During his time with St Kilda and Fremantle, Ross Lyon was well known for structuring games around a defensive style that ultimately focused more on being conservative rather than taking risks going forward.
Freo’s current scoring woes are not only just down to a lack of forward options, but they’re also carrying the slight fragments left behind from Lyon’s influence, an issue that Justin Longmuir is still trying to solve.
Despite reaching a Grand Final with the Saints in 2010 with his philosophy, the game has well and truly evolved into a more attacking brand of footy with further emphasis on quick movement and intensity.
Before this season commenced in his second stint at the Saints, Lyon admitted that times have changed.
“You need more than one gear, certainly. I think the trend now has been to go forward more quickly. The uncontested and control game is disappearing,” Lyon said.
Exciting footy is what neutrals and fans want to see and they rightly want their money’s worth in terms of tickets. Many assumed that the days of defensive focus and kick-to-kick possession demonstrated mostly by Alastair Clarkson’s Hawthorn were long gone.
Ross Lyon addresses his St Kilda players. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
What if an ultimatum was offered to those same fans with the option of winning a premiership based on a defensive identity? Would they accept it?
So far in 2023, it’s clear that Lyon has stuck to what he’s most comfortable with and used the few months of pre-season to get the defensive solidity right.
Saturday night’s 92-74 win over the Bombers at the MCG improved St Kilda’s record to 3-0 and sent a stern warning to the rest of the competition that they mean business.
What would have teams on edge through analysing their most recent performances would have to be the Saints’ potential to shut out opponents and limit scoring opportunities with great effect.
Consistency has stood out regarding the defensive side of the game. At one point during last week’s encounter with the Bulldogs, the Saints avoided conceding a goal for 99 straight minutes of actual game time combining the first two rounds.
Against the Dons, they conceded their first goal of the match with just under five minutes remaining in the first term.
A clear pattern is already starting to emerge. They kept Fremantle, Western Bulldogs, and Essendon to scores of 52, 41, and 74 respectively, conceding an average of 55.7 points per game. Those three clubs are no easy beats by any means.
In those 15 minutes where the Bombers failed to kick a major, Brad Scott’s men recorded 11 inside 50s with just a solitary behind to show for it. Composure in possession and getting the likes of Douglas Howard and Josh Battle to clog up the empty pockets of spaces were noticeable from a St Kilda point of view, which already has them set as a tough side to break down due to suffocating opponents in their own half.
Lyon’s comments after he took over the reigns at the Saints last year implied that he doesn’t contain the strongest list, but has some exciting personnel to work with.
“I don’t think we’re the quickest, but we’ve got really good endurance athletes. In the longer term we know we need to build our spine and capability,” Lyon said.
If you look at their list, there are no real stars that jump out, but there’s a lot of potential and consistency that can be built on as a unit over time.
Slowing the game down on their terms might be due to that very reason. After three rounds, the Saints rank first in the AFL for total disposals with 1208 and third in the marking department, averaging 110 per game.
They also don’t mind handing over possession to their opponents, as there were times when Essendon was forced to kick the ball around in untroubled areas of the ground to try and pick out options. That’s a credit to Lyon for the Saints’ defensive discipline and structure.
Regardless of form and talent, styles make fights at the end of the day.
The majority of the competition looks to play expansive, free-flowing, and attacking footy, consisting of pressure and intensity from start to finish.
This will make it a fascinating watch when the Saints come up against a side like the Magpies in round five. Will the Saints’ defensive pressure be enough to keep it close against the true premiership contenders and make it a scrap.
Former coach Brett Ratten had his players playing some entertaining stuff, leading to many confused faces after the surprising dismissal that followed. Lyon won’t want to lose the majority of that forward play and identity, but it’s clear from the outset that he is sticking to what he knows best.
Call it boring, call it frustrating, but it’s a system that has worked in the past and is proving to still have an impact in the modern game.
Can Ross Lyon and his Saints keep marching on?
me too
Roar Rookie
given the loss of every tall forward option the saints are scoring quite well. every team, no matter how attack orientated has a few dour low scoring games ahead of them – case in point collingwood. the emphasis is on accountability when without the ball, but we run in a pack both ways. we do have some quality on the list – steele, sinclair, marshall, and king the obvious ones, but wilkie is every bit the equal of any aa defender, and mason wood is finally showing the form we’d all but given up on seeing. owens, windhager and nasiah all look very good, and phillipou looks a goer. with our injuries – 8 first team players at least from the previous season – have been a bit of a blessing, allowing us to blood youngsters and ask others to step up. so far they have all answered the call. on form many of that 8 must be wondering if they will have to come in via the vfl and earn their spot back. Long term that injury list will bite us though – we need to be able to rotate and rest players. at the moment – if you’re fit you play.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Scores don’t always indicate the quality of a game but often do. I like to see a good mix of attack and defence. As long as it’s a competitive match I see it often equates to something like this. Winning team scores less than 70 points = bad, winning team scores over 80 points = good. Losing team scores more than 100 points = bad, as that’s for basketball.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
For me they’re still great to watch. Their defensive solidity and structure is what allows them to drive forward and create opportunities. If neutrals are after high scoring affairs from both teams involving a Saints match then they’ll mostly be disappointed
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
I'm missing all Dockers games for 7 weeks but I'm in Adelaide this week for the Crows/Dockers game. Hopefully it will turn out as it should.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Their first performance was pretty dull, but of course that was against Freo, so that’s to be expected. The last two have been good to watch. 92 points is a decent score by todays standards.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Let’s hope by R6 the Freo team are flying.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Nah. That’s just a silly idea for the ferals. If you watch the replay of the ’92 Eagles GF, every time the Eagles kick a goal, I’m there, centre screen, cheering them on from the Eagles Bar at Steve’s Hotel. Parochialism always wins.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Really, l thought a traditional rivalry would spill over & a tad of hatred but not you Don, interesting! Round 6 should be intriguing :stoked:
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
West Coast.
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
They have been clinical and I’m not calling them a boring side…it’s just some neutrals who have never liked Lyon’s style who also love big scores being kicked on both ends. Saints have done extremely well without those players you mentioned and Lyon has planned accordingly. Interested to see if they can keep it going and challenger some of the top teams in the comp
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Don looks like your second team is the Saints the Cats have been thrown in the bin.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
It's good, watchable footy. Excellent defence gives excellent rebound which makes for excellent attack.
Sanctorum
Roar Rookie
A reasonable summary of the 2023 under Ross Lyon by Christian Montegan, but he has failed to acknowledge that not only are St Kilda defending well and suffocating forward attacks by the opposition, but they have also pulled the trigger and kicked winning scores to take the game out of reach. Lyon and his assistants have crafted a totally new game plan and given players dedicated roles which they so far have carried out magnificently. The most impressive aspect of the 2023 Saints is that despite the unavailability of King, Membrey, Steele, Billings and a host of other quality players, and now Webster and Wood, the players selected have performed well above their status, won the first three matches and sit on top of the ladder. This is entirely due to very good coaching by Lyon, Enright, Harvey and Hayes!
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Don’t see the tactics changing that much, especially after a 3-0 start. The formula is working so far and that’s what Lyon is most comfortable with
John Allan
Roar Rookie
When he left, there was a sign in the crowd “Good Luck Ro$$”. All is forgiven now. Wonder if tactics will change when King & Membery return? Thoughts.