5 hours ago, Dame Gaga said:

Tomlinson did very well in the shadow of May and Lever. 

Wherever Kozzie is, the ball will follow him. He's a pure soul, he just enjoys his footy, "having fun." Love him.?

Reminds me a lot of Jeff Farmer....

1 hour ago, Rusty Nails said:

Then there's Gus.  Another that seems to be pretty wasteful given the amount of footy and opportunities he has to deliver.  I'm not sure what it is.  He looks like a million dollars at times.  Other times he looks VFL standard at best.  Possibly choosing when to push and when to switch off and gets a tad lazy upstairs.  Never really hit his heady season form of 2018 other than in patches.

That's my impression also

4 hours ago, Winter Dan said:

B Brown will make a huge difference to our goal kicking accuracy. Put him in Fritsch's position and move Fritsch to half fwd to deliver into the 50. 

And the Weed. Will make us airy strong outfit.

4 hours ago, AC/DeeC said:

Batman & Robin - classic! Those nicknames just might stick!

Not sure which is which yet. 

There was a lot to like about last night but still plenty to work on as well.

The most pleasing part for me was the contributions from the youngsters and lesser lights.

I’m loving what Jordon has done in 2 games, a genuine team player. No ego there

Can the Spargo haters please STFU.

Sparrow took he goal well and showed some nice touches.

Hunt is growing into his role at half back. That move might just work.

There’s life in the old dog Jetta yet. Jones likewise.

ANB had a very good game. Never stopped all night

Tomlinson has been excellent so far.

TMac, I would have traded him. Quite possible we lose those games without him.

These are all players who came into the season with major question marks but have shown real improvement and played important roles for us.

Our kicking for goal a real negative. It’s absolutely putrid. We’ve been lucky to play 2 poor teams first up so haven’t been punished but it will cost us against GWS. Goal kicking should be our prime focus at training this week.

Go Dees

6 hours ago, Macca said:

Very impressive ... we were slick, hungry & we backed each other up throughout. The new man on the mark rule might suit us too.

We looked good and the forward line functioned quite well in terms of scoring shots and opportunities at goal

What was most noticeable was the enthusiasm for the contest. And we ran hard all night and made position well. I saw a lot of players put their bodies on the line

The next block of free-to-air games are to be released on Monday and we might even snag a couple of prime time games after that performance tonight

R8 vs Sydney,  R9 vs Carlton,  R11 at Bulldogs (Docklands) & R12 vs Brisbane are possibities

I reckon we get at least 2 evening games out of those 4. 

Fingers crossed rnd 10 v Adelaide is one too. Myself and the lads are headed over to spend a weekend enjoying the local establishments and to see the Dees rip into the Crow.

9 hours ago, The Swimming Dee said:

BTW, Kossie has the potential to be the best small forward in the game. The play wher he hit the ball at full speed at the stoppage in the third quarter and missed the snap was unbelievable...difficult to teach that stuff...so glad we traded picks to grab him. Also, his centre bounce work was very good!

He has the potential to be one of the games most exciting midfielders who then rests fwd at times. Once he can (if he can) calm the brain a little bit as he attacks the contest with so much pace and vigour, he will be so hard to stop. I think we’ve seen improvement in that part of his game already in the last few weeks. Wooowweee, he’s exciting.

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by Cards13

6 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

Fingers crossed rnd 10 v Adelaide is one too. Myself and the lads are headed over to spend a weekend enjoying the local establishments and to see the Dees rip into the Crow.

I'm planning to head over for that game as well. Do you know what the go is with getting tickets?

2 minutes ago, Better days ahead said:

I'm planning to head over for that game as well. Do you know what the go is with getting tickets?

Absolutely zero idea mate, we literally teed it up Friday night over the text machine and we’ve done zero research.
 

I’m assuming we won’t know ticket info until the draw is announced and this latest covid outbreak could put the breaks on the whole thing, potential for boarder closures etc. 

9 hours ago, Deestroy All said:

Liked Jordon

Great addition to the club.

Aside from Kozzie and Jordan being awesome stand outs this sesson ( i guess more so Kozzie)...Tomilison has been a very pleasant surprise as well.

If Jetta can recspture his old form like Salem did and Tmac last week...Hibberd comes in for Hunt...then our backline will be the best about.?

And as Bruce would say Im salivating about the inclusions of 2 big fwds very soon.

Viney probably tired after an electric start and his 1st game. He and Gus willl soon hit the form of Trac and Oliver.

Spargo and Nibbler are starting to flourish.

And Langdon will do what he does.

Gawn was back to his best in the 2nd half and Jackson can move for a tall.

So from that dirty preaseason dog of a game against the dogs  this season is starting to look very, very good.

