2005 First Preliminary Final
Pre-game Articles - Page 2
St Kilda plan for return of Hall the danger man
St Kilda are preparing for a strong performance from Barry Hall in Friday night's preliminary final despite the criticism the Swans captain has received after two disappointing games. Saints coach Grant Thomas said he did not necessarily expect Hall to be motivated by the damning reviews of his efforts in the finals against West Coast and Geelong, in which he had just two scoring shots. Rather, he said Hall had not played as badly as some have suggested. "If it was as simple as getting some adverse media attention [to inspire improvement], we'd all be heroes," Thomas said. "But Barry is a guy that tries very, very hard. I've watched him closely and he's tried very hard, and he's been able to open up other guys to have a more significant influence on the game and taken a lot of attention. So I wouldn't mark him anywhere near as harshly as he's been marked."
The Article Richard Hinds/smh.com.au/14Sept05
Leaping Leo must take steam out of Gehrig Michael Cowley/smh.com.au/14Sept05
Barry works out how to derail G-Train
St Kilda's G-Train is the most imposing figure in the game. Not only is he 195 centimetres, and 101 kilograms, he is lightning fast, is the leading goalkicker in the competition, intimidates most of his direct opponents, and can be downright scary just to look at. And when Gehrig kicks a bag of goals, the Saints almost always win. Enter Barry. His task this Friday night is simple. Stop the G-Train. It doesn't matter how he does it, but Gehrig has to be stopped if the Swans want to win the preliminary final at the MCG . . . "Fraser is the toughest match-up I have. He certainly gave me the most trouble this year. I've learnt a few things over the last couple of years in certain areas which I need to focus on. There's a few things I need to change and work at and hopefully improve on."
The Article Michael Cowley/TheAge/14Sept05
Goodes: We've done hard yards, we can beat Saints Nikki Tugwell/HeraldSun/14Sept05
Swans surface fresh after sea-water recovery Jenny McAsey/TheAustralian/14Sept05
Barry wary of St Kilda's deck
The Swans are not calling the Saints lying sinners, but won't be convinced Aaron Hamill and Justin Koschitzke are out of the side until the preliminary final teams are announced tomorrow night. While St Kilda coach Grant Thomas has seemingly laid his cards on the table and announced the players are injured and won't line up at the MCG, Sydney full-back Leo Barry reckons the poker game might still be on. "We will prepare as though they are playing and see on the weekend whether they are not," Barry said yesterday. "I don't know what (St Kilda) are thinking. Hopefully they don't play, although they certainly have a lot of other good players to bring in. But they are very experienced players and always pose a threat to our team."
The Article Jenny McAsey/TheAustralian/14Sept05
Swans go to the videotape
Sydney spent yesterday afternoon trawling through videos of St Kilda's midfield ahead of Friday night's preliminary final at the MCG. The Swans were trying to find the chinks in one of game's best midfields. "Our focus was on the Saints' performance against the Crows," Swans ruckman Darren Jolly said . . . Jolly was promoted off the rookie list at Melbourne in 2001, and played 48 games. He's no stranger to the MCG and says he can't wait for Friday night's match against the Saints. "The MCG presents no fear for us. We're happy to play anywhere," he said. "We're fit and ready to take the next step." Jolly said Barry Hall was set to play a major role against his former club after two quiet finals efforts.
The Article Jim Wilson/TheAustralian/14Sept05
St Kilda adopts no nonsense approach
. . . Hamill could only muster a light jog at a limited St Kilda straining session yesterday. "We could have thrown everything at it and not backed our people and hoped for an enormous amount of luck but we are not that sort of club," Thomas said. "We are trying to hold our nerve and make smart decisions and pick fit players. It is not fair on him, it is not fair on the team and it is against what our guiding principles are. Training services are there to do a job and they have completed their assessments and they don't think it would be wise to put either Koschitzke or Hamill up for selection this week." Koschitzke's unavailability is less of a surprise, as he was never considered more than a 50-50 chance of recovering from a quadriceps tear to face the Swans. Xavier Clarke has already been ruled out for the season after re-injuring his hamstring on the weekend. Thomas said the news was more positive for Brendon Goddard and key defenders Matthew Maguire and Max Hudghton.
