1 hour ago, Vagg said:

One piece of play today said it all for me.  McCartin pushes Gawn in the back, giving away the free.  The ball swiftly goes coast to coast, to end up in the hands of Trac for a goal.  Was a thing of beauty...!   Was no doubt not lost on a lot of Saints fans...!

There certainly was a very loud MFC supporter on L2 39 letting all and sundry know about it!

I feel sorry for the saints I could never understand why they gave richo such a long extension to his contract, he has no idea no game plan, he can't work out any strategies to get his team out of the mire, the only Game Plan they have is a high-pressure game plan, but they don't know how to move the ball. 

1 hour ago, Robbie57 said:

St kildsa best umpire foot

 

Say Whaa??

I was happy with today. I wanted a comfortable win and we got it. It was frustrating not to keep our 51pt margin but as long as we beat Gold Coast I’m thinking/hoping our first annihilation under Goodwin of another team comes against Carlton. 

The good: Hogan, Gawn, Brayshaw, Jones, Mcdonald bros, Lever, Hibberd, Jetta, Lewis, Clayton, Spargo.

ok but below their best: Petracca, Weideman, Fritsch, Harmes, Vince, Tyson, Melksham.

under pressure: ANB, Hannan, Hunt.

also great to win all four quarters. It’s a small thing and yes the Saints could’ve kicked straighter but we are clearly working on our inconsistency within games. Keep on this trajectory and good times are ahead.

Edited May 6, 20186 yr by deejammin'

6 hours ago, P-man said:

Tiffs on Demonland are so often black vs white when there’s a lot of grey in between the two,

Cannot agree more.

It’s entirely possible for us to have played well but to have disappointed in the last 15 minutes. 

5 hours ago, beelzebub said:

Thankyou. Its not hard to understand this.

Some folk take umbrage that any dare to suggest the obvious.

I dont care about excuses. Today was far less about 3 games in any number of days... it's still about mindsets.

Some don't get this.

See above. 

Why can’t it be both?

6 hours ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

Quality game today.  You have to accept that they were tired and there's another six day break coming so we may have a hard time up north next week.  We still did everything we needed to.  Never looked like we weren't in control of the game. 

Gus continues to show us that his mojo is coming back and it's great to see. 

Oliver is a freak, but he needs to kick more often.  He's actually a beautiful field kick when he decides to use it. 

Spargo continues to impress. 

The three roaming tall forwards is working nicely right now. I don't know that the Weed is ready for AFL just yet, but he's showing signs and it's probably worth persisting with him. 

I have to agree that ANB is probably closest to getting the chop.  For a while he looked like he was going to step up to another level, but he's fallen right back again. 

Goodwin was asked today if he wished Oliver would kick it more and his answer was he doesn’t care so long as he keeps doing what he does on the inside. I agree with you that it would be great to see him use his pace and power through the middle a.bit and deliver some rockets down a forward’s throat, however he also has magical extraction skills, which really is a job for the handball.

A higher kick count would require a different role, I expect.

7 hours ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

I have to agree that ANB is probably closest to getting the chop.  For a while he looked like he was going to step up to another level, but he's fallen right back again. 

If ANB isn’t dropped then we know he has goat photos of Goodwin.

He missed a tackle on a player who was already being tackled and by the end of the game he was a complete liability every time he went near the ball.

His big distance numbers just show how inefficient he is.

I saw two key structural improvements. 

Firstly OMac is now playing in a position where he's the last player between the play and the goals instead of getting sucked up the ground which was allowing teams to open us up over the top. Think N Riewaldt there a couple of seasons ago. This time he was finally picking off opposition kicks several uncontested. It's made the whole backline play better especially Lever. Also Wagner kept being the 3rd defender jumping up into contests and stuffing it up for the other 2 and leaving his opponent to lick up the crumbs. His absence has eradicated both these problems so they look much better collectively. 

Forward line is structurally much better collectively. They are not getting in each other anyway and are leaving space for forwards to lead into. 

Improved upfield options spreading into space started last week and continued. 

All big steps forward. 

Enjoyed all of that but like others frustrated by a wasted rare percentage opportunity against a team with one player on the bench for the last half of the last quarter.

GC are good I'm not underestimating them. They will be a greater challenge. Hope to see an even better performance for 4 quarters. We're heading in the right direction. 

 

If Hogan is suspended it will be a joke and a travesty of justice.

Last year he got two weeks for an identical incident when Jed Lamb (whose club later claimed 'delayed concussion') went down from a feather touch.   On that reckoning it is the StKilda player who should be suspended.

Talk of suspending Hogan is just another example of some in the media preferring to lambaste Melbourne at every opportunity.  If Hogan is suspended the club must challenge it and go to the Tribunal.

Edited May 6, 20186 yr by Lucifer's Hero

Just quietly I don’t think Jordan Lewis’s game has received the attention it deserves.

I haven’t been his biggest fan since he arrived here and thought he hadn’t shown much of those elite kicking skills he was renowned for at the Hawks. Having said that he was bloody good yesterday 

Disposal efficiency stats don’t show the whole story but 23 possessions at 91% is a true reflection of his day. He was almost flawless with ball in hand. Also that fist from behind that resulted in a goal for us showed his desperation even well into the last quarter when the game was already won.  

His best game in the red and blue.

9 hours ago, Dappa Dan said:

How many times over the last ten years did demons "run teams back into form?"

