Match Thread. Round 9 v St Kilda.

[Captain]

No, some of us just don't see the point of harping on about it ad nauseum. It's relentlessly negative and ultimately tiring.....😩
Some of us just prefer to be positive.....it's not that we can't see our teams negatives, it just makes us happier in the face of adversity.😌
Chill.....the club will rise again.....✊

No one has been harping on. It’s relevant because we came up against Jones who destroyed us.

Jones showed today where he plays his best footy and it is frustrating to a lot of us supporters that he never got his chance in the middle for us. He was instead used off half back/wing which exposed his lack of silky skills and gave him less ability to use his grunt in and under.

Instead we have had Hewett at centre bounces for the past 2 years charged with playing predominantly negative roles.

[Captain]

I did say in my comment that he was very good. But to elaborate on the rest of my comment, our midfield over the last few years has been sluggish. As a general observation, our midfield has often looked hurried and lacking in time as a unit. When Jones was playing for us, he was the turnover king and often got pinged for holding the ball. Tonight, the Saints midfield, as a unit, gave each other time and space, hence Jones's good performance, granted he was a significant contributer.

That’s because he was playing half back and wing. Outside players are required to be much better ball users than inside players.

Our midfield has been sluggish because JPK, Parker and Hewett are all slow and they have been our main centre square combo.

Over past few years, Heeney has been played forward, Mills back, Papley forward, Jones half back. Pretty decent midfield right there. Not sluggish either.

[Blood Fever]

No one has been harping on. It’s relevant because we came up against Jones who destroyed us.

Jones showed today where he plays his best footy and it is frustrating to a lot of us supporters that he never got his chance in the middle for us. He was instead used off half back/wing which exposed his lack of silky skills and gave him less ability to use his grunt in and under.

Instead we have had Hewett at centre bounces for the past 2 years charged with playing predominantly negative roles.

Jones played in the midfield for us last year and then did his hammy. Did ok but got caught with the ball a lot. Also Sinclair was rucking and we got hammered around the clearances just like today when the Saints had dominant rucks. Our lack of a good ruckman has haunted us for 3 years. Naismith more of a loss than Jones.

[Velour&Ruffles]

One of m pet hates. A player lining up for goal flicking the ball around in their hands. Set your ball hold, line up your leg, head over the ball and step your run in. Basic. NO @@@@ING FLICKING THE BALL AROUND. DAWSON DOESN'T DO IT. BUDDY DOESN'T DO WHY DO BLAKEY AND ALIIR DO IT?

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Completely agree. This drives me insane too.

I was completely unsurprised that both Blakey and Hayward missed those easy shots. Even from 10m out Blakey looked nervous, and Hayward was clearly looking to give it off from 35 if he could. Just horrible body language from both.
Hayward looked good on the backline - leave him there for a while so he can establish his confidence.
Blakey would look good in a scratch game - leave him there for a while so he can establish his confidence. Huge talent but I'd have been embarrassed to miss that shot today in front of my fat middle-aged friends, and I haven't kicked a ball for 15 years.

[MattW]

Funny. Didn't hear from you last week when we won.

Exactly.

- - - Updated - - -

Rampe needs to get his hand right.

Agreed. Could not contest marks. It will hurt, but we need to rest him until it's fixed.

[Velour&Ruffles]

By the way - how pathetic was Carlisle's effort in trying to hit Rampe's injured hand? I shouldn't be surprised though. This is the lamentable imbecile who posted pictures of himself snorting coke, so to say he suffers from impaired judgement would be an understatement. But I thought we'd seen the last of that sort of tripe when Kretiuk of the Bulldogs did it to Matthew Lloyd all those years ago. Mind you, there's (sort of) a pattern. A Kretiuk and a Kretin.

