Newcastle game versus the Saints

[Legs Akimbo]

The report on AFL.com has no mention of Super Ted having sustained an injury?

Is he injured or not?

[Missy]

He seemed fine coming out of the sheds after the game.

[Reggi]

Originally posted by Legs Akimbo
The report on AFL.com has no mention of Super Ted having sustained an injury?

Is he injured or not?

No mention in the news wires or on radio - so I gues the answer atm is he is OK

[Jeffers1984]

hehe i hope it was an over reaction from my part as he did seem to be in distress at the time. I hope he and Bucky are right for round 1.

[Reggi]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
[B]Our record against them is okay but it isn't really that stellar.

I think you underate their quality, but I agree on their lack of mental hardness and minimal depth.

Really?

Coz I see Dal Santo, Ball & Riewoldt as rising stars but after that.................................

Who are the players that have shown they are quality AFL players that aren't close to the end of their careers, Harvey & Gehrig??

I'll admit Milne has turned himself into a fair attacking player.

You can't build a side around a handful of stars and a mountain of mediocrity (or less).

They have been lucky (many poor sides in Vic) and over hyped by Vic media. Partially coz they are flat track bullies - if they get on top lot's of bif scores/ victories

I am glad Robert Walls fully agrees with me at least

[NMWBloods]

I think with a decent coach St Kilda could be a real challenger.

Their past two years have been pretty decent.

They went close to making the GF in 2004 and their fade out against our pressure last year was evidence of their lack of mental fortitude (which is something we also saw when they played Brisbane).

However, some of their form has been good, and they belted us comfortably in our two previous meetings prior to the PF.

[Legs Akimbo]

Originally posted by Jeffers1984
hehe i hope it was an over reaction from my part as he did seem to be in distress at the time. I hope he and Bucky are right for round 1.

Do you know where I can get something to stem the blood flow from my wrists

What about Buchanan

[Reggi]

Originally posted by NMWBloods


However, some of their form has been good, and they belted us comfortably in our two previous meetings prior to the PF.

Flat track bullies - get on top then they have heaps of run in their legs.

We looked like we were well on top in 2004 before Williams and Mathews went off

You're not exactly popping off names of players that you think are really good.

Are you.

[NMWBloods]

Yeah, there is a large element of flat-track bullies to them, but they could still be a challenger.

Good players are:
Ball (22), Del Santo (22), Gehrig (30), Hamill (28), Hayes (26), Hudghton (29), Harvey (34), Koschitzke (23), Riewoldt (23).

I had Penny (25) in there too but I forgot he retired, which was a huge loss to their back line.

Okay players are:
X Clarke (22), Maguire (22), Milne (26), Voss (28), Ackland (24).

Blake, Baker, and Powell have been passable.

Motagna and Goddard have been pretty disappointing on form.

They rely very heavily on their top half dozen or so. The next half dozen or so follow those guys. The remainder are relatively weak.

There is enough ability there to work with.

[Carolyn]

I'm just happy to know that we have at least won once in the pre-season

[Old Royboy]

The game was played in cool (for NSW at this time of year) and overcast conditions with a nice fresh breeze.

Our boys were totally dominant in the first quarter, the midfield and forward line pressure terrific and SuperTed was literally not giving Gherig a sniff. Nick Davis and Jude Bolton were killing em, it seemed no saint was allocated to pick up Goodes, because he literally was having a picnic. But the kicking ? good grief. Davis had 1-4, all of them kickable, plus easy misses by Kirk, Scheider, Hall and Goodes. Highlight of the quarter was when Goodes handballed over the top to ROK but missed the target. ROK swiped at the ball on the 1st hop in mid air from about 25m out and it went through like it had eyes. Other downer in the first quarter was when Monty got a shoulder crunch, stayed on and 5 mins later got crunched again. I don?t think it was too serious, he came on for a brief spell in the second quarter, but was not seem after half time.

Quarter time Sydney 3-9-27 St Kilda 0-2-2

St Kilda?s midfield picked up their game in the second quarter and the game became much more competitive. Fergus Watts became a handful for Vogels and beat him several times in one on one marking contests. Very encouraging from Schneider ? hard work in the packs saw him win two HTB decisions. The first was right in front but BBB shoved some saint and the call was reversed.. The next time was in midfield but Schneids also got a 50m penalty and slotted the long shot. BBB was looking a little frustrated ? those of us who thought that the eye op was going mean no more ?concrete hand? days were disappointed. He had another one today. Our other goals for the quarter came from clever interchanges freeing up Davis for easy shots. Hall, MO and the fridge set up the first, Superted and young Moore the second.. While the saints won the quarter it was mainly because a short burst when Watts beat Vogels. Encouraging to see Moore and the fridge work hard in this quarter. Jolly totally dominated the first half taps, but Hayes and co had started to read them. Superted was still making sure Gherig had a miserable day. Worth noting that at this stage Davis had 13 kicks plus two handballs and had kicked 3-4.

