Round 8 Pre Game Articles - Page 1
The top picks - how they're faring
They're the players of whom most is expected - the top picks at each of the 16 AFL clubs. Two months into the new season, Sportal's Matt Burgan casts an eye over the first players selected by each club at the 2003 National's AFL Draft to see how they're settling-in.
ST KILDA - Raphael Clarke:
No.8, 188cm, 78kg, St Marys
The younger of the talented Clarke brothers at St Kilda, Raphael has yet to make his AFL debut, despite entering the AFL ranks with a highly decorated junior career. Clarke missed the first round of the VFL season with Springvale with a knee injury, yet he has since played every game for the Scorpions, which included a three-goal haul against Frankston two weeks ago. The athletic forward is almost certain to debut during 2004 . . .
Top Draft Picks - Matt Burgan/Sportal - saints.com.au - 13May03
Who will Surprise. - Saintsational Fan Forum
Fraser Gehrig Chat Transcript (12 May 2004) - saints.com.au
Goddard a no-show
St Kilda's Brendan Goddard missed training at Moorabbin on Wednesday with a virus but should be right for Saturday night's clash with Collingwood. Goddard, who didn't take the field at all, felt unwell and was sent home as a precaution. Also not present was defender Matt Maguire, who was rested due to some hip soreness while two players - Fraser Gehrig and Aaron Hamill - left the track early. But a confident St Kilda coach Grant Thomas said after training all four would play.
The Article - Jordan Chong/Sportal - saints.com.au - 12May03
Black gets two weeks
St Kilda midfielder Heath Black will miss his club's matches against Collingwood and West Coast after being suspended by the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night. Black pleaded guilty to striking Fremantle's Dion Woods during the final quarter of Saturday afternoon's clash at Subiaco. It was the third time the 24 year old had been found guilty by the tribunal in six seasons of senior football. While playing for Fremantle, he was twice suspended for one match.
The Source - Sportal - saints.com.au - 12May03
Holland outed for four weeks - Samantha Lane/Sportal - saints.com.au - 11May03
AFL tribunal on Tuesday - Bruce Matthews - HeraldSun - 12May03
Opposites attract always a clash
Round 9 2003 was an ordinary night for the St. Kilda Football Club. It was the last time they played Collingwood at the Telstra Dome and one they would rather forget. Jumped from the opening bounce, the premiership contender Magpies annihilated the Saints by 65 points. It is rather ironic then that this Saturday night, the two lock horns in the same venue under lights. This time around, the raging hot Saints are on top of the mountain with seven wins from seven games while injury riddled Collingwood lament at the wrong end of the ladder. It is an amazing turnaround of fortunes for both teams.
The Article - Luca Giacobello - saints.com.au - 11May03
Saints vs Collingwood, 1988 - 2004 - www.footyform.com.au
Tribunal record no concern for Max
St Kilda defender Max Hudghton doesn't think the club's recent record with regards to the AFL Tribunal is of any concern. The Saints have had six players rubbed out by the tribunal this year, however according to Hudghton, the players' aggressive approach to the footy hasn't been raised by the coaching staff. "That's one of the key reasons why we've been winning. Each week we attack the ball hard, we're ferocious at the tackle," Hudghton said at Moorabbin on Wednesday. "We're not going to change the way we play, we think one of our attributes is our toughness so we won't be changing anything."
The Article - Jordan Chong/Sportal - saints.com.au - 12May03
Saints unrepentant as suspensions mount - Stephen Rielly - TheAge - 13May03
Tribunal count won't deter St Kilda - Bruce Matthews - HeraldSun - 13May03
GT wrap on Sainters chat! - Saintsational Fan Forum
Pies face injury crisis
Collingwood is facing an injury crisis with skipper Nathan Buckley unlikely to re-appear from his latest hamstring injury until after the mid-season break in late June and Josh Fraser, Scott Burns and Simon Prestigiacomo all not expected to return for Saturday night's clash against unbeaten AFL leaders St Kilda. And to make matters even worse for the Magpies, they now face the prospect of losing tagger Brodie Holland, who will have to face the tribunal on Tuesday night after being charged on video evidence with making unreasonable and unnecessary contact with his foot to the head of Carlton's Scott Camporeale.
