This is our defining match of the first half of 07 season

[Matt79]

IMO, Saturday night's game is the match of the first 11 rounds for our footy club to really find out where we stand in the pecking order of 07.

Are we just simply having another slow start to the season and slowly building towards September glory yet again?

Or are injuries and poor form already starting to take their toll and our season could start to unravel?

St Kilda at the Dome in Melbourne is arguably the toughest Victorian match of the season and one which pits us against Ross Lyon and his intimate knowledge of our game plan.

For me personally, this is a must win game for the Swannies and one which we must see a 4 quarter effort from every player to give us all hope again of that last day in September.

Thoughts?

[Industrial Fan]

Pancakes.

Goodes - BOG.

24 touches, 2 goals.

[humphrey bear]

This match will tell you nothing.

St Kilda are without all their best tall defenders (Maguire, S Fisher, Hudgton), their best run with player in Baker and their best inside player in Thompson as well as one of their captains in Lenny Hayes.

Anything less than a win would be a disaster.

[hammo]

St Kilda at the Dome in Melbourne is arguably the toughest Victorian match of the season and one which pits us against Ross Lyon and his intimate knowledge of our game plan.

The fascination that Lyon's "intimate knowledge" of the mysterious Swans' game plan poses a danger is simply predictable media hype generated by lazy journos.

Anyone who thinks the other 15 coaches are clueless about how to beat the Swans has rocks in their head. We've won more games than we've lost in recent years because we're a better team and haven't deviated from teh game plan (stoppage, stoppage, run off half back, kick to Hall or MOL) - we've lost games recently because other teams have been harder at the ball and smashed us at the stoppages.

Sorry bad start to the morning! Otherwise I agree its a vital game

[NMWBloods]

It will tell us something - if we're really struggling, which will be the case if we lose.

If we win I doubt it will tell us a lot, but it might help the guys regain some confidence and structure. However that probably needs a solid win, not a last gasp one.

[DST]

I tend to think that next weeks game against a Port side that is rolling along very well is our season defining game.

Win that against a quality opponent who are in form and we can think of ourselves as serious, especially if we are going in 3 & 4 after this week.

DST

[liz]

This match will tell you nothing.

St Kilda are without all their best tall defenders (Maguire, S Fisher, Hudgton), their best run with player in Baker and their best inside player in Thompson as well as one of their captains in Lenny Hayes.

Anything less than a win would be a disaster.

Fisher and Hudgton are expected back.

We're without three players from our backline too - and while Dempster and LRT are clearly not as "celebrated' as Maguire, as was discussed earlier this week, the compounding effect of taking three players out of one on-field unit is greater than the sum of their individual absences. And this is probably more true in defence than any other part of the ground.

Thompson surely should be a marginal player at best for any team with top 4 aspirations. Hayes is a big absence for them and Baker not being there will hurt too, but we could be without Buchanan again, who at close to his best is as important to us as Baker is to the Saints (albeit in a very different role).

I don't think this is a game that the Swans would absolutely have to win to be considered top 4 candidates. It is away, they are a pretty decent team even with their "outs" and have been playing good, if inconsistent, football.

So to say that if we lose we're crap but if we win we don't know if we're crap or not, is selling the Saints very short. If we were playing Richmond or Carlton, maybe, but very few games are gimmes nowadays.

As others have indicated, it is more how we win or lose that will tell us where we are. If the Saints play a blinder and we play OK and just go down in a fairly narrow loss, it will be far from a disaster, though points-wise you wouldn't want to be falling off the 50/50 win loss ratio too far, especially with Port and the Dogs coming up.

[humphrey bear]

Thompson is vital to the Saints balance.

Nearly all of their mid fielders are outside players. Dal Santo, Harvey, Montagna, Fiora & X Clarke are all basically receivers.

Ball, Baker, Thompson and to an extent Lenny are their only inside players.

The Saints will never be easier to beat and I would think the Swans would be a little concerned if they cant win this week.

[Plugger46]

Thompson is vital to the Saints balance.

Nearly all of their mid fielders are outside players. Dal Santo, Harvey, Montagna, Fiora & X Clarke are all basically receivers.

Ball, Baker, Thompson and to an extent Lenny are their only inside players.

The Saints will never be easier to beat and I would think the Swans would be a little concerned if they cant win this week.

Thompson is just a footballer.

Harvey a receiver? Turn it up.

[humphrey bear]

Harvey a receiver? Turn it up.

These days he spends as much time as Nick Davis at the bottom of a pack.

[Matt79]

This match will tell you nothing.

St Kilda are without all their best tall defenders (Maguire, S Fisher, Hudgton), their best run with player in Baker and their best inside player in Thompson as well as one of their captains in Lenny Hayes.

Anything less than a win would be a disaster.

Disagree with your thoughts. Remember we have some outs as well from our team, paricularly Kennelly which is a big loss.

The Saints on paper are still extremely strong...Riewolt, Del Santo, Harvey and the return to form of Kos (won't spell the rest) makes this still an incredibly tough match.

Looks like Hudghton and Fisher will be returning as well so their backline is almost full strength. http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21696815%255E20322,00.html

[liz]

Thompson is vital to the Saints balance.

Thompson is about as important to the Saints' balance as Mathews is to ours - ie a more than handy player, solid with few devastatingly good qualities, does the role he's given etc.

But I doubt many of us on here would be slashing our wrists and writing off the team's prospects for a game based on his absence.

[TheHood]

But I doubt many of us on here would be slashing our wrists and writing off the team's prospects for a game based on his absence.

Speak for yourself!

I joke, well put Liz.

I will say in Ben's defence (this is not a thread about him I know) that he had a great game on the weekend. That goal he chipped after a string of superb handballs was a little gem. I had to look 3 times to make sure it was the number 4. I thought he looked focused and for Ben, I think he's having his best season ever.

Now back to the point...Thomo is about 1 bad game away from being dropped for the season - he's not important. Saints have ripped teams apart with major absences before, Thompson included. This game is a danger game for Sydney but hardly the barometer for the season outcome. A serious 4 quarter effort will be required to get away with the 4 points.

Like Liz, I think it's more about convenience of points and getting some cement into the 8.