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2007 Round 18 Post-game Articles - Western Bulldogs vs St Kilda
There are fairy tales in all sports. Yet occasionally, something happens which is far more difficult to believe. So it proved last night at Telstra Dome when Wayde Skipper, one of the least celebrated players in the AFL, climbed high to take the mark that has kept alive the Western Bulldogs' season. There are other times in sport when someone does something quite exceptional and no one is surprised. So it proved at Telstra Dome when Nick Riewoldt, perhaps the most celebrated Saint of all, threw himself at the dying remnants of a Jason Gram torpedo punt and kicked the point to keep alive St Kilda's season. A handful of seconds later, the final siren blew, leaving the score deadlocked and players with that peculiar feeling of numbness that comes only when no one has won and no one has lost. As a result of this draw, both teams are in the top-eight for now. Results over the rest of this round may or may not change that but either way, the September dreams of both clubs survive for another week. St Kilda was entitled to believe it has this game in its keeping, when it opened a 23-point lead midway through the last quarter. Given the defensive nature of the game and the frustrations the Bulldogs were experiencing in front of goal, it appeared a match-winning lead . . . Of more immediate concern to St Kilda is the health and welfare of Steven Baker, who was assisted from the field late in the final quarter after his rib cage wore the full brunt of a frightful collision with Luke Darcy. If he has escaped damage to one or more ribs - not to mention the internal organs they protect - it will be every bit as miraculous as Skipper's mark. The Article Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/04Aug07 We had our chances: Gilbert It was a despondent St Kilda dressing room on Friday night after the side that had won five of its previous six matches blew a chance to make it six from seven. The Saints salvaged two premiership points after drawing their contest with the Western Bulldogs - thanks largely to Jason Gram's bold torpedo punt and Nick Riewoldt's courageous grab in the dying seconds - but the playing group felt as though they had let an opportunity slip. A rushed behind from Riewoldt's kick levelled the scores at 12.13 (85), with players from both sides left to think 'what might have been?' when the final siren rang just five seconds later. Saints defender Sam Gilbert, who led his team's possession count with 23 touches and provided plenty of run and carry from defence, believed St Kilda should have put the Bulldogs away early in the final term. "It felt like we had a lot of opportunities for goal," Gilbert said. "It felt like we were always having a shot and it just seemed we weren't sinking them and then they'd go down the other end and finish it off, so that kind of hurt a little bit. We just missed our shots for goal. We're all pretty shattered but we'll all be coming out next week for another good game." Gilbert said his team's inability to stop the Bulldogs' run late in the match proved critical. "They're a rebounding side and they did that pretty well today, and we probably should have held that off a little bit more," he said. The Article Ben Broad/saints.com.au/04Aug07 Saint rues draw with Bulldogs There were many things swirling through Sam Fisher's mind, an hour after St Kilda finished level on goals with the Western Bulldogs, level on points with the Western Bulldogs, and in virtually the same spot on the ladder as them . . . "The final few seconds were a shame. But really, we should never have let Skipper mark on the goal line," said Fisher, after playing in what he believed was his first-ever drawn game. "We should have got that through for a point, you can't just let a guy come in and mark it right in front of you. It's something we needed to do better but, in saying that, we were pretty undisciplined right through the game. We gave away a few 50-metre penalties and a few free kicks off the ball. We weren't as intense as we needed to be early, and that's what probably cost us. It probably takes a little bit of time to gel, when you have players coming back in, but we feel that it should have happened a lot more quickly," he said. "We should be better together, by now. There have been a few benefits in the time those guys have had out - Jason Gram's been great all year and it's given an opportunity to guys like Sam Gilbert, who has really stepped up and who played well again tonight, I thought. Those things have happened, and it's good to get those good players back in, but we need to get better as a group. We need to just work in better together and make sure we don't get winning scores kicked against us. It's going to be important, from here." The Article Emma Quayle/RealFooty/05Aug07 Riewoldt draws on positives St Kilda co-captain Nick Riewoldt believes finals aspirations are still on track despite blowing a four-goal lead to draw with the Bulldogs . . . Riewoldt, who was best on ground with 20 possessions, 13 marks and three