49 minutes ago, Better days ahead said:

There was a lot to like about last night but still plenty to work on as well.

The most pleasing part for me was the contributions from the youngsters and lesser lights.

I’m loving what Jordon has done in 2 games, a genuine team player. No ego there

Can the Spargo haters please STFU.

Sparrow took he goal well and showed some nice touches.

Hunt is growing into his role at half back. That move might just work.

There’s life in the old dog Jetta yet. Jones likewise.

ANB had a very good game. Never stopped all night

Tomlinson has been excellent so far.

TMac, I would have traded him. Quite possible we lose those games without him.

These are all players who came into the season with major question marks but have shown real improvement and played important roles for us.

Our kicking for goal a real negative. It’s absolutely putrid. We’ve been lucky to play 2 poor teams first up so haven’t been punished but it will cost us against GWS. Goal kicking should be our prime focus at training this week.

Go Dees

Geelong are notorious for doing that against us, this score line still haunts me...

Round 3 v cats 2017

Melbourne 13.19. 97

Geelong 20. 6. 126

 

could argue it cost a spot in finals that year

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by —coach—

Great to wake up on a Sunday morning with a win. Though I'm fairly sore as we finally got round 1 underway up here in local footy. How good!!

Said it last night that under the circumstances of the night with big occasion, many past Saint greats attending, and crowd noise that win will be pivotal. To not get flustered and rise to to the challange when the saints were 16 points up was simply brilliant by the boys. I think Goodwin deserves a lot of credit for this performance and this could be the making of our team.

I'll mention a few individual performance.

Rivers - I'm surprised there's been barely any mention of this kid, but he was super! His run and dash really got us going in that first half and combine that with his kicking with is an absolute weapon. His ability to break the game open with some of his kicks were really important throughout the game. He also for the 2nd year in a row completely shut Dan Butler out of the game. 

Alex Neal Bullen - I'm putting my hand up  as high as I can and apologising to nibbler. I've been his harshest critic in the past but his past two games has shown that he's a vastly different player to what he's dished up over the years. He's important cog now with his gut running, but also has improved his disposal efficiency. I noticed he doesn't fumble anymore which is a huge improvement. Thanks for proving me wrong nibs and keep up the good work.

Pickett- yeah look he's going to be a star.. if he's dishing out that kind of performance at 16 games, I'm bloody excited what he can produce when he's around the 70 - 100 game mark.

Salem - Best game I think I've seen him play. Not only was his defending first class but he's just ridiculously clean below his knees and really gave us some drive down back. Don't be surprised if GWS put a hard tag on him next week. That was some performance. 

Langdon - I seriously love this guy. Runs all day and just gets the job done. Have I missed something with his kicking? Because right now I'm seeing him hit more targets then misses and yet we had freo fans say that this would frustrate us supporters. What a fantastic inclusion he's been in our side.

Jetta and Jones - Both played well I thought. Jones had some really important touches and the fact he just ragdolled Butler out of the way to set up the goal was great to watch. Jetta completely shut out Higgins who's been really dangerous the past few weeks. Legit didn't realise he was playing until he kicked that goal. Keeps it simple and I'd rather him having 5 touches a game if he's shutting their best small forwards out of the game. Well done to the old dogs.

Sparrow - Right now he's keeping Melksham and Vandenberg out of the side. This is due to his pressure and tackling that he provides when around the contests. Compared to Melksham who is lazy in this area of his game. Loved his composure kicking that goal. Pretty much playing a sacrifice role for the team and the coaches would be enjoying his work so far.

To finish off, Spargo pressure is elite. Haters need to GTFO with the hate. He doesn't stop chasing and continues to scrap and harass at every opportunity. Coaching staff would be highling his defensive game during review.

Tmac slowly starting to get that 2018 form back. Good to see some reward for effort because his gut running is really important for not only us as a team but for his own performance. 

Petracca, Oliver, Gawn May all played great games as well.

 

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by dazzledavey36

Surprised me, got my faith back, really happy.

I saw some of that Melbourne brand from 2018 again. Lots of contributors, great pressure and fierce tackling. 

Midfield were huge, ANB best form of his life and like others have said, Goodwin showed some different moves during the game to change it up which is promising. 

Can't underestimate what early momentum can do for a side, especially ours. Great start, let's keep it going. Break the shackles. 

One more thing. 

 

Kosi. Wow. 

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by JimmyGadson

5 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Tmac slowly starting to get that 2018 form back. Good to see some reward for effort because his gut running is really important for not only us as a team but for his own performance. 

Great summary of game dd.

I quoted Tmac grab as I thought his effort last week won us those 4 points.

