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2007 Round 5 Post-game Articles - St Kilda vs Port Adelaide
Friday evening was never going to be anything but a hard day's night. It might just have be the eternal pessimism of Sainthood paying me another house call, but as I reached for the remote control to watch the Saints embark on another mission behind enemy lines at AAMI Stadium, it just felt like it was going to be one of those nights. Having won just four of our 17 games at AAMI Stadium, we always need to be at our very best to have a chance of grabbing the points there. And right now, our best seems along way off. Now I'm not claiming to be John Edwards here. I promise I'm not about to haul my double pleated slacks up around my man boobs (have you noticed how much of a high panter this guy is?) and start contacting your dead relatives on prime time television anytime soon. Having said that we certainly were "pantsed" in Adelaide on Friday night. I did my duty though. I sat on the couch and watched. This was no fun for me and it was even less so for my long-suffering family. These away games interstate have a familiar stench of failure about them and my mob know what to expect. As I camp in front of the idiot box, hunched over and mumbling obscenities in the luminescent glow of the screen, an evacuation takes place. My sweetheart decided that reading the collected works of Jeffery Archer in Klingon would be more bearable than to be polluted by my foul mood and potty mouth through four quarters of mediocrity. The Article Francis Leach/saints.com.au/30Apr07 Gardiner out for a month . . . Gardiner's setback continues the Saints' wretched run with injuries. Midfielder Lenny Hayes had surgery on Sunday on a fractured collarbone that will keep him out for up to six weeks. Veteran Andrew Thompson (knee) also faces up to six weeks on the sidelines. There will be no immediate respite for St Kilda's defensive woes, with Max Hudghton (quad strain) and Sam Fisher (hamstring) still two weeks away from a return. The Saints' weakened defence faces last year's Coleman medallist Brendan Fevola in Friday night's clash against Carlton at Telstra Dome. The Article Rebecca Williams with Nikki Tugwell/HeraldSun/01May07 Lyon's Address After The Match to the Players Despite the loss he was reasonably optimistic. The big message he put to the players was that atm they are still caught between two coaches and coaching styles. Thommo was go hard at the ball at all contests while he (Lyon) is that you have to be accountable to your man at all costs. This has led to confusion which he acknowleges. Players not going in, some going in at the wrong times, others been too accountable, some not been accountable enough. He still believes they will get there and that eventually we will play good footy to the style he wants. Talking to a couple of the boys on the weekend, they did say that yes it is confusing and that atm they are all still getting used to the style of footy Ross wants them to play. The Post 'killa_gram' saintsational.com Lyon low, but Saints have a chance to rise New St Kilda coach Ross Lyon is enduring a testing initiation as a senior AFL coach. A Friday night flogging by Port Adelaide in the slosh has put the Saints' ledger into the negative. To make matters worse, gun midfielder and captain Lenny Hayes cracked his collarbone and will miss most of the next two months. He will join an already lengthy injury list. Lyon is tough and smart and will survive this hard time, but after the first five rounds, he will realise there are some big problems he will have to rectify if he is to get the Saints set for some September action. JUSTIN KOSCHITZKE: The big fella with the big reputation is not living up to it. Now into his seventh season, Koschitzke has averaged only 13 games a season . . . MIDFIELD PACE: There's just not enough of it, and it's hard to see how it can be improved. The names that run through the middle - Robert Harvey, Nick Dal Santo, Luke Ball and Lenny Hayes - are rated extremely highly, but none of them have breakaway speed . . . HARD MEN: Who are the hard men of this team? Hayes and Baker are the obvious standouts, but then, who else? A few years ago, Steve Lawrence and Aaron Hamill put a physical presence and pressure on the opposition, but Lawrence is long gone and Hamill rarely plays. And forget Fraser Gehrig. His bark always has been worse than his bite. STEPHEN MILNE: The little "blowfly" has been a pest to opposition defences for some time. Five years ago, he topped the Saints' goalkicking with 50 goals 11 behinds. Two years ago, the return was 61.20. They are terrific figures. But last year, output dropped to 29.29 and his coach of the previous six years, Grant Thomas, said that had he stayed, Milne would not have been