When you consider how long the Saints No 1 picks have been around - 8 years or so - our premiership target looks pretty remote.

Hawthorn showed it can be done quicker so was Thomas the problem at Moorabbin?

Hawthorn dramatically over achieved last year. You can't doubt that. They started playing awesome football, and the young players just got on an unstoppable roll. Everyone thought they were still 2-3 years away.

St. Kilda had a great chance from 2004-2006 and ultimately blew it. 2007 they were adjusting to a gameplan, and 2008 saw them back up again.

I thought Thomas did an OK job, but they did underachieve for a few years. They had a super team in 2004 when they started 10-0. I am still not confident they can take it this year though.

If Thomas held the Saints back, then Daniher tied us to the ground, beat us, tortured us and kept us locked up in an underground dungeon.

Hawthorn showed it can be done quicker so was Thomas the problem at Moorabbin?

YES

Interesting that Mr. Thomas was seated in the MFC 'President's Club' seating area - I assume at the invitation of the MFC.

When you consider how long the Saints No 1 picks have been around - 8 years or so - our premiership target looks pretty remote.

Hawthorn showed it can be done quicker so was Thomas the problem at Moorabbin?

Geelong have taken a similar time to St Kilda. Brisbane were similar. Arguably the Essendon of 2000 was similar timeframe, albeit they pulled one out of the bag in 1993.

The Hawks were ahead of time and had a fair dose of Flag hangover. Would happily accept MFC to have a hang over after a 4 peat!

However, Lyon is a far better coach than Thomas and Thomas would not have got them there to 20-2. St K made the right decision three years ago.

Thomas Took over from an absolute Basket case my Brother is deeply involved down there & told me a few things.

,

They were a Total mess after Watson & Blight.

I think Thomas did a great Job, 2004 they missed the GF by 5 points in a Cracker Game & would have beaten Brissy For sure.

But thats Footy. Thomas was a good choice at the time.

He Put Respect into that club, But by 2006 He & Butters were Burnt out.

Why didn't we make the 8 in 2001? Was it Bad Luck or ND??

Thomas Took over from an absolute Basket case my Brother is deeply involved down there & told me a few things.

,

They were a Total mess after Watson & Blight.

I think Thomas did a great Job, 2004 they missed the GF by 5 points in a Cracker Game & would have beaten Brissy For sure.

But thats Footy. Thomas was a good choice at the time.

He Put Respect into that club, But by 2006 He & Butters were Burnt out.

Why didn't we make the 8 in 2001? Was it Bad Luck or ND??

Fascinating post on all sorts of levels!

Other threads have mentioned the 8-year gap between Riewoldt & Kosi and GF contenders - so it could have been a 2 or 3 year gap as it was for the Hawks.

On the other hand, perhaps the Hawks might be looking at a few "also-ran" years, as did the Saints after they promised so much in 2004. I still think they ambushed the whole comp last year with their "rolling zone" which took them further than they would have got on ability alone, and then they ambushed the Cats (who choked badly) in the GF. Now that other sides have worked out how to bust open their rolling zone, this year is more a reflection of their true ability. Their problem is that the club will now feel that they've underperformed if they don't finish top 4, rather than accepting that they over-performed in 2008 and still have a lot more work to do.

Perhaps it also underlines the importance of getting things right off the field from base to apex, and not just papering over the cracks. You get the feeling that the Saints might be better set up as a club in 2009 than they were in 2004. Though they've been extremely flaky in the past 3 weeks.