Round 16, 2021
Collingwood 1.2, 1.5, 3.7, 8.13 (61)
St Kilda 3.1, 4.5, 10.8, 10.10 (70)
At the MCG, Sunday, July 4th at 3.20pm
The result of these types of games all too often completely colours how you reflect on it. 16 rounds in and it’s still a test for the fans: how much do you take away from 3 quarters, on a dreary, greasy July afternoon, against a checked-out Pies team?
If you are an evergreen optimist, the angle is that the Saints were a Higgins straight kick or two (Sydney) and minus one umpiring brain-fade in the goal square (Adelaide), from being in sixth right now.
I think it’s safe to say that the well-documented Home Truths Sessions in Sydney etc have transpired into some on-field improvements. Generally, the team has regained some oomph. Commitment to the one-percenters has shifted up a gear or two. And the defensive setup across the ground seems to have solidified. Both the Tigers and then Collingwood on Sunday visibly got dispirited by the Saints ability to both starve them of possession, as well as seal all windows and doors when it came to getting through the middle third of the ground.
Some individuals too have been pivotal to this shift. Luke Dunstan again was one of our best on Sunday. Up until recent weeks he has been completely on the outer under Ratten; the slot in the side seemed to only fully open when the injury toll reached epic levels. Despite that, he seems to be relishing the last chance saloon and is playing with both toughness as well as freedom. Tom Highmore has slipped into that back six with aplomb. Both in the air and on the ground he’s competing hard and with a great level of assurance. Ryan Byrnes’ quiet ascension has kicked into overdrive – another 21 touches, 3 inside 50s and 4 clearances on Sunday. Ronny’s impact, and the way in which he provides the glue in a lot of Saints forward thrusts, often is invisible in the eyes of the Stats sheet. Watching Byrnes, you’re overcome by his balance, competitiveness in close and his ability to some up the right decision in the nick of time every time. If the likes of Dunstan and Ross possessed an ounce of Ronny’s deftness by foot, we would be a much stronger midfield.
However, once the final siren rung on Sunday, I had nothing but a sour after-taste. Not a surprising feeling, but it still stung. The final term against Collingwood was a timely and swift reminder that the Coaches, the football department and the Players still need to put process above results right now. The team’s renewed focus on the process and creating a brand that they can tick off each week can’t be deviated from. That level hasn’t been clocked. It can’t be taken for granted.
It’s reminder of where this Club is at. The past month has seen it regains it’s footing somewhat, but I still don’t know if it has internally acknowledged where it stands in terms of building a Premiership team. And let’s face it, that is always what the MO should be. But especially now, whilst the ramifications of the soul-searching shake out. Instead of looking how far we are from eighth, we should be looking at how far we are away from actually building the planks of a Premiership side.
Aside from Max King, an undoubted A+ talent, the ceiling of most of our younger players is unclear at best. Coffield and Clark, who both took steps forward in 2020, have stalled this year. Both divide strongly divide opinion in terms of their respective ceilings. Battle (only a year older at 22) has had a so-so year at best, but is perhaps just in need of a different role. Talent wise he could be the dark-horse, but by no means a blue-chip piece. Bytel and Byrnes have both showed real promise over a number of games and Ronny, is already a fixture in the side. All things going well, Paton will be back in the 22 next year as a 23 year old. He’s definitely been missed this year. Marshall and Howard are both 25 years old, and whilst not “young”, are bonafide irreplaceable parts of the side’s spine. Also in the 25 club are Wilkie and Steele. The former is a rock solid contributor and already a leader. The latter has become a household name amongst the AFL Media because he is our best player.
Of the the above: you could only be confident in Steele, Marshall and King possibly troubling the All-Australian selectors in the next handful of years. Howard too maybe, if you’re a devote optimist. At 20 though, King is unlikely to actually get to those heights for at least another couple of years, likely more. Since the arrival of Ryder, Marshall’s averages have actually dropped since 2019. It’s looking likely that Ryder will go on in 2022, so it will be on Marshall to get his fitness base up to a point where he can be a consistent forward force as well as bringing his around the ground touch when he shifts onto the ball. Having amassed 59 games now, he definitely has the foundation under him to deliver bigger games, more consistently. With King still growing and developing, there’s a clear space and need there for Rohan to be the figurehead.
With all that said, the top-end talent cupboard still needs bolstering. If Hill continues to play with a renewed verve, then his impact could serve as being a “new recruit” in 2022 (and beyond). Aside from him, it’s hard to picture who are the A-graders that are going to pop up from within the current playing group. This is where the strategy of the football and list management departments really are going to become critical over the next couple of months. Does the club need to re-invest at the Draft and reset it’s targets around when King is more likely to hit his straps? Can the Club bridge the gap in the meantime?
Apart from being the major thorn in the side vis-a-vis the ambitions of 2021, this feebleness when it comes to the side’s psyche, is distressing in a deeper sense: This isn’t a young team per se. Across each line in the side’s 22 you can find players that either have been in the League for quite a while or have been in big, successful clubs in the last decade. It should not take a Spanish Inquisition to smoke-them-out when it comes to the game’s requirement for relentless competitiveness and selflessness. This can only lead one to think that some of the key figures let the Finals run of 2020 go their heads at least a little bit.
Through the third term of Sunday finally there was a flicker of a sense that the hands were firmly on the steering wheel again, and that the ship was heading for some steadier waters.
For a neutral it would not have been a pleasant watch. The commentators made much noise about both the greasiness of the conditions as well as the swirly nature of the wind, but the repeated mis kicks, and flubbed handballs still seemed baffling. Even Pendlebury grassed a handball receive in the first term – a world first. D-Mac soccered a ground ball straight into John Noble’s shoulder.