at the club . . . FRASER GEHRIG: Last year, he averaged more than three goals a game. This year, he has kicked five goals from four matches . . . NICK RIEWOLDT and LUKE BALL: With Hayes out, the leadership falls to them. It's been a difficult start to the season for both because of injury, but their club needs them to stand up now . . . The Article Robert Walls/RealFooty/01May07 Woes continue for Saints St Kilda's defensive crisis is set to linger for at least another week with key defenders Sam Fisher and Max Hudghton set to miss Friday night's clash against Carlton at Telstra Dome. And with centre-half-back Matt Maguire out until the second half of the season due to a stress fracture in his foot, it leaves the Saints short of options to play on the Blues' champion spearhead Brendan Fevola. Fevola, the reigning Coleman Medalist, has kicked 15 goals so far this season to be lying equal fourth on the AFL goalkicking table. Fisher is sidelined with a hamstring injury and Hudghton with a quad strain and the Saints' lack of height in defence was shown up on Friday night when they were thrashed by Port Adelaide by 53 points with the Power kicking 14 goals despite the match being played in atrocious conditions. The Saints have won their past seven matches against Carlton dating back to 2002, their greatest ever run of success against the Blues, but the absence of Fisher and Hudghton - who has a fine record against Fevola - means the Saints will be vulnerable this week. The Article Paul Gough/Sportal/01May07 Disturbing signs at St Kilda for punters St Kilda has blown out the gate in premiership betting. Pressing for favouritism after Round 1, the Saints are out to $13 with TAB Sportsbet after their loss to Port Adelaide. "I think people will now give up on St Kilda. They have shown in the past they haven't been good enough and now their injury list is growing again," TAB Sportsbet's Gary Davies said. That assessment spells bad news for a TAB Sportsbet punter who had $10,000 on the Saints last Monday at $10, which forced their price into $8.50. Although West Coast struggled against Richmond, it has again firmed in premiership betting. A TAB Sportsbet punter placed $10,000 on the Eagles at $3.75 last week, pushing them into $3.60. After their win they have been forced in to $3.50. The most optimistic premiership bet last week was by a TAB Sportsbet punter who had $1000 on Melbourne at $126. The Article Michael Manley/HeraldSun/30Apr07 Big wet but drought continues Rain is something we haven't seen much of lately. While there was much wanted relief from one drought, the Saints will have to wait another year to end their losing streak against Port Adelaide at Football Park. The Power had played in wet conditions against Collingwood just six days earlier while the Saints had played under the roof at Telstra Dome. Ten minutes after the match commenced, the rain started pouring down and was set in for the rest of the game. The rain resulted in plenty of stoppages and confined the play to desperate in and under play. The Saints matched their opponents in this part of the game particularly in the first half and won a majority of clearances, thanks largely to Robert Harvey and Nick Dal Santo who started to come into the game late in the first quarter. Port hurt the Saints through their skillful outside running and rebound from defence, which were instrumental in their first two goals. St Kilda replied with a clever ground kick from Nick Riewoldt that set up Stephen Milne. Steven Baker had the tagging job on the dangerous Shaun Burgoyne and kept him to just one possession for most of the quarter before the Port midfielder snuck an opportunistic goal in the last thirty seconds. Brett Voss, starting at centre half forward in his first match of the season, quickly reduced the margin from 18 points to less than a goal with two majors in the first three minutes of the second term. The first was a clever angle shot from 40 metres out and the second was a crumbed goal on an angle from just outside the goal square. The Article Adrian Blades/saints.com.au/30Apr07 Injury headaches for Saints . . . "We haven't got a stack of injuries, it's just where they have come from," he said. "The biggest change I wanted to implement was having a defence that could stand up one-on-one and not have to support them so we could get a bit more forward efficiency, because we have got some really good power forwards. But we will probably have to review that because we keep opening up our defence. They are probably going to need a bit of support while those guys are out." Lyon said Hayes might miss five weeks, while Thompson would miss up to six matches. Hudghton and Sam Fisher are 2-3 weeks away, while Maguire might not be back until Round 10. The Article Jon Ralph/HeraldSun/29Apr07 