The Analyser - Round 19 Gold Coast vs St Kilda
In a historic first meeting against the Gold Coast Suns, the Saints toiled to a tough 20 point win. Despite many pundits and fans tipping a thrashing, the Suns accounted for themselves well and managed the same amount of scoring shots as the Riewoldt-less Saints.
This week's edition of The Analyser will focus on several pressing topics including the Saints delivery inside 50, the trial of a small forward set-up and the form of Nick Dal Santo and Brendon Goddard.
EFFICIENCY GOING INSIDE 50
One of the big improvements in the Saints play since the bye, has been the way the ball is delivered into the attacking 50m arc.
When the ball has been delivered inside 50, the players have been lowering their eyes and spotting a target instead of bombing long to targets usually outnumbered.
Against the Suns, the Saints returned to their early season ways of delivering it deep inside 50 often. This strategy struggled especially when the deep target was usually Ryan Gamble, who was up against a quality defender in Nathan Bock.
The forward structure that Ross was trialling was a fail in my opinion.
FORWARD STRUCTURE
The trialling of a small forward line against the Suns was ultimately a fail.
Before the game, I thought that Kosi or McEvoy would rotate through the forward 50m arc when not rucking. But as per Lyon's experiment, they both spent very little time deep in the forward line.
I believe Ross was trialling a mobile, small forward line in the event that Nick Riewoldt is missing during a finals game.
Whilst the poor delivery did not help, a structure with David Armitage, Stephen Milne and Gamble as the deep targets was never going to work.
In my opinion, on a dewy night, the Saints structure would have been more effective placing Tommy Walsh or even Daniel Archer in the goal square and having them create a contest against Bock. This would have brought the small forwards into the game when the ball spilled from the contest.
DAVID ARMITAGE
Armo was a victim of his own success in his half forward defensive role last week against the Crows. It was disappointing to note that he spent hardly any time in the midfield against the Suns and had no impact on the game.
He only had 1 clearance and 2 tackles for the whole game, which was spent in the majority through the forward line. He also fluffed a chance to take a mark inside 50 in the first quarter through not reading the kick well.
I would have thought that he would have spent more time in at the centre bounces and rotating through the midfield after his supreme effort in contested situations last week.
NICK DAL SANTO AND BRENDON GODDARD
The performances of Nick Dal Santo and Brendon Goddard were superb.
Nick Dal Santo is in the form of his career this year. He has always been a great outside player but in the past few weeks he has taken his contested game to another level.
In one of the best performances of his career, Dal Santo run the Suns ragged and collected 39 touches at 85% efficiency. He amassed 12 contested possessions, 8 clearances, 6 tackles, 6 inside 50's and a goal.
He has become the Saints most dangerous midfielder. The way he creates time for his disposal is like watching an artist at work. Once the space is created, he seldom misses a target.
His workrate has also lifted to the point where he is regularly in the Saints top 3 for tackles each match.
The form of Brendon Goddard is peaking at the right end of the season. Everyone remembers his herculean effort in the first Grand Final last year and he is starting to live up to the expectations after that performance.
He is starting to excel again in the quarterback role he played so well in last season. He demands the ball as the Saints transition out of defence and once the ball is in his hands, the Saints more often than not launch an attack.
Goddard had a game-high 10 inside 50's which accounted for nearly 20% of the Saints forward 50 thrusts.
With Dal Santo and Goddard in top form, the Saints can beat any team in the competition. Lets hope they are both can have a huge impact if the Saints can sustain their finals charge.
SEAN DEMPSTER VS JARED BRENNAN
For the first time in many weeks, Dempster lowered his colours to an opponent in the form of Suns livewire Jared Brennan.
Dempster seemed the perfect match-up for Brennan who can play both tall and small. But Brennan's versatility was too good for Dempster and he had a strong impact on the game, particularly in the second quarter.
There are some rumours that Dempster is carrying a soft tissue leg injury. However if he is fit for the game against Fremantle on Friday night, he should definitely be given the job of shutting down Docker prodigy Nathan Fyfe.
Dempster has the ability to track Fyfe at the stoppages and also in the air at marking contests. These are areas that Fyfe has excelled in this season.
LOOKING TOWARD THE FREMANTLE GAME
With Nick Riewoldt returning from suspension, Tom Lynch would be the player expected to make way. Unfortunately he didn't put in a good enough performance to guarantee his spot. You could see the frustration on his face when he was subbed out of the game.