goals, said the club faced a massive game against Sydney on Saturday night. "They're in a pretty similar position to us," Riewoldt said of the Swans. "We had a great hitout earlier in the year and we always seem to have great games with Sydney, so our attention and focus will turn pretty quickly to them. We'll analyse this game and take a lot of learnings out of it again and look forward to next week. Obviously it's disappointing. We should have had the game well under control and should never have been in that situation. Four goals up in the last quarter - you should win those games. We've been well aware we've been in finals contention but it hasn't been a focus. I don't think it rules us out or does much either way. We'll keep our focus pretty similar on what it has been." The Article Jackie Epstein/HeraldSun/05Aug07 Saints pay price for sins In draws, it's not alwasy easy to determine who you feel sorry for most. Was it Wade Skipper, who took the mark of his career with 1min.42s to play, a climbing, one-grab monster just off the goal square and his goal that gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead? A magic moment lost. Was it Nick Riewoldt, the Saints money-man, who's kick from 50m with seconds to play was stopped on the line, just centimetres from continuing a remarkable Sants surge to the finals? He could've been the man. Was it Justin Kochistzke, who held and then lost Riewoldt's kick in the dying moments? He could've been the man. Was it the battle-weary Chris Grant, who, with 58 seconds to play, tried to squeeze a kick up the Doug Hawkins wing, only to see it screw out of bounds on the full. Oh Granty. Was it Kosi again, at the 25th minute of extraordinary last quarter, who missed from 40m, pushing a simple drop punt to the left? Oh Kosi. Was it Stevey Baker, whose unquestioned bravery led him to being helped from the ground after backing into a charging Luke Darcy at the 24th minute? He made the spoil . . . Was it the umpires at the end, who were booed as they left the field, and who probably had too much say in a ripper contest? Bad luck. Was it the Doggies who learnt how to compete again, when bereft of confidence and community respect? Yes. Was it the Saints and Rossy Lyon, who had it, lost it, and ended up splitting a game that was theirs for the taking? No. They blew it, the Saints, and they know it. The Article Mark Robinson/HeraldSun/04Aug07 Lyon: Alive and kicking Not dead yet. That's the view of a bemused St Kilda coach Ross Lyon after his team's expensive draw against the Western Bulldogs last night. The Saints blew a 23-point lead midway through a low-scoring game before scrambling a behind three seconds from the siren to avert a defeat that would have all but killed their finals chances. "We've lost once since the break. That's the positive, and we've got four games to prove how good a team we are or aren't," Lyon said. St Kilda is on nine wins, eight losses and a draw, along with the Bulldogs. But it probably cannot drop another game as the Brisbane Lions, Sydney, Essendon and Adelaide vie for the last two spots in the eight. It is so tight that the Saints coach can't be bothered doing "what if" calculations. "To be frank, I haven't, because if you don't win it doesn't matter," Lyon said. "So our aim is to play good football, which creates the potential to win. If you don't do those things, it's all pie in the sky." A remarkably relaxed - or perhaps dazed - Lyon said he was still searching for a full four quarters of football from his players, despite having lost only one of their past seven matches. "I thought the first quarter the Bulldogs were really good, then I thought we controlled the middle two quarters," Lyon said. But down the stretch he admitted things went a bit awry. The Article Michael Horan/HeraldSun/04Aug07  RL POST MATCH INTERVIEW Sportal
R18 Player Reviews Gram - Played his best game for a while. Ran well and hurt the Dogs with good disposal. 7/10 X.Clarke - Also played his best game for a while. Was very smooth in traffic and used it beautifully. Tackling was excellent. 7/10 L.Fisher - I hardly noticed him but he ended with 20 disposals and 10 marks. Zero hurt factor though and was killed by Higgins on the lead. 5/10 Hayes - Was good in patches but overall had a quiet game. Disappointing, because we needed him to step up with Ball out. 6/10 Hudghton - Very good. Johnson still hurt us, but no player in the competition could have stopped him. Max was superb at ground level too. 7/10 Gehrig - Terrible game. He was never a real target up forward, but 0 disposals = terrible game. 1/10 Baker - Was gutsy, but ineffective. 4/10 Montagna - Quiet. Was better than last week, but wouldn't have worried the Dogs at all. 6/10 Riewoldt - Outstanding. Without him we would have lost by 5 goals. 8.5/10 Fiora - Very good. Was one of the few players who ran with the footy and he used it well. 7/10 Gilbert - Excellent game. His disposal improved and he really took the opposition on. Becoming a key player. 