Riewoldt not in Pies' sights Collingwood has denied it is chasing out-of-contract St Kilda forward Nick Riewoldt and confirmed its intention to rebuild through the draft. Speculation persists the Magpies are pressing hard to lure the blond centre half-forward from Moorabbin. Like superstars Chris Judd and Matthew Pavlich, who also fall out of contract at season's end, Riewoldt is likely to put off discussions about his future for a while. Magpies acting chief executive Eugene Arocca said Riewoldt was not on the radar. "I'm not aware of any discussions about Nick Riewoldt," Arocca said. "I reckon it's just a distraction to players, the club and administrators." The Article Jackie Epstein/HeraldSun/29Apr07 Saints injury curse spreads to midfield St Kilda's backline injury curse has spread to the midfield, with scans expected to confirm Lenny Hayes and Andrew Thompson will be out for six weeks. After returning from a knee reconstruction at the start of the season, Hayes edured a series of heavy bumps in the Saints' alarming 53-point loss to Port Adelaide at a sodden AAMI Stadium. He finished the game with a suspected broken collarbone that will need six weeks to heal. Veteran utility Thompson suffered a knee cartilage injury that requires arthroscopic surgery, and should also keep him out for six weeks. A lack of key defenders left St Kilda badly exposed by Power captain Warren Tredrea, even on a night when the rain should have neutralised the threat of big men, and the Saints can ill-afford to lose solid citizens Hayes and Thompson. "I have a lot of concerns. I'm concerned we're two (wins) and three (losses). I'm concerned we've been beaten by 50 points in the wet and now Lenny Hayes and Andrew Thompson are out with injury," Saints first-year coach Ross Lyon said. The Article Daniel Brettig/AAP/saints.com.au/28Apr07 Hayes, Thompson add to woe St Kilda has suffered another savage injury blow, with co-captain Lenny Hayes set to miss up to six weeks with a broken collarbone. Hayes copped a heavy knock in the Saints' 53-point loss to Port Adelaide and the Saints are expecting X-rays to confirm the worst . . . Veteran Andrew Thompson also succumbed to knee soreness and will require arthroscopic surgery, forcing him out for six weeks. It capped off a horror visit to AAMI Stadium, where the Saints could kick only six goals in torrential rain against a far more polished Port outfit . . . At 2-3, the Saints now have a host of key players on the injured list. Hayes and Thompson join Matt Maguire, Sam Fisher, Max Hudghton and Aaron Hamill on the sidelines. With their backline already severely depleted, Lyon now has midfield depth issues with Hayes and Thompson out. The Article Mark Stevens/FoxSports/28Apr07 Saints lose Hayes, Thompson St Kilda coach Ross Lyon says he has plenty of concerns following his team's 53-point loss at the hands of Port Adelaide in dreadful conditions at AAMI Stadium on Friday night. The Saints will almost certainly lose co-captain Lenny Hayes for 5-6 weeks, after he injured his collarbone. Hayes favoured his shoulder for most of the game and finally came off after receiving a heavy bump from the Power's Michael Pettigrew. Andrew Thompson was another late casualty and will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee during the week. "Lenny is going to have an x-ray. We're 99 per cent sure it's a broken collarbone that will need to be pinned, which is five or six weeks," Lyon said. He said while the team wouldn't use injury as an excuse for its poor performance the number of Saints players sidelined through injury was starting to take its toll. "Injuries aren't an excuse. I thought our midfield was full-complement, our forward-line was full-complement. Our defence has been standing up, but at some point you're going to miss your three key defenders, who are Sam Fisher, Max Hudghton and Matt Maguire. I have a lot of concerns. I'm concerned we're two and three. I'm concerned we've been beaten by 50 points in the wet and now Lenny Hayes and Andrew Thompson are out with injury," Lyon said after the game. "I thought we did OK in the second quarter and were probably still hanging on. In the third quarter we thought we'd open up the game a bit through the midfield because we were going quite well in the clearances, but it turned into an avalanche with Port Adelaide booting six goals." Lyon said Saints supporters could take heart in the side's last quarter effort when the game was all but over. The Article Katrina Gill/AFL/saints.com.au/28Apr07 Power crush damp Saints . . . After Port had skipped away in the first term, with the Cornes' and Michael Wilson particularly effective, the Saints fought back into the contest with two goals within a minute from Voss. However that was where it ended as the Power