Training Pre season training

[Pakenhamsaint]

Why wont we have a midfield in 5 years time? Aren't we allowed to trade or draft until 2030 0r something?

It's St Kilda.

Fully expect us to **** it up.

 

[gringo2011]

We got Macrae, Carroll & Boxhall because we lost Ross & Crouch and our midfield lacked depth even with those players

We had our midfield depth tested more than most do in a regular season. Dow, Clark, Jones, Crouch, Windhager, Ross, Henry and Hall all missed significant amounts of games or preseason. Even Steele played injured late and Mason Wood missed footy too. Dow was there for exactly that situation and needed up injured.

A fit Dow/Crouch and Henry and we probably play finals.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

We had our midfield depth tested more than most do in a regular season. Dow, Clark, Jones, Crouch, Windhager, Ross, Henry and Hall all missed significant amounts of games or preseason. Even Steele played injured late and Mason Wood missed footy too. Dow was there for exactly that situation and needed up injured.

A fit Dow/Crouch and Henry and we probably play finals.

I'm still a bit reserved regarding Dow.
I'm not seeing a lot of evidence he'll end up better than Byrnes, let alone be able to do the stuff that got him drafted in the first place.

 

[saintmike65]

I'm still a bit reserved regarding Dow.
I'm not seeing a lot of evidence he'll end up better than Byrnes, let alone be able to do the stuff that got him drafted in the first place.

Dow’s been in the system for a fair while now…time to prove himself or he’s in trouble

 

[saintmike65]

If anyone thought that Boyd was the next Mumford , he would not be training with a team , hoping for a supplementary selection.
However, his SAFL performance suggests he is possibly an adequate replacement for Campbell.
I don't know if we didn't want to re-sign Campbell , or he got a better offer, but we do know he wasn't an answer at AFL level, he was emergency when we had nothing better.

Boyd could be worse, but he doesn't need to be great to be just as good. And at 24 ( and missing a full season due to Covid ), he may well have an upside.
At the age of 21 he was 196cm ( did he grow or get platform boots ), and considered himself to be a defender who could pinch hit in the ruck.

Harry Boyd signs for Norwood - Norwood Football Club

norwoodfc.com.au

I’ve a feeling Boyd was signed partly out of desperation due to us passing on Soldo..
Keeler is 198cm & looks a bit taller than Harry!
Height isn’t the be all and end all however ruckmen he’ll be up against have a significant reach advantage, that combined with a lack of spring spells trouble.
He’d be able to wrestle at boundary throw ins & ball ups around the ground but will struggle big time at centre bounces where we’re already ordinary!

 

[gubby88]

I’ve a feeling Boyd was signed partly out of desperation due to us passing on Soldo..
Keeler is 198cm & looks a bit taller than Harry!
Height isn’t the be all and end all however ruckmen he’ll be up against have a significant reach advantage, that combined with a lack of spring spells trouble.
He’d be able to wrestle at boundary throw ins & ball ups around the ground but will struggle big time at centre bounces where we’re already ordinary!

disagree on the centre bounce. the new rules state that they can now use their body, so the leaping ruckman art is a bit of a dying breed atm.

On SM-A156E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[stfan]

At the age of 21 he was 196cm ( did he grow or get platform boots ), and considered himself to be a defender who could pinch hit in the ruck.

Harry Boyd signs for Norwood - Norwood Football Club

norwoodfc.com.au

I think it more likely that the stat was just not correct (ie was just a old stat that someone re-used without remeasuring him at the time) at the time it was posted, rather than he grew 2cm after the age of 21.

And just clicking through on the link you posted.... and which you showed the last graphic of showing him at 196cm, the opening graphic of his earlier playing highlights before he joined Norwood had him at 197cm.



Anyway he is 198cm now, and that is all that matters as that is the height he will be at the Saints.

In earlier football he was played as both a key forward and defender. So a plus is that he has played in a variety of roles before coming on in leaps and bounds as ruckman. Or rather coming on in pushes and shoves as a ruckman

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Dow’s been in the system for a fair while now…time to prove himself or he’s in trouble

What's disappointed me, and probably also the Carlton supporters at the time is his lack of contested ball winning.
It was supposed to be his big strength when he was drafted.
But's he's popped up once or twice a year with 11, 12, 13 contested possessions, and got a fairly average or minimal amount the rest of the time.

Windy averaged more contested possessions in 2024. Windy had 16 against Collingwood, and 15 against Bulldogs.
If Windy can do it more consistently he might be the man after McYabbie moves on .

 

[stfan]

disagree on the centre bounce. the new rules state that they can now use their body, so the leaping ruckman art is a bit of a dying breed atm.

On SM-A156E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Agree.

Does anyone have an end of season update by Champion Data to their early season stats in the article below?

Turn off the tap: The small tweak changing ruckwork

Riley Beveridge has assessed the impact of the change in interpretation for ruck contests

www.afl.com.au

Boyd who averaged 41.8 hitouts, 20.1 disposals and 10.0 clearances per game in 2024 and who cleary is a man beast fits that model.


