Archives - 2006 POST SEASON

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UP & COMING MIDFIELDERS WE ARE HUGELY BETTER OFF by 'saintsRrising' When you looked outside our best 22 in 2006 . . . we only basically had McQualter as a genuine up and coming midfielder . . . despite being faced with the departure in the short term of Harvey, Thommo, Powell and Frankie!!! Yes there was McGough . . . but despite being a ball magnet his dreadful skills and lack of pace made him a poor pick up for football 2006/2007 style. Murray may have had some midfield games in the VFL but he was never going to be an AFL level midfielder. So 4 looming losses, but only 1 real replacement option . . . 2 IF you included McGough.! Whereas in 2007 we now have a pool of them: McQualter Armitage Howard Jones Eddy Geary (Attard I have classed as a flanker) Plus there is now also Birss . . . with a bit more developed than the above group and so can be considered at least as a fringe player. Now not all of these guys will most likely make it . . . but I am now a lot more confident that we have a reasonably adequate pool of cattle to develop into replacements for replacements for Banger, Thommo, Powell and Frankie. 2008 First 22 replacements 4 players with 7 possible replacements . . . a much improved position Banger : Armitage Powell and Thommo : McQualter, Eddy or Birss Frankie : Howard, Jones or Geary To be in the midfield with: Hayes Ball Dal Santo BJ X Joey Baker Which gives you the Terrific Ten midfield group that you need to be competitive with in modern AFL. . . . and maybe Fiora. . . . and who knows maybe even The Blake . . . as he must have been kept on the list for some reason and whose role would seem to be that of an outside running midfielder (though I doubt it . . . most likely will just add depth for two years). The Post 'saintsRrising' saintsational.com

TRAINING Friday 1st Click to enlarge

'SaintBot' Friday Training Report Dec 1
When we got there there were three different groups. Craig Starchvich was running a session of short sprints. John Barker was taking the rehab boys (Fergus Watts, Matt Maguire, Lenny Hayes, Michael Gardiner, Matthew Ferguson and Cathal Corr) through some moving leg stretches. Ross and Anthony were running a kind of session with about 6 lines where one player rolled/handball/kicked the ball and the first person in the line took the ball and handballed it back. Missing players were Hamill, Hudghton, R.Clarke and the draftees. While the rehab continued their moving leg stretches, Starchvich's group did some agility and Ross/Rock's group did a small sprint racing comp not dis-similar to beach flag. Two player lied down on the goal line and then when the whistle blew they would jump up and sprint to the end of the goal square. All the boys in this group were very vocal and seemed like they were having a good time. Tom Roach, Steven Baker and Andrew McQualter were my standouts at this.
Full Report with images 'SaintBot' saintsational.com/01Dec06

'spiral2' Friday Training Report Dec 1
. . . I got there a bit late but saw around an hours worth. At first there were several different groups, one with quite a lot of youngsters doing short runs etc, a rehab group and the main group. Quite alot of agility work by the main group, cone running, quicks stops and change of direction, ladder stepping. Short sprints from lying down position, kneeling etc. No clear champs at this, though bakes was pretty happy when he won one. Fair bit of simple skills work, short kicking, handball. Some tap out drills with 3-4 guys and one tall - throw the ball up and tap to moving players - quite a few wayward taps with no contest. Maybe it's harder than it looks. Skills pretty good overall, lots of clean hands, a few fumbling (Gwilt was one I noticed, not especially slick down low, much better at eye level). Rock gave Raymond a bit of one on one help with half volley pick up technique. Raymond also thanked him later - I think for a kicking tip that was working for him . . . Ross seemed tougher on the players, more direction, more structure than I had noticed at GT trainings.
The Full Report 'spiral2' saintsational.com/01Dec06

OTHER PRE-SEASON TRAINING REPORTS
• Training 24 Nov 'joffaboy' saintsational.com/24Nov06
• First official training session 'snoopygirl' saintsational.com/15Nov06

SEN Nick Riewoldt Transcript
On St Kilda: New era and fresh ideas to learn and practice, new energies around;
On Captaincy: Would grab it with both hands, being captain taught him a lot and feels he would be better equipped, Ross Lyon will talk about it with players when time is right;
On Ruck: Clarke - Nick doesn't know a lot about him - Ross values ruckman highly and would be a benefit. But all team excited about Michael Gardiner.
On Ross Lyon: Differences, still only one month into pre-season - most of the work done by training and fitness staff - waiting till game day to really ascertain differences.
SEN 'Hen House' Transcript by 'saintbrat' saintsational.com
Video clips - Banger and Ball 'OLB' saintsational.com

