The funny thing for us is, we're apparently going so well because we've had no injuries this year. Now Paul ROos is saying that the settled line-up is detrimental to the fringe players' development. It sounds like an excuse to me, and this is coming from a Sydney fan.

It's overrated.
Well, it's probably just my opinion.

I personally hate it.... would rather just watch it on TV.

Whe Sydney lost to St. Kilda, I was there. It was raining, it was cold. It sucked.
Best of all, I got the poncho with holes in it, so I was soaked, my parents didn't care much though.

It depends on what match you see. I myself do not enjoy being out in the rain... thats why telstra dome is so cool, since they cover you from the elements.

You cannot beat that atmosphere of a big game.... Anzac day for exampls just is not the same on TV...

Subby you shall be shocked and delighted to know im taking an interest in footy! The past few weeks when I've been with Aztec we've watched a couple of games (havent we hunny!!! )

And im supporting both St Kilda and Collingwood (St Kilda when with Aztec, Collingwood when with maniacal family ) which will lead to a Jekyl and Hyde thing when they clash (and just wanted to add here be nice please boys, dont want any nastyness!!!! )

**solely directed at Subby and Aztec**

And I have to admit theres been some times when I've thought ooh i wouldnt mind experiencing that for real, that little rush you get when someone has the ball and they're running towards the....stick things....(*giggles* I know what they are) chopsticks ... goals!

*Jen's becoming more Aussie! lah lah lah lah laaaaah*

Why bother supporting St Kilda... Its like picking the maltese in a greyhound race

And Aztec and I are always nice.... I have to be, I feel for the little guy... Such bad taste in football teams... *gig*

Subby i giggled very loudly...

thats mean though! (I took a defensive standpoint for Aztec)

but i agree! (I took a defensice standpoint for Dad)

*giggles*

I think Sir Aztec has stood next to a checkout scanner so much its effected his brain....

Subby! You must edit that post! if he finds out you said his real name he'll be cross as a hot crossed bun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (he loves those tho lol)

Subby, Subby, Subby I am barely near any checkout scanners anymore yet I hear you are being afflicted by their incessant beeping so I must wonder about your mental capacities after such torture

Anyway its good to see that the massive advantage Collingwood has with its training facilities is finally going to be reduced, as all Victorian clubs are getting upgrades of their existing facilities as well as many new buildings. St.Kilda's project is by far the largest with it costing $16.5 million. The next closest is about $8million.

St.Kilda tonight take on the Crows at Telstra Dome with many tipping an upset as many believe that our win over Sydney will turn our season around. I personally believe it will be close and will come down to whether Reiwoldt and Gehrig fire in the forward line. We have lost Jason Blake to a hamstring injury while Xavier Clarke finally returns for his only his first or second game this season.

Sorry Jen, I was at work after that



...So collingwood pays for its own, and the other clubs get it done for them? How is that arrangment fair? ... not that we need anything as we are quite wealthy. lol

^ Each club is paying for a large chunk of the redevelopment but as they include social clubs and community centres/facilities the government and AFL is also chipping in. Anyways Collingwood is bloody rich

And good old St.kilda are currently getting thrashed by Adelaide but really it was to be expected.

Aztec - what's happening with that St Kilda guy Kolzhnitze or something or other (probably got the name wrong). I just read yesterday he collapsed in front of camera.

All the best wishes to him and his family, and to StKFC. Let's hope it's not serious.

Kosi had been suffering from a virus and had not eaten breakfast that morning so as he had already been weakened by the illness and the lack of food caused him to faint. He was quite literally fine not too long after the incident but to be on the safe-side he took an ambulance to the hospital. He has since had x-rays, brain scans and an appointment with a neoursurgeon and all have cleared his fractured skull from causing the fainting incident.

...If I were a supporter I'd be afraid to breathe on him

I put forward we change his name to : Justin Hospital...

