppose the benefit of unbiased officiating would have been percentage and less chance of a heart attack risk for many of us.

However, the experience gained in that last quarter and specifically the last 10 minutes is going to prove invaluable.

They now know they are capable of defending to the death if necessary. Against a team with huge momentum.
Look at those efforts from Irish, Cama and Nas.
(And probably other moments I didn’t see because my eyes were shut!)

 

[Joffaboy]

Spot on

It's not sustainable.

I was happy see it wasn't just pressure that had us going in the first half in particular. Our ball use and decision making were much much better than they had been.

Pressure and effort kept us in the game in the end though. We need more composure so it's not so damn hard. Staying at a pressure rating of over 200 for 4 quarters every week isn't going to happen.

We showed in the back half of last year it is sustainable. Last 10 games we were top 4 for 4th qtrs.
It is sustainable if fit.

Sent from my SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[akaifu]

Sorry, I have to say this is a bit silly. There's 2 teams on the field. It's as much about one team losing the game as the other team winning.

As good as we were, anyone could see the cats defence had holes all over it that we exploited, that's what gave us our initial lead and it wasn't just the case of us being brilliant, and that's exactly how it was reported.

I get frustrated at times with a lack of praise directed at our club but this is not a good example.

It's more about how it's always like that. Most of our wins in 2024 were about the losing team. It was only ever about us when it was a chance for pundits to bash us for being bad

I've learned to just embrace it tbh. Let them write us off. It'll just make success all the more sweeter

 

[Bill Crouse]

Coaches Votes
8 Jack Macrae (STK)
7 Jack Sinclair (STK)
6 Rowan Marshall (STK)
4 Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (STK)
3 Mitch Owens (STK)
2 Marcus Windhager (STK)

 

[SaintsSeptember]

It has to be the environment too though.

I know Trout was just about the worst recruiter in history but he couldn't have butchered every pick. It would be like winning tattslotto three weeks in a row.

I hope Ross is building that type of environment for us.

Seb Ross seemed to take forever to play competitive footy.
Mackenzie several years.
Blake Acres.
To me that suggests that we weren't exactly fast tracking development.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

We should have drafted one. We had a quick jump to mid table and stayed in no man's land. It was an attempt to disguise their list mismanagement.

We did, that's what Clavarino was meant to be.
Even if we did draft a good one, throwing a tall defender into the deep end isn't always good development. They can take longer.

 

[gringo2011]

Don’t agree at all sorry. Adelaide stuffed around for years as have north. Funny hawthorn succeeding without taking any top line picks. Also uou know who they took with their first pick last year? A 170cm small forward.

The best strategy is to follow Sydney , Geelong, draft as well as possible with whatever picks you have. Always aim for finals and don’t except being non competitive.

That will build sustained success and constant development, not flunking games.

I still find it funny that the drafting of Naz and Wilson came after making finals.

We are in a different place now, we've built up via the draft and are starting to get rewards. This is the model we should have followed the first time. It pushed the time line out. Adelaide were in a GF in 2016 and look closer than us again. North had their last finals the same year. Adelaide didn't gut as hard.

We are coming off a 14 year rebuild and are still a few piece off a serious top 4 list. Some might already be here but we are not at the Crows level yet and North should surge at some point.

 

[gringo2011]

I suppose the benefit of unbiased officiating would have been percentage and less chance of a heart attack risk for many of us.

However, the experience gained in that last quarter and specifically the last 10 minutes is going to prove invaluable.

They now know they are capable of defending to the death if necessary. Against a team with huge momentum.
Look at those efforts from Irish, Cama and Nas.
(And probably other moments I didn’t see because my eyes were shut!)

Yep, that was finals tempo. Incredible experience for them. You don't get many chances to replicate those conditions.

 

[ScrappyDo]

I think that we were unlucky that the umpires kept them in it. Most teams would've been snuffed out.

Whenever you're playing one of the AFL's golden children you must always beat 2 teams on the day. That will remain our lot until we can produce high media and betting revenues. When the bookies can make more money off us, we will get a better run with the AFL. Simples

 

[ScrappyDo]

I might have wanted Ward or Hobbs. Can't remember to be honest. I thought I wanted Rachele who I was big on and that year we were all pumped up on the three Sandy boys, only one is any good so far. I know I wanted a mid at the time.

I'm not a recruiter so would have had no control but I stand by the fact that trying to top up to push up the ladder extended the rebuild time frame out. Something we are still paying for now. We might have over achieved since taking Windy and Owens and jump a few but looking at North and Adelaide shows the benefits of doing a systematic rebuild. Carlton and Essendon have both done similar builds to us.

You want to use Norff as an example? Seriously???

 

[gringo2011]

bit early on north I reckon mate.
They were 3-20 last year.
Dogs kept them at arms length r1
And ok they just got an upset win, but the dees looked cooked, they were without May and Lever, and the star studded midfield looks far from their 2021 best.

And crows rebuild is built on Go home boys Dawson and Rankine being their best players.

Dangerfield, jez Cameon and Bazlenka are the epitome of broadway.

Roos are going to surge at some point.

Of course they attract big names as well but Tom Stewart, Tim Kelly, Dempsey, Stengle, Blicsavs, Mannaugh, Humphries etc were all super value pick ups. Their talent spotters have kept them up without access to the top end of drafts. Also nailed players like Holmes and De Koning with their first picks.

 

[gringo2011]

You want to use Norff as an example? Seriously???

Yep, had this same conversation when I said Brisbane and Carlton will jump. North would be hard to watch but they've done the work to build a solid list.

 

[gringo2011]

We did, that's what Clavarino was meant to be.
Even if we did draft a good one, throwing a tall defender into the deep end isn't always good development. They can take longer.

Clav would have been worth persisting with. Was starting to show something when we cut him.

 

[littlecreatures]

Im never really convinced when this sort of stuff starts.

It doesnt really matter when you win though.

I wouldn’t stress. Over time I’d expect teams put more time into players like Wilson which hopefully frees up Hill a little. Positive to see he still bought in and got himself involved in other ways