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Round 12 Results and Post-Game Articles

ROUND 12 PRE-GAME ARTICLES -  PAGE 1   PAGE 2

Western Bulldogs: 2.3.6.3 11.8 15.13 (103)
St Kilda: 4.3 8.6 9.10 11.14 (80)
Goals: Bulldogs: Smith 4, Eagleton 3, Robbins 3, Rawlings 2, Giansiracusa 2, Darcy
St Kilda: Milne 3, Koschitzke 2, Goddard 2, Jones, Black, Gehrig, Voss
Best: Bulldogs: Eagleton, Giansiracusa, Harris, Smith, West, Robbins, Grant, Hahn, Darcy
St Kilda: Jones, Black, Koschitzke, Riewoldt, Voss, Maguire
Injuries: Bulldogs: Nil
St Kilda: Hamill (hamstring)
Umpires: Davis, Margetts, McLaren
Crowd: 28,306 at MCG
Stats & Details - afl.com.au

Saints Mid-Season Slump

Saints have Dog of a day in upset
. . . The Saints looked flat-footed and their skill level was well down on a month ago. They pulled to within four points of the lead midway through the last quarter and it again looked as though the 'Dogs would blow another game . . . Saints captain Lenny Hayes curiously spent the first term on the bench and failed to have a big impact on the game. The AFL's leading goalkicker Fraser Gehrig had a second-straight barren game and finished with only one goal. Defender Brett Voss, key forward Nick Riewoldt and ruckman Justin Koschitzke were the Saints' best . . . It was St Kilda's first game at the MCG this season and the Saints, like fellow Telstra Dome tenant Essendon, seemed to struggle outside their home ground's sterile indoor conditions.
The Article - AAP - HeraldSun - 12Jun04
Stats & Details - saints.com.au

Benching of Hayes questioned
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas's decision to bench captain Lenny Hayes for the first quarter against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday drew surprise from the football world, while premiership coach Robert Walls believed "that it smacked of an arrogance" . . . Western Bulldogs coach Peter Rohde said he had been startled when he received the St Kilda teamsheet and saw Hayes named on the bench. "I did feel pretty surprised, I've got to say, that their captain was starting on the bench but we know they have a lot of midfielders that they do rotate through there. We probably expected Powell and Thompson or those types to be there (on the bench) but the captain being there was a surprise," Rohde said on 3AW. "I think more of a surprise was that he spent the whole first quarter on the bench. If he had have come on after 10 minutes or so, it wouldn't have been all that unusual."
The Article - Melissa Ryan - TheAge - 14Jun04
Dogs reap head start - Michael Stevens - HeraldSun - 14Jun04

No panic stations at Moorabbin
. . . Thomas is far from worried, even though the Saints also lost Aaron Hamill to hamstring soreness on Saturday - which Thomas is hoping won't keep his inspirational former skipper out of next week's clash against bottom-placed Hawthorn. "We've been beaten by two better sides (Sydney and the Bulldogs) who have worked harder than us and gone the extra yards for a win, which is something we used to do automatically," Thomas said. "But we haven't done that the last two weeks and it's my job to find out why and rectify it. We didn't have any flow, we didn't have the quick ball movement, we weren't winning the ball at ground level and we weren't putting anywhere near the pressure on them that we put on other sides. But we have won 10 games and lost two so we will focus on the 10 wins" . . .
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 12Jun04
Thomas: Slump is just a blip - Jon Pierik - HeraldSun - 13Jun04

Saints learn hard lesson on rebound
Many of the common denominators in last week's Sydney loss were apparent again yesterday, chiefly a midfield group that simply could not get its hands on the ball enough, then made some poor decisions when it did. Andrew Thompson has only 17 disposals in the past fortnight, skipper Lenny Hayes little more than a dozen in either loss, while Robert Harvey and Luke Ball averaged about 20 possessions in both games without having anywhere near the impact of previous weeks . . . If St Kilda had to have a downer at some stage of a six-month season, now might prove the most opportune time, as next Friday night's Telstra Dome clash with bottom-placed Hawthorn is the last hurdle to be negotiated before what will be a welcome 16-day break. That should be enough time for a still relatively untroubled coach Grant Thomas to spark the Saints' engine again. But St Kilda will want to show a little more appetite for the more unspectacular but necessary parts of the game or else the upset of the season could indeed be followed by another, particularly if Hawthorn can show the sort of character it found in the final three quarters against Carlton on Friday.
The Article - Rohan Connolly - TheAge - 13Jun04

