Below is an exclusive excerpt from David Mission’s new book, “The Bubble” - Inside the Saints in 2010, as he describes the final St Kilda major training session before the 2010 Toyota AFL Grand Final.

Thursday, 23 September

‘We’ve got to dare to win here. Giving them what they want and expect won’t get it done for us.’

With that statement to the Match Committee, Ross set the wheels in motion for a surprise at the selection table and a bold plan to try and wrest away Collingwood’s ability to play the game on their terms. Leaving McEvoy out and bringing in another running defender in Baker gave us flexibility on the bench and acknowledged that Collingwood’s best chance of winning the game came from running their most talented players through the midfield and half-forward line.

Swan, Didak, Pendlebury and Thomas were all potential match-winners and we needed to plan effectively to not allow them time and space to wreak the havoc they had been with opposition teams. Our plan was reliant on Michael Gardiner playing more game time and rucking for longer periods. His risk for soft-tissue injury was discussed but he had developed some resilience over the last two years; we were prepared to back him in what may end up being his last game of AFL. Clint Jones had played very well on Didak in the past and everyone felt he should go to him again. Sean Dempster had been tentatively set for Swan but it was more about locking down on players like Swan and Pendlebury when they came to half-forward. Dempster, Baker and even Gilbert could all do those jobs.

The versatility of Leigh Brown was the variable that we needed to cover. Both he and Jolly played 85% of game time. While Brown would occasionally relieve Jolly in the ruck, he was as much a mobile tall around the ground. Ross’s idea was that Sam Fisher, who we felt might get a defensive forward sent to him, should possibly follow Brown all day. He would even do some stoppage work as a ruckman and then try and work off him in general play. One of the main themes of our strategy was to try and get their defenders and our forwards one-on-one. We wanted Maxwell to have to play on an opponent and not just roll off and create a spare man providing a launch-pad out of defence. We were prepared to allow a loose man at the stoppage rather than their spare man simply rolling back in front of Roo.

The players were not required in at the club until noon, with our final session, the main one for the week, due to start at 2.30pm. Dal was still the main medical issue going into training. The minimal signs he had shown immediately post-game had been diminishing every day. He had run pain-free on Tuesday and was very confident about getting through training today. Ross wanted to see him train fully but also didn’t need him to go absolutely flat chat, understanding that both the medical team and Dal himself would know from training whether he would get through a game.

Ross used the meeting before training to go through Collingwood’s kick-ins. The common theme was that Ben Johnson, and particularly Heath Shaw, would play-on and then go long to the best 50-50 option. Geelong had allowed them too much space at times on their front-line when covering the kick-ins. We needed to pressure the kicker, play tight on their men and not allow them the easy, long exit. If we did, they would go coast-to-coast with frightening speed.

The muscle soreness and recovery markers had hardly any red on them at all. This was expected, considering the light week they had, but was always a pleasant surprise going into a training session. Within the first five minutes both Joey and Zac were in the physio room, each with lower leg concerns that had emerged through the warm-up. Joey had experienced calf tightness all week; despite getting progressively better over the course of the week, he felt an increase in tightness doing some acceleration drills in the warm-up. Zac felt his glute tighten up during a kicking drill and continued to feel some discomfort when he tried to sprint. It had been an intense day already and the stress of getting everyone through the final session unscathed was palpable. Both players emerged from the physio room and would complete training, actually feeling better as they went.

After training, Ross had the unenviable task of telling Ben McEvoy he was out of the team. It was a shock to Ben, who wouldn’t have seen it coming. He was a great kid who had worked his backside off all year. He would need ongoing support to get through the disappointment but he had strong character and would hopefully bounce back stronger than ever. It was a brutal situation but sentimentality doesn’t win premierships.


“The Bubble” - Inside the Saints in 2010
By David Misson - Elite Performance Manager, St Kilda Football Club
Published by Weston Media & Communications
RRP $35