^Well at least last year when he managed 4 games in a row before getting injured again he kicked between 12-16 goals while scoring three brownlow votes in all four games. That gives all us Saints fans hope that when Kosi finally gets back out there on the ground he can do something special.

What about all these injuries the boys down at Collingwood are suffering from Subby?

Yeah.... and Daniel harford was a star... for about 20 games.

What about our injuries? Caracella had his head and neck smashed into, but will recover... other then him i can't say we have to many. Brodie Holland and Dane Swan missed this week, but we just beat the reigning premiers... so who cares.

^As did we with half a side.....so ......anyway Collingwood do seem to still be the only Victorian team that could give the premiership a shake this year. Melbourne are impressive but I just don`t see it continuing through to the finals. The Saints and Dogs should still make the eight and could be darkhorses if the injuries don`t continue but its hard to see either team winning it at this point. Luckily there is still 10 rounds to go!

Yeah, but then you lose to teams like fremantle... which WE don't

We are looking good, we have richmond this week and should regain Swan and Holland (i believe). Also good to see Rhys Shaw back and playing well this week, as well as knowing Sean Rusling is improving with every game in Williamstown.

^Well as a Saints fan we basically expect horror games like that and we have been basically blessed over the last two years with our performances. We may regain Hamill, Rapheal Clarke and one or two other players this coming weekend but sadly there will still be many missing.

Well, we play you in two weeks..... If I remember correctly you were doubting Collingwoods ability to beat you just a few weeks back..

^Hhhmmm when do I ever doubt Collingwood's ability to win?

Well although we didn`t regain any of our injured players for the match against Hawthron we destroyed them with a nice 70 point win. Our percentage was only sitting around 105 so this should boost it over 110 which we need to stay right up there with the teams above us all having impressive percentages.

Im staring to get annoyed with Mike Sheehan. Once again once collingwood lose, he starts to bag Tarrant, calling him into question. Mike... He is NOT our full forward. His job is to go up the ground and link together the play, he runs to the wings to receive the ball, he doesn't stay close to goals. Therefore the fact he doesn't kick that many goals (1 a game this year i believe) is irrelevent. Up unto a few weeks ago he was the number one assister in the competition (eventually Didak passed him).... This would indicate he had an impact on us scoring, just not off his own boot.

I find it funny that Matthew Richardson can go goaless, and be classed as being great.. and one of the best on ground, but if Tarrant is goaless he isn't playing well enough...

^Good point, it seems that Sheehan was in desperate need of a topic to write on and chose to pick on Collingwood and Tarrant as everyone loves a good Collingwood bashing column.

Anyway I`m a bit concerned that Collingwood are going to come out and let their frustration out on us for their performance against Richmond. St.kilda generally dont play that well against Collingwood and the last thing we need is a fired-up magpies unit that has played some impressive footbal this year. Hamill and Kosi wont be risked though, Hamill should be back next week with Kosi probably the following week.

I think itll be a good match, as long as its dry lol

^Well it was dry Subby although that didn`t really help the pies now did it ......except for the first 10 minutes.

The saints seem to have regained their hardness and mental toughness after the break with an obvious belief in their own abilities once again returning. Although all our top players who aren`t injured played well it was the lesser known players who really stepped up yesterday. Montagna, Gram and the Fishers all played brilliantly and were able to easily set-up up a nice 10 goal win.

lol...seriously, we oculdnt play much worse... so don't take much from that win.

I am quite happy for collingwood to hit a rough patch, as some teams tend to do it in the finals... *cough* St's*cough*

Interesting. St.kilda was far superior to Collingwood on the day not so much because you played bad but because we simply played better, we shut down your key players and were able to make more of our opportunities. St.kilda was a deserved winner on the day as they played as a cohesive unit, letting their skills and abilities do the talking.

