Before round 7 I saw a chance for St. Kilda to right their ship by beating Carlton and beginning a move up on the ladder. And, wonderfully, they came through. They were lively, coordinated, and impressive. Their hand-passes were purposeful and accurate, they took most of the marks they could, their defense was sound, and their kicks were well-placed. Most importantly, they won.
So I thought this might be the start of something great.
I was wrong, it turns out. Sunday's match against the Crows was almost too painful to watch, after the first quarter. I realize they lost by 40 points, which isn't they worst result ever or even close to it, but the way they played was abysmal.
Did they get any sleep the night before? I'm not sure they took more than 10 marks the entire second half. It was like they were trying to catch their breath the whole time. Which meant Adelaide was able to take marks in their forward fifty to their heart's content.
One player I have to call out is Rhys Stanley. I hate to pick on him, since I think he shows massive potential and will be a great player someday. But right now, he looks bewildered. He takes very few marks, hardly ever tackles anyone, and has given away 13 frees while being awarded only 2. Every time the ball comes toward him, he's behind his man. He's just getting beat, plain and simple. I know he put a lot of time into his physical conditioning, and takes the game very seriously. But I really think he needs to take a few weeks at Sandringham until he can figure out how to win the ball again.
I'm just hoping Hayes comes back soon, and somehow Watters is able to light a fire under his players.
No comments:
Post a Comment