Yes we may have preferred an even better ruck, BUT

• we gained him as only a SSP pick
• what better (and available) ruck would be content to play second fiddle to Marshall?

On the much touted Soldo, he is a low clearance ruck.

 

[gringo2011]

How is the early mood at this stage, folks? Are good things happening; is optimism abound?

Feeling positive. Super young but lots is being made right. Merry Christmas MUF.

 

[kosifantutti]

Captain killjoy coming in……I wonder if everyone will still be feeling all warm and fuzzy about the Carlton win in 5 years time when we still don’t have a midfield.

I choose to believe that if we had finished 14th, the AFL would have said there’s no way we’ll give them pick 6 for Battle. But they were comfortable giving us 8.

 

[SteeleSaints]

disagree on the centre bounce. the new rules state that they can now use their body, so the leaping ruckman art is a bit of a dying breed atm.

On SM-A156E using BigFooty.com mobile app

If you think Boyd's SANFL form will equate to the AFL I think a lot are in for some disappointing times. Because of his bulk in that comp he could hold out opponents at the fall of the ball, I very doubt he is going to able to do that against AFL opposition. Players like Gawn, Meek, Darcy, Cameron will own him in a wrestle and others just wont engage and leap or reach over him.

You have to remember that in the AFL the umpires allow opposition ruckman basically to throw the player in front away fromt he ball, Gawn gets away with it constantly. So Boyd standing flat footed under the fall of the ball will just become a target.

He can stand under the fall of the ball all he likes if the other ruckman doesnt engage and times their leap Boyd will just become a rucking bag.

 

[pebblesofsand]

disagree on the centre bounce. the new rules state that they can now use their body, so the leaping ruckman art is a bit of a dying breed atm.

On SM-A156E using BigFooty.com mobile app

If you think Boyd's SANFL form will equate to the AFL I think a lot are in for some disappointing times. Because of his bulk in that comp he could hold out opponents at the fall of the ball, I very doubt he is going to able to do that against AFL opposition. Players like Gawn, Meek, Darcy, Cameron will own him in a wrestle and others just wont engage and leap or reach over him.

You have to remember that in the AFL the umpires allow opposition ruckman basically to throw the player in front away fromt he ball, Gawn gets away with it constantly. So Boyd standing flat footed under the fall of the ball will just become a target.

He can stand under the fall of the ball all he likes if the other ruckman doesnt engage and times their leap Boyd will just become a rucking bag.

Cross the centre line and block v the big leaping ruckman

 

[Coconut_twirl]

If anyone thought that Boyd was the next Mumford , he would not be training with a team , hoping for a supplementary selection.
However, his SAFL performance suggests he is possibly an adequate replacement for Campbell.
I don't know if we didn't want to re-sign Campbell , or he got a better offer, but we do know he wasn't an answer at AFL level, he was emergency when we had nothing better.

Boyd could be worse, but he doesn't need to be great to be just as good. And at 24 ( and missing a full season due to Covid ), he may well have an upside.
At the age of 21 he was 196cm ( did he grow or get platform boots ), and considered himself to be a defender who could pinch hit in the ruck.

Harry Boyd signs for Norwood - Norwood Football Club

norwoodfc.com.au

Boyd is 26? Still relatively young and a decent prospect and at worse, ready made ruck insurance if Ro goes down or Heath doesn’t make it. Best case scenario he is a late bloomer that wasn’t ready in his draft year.

 

[pebblesofsand]

If you think Boyd's SANFL form will equate to the AFL I think a lot are in for some disappointing times. Because of his bulk in that comp he could hold out opponents at the fall of the ball, I very doubt he is going to able to do that against AFL opposition. Players like Gawn, Meek, Darcy, Cameron will own him in a wrestle and others just wont engage and leap or reach over him.

You have to remember that in the AFL the umpires allow opposition ruckman basically to throw the player in front away fromt he ball, Gawn gets away with it constantly. So Boyd standing flat footed under the fall of the ball will just become a target.

He can stand under the fall of the ball all he likes if the other ruckman doesnt engage and times their leap Boyd will just become a rucking bag.

I'm not sure whether Boyd will actually play but I think his style of rucking would be enough to hold his own if they are seriously looking at playing Marshall fwd for say 40% of the game.

But they didn't do it when Campbell was there, doubt they'll do it unless Boyd turns out a much better AFL ruck than we currently think he might be.

Averaging 10 clearances a game across a whole season in the SANFL though is an incredible output for any player - let alone a ruckman.

 

[saintmike65]

Agree.

Does anyone have an end of season update by Champion Data to their early season stats in the article below?

Turn off the tap: The small tweak changing ruckwork

Riley Beveridge has assessed the impact of the change in interpretation for ruck contests

www.afl.com.au

Boyd who averaged 41.8 hitouts, 20.1 disposals and 10.0 clearances per game in 2024 and who cleary is a man beast fits that model.


