Underperforming St Kilda midfielder SINGLED OUT by irate coach after ‘worst performance of the season’ as Brett Ratten warns they will no longer be ‘carrying’ dud players
- The Saints were destroyed in the first half against the Western Bulldogs
- That was despite having everything to play for and a finals spot on the line
- Coach Brett Ratten has singled out a player as an example of a lack of effort
- He has warned there will be no more carrying players that are not putting in
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten has taken the rare step of singling out an under-performing player in public following his side’s humiliating loss to the Western Bulldogs on Friday.
The coach, who recently re-signed for two more seasons, was livid after his side – with a spot in the AFL top eight to play for on the line – capitulated completely on Friday night.
The 28-point win to the Bulldogs was flattering in the end, after St Kilda was comprehensively torn apart in the first half.
St Kilda’s Jack Steel (left) put in a captain’s effort against the Bulldogs while teammate Zak Jones (right) was well below his best
The Bulldogs kicked five unanswered goals in the first quarter, the Saints failed to reach 20 points by the main break and St Kilda had laid on just 13 tackles – well below their season average of 55.
Ratten said the Saints were ‘carrying’ players that were not lifting in effort areas and singled out Zak Jones as one of the offenders.
Jones finished the match with 18 disposals, five marks and two clearances for a reasonable stat line, but he was almost invisible in the first half belting when the Bulldogs took the game away from the Saints.
Ratten is desperately searching for answers
‘It’s something we’ve got to get right. [captain] Jack Steele [26 disposals, 14 contested] has done a great job to get back in and play and he’s an A-grade player, but he needs more support,’ Ratten said.
‘I think Jones had four or five possessions in half a game, in the first half. You can’t run around in the midfield and only have a handful of touches.
‘So we need everyone contributing, and that’s what we got in the first half of the year.
‘At the moment we’re carrying too many who are just not performing at the level that we’re after or assisting their teammates when it’s needed.’
Former North Melbourne premiership winner and Fox Footy pundit David King slammed the Saints intensity, especially in defence, following the shellacking.
“I don’t know what they reward at St Kilda but it ain’t pressure,’ he said.
“They don’t value defence. From the Saints, this is sub-AFL standard.
St Kilda now sit 10th on the ladder with an inferior percentage than top eight sides
Fox Footy pundit and former Saint Leigh Montagna labelled it ‘the worst performance of the year for St Kilda so far at half time’.
‘They have not fired a shot. They are not competing to the level St Kilda need to for them to win games of footy,’ he added.
‘The pressure was the number thing they’d focused on the most to try and get their game on track, but it’s deserted them.
‘Whether their poor attitude has led to their poor method… They are devoid of confidence. It’s fallen apart for St Kilda.
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