I don't think we can beat St Kilda's fast, hard running

Edited April 14, 20195 yr by one_demon

Saints are rubbish. Have beaten Gold Coast by 1pt, Essendon when they were a shambles, lost to Freo and beat the Hawks on one leg. 

If we bring the same defensive mindset and contested footy, we should beat them easily. 

Doesn’t matter how fast they are if we’re in control of the ball.

We can beat them. Not saying we will, just that we can.

6 minutes ago, Nasher said:

Doesn’t matter how fast they are if we’re in control of the ball.

 

They're going to get their hands on the ball

not worried

If we can’t beat St Kilda just because they have some fast runners we might as well give up now.

4 minutes ago, sisso said:

If we can’t beat St Kilda just because they have some fast runners we might as well give up now.

Correct 

12 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

Saints are rubbish. Have beaten Gold Coast by 1pt, Essendon when they were a shambles, lost to Freo and beat the Hawks on one leg. 

If we bring the same defensive mindset and contested footy, we should beat them easily. 

So the bombers just magically went from a shambles to good in the week before they played us?

St Kilda aren't world beaters by any means but I share the OP's concern that they run hard and fast. They've also got a decent smattering of guys who will cause us trouble - Webster, Billings, Gresham, Bruce, Membrey and at least 1 or 2 of Lonie/Kent/Parker/Long.

The Swans are slow and sluggish from half back and in the midfield. That's why we were allowed to play our style. We'll need to lift it up a level again to make we get the game on our terms against a side with more pace and innovation.

16 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

Saints are rubbish. Have beaten Gold Coast by 1pt, Essendon when they were a shambles, lost to Freo and beat the Hawks on one leg. 

If we bring the same defensive mindset and contested footy, we should beat them easily. 

I wouldn’t say they are rubbish, seemed to have improved a bit from last year. However kicking only 74 points on a perfect day for football against a team that was down 2 key defenders shows that they don’t have a lot of scoring firepower. As Max said, we need to continue on from Thursday night and that means defensive pressure. If we bring that we will always outscore a team like the Saints.

For those worried about the run of St Kilda, from a strategy perspective, what would you do with our team of players and what  strategy should be employed?

Hard to judge St Kilda on that Hawthorn went in without a single contested ball midfielder and lost both their key defenders during the match.

Watching the saints under pressure they handball to a stationary guy 4 feet away...we just need to pressure them

Just now, DeeSpencer said:

So the bombers just magically went from a shambles to good in the week before they played us?

St Kilda aren't world beaters by any means but I share the OP's concern that they run hard and fast. They've also got a decent smattering of guys who will cause us trouble - Webster, Billings, Gresham, Bruce, Membrey and at least 1 or 2 of Lonie/Kent/Parker/Long.

The Swans are slow and sluggish from half back and in the midfield. That's why we were allowed to play our style. We'll need to lift it up a level again to make we get the game on our terms against a side with more pace and innovation.

The level of intensity and application Essendon showed against us was at least double what they showed against St Kilda.

That was little to do with St Kilda being better than us (which was also true), it was more about how Essendon attacked the contest or generally cared about the game. In the first half of their game, Essendon was non-existent. St Kilda were playing a below-VFL level side. 

They've beaten a developing young side in GC by 1 point, an Essendon side which played the worst half of footy anyone will play this year whilst struggling to hold them off, and they beat Hawthorn by a kick despite the Hawks having at least 6 injuries and only 2 on the bench for a half. 

If we're talking their 3-1 record alone, I'm not worried in the slightest.

It's not their W-L record which is the thing we should be worried about. St Kilda play a style of game which, when they're on, is our achilles heel. They'll use the space on the G, they'll bring pace, and if we leave too much space behind our press then they'll find it easier to score than they have in the opening four rounds.

This is not going to be easy for us, but St Kilda is not a good side.

What the hell is wrong with Scully, slow and indecisive.

4 minutes ago, Engorged Onion said:

For those worried about the run of St Kilda, from a strategy perspective, what would you do with our team of players and what  strategy should be employed?

We will win more than our fair share of clearances, so I think we go a long way to winning this game of footy by ensuring we don't let the Saints get some easy ball when it hits the deck - the last thing we need is the Saints hitting a few quick handballs and then streaming through the guts with it.  Membrey and Bruce are the queens of hanging out the back in space for some easy goals, and they'll look like millionaires if we let them do it.

