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Round 15 Pre-Match Articles - Page 3

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Round 15: Melbourne vs. St Kilda MCG
Sunday 11th July 2004, 2:10pm (AEST)
Round 15 Math-Ups - Saintsational Fan Forum
Changes for Melb game !! - Saintsational Fan Forum

Daniher warns soft Dees
Demons coach Neale Daniher says his players have suddenly gone soft since the mid-season break. And he has warned his men they are kidding themselves if they think the suspension of three St Kilda guns is a bonus for the Dees. The Demons (fourth) take on top-placed St Kilda at the MCG on Sunday and will join the Saints on 11 wins should they bounce back from their 72-point loss to Adelaide . . . And he said the worst thing that could happen was for his players to think the St Kilda suspensions would make their task easier on Sunday . . . Daniher argued. "Our supporters will be thinking, 'that's terrific, they're out', and the Saints supporters would rather they were in, and let's be frank they're very good players" . . . All the focus being on St Kilda's slump makes Daniher even more nervous. "They're not the No.1 team for no reason. They've got some youngsters who'll get their opportunity. We were worse than St Kilda. The focus is on them, but we couldn't get our hands on the footy; we had 80 less possessions."
The Article - Michael Horan - TheAustralian - 08Jul04
BJ as leading forward!! - Saintsational Fan Forum

Demons wary of weakened Saints
Melbourne is acutely aware of the perils of meeting undermanned sides, and will this week attack an apparently vulnerable St Kilda - presently its missing bookends and a handy utility - with a toughened resolve . . . But Demons coach Neale Daniher said his team had been lulled into complacency before it lost to a Brisbane side minus Alastair Lynch and Jonathan Brown in round ten. And he criticised Melbourne for a 'soft' performance against Adelaide, missing Wayne Carey, Nigel Smart and Ben Hart last week. "We thought 'oh yeah, that's terrific', and both times we got our biggest hidings of the year," he said before training on Wednesday.
The Article - Samantha Lane/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Jul04

Thomas blasts tribunal
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas last night lambasted the AFL's judiciary process as the Saints - 11-0 at the tribunal this season - prepared an appeal for suspended defender Luke Penny. Having lost another three key players on Tuesday night, Thomas said the Saints were 'confused', 'gun-shy' and 'disillusioned' with a system that was 'over the shop'. With Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse already fined $5000 by the league yesterday over criticism of the tribunal, Thomas is certain to incur the league's wrath over his blast. But Thomas said it was essential that the AFL went through with its planned end-of-season review of the judiciary system, and legal representation should be allowed for the first time.
The Article - Martin Blake - TheAge - 08Jul04

Thomas attacks inconsistent tribunal
Thomas also commented on the striking charges of Gehrig and Guerra, star forwards who played key roles in the Saints' brilliant start to the season. "There's been situations like the Gehrig one every week. Some of them get reported, some of them get cited, some don't," Thomas said. "In relation to the Guerra one, it was insignificant contact that happens every game as well." "By their (the tribunal's) own admission it was very, very light contact." Asked if there needed to be a review of the tribunal process, Thomas said: "Absolutely, emphatically, yes".
The Article - Mark Stevens - HeraldSun - 08Jul04

Thomas lashes out
. . . "I'd be absolutely amazed if Andrew Demetriou isn't sitting in his office as well shaking his head and thinking - 'gee, there's not a lot of continuity with things that are happening'. I mean, I think everybody's experienced that" . . . "The reason we're appealing Penny's (suspension) is because we just don't know what else he could have done in the situation."
The Article - Samantha Lane/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Jul04

Saints to appeal Penny verdict
St Kilda will appeal the two-match suspension handed down by the AFL tribunal to Luke Penny by the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday.
The Article - Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Jul04
Penny/Training Notes - Saintsational Fan Forum

Saints dismiss 'hearsay' misconduct allegations
St Kilda has described claims of alleged player misconduct as 'unsubstantiated, unwitnessed hearsay', and after consulting the playing group considers the matter closed. Speaking at Moorabbin on Wednesday afternoon, club chief executive Brian Waldron acknowledged the claims made on a Melbourne radio station that several players had allegedly confronted a woman at a Sorrento hotel and asked her to perform an inappropriate act. But he said the defamatory allegations had been made public without credible evidence. No formal complaints have been lodged against any St Kilda player with the police and Waldron, who in March revealed the now closed police investigation of Stephen Milne and Leigh Montagna, said the fresh allegations were unsubstantiated.
The Article - Samantha Lane/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Jul04
Saints named in another sex scandal - Saintsational Fan Forum