[Melbourne_Blood]

By the way - how pathetic was Carlisle's effort in trying to hit Rampe's injured hand? I shouldn't be surprised though. This is the lamentable imbecile who posted pictures of himself snorting coke, so to say he suffers from impaired judgement would be an understatement. But I thought we'd seen the last of that sort of tripe when Kretiuk of the Bulldogs did it to Matthew Lloyd all those years ago. Mind you, there's (sort of) a pattern. A Kretiuk and a Kretin.

Yep . Real weak dog stuff from Carlisle.


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[MattW]

Despite the finish some good signs from us today. Bell had his best game for us. Mccartin too. Rowbottom in the third was huge. And we take a percentage hit and pick 2 looks more and more likely.

Hayward was busy too, like him around the ball


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Agree with all of that. One of McCartin's best games. Loved how he backed himself by leading to the pocket; he knew he could goal from the tight angle and did. The improvement to his set shot is outstanding.

I thought Bell showed good signs, too. Played on impressively at times and tackles hard. Plays with determination and grit.

Fox was good again, although is much better by foot than hand.

Sorry, but that was shocking from Blakey. Missed the gimme in front and then went missing. That miss was a real momentum shifter too. Disappointing.

Poor from Clarke and Gray, too. Clarke had 4 effective disposals and Gray is a good user but is just not impacting the play enough. Sinclair is as bad as he's been for us.

Another almost game from the ambitious Elijah
Taylor, but at least backed himself. My favourite moment of the game was when he steamed across to the wing with the ball in dispute up against three Saints, tapped it to himself a few times, smothered Hill's handball and took the ball over the line. All while Clarke watched on.

[mcs]

I would not say Elijah Taylor goes hard. Exactly the opposite. He shirked four or five hard ball gets, and missed as many tackles. He is a talent no doubt but needs to be out of the team to develop some ticker.

He is young, he is raw, and really isn't ready for AFL footy. But he will learn a lot, and I don't see what we are going to lose (beyond games that are meaningless) from giving young players with obvious potential a solid run, unless they are in horrendous form (which could be argued with Blakey). I didn't mean hard in terms of a hard ball get type of player (i.e. hard at it like a midfielder), more his willingess to try and hit the ball at speed, and he doesn't shirk about jumping in marking contests against much more mature bodies. His effectiveness is limited of course, but there is decent raw potential there.

And we need to see what he did in that multiple effort on the wing much more regularly - no doubt that is the element of his game where the focus will be on development.

[MattW]

He is young, he is raw, and really isn't ready for AFL footy. But he will learn a lot, and I don't see what we are going to lose (beyond games that are meaningless) from giving young players with obvious potential a solid run, unless they are in horrendous form (which could be argued with Blakey). I didn't mean hard in terms of a hard ball get type of player (i.e. hard at it like a midfielder), more his willingess to try and hit the ball at speed, and he doesn't shirk about jumping in marking contests against much more mature bodies. His effectiveness is limited of course, but there is decent raw potential there.

And we need to see what he did in that multiple effort on the wing much more regularly - no doubt that is the element of his game where the focus will be on development.

I agree.

[mcs]

Sorry, but that was shocking from Blakey. Missed the gimme in front and then went missing. That miss was a real momentum shifter too. Disappointing.

Poor from Clarke and Gray, too. Clarke had 4 effective disposals and Gray is a good user but is just not impacting the play enough. Sinclair is as bad as he's been for us.

I want to like Clarke, but I just can't see what his obvious role in the team is, because he can get it, but is next to useless using it. We aren't at a stage we could have a truly in and under midfielder whose only job literally is to extract and hand it off. Gray simply doesn't seem to get enough of the pill at all.

[giant]

I'm from the glass half full brigade - the stuff that went poorly - poor intensity at the start, laziness around the stoppages, missed opportunities - that can all be rectified. Continued to see great endeavour, some real effort at faster football and plenty of positives from the youngsters. Heck, even the umpiring was fine.

One (continued) bleat: Blakey was once again the worst player on the ground. I just don't understand what's achieved by playing him in his current form. Give the kid a break.

And who knows, maybe we pick up our own Max King this year? He is a heck of a talent.