‘It was massive': St Kilda coach Ross Lyon's blow up exposed

News.com.au

28-04-2025

Ross Lyon had had enough when he faced his players after Saturday's painful loss to Brisbane.
The veteran coach reportedly gave his players a spray for the ages after their sluggish performance during a 45-point thumping at the hands of the reigning premiers at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
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Lyon did little to hide his emotions throughout the day and was in a mood right from the second quarter when 19-year-old midfielder Hugo Garcia was sensationally yanked from the field and subbed out after four disposals and one tackle. The Saints were down by five goals at the time.
The former Fremantle coach was also seen giving Garcia a spray on the sideline.
It has now emerged the whole team copped a barrage after the final siren.
'My information post-game is that Ross Lyon gave an all-time Ross Lyon spray behind the scenes to the team – and it was massive,' leading footy journo Tom Morris told Channel 9's Footy Furnace.
'I think everyone in that room will remember it for a very, very long time.'
Essendon legend James Hird pointed out Lyon could be a 'scary man' if he became worked up enough.
'I've never actually copped a spray from Ross Lyon, but seeing what I saw at Marvel Stadium on the weekend with Hugo Garcia I'm glad I didn't,' Hird told Nine.
'Ross at his best is a scary man. What a wonderful coach he has been, but when he gets up a head of steam, you don't want to be in his way.'
Lyon looked fired up when he barked at his players at quarter time.
The 58-year-old was also prickly with reporters in his post-game press conference.
He conceded his quarter-time bake was the most animated he'd been since he returned to the club last year.
Lyon said he was particularly frustrated by his side's inability to turn first possessions into clearances after St Kilda was restricted to just six inside 50s in the first quarter.
'It's not personal … how about show some fortitude and hang onto the ball and get it going our way,' Lyon said of the quarter-time message.
'We had it, but … our ability to control the ball and exit the ball in a manner that's expected was bottom end.
'You win the ball, first possession off the ruck's hand and (Brisbane are) too big and strong and strip it or we just flick it out flippantly and the ball gets swept away, that's what happened a lot.
'After quarter time they responded to that … not a spray, yeah I was animated.'
Although there was an upturn in performance following the first break, Lyon was left frustrated.
'(It) tells you mentally that they weren't tuned in to the conditions of their opponent like they need to be, that was really disappointing,' he added of the opening term.
Lyon has shown in the past two weeks that he isn't afraid to pull the trigger and make an early sub. In last week's loss to the Bulldogs, Liam Henry was taken off at half-time, and on Saturday it was Hugo Garcia who was taken out of the clash midway through the second term.
Despite being reduced to just three on the interchange later in the match after Mason Wood was concussed, Lyon said he had no regrets regarding the early sub.
'I live in the world of action, right? You'd sit there and go, why'd they pull the sub, I pulled the sub to try and get something done,' Lyon said.
'Sometimes I just get to the roll the eyes stage, sometimes you've just got to stop talking about it and go bang.'
The Saints efficiency inside 50 was just 39.5 per cent which is well below their season average, and Lyon lamented his side's ball use.
'We just slaughtered the ball which is just demoralising, and (Brisbane) are that good they go bang bang and people are hanging their heads, which we don't normally do,' Lyon said.
'Later with the ball, we had some good passages but we're not executing at a high enough standard for long enough.
'When we won the ball and got some territory I thought we looked dangerous and (Brisbane) had to respond and they did.
'We've got a lot of work to do but we know where we're headed, we're not deviating.'
The Saints fell by 71 points to the Bulldogs last week after a 28-point loss to GWS at Gather Round.
Saturday's loss was the first time since Lyon returned to St Kilda that the Saints had conceded over 100 points for three weeks in a row.
They next face Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.