Can Barry be the difference?

[boydogs]

Here we are in another prelim, against the same side as last year.

Last year's PF was a low scoring floodfest, with many supporters coming away believing we were just a power forward away from progressing.

Barry has had an excellent season for us and comes in to the game in great form, picking up 2 votes in the WOOF voting against the Swans.

Will Barry make a big difference to our performance? Or does he need the extra space to work in that the Saints will close down?

Was the whole premise of needing a power forward to win a premiership flawed, or do we now have everything we need to go all the way?

[Hotdog60]

A power forward is only as good as the delivery to him, he could be a Tony Lockett or a Peter Hudson but if the ball doesn't give him a chance then it won't make a difference.

This year we have lack the spread of targets across the forward line making it more predictable when under pressure. Maybe the difference should have been a couple of power mid fielders that can break the lines and pin point a pass lace out to the best option or break the lines and kick the 3 - 4 goals a game.

Time will soon tell and I hope it is the difference in the end and it does take us all the way.

Go Dogs

[Sockeye Salmon]

A power forward is only as good as the delivery to him, he could be a Tony Lockett or a Peter Hudson but if the ball doesn't give him a chance then it won't make a difference.


And you have just plucked out the two FF's who didn't need perfect delivery as examples ;)

Perhaps you should have said Jason Dunstall and Peter McKenna.

[1eyedog]

No Barry can't necessarily be the difference. He can keep us in the game (as he did against Sydney last week) against the tide but Barry can only be the difference if our midfield get their hands on the ball and increase their disposal efficiency going forward. This is no easy task consider the amount of pressure the Saints will put us under. It is made even harder without Cooney.

If things go right, Barry has the ability to dominate the Saints down back. Dawson does not have the strength and Fisher doesn't like playing on Gorillas. Blake simply does not read the play well enough and can be exploited both in the air and on the lead.

In this sense Barry can be the difference.

[LostDoggy]

The problem with not having a power forward wasn't just that we didn't have anyone to clunk marks, it was that Gilbert or Fisher or whoever could just stand in the hole with impunity and pluck bombs uncontested.

Barry's presence will be as important as any mark he takes, he has to hit that first contest hard and with raised knees, and for the rest of the two hours it will be a brave Saint to stand in the hole without thinking about what's coming up from behind. Grundy dropped three marks last week that led to Dogs goals just because he was thinking more about Bazza than the ball. The crashing of the packs hard also has flow-on effects that change the dynamics of the forward 50 set up from both teams and will probably lead to more 1-on-1 contests.

Barry also chases as much as any small forward -- his pressure on the ball carrier led directly to two turnovers that led to goals against the Swans.

[Curly5]

And Barry - PLEEEEEEASE! - NO HANDS IN THE BACK!

[1eyedog]

The problem with not having a power forward wasn't just that we didn't have anyone to clunk marks, it was that Gilbert or Fisher or whoever could just stand in the hole with impunity and pluck bombs uncontested.

Barry's presence will be as important as any mark he takes, he has to hit that first contest hard and with raised knees, and for the rest of the two hours it will be a brave Saint to stand in the hole without thinking about what's coming up from behind. Grundy dropped three marks last week that led to Dogs goals just because he was thinking more about Bazza than the ball. The crashing of the packs hard also has flow-on effects that change the dynamics of the forward 50 set up from both teams and will probably lead to more 1-on-1 contests.

Barry also chases as much as any small forward -- his pressure on the ball carrier led directly to two turnovers that led to goals against the Swans.

Yep, which will be Ross Lyon's request to Kosi, especially when approaching Moz

[Greystache]

The problem with not having a power forward wasn't just that we didn't have anyone to clunk marks, it was that Gilbert or Fisher or whoever could just stand in the hole with impunity and pluck bombs uncontested.

Barry's presence will be as important as any mark he takes, he has to hit that first contest hard and with raised knees, and for the rest of the two hours it will be a brave Saint to stand in the hole without thinking about what's coming up from behind. Grundy dropped three marks last week that led to Dogs goals just because he was thinking more about Bazza than the ball. The crashing of the packs hard also has flow-on effects that change the dynamics of the forward 50 set up from both teams and will probably lead to more 1-on-1 contests.

Barry also chases as much as any small forward -- his pressure on the ball carrier led directly to two turnovers that led to goals against the Swans.

Good post Lantern, I agree.

[Desipura]

The problem with not having a power forward wasn't just that we didn't have anyone to clunk marks, it was that Gilbert or Fisher or whoever could just stand in the hole with impunity and pluck bombs uncontested.

Barry's presence will be as important as any mark he takes, he has to hit that first contest hard and with raised knees, and for the rest of the two hours it will be a brave Saint to stand in the hole without thinking about what's coming up from behind. Grundy dropped three marks last week that led to Dogs goals just because he was thinking more about Bazza than the ball. The crashing of the packs hard also has flow-on effects that change the dynamics of the forward 50 set up from both teams and will probably lead to more 1-on-1 contests.

