The gameplan - this is where expectations of a high finish are a little unrealistic. St Kilda took all of last season to adapt to a new gameplan, and they were trying to make the adjustment with a far more mature and experienced list (this is why Obama's calls of a Saints flag this year are not so far-fetched by the way). Our boys will take at least all of this season to become adept at the new gameplan. Maybe the last five or six rounds will start to look more cohesive on this front.

Armfield giving away silly free kicks.

II thought Ellard looked good too, looks a little like Chris Bond.

Both free kicks were good tackles with the player not disposing of the ball all players and even the commentators thought it was Armfields.
The umpires were tiggy touchwood. During bthe season proper with Armfield and Betts running around playesr will be kacking themselves to get rid of it.


The "in the back" free was not shown on but I'm guessing a stupid lunge "he'll learn from that".

Russell - boy... I am not the biggest JR fan, but I reckon none of you will be able to have a go at him for shirking a contest this year. Has really bulked up and is hitting the contest hard.

Great to see the boys back in action.

This is not a criticism, in fact we probably had to make the change given the way the game is played these days, but the new game plan/style is going to take some adjusting to. There was a fair bit of 'over possession' especially in the backline. The new instinct seems to always feed it off with a handball, which sometimes advantages the team, and sometimes doesn't. You'd reckon it'll take a fair bit of the year to fine tune the balance between controlling the ball, and quick ball movement.

It will also be interesting to see how some of our lesser skilled players adjust to this style of play.

Hartlett looked good up forward. Kicked the ball beautifully.
Hampson was terrific in the ruck. Looked to be regularly outleaping Sandilands. Shouldn't have anything to worry about from his bump on Bradley. Not even sure why he was free-kicked for it. It was a very good side bump.
Kreuzer also looked good in the ruck. Showed enough to say that he will be very, very good. Competed well in the ruck contests and competed well at ground level. Lay some really good tackles. Kicked a terrific goal.
Stevens showed no tentativeness. Polished, just as you'd expect.
Murphy was terrific as always.
Simpson I thought was our best player. Works hard, is courageous, and uses the ball well.
Like last year, Carrazzo won the ball at will in the contests. Such a beautiful mover in the tight confines of the pack. Expect him to get a lot of the ball this year. Would perhaps like to see him less often as the won at the end of the chain of possessions, if we're going to play high possession football. Just isn't consistenly clean enough by foot.
Was intrigued by Russell being named in the best players. I like Russell, and thought he tackled well. But hardly got a possession that I noticed.
Likewise I was interested that the coach mentioned Edwards as well. I didn't notice him win a possession.
Jamison was good defensively, but looks lost whenever he has to dispose of it. Again might be a bit of a problem, if we're playing possession football, particuarly when coming out of defence. Interesting that Jamison was on from the start of the game, whereas Setanta only got the second half. I wonder if that is a conditioning decision, or whether Jamison is rated ahead of Setanta at this stage?
Waite was terrific in the first half. Tight enough defensively, but fantastic rebound.
I think we might have found one in Pfeiffer. Looked every inch a senior footballer. Would be surprised if he doesn't play most games this year.
Ellard looked small, but smart and skilful. Looked to me to be cleaner with the ball than Blackwell.
Gibbs looks very good when in the action. Uses it so very well, and tackles and competes when needed. Would just like to see him in more contests.
Grigg looked good rebounding out of defense. Used the ball well. From tonight's viewing, I'd expect him to play a lot of senior footy this year.
Not sure I like seeing Bower matched up against medium forwards. Conceded some goals that he probably shouldn't have. I know there's a fair bit of competition, but I would think if he's going to make it, it's as a very agile, rebounding tall (using his pace and agility against big and less agile opponents).

A couple of general comments. We didn't kick enough goals from 'crumbs' or 'general play'. This has been a problem for some time. Our greater midfield depth should help a little, but expect this to be an ongoing problem.

Conversely the opposition kicked too many goals in this way. This too has been a problem for some time. Some were caused by slack marking, but others by really costly turnovers in defence or the middle of the ground. If Walker plays midfield this year, then we've got to hope that Grigg, Armfield, Pfeiffer, Anderson, etc. can step up.