St Kilda coach Ross Lyon revealed after his side's narrowing defeat to Geelong that he may have taken his frustrations out on the phone in the Saints' coaches box.
Having travelled down to Kardinia Park without several key players for their season opener, Lyon's side were in the game until the very end after booting a trio of late goals to be within one point of the Cats with just over a minute to go.
A late Patrick Dangerfield goal iced the game for the home side, seeing the Saints start their season 0-1 and leaving Lyon pondering what might've been.
Speaking after the eight-point defeat, the Saints coach said he thought the better side won on the night, but did lament the Saints lack of consistency across the fourth quarters.
Lyon went as far as to say the phone in the GMHBA Stadium rooms "is very sturdy" after he was left frustrated by the moments when his team went away from their processes.ย
"I thought we were lucky to be close. They left the gate open," Lyon said.
"We were disappointed with our method around the ball. In the conditions, it was a bit slippery, we were just a bit cute with the ball.
"Every time we got the ball from the inside to the outside quicker we looked dangerous.
"The method improved in the third (quarter). I'll tell you what I do know; the phone in the coaches' box is very sturdy because it got a workout. I haven't banged the phone like that in years. It was very therapeutic.
"But I was frustrated because this group's been very predictable in delivering what we want to and for whatever reason we were quite inconsistent with our method in the different phases of the game.
"It was a frustrating night. [Geelong] were the better team on the night, but I really admired how we never gave up."
The Saints coach was satisfied with the efforts of the club's two debutants, with midfielder Darcy Wilson booting two goals in the loss while speedster Lance Collard provided some run after being injected into the game as the tactical sub.
The Saints are hopeful of having two-time best and fairest Jack Sinclair back from a calf issue that has delayed his start to 2024.
The dashing defender's potential return could come in time for a clash with reigning premiers Collingwood on Thursday night - a match that has both sides seeking their first win.
St Kilda host the Magpies at the MCG at 7:30pm on Thursday for Spud's Game.