7.5/10 Birss - Very quiet. Had no impact on the game. 4/10 Koschitzke - He didn't pull down a few of those grabs in the goal square, but he played a decent game. Got a bit of the footy around the ground and bagged a couple of goals. 6.5/10 S.Fisher - Wasn't as prominent as in recent weeks, but his defensive game was very good and still provided some drive from defence. 6.5/10 Dal Santo - Had an impact, but wasn't as smooth as usual. We needed more from him. 5/10 Blake - Disposal was a worry, but his overhead marking and tackling was very good. 5.5/10 M.Clarke - Gave away the stupid 50m penalty early and looked a bit off for the rest of the game. He wasn't terrible in his small amount of game time, but not great either. 4/10 Maguire - He presented well in the forward line, but shanked his kick at goal and was never really needed on the ground. Ended with no impact. 3/10 Harvey - Was average. Seemed to lack confidence disposing of the footy and just wasn't his usual self. Started on the bench and might be a bit sick. 5/10 Jones - Embarrassing. His disposal is the worst in the league and he was always second to the ball. No certainty to be elevated next year. 1.5/10 Attard - Probably his worst game for the season. He can't keep up with players who read the game exceptionally well. Shouldn't be played against true gun players. 2.5/10 Milne - Had next to no opportunities but kicked one good goal and then hit the post. He was ordinary, but we had far worse players. 3.5/10 The Post 'mad saint guy' saintsational.com - More reviews in same Thread Lyon philosophical St Kilda coach Ross Lyon wasn't too despondent despite the Saints surrendering a four-goal lead in the final term to draw their match with the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome on Friday night. Lyon admitted riding an emotional roller-coaster in the final frantic 90 seconds of the match, in which the Bulldogs snatched the lead and then his side levelled the scores with less than 10 seconds remaining. However the first-year coach, whose team is locked in a battle for a finals berth, knows the importance of the two premiership points. "Gee, I thought our captain played a special game today," Lyon said. "Nick Riewoldt, one of our captains . . . I thought Nick Riewoldt really led from the front and he never gave in and that was evident by his effort. That was a super mark." Meanwhile, Lyon expects co-captain Luke Ball, a late withdrawal with tightness to an adductor muscle, to be fit to tackle the Sydney Swans next week. "I'm assuming it'll settle and he'll play next week," Lyon said. The Article Ben Broad/saints.com.au/03Aug07 Two points are better than none . . . Lyon was also philosophical after the match, agreeing two points were better than none. "Obviously their last two weeks haven't been great, but we knew it would be tough tonight - the season is on the line for both teams. You'd rather have two points than no points, that's the bottom line. I don't know what it was like as a spectacle, but it's not a bad opener to the round. We've lost once since the (mid-season) break, that's a positive, and we've got four games to prove how good a team we are or aren't." He said Gehrig would bounce back from his shocker. "It's pretty hard to wrap it, but Fraser has been in super form," Lyon said. "He'll bounce back, I've got no doubt." Lyon also made it clear one or two Saints players will come under scrutiny from their coach for the off-the-ball frees that cost the side crucial goals. "Over two hours, it's hard to single it down to anyone," Lyon said. "Sitting here at the minute, am I happy with some of our discipline off the ball? No. Can I fix it now? No. Can I address it during the week? Yes." The Article AAP/RealFooty/03Aug07 Bulldogs, Saints play out thrilling draw A rushed behind with just seconds to spare allowed St Kilda to snatch a thrilling 12.13 (85) to 12.13 (85) draw with the Bulldogs in Friday night's round 18 AFL match-up at the Telstra Dome. With under a minute remaining Saints skipper Nick Riewoldt marked in the right pocket 50 metres out close to the boundary line, and despite missing what would have been the match-winning goal he saw the Bulldogs rush a behind to ensure both sides walked away with two competition points. The Bulldogs trailed by 23 points midway through the final term but kicked the final four goals of the match to almost pull off a brilliant win. The draw leaves both sides in a precarious position with just four games remaining, the Saints sitting in seventh place and the Bulldogs in eighth, both on 38 points. They have just a half-game advantage on Sydney and Essendon, who round out the top 10 and have winnable match-ups this weekend. The Article ABCNews/03Aug07 Desperate Dogs force draw Andrew Wu/Sportal/03Aug07 Riewoldt snatches late draw Nick Riewoldt's 13th mark was lucky for nobody at Telstra Dome last night as his shot at goal was rushed through for a behind to give St Kilda a late draw against the Western Bulldogs. Riewoldt dashed onto Jason Gram's huge torpedo, launched from half-back in a desperate ploy to gain ground. The Bulldogs had just taken the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a big mark and goal from Wayde Skipper. There was one minute 