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 10May03
Where losers win
It took the revelation that two Carlton players had shown up to a recovery session in the throes of ecstasy for the AFL to revise its official, "there's-no-problem" line on recreational drugs. In keeping with the league's tendency to be influenced by the crisis or outcry of the day, what will be its reaction if Collingwood, grand finalist for the past two seasons, finishes at or near the bottom and qualifies for a priority draft choice? Hopefully, it will anticipate the problem and change the rule before that farcical scenario arises, if not with Collingwood this year, then with the next injury-riddled premiership aspirant that has a surprise free-fall down the ladder.
The Article - Jake Niall - TheAge - 12May03
No love lost between coaches
The Collingwood coaching staff may have lacked respect for St Kilda coach Grant Thomas last year, according to former Magpies and current Saints assistant Terry Daniher. Saturday night's top-versus-bottom clash will have Thomas and Mick Malthouse coaching against one another for the first time since their round-nine clash last season, which devolved into a public spat between the pair over the controversial sacking of Matthew Capuano. Daniher said everyone at Moorabbin was aware of what an eighth consecutive win for the Saints could do to Collingwood's finals hopes. "If they lose a couple more, their season is gone," he said. "They've got their backs to the wall and every game is just so important to them . . . so we expect it's going to be a tough contest."
The Article - Peter Ker - TheAge - 11May03
Voss may miss four with broken jaw
St Kilda's worst fears were confirmed yesterday by the news that Brett Voss will sit out at least a month with a broken jaw. The important defender took a stray knee to the face from Troy Longmuir in the second quarter of Saturday's game against Fremantle and staggered from the field. Although he was able to fly back to Melbourne with the team, he will sit out the upcoming games against Collingwood, Carlton, West Coast and Sydney. Voss has drawn rave reviews this season for his unflappable, tough-tackling style and the Saints would be disappointed to lose him as they chase their eighth successive win.
The Article - Dan Oakes - TheAge - 10May03
Blues consider Dome switch
Carlton is considering switching its Round 10 clash with St Kilda from Optus Oval to Telstra Dome. Although Blues chief executive Michael Malouf was non-committal yesterday, the move appears likely to be approved at board level. The match has the potential to attract more than 45,000 at Telstra Dome, particularly if Carlton's improvement continues. St Kilda fans traditionally don't travel to Optus Oval. A crowd of 22,361 watched the Saints thrash the Blues by 91 points in Round 20 last year. With the Saints surging, this year's match would probably attract about 30,000.
The Article - Mark Stevens - HeraldSun - 11May03
Buckley on-ball role looks hamstrung
The sight of their skipper and Brownlow medallist Nathan Buckley walking forlornly across the MCG on Saturday without even bothering to join his teammates in the half-time melee was a depressing one for Collingwood fans. Buckley's 2004 season, like his team's, has been a disaster. As a result of Buckley's apparent repeat hamstring injury, various medical and football commentators have called for a review of the unwritten policy of AFL clubs to allow their players with hamstring tears to return to play after 21 days. Most clubs these days do not work on a strict number of days, but certainly insist that players recovering from a hamstring tear get through at least a full week of intense training. As with the three players mentioned, the average time to return is probably about 28 days . . . There will also be much talk around the club about Buckley's on-field role. Clearly, Buckley's body can no longer tolerate the demands of a constant on-ball role and like many other players as they get towards the end of their careers, he will have to re-invent himself in another position, possibly with cameo on-ball appearances.
The Article - Peter Brukner - TheAge - 11May03
Fall from grace for Collingwood
From the moment the final siren sounded in last year's AFL grand final, the danger signs were there for Collingwood. The losing margin to Brisbane was 50 points - 41 worse than the previous year - and it could have been more. The Magpies were interested in the two biggest fish in the transfer pool - Nathan Brown and Nick Stevens - but failed to land either of them. Then experienced players suffered injuries during the pre-season. And in the back of everyone's mind at McHale Stadium was the knowledge that their list was still honest, but far from the most talented in the league. So a lot had to go right for the `Pies to maintain their outstanding results of the last two seasons.