finished the term strongly to take a 15-point lead into the main break, effectively worth double in the conditions. Conditions were taking their toll on player bodies too, with Lenny Hayes suffering a suspected broken collarbone, Andrew Thompson hyper-extending his left knee under a pack and Wilson the victim of yet another shoulder injury. The third term was where the game was put beyond doubt; St Kilda rarely venturing into its own attacking half of the ground, while in contrast even defender Troy Chaplin wandered forward to kick a goal to delight a home crowd barely touching 25,000. Both sides added three goals in the final quarter, but it was the Power who found joy in miserable conditions all night.Next week, Port travel to the MCG to face the struggling Demons, while the Saints return to Friday Night Football to host Carlton at the Telstra Dome. The Article Nick Mockford/SportsAustralia/28Apr07 Saints left water-logged St Kilda must have surely felt it was slowly drowning last night as it was pushed down the ladder by Port Adelaide with a dismal 53-point loss in possibly the heaviest downpour over AAMI Stadium since it was built 32 years ago. After constant rain during the day, it was estimated 20 millimetres of rain fell during the game, but the only forecast the Saints were focusing on was its tough road ahead with another slide down the ladder at 2-3. Most of the Power's goals came from sheer desperation; sliding into the contests and plucking goals off a water-logged surface. It was like old-fashioned footy without the mud . . . one heavy shower - throughout the match - players swarming the contest, few scores and non-relenting battles to get a kick. It wasn't pretty, but Port sure looked a better sight with its fearless attack on the ball. This victory was as much about a reward for the players' persistence as it was for their equally brave and spirited 24,438 fans. The Power's win wasn't necessarily about class, although its skills given the conditions were admirable, but sheer desperation - the knock-outs and taps along the ground that created its own luck. The Article Ashley Porter/RealFooty/28Apr07 Port Adelaide thrashes St Kilda by 53 points Daniel Brettig/AAP/AFL/saints.com.au/28Apr07 Port rides the tempest to crush St Kilda Port Adelaide made a mockery of atrocious conditions at AAMI Stadium, thrashing a below-average St Kilda by 53 points last night to cement a spot in the top four. A wet 24 hours in Adelaide had already made conditions slippery, but matters got quickly worse within 10 minutes of the opening bounce, as driving rain turned the ground into a waterslide. On the sodden field, Port Adelaide handled the ball far more confidently, kicking nine goals to three in the second half - led by a four-goal performance from captain Warren Tredrea - to embarrass the visitors. Coach Mark Williams pulled the strings better in the first quarter, starting off with a tall forward line, before adapting to the downpour by moving Nathan Krakouer, David Rodan and Josh Mahoney into attack to grab the advantage at ground level. As expected, Port Adelaide's 250-gamer Darryl Wakelin played on Fraser Gehrig for the ninth time, and the G-train was forced out of the game for the most part, in conditions that made marking difficult. Port dominated the stoppages, with Brendon Lade on top in a match-up with former Adelaide Crows rival Matthew Clarke. Chad Cornes snared the ball early and often. He and brother Kane got plenty of possession early and made the sensible decision to kick the ball long, avoiding St Kilda's attempts to slow down the game. Strong defensive pressure led to goals from Rodan and Tredrea, and a late goal to Shaun Burgoyne gave Port Adelaide a valuable three-goal lead at quarter-time. It was St Kilda's faster, smaller players who were keeping the visitors in the game. Stephen Milne kept his feet better in the opening quarter to crumb a goal, while two majors in as many minutes to Brett Voss gave the Saints a surge at the start of the second term. But it was the presence and skills of Nick Dal Santo and Robert Harvey that were of most value to St Kilda; both men showed class in the deluge, eluding tackles and playing largely error-free football under severe pressure. The Article Andrew McGarry/TheAustralian/28Apr07 Burgoyne charge dismissed Video saved Port Adelaide star Shaun Burgoyne last night - and with it his dream to be a Brownlow Medallist as the AFL's best-and-fairest player. Burgoyne last night beat a rough conduct charge at the AFL tribunal simply because video could not confirm he made contact to St Kilda captain Lenny Hayes' head or neck at AAMI Stadium on Friday night. The video supported the Power's case that Hayes might have sustained his minor neck injury in a tackle by Burgoyne's team-mate, Kane