Despite all that faff, Snags’ banana snap from 35 metres out gave the Saints a deserved cushion just before quarter time. For the first ten minutes, it felt as if the side had brought it’s own football. As a result they had a monopoly on territory too. Brad Hill’s 10 first quarter touches proved that he was up for it, but not only that, he was getting touches through the middle and coming into the forward 60 metres (or so) where he can be particularly impactful. This performance, as well as the first half of the Eagles game, have been the only two of his where I’ve sat back and enjoyed that completely different dimension he has given us.
The Saints best footy on Sunday was a triumph of control more than anything. The wastefulness, which has been prevalent throughout 2021, was still there – albeit not in the obvious form of set shot goal kicking. Only 1 goal came from our first 14 inside 50s in the first term. Dunstan’s indiscriminate, dribble shot-cum-pass into an onrushing Mackenzie’s path, was an obvious snapshot of where the side’s lack of refinement with the ball makes life so much harder. Similarly, in the third quarter, Steele broke cut through into the clear. He was about fifty out with no one between him and an alert King ready to rush into the obvious space. Steele weighed it up and instead seemed to loft a kick into the square. Luckily King was largely unopposed and still took the mark. I’m almost certain Steele was attempting to shoot. But it was another example of that inability to act with a razor’s edge – even with no pressure on the kicker.
Taking your eye off the scoreboard for a moment: the three quarters were every bit as comprehensive as the four quarters against a much stronger, much more ambitious Richmond team a week earlier. The game style has seemed to be re-calibrated to put a new emphasis on working the ball “around the world”; starve the opposition of opportunities; and making much better decisions at when to slice the ball into the corridor. Strings of possessions are often neither fast nor slow per se, but measured. Most importantly a lot of the players between the arcs seemed to be running, presenting and using the ball, as if they all have a good grasp on which are the right moments to take a calculated risk.
It’s been good to watch, just from a harmony point of view. And with that renewed sense of effort and intensity, it’s meant that the back six has regained the composure and steadfastness of 2020. Wilkie, Howard, Highmore, Webster and Hill, all came to the fore. And at the other end, it’s meant that there has been less predictable high bombing and quite a bit more decisive kicks into pockets of space. Both Membrey and King looked more lively.
Collingwood looked to be grasping at straws. They looked gassed and bereft of ideas. Elliott had a classy finish in the first term, but thereafter he was fairly anonymous. De Goey kept trying hard, getting his touches, but it still felt like a shallow return impact-wise. Grundy’s day was overshadowed by cult-hero Paddy Ryder and his two goal haul.
When Paddy Ryder put through his second major, the margin was 49 points. Pause the game there, and this game was probably even more ideal than Ratten and co’s dreamiest dreams. No injuries either. An 8 goal win is worth it’s weight in gold in 2021, from a PR standpoint, a momentum standpoint, a regaining the faith of the Faithful standpoint and also from a percentage standpoint. To gain a few percentage points could’ve even tempted some of secretly think that Finals were back on the cards.
That final term though: it was as sobering as it was unsurprising. Putting the result aside, we have seen this Movie before. It’s not only disappointing, but makes a complete mockery of the kind of phrases about values, the brand and hard truths, that the players have been trudging out to the Media over the last 2 weeks. And remember, this is Collingwood, a team deep in the depths of facing a re-build.
“Consistency” and “effort” have been the real buzzwords over the last 2 weeks coming out of the club. Going by those criteria, it wasn’t really a win. Not only were they not able to tick those boxes over 4 quarters (“Consistency”) but also the failings of the last term largely were underpinned by the effort dropping down a couple of notches in the face of the Pies gaining momentum.
Brett Ratten’s messaging has certainly solidified a good bit over the last 2 to 4 weeks. Thankfully, after the Tigers loss, there wasn’t too much fanfare. There was measured praise instead, and a constant swerving back to keeping our eye on the Effort ball. For me, that mindset can’t be emphasised enough. It’s a key pillar in instilling a particular culture of making sure there are non-negotiable when it comes to the side – no matter who is or isn’t playing.
Ratt’s biggest nugget of wisdom in 2020 was that the side’s destiny would hinge on it’s consistency. By year’s end they definitely checked that box off. Here and now, we’ve seen the side string together 4 performances whereby the side was in a winning position (or near enough) deep into the fourth quarter, but coming away with only 8 Premiership points. Unfortunately, for the Club, this clump of games is really the calm before the storm in terms of the fixture. Finals aspirants in the Lions, Eagles, Power and Cats are on the menu in the next month and even in light of the extra effort shown recently, you would be forgiven for bracing yourself for some harsh losses.
Look, the Tigers performance was nothing to be sneezed at. You could argue it was our best for the year – definitely a signature night for Ratts. And the first 3 quarters of the Pies game, was every bit as comprehensive and organised, albeit against much flimsier opposition. The final term though, was that sharp reminder that this playing group has no margin for resting on it’s laurels. Not only that, but it still has the Achilles heel of a soft underbelly in the face stern challenges.
*****
Bassat
There were two elements in the Andrew Bassat’s Letter to the Members (in the aftermath of that 111 point drubbing from the Bulldogs) that jumped off the page:
- The acknowledgement that 2020 may have been somewhat of a false positive, in light of the Hub conditions and how our team settled into it
- Bassat stating that the Premiership window begins from 2022
The first point is particularly interesting because we just haven’t had any other official give any inkling of this sentiment before. It’s a thought that I’m sure has at least subconsciously gone through most Saints fans’ minds at one point or another. But to see it typed out, on official letterhead was really something.
Personally, I took it as a positive. It gave the impression that the powers that be are zooming out and canvassing all ideas in identifying what has triggered the waywardness of 2021. To carry out these investigations without questioning all assumptions would be wasteful.