Yes we may have preferred an even better ruck, BUT

• we gained him as only a SSP pick
• what better (and available) ruck would be content to play second fiddle to Marshall?

On the much touted Soldo, he is a low clearance ruck.

We’ll see!
Hopefully he doesn’t get a senior game & Marshall plays every game again!

 

[pebblesofsand]

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Go Saints!!!

 

[MUFKilda]

Feeling positive. Super young but lots is being made right. Merry Christmas MUF.

Merry Christmas, gringo. It sounds hopeful

 

[BrutThough]

That same rationale applies to several mids, form & performance always dictates selection but Clark has more going for him than a few others

He's in the same position as Dow as needing to prove himself.

 

[stfan]

We’ll see!

It is more that the new ruck rules give his style of ruckman an in. Even, if we would like him to be taller.

He has not even played a practice match with us yet, and so it will be interesting to see him play some AFL rucks when we do as opposed to the limited pool he faces at training at present.

Hopefully he doesn’t get a senior game

Too early to make a call on that one way or the other.


Let's see how he goes in the practice matches and VFL games against capable ruck opponents.

His role may be just as back up and travelling ruck to replace Campbell. Hopefully he is more capable than that.

I do not believe anyone is predicting he will come and be high level ruck (Soldo certainly would not have been, and would have cost trade-wise). Nice if he was competitive at AFL level though. At only 26, as a full time professional footballer for the first time, he should be able to improve, even if it is only marginally.


In the mean time how well he plays is going to be fascinating to watch.

& Marshall plays every game again!

Amen to this.

 

[stfan]

He's in the same position as Dow as needing to prove himself.

The competition for a mid spot looks to be very healthy at present Clark, Jones, Dow, Carrol, Windy, along with some other possibles like Stocker, Hall or even the young Boxshall, all competing to get picked within the 22.

Macrae, Steele and Pou probably are the only three locks at present with the bulk of supporters. Plus Henry when fit. Though Clark could well be a lock for Lyon.

The other unknown at present is how many mids that they will play in the 22. Effecting is this too is the club may instead play the extra outside player as they may want to get games in TT. And then there is Byrnes too as an outside runner who can rotate as mid.

If it good to have more pressure on more positions, by having more suitable players to choose from.

 

[Verdun66]

Enjoying the general positivity. Some dissenters, but I skipped over them. Or should I call them Grinches at this time of year?

Our recruiting has certainly gone up a couple of notches. We seem to be digging out some hidden gems for a change. Hugo particularly being the kid we will point to in future years as our gun smoky from the lower reaches of the draft.

But the key is a clean bill of health for the list. We have had a rotten run the last few years. Some of the teams Sandy put out point to the fact that our list has been paper thin for extended periods. The moment we start to have desperately unlucky players stuck in the magoos we will be on our way.

We still have kids and that is great for the future. So patience still required. But watching the development of these guys will be terrific. And Sandy might be worth watching. Way back in the day I loved watching the reserves. The footy could be pretty scrappy but you would suddenly see someone that was a future star.

I have banged on over the last few years that good drafting and development were the only way we were going to become a force. We’re getting there.

 

[BrutThough]

The competition for a mid spot looks to be very healthy at present Clark, Jones, Dow, Carrol, Windy, along with some other possibles like Stocker, Hall or even the young Boxshall, all competing to get picked within the 22.

Macrae, Steele and Pou probably are the only three locks at present with the bulk of supporters. Plus Henry when fit. Though Clark could well be a lock for Lyon.

The other unknown at present is how many mids that they will play in the 22. Effecting is this too is the club may instead play the extra outside player as they may want to get games in TT. And then there is Byrnes too as an outside runner who can rotate as mid.

If it good to have more pressure on more positions, by having more suitable players to choose from.

Definitely agree with your locks. Everyone else to fight it out over the match sim to get a rd1 gig.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

I choose to believe that if we had finished 14th, the AFL would have said there’s no way we’ll give them pick 6 for Battle. But they were comfortable giving us 8.

They choose the band not the pick.
IDK why most people still don't get this.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

The competition for a mid spot looks to be very healthy at present Clark, Jones, Dow, Carrol, Windy, along with some other possibles like Stocker, Hall or even the young Boxshall, all competing to get picked within the 22.

Macrae, Steele and Pou probably are the only three locks at present with the bulk of supporters. Plus Henry when fit. Though Clark could well be a lock for Lyon.

The other unknown at present is how many mids that they will play in the 22. Effecting is this too is the club may instead play the extra outside player as they may want to get games in TT. And then there is Byrnes too as an outside runner who can rotate as mid.

If it good to have more pressure on more positions, by having more suitable players to choose from.

Henry hasn't really played much as a mid, and when he's gone through there he's nothing special. I think he's destined to be a forward or winger.