Cornes. Burgoyne, who faced a three-match suspension if found guilty, did not deny he tried to bump Hayes in the second term of the rain-West Lakes match. "But a fraction of a second later," said Burgoyne, "I pulled out. I buckled my legs so that (Hayes) would not fall over my left knee. I collapsed over his chest. (Hayes') head hit the ground," he said. Within seven minutes a jury of three former players - Emmett Dunne, Richard Loveridge and Wayne Henwood - ruled in favour of Burgoyne who will play against Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday. The Article Michelangelo Rucci/AdelaideAdvertiser/02May07 Burgoyne faces suspension Jennifer Witham/AFL/saints.com.au/01May07 Burgoyne to fight charge AdelaideAdvertiser/01May07 Port too good for Saints Port Adelaide took like a duck to the AAMI stadium water last night, aquaplaning to a dominant 53-point AFL victory over St Kilda in miserable conditions. The Power nabbed four goals to one in the first term then blew the game apart with 6.6 to 0.1 in the third, setting up the eventual 14.12 (96) to 6.7 (43) scoreline - a fitting result on the occasion of loyal servant Darryl Wakelin's 250th match. Much of Port's drive came from best on ground Chad Cornes, Shaun and Peter Burgoyne, and captain Warren Tredrea (three goals), who delivered as close to a command performance as any key forward could hope to have in heavy conditions. Kane Cornes and Steven Salopek did significant damage through the middle, while Wakelin, Troy Chaplin and Michael Pettigrew gave nothing away in defence. Port's only lowlight was the first quarter exit of Michael Wilson with an arm or shoulder complaint. Star Saint Nick Riewoldt staggered off in term two after wearing an accidental boot to the head by Peter Burgoyne and had little impact on proceedings in the second half. Robert Harvey and Brett Voss (three goals) were the best of a sorry Saints 22, who often appeared hesitant to risk the physical contact inherent in wet weather football. The first bounce took place free of moisture, but that was to prove highly misleading as the rain arrived soon after and proceeded to drench the ground without slackening for the rest of the night, reaching a peak of discomfort in term three. St Kilda had swapped tall Barry Brooks for the intermediate Andrew McQualter in recognition of the weather, though Port chose tall defender Chaplin to replace the not yet fit Dean Brogan, and ultimately chose to start him on Riewoldt. The Article CourierMail/28Apr07 Scoring famine hits AFL . . . Grant Thomas, the most recent ex-coach (St Kilda), said low scores were a product of coaches' high-pressure environments. "This day and age, there is extreme pressure on coaches to perform, keep in contract, get renewed and save face," Thomas said. "Lesser teams playing better teams, not believing they can win, put in place strategy to be competitive." Thomas said the Blues-Lions match was refreshing. "Both sides thought they could win. Neither put players behind the ball. It was man-on-man ... fantastic," Thomas said. Focusing on the powerful interstate teams, Thomas said Crows coach Neil Craig's philosophy was built around defence. "Adelaide has decided the game's won on defence ... strangle the life out of you and win by a little bit," he said. Thomas said Sydney played "accountable" one-on-one football, creating stoppages. "There is dead time, dead ball," Thomas said. Thomas called for the AFL to look at time-wasting late in every quarter, raising the possibility of a crackdown on moving the ball on more quickly in the final five minutes of terms. "I don't think anyone enjoys the last 90 seconds of quarters when the runner comes out. It's like, 'we're four goals up, they're coming at us, let's chip in around' ... no one likes that." The Article Mark Stevens and Rebecca Williams/HeraldSun/01May07 Scoring drought Andrew Capel/AdelaideAdvertiser/01May07 Match scores lowest in 37 years Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/01May07
Collingwood's drive to keep pace with interstate giants has led it to plough extraordinary resources into recruiting, coaching and player development, areas in which the club is now clearly the biggest spender in the AFL. Comprehensive financial figures for the 16 clubs obtained by The Age show that the Magpies spent an astonishing $1.85 million on coaching - which includes its burgeoning player development budget - in 2006 and that it now out-spends premier and interstate goliath West Coast in this category. Collingwood also spent $787,000 on recruiting, more than $250,000 more than the next biggest spender on recruiting, Fremantle, and a staggering $643,000 more than Richmond (which did not count football director Greg Miller in its recruiting budget) and $573,000 more than St Kilda. The Magpies