The Article - AAP - 7Sports - 10May03
Saints be praised
St Kilda's stunning rise to the top of the AFL ladder in 2004 was not a case of the AFL rewarding mediocrity but of a club using the draft and trade period to its best possible advantage. That is the view of AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, who has dismissed as 'nonsensical' the argument that it is now better for clubs to finish 16th in the AFL than ninth in order to re-build their list by accessing the best possible draft picks.
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 11May03
Riewoldt stands tall
St Kilda and its coach have been seeking to develop leaders and now Nick Riewoldt has emerged. Not only is he an inevitable captain of his club, the young Saint - in tackling the AFL over the planned extension of its testing for non-performance-enhancing drugs - has revealed himself as a leader within the football community and beyond. In criticising the AFL's plan for a 365-day-a-year drug program, Riewoldt has taken a considerable risk. He has had the temerity to question the game's powerbrokers. He has put himself at odds with his seniors, such as Michael Voss. And, perhaps more personally relevant, he has left himself open to idle assumptions about his own lifestyle. While such knee-jerk assessments do a young footballer of independent mind a serious injustice, they also highlight the courage of his stand. Riewoldt's voice in the wilderness compels the question: why the deafening silence from his fellows and from the AFL Players Association on the matter? Its CEO, Rob Kerr, has acknowledged that there are issues associated with such a draconian measure but, publicly at least, has offered nothing else. This is a test for the association, once headed by Andrew Demetriou but which now ought be prepared to confront him.
The Article - Tim Lane - TheAge - 12May03
Players dig in against drug-testing proposal
Players are preparing to fight the AFL over the proposed code that leaves them exposed to testing for 'party drugs' anywhere, any time. Anger at out-of-season testing for illegal drugs is growing before a key meeting between the league and club chief executives on Thursday. Yesterday, the AFL Players Association declared it would not lie down on the issue. The union has launched a comprehensive player survey as part of its bid to sway the league. Players including St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt, Carlton's Brendan Fevola and Richmond's Nathan Brown say holiday testing for non-performance-enhancing drugs would breach civil liberties.
The Article - Shaun Phillips - HeraldSun - 15May03
Thomas hits his marks
Grant Thomas is slowly winning admiration. No coach in my memory has been subjected to a more concerted and vitriolic attack by sections of the media and general football community. The foundation for the scepticism was his ascendancy to the top job and that he was considered an outsider. Thomas arrived on the scene via a circuitous route. He wasn't a product of the system. A lot of people in and out of the game didn't feel he'd done the hard yards needed to claim one of the 16 most coveted jobs in the AFL. Although he had coached successfully in the country he'd been out of the mainstream for a long time. Added to that was the fact he and club president Rod Butterss are friends and had together made a pact to build St Kilda into an AFL power.
The Article - Tim Watson - TheAge - 12May03
Saints still have to learn: Breen
Brisbane Lions are still the AFL benchmark, but a St Kilda premiership would be a fitting reward, according to 1966 premiership hero Barry Breen. Breen, whose wobbly point defeated Collingwood and ensured St Kilda's only premiership, yesterday expanded on similarities and differences between the current Saints and the 1966 team. "I'm certainly not going to come out like (Kevin) Cowboy (Neale) did and go and say this is the best ever. No way known am I going to say that. These guys still have to earn that title and they haven't yet," he said . . . He was effusive in his praise for the work of club president Rod Butterss and chief executive Brian Waldron, with the club enjoying a stronger financial base and having captured almost 30,000 members this year, and for coach Grant Thomas. "It looks as though they really have set the club up for what promises to be a next era for St Kilda. The structure that they're putting in place I'm sure will certainly go a long way in ensuring the St Kilda Football Club is successful for a long time."
The Article - Melissa Ryan - TheAge - 12May03
Where losers win
. . . Finishing bottom or second bottom is reward enough. The 16th team gets first pick in both the national and pre-season drafts. St Kilda managed to snare the uncontracted Aaron Hamill and Fraser Gehrig cheaply, through shrewd use of pole position in the 2000 pre-season draft. Jade Rawlings and Nick Stevens fell into the laps of the Bulldogs and Blues in last year's pre-season . . .
The Article - Jake Niall - TheAge - 12May03
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