The Grand Final

[scottydeewah]

If I was the opposition coach and was playing the saints. Ball and/or Dal Santo wouldnt make it past the opening bounce. I know it is a f*Ckwit thing to say and or do but these two players are amazing. But without them your midfield is sadly lacking. In fact it is quite bad. It seems to me that the clarke brothers and Goddard need to become better midfielders. Pecket is servicable but not that good. Lenny is a workhorse but can be shutdown if tagged (which you could do without Ball/Dal Santo). Harvey is harvey, legend but his finishing isnt top notch and lets face it the new breed of kids in the comp can take him. Really I just dont find your midfield without those two to be strong.

Thoughts?

 

[m.diddy]

Well thats what Shattocks job was yesterday and it worked.

However the clarkes arn't midfielders.


Hayes - gun. People under estimate him so much.
Harvey - Will still beat any player. ANY PLAYER.
Andrew Thompson - This guy is also a very underestimated player, however is playing poorly this year.
Powell - Same as thommo.
Baker - One of the best taggers in the league also gets a bit of them ball when in the middle
Goddard - will get better and has the last few weeks unlucky that he was sick yesterday.
McQualter - will replace Harvey.
Jones - Been playing off the wing all year
Fiora - Been very good all year until his injury.
Hamill - Not a midfielder, however provides those in the middle protection and confidence.
McGOugh - can get the ball but can't step up for ball/dal santo

Ball and Dal Santo are freaks no one can step up for them every team would be the same. They have had ordinary games the last 4-5 weeks.

 

[scottydeewah]

I would agree with most of the Milnedog.
Hayes is a gun and i dont really under rate him but without a ball and/or Dal Santo your third best midfield becomes your second and can be tagged. Harvey I agree with too, he is a gun and will still beat many players but not all. He is a champion though and still playing well so I will leave him alone.

The rest though? Honestly I would pit our second string midfield against that lot and know we would smash them. Our first string is not as strong as yours but that second string is looking vey fragile. Melbourne, West Coast both have second stringers that look a lot better than those blokes (right now). I think if i was the coach I would stick to the same plan. Dal Santo and Ball, get ready to duck guys because although clubs cant prepare to lose players you might find as the season wears on that will change.

 

[Kildonan]

The St Kilda midfield is an ever-changing rotation of players, all with different qualities. Whilst all players are capable of taking on any role, there are several that have specific skills that may benefit the team by performing specific tasks.
In and under players like Andrew Thompson, Steven Powell and Mark McGough will perform the tough “hard ball gets” and deliver the ball to the running players. These players are capable of gaining the same stats as the more renowned midfielders, but they sacrifice the glory for the team benefit – and their efforts often make their team mates play better games.
Outside players like Nick Dal Santo and Robert Harvey are able to make their way through heavy traffic and deliver the ball to leading forwards or to attacking players.
Tough hard tackling midfielders like Lenny Hayes and Luke Ball suppress the opposition midfielders whilst gaining numerous possessions themselves. X-factor players like Stephen Milne, Xavier Clarke, Brendan Goddard, Aaron Fiora, Jason Gram, Justin Peckett, Leigh Montagna, and Brent Guerra are all bit part players in the midfield, but do not underestimate their impact.
Then there is The Glove, Steven Baker, not only is he a tagger of great repute, able to stop ANY midfielder in the game, he is also a quality midfielder himself, and a good small backman as well.
Add to this list our ruckmen, chosen not just for their ability to combat at the stoppages, but also for their ability to act as “extra midfielders” these include Cain Ackland, Jason Blake, and Justin Koschitzke. When all the players are available in our defence, Matthew Maguire can also be included in this list.
The new kid on the block is Andrew McQualter, another quality midfielder in the making, he has only played three senior games, yet already has the respect of the Saints fans and is a likely candidate for rising star nomination.

The St Kilda midfield has appeared a little fragile this year – and this is due mainly to injury to key players. Powell was unavailable until only recently and is still finding form. Harvey has suffered two soft tissue injuries already this year and has missed a number of weeks. Thompson has been in mediocre form carrying injuries and missing a few weeks himself. Luke Ball has suffered at least three broken noses and several concussions this season, Justin Koschitzke is still off injured, as is Jason Blake and Aaron Fiora. Jason Gram has been unavailable for quite some time and now will take time to regain the level of fitness required. Xavier Clarke has been injured and missed games as well. Andrew McQualter is in his first season (our first round pick in last year’s draft) and it is a big ask for him to hold down one of the midfield rotations, but he has acquitted himself admirably to the task, but is as yet unable to run out a whole game and is still a little undisciplined in some areas.

 

[TheTimberMerchant#14]

Lenny Hayes was the only person that even looked like going after Shattock when he did that to Ball.

Lenny is our best and most consistent player!

Snickers. (On my mates account)

 

[m.diddy]

Lenny Hayes was the only person that even looked like going after Shattock when he did that to Ball.

Lenny is our best and most consistent player!

Snickers. (On my mates account)

Good to see you snickers. YEah I agree, lenny was the only one to fly the flag, If Hamill was there he would too so would ball once those all jumped in it normally encourages the rest of the team to go in.