Also in relation to the finals, St.Kilda lost in the 2004 preliminary final by a single goal and in 2005 were down over 6 players(not just during the match but including those who could not play that particular match) and still managed to lead for much of the preliminary against Sydney. By the way was it not Collingwood who lost two consecutive Grand Finals not too long ago?

I would also like to note how I am aware that St.Kilda has only won a single premiership, that we have the most wooden spoons and have been a punching bag for many teams over our 100+ years in this competition. I am also not claiming that St.Kilda are a far superior side to Collingwood this year nor that we will win the premiership this year. So Subby let me have it

So your comparing a team that has the talent that St Kilda has had over the last few years... who HAVEN'T made it even to the grand final at this point.... To a collingwood team that lost to arguably the greatest side of all time... in the big one twice.

Trying to make us out as chokers, when we got further then your superior team (looking at our grand final sides compared to st kildas sides the last couple of seasons).... Is seriously lackluster

I never said St Kilda weren't better on the day, thats a given... But saying they have reclaimed their edge playing a team that was not playing at the best of their ability is wrong.... Mainly due to the fact if St Kilda players think thats their best, they have another shock coming when some teams playing well play them.

Both times we were knocked out in the prelim finals we went down to the eventual premiers and both times were missing a significant amount of key players.

I must also point out how I never insinuated that Collingwood were chokers only you did that in your earlier post with the much loved cough "word/statement" cough. I merely pointed out how you had also gone down in two grand finals as we had gone down in two preliminary finals. There is no doubt making the Grand Final is far more impressive.

It is also quite obvious that St.Kilda have indeed regained their edge. They have had two consecutive wins by large margins and are not only playing with greater confidence and conhesion but with greater self-belief. The teams they defeated are irrelevant as I never said nor did St.Kilda that we are playing at our best nor did I or St.kilda claim that so far this year we are superior. We are though improving and setting ourselves up for finals as we did last year after the break. We still have significant improvement to make and also are awaiting the return of Hamil, Kosi and Clarke while having to make do without Hayes. We should have achieved greater results but we haven`t and now its time to concentrate on the future.

I will point out that after Collingwood beat Sydney we were a genuine premiership threat... However we have now lost 3 of our last 4. Teams go from best to worst so quickly the whole concept of getting back the edge is incorrect. Its good to say they played with the edge, but dont go into thinking that one or two matches makes a reality. Ask Geelong....

^True, true but St.kilda have at least improved and with Essendon and Port coming up at the MCG and Aurora respectively we really have a chance to get back in the hunt for that top four spot. Results have definately fallen our way in regards to the teams above us allowing us to put our foot in the door.

Now Collingwood have Fremantle down here at the MCG this week so if you are ever to turn around your fortunes now is the time. Collingwood have shown they are a real contender this year and against the likes of Fremantle down in Melbourne you should account for them. What are your thoughts on this match Subby?

Collingwood only beat Sydney because Sydney have fallen off the rails. We've lost the plot. I don't know why they're not playing well, but as it is, we're no where near a premiership team.

St Kilda beat us too, btw. God, everyone's beating us

If we don't beat fremantle this week, I would think its a sign that the kids that have done so well for us so far this year are starting to struggle with the long season....

.... I expect us to win, and I think we will be up and down till end of the season... But we generally excell in the finals, so I expect us to make a big go of it... assuming we dont lose all oour games and dont make it lol

^Indeed I would expect Collingwood to triumph this weekend but Fremantle probably have more to lose as if they do lose this match and the Saints and Tigers win it just makes september action a hell of a lot tougher to feature in. Then again Collingwood will be out to prove this past month has been nothing more than a rough patch and that they are still legitimate premiership material.

Now on St.Kilda they actually went down to the bombers last year by 15 points when they were struggling so hopefully that doesn`t happen again. Hamill wont be back for at least another month as he is off for knee surgery but Thommo, Blake and R. Clarke are very close. Kosi will stay in the VFL for a couple more weeks though.