were the only Victorian club among the top six in football spending, with Fremantle and Adelaide rounding out the top six. Essendon was seventh. The Article Jake Niall/RealFooty/02May07 AFL studies playboy culture The Playboy Club is not only a venue featuring women in bunny outfits. New Victorian research shows the term can also describe at least one Melbourne AFL side . . . A study of players in four Melbourne clubs found that popularity and influence were determined by different factors for each team. These ranged from sexual success and violence, to ability on the field . . . Analysis of the responses showed that while popularity depended largely on skill and playing experience, other factors also had a strong effect, with each side emphasising a different element of masculinity. One club had a "playboy culture", with popular players believing manliness was largely about sexual success with women, while at the "violent club" the most popular members said violence and aggression were natural for men. The Article Chee Chee Leung/RealFooty/02May07 Victorian football dead? The West Coast Eagles have taken the following players as rookies over the past five years. Many were hidden away in small WA leagues . . .
The Post '2007' saintsational.com Ross Lyon and GT on SEN Saturday 28Apr07 Ross Lyon: Difficult night in the end . . . thought we fought back . . . Saints need to play on more through the midfield . . . group has got some character that was shown in the fact that they won the last quarter. 2-3 . . . want to build to an even ledger and work our way into the season. Inconsistency - a reflection of the new changes in style? Inconsistency in games is concerning for RL. Smacked in two interstate games. Doesn't think they are caught between styles - fundamentally not much difference between styles. "We haven't got incredible amount of injuries." Haven't been able to maintain midfield control to give forwards opportunities. Enormous respect from Sydney for "team" mentality - where do you see the Saints in relation to that? Intimate knowledge of the Saints is still building - knowledge of the group still deepening. Great leaders at the club, great role models. Inexperience of the defence under pressure working with the midfield. Port Adelaide has a history in handling St. Kilda = didn't handle that well, onfield ability to adapt to opposition - RL said that he is responsible and takes responsibility for that failure. Great role models, good leadership at the club. Robert Harvey sensational - oldest player the best player = self-evident that this is a worry . . . Lyon: Harvey was the first midfielder the Swans planned for each week when doing preparation for the Saints because Banger kills you with his running. Has been playing 80% gametime each week and his body feeling good, best trainer at the club and best trainer Lyon has seen in his time in football. To be in the elite midfielder, you need to be an elite runner and the inconsistency in pre-season over the past few years hasn't built running ability at the club. Structural issues with taking Frase off . . . decided to go a bit smaller . . . wanted to rotate load of Riewoldt . . . Spoke at half-time about playing in-front in the forwardline . . . wasn't a lot of quality delivery coming in from the midfield Not quite happening for Kosi . . . was fantastic round one, two and three . . . hasn't played back for a while, worked his way into it - finally getting some continuity into his footy . . . has enormous talent, building a foundation, has high expectations of himself. Kosi can have an influence in the ruck, will be tempted to play him in the ruck - Clarke a tap ruckman with no possession influence around the ground. Disputes that they are a young and inexperienced coaching group . . . debatable . . . RL 13 years, Elshaug since 93, Rock has had three years, SOS in the box at the Dogs . . . Grant being former coach, wipe a clean slate? What would he wipe? Very good working r/ship with leadership group . . . clearly a lot of respect for GT from himself and at the club. GT is an important part of the Saints history, and RL had nothing to do with the sacking. With RL's appointment comes responsibility . . . the players are wonderful role models, the list is in a process of transition and is evolving, and they have appointed development coaches to oversee this. RL has come in as a neutral person and everyone understands this. Has a great working relationship with the players who have been warm and embracing. And almost too coachable. The Post '2007' saintsational.com SOME POST GAME ARTICLES WERE POSTED ON THE PRE-GAME PAGE - to keeping this page manageable for dial-up users GO BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
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