I hate the St Kilda Matchup - Tell me how we win this game???

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Originally Posted by comrade

I haven't watched a ton of St Kilda this season but I don't think Butler gets up the ground as much as either Ryan or Rohan. He's also no where near the aerial threat they both are. I think Duryea can stick in his back pocket and keep him quiet.

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Butler does get up the ground but he's no danger there. He's a fairly ordinary kick when he's not 15m out from goal. He also dislikes physical contact so we should make his life difficult in this area. Although he is almost as bad a flopper as Riewoldt so we'd need to be careful with the umpires.

Looking at St.Kilda they have a number of down hill skiers which looks great if your team has the pill. That is the key. Our on ballers.

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Originally Posted by Bulldog4life

Looking at St.Kilda they have a number of down hill skiers which looks great if your team has the pill. That is the key. Our on ballers.

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Yep. But we've had plenty of games this year where we've made downhill skiers looks amazing. Our pressure since the Lions game has been way better so hopefully we don't revert back.

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Originally Posted by 1eyedog

Our issue is forward we must take all of our chances when the opportunities present.

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This. 100%. We need to capitalise on our opportunities and focus on efficiency inside 50 (should be a focus every week).

I think we can match them around the ground everywhere but the ruck and we can compensate for that.

This entire thread makes me nervous.

I’ve got an uneasy feeling too. We need to be focused and physically strong. In our EF defeat last year it was as though GWS knew and were prepared for the extra urgency of a final and we weren’t. We must reverse that from the opening bounce. This is also where my uneasy feelings about Gardner and R Smith return to haunt me. They’ve both improved a lot but are both players that have struggled with confidence. “Nearly there” players like Hayes and Dale were rabbits in the headlights against the Giants. We can’t afford to have poor contributions from the bottom six.

On the other hand...we are likely to have around nine premiership players out there. (Bont, Dunkley, Hunter, Wood, Macrae, Cordy, Libba, JJ, Daniel). Duryea is also a premiership player. We should have the edge. Why doesn’t it feel that way?

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Originally Posted by The bulldog tragician

This entire thread makes me nervous.

I’ve got an uneasy feeling too. We need to be focused and physically strong. In our EF defeat last year it was as though GWS knew and were prepared for the extra urgency of a final and we weren’t. We must reverse that from the opening bounce. This is also where my uneasy feelings about Gardner and R Smith return to haunt me. They’ve both improved a lot but are both players that have struggled with confidence. “Nearly there” players like Hayes and Dale were rabbits in the headlights against the Giants. We can’t afford to have poor contributions from the bottom six.

On the other hand...we are likely to have around nine premiership players out there. (Bont, Dunkley, Hunter, Wood, Macrae, Cordy, Libba, JJ, Daniel). Duryea is also a premiership player. We should have the edge. Why doesn’t it feel that way?

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It's something about the Saints BT. Can't quite put my finger on it myself. I dunno, everything seems to fall their way when we play them. Reading recaps of the 09 prelim certainly doesn't help.

Re Gardner, call me crazy but I feel a lot more confident in our defence with him in it now. Just a lot more assured with him, Cordy and Keath. Without him I'd be having anxiety attacks of the thought of Max King clunking mark after mark and kicking 6 along with Marshall.....wait I still have that anxiety.

Ratten has only ever won one final and that was against Essendon so doesn't count.
I'm confident our contested game will stand up in finals.

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Originally Posted by The bulldog tragician

. We should have the edge. Why doesn’t it feel that way?

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I don't gamble but the betting market suggests we do.

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Originally Posted by Grantysghost

Ratten has only ever won one final and that was against Essendon so doesn't count.
I'm confident our contested game will stand up in finals.

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The last time the Saints won a final was the 2010 prelim against us.

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Originally Posted by bulldogsthru&thru

The last time the Saints won a final was the 2010 prelim against us.

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Time to turn the tables.
Very much Bevo v Ratten.

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Originally Posted by AshMac

This. 100%. We need to capitalise on our opportunities and focus on efficiency inside 50

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One of my St Kilda mates is quietly nervous about Josh Bruce producing one of those dominant performances forward of centre that he seems to produce a maximum of twice per season (ie. against North this year). Will be playing his first final so it'll be interesting to see how he goes against his old side.

I'd be rapt if he could take his chances up forward and help Tim break even in the ruck, which would go a long way in helping us get a result.

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Originally Posted by RCWB

One of my St Kilda mates is quietly nervous about Josh Bruce producing one of those dominant performances forward of centre that he seems to produce a maximum of twice per season (ie. against North this year). Will be playing his first final so it'll be interesting to see how he goes against his old side.

I'd be rapt if he could take his chances up forward and help Tim break even in the ruck, which would go a long way in helping us get a result.

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That would be so, so sweet.

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Originally Posted by RCWB

One of my St Kilda mates is quietly nervous about Josh Bruce producing one of those dominant performances forward of centre that he seems to produce a maximum of twice per season (ie. against North this year). Will be playing his first final so it'll be interesting to see how he goes against his old side.

I'd be rapt if he could take his chances up forward and help Tim break even in the ruck, which would go a long way in helping us get a result.

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Ohh that'd be sweet. I know we got to a flag before they did, but I still feel like it's our time when it comes to playing the saints. They've had it fall their way the last decade when playing us. Now it's our turn. Bruce kicking a bag would be the perfect start.

I'm thinking we can exploit the Saints desire to move the ball quickly and with some risk, particularly if they're not fielding a team of seasoned finals campaigners. If we can get our pressure levels to where they need to be then we can cause turnovers and create opportunities.

My biggest concern is that we don't capitalise on the opportunities presented, we should get plenty and we need to make the most of them.

This year compared to last we've not had the same high performance levels on the run home, but we've been competitive for a while now and have had to win each game for the last three weeks to make it. For some reason the preparation and the way we're playing gives me confidence.

If it rains, who does it benefit most? Both teams like to move the ball quickly. I'd think us but it's not like we are any good in wet conditions.