31 seconds left when play restarted and the Bulldogs looked home when the ball stayed in their attack for almost another minute. Riewoldt's behind meant the ball came back into play with only three seconds on the clock. Effectively, it was the last play of the game. Twenty-three points down when Aaron Fiora kicked the first goal of the last term for the Saints, and again halfway through when Riewoldt goaled, the Bulldogs clawed their way back. It wasn't fluent - little about this game was all night. Daniel Giansiracusa led up, marked and kicked his fourth goal. Matthew Boyd bulldogged his way into some open space and kicked the next on the run from 50 metres. Jason Akermanis kicked across goal to Andrejs Everitt for a third and the margin was four points. Justin Koschitzke missed at the other end and then Akermanis presented on the lead once more. Again he pushed his kick across goal; Koschitzke looked best placed to mark, but Skipper came from the side to take it and give the Bulldogs a chance of an unlikely win. The Article Len Johnson/RealFooty/04Aug07 Eighth spot wide open With four rounds remaining, the top seven teams appear set to contest the finals but eighth spot is wide open with six teams battling it out for the last spot in September. Here is the run home for the finals contenders. Geelong: 1st: 15-3, 160.4 - To Play: Adel (SS), Kang (TD), Port (SS), Bris (Bris). Kangaroos: 2nd: 12-6, 105.2- To Play: WCE (TD), Geel (TD), Carl (TD), Dogs (TD). Hawthorn: 3rd: 11-7, 114.4- To Play: Bris (MCG), Port (Tas), Dogs (TD), Syd (SCG). Port Adelaide: 4rd: 11-7, 112.6- To Play: Carl (Adel), Haw (Tas), Geel (SS), Freo (Adel). West Coast: 5th: 11-7, 110.7- To Play: Roos (TD), Rich (S), St K (TD), Ess (S). Collingwood: 6th, 11-7, 101.3- To Play: Rich (MCG), Melb (MCG), Syd (MCG), Adel (TD). Sydney: 7th, 10-8, 119.2- To Play: St K (TS), Bris (Bris), Coll(MCG), Haw (SCG). Brisbane: 8th, 9-8-1, 113.1- To Play: Haw (MCG), Syd (Bris), Adel (Adel), Geel (Bris). St Kilda: 9th, 9-8-1, 94.8- To Play: Syd (TS), Freo (TD), WCE (TD), Rich (MCG). Article and Predictions Paul Gough/Sportal/06Aug07 The run home AAP/AFL/saints.com.au/06Aug07 LADDER PREDICTOR afl.allthestats.com Saints, Dogs draw . . . Who deserved to win? The fairytale ending was obviously the Bulldogs who were playing for their season and after just kicking three goals in the second and third terms, stormed home with five goals in the last quarter. When St Kilda's Aaron Fiora, who had been good all night, goaled from 40m out in the opening minute of the final term to put his side 23-points up, the game in the eyes of most of the 33,600 at Telstra Dome was over. As well as the Bulldogs had battled and stuck to their plan of denying the Saints the ball by chipping it around amongst themselves, they didn't look like finding a way to goal while St Kilda had plenty, in particular Riewoldt who has made a living out of beating the boys from the west in the past. Four minutes later Adam Cooney found some space and nailed the shot from 45m to leave the door slightly ajar. But five minutes later Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson turned the ball over at half-back with Gram intercepting and then finding Riewoldt who kicked his third for the night. Enter Scott West. The Bulldogs veteran, who can hardly walk thanks to the groin injury he is carrying, put himself into the contest and started to lift his band of runners who suddenly came to life. The Article Scott Gullan/HeraldSun/04Aug07 Saints and Dogs draw at the Dome Ben Broad/saints.com.au/03Aug07 Dogs Saints clash ends in draw AAP/HeraldSun/03Aug07 Monday wrap: round 18 What a cracker! . . . St Kilda co-captain Nick Riewoldt sealed the 138th VFL/AFL draw on Friday night, marking a Jason Gram torpedo and spraying his shot for goal with 10 seconds remaining. Things hadn't looked likely to get this desperate for the Saints, who led by 23 points at the 10-minute mark of the final term. But Wayde Skipper's towering goal-square grab deep into time-on capped a tremendous Dogs comeback. It would have been a remarkable win . . . Only three teams - Carlton, Melbourne and Richmond - can already start thinking about 2008, as every other side, to varying degrees, continues to push hard for the rest of the season. It promises to be one of the most exciting finishes to a season in years. The Article Matt Burgan/AFL/saints.com.au/06Aug07 RUMOUR SEN announced (07Jul07) that there is a rumour that Robert Shaw has been approached for the position of Football Manager at the St Kilda Football Club. There is no confirmation of this rumour. Cashed up Saints ponder first aid St Kilda is confident of posting another million-dollar profit this year, but is yet to decide how much of it will go the expanded medical department requested by coach Ross Lyon. President Rod Butterss said yesterday the club was on track with all its corporate and attendance budgets, and should make more than the magic million-dollar figure. "We are well on target to deliver our fourth consecutive million-dollar-plus profit," he said. "From that perspective, we are in good shape. The plans and early 