Scratch Match Thread

[Scottee]

Given that NEAFL has been cancelled and we have nothing dedicated to covering scratch matches I thought we could start this thread to try and piece together whatever infornation we can about the scratch matches.

Did anybody attend, or hear anything, about last Saturday's match?

[bloodspirit]

Do you mean Saturday 20/6/20? I didn't think there was one.

If you mean the week before, someone (SeanM?) posted that an account was posted of that scratch match on big footy.

I suspect that details of scratch matches will not be published because we are not invited due to the players Covid restrictions.

[rojo]

Charlie Gordimer said 1.28p today that Ronke had 70 - 80 min hit out v GWS on Saturday, went well and will be available for selection this week.

[bloodspirit]

Charlie Gordimer said 1.28p today that Ronke had 70 - 80 min hit out v GWS on Saturday, went well and will be available for selection this week.

Have you got a link for that? That sounds exactly like what he said a week ago.

[bloodspirit]

Charlie Gordimer said 1.28p today that Ronke had 70 - 80 min hit out v GWS on Saturday, went well and will be available for selection this week.

I've seen that's in today's 'Injury Update'. I'm still slightly suspicious that they've accidentally put last week's video up by accident (kind of thing they're entirely capable of doing). Some of the comments made by Gardiner give me a sense of deja vu. I tried to find last week's update to listen to it to compare but I couldn't find it. Anyway, assuming it is what it seems, which is most likely, it sounds like Naismith won't play again this week.

[ugg]

There was no hitout against GWS (or anyone for that matter) on the weekend.

[Scottee]

There was no hitout against GWS (or anyone for that matter) on the weekend.

Thanks Ugg, now we won't die wondering:smile:

[707]

There was no hitout against GWS (or anyone for that matter) on the weekend.I think that was because both teams were in Melbourne. With injuries and travelling emergencies meant insufficient players to form a team, plus the now limited off field staff travelling with the seniors made it impractical to have a scratchie.

Assume there'll be one this week.

You have to feel for new draftees not getting the usual first season in, fringe players hoping for a new contract unable to press their claims, young players like Ling who may have finally shaken off injury curses unable to play. All this with threats by the AFL to cut list sizes. Not a fun place to be for so many players and of course those affected by the proposed 40% cut to off field budgets.

Hoping someone can peer through the fence this week to give us a report on a scratchie if it takes place.

[Nico]

I think that was because both teams were in Melbourne. With injuries and travelling emergencies meant insufficient players to form a team, plus the now limited off field staff travelling with the seniors made it impractical to have a scratchie.

Assume there'll be one this week.

You have to feel for new draftees not getting the usual first season in, fringe players hoping for a new contract unable to press their claims, young players like Ling who may have finally shaken off injury curses unable to play. All this with threats by the AFL to cut list sizes. Not a fun place to be for so many players and of course those affected by the proposed 40% cut to off field budgets.

Hoping someone can peer through the fence this week to give us a report on a scratchie if it takes place.

Anyone got a Crystal Ball.

[SeanM]

Preview - Rd 3 Sydney v North Melbourne | Page 6 | BigFooty (https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/rd-3-sydney-v-north-melbourne.1241126/page-6)

That is the link to Ralphboy's report of the first scratch match two weeks ago. His post is about halfway down the page.

He had McLean, Clarke and O'Connor as his best players.

[dejavoodoo44]

Preview - Rd 3 Sydney v North Melbourne | Page 6 | BigFooty (https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/rd-3-sydney-v-north-melbourne.1241126/page-6)

That is the link to Ralphboy's report of the first scratch match two weeks ago. His post is about halfway down the page.

He had McLean, Clarke and O'Connor as his best players.

Pleased to hear that O'Connor seems to be firing. With the coronavirus interrupted season, I was afraid that he'd disappear without a trace.

[MattW]

Presumably there's a scratch match this week. Anyone heard anything?

[Scottee]

Presumably there's a scratch match this week. Anyone heard anything?There is a report on the Swans website of a screech match held yesterday! Yay!

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[MattW]

There is a report on the Swans website of a screech match held yesterday! Yay!

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Woohoo. (Teach me to rely soley on the app!)

Soaked up every word of that. More compliments for O'Connor - sounds like are working out his position; also for Warner in a tagging role, Amartey in the ruck on return, and Elijah Taylor(!). Early days but it does sound like Warner has a reliable intensity we really need.

Swans put names up for selection (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/733699/swans-put-names-up-for-selection)

- - - Updated - - -


Woohoo. (Teach me to rely soley on the app!)