The impending cloud over Zac Dawson's immediate playing future due to an incident with Josh Fraser has renewed calls for the selection of Irishman Tommy Walsh.
However, Walsh has been playing forward for Sandringham so I'm not sure Ross would select him as a full back replacement.
After another strong performance in the VFL, I think it's time Walsh deserves a crack in the forward line. I'm not too sure who would be omitted to fit him into the squad though.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Ross may be keeping Walsh up his sleeve as an X factor player that could have an impact in finals. This remains to be seen however.
I also expect Baker to come in specifically to play on pest Hayden Ballantyne. Possibly Geary could be dropped as he has been the substitute in both matches and needs to be match hardened for finals.
THE FINAL WORD
Have had some really good feedback in regard to the blog. Would love to hear any opinions and views from footy fans on what I've been writing. Questions are welcome too.
Also open to hearing any suggestions to improve the blog as well.
I'm really looking forward to the Fremantle game. An injury hit Docker side presents a big opportunity for the boys to continue their strong form and force a gap between us and the rest of the top 8 challengers
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Analyser - Round 18 St Kilda vs Adelaide
The Analyser is a new weekly blog I will be writing that will analyse St Kilda's performance in depth.
This will include analysis of individual player performances, match-ups and passages of play.
The idea behind the blog is to uncover aspects of the performance that supporters may not notice. It will also serve to cover parts of the game that mainstream media usually don't report.
The goal is to provide Saints fans with an alternative view and opinion of parts of the game in a informative and enjoyable piece.
THE ANALYSER - RND 18 - STK vs ADE
The Saints 103 point win over an insipid Adelaide outfit was the first time the club has put 4 quarters together this season. The Crows score of 3.6.24 was the lowest score in the clubs history, the lowest score ever at Etihad Stadium and the lowest score St Kilda has conceded since Round 12, 1971.
This weeks edition of The Analyser looks at the performance of several unheralded players and examines some of the match ups that contributed to the result.
DEAN POLO
The performance of Dean Polo has sounded the death knell to Andrew McQualter's career.
Mini has been a solid squad player but Polo's ability to win contested possessions and effectively close down an opposition player is an upgrade.
His ability to hit a target with a quick handball in a contested situation is brilliant and was again on for show against the Crows.
Early in the first quarter, in a contested scramble 15m out from the Saints goal, Polo had the cleanest hands when he flicked out a handball to Milne, was who rushing past and goaled.
30 seconds later, Polo won another contested ball on the wing and flung a look away handball over his head to a teammate which resulted in an eventual goal again to Milne.
His awareness in contested situations was a constant highlight for the whole match. The addition of Polo to the midfield rotation has improved the team and is a big tick for Ross Lyon’s decision to recruit him.
DAVID ARMITAGE
Have you ever seen a better display of defensive pressure and tackling?
After being the substitute the past 2 games, Armitage’s output was outstanding. His attack on the ball was ferocious and was directly involved in 4 of the Saints goals.
He set the benchmark for team defensive pressure early in the first quarter when he ran down Nathan Van Berlo as Adelaide attacked the centre corridor. The spillage resulted in Adam Schneider running into an open goal.
In the third quarter, he barreled into young Adelaide defender Daniel Talia as the Crows were about to whisk the ball inside 50 and seconds later applied a crunching tackle on Michael Doughty that flung the ball 20 metres in the opposite direction.
His attack on the footy set up several goals and this kind of performance is what Saints fans always knew he was capable of.
Looking forward to seeing him crunch some of the younger Gold Coast bodies.
JACK STEVEN’S DISPOSAL
During Jack’s emergence as a future superstar of the club there has still been one question mark of his abilities; his disposal has been something that regularly lets him down.
This query was put to bed during the game with his most damaging performance by foot to date.
Steven repeatedly spotted targets in the corridor and executed perfect kicks to them. This was the springboard of a number of attacks.
Then there was the beautiful little hit up to Milne’s chest 35m out and the great vision to spot Riewoldt moving to the hot spot 15m out.
We have quite a player on our hands. It’s scary that he has only played 23 games.
THE RESURRECTION OF JASON GRAM
It’s great to see Jason Gram back in good form again. One play from Friday night epitomises his change in attitude and work rate that is the reason why he is starting to reach the heights of his 2009 season.
Farren Ray took a mark at half back and ignored Gram, who was sprinting past for the handball. Ray kicked the ball to Sean Dempster at centre half forward, who gave it to the running Gram whose kick hit Riewoldt on the chest inside 50.
