TonyK
CibbuanoHow will the Saints fare in '07: Have your say
October 12th 2006 05:08
With the appointment of former Fitzroy player and Sydney assistant Ross Lyon as coach yesterday, St Kilda can now look forward towards building for the 2007 season.
Lyon has made it clear from the outset that his number one priority is to recruit a quality tap ruckman, something previous coach Grant Thomas didn't place a great deal of value in and ultimately led to his demise.
There is no questioning the talent of St Kilda's list, and a forward line of Riewoldt, Gehrig and Koschitzke is a frightening prospect for the remaining 15 teams.
However, there forward line has never been an issue.
Their lack of pace through the midfield has been sorely exposed by the likes of Sydney, West Coast and Fremantle and their are some major concerns in the key defensive posts.
Defender Max Hudghton isn't getting any younger and Matt Maguire is coming back from a serious leg injury- we all know how Nathan Brown fared in his comeback from a similiar injury.
Under Thomas the Saints made two preliminary finals in three years and with a bit of luck should have made the last Saturday in September on at least one of those occassions.
The premiership window has been a buzz catchprase in football for some time now and it would be fair to suggest that the Saints clock is ticking..
This year's premiers West Coast had to wait 12 years between their second and third flags- the opportunity to make grand finals let alone win them don't come along very often and while Lyon will be aiming to win a flag with this group of Saints a fair bit of rebuilding will need to take place first.
At the top of the shopping list will be a quality ruckman, a classy midfielder with pace to burn and a key defender to provide support to Hudghton and Maguire.
So how will the Saints fare in '07. Have your say.
Lyon has made it clear from the outset that his number one priority is to recruit a quality tap ruckman, something previous coach Grant Thomas didn't place a great deal of value in and ultimately led to his demise.
There is no questioning the talent of St Kilda's list, and a forward line of Riewoldt, Gehrig and Koschitzke is a frightening prospect for the remaining 15 teams.
However, there forward line has never been an issue.
Their lack of pace through the midfield has been sorely exposed by the likes of Sydney, West Coast and Fremantle and their are some major concerns in the key defensive posts.
Defender Max Hudghton isn't getting any younger and Matt Maguire is coming back from a serious leg injury- we all know how Nathan Brown fared in his comeback from a similiar injury.
Under Thomas the Saints made two preliminary finals in three years and with a bit of luck should have made the last Saturday in September on at least one of those occassions.
The premiership window has been a buzz catchprase in football for some time now and it would be fair to suggest that the Saints clock is ticking..
This year's premiers West Coast had to wait 12 years between their second and third flags- the opportunity to make grand finals let alone win them don't come along very often and while Lyon will be aiming to win a flag with this group of Saints a fair bit of rebuilding will need to take place first.
At the top of the shopping list will be a quality ruckman, a classy midfielder with pace to burn and a key defender to provide support to Hudghton and Maguire.
So how will the Saints fare in '07. Have your say.
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