Dear Ross

I’m sure you’re aware that Saints supporters are a unique lot.

For diehards such as myself over the past 52 years adoring the club, it’s important to be patient and have a rock-hard sense of humour.

Self-deprecation is the order of the day for us ‘Sainters’ and even after one flag in 150 years, all we expect when we cough up our ‘hard earned’ year in, year out, is effort.

Effort attracts respect, something your teams of 2009 and 2010 achieved. Those teams were an odd collection of discipline, toughness and sheer class.

Gilbert, Blakey, Baker and Dawson were warriors who did everything asked of them and when combined with stars like Roo, Kozzy, Lenny, BJ and Dal and you had that magic mix that deserved better.

You did the same at Fremantle. Another ‘odds and sods’ team that bought into your philosophies and almost achieved a premiership.

So with this current list I’m seriously concerned with what you are hoping to achieve and more importantly your attitude.

This team isn’t a brutish team like 09/10. That doesn’t excuse them from not pressuring, because every AFL team should do that, however if you were to utilise the strengths of these boys, shouldn’t they be running opposition off their feet?

That was the intel from pre-season and that was what you came out and stated so boldly, that everyone was hitting PB’s across the board with their running?

Our style of play is miles off enabling quick movement of the footy. The boys look confused and nervous, afraid to make a mistake. It’s frustrating the supporter base to a critical level and if it continues this year, the self-deprecation will turn to anger.

So attitude. We expect a senior AFL coach to project a certain level of respect in a press conference.

Your pressers have always come with a tongue in cheek chronicle of the game that have divided Saints fans but the past two weeks have shown a level of arrogance and insincerity we haven’t seen before.

On the weekend, after another deplorable game versus Hawthorn, you chose to  direct the conversation towards the fact that the AFL only allows the team runner four trips per quarter. What?

Let’s examine that for a second. Ever since the rule was introduced five years ago, no one has ever complained. In fact the rule is one of the best things the AFL has ever introduced.

Up to that point we had runners deliberately adding congestion to what is already densely packed defences.

Ross, what you said yesterday was an insult to the intelligence of Saints fans. The previous week was more excuses after the Port game so what we are seeing is a coach that is desperate and unauthentic.

You have an excellent footy brain so perhaps it’s time to evolve and change the fortunes of this team by taking advantage of the ‘stand’ rule and energising these talented kids.

The stand rule allows a player to ‘wheel and go’ therefore provoking movement down the ground. We have a seven foot forward that’s being mauled because of the slowness and predictability of the delivery.

If the half backs and midfielders can play on and quickly get the ball deep at times, King can compete at least and the smalls can get to work.

The defensive structures benefit from this ball movement also. The deeper the entries give time to set up the team defence.

Please just change things up. We are bored and exasperated especially with these insipid press conferences. This is no longer a joke.

Go Saints!

Yours Sincerely

Ian Wilson