Four points, solid goal kicking and standing up to a four quarter challenge from the Saints, provide a solid stepping off point for the next part of the season.
Still heaps to work on, and lots of players to find some form, but I’ll sleep better tonight.

 

8 minutes ago, dee-tox said:

I want us to win the flag. Use the potential we have. Our game is not in good shape. Most of us here will not accept another straight sets exit. 

Look I agree with all that and truthfully we all know it doesn't look too likely....but you've got to enjoy the wins when they come. It's too long a year and too much is down to luck...

Very tough to follow if all you can enjoy is a flag 

15 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Who plays back pocket? And how many goals do they concede?

And how many more goals do we concede without Nibbler’s insane work rate and pressure?

The focus for Judd is getting 5 more kicks in his current role.

We lack class at half forward, that’s true. Woey has a little something, we know how good Pickett and Spargo can be. We want Tracc forward more. We miss Fritsch and we need to recruit some quality mid/forward.

Not the time to mess with Juddy 

 

To answer your questions.. let's find out! You make my exact point for me. I don't mind your negative perspectives on the game, but you can't keep bleating about how shizen we play and then have the same magnets in the same spaces and expect different outcomes.    If we don't try to change it up a bit we will be making up the numbers with this sort of forward half play. 

Goodwin will say we are working incredibly hard and blah blah blah.  There is absolutely no imagination from our coaching box right now.  Our game plan reeks of arrogance. 

We'll be back and so will you.

11 goals to 5 from the 18 minute mark of the first quarter.

That was probably the best we have played in weeks. I don't understand the negativity. 

We moved the ball well, our backline was rock solid and our forward line was above average.

I am enjoying seeing Sparrow thrive with the extra responsibility, and Bowey and Salem are back to their best.

St Kilda played very well tonight, there is a reason why they are 5th on the ladder.

For the statisticians - is this the first time a player has kicked 4 goals in a match and his team has hit the post 4 times as well?

28 minutes ago, Macca said:

Maybe, but Kozzie isn't the problem alone

Even if he had have played very well, we've still got deficiencies elsewhere

We are not going to win the flag with that sort of overall output.  It's enough to defeat average to good teams but the best? 

So, as always, it's all about the team, DS

It's not about any individual

For instance, Brayshaw was good early and finished off well but made a few non-costly errors early in the game.  But he can play better, no doubt

And he is not on his own because it's ditto for at least a dozen others including our 2 ruckmen

 

We beat Collingwood. 

32 minutes ago, watchtheeyes said:

My god the negativity on this site is too much sometimes… you realise they were fifth right? And any impact for fewer subs would’nt have played a part until later 4Q.

Was it perfect? No. But there were still things to like including some awesome individual performances.. and straight kicking. 
 

Enjoy the wins when they come people. Yeesh

Hot tip: Don’t bother. Ppl who are clearly champing at the bit to jump on here, win or lose, to spread their stifling negativity won’t ever change. There’s a saying, “Misery loves company” which is why they’re quick to post on this thread amongst likeminded sadsacks.

YEAH THE DEES!

♥️💙♥️💙♥️💙

6 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

The aim of the game is to win a flag can you honestly say we have that game plan, the same game plan as last year that we are playing?

I know we have concerns d I’m not blind but I would rather win ugly and have things to work on than lose and still have things to work on. 

23 minutes ago, leucopogon said:

I've lost faith and would be playing Tomlinson or Schache instead of him.

I meant his injury. His form today was good!

22 minutes ago, praha said:

I reckon there was 2k melbourne supporters there. It was a shocking turnout.

I find that stadium impossible to get a feel for. The crowd never builds momentum. It’s just the occasional cheer - yet somehow I can hear every inane conversation happening around me. Terrible place for football.

Have just realised that Joel Smith broke his own career record by playing a 5th straight game for the first time in his career.

Sadly, he may well be the first ever player to not record a stat after being subbed on.

I said on this forum over the last week  that if we dont kick straight we wont make the 8 forget about the 4. Well?????? We kicked staight. We won comfortably. Gee wow  guess what?  MFC held their ground. We won  . surprise and surprise. DL is full of trolls who hammer Dees for winning. This forum is rubbish. You hate Melbourne for winning. You're crazy or bored.  Light up the BBQ in Benleigh!  Off you go.

34 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

We won

There is nothing more to add..

Plenty to subtract...... but we won.

Funny thing is....im not sure how.

We won because we scored more than them :-)

I am no expert but it seemed to me that the Saints had a very high press. So if our 1st or 2nd disposal was iffy, they tended to swoop on us. If we we were clean at that point and move did quickly then the forward line almost fell open. In a nutshell we were cleaner and faster on enough occasions to make a difference (or we were just less [censored] more often :-) )

I have a question for someone a whole lot smarter then me:

1) why do we always do these two things kicking out, we either bomb to max to the left of the field straight away, or kick it 90 degrees left to the boundary, then bomb it to max?  It infuriates me that we don’t have a plan be here…. Especially with Max so badly out of form at the moment.