2008 budget looks like we will deliver a fifth one as well." The club has wiped out a substantial debt and financially gone from strength to strength since declaring a $1.03 million profit in 2004. It has cleared debt despite several payouts to departing staff members, including former coach Grant Thomas. Every club's bottom line has been boosted by a $1.2 million windfall from the AFL's broadcast rights deal, with AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou recently saying he was hopeful every club would post a profit. Despite talk of a possible boardroom challenge at year's end, St Kilda hopes its late-season resurgence and strong financial position may ward off such moves. The club must decide whether to ramp up its spending on medical staff after a raft of soft-tissue injuries. The Article Jon Ralph HeraldSun/05Aug07 Age could rule out Sheedy: Dees Melbourne chief executive Steve Harris said yesterday that the Demons still have plenty of questions - some of them age-related - over whether Kevin Sheedy is the right choice to coach them. Harris and football manager Chris Fagan met 59-year-old Sheedy, as well as several other candidates for the vacant coaching position, late last week and have arranged to again meet with the sacked Essendon coach. Asked whether Sheedy was Melbourne's top choice, Harris said there were some issues on which the club needed to be persuaded. "Sheeds in a sense has got the most experience and the highest profile, so that's clearly understood," Harris told Foxtel in an interview during yesterday's match against Sydney in Canberra. "But there are issues like what his expectations are of the list, how he relates to young players, what he would bring to the club in terms of support staff, or what he might need, and what he might be like in year two, year three, even year four, by which time he'll be 60, 61, 62, 63." The Article AAP, with Samantha Lane/RealFooty/05Aug07 Early Sheedy exit? Some say no, team plays yes Stephen Rielly/RealFooty/05Aug07 Drug allegations 'a disgrace' HeraldSun/FoxSports/06Aug07 Eade wants umpire answers Rodney Eade would not specify which umpires' decisions had infuriated him during last night's drawn game with St Kilda, but the Bulldogs' coach vowed, in his post-match press conference, that he would be making them known at AFL House this week. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said he would be taking some of his players to task for moments of ill-discipline off the ball during the game the Saints - 23 points up in the last term - looked to have in the bag. Eade said he was unaware that there had been conjecture about Chris Grant's shot at goal after the three-quarter-time siren - no score was paid after the goal umpire and a field umpire conferred. Television replays were inconclusive as to whether the ball had hit the post. "I might have to take that up," Eade said. "No one mentioned that to me and I didn't see it, so I'll have to bring that up with the umpiring department - probably with a few other things as well." Lyon was not specific about what had annoyed him but his players doubtless would be hearing about them. The Article Samantha Lane/RealFooty/04Aug07 SEN and Bruce Eva have parted company Melbourne's only all sports station 1116 SEN and Bruce Eva have parted company. A replacement for Eva will be announced in the coming weeks. Mark Fine who has been hosting SEN's post football show Finey's Final Siren on weekends will take over the show pending an announcement of a replacement. Jocks' Journal understands the style of the show is likely to evolve in the future with Mark Fine the front runner to host the show permanently. The Article newmedia.com.au VFL links set to continue Chris Walker/RealFooty/04Aug07 The man who would be coach Rohan Connolly/RealFooty/03Aug07 Radio deals not as simple as the ABC Late last year, after the AFL successfully completed a new-look and substantially more lucrative radio rights agreement, 3AW's management received what it assumed to be a formalised copy of its new contract in the mail. The station's boss, Graeme Mott, realised almost immediately on opening the letter that the AFL had sent him the wrong contract. Inside was a copy of the ABC's new deal. Naturally, he kept reading, later commenting to a colleague: "If you received a letter to your husband from his ex-girlfriend and accidentally opened it, you'd read it too." At any rate, the dollar amount of what the ABC was paying for the right to broadcast football in 2007 was on the first page. Mott would not say how much that figure was, but The Sunday Age understood it to be substantially below $100,000. Triple M and 3AW, with their commercial A-class deals - comprising the Friday night game, the first-choice Saturday afternoon, Saturday night and 2pm Sunday games - were each paying close to $1 million. The ABC's deal had been placed in the B-class category along with newcomer SEN, but concerted lobbying from the ABC, and newspapers such as this one, saw the national public broadcaster gain certain concessions. For example, if the 1pm Sunday game outside Victoria was contested by