Soaked up every word of that. More compliments for O'Connor - sounds like are working out his position; also for Warner in a tagging role, Amartey in the ruck on return, and Elijah Taylor(!). Early days but it does sound like Warner has a reliable intensity we really need.

Swans put names up for selection (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/733699/swans-put-names-up-for-selection)

*solely, ugh

[rb4x]

And as you would expect a much more comprehensive report on the GWS website. The McVeigh brothers were the umpires. No scores given but looks like the Swans lost. See link below.

Another Strong Hit-Out Against the Swans (https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/733704/another-strong-hit-out-against-the-swans)

[MattW]

And as you would expect a much more comprehensive report on the GWS website. The McVeigh brothers were the umpires. No scores given but looks like the Swans lost. See link below.

Another Strong Hit-Out Against the Swans (https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/733704/another-strong-hit-out-against-the-swans)

I think the Laidler quotes are at least a positive development.

[Mark26]

I think the Laidler quotes are at least a positive development.
It's good to get a bit of information about the reserve list. I have to admit that I was hoping to see Ling's name mentioned. Hope he doesn't become another first round selection to never make it at the top level.

On the upside, I'm stoked that Eli and Warner were mentioned along with Connor (who is impressively large when you stand next to him). Wonder what's going on with Gould and Stephens?

[Nico]

Just looked at the coaches presser. He looked really disconsulate. Some to do with Sam, but seemed really reluctant to be there and talk about the team.

[Nico]

We sure do need an influx of players who are hard at the contest. When you have players of the type of Lloyd, Dawson, Taylor, Ronke, Blakey, Hayward and Cunningham in the one side who are pretty much outside players then you lose big time at the contests, both one the ball is in dispute and one on one. It is so obvious when we go forward where the only forward capable of extracting the hard ball is Papley. All opposition teams take it away with ease. People will dispute this on Dawson but he is very uncomfortable as a backman when in front in a marking contest and in close. Just not strong enough in the body. I am convinced now his best value to the team is on the wing.

Cunningham became a defender because he was way too soft as a forward or anywhere else on the ground. Now it looks like they might do the same with Hayward who is very similar but doesn't get the ball anywhere near what Cunningham does.

Tell him to stay within the arcs, find space, be the go to player in space and when he gets the footy, kick the bladder out of the footy rather than doing his pussy little kicks to disadvantage. Then the forwards run forward when he has it in hand. We are simply not using him to his strengths.

If we are serious about rebuilding we have to start rotating younger players while we have a good nucleus of senior players. Weed out some of these soft roosters.

[Scottee]

Does anyone know if scratch matches are being arranged in the Qld hub?

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[MattW]

The GWS site reports a scratch match today: Young Mids Dominate Hit-Out (https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/737950/young-mids-dominate-hit-out).

15 a side, 15 min quarters, ended up being 'a really close game' according to the GWS development coach.

Photos suggest Ling(!), Foot, Thurlow, Stephens, both Taylors, Maibaum, and Wicks played.

[MattW]

The GWS site reports a scratch match today: Young Mids Dominate Hit-Out (https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/737950/young-mids-dominate-hit-out).

15 a side, 15 min quarters, ended up being 'a really close game' according to the GWS development coach.

Photos suggest Ling(!), Foot, Thurlow, Stephens, both Taylors, Maibaum, and Wicks played.

The Swans instagram has some shots, too. Add O'Connor (rucking) and Gould to that list.

[dejavoodoo44]

The Swans instagram has some shots, too. Add O'Connor (rucking) and Gould to that list.

Getting keen to see O'Connor running around. In that ruck photo, at 193cm, he seems to be jumping over the top of the 200cm Flynn.

[MattW]

Getting keen to see O'Connor running around. In that ruck photo, at 193cm, he seems to be jumping over the top of the 200cm Flynn.

Yep. He's played two games of Australian rules! Maybe the dude's really special. It's kind of funny.

[MattW]

Ok, here's the Swans focussed report: Swans consistent performance (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/738324).

Just two players mentioned in the Laidler quotes, but it's good news:

“Dylan Stephens and James Bell were two players that really competed all day with their hardness.”

[troyjones2525]

Pretty pathetic write up as usual. The Swans have one of, if not the worst media departments in all of football. Embarrassing.

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[Melbourne_Blood]

Pretty pathetic write up as usual. The Swans have one of, if not the worst media departments in all of football. Embarrassing.

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And you’ve let them know about it on their Instagram post by the looks of it haha !