Well we lost, proving once again that we can still suck

Mind you we did kick 15 goals, so it wasnt a total loss.... We kicked a reasonable score.

Anyhow, id be interested in seeing some people post their version of what they consider to be the all australian team to this point....

^Well there would be quite a few spots going to Adelaide players, Hudgton could push for that Full-Back position and Reiwoldt would be in the mix. Ball and Dal Santo may struggle though as they have only had simply "good enough" seasons. Hayes would have made it but sadly injured has intervened. Thats it from the Saints though in my opinion. Two or three players max.

I wonder who would get full-forward as there hasn`t really been a standout forward this year. What are your thoughts on that position Subby?

Fevola... Can't argue with the fact he is in front of the goalkicking table....

From collingwood I would think Alan Didak would make it on a flank... James Clement again in the back..... Others will struggle...

Go the dockers.

Fevola is also one of the key factors in Carlton still being competitive in some matches but sadly he just cant do it on his own every week.

Interestingly Kosi has been booked for making contact with the umpire after that horrendous head-clash in his VFL match and may even be suspended. It would be a joke if he was but he has already been fined for making contact with an umpire, and the tribunal is hardly consistent whether it be in the VFL or AFL.

lol Yes go the dockers, we enjoy watching you lose in finals in straight sets

He obviously has a problem with his vision. I remember watching on the couch the week after his collision... and they showed it and were commenting that he had a lack of vision of the hit... and earilier in the season there was something else they showed too... this just points at it again....

^Indeed although as a Saints supporter I`m just going to keep believeing he just had his eyes on the ball and was concentrating so hard he missed the umpire.

Fremantle have now won 6 of their past 8 games at the MCG so they seem to have at gotten over their inability to win at this particular stadium. So if they only ever have to play at the G and Subiaco they have a chance.

Well, we are back on the winning way... Lets hope it keeps up this time

Go the Dockers, Destroy Melbourne.

Finally I am able to return to UM and as St.kilda have kept on winning tis a joyous time. Beating Richmond has given us that percentage boost we needed to stay ahead of teams just behind us or on par in regards to points. All we need to do is concentrate on winning now and we still have Kosi, Hamill and the Clatje brothers to return in the coming weeks!


On another St.Kilda note Baker contested his one-match striking ban and lost so he will now be out for 2 matches!

You know, I just noticed last week that Fremantle and Geelong are the two anomalous teams in the comp at the moment. Fremantle's in 8th place, Geelong in 9th. Fremantle's the only team in the top 8 with a percentage lower than 100, and Geelong's the only team out of the 8 with a percentage above 100.

If Geelong can keep winning and take over Fremantle at some point before the end of the season, I think the table will right itself.

Just thought I'd share

Hmm, I was just reading in the paper the other day that "Geelong now are out of finals contention" and will probably use the rest of the year to blood some young'uns for next year. THey're on 32 pts, with Fremantle on 40? Five rounds to go, while very shaky are by no means no-hope's, right???

PA

That is wishfull thinking about Geelong.

Well as I noted in my second last post, the percentages are all wrong for those teams. I think the Force will balance itself out. Fremantle=2 losses, Geelong=2 wins, and Cats leapfrog Dockers.

Well if you look at the Draw both Fremantle and Geelong have rather tough assignments over the coming 5 weeks with only one or two easier games. Fremantle though have a number of home matches and with a two match advantage over Geelong I don`t seeing them missing the finals but it is still a possibility.

HAHAHA

Port Power won't win a single game for the rest of the season. They don't have a single draw against a non-eight team and with their form i don't think they can win. And in the coming Showdown we Crows will trounce them once again.

ps it seems all you people debating the AFL are all Vic supporters and yet it looks like there will be few Vics in the finals and again we will have a non-vic Premier for the SIXTH year in a row. Isn't that funny...

And most importantly of all the winner looks like it will be the All Mighty Adelaide Crows.


Carn the crows and boo to all Victorian Teams.