'No good', zestless Saints go down again
Blaming a lack of "zest" and intensity and not ruling out his side might have thought it was a bit ahead of itself, Thomas said it was obvious early yesterday that things were not going right. "This is probably the second week in a row we haven't had a winner on the ground and, I suppose, the pleasing thing about it is that we're playing very ordinary football right here at the moment, have for two weeks, and we haven't been blown off the park and historically we would have," he said. "But good sides don't lose two games in a row and good sides strike back, and we weren't able to today, so you can probably assume from that we are not necessarily a good side at the moment" . . . Reasonable news was that the hamstring injury that kept Aaron Hamill off the ground for about three quarters yesterday was a 'knot' rather that a tear, so he should be right to play next week.
The Article - Lyall Johnson - TheAge - 13Jun04

Not Happy Jan

100% effort 100% of the time
Rogerwa: . . . West 40 possies yet Baker who has only one string to his bow i.e. a hard at it tagger is left to get carved up in the b/pocket, Gehrig who has not put in one single effort i.e. chase, tackle, block etc for 8 quarters is not dragged, Penny on Hall last week chyt even Blind Freddy could see after 10 minutes he was outa his depth, Hayes on the bench, its not only the players that need to take stock, the brains trust also need a realality check. Geez in the space of 2 weeks Guerra has gone from a hard son of a bitch to a 1/2 kilo of butter, the disposal of Harvey and Jones was enough to ...cant think of a suitable word. X. Clarke . . . 5 mins here 5 mins there . . . geez at least give him a roll to play.
Hyde Park: . . . players were prepared to get their heads and bodies over the ball and were ready to get tackled, but kept their hands free and held the ball out, and dished a handball out to an outrider. Before they got the ball, they already knew who they would give it to . . . Now, they run towards the ball and stick a hand out, hoping to scoop the ball in one fluid motion and keep running. Oops, didn't work, opponent got it, I'm wrong footed now and he's got 5 yards start on me...
The Article - Saintsational Fan Forum Thread

Dogs bite as Saints lose their halo
The Saints' troubles will be the talk of the town this week. Coach Grant Thomas observed they never seemed comfortable; Justin Koschitzke, one of few good performers, put a country boy's slant on things: "We were quite disgraceful." Fraser Gehrig was clearly carrying his dodgy foot, and left the goal square only for the coach's address at the end of each quarter. Having not had a kick last week, he managed only three yesterday for a solitary goal. Nick Riewoldt's repeated pleas for the ball were mysteriously ignored, and he could not hide his frustration, several times screaming at teammates who had been blind to his advances. The third pillar of their attack, Aaron Hamill, strained his hamstring midway through the second quarter. Of the crumbers, Stephen Milne bobbed up in his usual way, then vanished under the watch of Robert Murphy after half-time, and Brent Guerra was ineffectual . . .
The Article - Peter Hanlon - TheAge - 13Jun04

Second straight loss for Saints
The Western Bulldogs have pulled off the upset of the season by beating league leaders St Kilda at the MCG on Saturday. After a club record 10 straight wins to start the season - 14 if you include their Wizard Cup success - the Saints have now lost two in a row following the Dogs' heroic 15.13 (103) to 11.14 (80) victory. Rohan Smith was the hero for the Dogs with three memorable last quarter goals to seal the memorable win but last year's wooden spooners were the better side throughout the second half. And to cap off a disastrous day for the suddenly vulnerable Saints, they lost inspirational former skipper Aaron Hamill to a hamstring injury in the first half . . . While the loss means the Saints will be just one game clear on top of the ladder by the end of the round, the Dogs suddenly are back in touch with the top eight. They were brilliantly led by Scott West, who ended with 40 touches, although his poor disposal let him down at times and cost the Bulldogs a goal early in the final term when he handballed straight to Brendon Goddard . . . But for the Saints, who were smashing teams by more than 100 points just a month ago, it was case of too much left to too few with Fraser Gehrig struggling for the second successive week, as he was held to just one goal by the much-improved Brian Harris.
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 12Jun04
A Positive!! - Saintsational Fan Forum
Smith answers the call - Jackie Epstein - HeraldSun - 13Jun04
Punters feel Dogs' bite - Jackie Epstein - HeraldSun - 13Jun04

