A defiant Ross Lyon says St Kilda are “pursuing excellence” and defended his much-hyped team’s slow start to the year ahead of their clash with GWS in Sydney on Saturday.
After an ambitious trade period and the recruitment of several high-profile players, the Saints have lost the first two games of the season, with defeats to Melbourne and Collingwood.
During a press conference on Thursday morning, Lyon was asked if the Saints’ $2 million man Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and expensive recruit Tom De Koning (who left Carlton for a reported $1.7 million) were prepared for the level of scrutiny over the past fortnight.
“Well that’s not our job,” Lyon replied. “That’s why AFL football is abnormal. It’s not like what you do. You’re not under scrutiny, like you choose AFL football, you choose stress, you choose anxiety, you choose to be in the arena. I’m happy to be in the arena.
“I know what’s coming, but you’ve got to write your own story, and traditionally, both those players [De Koning and Wanganeen-Milera] have written really strong AFL stories.
“That’s why it’s AFL, it’s high performance and it’s abnormal. If you want normal, you step the other side of this microphone, the other side of the fence, on the ground, and you pursue mediocrity in your life. These guys are pursuing excellence, and with that comes a lot of critique in terms of the on field.”
Lyon said the team was focused on improving the ability to contain the ball on turnovers, adding “that’s what really hurt us” and admitted the Saints “were inconsistent in some areas”.
The coach said St Kilda’s foundation was strong, and batted away questions around if it would take some time for the Saints to develop energy and chemistry as a group.
“There’s been a lot of noise, apparently, but [it] doesn’t come up on my algorithm,” he said.
“I’m not really across everything, except I hear the media department tell me there’s a lot of noise, so I can finetune my algorithm so it feeds me that stuff.”
When asked if the 2-0 start added more pressure to his role, Lyon said, “No less than when you sign up to be an AFL coach.
“Just because there’s noise and rhetoric doesn’t increase the pressure. The greatest pressure is internal for performance.”
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Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email.
