Thommo's gone

The St Kilda football club have taken a bold and probably timely step and decided to change coach. Unlike in other football codes, especially soccer, this is a big event in AFL where coaches can be in place for many years.

While this was probably a tough blow for Grant, I think it is ultimately what the club needs to move to the next level and win a flag. Saying that, he can look back on his achievements with pride as the team he inherited was a shambles. Ill discipline and a self destructive culture was the order of the day. It is enough to say that Barry Hall used to play at the club and was only notable for his getting dragged at least once a match. You could say that the fact that the coach was surprised by his sacking means that it was timely, rather than too late; it meant he was doing his best until the end. Ultimately it is his employer's job to judge whether or not that is good enough.

So where to from here? Well, comparing last Friday's game against Melbourne with the subsequent Sydney and West Coast game, it is clear that the new coach needs to bring tactical nous to the position. Injuries are a part of the game and a lead is a lead - it must be defended at all costs and this is where football thinking comes in. It is conceivable that a radical plan could have allowed Saints to hold on, no matter how ugly it turned out. Interestingly, in AFL, tactics are much harder to see, but finals footy is where you really see what happens.