There’s more than four points on the line for Alan Richardson and St Kilda against Gold Coast, Mark Robinson writes
ST KILDA’S rebuild has failed and the club has to go again. Big changes are coming — should they include trading Jack Billings? Mark Robinson says there is a lot more than four points on the line today against Gold Coast.
Mark Robinson
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SATURDAY night will be either a hopeful step forward or a monumental step backwards for St Kilda coach Alan Richardson.
For another coach, Carlton’s Brett Ratten, a loss to the Gold Coast was a step into the oblivion.
That was Round 22, 2012, and Ratten was sacked by the Blues on the Monday after the Saturday night game.
The image of Ratten sitting in the coaches box post-match, with the TV camera zoomed in on his despairing face, cannot be forgotten.
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Ratten apparently walked into the rooms afterwards and said to then chief executive Greg Swann: “That’s it, isn’t it?”
Swann replied: “It’s going to be tough from here,” or words to that effect.
The Blues already had Mick Malthouse as Ratten’s replacement, which is different to what is happening at St Kilda, who believe Richardson is their man.
That could change, however.
A big loss to the Suns on Saturday takes the conversation a different and dangerous realm: Crisis management goes to Def Con 1.
Make no mistake, there will be significant changes at the club at the end of the year.
There is a belief the club will stick with Richardson, who has two years on contract, and bolster staff with tactical expertise.
Head of football Simon Lethlean, who began reviewing the football department after the pre-season, has ramped it up in the past months and outlined his direction at a recent board meeting.
The first casualty of change came on Friday when head of recruiting and list management Tony Elshaug was dumped.
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“We have agreed that the time is right to bring someone new in to oversee the list management strategy,” Lethlean said.
Richardson, an incredibly loyal man to his staff, would be disappointed with the Elshaug decision.
But he wouldn’t be naive to think hefty changes won’t be made to his senior coaching staff, most of whom come out of contract at the end of the season.
Lethlean, who was not a candidate for Melbourne’s chief executive job that was controversially given to Gary Pert on Thursday, is in for the long haul.
His mandate is to assess the key areas of the football department: recruiting and list management, player development, coaching and leadership
It is a Collingwood-style total review of operations.
There is urgency, hence the Elshaug decision on Friday.
On the field, the goodwill built by playing kids and being competitive against Collingwood, Richmond and West Coast in the past month was blown away by their most insipid quarter of football of the season — the first quarter against Sydney last weekend.
If there’s a repeat on Saturday against the Suns, it won’t only be Lethlean at the club asking the most foreboding of questions: Has Richardson lost the playing group?
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Leadership on the field is a major issue.
Without skipper Jarryn Geary last week, and to a lesser extent Jake Carlisle and Josh Bruce, it was said the Saints were without voice and direction and responsibility, which was part of the post-match review.
The finger needed to be pointed at Jack Steven, Seb Ross, Jack Newnes and Tom Hickey, among others, for such a failing.
While Richmond famously rallied around such vulnerability on their way to a premiership, the Saints players have drowned in it.
Former skipper Nick Riewoldt has been damning in his assessment of the players — and probably the coaches — this week.
“This is a huge game for all the wrong reasons,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy. “There is a lot of talk about backing the coach and playing for the coach. Go out and do it. Put your nose over it. Go when it’s your turn to go.”
He added: “I’ve got a different view on what brutal looks like compared to the current group, and that was something that really frustrated me over my last few years at the club.”
Some at St Kilda accepted Riewoldt’s assessment.
Unquestionably, Riewoldt could annoy teammates with his demands and standards, but they stood the test of time.
Richardson on Friday would not buy in on Riewoldt’s comments.
“I don’t want to get into details about other people’s opinions,” he said. “We thought we handled last week and the performance in the first quarter in a way that will get the sort of response that we’re after. It would be fair to say the review this week was quite challenging.”
At the end of the season, the off-field cull certainly should be matched by massive list changes.
This is not a start-again operation, but they desperately need players, both young and old.
Maybe it’s Jack Billings on the trade table to snare draft picks, because they have only one selection in the first three rounds of this year’s “super draft”.
Saints fans are reeling. You can see it. They accept the rebuild has failed and the club has to go again, but they want answers.
What’s happened to Billy Longer and Hickey? Why is Hugh Goddard playing VFL and how can Logan Austin and Rowan Marshall be ahead of him already?
Why was Jack Sinclair the only “elite” player identified by Champion Data? Why have they persisted with Jack Lonie when obvious improvement is not evident? Why has Jack Newnes stalled? Who’s improved other than Jimmy Webster and Jade Gresham. And Billings, gee whiz, why has this bloke fallen like he has?
I’m expecting no less than 4 full Qtrs of total, absolute, maniacal effort and pressure from my @stkildafc boys tomorrow 🔴⚪ï¸âš«ï¸
— Eric Bana (@EricBana67) June 15, 2018
The more immediate plea is for effort on Saturday evening.
“I’m expecting no less than 4 full Qtrs of total, absolute, maniacal effort and pressure from my @stkildafc boys tomorrow,’’ high profile supporter Eric Bana said on twitter.
If there is a loss, Lethean and chief executive Matt Finnis will surely have to go public this week and outline their plans for the future. Saints fans deserve it.
If there is a win, as is expected, it will be a small step in the right direction, and Saints fans deserve that as well.
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Originally published as There’s more than four points on the line for Alan Richardson and St Kilda against Gold Coast, Mark Robinson writes
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