Identified weakness
Rucks has certainly loomed as the area most outsiders saw the Saints as being weakest if you go by the recruitment policies of our new coaching regime. We have gone from a ruck dept of Acland, Blake, Kossi(inj), Brooks and Rix(1st year) to the 2007 model of: Gardner, Clarke, Rix, Brooks, Blake, Kossi (maybe) and then youngsters - Van Rheenan and Wall. Pace was the other obvious identified flaw in our structure and every effort has gone into addressing that area as well. The type of recruiting suggests that Ross Lyon believes that these were the only areas where we could really be exposed (injuries aside) - so he must believe that we are still on the cusp of a shot at the flag. Physical Toughness is another area I believe that was identified as an achilles heal for us - Anthony Rock will be given the task of toughening up the midfield group and some of the recruiting has also attempted to address this area. There has been a combination of quick fix and future planning in the recruiting - trying not to take a step backward, whilst building some solid structures for the future. Interesting indeed - let's hope that the Starcevich / Lyon team can get us out on the park and into contention again. Hopefully we will all sing the praises of our coaching and recruiting philosophies come September 2007.
The Post 'yipper' saintsational.com
In's And Out's - Are We A Better Team / Club?? 'locoplayaz' saintsational.com

Dreamtime game grows into indigenous round
. . . The AFL's general manager of marketing, communications and public affairs, Colin McLeod, said after the success of last season's game, other clubs had sought to be involved. He said the week's schedule would be settled early in the new year but that there would be an emphasis on promoting awareness of the various issues facing indigenous people and communities. The plan comes after 15 young Aboriginal players were chosen by clubs at last month's national draft. Last year, 1000 people participating in the annual Long Walk walked across the William Barak Bridge into the MCG as part of the pre-match entertainment, before the Tigers won the game by two points and first-gamer Dean Polo won the Yiooken award as best on ground . . . The indigenous round will become the league's seventh themed round. Round three is rivalry round, round five recognises Anzac Day and round 17, the heritage round, has a 1970s theme. The AFL has decided to make its women's round (round 19) distinct from the round seven Mother's Day round, and will push its "respect and responsibility" message. "We thought Mother's Day had its own vitality, and that it was worth recognising the other many different roles that women play in football," McLeod said.
The Article Emma Quayle/TheAgeRealFooty/16Dec06

The Eagle who crash-landed
. . . Cousins' reputation as the dark prince of West Australian football was confirmed in May last year when he and ruckman Michael Gardiner became embroiled in the investigation into a January shooting between bikie gang rivals at a popular Perth nightclub. Cousins and Gardiner both came under criticism from WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan for choosing not to answer certain questions about alleged phone conversations they had with one of two men charged over the shooting incident . . . Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett said Cousins and Gardiner were on their last chances . . . The Eagles were quick to punish forward Quinten Lynch after a drink-driving escapade in 2004 (he was fined and suspended) and to sack ruckman and Cousins' friend Michael Gardiner after he smashed his car into two parked cars while over the legal limit earlier this year. The "trial by media" exoneration wasn't extended to the pair . . . In Perth football circles, the view is that the Eagles moved on Lynch and Gardiner because they weren't of Cousins' calibre, and that Cousins is an untouchable . . . Says a media insider: "They attempt to paint anyone who goes against them as coming from the lunatic fringe" . . . The Eagles' tentacles spread wide in the west. After Gardiner's car crash in July, Nisbett suggested Gardiner was suffering from depression. Gardiner had never spoken of depression and his family were angry at the presumption. Duffield rang an ethicist to seek views on whether the club was out of line. The ethicist "tried to hose the story down" and then one hour later the Eagles were aware of Duffield's investigations.
The Article Peter Wilmoth/TheAgeRealFooty/17Dec06

