The Saint

This is Saints Footy

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@AFL @gettable_afl @Telstra @CalTwomey No chance.

Four to the floor with Mabior, Gunstan, Lewis, Dear.

Now Hardwick is a small.

And Nick Watson is here.

[Toby @Jousting_Sticks]

I still think we don’t hate Fox Footy enough. The laziness of their broadcast combined with the overwhelming disdain for footy that their entire staff has is just so absurd when you really think about it

[The Saint @StKFootball]

Anyone saying we are ‘uber defensive’ isn’t watching us.

Hawthorn kicked 119 points.

Gunston took marks leading into empty space.

Honestly, a lot of people paid to analyse football actually can’t analyse it.

They’d be looking at our forward line issues if they did watch us.

[VeryNeilPrentice 🧷 @VeryNeilP]

My Saints were abysmal against Hawthorn.

But anyone saying RO$$’s game plan is still uber defensive flooding just hasn’t watched Hall, Wilson or Garcia. They haven’t understood what the role of Hill, Henry and Sinclair is.
They haven’t seen Collard in the twos off half back.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@Gary32t Wouldn’t play him in the Sydney game, for many reasons - including one more VFL game to get it all ready - but I’d like to see him given 5+ plus games out of defence.

He looks indescribably different back there. New player. But let’s see it at the top.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

Collard - very pleasing. AFL level? Let’s gamble on it.
Hastie - ordinary today but standout season. Back this kid.
Travaglia - a few weeks off to rest/recover IMO
Lake - promising.
Dow - good on him but no future.
Said - Lake’s arrival says it all.
Stocker - slow but fights hard

[Saints Nation @SaintsNationAU]

Some standout performances for our VFL side in a massive win against the top 4 Hawks, lets hope we finally see some selection integrity this week!

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@TBarkerSaints Hastie will be fine long term.

He’s just got to spend this summer working on his distance control with his kicking.

It’s not even a bad technique. It just needs very minor adjustments.

Better off playing him every week before his confidence dips and he looks elsewhere tbh.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

Boxshall, Dodson - we know they’re good. Plenty of opportunities for Boxshall with Flanders out in the next year.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

I didn’t enjoy watching us get wrecked, of course.

More that it was like: Hawthorn just viewed us as ‘Team X at Venue Y’ and proceeded to roll out the very game plan (with clear ball movement patters) they’ve been perfecting since 2023.

And were criticised a LOT for at the time

[The Saint @StKFootball]

I enjoyed watching Hawthorn play last night.

Particularly their use of handball - simply magnificent.

Three types:

1) Quick release (before tackle)
2) Fast, strong & flat (to a man in space)
3) Looping (draw opponent, go over him to the runner).

They’ve got all three nailed.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@lukesssssssss33 Correct, but it was more that it was instructive as to how the game could & should be played.

They exploited us more by hand than any other team.

I felt it was a clear & easily digestible lesson to share with our fanbase - many of who are looking for answers beyond the obvious.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

I enjoyed watching Hawthorn play last night.

Particularly their use of handball - simply magnificent.

Three types:

1) Quick release (before tackle)
2) Fast, strong & flat (to a man in space)
3) Looping (draw opponent, go over him to the runner).

They’ve got all three nailed.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

By contrast, St Kilda are among the worst handballing teams.

Many of our players have some of the most underdeveloped hands in the AFL - not only do they miss targets, they often put players into worse situations.

Perversely, I took a lot of joy in seeing a team do it properly.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

Hawthorn have numbers around contests but have clear spatial chains to ensure quick getaways.

Even under pressure, they keep the ball alive consistently

They kick when required but handball is where they change the angle of attack - allowing Gunston’s leads to be so effective.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@AFL He is either incapable of proper, deeper analysis - or he doesn’t understand how footy works.

The players are clearly the overriding issue here.

Are you sure you still want him as your chief football writer?

It’s 2026 - this look like something from 1996.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

Lots of injuries right now but it is also important we don’t hide.

We thought our depth had improved - but the truth is that many players have not improved in the manner we needed them to.

That ‘plateau’ is a real problem now.

They’ve got to dig in and push to the next level.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@RWBFooty It has to given some consideration.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

This bloke has been simply fantastic since coming over.

I wish some others on our list had his physical and mental toughness.

He does not give up. Others - hmm.

[AFL @AFL]

"We were fumbly around the ball, not tough enough around the contest."

Jack Silvagni reflects on the Saints' loss against the Hawks.

#AFLSaintsHawks

[The Saint @StKFootball]

Hawks broke out the cigars at half-time and coasted to the line.

We looked as bad as a team could possibly look in the first half.

Loved the effort of Jack Silvagni. Byrnes and Wilson tried, as did some others.

But make no mistake. We got thrashed.

Your thoughts below 👇

[The Saint @StKFootball]

Hawthorn’s foot and hand skills are the Eighth Wonder of the World.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@stcampitelli cue fair dinkum this football club has fried my brain

[The Saint @StKFootball]

It’s one of the worst first halves of football I’ve ever seen.

Every single frailty exposed in a disgusting display.

A frightening number of our players are not AFL standard. A couple would struggle in the VFL.

We trail by 50 points. It’s half-time.

This could get worse.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@stcampitelli Hawthorn will probably put the queue in the rack - they can give themselves a mini-bye in the second half, rest up and still win by 10 goals.

[The Saint @StKFootball]

@wheeeels03 such behaviour encourages a festering culture of mediocre bacteria to flourish

[The Saint @StKFootball]

This is appalling.

Hawthorn lead 54 to 4.

It’s not even half-time.