3 minutes ago, Darkhorse72 said:

...we just need to pressure them

Yes we need to bring pressure and intensity for four quarters 

27 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

Saints are rubbish. Have beaten Gold Coast by 1pt, Essendon when they were a shambles, lost to Freo and beat the Hawks on one leg. 

If we bring the same defensive mindset and contested footy, we should beat them easily. 

They are not rubbish.

I too am worried about the saints outside run and dash. On a big ground at the MCG they will expose us if we do not defend carefully and restrict their space.

1 minute ago, dazzledavey36 said:

They are not rubbish.

I too am worried about the saints outside run and dash. On a big ground at the MCG they will expose us if we do not defend carefully and restrict their space.

I reckon @titan_uranus summed it up well - while they're not a good football side, their strengths are what we struggle to contain at times, and thus it will make it a tough game for us.  We can beat them if we bring the type of footy we played in the second half of last week, or in the two finals against Geelong and Hawthorn last year, for example.

35 minutes ago, one_demon said:

I don't think we can beat St Kilda's fast, hard running

I'm with you

Essendon cut us apart with their running and clean hands, Saints did that to us last year Rd 15 also

We need to bring unrelenting pressure and choke them down to be a chance

I'd target Gresham and Billings...

Great players that make so much space

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

The level of intensity and application Essendon showed against us was at least double what they showed against St Kilda.

That was little to do with St Kilda being better than us (which was also true), it was more about how Essendon attacked the contest or generally cared about the game. In the first half of their game, Essendon was non-existent. St Kilda were playing a below-VFL level side. 

They've beaten a developing young side in GC by 1 point, an Essendon side which played the worst half of footy anyone will play this year whilst struggling to hold them off, and they beat Hawthorn by a kick despite the Hawks having at least 6 injuries and only 2 on the bench for a half. 

If we're talking their 3-1 record alone, I'm not worried in the slightest.

It's not their W-L record which is the thing we should be worried about. St Kilda play a style of game which, when they're on, is our achilles heel. They'll use the space on the G, they'll bring pace, and if we leave too much space behind our press then they'll find it easier to score than they have in the opening four rounds.

This is not going to be easy for us, but St Kilda is not a good side.

Before every side plays MFC they go to MRP/ Umpires Review panel and find out what is going to be the way the umpiring is going to concentrating on the following week. That's why they were pathetic and biased against us.

We have an extra 3 days rest over the Saints.  If we can't beat them with such a head start then we don't deserve to compete for finals.

The players and coaches will not have forgotten how we let that game slip last year: too little, too late.

We will win.

3 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

We have an extra 3 days rest over the Saints.  If we can't beat them with such a head start then we don't deserve to compete for finals.

The players and coaches will not have forgotten how we let that game slip last year: too little, too late.

We will win.

I'm not sure too much can go into the extra three days break. We'll be planning for the subsequent four day turnaround into ANZAC Eve. We'll necessarily have to rotate/manage our players for that break.

31 minutes ago, willmoy said:

What the hell is wrong with Scully, slow and indecisive.

SCARED !!!!!!!!!! 

31 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

I'm not sure too much can go into the extra three days break. We'll be planning for the subsequent four day turnaround into ANZAC Eve. We'll necessarily have to rotate/manage our players for that break.

I was thinking an extra 3 days of recovery from niggles and bruises for the players, not extra training.  To my mind the extra 3 days rest is a considerable advantage to freshen up, especially if we are wanting to curtail Saint's speed.  3 extra days rest should also enable us to run out the game better.

As for the 4 day break to ANZAC Eve.  Rich have the same 4 day break but they have two days less recovery than us this weak having played yesterday.  No excuse for either team not turning up ready to play ANZAC Eve.  It will be a level playing field.

Potentially we have quite a few players fresh for next week or ANZAC Eve.  Casey have no game next week and by all accounts Garlett and Petty played well so they are available vs Saints or ANZAC Eve.  Lewis, May and Jetta probably won't play vs Saints as they are coming back from injury and a 4 day break may not be enough.  So they will be very fresh for ANZAC Eve.  Plenty of flexibility there to rotate players and keep the team fresh.  Richmond are in the same boat to manage the return of Houli, Cotchin and Riewoldt.

Edited April 14, 20195 yr by Lucifer's Hero