Tactics Won It

[Fehring]

After bagging our ins and outs, I have to admit that GT did a great job. A team is only as fast as you let them be. Our run out of defence was magnificent, our forward line too good but it was the way our midfield worked that won it. The way we smashed them in tight and denied them room to move reminded me of the way Adelaide nailed us in 97, especially the way we creamed West every time he went anywhere near it (props to Powelly) - it was exactly what the crows did to Harvs that day. Without Westy dishing it out, all of those runners were impotent.

I'm still claiming that GT lay us down last week! On on Sainters!

 

[Kildonan]

Also the structure of our forwards - Gehrig dragged Harris out of his comfort zone and played out of his skin all night. Great tactic by GT, but it wouldn't have worked without Gehrig being as good as he is. Also having the other two tall forwards, Riewoldt and Kosi / Ackland, in positions that kept Gehrig one on one helped too. Powell did a great task, ably assisted by Peckett and Baker.

Dal, Harves and Joey were grand tonight. Ball too, but the former three showed run that just crucified the doggies - we were beating them at their own game. They missed the influence of their ball magnet, West (who really only gained the stats to make his night look OK after they had already lost it) - Powell really did a job on him.

Goddards disposal was superb tonight. Even Powell's disposal was grand - hit Gehrig lace out twice - beautiful to watch. This is the quality midfield disposal they have been dreaming of.

Montgomery had a few goes at our players tonight, Dal two or three times, Ball at least once. Hamill copped one from him, did you see Hamill straighten him out ? We have missed the enforcer.

All in all a great result for the Saints.

 

[Kildonan]

The tactics for this match were conceptualised earlier and put together at training. They would have gone over each players' role, fine tuning and refining the tasks they were given. The players responded well to the coaching and were able to overcome a first quarter failure to contain the Doggies running game, to impose their own game plan on the match.

Sticking to the game plan was a successful ploy.

Abandoning our game plan and adjusting our game to respond to the Bulldogs' early success would have been disasterous.

 

[sainter]

I should get angry at Thommo more often.

I couldn't believe that he had put Baker on Johnson and left Bakes on him for so long. The match up just made no sense. There was a stage where Minson was playing in the forward line and you could understand why Max was required to play on him but Johnno is such a strong mark overhead that he was always going to have Bakes beaten.

Just under 30 minutes later and we had blown the contest wide open with an amazing 10 goal second quarter.

Full credit to Thommo. He knew we had them stretched up forward and we played to our strengths. Although it has to be said that our forward line could not have been so dominant had it not been for the tireless effort of our midfielders. Harvey, Dal Santo and Ball were fantastic. Joey and Grammy gave us a lot of run as usual. Powelly was his usual angry self. I'm rapt. Really proud of the guys tonight.

 

[SpInNeR]

baker on jonhson was embarrassing....


our ruck seemed supurb from the stands....just clearer clearances (might have been the Kos factor)



R. Clarke is not up to AFL standard as yet...he was woeful...there was an instance (third i think) where the dogs were running through the side of the square and handballed back to eachother allowing them to run into an open goal from 45....raph moved lines and allowed the space....it looked terrible...(dunno if the TV captured it) but take my word...it was awful.



...extremely good run with the umpires...kennedy had a bad night!!!


(i cant remeber the last time we tuened the game around from being 3 opr 4 goals behind.....amazing)


SAM FISHER FOR ALL AUSTRALIAN

 

[Kildonan]

Coach of the week: GRANT THOMAS (St Kilda)

The Saints showed yet again on Friday night, with their 50 point demolition of fellow finalists the Western Bulldogs, just what they are capable of when they have all their big guns fit and firing.

Their attack of Fraser Gehrig, Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke and Aaron Hamill looked awesome and it's easy to forget that coach Grant Thomas has rarely had his four big guns in attack all fit at the same time during his time as coach.

Yet despite that Thomas has steered the Saints into three successive finals series - only the second time the club has ever achieved that feat in their history, with the last such occasion being the years 1970-73 under the club's only premiership coach Allan Jeans.

