Frustrated Brett Ratten sends warning to out-of-form Saints – The Age

“Our wins have been built on everyone contributing.
“We will play players that are in form … if you are not in form and your form is tapering you might be in a bit of trouble.”
He said the team showed their best and their worst in the same game with the pressure they applied in the first quarter disappearing after the break.
“We showed our best and our worst in one day in two different quarters,” Ratten said.
It was a repeat of their round one loss when they opened up a five-goal lead over North Melbourne but managed just one goal after half-time to lose to the Kangaroos by two points.
On this occasion the Saints kicked seven of the first eight goals, then conceded 11 of the next 12 before surging again to kick three of the final four goals and lose by six points.
In both games the Saints kept playing fast football rather than shifting the tempo to regain control, a disappointing trend for the coach.
“We are going a bit too quick at times when we can just cool our jets a bit and control the footy and play with a bit more composure in our game,” Ratten said.
Ratten said the momentum shifted when Fremantle lifted their pressure around the ball and their skipper Nat Fyfe played a huge role in dragging his team back into the game when all seemed lost.
“We just dropped away a little bit and they handled our pressure better than we handled theirs,” Ratten said.
The loss means the Saints, who play attractive football at their best, will play Adelaide in South Australia next Monday night with three wins and three losses next to their name when they have been in winning positions in five of their six games.
They are likely to lose Ben Long who concussed Dockers’ ruckman Sean Darcy with a crude bump to his head when the Fremantle player had his head over the ball. Long was reported for the incident.

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