Foxtel lifts bid for league rights
The first significant indication that Foxtel would return to cover AFL next season occurred yesterday when the pay television network unofficially lifted its bid for four weekly games next year. In a move that has been strongly encouraged by the AFL, fearful at the damage community television would inflict upon its Sydney and Brisbane markets, key Foxtel executives are believed to have indicated to Channels Seven and Ten that they would be prepared to pay at least $50 million a year for the right to broadcast half the AFL's home-and-away fixtures. Channels Seven and Ten, in turn, are believed to be prepared to drop their asking price from $60 million to $55 million, creating a scenario in which a deal now appears highly likely. Foxtel's change of heart - the AFL's five-year pay TV broadcast partner has insisted it would not pay more than $45 million for four AFL weekly fixtures - has come about following a series of talks believed to have involved AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou.
The Article Caroline Wilson/TheAgeRealFooty/15Dec06
TV rights deal looms Damian Barrett/HeraldSun/16Dec06
Austar splits on AFL deal Mark Day/TheAgeRealFooty/14Dec06
Pitch battle between sports and media over images Jacquelin Magnay/SydneyMorningHerald/16Dec06

AFL announces changes
The AFL today announced changes to its Executive structure and a realignment of responsibilities following a review of positions in the wake of Ben Buckley's departure. AFL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou said the new broadcasting agreement and the implementation of the Next Generation strategy for the long-term security of the game provided the key impetus to expand the management team and alter several key Executive responsibilities. "The AFL has had many significant successes in 2006 in a really busy year but we also need to focus on the future and enacting the Next Generation strategy. We need to hit the ground running in 2007," Mr Demetriou said.
Andrew Demetriou - AFL Chief Executive Officer
Gillon McLachlan - Chief Broadcasting and Commercial Officer
(Vacant) Gen. Manager, Corporate Development and Industry Relations
Andrew Catterall - Gen. Manager, Strategy and Club Support
Ian Anderson - Chief Financial Officer
Colin McLeod - Gen. Manager Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs
David Matthews - Gen. Manager National and International Development
Adrian Anderson, Gen. Manager of Football Operations
Andrew Dillon, Gen. Manager of Legal and Business Affairs
Dale Holmes, Gen. Manager of AFL NSW and ACT
Tony Peek, Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer
The Article afl.com.au/14Dec06
McLachlan scores AFL promotion AAP/TheAge/14Dec06
Musical chairs at headquarters TheAustralian/14Dec06
AFL re-shuffle suggests growing international awareness Brett Northey/worldfootynews.com/15Dec06

2007 Channel 7 Friday night commentary team
Channel 7 has locked in next year's Friday night commentary team. It is believed David Schwarz will join Bruce McAvaney, Dennis Cometti and Tim Watson in the box.

Old Saint Matthew may answer Lyon's prayers
New St Kilda ruckman Matthew Clarke has been around the AFL long enough to anticipate the doubters and cynics. He's aware of the outcry from a section of Saints fans, perplexed how a young Cain Ackland can be despatched and replaced by a retired ruckman from another state. "That's understandable. They might see it as a short-term solution. And in some regard, I guess it is. But all I can say is that I'll endeavour to give it everything and, hopefully, it will pan out," Clarke said yesterday. "The flipside is that they haven't had to give away too much to get me. If they were trading away early draft picks or something of that nature for an elderly ruckman, you might consider it to be an error."
The Article Bruce Matthews/TheAgeRealFooty/14Dec06
Clarke: Crows Ruck stocks in good shape Sportal/14Dec06
Clarke's second coming Sportal/14Dec06
Clarke talks up Crows talls Paul Gough/Sportal/AFL/saints.com.au/14Dec06
Matthew Clarke Training Pic George Salpigtidis - HeraldSun

Banging on with Robert Harvey
Pre season training has been going for about a month, and I love it. Even though I'm entering my 20th season of football, I haven't lost any passion for the training side of it. I really enjoy the pre season. I'm definitely not regretting my decision to play on. It's not so much the training that worries me. It's more physically you just worry about getting through games. You hope your body holds up for another year. They are the things you consider when you think about going on for another year, that you can still compete and the body will hold up. Training has been pretty hard. I've been doing most of it. It's easing off a bit now, but the running has been hard. As I've got older I've wanted to do a fair bit of running before Christmas just to try and get a base for the year, and after Christmas I'll back it off. That's been the plan for the last few years, and again this year.
The Article FrankstonStandardLeader 11Dec06 (via 'Davo027' saintsational.com)

