St Kilda parts ways with coach Alan Richardson: report

Vintage

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Bassat said Brett Ratten would assume senior coaching responsibilities for the remainder of the season while the club undertakes a rigorous process to find the best coach to lead the club to a second premiership.
Clearly looking for a young coach.

Amidoingitright?
 

stfan

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I really believe a contributing factor to St Kilda's decline in recent weeks (probably more like 5-6 weeks) has been a very exhausting fixture.

The biggest factor by far is the injury list that started in the pre-season and then for a lot of the season has been 15 odd.

Apart from the sheer volume of players out, it also means that the team and who is playing where has been constantly shuffled.

Settled teams tend to play better, but when you keep have that many injuries it means the team is never settled and so it is much harder for players to gel as a unit.

So Richo was certainly dealt a bad hand this season. However I think the sentiment to sack him was probably formed last year but they gave him one last chance and bolstered him with new assistants. That chance evaporated as the injury toll mounted.
 

stfan

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And yes there really needs to be a change in List Management as well, or rather further change.

Take last year:
  • On the one hand the Saints go long-term and use our first two live draft picks on two gifted players in Max King (Potential Top 1 Pick) and Bytel (Potential Top 10 Pick)who both slid due to being injured and knowing that Bytel would not play at all and that King post ACL would only play late in the year (Next Coach will have the advantage of having these two in 2020, which Richo was denied in 2019)
  • But then they go immediate term with Hannas, where they later admitted they did not fully realise the extent of his problems
So yes they have definitely been chopping and changing in their approaches from year to year. Though having said that Elshuag was exited and so that in part does explain some of the change in direction.

Using later picks on youngish mature agers did look promising with Wilkie and Parker looking the goods. But the list still lacks top-end talent.

I expect next year that they will:
- use their Pick 3-5 on the best mid available, unless an attractive trade is made (probably unlikely)
- use their other picks on best available kids with a large sprinkling of the mature agers
- attempt to swap some players for either other players, or more likely more draft picks.

The incoming coach will have Pick-3-5, King, Bytel, a ragtag number of speculative picks being later in the draft, and if they are lucking ever some traded in second rounders or another mid, to add to what will be a pruned list.

If he is really fortunate Roberton will be given the all clear. Paddy, Longer and Pierce may all be retired due to concussion making it 5 Saints in recent times being retired for that reason. Which collectively hurts.

UFA & FA- wise they will try, but it is difficult to see a lot of value being gained there.

Injury wise if the rate can drop from its disastrous level this year to a more normal rate the new coach will actually have a better list to work with than Richo had this year.
 

_jrtp09_

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For sure. But he made the finals four times? Made the prelim twice. The way people talk about him sometimes it’s as if North were constantly fighting it out for the wooden spoon.

Yeah but look at what Shaw’s doing with the same list.

Ratten would be a great get, but not sure if he wants to coach again.
 
Aug 13, 2018
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You are right about Paddy. But the injuries to Carlisle, Webster, Roberton, Steven, Hannebery and Geary for a large chunk of the year were crippling. They’re all best 22 at any team in the competition (maybe not Geary) so when you try and suggest that the injury of one player who isn’t a star (you are right) isn’t that big a deal just shows either a lack of knowledge, or more likely - total (deliberate) ignorance.
How can you count Hannebery?
He has played 2 games for you.

Also there are plenty of games when Richo had all those names on the park and you were thrashed by lowly teams.

V North Melbourne on Good Friday 2018 comes to mind.
 

Ron The Bear

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In summary:

  • Started old and ordinary
  • Younger and terrible
  • Back to older and ordinary
  • Back to younger and terrible

So really absolutely no clue what they were doing. All over the shop on list management.

Richo's biggest failing is he is a very poor judge of footballing talent.

He thought Mav Weller an Jack Newnes were gun players. He thought Pay McCartin was a gun player.

They may have underestimated how bad their position was when Watters departed. Watters said St.Kilda was on the way to being a “juggernaut”, and one of the execs said they had as many supporters as Richmond.

They just didn’t stay down long enough to acquire enough talent to make a sustained run at the top half.

A lot depends on their current stocks. If the unseen King and Bytel are winners and they trade wisely, optimistically I could see them playing finals in two years. It’s not the worst job to be walking into, list-wise. Reckon they’re a better proposition than e.g. North.

Plus, Ratten has proven ability to build a young team. If his heart’s in it, this could be a watershed moment for the club.
 
Last edited:
Apr 18, 2005
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What?
I am saying the opposite.
Your reading comprehension skills need work.
I'm saying he makes zero difference. If anything he is a liability when he plays.
And I am saying that given he has been concussed 8 times in 34 games we can’t really make an assessment on his ability to impact a game. What key forward gets judged after 34 games even at full fitness?
 

g_TRAIN

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Hes not an A grader yet but hes a very good young player. Why are the saints targeting Goldstein and Draper? Think Marshall doing really well leading the ruck

Because we don't have a single other ruck worth anything on our list.

Longer and Pierce both with long term concussion issues at the moment too. Both won't play again
 
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How can you count Hannebery?
He has played 2 games for you.

Also there are plenty of games when Richo had all those names on the park and you were thrashed by lowly teams.

V North Melbourne on Good Friday 2018 comes to mind.

Hannebery is included on the list because he is injured - and that’s why he’s also only played two games.
If he wasn’t injured, he’s best 22 at every team in the competition.
 
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