interstate teams, then 774 could remain in Melbourne to call the 2pm game against Triple M and 3AW. The Article Caroline Wilson/RealFooty/05Aug07 Inexplicable behaviour - that's St Kilda Murray Middleton/RealFooty/05Aug07 League claims all tested The AFL does not reveal the full breakdown of the 500 drug tests carried out on its behalf each year, but it claims all players are tested on entering the league system and at least once over a two-year period thereafter. Others subject to target testing, according to an AFL spokesperson, are the top three in each club's best-and-fairest award, all AFL medallists and all players put on the long-term injury list. All-Australian selections not falling into one of the other categories also are target-tested. Although the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority can target-test individual players in the same manner it does Olympic athletes, most testing is done through the clubs. The knock-on-the-door test well known to Craig Mottram, Jana Rawlinson and Grant Hackett is a comparative rarity in football. Because of the greater number of players on AFL lists - approximately 650 across the 16 clubs - individual players are not tested with anything like the frequency of Olympic athletes. An informed source at one club said it had been subject to about 25 individual drug tests this year - evenly split between in-competition and out-of-competition. Allowing for the targeted tests, this seems about the likely figure at most clubs. The AFL conducts about twice as many tests for illicit drugs as performance-enhancing drugs. The tests are undertaken by a private pathology company. The Article Len Johnson/RealFooty/07Aug07 St Kilda's off-field state POST 1 The word for the past six weeks from reliable sources is that without the extra AFL dollars (around $1.7 million) we would have made a loss of around $100,000 to $300,000 and possibly more depending on attendance's - with decreased revenue from memberships, the loss of the Tasmania subsidy, merchandise and sponsorships, the costs on the South Road project (without any income) and then coupled with increased expenditure in the football department (payout's being part the problem but the expanded panel being the core factor) meaning that the TV rights and ground nationalisation policy have saved the club an embarrassing loss. The key revenue driving staff Morris (sponsorships), Friend (membership and merchandise) and poor board decisions have cost us around $1 million in revenue that had been coming through in earlier years. The positives (that are being boasted about) have been match day attendance and corporate entertainment but this has been boosted mainly because of the number of Friday and Saturday night games, which is luck rather than good management. We are currently the worst marketed club in the competition (despite having some of the most marketable commodities in players, image and locations) with the poorest sponsorship retention record, a declining membership, no asset diversification strategy (to create revenue that is not football related) with close to the worst training facilities (unbelievably the poor cousins in the Kangaroos and Bulldogs are more advanced in their plans) and this is what kills me . . . still no clear plan forward, despite most other melbourne based AFL club (operating without debt) moving away from centralised social clubs to invest in zoned / regionalised pub / bar venues with and without gaming machines. Please be clear that I am not saying the board needs to be replaced, but they need to lift their game and stop trying to put a positive spin on a disastrous year off the field. It is time they identified their weaknesses and start an overhaul of the performance and outcomes of key staff. I have said it before and I shall say it again - they need to diversify the expertise on the board to include marketing and venue management experts and they MUST forget the South Road project, develop Moorabbin as an elite training centre, leave the pokies where they are, include other revenue generating facilities at Moorabbin (child care centre, public access gym, corporate seminar rooms etc) and start to look at pubs in select locations as quasi social clubs staffed by ex players employed by the club but run centrally from the Moorabbin administrative facility. POST 2 Firstly . . . my post above was originally on another (saintsational.com) thread relating to our president pre-announcing another $1 million profit . . . which is pure PR spin and hides many huge structural and performance issues from our administration . . . Personally I don't want to see a board challenge and have declined approaches made for me to enter alternate tickets - as I would much rather a changing on the guard (through expanding the board) that is smooth and agreed upon by all parties. I seriously hope that a challenge and vote does not become an us versus them contest with dangerous mud slinging . . . after all we have some horrible human resource management conflict and issues over the past 5 years that do not need to be aired and replayed in any public forum. It