? time: Sydney 6-11-47 St Kilda 5-7-37.

Our boys again dominated long stretches of the third quarter, but more terrible kicking, inability to penetrate St Kilda?s megaflood, and a couple of sloppy passages in defence gifting the saints goals meant that we actually lost the quarter on the scoreboard. Swans two goals came from ROK, who kept his feet when others didn?t, resulting in a nice running goal from 40, and clever work from Goodes and ROK giving Moore an easy goal. The Fridge continued to work hard, even though he had hardly any time in the first quarter he had 9 effective tackles by ? time. The goalkicking culprits were Davis (did a Nicks and kicked low trajectory straight to Max H), Kirk had a horrible set shot, MO missed from 15 metres on the run and Goodes missed a couple. Worth noting that apart from one poor effort on del Santo Ben Mathews was having a very solid game ? and I didn?t see any clangers from him.

? time Sydney 8-18-66 St Kilda 8-8-56.

The Swans kicked a couple of early goals in the final quarter and maintained a comfortable buffer until the end. Captain Kirk stepped up with a lazy 8 kicks and 7 handballs for the quarter, this included a couple of terrific clearances in heavy traffic. Good to see. Our goals came from: Good centering kick by BENNY MATHEWS beating the flood for BBB to mark and goal from 40. Two nice crumbs for Nicky D, one he helped himself, the other handballed to NOG for an easy snap. The last was started by a Kirk centre clearance in traffic. He freed up Moore who found Willo on the run for a trademark goal. The last 5 it looked like players from both teams wanted to get off in one piece, and what happens ? SuperTed gets hurt. Both Erin and Jeff said hammie. I didn?t see it live, but he certainly didn?t look too flash after the game.

Final Sydney 12-19-91 St Kilda 11-8-74

Our kickers

Davis 4-4
Hall 2-1
ROK 2 straight
Schneider 1-1
Willo 1-0
Ablett1-0
Moore 1-0

The villains:
Kirk 0-2
Goodes 0-3
MOL 0-1
Fridge 0-1
C Bolton 0-1
Jolly 0-1
Three rushed, I missed one point.

Saints were at nearly full strength. Missing were there senior citizens plus Kozzie. Hamill played the second half. Our midfield was back to playing more like they did last year with Kirk and B1 to the fore, and the form of Malceski and Moore very encouraging. Goodes looked sensational and I would encourage the punting fraternity to help themselves at 80/1 for the Charlie. Very tasty odds. NIcky D was sensational in the 1st half, pine time for much of the 2nd. Superted killed Gherig, LRT was serviceable against Rewold and Hamill, Vogels will have to step up if he wants to hold his place. B2 had a ton of possession, I spent half the game wondering who was on him. ROK was OK, not great, Benny Mathews was terrific (did I really say that) Crouchy played the first half and looked his usual self.. Jolly dominated the taps, Chambers was decent in ruck, unco everywhere else. For some reason the Donkey didn?t get a run until the second half, and then played forward pocket. Didn?t get a touch until half way through the last quarter. Considering BBB and MOL both had fairly dirty days, not a bad effort.

Sorry about the spelling, never made such a long post before.

Cheers ORB.

[573v30]

Originally posted by Carolyn
I'm just happy to know that we have at least won once in the pre-season

A win is always a good thing...

[Reggi]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
There is enough ability there to work with.

See - when you look at the names you lose all enthusiasm

Hudghton just goes - he looks better in the context of their backline (which is terrible)

Kositzke repuation is enhanced by him not playing much - again ever seen him play well against good opposition.

You could make similar comment for Hamill

Ackland & X Clarke. Really they are fringe footballers.

Powell looked finished last year, so slow these days.

Old Royboy - one of the best match reports ever - any chance SuperTed has a corky or cramp?

Fridge??

[Old Royboy]

Originally posted by Reggi
Old Royboy - one of the best match reports ever - any chance SuperTed has a corky or cramp?

Fridge??

I'm no expert, didn't see the incident, just Jeffer's opinion.
malcESKI = fridge!!

[Big Al]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
I think with a decent coach St Kilda could be a real challenger.

Their past two years have been pretty decent.

They went close to making the GF in 2004 and their fade out against our pressure last year was evidence of their lack of mental fortitude (which is something we also saw when they played Brisbane).

However, some of their form has been good, and they belted us comfortably in our two previous meetings prior to the PF.

The mental toughness aspect of any team comes from leadership. Their coach is very ordinary in my opinion and apart from Hamill(whose body seems to be failing) they do not have a player who can roll up their sleeves when under intense pressure. Once they get mentally tough and have a good run with injuries they will be a serious threat.