The Saints could yet end the season in the top-four and considering Thomas has also been without his best midfielder in Lenny Hayes for much of the season because of a serious knee injury, then the often unfairly maligned St Kilda boss deserves plenty of credit for keeping his team amongst the competition's elite this season.

 

[Fehring]

Agreed about Sam Fisher. He was best on ground for mine. I think youse guys are neglecting what a great job our backs did. I thought Raph was good. He makes mistakes but he is tall, he is deceptively fast and he causes great headaches and I'm willing to take the risk of the occasional brain fade. I actually think he is vital for us this year and he's playing himself into some form.

 

[Laser123]

Agreed with Fehring in relation to Raph Clarke. Watching the game live I thought he had a shocker, but watching the replay, bar a mistake or 2, he appeared composed, quick and gave us some run and creativity out of the backline. He was one of the reasons we generated so well off half back in the second quarter

 

[SpInNeR]

i agree that his physic is superb...but he has no intensity what so ever...


i would say more lathargic than compossed....no sign of hunger yet....



...its a much different attitude to X in his early days.....

 

[Kildonan]

Agreed with Fehring in relation to Raph Clarke. Watching the game live I thought he had a shocker, but watching the replay, bar a mistake or 2, he appeared composed, quick and gave us some run and creativity out of the backline. He was one of the reasons we generated so well off half back in the second quarter

Welcome to BigFooty Laser.

Yeah Raph had a good second quarter, twice I was surprised at how effective he was and made mention of it during the match to my family.

Later he made one or two poor decisions, but overall I am happy with his match. I don't think he has reached the level of fitness required for finals footy yet - and he is running out of time. He adds attacking flair though and has a touch of something special in him.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

Also the structure of our forwards - Gehrig dragged Harris out of his comfort zone and played out of his skin all night.

I think Harris's comfort zone is somewhere around his bedroom under a doona at the moment.

Good win anyway fellas.

PS - What happened to Powell's brain? His "tagging" tactics were horrid.

 

[evertonfc]

PS - What happened to Powell's brain? His "tagging" tactics were horrid.

Powell's a prick. And without Hayes, he becomes very important.

Completely eliminated West's effectiveness.

 

[sainter]

Powell's a prick. And without Hayes, he becomes very important.

Completely eliminated West's effectiveness.

That's it. He isn't in the team for his skill or ability. He's a cranky old man and the reason he's in the team is to make his opponents life hell. I thought he did that very well. West received 6 free kicks so I don't think the Bulldogs have reason to complain, they were rewarded for Powellys indiscretions.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

That's it. He isn't in the team for his skill or ability. He's a cranky old man and the reason he's in the team is to make his opponents life hell. I thought he did that very well. West received 6 free kicks so I don't think the Bulldogs have reason to complain, they were rewarded for Powellys indiscretions.

Do you agree with the paid free kicks though? You thought he did very well, but gave up 6 free kicks, so are you advocating the fact he's a little prick? Are you happy to have such a player playing for you?

 

[sainter]

Do you agree with the paid free kicks though? You thought he did very well, but gave up 6 free kicks, so are you advocating the fact he's a little prick? Are you happy to have such a player playing for you?

Scott West is your best midfielder.

Powelly kept him to half of the possessions that he earned the week before.

I'm delighted with his performance.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

Scott West is your best midfielder.

Powelly kept him to half of the possessions that he earned the week before.

I'm delighted with his performance.

I'll take that as a yes, and note that it's interesting that you don't mind having a player of Stephen Powell's ilk on your list and in your best 22.

 

[Big Ted]

I'll take that as a yes, and note that it's interesting that you don't mind having a player of Stephen Powell's ilk on your list and in your best 22.

Grow up troll...

Stop listening to the propoganda that is coming from Eades mouth.

His pray on Powell is for reasons

1 - To take the Heat of his team that were embarressed the week before. At the ned of thag me, the Bulldogs went from contenders, to first week fodder

2 - To try and intimidate the umpires into call free's for Scott West over the next 2 weeks.

All midfielders cop that sort of attention. when Nick Dal Santo got cleaned up twice in an act of cowardice in the 1st Qtr (charging in off the line is soft and ****weak IMO) nothing happend and nothing changed.