The workrate in this instance was outstanding and shows that he may be over his injury worries and back to his damaging best.
SEAN DEMPSTER VS BERNIE VINCE
Dempster completely ripped the life out of Vince in the first half. Further viewing of the match up shows an astonishing display of shut down footy.
Vince could only manage 3 touches in the first half, one of which was a smothered kick.
Even an assumed Neil Craig rev-up at half time couldn’t restore Vince’s confidence and Dempster’s pressure resulted in an extraordinary amount of consecutive clangers at the start of the third quarter.
Within five 3rd quarter minutes, Vince missed a double fisted defensive punch, scrubbed a kick across his defensive 50, missed a handball target in defence, gave away a shot on goal by infringing on Dempster in a contest and hit Clinton Jones on the chest in his defensive 50 and cost his side a goal.
Dempster is proving to be an elite shut down player. He is fully deserving of this recognition especially considering he doesn't niggle opponents with illegal tactics.
Am really looking forward to his contest with Ablett or Rischitelli on Saturday night.
ZAC DAWSON VS KURT TIPPETT
Tippett has been a multiple goalkicker against the Saints since Zac joined the club.
Despite the fact the ball wasn't in Adelaide's forward half much, keeping Tippett goalless was a big win for Dawson against a bogey opponent.
This scalp goes along with Drew Petrie, Jay Schulz and Josh Kennedy and shows that Zac is regaining his confidence.
Ross Lyon should be pleased because he has showed a lot of faith in Zac, who struggled for form early this season.
THE RESTRICTION OF ADELAIDE’S PRIME MOVERS
The disposal figures of several of Adelaide’s runners were a big win for Lyon’s match ups and the Saints players’ accountability.
Andy Otten, Bernie Vince, Brett Reilly and Brad Symes could only manage 45 disposals between each other.
Adam Schneider, after keeping Shannon Hurn to 9 touches last week, was Reilly’s most frequent opponent and completely shut him out of the game in the second half.
The improvement in the accountability and defensive pressure of the Saints forwards is starting to have a real impact, both statistically and on the scoreboard.
THE FINAL WORD
I really hope my fellow St Kilda fans enjoy reading this piece.
Would love any feedback, comments, opinions and suggestions to improve the blog.
Will try and release next week’s ‘The Analyser’, on the Gold Coast match, a bit earlier than Wednesday.
This will include analysis of individual player performances, match-ups and passages of play.
The idea behind the blog is to uncover aspects of the performance that supporters may not notice. It will also serve to cover parts of the game that mainstream media usually don't report.
The goal is to provide Saints fans with an alternative view and opinion of parts of the game in a informative and enjoyable piece.
THE ANALYSER - RND 18 - STK vs ADE
The Saints 103 point win over an insipid Adelaide outfit was the first time the club has put 4 quarters together this season. The Crows score of 3.6.24 was the lowest score in the clubs history, the lowest score ever at Etihad Stadium and the lowest score St Kilda has conceded since Round 12, 1971.
This weeks edition of The Analyser looks at the performance of several unheralded players and examines some of the match ups that contributed to the result.
DEAN POLO
The performance of Dean Polo has sounded the death knell to Andrew McQualter's career.
Mini has been a solid squad player but Polo's ability to win contested possessions and effectively close down an opposition player is an upgrade.
His ability to hit a target with a quick handball in a contested situation is brilliant and was again on for show against the Crows.
Early in the first quarter, in a contested scramble 15m out from the Saints goal, Polo had the cleanest hands when he flicked out a handball to Milne, was who rushing past and goaled.
30 seconds later, Polo won another contested ball on the wing and flung a look away handball over his head to a teammate which resulted in an eventual goal again to Milne.
His awareness in contested situations was a constant highlight for the whole match. The addition of Polo to the midfield rotation has improved the team and is a big tick for Ross Lyon’s decision to recruit him.
DAVID ARMITAGE
Have you ever seen a better display of defensive pressure and tackling?
After being the substitute the past 2 games, Armitage’s output was outstanding. His attack on the ball was ferocious and was directly involved in 4 of the Saints goals.
He set the benchmark for team defensive pressure early in the first quarter when he ran down Nathan Van Berlo as Adelaide attacked the centre corridor. The spillage resulted in Adam Schneider running into an open goal.
In the third quarter, he barreled into young Adelaide defender Daniel Talia as the Crows were about to whisk the ball inside 50 and seconds later applied a crunching tackle on Michael Doughty that flung the ball 20 metres in the opposite direction.