2) Centre clearance taps, apart from the 5 magical mins In the 2021 grand final, why don’t we give out a-grade midfield first use of the ball, it just feels like our Ricks tap straight to the opposition of to the ground and our keys have to fight for it.

3) forward movement? Blocks, swinging the wings, separation between forwards? 

4) Gawn / Grundy the forward experiment has to be over, they just need to rotate off the bench and stay the hell out of the forward line, I would love to see Max behind the ball like years gone by, we looked invincible when he would float in from The side in the defensive 50.

We look like a bottom 8 team after the bye….

12 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

Look I agree with all that and truthfully we all know it doesn't look too likely....but you've got to enjoy the wins when they come. It's too long a year and too much is down to luck...

Very tough to follow if all you can enjoy is a flag 

Getting 4 points in a classic "8 point game" is hugely important when the reality is we've been struggling for form post-bye.

Have just completed three straight games away from the G, now we have 5 of the next 6 at home (the only other game being vs North in Hobart). A good chance here, starting with the ultimate test in Brisbane, to build into some form. But pocketing this win before the Brisbane-Adelaide quinella was critical, no matter how we did it.

Is Petty ok? 

22 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

You do realise that the best place for a player like that - who rarely makes mistakes - is defence right? 

It's a turnover sport and over 75% of them are committed by defenders. He does more for our ability to win in defense than he would up the ground

Yes I realise that. I also realise that you are allowed to play different positions on the field for different amount of times and the entire game plan won't collapse.  Have never suggested that he spend the entire game in the middle. But if you are going to be concerned about our woeful decision making and forward 50 entries, we need solutions other than " try harder" "send him back to Casey" "have a rocket under him".   In any case, we generally win games and look dominant when Petracca kicks well, so it worked out and we got the 4 points. 

Just now, DemonOX said:

I know we have concerns d I’m not blind but I would rather win ugly and have things to work on than lose and still have things to work on. 

Winning ugly is one thing, tonight was shocking, and it's the coaching staff who should take the blame for that, they have no idea to play on or move the ball quickly, players make leads far to quick and players who have the ball are to slow to react to leads, how many times did the saints get the ball from behind the packs all alone, all night, players giving 2 metre handballs because they are still playing 21 football, transferring the football then stop because no one is their to receive it down the line I could go on it is not something that you can change in two minutes but their are games left for the coaches to alter but do they have it in them I hope so.

16 minutes ago, Antioch said:

We beat Collingwood. 

Can we beat them again?  We can if we get to play them again

But if you think we've got their measure, I'd argue that we haven't.  Not yet anyway

If we can defeat the Lions next week, I'll be confident that we can secure 4th spot and the double chance

Lose, and we're back in the ruck.  11 & 6 vs 10 & 7 might not look that different but it does when you're endeavouring to be a true contender

Another loss after that and you've lost 8 in the season proper.  How many premiership teams ever lose 8 or more games?

A lot rides on next week with regards to our real prospects and our season-proper record. 

We need another big scalp

Edited July 8, 20231 yr by Macca

7 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Have just realised that Joel Smith broke his own career record by playing a 5th straight game for the first time in his career.

Sadly, he may well be the first ever player to not record a stat after being subbed on.

This is strange, because I saw him lay three tackles in a row, and none of them got recorded…

We've just beaten a top-four contender and some posters are moaning. Get a grip, fellow fans, and accept that AFL football is a tough gig in which instant decisions need to be made under pressure and players, being human, sometimes get it wrong. We won the game, and in the end that's all that counts. Just like every other club, we have strengths and weaknesses which we need to work on. Any win is something to celebrate and enjoy.

1 minute ago, demon3165 said:

Winning ugly is one thing, tonight was shocking, and it's the coaching staff who should take the blame for that, they have no idea to play on or move the ball quickly, players make leads far to quick and players who have the ball are to slow to react to leads, how many times did the saints get the ball from behind the packs all alone, all night, players giving 2 metre handballs because they are still playing 21 football, transferring the football then stop because no one is their to receive it down the line I could go on it is not something that you can change in two minutes but their are games left for the coaches to alter but do they have it in them I hope so.

Worlds longest sentence. 

1 hour ago, JimmyGadson said:

Did we 'absorb'? 

Or did St Kilda simply not have the rotations and reach by the end due to the fact they had one rotation for three quarters... 

I wonder.. 

We ain't going far with this form. 

Let's hear the fatigue card explanation again though, can't wait. 

Big fella, enjoy the win. They’re not all going to be sexy. Sexy is great but we save that for finals. Go back and watch us draw to Hawthorn in 2021 at about the same time. We’re going ok, the Saints through it all at us and we held them off. Go and lie in the beach and look at sexy people 

Edited July 8, 20231 yr by Roost it far