Saints not rattled by past season drop-offs: Lyon
Anna Harrington |
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon insists a mid-season wobble won’t take his charges back to memories of previous drop-offs.
The Saints’ 12.12 (84) to 8.8 (56) loss to Brisbane on Friday night was their second on the bounce, after previously losing to Richmond, and knocked them down to sixth with an 8-6 record.
After winning their first four matches under Lyon in his second stint at the helm, the Saints have been inconsistent in the 10 since.
St Kilda burst out of the blocks in 2022 with a 8-3 record but won just three matches in the second half of the season to miss out on finals.
The fade-out led to the club sacking Brett Ratten and bringing back Lyon.
“I don’t think you can compare it,” Lyon told reporters.
“Our first half of the year, we did it without key personnel.
“We got Max back and we did it with a bunch of kids that we’ve still got.
“I understand the narrative and there’s no judgment for me in it but I think it’s apples and oranges a bit.”
Lyon pointed out the likes of Dan McKenzie and Zak Jones, who haven’t played this season, and Tim Membrey, who has only managed four games, were crucial to St Kilda in 2022.
He was confident his charges otherwise wouldn’t start casting their minds back to last year’s fadeout.
“No I wouldn’t have thought so. Not unless they listen,” he said.
“Not for mine, I wouldn’t have thought.
“We played a pretty good team tonight and last week we could’ve easily won – we stuffed up 10-15 minutes.
“So I think we’re still in pretty good shape, aren’t we?
“I just look around the competition – I didn’t expect us to go through 22-0.
“Am I disappointed with tonight for our fans and members and the Spud game? Yeah, for sure. But some of the things Brisbane did didn’t surprise me. Did I think we would handle them a bit better? Yeah.”
McKenzie, Jones and Jack Billings will return from injury via the VFL on Saturday while the Saints will eye a quick rebound against West Coast away next Sunday.
AAP