His attack on the footy set up several goals and this kind of performance is what Saints fans always knew he was capable of.
Looking forward to seeing him crunch some of the younger Gold Coast bodies.
JACK STEVEN’S DISPOSAL
During Jack’s emergence as a future superstar of the club there has still been one question mark of his abilities; his disposal has been something that regularly lets him down.
This query was put to bed during the game with his most damaging performance by foot to date.
Steven repeatedly spotted targets in the corridor and executed perfect kicks to them. This was the springboard of a number of attacks.
Then there was the beautiful little hit up to Milne’s chest 35m out and the great vision to spot Riewoldt moving to the hot spot 15m out.
We have quite a player on our hands. It’s scary that he has only played 23 games.
THE RESURRECTION OF JASON GRAM
It’s great to see Jason Gram back in good form again. One play from Friday night epitomises his change in attitude and work rate that is the reason why he is starting to reach the heights of his 2009 season.
Farren Ray took a mark at half back and ignored Gram, who was sprinting past for the handball. Ray kicked the ball to Sean Dempster at centre half forward, who gave it to the running Gram whose kick hit Riewoldt on the chest inside 50.
The workrate in this instance was outstanding and shows that he may be over his injury worries and back to his damaging best.
SEAN DEMPSTER VS BERNIE VINCE
Dempster completely ripped the life out of Vince in the first half. Further viewing of the match up shows an astonishing display of shut down footy.
Vince could only manage 3 touches in the first half, one of which was a smothered kick.
Even an assumed Neil Craig rev-up at half time couldn’t restore Vince’s confidence and Dempster’s pressure resulted in an extraordinary amount of consecutive clangers at the start of the third quarter.
Within five 3rd quarter minutes, Vince missed a double fisted defensive punch, scrubbed a kick across his defensive 50, missed a handball target in defence, gave away a shot on goal by infringing on Dempster in a contest and hit Clinton Jones on the chest in his defensive 50 and cost his side a goal.
Dempster is proving to be an elite shut down player. He is fully deserving of this recognition especially considering he doesn't niggle opponents with illegal tactics.
Am really looking forward to his contest with Ablett or Rischitelli on Saturday night.
ZAC DAWSON VS KURT TIPPETT
Tippett has been a multiple goalkicker against the Saints since Zac joined the club.
Despite the fact the ball wasn't in Adelaide's forward half much, keeping Tippett goalless was a big win for Dawson against a bogey opponent.
This scalp goes along with Drew Petrie, Jay Schulz and Josh Kennedy and shows that Zac is regaining his confidence.
Ross Lyon should be pleased because he has showed a lot of faith in Zac, who struggled for form early this season.
THE RESTRICTION OF ADELAIDE’S PRIME MOVERS
The disposal figures of several of Adelaide’s runners were a big win for Lyon’s match ups and the Saints players’ accountability.
Andy Otten, Bernie Vince, Brett Reilly and Brad Symes could only manage 45 disposals between each other.
Adam Schneider, after keeping Shannon Hurn to 9 touches last week, was Reilly’s most frequent opponent and completely shut him out of the game in the second half.
The improvement in the accountability and defensive pressure of the Saints forwards is starting to have a real impact, both statistically and on the scoreboard.
THE FINAL WORD
I really hope my fellow St Kilda fans enjoy reading this piece.
Would love any feedback, comments, opinions and suggestions to improve the blog.
Will try and release next week’s ‘The Analyser’, on the Gold Coast match, a bit earlier than Wednesday.
Friday, July 22, 2011
POLO GRABS SECOND CHANCE
Back at the 2004 Under 18 Championships, Vic Country squared up against South Australia in an early group match. The South Australian side contained a young, damaging midfielder named Ryan Griffen. The Vic Country coaching team handed to the job of shutting down Griffen to an ungainly, scrawny looking kid from Gippsland. After completely nullifying Griffen whilst helping himself to plenty of the ball, Dean Polo thrust himself into the calculations of recruiters for the 2004 AFL draft.
After achieving top 10 results in the agility run, beep test and 3km time trial at the AFL draft camp, the recruiters at Richmond saw enough potential in Polo to take him at pick 20 in the 2004 AFL draft (Griffen was selected by the Bulldogs at pick 3). After a year of developing at Richmond aligned VFL side Coburg during 2005, Polo starred for the VFL side in early 2006 and was finally selected for his debut in the Dreamtime game against Essendon in Round 6.