Saints angered over new sex claims
The Saint Kilda Football club says it is angered over fresh allegations of sexual misconduct involving several players. It has been claimed on commercial radio that a group of players confronted a woman at a hotel at Sorrento, south of Melbourne, and asked her to perform an inappropriate act. The management of the hotel at Sorrento has confirmed 46 members of the St Kilda football club stayed at the hotel on Saturday night. The hotel's general manager confirmed players were drinking in the bar, but said security staff witnessed nothing untoward and no complaints were made.
The Article - ABC Sport - 07Jul04

Tough night at Tribunal for Saints
The fall out from Sunday's poor loss to Port Adelaide continues to be felt by St Kilda with Brent Guerra, Fraser Gehrig and Luke Penny all receiving suspensions from the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday. Guerra copped a one-match ban, while Gehrig and Penny will miss the club's next two games - against Melbourne and Richmond. Gehrig and Guerra were found guilty of striking, Gehrig on Port Adelaide's Matthew Bishop, and Guerra for his clash with Michael Wilson.
The Article - Jordon Chong/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Jul04
Saints hit hard by tribunal - Matt Brown - ABC Sport - 06Jul04

Strike three for Saints
. . . Guerra and his former Port Adelaide teammate Michael Wilson were charged with striking each other, and despite the fact that Guerra appeared to be retaliating to the incident in which the Port player was reported, Guerra was suspended and Wilson cleared. Video evidence was unable to prove that Wilson had struck Guerra, but Maguire said the tribunal was satisfied that Guerra had made reckless and forceful contact to Wilson, which constituted a strike.
The Article - Peter Ker - TheAge - 07Jul04

Stumbling Saints left two guns shy
. . . Gehrig's defence wasn't helped by field umpire Scott Jeffery telling the tribunal that he had an unobstructed view of the marking contest from 15m away. Jeffery said Gehrig struck Bishop a "forceful blow" to the side of the face with a round-arm action. Asked if it could be considered a spoiling attempt, the umpire replied: "I determined it to be a careless attempt. I didn't think it was a reasonable attempt at all to contact the ball." Jeffery said in his opinion on the day that Gehrig wasn't impeded by Wakelin, although he agreed the video showed the Power backman with an arm extended in a blocking motion.
The Article - Michael Horan - HeraldSun - 07Jul04
Stumbling Saints cop triple whammy - Bruce Matthews - HeraldSun - 07Jul04

Sinning Saints deny problems
St Kilda captain Lenny Hayes certainly was impressed by the shiner gracing Brent Guerra's eye yesterday, but he did not believe the appearance of three more Saints at the AFL Tribunal indicated discipline problems. "It's come up pretty nicely," Hayes said. "I didn't see what happened and I haven't really spoken to him, but it's a good one." Guerra, charged yesterday on video review with striking Michael Wilson, was among three video citations from the match. Hayes did not think Port Adelaide had overstepped the bounds with some of the physical harassment unleashed against the Saints at York Park. "I wouldn't say out of line, that's for other people to decide. It was just another game of football for us and those things happen in football," Hayes said.
The Article - Melissa Ryan - TheAge - 06Jul04

G-Train comes off the rails
. . . Luke Ball, Fraser Gehrig, Brendon Goddard, Austinn Jones, Robert Harvey, Nick Dal Santo, Stephen Milne, Brent Guerra and Trent Knobel. You would think you had died and gone to heaven. Which is not quite right but you would, nevertheless, be in the company of Saints. Unfortunately the above-mentioned players shared more things in common than the St Kilda jumper on Sunday. Against Port Adelaide at York Park the eight players shared just 56 disposals between them. On a good day that can be the return of Dal Santo and Ball alone. It is not unfair to say that every one of those players registered their worst performance for the club this season. Nor would it be widely off the mark to say they have never played worse in their careers . . .
The Article - Patrick Smith - TheAustralian - 06Jul04
Aussie Jones Chat Transcript - saints.com.au - 07Jul04