Nicholson: The Ultimate Assault
. . . The Saints have played eight of their 12 games in the benign conditions of Telstra Dome, the comfort zone. They are unbeaten there, displaying silky skills that have devastated opponents. They defeated a disappointing Adelaide by 15 points and Fremantle by 23 points at the peak of the early-season dominance in outdoor conditions. But in their past two matches they have played sloppy, indirect, wasteful and fancy footy. St Kilda fans must be wondering if the two consecutive losses are an aberration or if the Saints have started to believe their own publicity. They must wonder, too, if injuries have exposed a one-dimensional combination, which, when faced with adversity, struggles to adapt and instead sulks when things do not go to plan. St Kilda has dominated this season with an exceptional attack. Yet yesterday, because of a combination of injury and lack of form, it was dismal. Fraser Gehrig, who did not have a kick last week, was restricted to four kicks, one goal and one handball yesterday . . .
Saints of old away from Dome - Rod Nicholson - HeraldSun - 12Jun04

Regaining the lost form
. . . I think the Saints are going through the same mind tricks Milney went through when he started to amass at least one goal in every game for a huge number of weeks (between 40-50 from memory). Then he missed one and it was a huge feeling of relief and then he went into a form slump. It is the same thing for the Saints we'd won a heap in a row and now we're in a form slump just like Milney hit at the end of last year. Lets hope we dont' have to go back to Springy to regain confidence . . .
The Thread - karnak - Saintsational Fan Forum

Saints keep tabs on Gehrig foot
The Saints may have to nurse their full forward and potential Coleman Medallist Fraser Gehrig through the season due to his chronic foot complaint, plantar fasciitis. Gehrig recently re-aggravated the injury that troubled him at times last season, and has been wearing a foot brace to help manage the condition. He is expected to play this weekend against the Western Bulldogs, but the 28-year-old who has kicked 50 goals this year, will have to be carefully managed through the second half of the season . . . Thomas said Gehrig's foot condition had adversely affected his form against the Swans, but said his performance had more to do with the close checking of Leo Barry, who was Gehrig's opponent. In pursuit of his first Coleman Medal, Gehrig leads Essendon's Matthew Lloyd, who has 44 goals and Carlton's Brendan Fevola, who has booted 39.
The Article - Samantha Lane/Sportal - saints.com.au - 10Jun04
Gehrig injury recurs - Mark Stevens - HeraldSun - 10Jun04

Benching of Hayes questioned
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas's decision to bench captain Lenny Hayes for the first quarter against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday drew surprise from the football world, while premiership coach Robert Walls believed "that it smacked of an arrogance" . . . Western Bulldogs coach Peter Rohde said he had been startled when he received the St Kilda teamsheet and saw Hayes named on the bench. "I did feel pretty surprised, I've got to say, that their captain was starting on the bench but we know they have a lot of midfielders that they do rotate through there. We probably expected Powell and Thompson or those types to be there (on the bench) but the captain being there was a surprise," Rohde said on 3AW. "I think more of a surprise was that he spent the whole first quarter on the bench. If he had have come on after 10 minutes or so, it wouldn't have been all that unusual."
The Article - Melissa Ryan - TheAge - 14Jun04
Dogs reap head start - Michael Stevens - HeraldSun - 14Jun04

No panic stations at Moorabbin
. . . Thomas is far from worried, even though the Saints also lost Aaron Hamill to hamstring soreness on Saturday - which Thomas is hoping won't keep his inspirational former skipper out of next week's clash against bottom-placed Hawthorn. "We've been beaten by two better sides (Sydney and the Bulldogs) who have worked harder than us and gone the extra yards for a win, which is something we used to do automatically," Thomas said. "But we haven't done that the last two weeks and it's my job to find out why and rectify it. We didn't have any flow, we didn't have the quick ball movement, we weren't winning the ball at ground level and we weren't putting anywhere near the pressure on them that we put on other sides. But we have won 10 games and lost two so we will focus on the 10 wins" . . .
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 12Jun04
Thomas: Slump is just a blip - Jon Pierik - HeraldSun - 13Jun04

