Kildonan
Premium Platinum
I felt the same disappointment as most loyal St Kilda fans when we lost against the WCE. I was not surprised though.
There is a trend that can be seen in almost any sport at the highest level. It occurs when you set yourself for a major goal, make it the absolute focus for a length of time, then you play and achieve that goal. There is elation at achieving the goal, then you have to get back to work. The problem is that it is difficult to maintain the level of motivation required to maintain performance.
The next assignment often suffers.
In this case - the win against Hawthorn was our major goal. We achieved it.
Worsfold is a canny coach. He would have known that St Kilda were vulnerable after such a big match against Hawthorn. He would have also known that we would try and take the crowd out of the equation. He can't have expected it to all go so well for West Coast, considering their recent performances, but as a coach he would have been prepared to capitalise on any weakness shown by the Saints.
The Saints did not pay West Coast enough respect.
We expected to them to be a pushover, despite the rhetoric from the club which more or less said we weren't underestimating them. That simply wasn't true.
The Saints were West Coast Eagles' Hawthorn (if that makes any sense to you). They will most likely lose their next match.
So, it is unlikely that this one loss will put us out of finals contention, in fact our run home looks quite good. Most "experts" had us vying for that coveted fourth spot.
The West Coast loss goes down to experience and we can use it as a wake up call for our remaining matches.
The Saints are alive still - and smarting after that loss. Look out Port
(It would be fair to say that we won't underestimate Freo now either
)
There is only one month of footy left before finals.
There is a trend that can be seen in almost any sport at the highest level. It occurs when you set yourself for a major goal, make it the absolute focus for a length of time, then you play and achieve that goal. There is elation at achieving the goal, then you have to get back to work. The problem is that it is difficult to maintain the level of motivation required to maintain performance.
The next assignment often suffers.
In this case - the win against Hawthorn was our major goal. We achieved it.
Worsfold is a canny coach. He would have known that St Kilda were vulnerable after such a big match against Hawthorn. He would have also known that we would try and take the crowd out of the equation. He can't have expected it to all go so well for West Coast, considering their recent performances, but as a coach he would have been prepared to capitalise on any weakness shown by the Saints.
The Saints did not pay West Coast enough respect.
We expected to them to be a pushover, despite the rhetoric from the club which more or less said we weren't underestimating them. That simply wasn't true.
The Saints were West Coast Eagles' Hawthorn (if that makes any sense to you). They will most likely lose their next match.
So, it is unlikely that this one loss will put us out of finals contention, in fact our run home looks quite good. Most "experts" had us vying for that coveted fourth spot.
The West Coast loss goes down to experience and we can use it as a wake up call for our remaining matches.
The Saints are alive still - and smarting after that loss. Look out Port
(It would be fair to say that we won't underestimate Freo now either
)
Code:
Round Date Opponent Venue Home/Away Local Time
18 Sunday, Aug 03 Port Adelaide Telstra Dome Home 2:10 pm
19 Saturday, Aug 09 Collingwood MCG Away 7:10 pm
20 Sunday, Aug 17 Fremantle Subiaco Away 2:40 pm
21 Sunday, Aug 24 Adelaide Telstra Dome Home 2:10 pm
22 Sunday, Aug 31 Essendon Telstra Dome Away 4:40 pmThere is only one month of footy left before finals.