Might I suggest you leave this form to your little hole in the Western Suburbs.

 

[Kildonan]

Sporty, please tell me that your ruminations are not based on some sort of moralistic grounds. Powell is a fringe player who will go to extreme lengths to hold onto his spot in the 22. Not everything he did was legal, hence the free kicks against him.

Let me put it this way, any team with Montgomery included to play is showing far less sportsmanship, his style of play (more commonly called the shirtfront), is not what any team's fan wants to see in our great game.
I will admit though that the number of injuries you guys have had may have necessitated his inclusion, but it doesn't look pretty when he's in your team, you have no right to moralise.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

Grow up troll...

Stop listening to the propoganda that is coming from Eades mouth.

I haven't heard anything that Eade has said, other than he is going to complain (or already has).

Sporty, please tell me that your ruminations are not based on some sort of moralistic grounds. Powell is a fringe player who will go to extreme lengths to hold onto his spot in the 22. Not everything he did was legal, hence the free kicks against him.

Let me put it this way, any team with Montgomery included to play is showing far less sportsmanship, his style of play (more commonly called the shirtfront), is not what any team's fan wants to see in our great game.
I will admit though that the number of injuries you guys have had may have necessitated his inclusion, but it doesn't look pretty when he's in your team, you have no right to moralise.

I haven't commented, negatively or positively on Montgomery's own tactics anywhere on this forum. Nor have i commented on his inclusion in the side. That said, i don't pick the side. So i don't see how I shouldn't be allowed to pass moral judgement on a player and his tactics in a game, just because a player whom you think is equally, or perhaps worse in his style of play than Powell plays for our side.

It's a common arguement though. If i say, for example, i don't like how Powell plays, there will be someone who claims that i can not make that call because Liberatore played for us. Bollocks. Like i said, i don't pick the side, and what's to say that i actually support the way he playes. Case in point here, Montgomery.

All i asked, was are you happy to have a player like Stephen Powell playing in your side? Sainter answered my question, and thought it was interesting that he felt the way he did.

 

[gosaints]

All i asked, was are you happy to have a player like Stephen Powell playing in your side? Sainter answered my question, and thought it was interesting that he felt the way he did.

Powell is in the side for one reason and one reason only, take the oppositions best midfielder off his game. Am I happy he is in the side?? When we win by 50 points and he plays his part your damn right I'm happy with him in the side. On football ability alone, I don't think Stephen Powell will get near our best 22 when we are all up and running, but with some of our quality midfielders either not there or playing hurt, i'm happy with him in the team. If you play us again in the finals you can rest assured Westy will get the same treatment and Powelly will have Thommo back to help him out. Westy is a gun and he can overcome it... it's nothing Robert Harvey hasn't dealt with over the last 19 years.

 

[sainter]

All i asked, was are you happy to have a player like Stephen Powell playing in your side? Sainter answered my question, and thought it was interesting that he felt the way he did.

You thought it was interesting that I was happy to have Powelly in the team after he shut your best midfielder out of the game?

Why wouldn't I like players with a bit of mongrel in them?

The best thing about footy is that it's not just a game for the highly skilled midfielders or the powerful forwards.

It would be a sad day if taggers were taken out of the game leaving the likes of Judd and co to win the ball at will without any semblence of physical pressure.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

You thought it was interesting that I was happy to have Powelly in the team after he shut your best midfielder out of the game?

Why wouldn't I like players with a bit of mongrel in them?

There's a line though Sainter, and i would have thought Powell crossed the line from being a tagger to being an out and out ****.

 

[sainter]

There's a line though Sainter, and i would have thought Powell crossed the line from being a tagger to being an out and out ****.

He gave away 6 free kicks so I'd say he was punished for his indiscretions.

If he can continue to be a **** and have as good a game as last friday in the finals I'll be very happy.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

Fair enough, again, good win to you guys and good luck in the finals.

 

[SpInNeR]

Fair enough, again, good win to you guys and good luck in the finals.

what do women know about football???????