Barry also chases as much as any small forward -- his pressure on the ball carrier led directly to two turnovers that led to goals against the Swans.
Good call and all indications are that goals will be like gold on Saturday night.

[boydogs]

The problem with not having a power forward wasn't just that we didn't have anyone to clunk marks, it was that Gilbert or Fisher or whoever could just stand in the hole with impunity and pluck bombs uncontested.

Barry's presence will be as important as any mark he takes, he has to hit that first contest hard and with raised knees, and for the rest of the two hours it will be a brave Saint to stand in the hole without thinking about what's coming up from behind. Grundy dropped three marks last week that led to Dogs goals just because he was thinking more about Bazza than the ball. The crashing of the packs hard also has flow-on effects that change the dynamics of the forward 50 set up from both teams and will probably lead to more 1-on-1 contests.

Barry also chases as much as any small forward -- his pressure on the ball carrier led directly to two turnovers that led to goals against the Swans.

Great post

For all the doom and gloom re. Cooney, Morris, Higgins, Roughead, Lake and Williams, we have done an extraodinary job of keeping Barry injury free, suspension free and in top form.

I think he could really change the landscape on Saturday night with the way the Saints structure up, and allow us to kick a winning score

[LostDoggy]

We need Bazza to get on top of Dawson early, i feel Dawson is a confidence player & will drop the head as soon as he is getting pushed around.

[Dry Rot]

IMO to win Hall is a necessary pre-condition but won't and can't be the difference.

If we can get some good returns from the rest of our forwards with Hall helping out, we could spring a surprise win.

If we can't and predictably just bomb to it to Hall all of the time, then we'll lose.

[boydogs]

IMO to win Hall is a necessary pre-condition but won't and can't be the difference.

If we can get some good returns from the rest of our forwards with Hall helping out, we could spring a surprise win.

If we can't and predictably just bomb to it to Hall all of the time, then we'll lose.

By saying he could be the difference, I don't mean do it all himself, just that he is that much better than Scott Welsh last year that he could be the difference between a narrow loss and a narrow win.

The quality of entries into our 50 will decide the game IMO. St Kilda live off rebounding from ill directed disposal, racing down the other end for a running shot a goal, a pass to a free player or a kick to Riewoldt's advantage.

The difference with having Hall is that Fisher, Blake, Dawson, Gilbert and Goddard will actually have some competition for marks when the ball IS kicked to a contest. The best we could hope for previously was for Minson to crash the pack and cause a random spillage, now Barry may be able to beat his opponent or bring the ball to ground to our advantage. Spotting up leading targets will be a rarity, so this will be very important to stopping their rebound and involving our other forwards with the ball in dispute inside our forward 50.

Imagine 10 minutes to go, Saints by 9 points, and they put all 18 players in our 50. Last year, we had 4 or 5 quarterbacks continually pumping the ball in from 70 out, only for it to come back to them again. This year, more balls will be brought to ground inside our 50 for our other forwards to get involved in the play.

Don't be surprised if Lake goes forward in that sort of ultra flood situation either. They won't be able to ice the game and make us look futile with the same tactic as last season.

[Mofra]

Am I the only one that thinks Hall will attract so much focus from all 18 Saints defenders that an unlikely type like a Grant (on finals form so far) or Addison will bob up and kick 3?

[Mantis]

Am I the only one that thinks Hall will attract so much focus from all 18 Saints defenders that an unlikely type like a Grant (on finals form so far) or Addison will bob up and kick 3?

Only if we have the poise to spot up the free man.

[The Coon Dog]

St Kilda are quite poor in the one on one contested situation and I would imagine that a lot of time and energy has gone into curtailing Hall's influence. If they leave Zac one out with Barry he'll get eaten alive so expect fisher and gilbert to go 3 up on Hall on every opportunity.

This is a game where Giansiracusa needs to prove his worth and be that player that pops up with 3 -4 goals. He is a smart player and makes the most of his opportunities but goes missing far too often. With all of the attention going onto Baz, I'd be very dissapointed in Gia if he wasn't in our best players. It's his time to step up in a final that matters most, run hard, present, take the heat off Baz and help young Jarrad get off the leash by directing a bit of triaffic in the forward line.

[Mantis]

This is a game where Giansiracusa needs to prove his worth and be that player that pops up with 3 -4 goals. He is a smart player and makes the most of his opportunities but goes missing far too often. With all of the attention going onto Baz, I'd be very dissapointed in Gia if he wasn't in our best players. It's his time to step up in a final that matters most, run hard, present, take the heat off Baz and help young Jarrad get off the leash by directing a bit of triaffic in the forward line.

I would hope that as well as maybe kicking 1 or 2 Gia can be the player to create our goals. He is our best distributor in and around the 50 and if he can get his hands on the ball goods things will happen.

Super important that he gets his 15 to 20 touches and through his neat kicking skills he distributes the ball to our open forward targets.

[Sockeye Salmon]

We need our forwards to seperate. Fisher can't help Dawson if he's maning up on Grant 30m away