is in the interest of the club for the current board and the alternate board to enter meaningful discussions to expand the board and decide on a new President to then be ratified by a vote at the AGM. Fingers crossed egos are left in the lockers. POST 3 Can I just point out a few things here to be fair . . . as I understand them 1) Coach pay outs . . . neither cost the club itself $1 million - whilst Blight got $1 million my understanding that was that some was funded externally and GT was not paid anywhere near a million and less than his contractual entitlement 2) David Friend proposed to the board that he continue as a consultant or to take the management of membership and merchandise out of house . . . all of which would have delivered cost savings to the club (his own wage and the wages of one other) but would have prevented the increase in expenditure this year to secure members which actually generated a slide in membership revenue. yes - we spent more and made less. Good move! 3) I am not sure about Russ Morris but given there was a track record there in Sponsorship acquisition, minimizing the servicing costs of sponsorships and a good track record of sponsorship retention, I believe he should have been tied to a long term contract with incentives tied to performance and instead he was not rewarded to a level that satisfied his own agenda. 4) The current board has focussed on the South Road development incorporating a centralised social club and any alternate strategy of geographically diversified pubs / bars was dismissed without full or ongoing investigation. And I ask this question . . . how many more people / customers do you really think would have come into a St Kilda Football Club social facility because the entrance is on South Road as opposed to Linton Street? The core customer is a Saints fan . . . those of us not heading to Moorabbin now to the Linton Street facility are not going to flood in because there is some snazzy new red, white and black building suddenly on South Road. Yes we need something at Moorabbin but we have to look beyond. If you are a Saints fan in Gippsland - wouldn't you travel to a Saints pub somewhere within Gippsland? If you are a Saints fan in the city or inner south east . . . surely a pub in St Kilda would be home? For those Saints in the far east . . . a Cranbourne pub? What about Frankston? How about a pub in Hobart? I don't know the answers to these questions but neither do the club because they have not asked the membership or conducted any regional research, nor undertaken any due diligence on any pubs that have come up for sale in these regions over the past 2 or 3 years and instead have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of staff hours in studies, lobbying, lawyers, architects etc to get the ill conceived South Road project up . . . and not running. Don't blame the Council because we put all our eggs in one basket without consulting the Council prior to spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. POST 4 . . . Yes I sometimes sit with Steve (Bedwell) (who has been a friend for more than a decade) but I did not support his decision or efforts mid season (other than as a caring friend) and the issues I raise are my own and do not support anyone's agenda at all. And I do not have an agenda either. I want to make this clear - whilst a friend of Steve Bedwell, I did not support his views or approach, but I support him as a person to do what he believes is right . . . and I never question his passion for the Saints. My information is not from Steve Bedwell, but I do know some directors, employees, sponsors, plus directors at other AFL clubs and AFL personnel. As for David Friend. He did not jump ship to join Waldron at all. David started his own consulting company and runs membership and merchandise for a number of NRL rugby clubs (one of which is Storm) and other sporting clubs. He is managing merchandise for 2 AFL clubs as well . . . maybe more. He offered the Saints the opportunity to save wages and instead the Saints thought they could do better without him and have failed. Increased expenditure on membership retention and acquisition with a decreased membership speaks for itself. Poor decision. This is symptomatic of the board taking credit for the good work of others. We made our millions in profits off the work of Friend, Morris and their teams. Both were underpaid and undervalued. Both left. Simple. Re increased membership cost offsetting loss of actual members . . . if you rely on this strategy you are heading for financial ruin . . . clubs must retain members (allowing for some natural loss) and recruit more than you lose to keep ahead of the RISING costs of the football industry e.g. the increase of the salary cap to $7 million from next season and the increasing costs of coach and support staff competiition wide etc. I have never had a go at Archie, although I have heard that his staff management skills are ummmmm difficult to comprehend (I am being nice here) but if he has impressed your contact that is great AND I have no doubt that he has impressed many people in his