Last night he was less impacting but very solid.

I wonder if weid and brown vying for a spot will keep all fwds working harder.

Not to take anything away from Tom's effort

I am very surprised he has turned things around including his turning circle. Pun intended.

I do believe he could teach all the others how to kick but Im still buzzed about the win. Especially when i recall the orror run ee used to have at that stadium.

Im starting to believe we could be 3 and zip.

Thank you footy gods.

9 hours ago, bush demon said:

I can't believe the love for Cooper's Pale Ale. Should be drinking Cooper's Stout after a win like this.

That’s a lovely sediment.

12 minutes ago, rpfc said:

That’s a lovely sediment.

I tried doing the home brew version at one time and the bottom of each bottle indeed was a briny sediment. Can't argue with 40 cents a bottle though.

I had an interesting take on Brayshaws role last night. He always seem to be the release player. He didn’t go into the contest as much but sat 10 off it and got the handball. Wonder if that’s the new role. As he can kick left and right with some competency it’s a suitable role.

9 hours ago, adonski said:

Tomlinson gone from average recruit to Mr. Reliable, two excellent games in a row, one of the first picked.

Add the last two to several very good games in defence at the end of last year and you have a very nice body of work in defence. 
i have been amazed at the negativity towards him from many on this site!!

Putting aside the wasted shots at goal, thought our general field kicking was really good, big improvement on what has been a major weakness. Choco and his balls having an impact already?

On the other hand, the Saints field kicking was rubbish. Haven’t  looked at the stats, but their turnover numbers must have been horrendous. Not sure if it was an off night for them or if that was a true indication of their skill level. If the latter they’re a long way off being a serious contender. 

Also loved Oliver clearing the ball from the contest, can’t recall him giving one of his trademark 1 metre handballs that just build pressure on the receiver. Perhaps Yze’s influence showing?  There was a moment, I think in the last, when Oliver won the ball in the centre and Trak was calling for a short handball, you could see Oliver look at that option and then elect to kick long into the forward line. With the 6, 6, 6 positioning that quick kick from the centre deep into the forward line puts enormous pressure on the defenders. 

For years we’ve sat and watched gun opposition smalls destroy us with their skill and turn games with something out of nothing goals.

Last night felt like it’s our turn again now, watching Saints’ fans shuffle in their seats every time Kozzie went near the ball was  a beautiful thing. Just amazing awareness and when was the last time we had someone snap a goal from nearly 50 out. So much to look forward to and a nice support crew building around Kozzie with the hard work of Spargo and ANB. 

Might not be a big thing but I liked there were no over the top celebrations post game, just the boys getting around each other for a great team effort.

Lovely Sunday coming up.

Might be a big statement, but is Spargo the best kick in the team?

Salem, May, Fritsch (field kicking only), Melksham, TMac (set shots) are generally excellent but I reckon we have a new clubhouse leader!

20 minutes ago, goodwindees said:

Add the last two to several very good games in defence at the end of last year and you have a very nice body of work in defence. 
i have been amazed at the negativity towards him from many on this site!!

Yeaah me too on Tomlinson.  He is a solid type player who does not make many glaring errors and is super consistent.  Can see his confidence growing week by week.  He allows May and Lever to play the way they do.

The only time things looked messy was when Gawn kept floating back into the backline, for about 10 minutes where we really lost the plot and started dropping easy marks and fumbling.  Max really needs to stay out of the backline as he messes up any structure we have back there and was flying for and dropping marks while taking out Lever/May/Tomlinson out of the contest.   Most of all though i think Gawn adds very little at ground level and if he is not taking marks he just gets in the way.

As soon as they moved him forward and Jackson into the midfield we looked so much better and regained some composure.

Max could kick 30+ goals this season if we just rest him forward.

Our backline is great atm, keep the beard out of this area of the ground!

Had to post today. Was so exhausted when I got back, I fell asleep fully clothed (apart from shoes.) 

Was a good game apart from letting them come back. Glad we fought back and had the lead. Pickett was outstanding. It was like there were two of him out there. Lever very good as well. I was fearful playing against St Kilda and especially at Marvel. So glad we beat them. 

Was a bit concerned how both teams played so well then suddenly one would stop and the other team would dominate and vice versa. I put it down to early season nerves. Also both teams were victims of dodgy umpire calls. Need to kick more accurate, but apart from that a good start to the season. Can’t wIt for the return of Brown.

Sour note, was behind some very feral St Kilda supporters. Very rude to me

Edited March 27, 20214 yr by Cassiew

4 minutes ago, Cassiew said:

Sour note, was behind some very feral St Kilda supporters. Very rude to me

Other than West coast supporters they are the worst in the league.