Club Supporter Bases
Interestingly St Kilda's supporter base had grown the most out of all the clubs since 2003 . . . over 100,000 more people are estimated to support the Saints compared to the same data from 2003. St Kilda is about middle of the road in terms of proportion of supporters who are members . . . we need to lift that figure of 8.50% up to around 11% to have 40,000 members.
The Post '2007' saintsational.com

. . . This data is important as when the current TV contracts expire the "16 club" deal is no longer set in concrete. It is inevitable that the forces of economic rationalism which seem to drive everything these days will come into play and the question . . . How can a competition the purports to be NATIONAL justify 10 teams in Melbourne?" Whether it is 10 years away or 50 years away it is inevitable that those 10 teams will be culled, merged or relocated till they arrive at an "acceptable" number . . .

'2007's Club Supporter Bases Thread 'Enrico_Misso' saintsational

St Kilda Saints supporters are:
10% more likely to have a university qualification or to be at university
16% more likely to wear clothes that will get them noticed
14% more likely to not buy genetically modified food if they can help it
25% more likely to prefer the bright lights and big cities when they travel
22% more likely to agree that if they didn't have to carry a mobile phone for work they wouldn't have one at all
11% more likely to look for new experiences every day
22% more likely to always read the business section of the newspaper
6% more likely to enjoy food from all over the world
Roy Morgan Page
Roy Morgan Graph

New Saints get to work
By their own admission there were some collective first-day nerves, but St Kilda's newest recruits, David Armitage, Brad Howard and Jarryd Allen, have made it through their first training run at Moorabbin in fine shape. Queenslanders Armitage and Howard, who came to the Saints with picks nine and 27 respectively at the 2006 NAB AFL Draft, arrived in Melbourne on Sunday night to hook up with lanky former Calder Cannon utility Allen (No.59). "We're pretty stoked to be out amongst some of the stars of the game," said Armitage, a hard-at-it inside midfielder from Morningside.
The Article Angus Morgan/Sportal/saints.com.au/04Dec06
Feedback on Ross Lyon 'Mooksy' et al saintsational.com

Troy Schwarze new playing coach at Sorrento
Garry Woodhams, the President of the Sorrento Sharks spoke to westofmoorabbin.com this morning and confirmed that Troy Schwarze will be the new playing coach of the Sharks senior list in 2007. Garry said that the club interviewed a number of high profile players and took their time making a decision to ensure they acquired the best candidate and are pleased with their selection. Troy will move down to Sorrento with his girlfriend and is intending to get involved with the community generally, as did Grant Thomas in 1986 when he went to Warrnambool as playing coach. Garry said that Troy has maintained a friendship with GT and it is possible that he may provide Troy with some support as a mentor if required, but it would be unofficial. This is ironic considering the opinion of many St Kilda supporters who believe that GT didn't provide Troy with sufficient game time to support the development of his career. Garry said that if a larger group of St Kilda supporters were interested in going down to see Troy in his new role, the club would put out the welcome mat and provide entry and a 'Presidents Lunch'.
westofmoorabbin.com/15Dec06
Troy Schwarze - new coach of Sorrento 'BanGerS' et al saintsational.com

Aaron Hamil's baby joy
One of the AFL's "hottest" bachelors, St Kilda strongman Aaron Hamill, is expecting an early Christmas present - a baby. The St Kilda player's girlfriend, South African-born Roxanne Amatruda, said at her Brighton home: "We're both very happy." She will give birth by caesarean section tomorrow week. "There's not long to go now," she said. Ms Amatruda said Hamill had attended the scans and been supportive throughout the pregnancy. While she would not reveal the child's gender, she said they had settled on a name.
The Article Carly Crawford/HeraldSunSunday/10Dec06

Dal: The boys' room Natalie Craig/TheAge/14Dec06
Dal getting the 'treatment' Pic: Mario Borg - The Age

Irish stars may face match charges
The Australians have copped all the flak for the fiery opening to last month's International Rules Series in Dublin, but now the Irish players are in strife. It's expected two Australians and two Irishmen will face charges next week after a review of incidents in the game. At least two Australians -- Ryan O'Keefe and Campbell Brown -- were the victims of unfair play. O'Keefe was head-butted and Brown was deliberately kneed. A bloodied O'Keefe responded to the head-butt by throwing punches. Irishman Graham Geraghty could also be in trouble for an incident he was involved in before being knocked out in a tackle by Danyle Pearce.
The Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/15Dec06

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