The Article Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/13Sept05
Sellout final no guarantee of live telecast
Fewer than 15,000 tickets remain for Friday night's preliminary final between St Kilda and Sydney but even if all sell before the game, there is no guarantee the match will be televised live into Melbourne. At close of business last night, there were only 14,685 public tickets remaining for sale and the MCG capacity is expected to reach about 85,000 for the final. However, with the league uncertain just how many AFL and Melbourne Cricket Club members are likely to attend to the match, it may not be prepared to make the call on a live telecast. Last night, Ben Buckley the AFL's broadcasting, strategy and major projects manager, said the league would consider a live broadcast if the match was sold out but it could not be guaranteed. "If the game was sold out, that would be something we would review at the time. It is unlikely, unless it is a sellout early in the week," he said.
The Article Karen Lyon/TheAge/13Sept05
Full MCG, that's final Shaun Phillips/HeraldSun/13Sept05
Saint Hamill rested for final gamble
St KIlda has decided to rest rather than risk tough forward Aaron Hamill in a bold gamble to get him back for next week's Grand Final. The Saints yesterday ruled Hamill out of Friday night's preliminary final against Sydney, hoping a win will buy precious time for him to recover from another calf muscle injury. It's a similar roll-the-dice policy with versatile key position player Justin Koschitzke to preserve his quadricep muscle for that last Saturday in September.
The Article Bruce Matthews/HeraldSun/13Sept05
The value of captaincy double-sided coin Patrick Smith/TheAustralian/12Sept05
Saints to reprise Max'nMatt show Greg Denham/TheAustralian/14Sept05
Hamill and Koschitzke out of preliminary final
St Kilda stars Aaron Hamill and Justin Koschitzke have both been ruled out of Friday night's preliminary-final clash with Sydney at the MCG. And there is some doubt about Koschitzke being available for the grand final should the Saints make it through this week . . . St Kilda coach Grant Thomas said last night Matt Maguire and Max Hudghton were both 'on track and we expect them to play' on Friday night. While the Saints' main training session for the week is today at the MCG, a group of players went to Dendy Park, Brighton, for a light run yesterday.
The Article Michael Gleeson/TheAge/13Sept05
Saint Hamill rested for final gamble Bruce Matthews/HeraldSun/13Sept05
Goodes: We've done hard yards, we can beat Saints
Adam Goodes says Sydney is better placed to reach this year's Grand Final than in 2003. The Brownlow medallist also revealed last year's humiliating 51-point semi-final loss to St Kilda was incentive for the Swans leading into this season, but retribution was not their motivation on Friday night. In Paul Roos' first full season as coach the injury-ravaged Swans defied expectation by pushing eventual premiers Brisbane Lions for three quarters in the 2003 preliminary final. Goodes says the Swans' greater finals experience and superior fitness to 2003 provides them a better chance to win a preliminary final, this time against St Kilda.
The Article Nikki Tugwell/HeraldSun/13Sept05
Roos reveals Davis goal was rehearsed Nikki Tugwell/HeraldSun/13Sept05
Swans must conquer MCG hoodoo
Sydney will have to overcome one of the longest hoodoos in Australian sport if it is to reach this year's AFL grand final . . . Incredibly the Swans have not won a final at the MCG since 1936 - nearly 70 years ago - which to put in context was some three years BEFORE the start of World War II.
The Article Paul Gough/AFL/saints.com.au/11Sept05
"It is one thing to get some players back from injury, it is another to play with too many half-fit men against a battle-hardened side. Sydney is a pretty well-tuned and hard at it, and St Kilda would not want to change the balance of its side too much". Kevin Sheedy
Luck and smart choices drive Saints' premiership push
In all my time in football I've come to believe a couple of things to be true. The harder and smarter you work, the luckier you get. But also, there will always be random good and bad luck that plays a critical role in success and failure . . . But for Saints coach Grant Thomas, smart decisions aren't limited to player acquisition. It's easy to follow the standard line, but only occasionally will a coach be a trendsetter. Grant (Thomas) is one who is, and I've become a great fan of how he has managed his group. He decided to go away from the traditional leadership model and rotate the captaincy each season. In the past four years we've seen Robert Harvey, Hamill, Lenny Hayes and now Riewoldt lead the club. There was much conjecture but if you look at the St Kilda team you see four players leading as you'd expect your captain to lead . . . Thomas has also assumed a more hands-on management role, taking responsibility for salary cap co-ordination and negotiation of player contracts. I'm amazed to hear AFL coaches say these jobs are handled by another part of the administration . . . But Grant's step of taking the negotiation away from a middle man . . . is a model I believe other clubs will follow.
