Watters hoses down Lyon hype

Updated April 19, 2012 16:23:22

New St Kilda coach Scott Watters was expansive about opponents Fremantle and mentioned its former coach Mark Harvey, but did not say Ross Lyon's name once.

Watters was determined not to buy into the hype about his predecessor on the eve of the much-anticipated match between the two clubs on Friday night at Docklands.

It will be the first time that Lyon coaches against his old side after last September's tumultuous events.

In the space of a few hours, Fremantle ruthlessly sacked Harvey and replaced him with Lyon, who had just walked out on the Saints.

Asked how much the St Kilda players had spoken about Lyon this week, Watters replied: "I can honestly say that has not been mentioned once.

"Again, players need to invest in their game plan, they need to invest in their own performance.

"They need to make sure they take care of business from a football point of view.

"There's a lot of outside noise, potentially, but it has no impact on the way we prepare or play.

"It's not on our priority list."

Similarly, Watters was not interested in discussing how Saints fans would greet Lyon.

Saints veteran Lenny Hayes has called on their supporters to not vent at Lyon, who joked he might wear a spray jacket to the game.

"To be honest, I won't even notice - it's not even on my radar," Watters said.

"I hope our fans support our players, I hope they make it a hostile environment for the Fremantle players, like any interstate side coming to Melbourne.

"Outside of that, the rest of it is discussion points for other people."

Watters was more worried about the impact of Dockers stars such as Aaron Sandilands, Matthew Pavlich, Stephen Hill and Hayden Ballantyne.

"(They're) strong defensively, hard-nosed pros - they're an elite interstate side," he said.

"I'm certainly not fooled into thinking this is an inexperienced or rebuilding team.

"The list they've built over three or four years under Mark Harvey is an outstanding list."

Ballantyne will return from two games' suspension after he created plenty of strife against Geelong in round one.

Cats defender Matthew Scarlett is in the last week of a three-game ban for punching Ballantyne.

Watters once coached Ballantyne in the Western Australia state side and loves the small forward's feisty attitude.

"He hasn't changed one bit - I love his gamesmanship, I love the way he goes about it," Watters said.

"Opposition players, umpires and coaches are getting more familiar with the way he goes about his business.

"We'll be pretty disciplined and focussed, particularly playing against a quality player like 'Ballers'."

Meanwhile, Saints defender James Gwilt will resume in the VFL this weekend after recovering from his knee reconstruction.

Watters is hopeful Gwilt will be back in the seniors within a month.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, st-kilda-3182, vic, australia, fremantle-6160, wa

First posted April 19, 2012 16:23:22

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Watters wants high-scoring Saints

Updated December 20, 2011 13:51:33

New St Kilda coach Scott Watters wants a greater emphasis on attack as he brings elements of the Collingwood forward press to the AFL club.

Watters wants the Saints to be better at trapping the ball in their own attack, saying they were defending too deep.

Under former coach Ross Lyon, the Saints boasted the league's best defence as they made the 2009-10 grand finals.

But 11 teams scored more heavily than the Saints this year as they dropped to seventh.

Watters was an assistant coach at Collingwood before joining St Kilda.

Asked about the Magpies' famed forward-line press, Watters said: "Obviously, it was a club that strongly focussed on that, but it's pretty much entrenched with my own philosophies on the way the game needs to be played.

"There will be a really strong defensive element to the way we play.

"We'd like to defend more in the front half of the ground - we probably defended a little bit too deep over the last year or two.

"If we get the balance of that right and the way we defend, we'll get better offensive input as well."

Zac Dawson's departure to Fremantle and James Gwilt's absence until the middle of next season following a knee reconstruction means the Saints will have a new-look backline.

Youngster Tom Simpkin and former West Coast utility Beau Wilkes are players who could have key defensive roles.

Jason Blake, whose first senior game next year will bring him to 200, will again be part of their defence.

The Saints de-listed Blake and then put him back on their list through the pre-season draft to relieve pressure on their player payments.

"It was just one of those things that has to be done, to help the club out," Blake said.

Watters said the Saints felt that there was minimal risk in putting Blake back into the draft, because he was clearly not going to leave them.

"There's always a risk, but to pick up a player who's on 199 games with no intention of playing anywhere else would have also been a risk for those who perhaps had taken him," Watters noted.

"From our perspective, we knew he was going to be here.

"If you had more Jason Blakes on your list, you'd be a stronger club.

"He always thinks of others before himself, sets a really high standard with the way he prepares."

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, st-kilda-3182, vic, australia

First posted December 20, 2011 13:51:33

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Watters to coach St Kilda

Updated October 15, 2011 19:02:32

St Kilda has appointed Collingwood assistant Scott Watters as head coach of the AFL club.

The Saints will hold a press conference in Melbourne at 11:00am (AEDT) on Sunday to officially announce the move.

Watters, 42, has spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Collingwood, taking charge of the Magpies' defence.

He previously coached WAFL club Subiaco, leading the side to two premierships in three years.

Watters played 109 AFL games for three clubs - West Coast, Sydney and Fremantle - from 1989-96.

He beat out fellow assistants, Gold Coast's Ken Hinkley and Carlton's Alan Richardson, who also made the final stage of the Saints' selection process.

Watters is the latest in a series of coaches to have won senior appointments after serving as assistants to newly-retired Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse.

North Melbourne head coach Brad Scott, Gold Coast's Guy McKenna, Melbourne's Mark Neeld and Malthouse's successor at Collingwood, Nathan Buckley, are others.

It continues the drain on the Magpies' coaching staff from the 2011 season, with Watters joining Neeld and Malthouse in departing.

Watters inherits a St Kilda side which was shocked by the sudden departure of Ross Lyon when he was poached by Fremantle to replace Mark Harvey a month ago.

Lyon's five-year St Kilda tenure included grand final losses in 2009 and 2010.

But the Saints slumped to seventh this year on the back of a slow start to their season and were eliminated by Sydney on the opening weekend of finals.

Watters takes over at a time when the club is also trying to manage salary cap pressures.

The Saints entered trade week, which ends at 2:00pm (AEDT) on Monday, with an expectation they would need to off-load some players, although their biggest stars have been declared off-limits.

So far, the only Saint traded away has been young forward Tom Lynch to Adelaide.

Watters' appointment means every AFL club now has a coach in place for 2012.

Of the five to appoint new coaches, four opted for newcomers to senior coaching ranks, the exception being the Dockers.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, st-kilda-3182, vic, australia

First posted October 15, 2011 18:21:46

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