Five minutes after the final siren went, Dean Polo was standing on the stage next to Craig Willis after being awarded the Yiooken award for best on ground. After kicking 3 goals, having 28 disposals and being the main reason why the Tigers defeated their arch-rivals on the big stage, Richmond fans started getting excited about the future of this talented midfield star.
A little over four years later, Dean Polo was delisted from Richmond and most people expected to never hear from him again. His career at Richmond never got going. Despite playing every game for the rest of the 2006 season, Polo fell out of favour and only played another 39 games for the Tigers in four seasons.
After the gloss of his debut game wore off, queries were raised about Polo’s disposal efficiency and decision making. He was also never a prolific ball winner averaging only 16 disposals a game during his time at Richmond. The final nail in the coffin of his Richmond career was when Polo was stood down for a week after being involved in the infamous Ben Cousins-Daniel Connors punch-up at a Sydney hotel in early 2010.
Polo only appeared three more times for the Tigers after the Sydney hotel incident and was dropped despite a solid 19 possession game against Collingwood in Round 17 in his last game for the club. Two months later he was culled from the Tigers list and most expected that it would be the last they saw of Polo at AFL level.
Some people had other ideas however. In a draft day shock, Polo was the last player selected in the 2010 draft at pick 103 by St.Kilda. It has since emerged, that Ross Lyon was an admirer of Polo’s abilities. Whilst Polo’s weaknesses are often publicised, his strengths is what drew Lyon to giving him a second chance.
Polo, standing at 187cm, has always been a great contested mark for his size. His ability to win the ball in contested situations was also an important factor in the recruiting departments decision. Lyon obviously felt that Polo, who isn’t quite 25 years of age, had stunted in his development in the Richmond system and that it was possible for him to reach it in the St.Kilda set-up and be an important squad player. Ross, as usual, was right.
When selected by the Saints, the decision to take Polo was not only ridiculed by Tigers supporters but also by a majority of Saints fans. Polo didn't appear throughout the NAB Cup and the start of the AFL season because of a thumb injury and it wasn't until the knee injury of Hayes that Polo was mentioned in St.Kilda supporter circles as someone who could play a role this season.
When recovered from his thumb injury, Polo made his debut for Sandringham in Round 5. After two solid but not overly impressive performances for the Zebras, Polo was a shock selection for the round 8 game against the Hawks. He announced himself with a goal in the first quarter. Despite the Saints losing by 5 goals, Polo had a solid debut.
Over the next couple of weeks, Polo played okay but not to the point where he could keep selection in the side. After a three round hiatus, Polo was reintroduced to the side for the game against the Kangaroos and hasn't looked back since.
Polo has become a very important player in the squad in my opinion. The injury to Hayes has meant there has been a spot available in the midfield rotation. Polo's performances over the past few weeks have gone a long way to claiming that spot.
The ability of Polo to come off the bench and give the more prolific ball winners a break whilst locking down an opponent is understated. His work in pack situations has also been exceptional.
Averaging a career high 3 tackles a game, Polo has slotted in seamlessly to "Saints Footy" with his defensive pressure and repeated efforts. His handballing out of a pack in a contested situation is elite. An example of these traits can be seen late in the first quarter of the game against West Coast when Polo lost control of the footy at the top of the Saints attacking 50m arc. Instead of letting the Eagles rebound through the corridor, Polo applied pressure separately to two Eagles opponents, stripped them of the ball and fired out a handball to Raph Clarke, who hit Nick Riewoldt on the chest inside 50.
Polo’s worth to the team was also highlighted during the 103 point romp against Adelaide. His elite contested handballing was a factor in at least four St.Kilda goals including a direct goal assist to Stephen Milne early in the first quarter. In a huge pack of players 15m out from the St.Kilda goal, Polo won a contested possession and fired out a handball to Milne in the same movement who snapped truly. He also laid a career high 7 tackles showing that he is slotting in seamlessly to “Saints Footy”.These are the kind of unheralded efforts that are starting to earn Dean Polo respect at St.Kilda
It remains to be seen how much the relatively young Polo can develop in the St.Kilda system. Can he make the step up from important squad player to gun midfielder? The majority of doubters to his selection in the draft have been silenced and it's looking like another Lyon decision may prove to be a masterstroke.
After achieving top 10 results in the agility run, beep test and 3km time trial at the AFL draft camp, the recruiters at Richmond saw enough potential in Polo to take him at pick 20 in the 2004 AFL draft (Griffen was selected by the Bulldogs at pick 3). After a year of developing at Richmond aligned VFL side Coburg during 2005, Polo starred for the VFL side in early 2006 and was finally selected for his debut in the Dreamtime game against Essendon in Round 6.