The Article Leigh Matthews/CourierMail/10Sept05
Koschitzke, Hamill to miss
St Kilda has already confirmed that star big men Aaron Hamill and Justin Koschitzke will not play in Friday night's preliminary final against Sydney at the MCG. In a bid to clear speculation at the start of what will be an intense week for the only remaining Victorian club in the finals, Saints football manager Matt Rendell confirmed on Melbourne radio station SEN 1116 on Monday morning that the key pair will not play, but should be right to play in the Grand Final, should the Saints beat the Swans. "We'll be putting a pretty good team out there, we've got a couple coming back and we're going to lose a couple," Rendell said.
The Article Ashley Browne and Jennifer Witham/Sportal/saints.com.au/12Sept05
Saints lose two for Friday AAP/TheAustralian/12Sept05
Saints lose Hamill, Koschitzke ABCSport/12Sept05
Hamill and Koschitzke ruled out AAP/TheAge/12Sept05
Hall's numbers don't faze Swans
Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos is completely unconcerned about the form of spearhead Barry Hall, even though the club's acting skipper has kicked just two goals in the Swans' two September matches thus far . . . But Roos says there were several reasons why Hall - who booted 72 goals during the home-and-away season to narrowly miss winning the Coleman Medal - hadn't played that well during the finals, failing to have a shot on goal against Geelong. The Swans won for the first time this season without Hall managing a major, mainly thanks to the heroics of goalsneak Nick Davis who snagged the final four goals of the game, including the match-winner in the dying seconds.
The Article Scott Spits/Sportal/saints.com.au/11Sept05
Sydney 'better' than '96 - ex-player Emma Quayle/TheAge/12Sept05
Congrats, great escape, super stuff - you were terrible Richard Hinds/smh.com.au/12Sept05
Ugly ducklings to make up for the sin of St Kilda
. . . It was Ball who got that crucial tap down to Nick Davis in the dying seconds of the Geelong semi-final on Friday, and who announced to his teammates during the week that he will retire at the end of the season. He recalled how St Kilda were hot favourites to beat the Swans in round 11, after winning their first 10 games of the 2004 season. "They are a really good team with good forwards and a great midfield," Ball said. "But they were also a good team last year when they came to Sydney having won 10 in a row, and we were able to get the win. That may have been last year but you can still draw confidence from that performance, knowing that we can shut down their better players."
The Article Michael Cowley/smh.com.au/12Sept05
Roos brings Swans back to earth as Saints loom Michael Cowley and Richard Hinds/smh.com.au/12Sept05
Coach of the year?
Now for something completely different
. . . Even Roos, however, hasn't had to wear the sort of criticism Thomas copped when he took over the Saints mid-2001. First, it was the circumstances of his appointment. Then his different approach to the management of his team. Then the rotating captaincy. And so on. He has refused to bite back, stuck to his guns, and has St Kilda within touching distance of its second flag. Thomas must surely be tempted to deliver a Mark Williams-style "you were wrong" from the podium should the Saints win it. The only trouble being he'd need five minutes to list the names. We're going to have two fresh grand finalists for the first time in five years. And two first-time grand final coaches for the first time since Denis Pagan and Rodney Eade slugged it out in 1996. Whatever happens, it's at least going to feel pretty different.
The Article Rohan Connolly/TheAge/12Sept05
Punters back Saints
St Kilda is a hot favourite to beat the Sydney Swans in Friday night's preliminary final and its premiership odds continued to tumble. As the Saints enjoyed a weekend off, its odds for the flag were slashed from as much as $2.20 into $2 with TAB Sportsbet and Centrebet. With the luxury of an MCG preliminary final, the Saints are $1.40 to beat the Swans and advance to the Grand Final. "The early trend says the Saints will shorten. We took a $5000 bet on them at the $1.42," Centrebet's Gerard Daffy said. TAB Sportsbet has the Saints even shorter at $1.33 with the Swans at $3.
The Article Adam Hamilton/HeraldSun/12Sept05
Saints v Swans - a preliminary view Lyall Johnson/TheAge/12Sept05
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