I know it wasn't a massively classy or tough game... but I'm still celebrating heartily. We beat them a couple of times last year, but we haven't been "used to" beating the Saints, particularly at Etihad, in a long time. They're awful. Putrid in fact. Even with the draft gifts they've gotten. We're a 5-10 goal better side.

I know we have a long way to go. But I'm already celebrating this being the new normal. Go demons.

If we win the next two i would say we have finally shaken the "played them into form" tag.

One very good sign that i havent seen in quite some time from the whole 22 the last two weeks is they are all on board trying their guts out for 4 quarters and...no passengers or soft [censored]!

Fine at most for Hogan, surely.

I’m all for cracking down on staging but the fact remains Carlisle whacked him in the throat. Did he ham up the reacfion? Possibly. Anyone who has copped a whack to the throat knows his reaction is not totally fanciful.

What’s annoying is I didn’t see a single media commentator even recognise that Carlisle struck Hogan in the throat. In fact I don’t think some even noticed it. They only looked at the contact that came just prior to it, which was minimal.

1 hour ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

If Hogan is suspended it will be a joke and a travesty of justice.

Last year he got two weeks for an identical incident when Jed Lamb (whose club later claimed 'delayed concussion') went down from a feather touch.   On that reckoning it is the StKilda player who should be suspended.

Talk of suspending Hogan is just another example of some in the media preferring to lambaste Melbourne at every opportunity.  If Hogan is suspended the club must challenge it and go to the Tribunal.

The umpire said twice, clearly, "you hit him in the throat". More media BS.

Its like when Jetta was punched to the chin, no comment from the peanuts, move on.

Or when Jetta was poleaxed by McCartin after Jetta took the mark. Way too late, no 50m penalty and all of the commentary was about poor McCartin and his concussion. Well if he cannons into people with his head he aint gonna play too many games,

.

Edited May 7, 20186 yr by jnrmac

2 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

If we win the next two i would say we have finally shaken the "played them into form" tag.

One very good sign that i havent seen in quite some time from the whole 22 the last two weeks is they are all on board trying their guts out for 4 quarters and...no passengers or soft [censored]!

Agree. Finally, I hope, we play 4 quarters consistently like yesterday. The only downer is letting late goals in when game over. 3 for Bombers and 2 for Saints. This will be a close season and every little bit of percentage required. Maybe nit-picking but must go hard till final siren. Next 2 games very important for us. 

15 hours ago, loges said:

Concerned with Petracca's kicking, it's really dropped off this year especially his kicking for goal.

If you listen carefully you will hear someone barking in the crowd just before he kicked it. Could have caused flashbacks.

We did win all 4 quarters yesterday which is a rarity. It looked pretty comfortable but if we are really being honest St Kilda's kicking was a massive help.

Our defence held up really well generally. Hibberd was immense, OMac looked very solid, Hunt gave good run, Lever was composed and smart, Jetta was a rock and Lewis was excellent. Having said that we still allow too many shots on goal and need to tighten up against the good teams.

 

 

1 hour ago, P-man said:

Fine at most for Hogan, surely.

I’m all for cracking down on staging but the fact remains Carlisle whacked him in the throat. Did he ham up the reacfion? Possibly. Anyone who has copped a whack to the throat knows his reaction is not totally fanciful.

What’s annoying is I didn’t see a single media commentator even recognise that Carlisle struck Hogan in the throat. In fact I don’t think some even noticed it. They only looked at the contact that came just prior to it, which was minimal.

You are absolutely correct, they've only looked at the first contact which was minimal, then there's another significant jolt to his body, the umpire runs straight in and says contact to the throat, free kick

2 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

If we win the next two i would say we have finally shaken the "played them into form" tag.

One very good sign that i havent seen in quite some time from the whole 22 the last two weeks is they are all on board trying their guts out for 4 quarters and...no passengers or soft [censored]!

Yeah I tend to agree. Still think there's a lot of work to do though. Everyone talks about the comp being ridiculously even... But we have smashed some sides that looked appalling this year. Then got run ragged by some top sides. I still feel we're a ways off. That 4 quarter effort you talk about, that's all well and good, but it needs to become something you see more games than not. And so far this year, it's been rare.

Did I notice we rested a few on the bench (key players) from mid way through the last also?

Cannot believe the saints took McCartin in the draft ahead of Brayshaw

what were they thinking!?!  :-)

6 hours ago, Clint Bizkit said:

If ANB isn’t dropped then we know he has goat photos of Goodwin.

He missed a tackle on a player who was already being tackled and by the end of the game he was a complete liability every time he went near the ball.

His big distance numbers just show how inefficient he is.

Greatest Of All Time?

1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

.

Making a point jnrmac. I'd say you've got your point across. I certainly get your point. This post has put a full stop on the discussion. It's hard to argue against this point. I've seen a few dot points in my time but this one is the most to the point. 

The clearest most succinct point made on here for a long time. 

Edited May 7, 20186 yr by It's Time

1 minute ago, It's Time said:

Making a point jnrmac. I'd say you've got your point across. I certainly get your point. This post has put a full stop on the discussion. 

The clearest most succinct point made on here for a long time. 

Fairly easy to join the dots there hey

19 minutes ago, It's Time said:

Making a point jnrmac. I'd say you've got your point across. I certainly get your point. This post has put a full stop on the discussion. It's hard to argue against this point. I've seen a few dot points in my time but this one is the most to the point. 

The clearest most succinct point made on here for a long time. 

Yes my point was that there is no delete button for posts. One must put something in the box so I put a full stop!