Here are a few gems from the coach:
"They kicked three defensive 50 stoppage (goals) in the first quarter, 30 minutes. To put that in context, in 2010 we had 20 for the year and in 2009 we had nine."
"Our inability to defend at all, they had 12 entries and kicked 8.2…inability to defend and play one on one and protect the corridor, all those things, it was embarrassing really."
"Ultimately, it is a coaching issue isn't it? Myself and the coaching group, we've had things in place and basics done very well for a long period of time. But we're not adhering to any basics. So that broke the spirit of the team"
"At half time we spoke about standing up on your own two feet so we really held our forwards, it was one on one and there was no defensive support and we saw how that looked, it didn't look very pretty at all."
"We did not have a forward 50 tackle to three-quarter time, so we set some simple objectives. Let's try and get a forward 50 tackle and win some contested ball… we've been talking about introducing more run and carry but it has probably gone against where the game is at: it's about using handball to create a kicker (but) we used handball to then run into the next wave of defence, so that was pretty abysmal as well."
He had, in his own words, covered a multitude of issues as best he could.
I've heard few do it better.
But as St Kilda faces a season without finals success - the certain outcome if Lyon's diagnosis is not remedied after the break - it's now worth considering the role going forward of the senior coach and the discipline required of every leader within the St Kilda football club to turn their form around.
Clearly they understand their issues. How quickly they can fix them remains uncertain, even to the coach.
Because the paradox of the role of the senior coach is that he puts his trust in the performance of others, while trying to direct and control as much as he can.
Assistant coaches and players are responsible for implementing the big picture the senior coach drives. Plan, communicate, tweak and then trust sums up the reality of the life of the senior coach.
A relaxed coach is only fully relaxed when the system is humming. Roles are understood, strengths and weaknesses respected and in the heat of battle the clipped conversations - both on field and in the box - carry meaning without the need for further explanation.
The coach switches the ignition and every part of the machine springs to life - when the motor is well tuned.
Crazed agitation happens when the plans they expect to be carried out don't happen.
The key goes into the ignition and the engine is dead.
Imagine how trying that must be?
Football is based on systems. Adherence to a well-considered system - using every option available from the playing list - multiplies the effectiveness of the list's talent.
This system extends to the four basic elements clubs need to get right to achieve high performance: list management, conditioning, coaching, development.
On match day it all, in theory at least, comes together in the performance. As with any system, it only takes one weak link for a ripple effect to occur…and for the spirit to break.
Those weak links are what leaders do their best to eliminate during a game.
For instance, good coaches can observe a stoppage and immediately know who is doing their job and who is not. If something is not happening as they expect, they might (read, most certainly will) throw the question to their assistants, seeking an explanation as to why.
That's why we often see coaches on television turning to those sitting behind them - asking the line coach for his view. The coach might even be requesting for the IT manager in the box to replay the behind the goals vision immediately so he can identify the culprit or culprits himself.
The coach is like the head of a pit crew at a grand prix. If the system is breaking down, he needs to know why immediately so he can fix the problem.
Much of the time quality assistants will be able to explain what has happened immediately, identifying what should have happened and the player or circumstance (for example, a player might be injured) that caused the plan to go astray.
That is why a defensive coach doesn't see much more of a game than the back six or seven or eight controlling the defensive part of the ground because the senior coach relies on them to know exactly what is happening at that end of the ground at any moment.
When new faces are in the box, finding the right tone to deliver the information can be a case of trial and error. Differentiating between a senior coach's rhetorical question and one requiring a full explanation is an important skill for an assistant coach to carry in his bag.
It would have been a tough day for everyone in the Saints' box on Sunday afternoon, fighting the good fight early before - presumably -becoming more analytical and forward looking as the game wore on.
On the field, it's the players who are responsible for enforcing the message, reminding teammates of a multitude of instructions they need to follow according to each situation.
The masters of situational analysis on the field are worth two players, not only playing well themselves but ensuring the structures are in place before a stoppage or a kick-in.
Collingwood's Nick Maxwell, Hawthorn's Luke Hodge and I suspect St Kilda's Lenny Hayes are masters in both general play and team direction.
Too much happens too quickly for the runner to make much of a difference in particular moments so the coach is as reliant on on-field leaders to make the calls as he ever was, in those eras when it was one coach, and no assistants watching from the ground level bench.
Good stoppage players will find the right combination and right number to call - like a quarterback - to fit the state of the game. Other players will know when to employ tempo football or go into an 18-man press or go one-on-one or drop players behind the ball at a centre bounce.
Watch a stoppage and you will see instructions flying back and forth between teammates, setting the field as would the captain of the first 11.
That's why getting the balance right at selection is so important. It's no use just introducing new names or youth unless they understand the structure and how their teammates play. And that's why so many clubs have instituted closed sessions, as they practice and perfect set plays and stoppages. It's also why coaches are now pretty relaxed pre-match, indulging in banter with TV and radio broadcasters - they know their job is more to do with the six days before match day than it is for the two hours ahead of them.
Witness St Kilda coach Ross Lyon's dilemma on whether to go with honest players who are predictable versus the need to inject youth as expressed after last week's loss and you will understand that mere talent in AFL football is now a multi-dimensional concept.
So while the concept of a free-flowing game remains, with the best rising above the rest, the competition is so even that games can be won or lost on who is capable of communicating the right plan through the week, then expecting the group to trust and adhere to the plans no matter what the state of the game.
At St Kilda they are all in the boat together as they paddle through rough waters. It will take enormous discipline and commitment and trust from the coaches and players to re-frame their game while in the heat of the season.
The bye has come at a perfect time for the Saints because there is plenty to work on.
As Lyon explained after the game, the Saints are in a transition phase but such shifts can happen quickly as long as the attitude remains positive and belief in each other stays strong because the quality of personnel is high.
That is their challenge. It is a challenge their coach understands so well.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