Five minutes after the final siren went, Dean Polo was standing on the stage next to Craig Willis after being awarded the Yiooken award for best on ground. After kicking 3 goals, having 28 disposals and being the main reason why the Tigers defeated their arch-rivals on the big stage, Richmond fans started getting excited about the future of this talented midfield star.
A little over four years later, Dean Polo was delisted from Richmond and most people expected to never hear from him again. His career at Richmond never got going. Despite playing every game for the rest of the 2006 season, Polo fell out of favour and only played another 39 games for the Tigers in four seasons.
After the gloss of his debut game wore off, queries were raised about Polo’s disposal efficiency and decision making. He was also never a prolific ball winner averaging only 16 disposals a game during his time at Richmond. The final nail in the coffin of his Richmond career was when Polo was stood down for a week after being involved in the infamous Ben Cousins-Daniel Connors punch-up at a Sydney hotel in early 2010.
Polo only appeared three more times for the Tigers after the Sydney hotel incident and was dropped despite a solid 19 possession game against Collingwood in Round 17 in his last game for the club. Two months later he was culled from the Tigers list and most expected that it would be the last they saw of Polo at AFL level.
Some people had other ideas however. In a draft day shock, Polo was the last player selected in the 2010 draft at pick 103 by St.Kilda. It has since emerged, that Ross Lyon was an admirer of Polo’s abilities. Whilst Polo’s weaknesses are often publicised, his strengths is what drew Lyon to giving him a second chance.
Polo, standing at 187cm, has always been a great contested mark for his size. His ability to win the ball in contested situations was also an important factor in the recruiting departments decision. Lyon obviously felt that Polo, who isn’t quite 25 years of age, had stunted in his development in the Richmond system and that it was possible for him to reach it in the St.Kilda set-up and be an important squad player. Ross, as usual, was right.
When selected by the Saints, the decision to take Polo was not only ridiculed by Tigers supporters but also by a majority of Saints fans. Polo didn't appear throughout the NAB Cup and the start of the AFL season because of a thumb injury and it wasn't until the knee injury of Hayes that Polo was mentioned in St.Kilda supporter circles as someone who could play a role this season.
When recovered from his thumb injury, Polo made his debut for Sandringham in Round 5. After two solid but not overly impressive performances for the Zebras, Polo was a shock selection for the round 8 game against the Hawks. He announced himself with a goal in the first quarter. Despite the Saints losing by 5 goals, Polo had a solid debut.
Over the next couple of weeks, Polo played okay but not to the point where he could keep selection in the side. After a three round hiatus, Polo was reintroduced to the side for the game against the Kangaroos and hasn't looked back since.
Polo has become a very important player in the squad in my opinion. The injury to Hayes has meant there has been a spot available in the midfield rotation. Polo's performances over the past few weeks have gone a long way to claiming that spot.
The ability of Polo to come off the bench and give the more prolific ball winners a break whilst locking down an opponent is understated. His work in pack situations has also been exceptional.
Averaging a career high 3 tackles a game, Polo has slotted in seamlessly to "Saints Footy" with his defensive pressure and repeated efforts. His handballing out of a pack in a contested situation is elite. An example of these traits can be seen late in the first quarter of the game against West Coast when Polo lost control of the footy at the top of the Saints attacking 50m arc. Instead of letting the Eagles rebound through the corridor, Polo applied pressure separately to two Eagles opponents, stripped them of the ball and fired out a handball to Raph Clarke, who hit Nick Riewoldt on the chest inside 50.
Polo’s worth to the team was also highlighted during the 103 point romp against Adelaide. His elite contested handballing was a factor in at least four St.Kilda goals including a direct goal assist to Stephen Milne early in the first quarter. In a huge pack of players 15m out from the St.Kilda goal, Polo won a contested possession and fired out a handball to Milne in the same movement who snapped truly. He also laid a career high 7 tackles showing that he is slotting in seamlessly to “Saints Footy”.These are the kind of unheralded efforts that are starting to earn Dean Polo respect at St.Kilda
It remains to be seen how much the relatively young Polo can develop in the St.Kilda system. Can he make the step up from important squad player to gun midfielder? The majority of doubters to his selection in the draft have been silenced and it's looking like another Lyon decision may prove to be a masterstroke.
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