Robert Walls article 15/6
. . . I'd say the way that he (GT) has left the on field responsibility with the players would suggest that he is being very tough. Bringing Lenny Hayes on to help out on the ball would have been the easy way, putting Aussie back to his comfort zone to make the other guys look good would have been easy, dropping Roo back as a loose man would have helped his stats and assisted the boys down back and made life easier as well. But he didn't. These players have to learn how to win, and win contests when things are against them. We have to bridge the gap between our best and our worst, and when you're 10 and 1 is a good time to really test them out. I'd much rather find out our inadequicies now than when it really counts.
rodgerfox - Saintsational Fan Forum Thread

Saints slam 'arrogance' claims
St Kilda assistant coach Nathan Burke believes the notion that the Saints were arrogant in starting skipper Lenny Hayes on the bench against the Western Bulldogs last Saturday was simply hogwash . . . Burke said it was simply a tactic used on the day. "That's ridiculous (to suggest it was an arrogant move). Certainly there was no sign of arrogance there at all," Burke said. "Lenny's played the majority of every single match. Robert Harvey's spent games on the bench. (Luke) Ball has (and Nick) Dal Santo has started games on the bench. When you look at the guys (who started) in the middle, we had Harvey, 'Bally' and 'Powelly' (Stephen Powell) in the middle, so it's not as if we were lacking for good players in the middle and we put some in there who really isn't used to playing in the middle. Obviously, we weren't expecting to play (Hayes) the whole quarter on the bench, but we were four goals to two at quarter-time."
The Article - Matt Burgan/Sportal - saints.com.au - 15Jun04

Arrogant? Not us, says Saints coach
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas yesterday hit back amid criticism his call to start captain Lenny Hayes on the bench against the Bulldogs smacked of arrogance. Hitting back; Grant Thomas says he's comfortable with the decision to leave Lenny Hayes on the bench for the first quarter on Saturday. "I wouldn't expect anyone from outside the club to understand the management of our players. It's anything but arrogance," Thomas said. "Just because we lose, they say it's arrogance. If we win, they say it's a masterstroke. Everyone takes a turn at starting on the bench. It's not a demotion in this day and age, for God's sake."
The Article - Mark Stevens - HeraldSun - 15Jun04

Scragging irks St Kilda legend
St Kilda's Team of the Century full-back Verdun Howell says his counterparts of the modern game would not stand a chance back in his heyday. The 68-year-old Brownlow medallist and member of the Saints' only premiership team in 1966 says today's full-backs are a blight on the game. "If you played like the full-backs do today you would have had 10 goals kicked on you every game," Howell said from Perth, where he now lives. "You had to watch the ball and not your opponent because if you scragged and held your opponent, like they do now, the umpire would pay a free kick against you every time. It is a really disappointing part of the game" . . .
The Article - Brett Stubbs - HeraldSun - 15Jun04

Saints confident on Gehrig, Jones
St Kilda assistant coach Nathan Burke expects key Saints' Fraser Gehrig and Austinn Jones to be available for Friday night's clash against Hawthorn at Telstra Dome, despite the key pair being under an injury cloud. Gehrig has a chronic foot complaint and Jones has an injured his hand, but Burke is more concerned that 2003 skipper Aaron Hamill will not be available this round, due to a hamstring problem. "Aussie will be fine. There's no structural damage. It just looked pretty ugly because it blew up pretty quickly - hands tend to do that. So he'll be fine," Burke said. "Aaron had a scan yesterday and I don't know the result of that, but he's probably the most doubtful one out of the three. But I'd expect Fraser to come up. He's come up every other week, so there's nothing worse there, so he'll be fine."
The Article - Matt Burgan/Sportal - saints.com.au - 15Jun04


All Teams Review - After R11 - Adam Cooper (AAP) - HeraldSun - 10Jun04


ROUND 12 PRE-GAME ARTICLES -  PAGE 1   PAGE 2