time to make CEO. Our sponsorship record is terrible. There is more to sponsorship than the major sponsorship and the only figure that counts is the overall benefit derived from sponsorship from monies PAID versus the servicing cost. From indications made to me, this figure is down for 2007 and looking bleak for 2008 given we have just lost a major sponsor. The Posts 'BackFromUSA' saintsational.com SEE THREAD for further supporter discussion on these topics Lenny reprimand for tripping . . . Western Bulldogs' midfielder Matthew Boyd . . . (received) $2400 fine for making contact with an umpire during Friday night's draw against St Kilda. St Kilda co-captain Lenny Hayes was booked with tripping the Bulldogs' Jason Akermanis in the same match but can accept a reprimand (plus 66 demerit points) . . . The panel also cleared veteran Bulldogs Chris Grant over high contact with St Kilda's Nick Dal Santo, which was viewed as a fair bump given that Dal Santo was involved in play and that Grant did not use excessive force or leave the ground as he bumped Dal Santo. The Article Paul Gough/Sportal/06Aug07 Undisciplined Saints get punished at training St Kilda may yet feel the pain of missing two premiership points in Friday night's draw with the Bulldogs after holding sway in the game for most of the night. Those missing points may yet be telling in whether the club makes the eight. More immediately, however, the players suffered the pain of that draw and the hand their undisciplined players had in it. A 6am training session with a dip in Brighton baths yesterday was punishment not for the result but for a range of incidents that exposed a lack of discipline among the group. Ross Lyon warned after Friday night's deflating draw that he was unhappy with the players' discipline in giving away 50-metre penalties and free kicks and forcing their own free kicks to be reversed. "It was a bit of variety in the training," Saints football manager Ken Sheldon said, explaining the early morning start. The Saints' more immediate concerns centre on the fitness of Luke Ball, who withdrew from last Friday night's game with a tight adductor. Sheldon said he expected Ball to be fit for this week's game against Sydney. The Article Michael Gleeson/RealFooty/07Aug07 AFL brawl hearing adjourned Three-time AFL premiership captain and AFL coaching aspirant Michael Voss will fight an assault charge stemming from a pub brawl on Grand Final eve last year. Voss, fellow Brownlow medallist Simon Black, St Kilda spearhead Fraser Gehrig and former Brisbane and Saints defender Steven Lawrence face charges after a fight at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Melbourne's St Kilda on September 29. They were listed to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court today but none of the players attended and their cases were adjourned. Former Brisbane captain Voss, who has been charged with one count of assault, is due to appear in court for a contest mention on October 2 this year. Black, Gehrig and Lawrence are due to appear on September 4 for a mention. The Article HeraldSun/07Aug07 Demetriou reveals Origin options The AFL is deciding between four options when it comes to what format the much-anticipated return of state of origin will take next year . . . As the AFL launched its 150th anniversary celebration year of 2008 on Tuesday - the day which marked the 149th anniversary of the first recorded game of Australian Rules Football in 1858 - AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou outlined to Sportal the options for the return of origin football, which has not been played since 1999. These options are: • matches involving all states and territories. • a one-off game involving Victoria against either South Australia or Western Australia at the MCG. • a match between Victoria and an All-Stars team featuring players from the rest of Australia at the MCG. • or two matches with one featuring Victoria against either South Australia or Western Australia with the other team to then play the Allies - the team made up of players from Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales, the ACT and the Northern Territory. The Article Paul Gough/Sportal/07Aug07 Sheedy to head 150-year celebrations Ben Broad/afl.com.au/07Aug07 AFL to stick with priority picks Paul Gough/Sportal/07Aug07 AFL crashes NRL's party Ray Chesterton/DailyTelegraph/08Aug07 3AW chases Triple M Triple M remains the top rating football broadcaster. The fifth survey of the season revealed 3AW had closed the gap in all four slots - Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday - but remained second in three. The good news for 3AW was that the changes made after the previous ratings seem to be working, its over-55 audience returning since the station reverted to its old format. SEN more than doubled its Friday night share from 2.4 to 4.9 and registered excellent growth in the other slots. The ABC was slightly down but solid in all four slots. The Article Michael Horan/HeraldSun/08Aug07 GO BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
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