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[Scottee]

It would be nice if they just let you know the playing list. How hard is that?

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[Scottee]

From the report and photos some of the players that participated were:

Stephens
L Taylor
E Taylor
O'Connor
Ling
Thurlow
Gould
Bell
Maibaum
Foot

Good to hear that Stephens is getting into it and to see that Ling is playing.

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[707]

It would be nice if they just let you know the playing list. How hard is that?

Not very hard! I don't care how few people are currently in our media department, it takes 10 minutes for someone, probably Laidler, to add a playing list and a couple of notes on who played where.

U8's motherhood reporting of "pleased everyone had a dip" type stuff tells you nothing. Doesn't help us advise the MC via RWO on what changes we want in the senior team this week :-)

[jono2707]

Ok, here's the Swans focussed report: Swans consistent performance (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/738324).

Just two players mentioned in the Laidler quotes, but it's good news:

“Dylan Stephens and James Bell were two players that really competed all day with their hardness.”

That was a complete shocker of a match report. I'll be getting in touch with the club and asking them to do another one. We all know they're down in numbers behind the scenes but the report was absolutely pathetic.

[MattW]

That was a complete shocker of a match report. I'll be getting in touch with the club and asking them to do another one. We all know they're down in numbers behind the scenes but the report was absolutely pathetic.

Thanks for writing to the club.

It's on Laidler, I think. That GWS report is essentially a series of quotes from the development coach.

[Mr Magoo]

That was a complete shocker of a match report. I'll be getting in touch with the club and asking them to do another one. We all know they're down in numbers behind the scenes but the report was absolutely pathetic.

I always feel like you have to read between the lines on reports like that. You could take it that what they were really saying is that no one really pushed for senior selection and Stephens and Bell were hard at it without being absolute standouts.

[barracuda]

Ok here is my match report
Game was played in 8x7.5 minute periods.

Overall my best players were: Stephens, Bell, Wicks, Armatey, Warner. Goal kickers Warner 3, Stoddart, Bell, Taylor, Stephens. Swans won 7 goals to 6.

Stephens: Wow can he find the ball, and he is tough. Great clearance work and running. There is a pretty big development area and that is disposal by foot. He seems to be tentative with passing resulting in endless missed kicks, turnovers and resulting goals to gws. he often brought some great linkage play to a standstill by miss kicks. Going to be a gun when he gets a bit more kicking confidence, and was best for the swans.

Bell: Lots of hard work and body work. Solid game

Wicks: In midfield and forward. Super clean by hand and foot, set up a number of goals. Lots of tackling pressure inside 50 including two holding the ball decisions that resulted in goal assists.

Armatey, Rucked most of the game against Jacobs. Held him ok which was well done. When Connor took over the ruck duties sauce really killed him. Armatey was a little quiet around the ground but had his hands full in the ruck.

Warner: strong and alert to any opportunity. He kicked three, with a couple finishing off some nice linkages. He also suffers from poor disposal by foot, missing targets, but definitely looks the goods.

Stoddart: Played well and what he did was clean and purposeful. Some nice clean marking with good ball movement.

Foote: Not quite as good as last week, however he provided some good running from half back and wing, and the 6 or 7 touches he got were solid with good run and spread.

Taylor: Played well but missed a number of tackles he should have made. One thing about him though, his disposal is excellent. He created a couple of goals through accurate passing into the forward line.

The following players were quiet or did not press for selection in the seniors. Fox, did a few nice things but not enough. Thurlow just looks disinterested. Maibaum ok but not much. Ling not much. Connor was quiet. He really got dominated by jacobs when in the ruck. Jacobs was getting perfect uncontested taps. Elijah was quiet. Gould struggled. His disposal was poor, and other than a great run in the dying minutes that resulted in a goal he was quiet.

What was really apparent is how poor the first years dispose by foot. I guess they need a couple of seasons to get that right.

[Captain]

Thanks for the match report!

There doesn't seem to be a lot of positives and it is far from ideal that Stephens and Warner had poor disposal. If they struggle in a scratch match, imagine how they will go in an AFL game!

[MattW]

Ok here is my match report
Game was played in 8x7.5 minute periods.

Overall my best players were: Stephens, Bell, Wicks, Armatey, Warner. Goal kickers Warner 3, Stoddart, Bell, Taylor, Stephens. Swans won 7 goals to 6.

Stephens: Wow can he find the ball, and he is tough. Great clearance work and running. There is a pretty big development area and that is disposal by foot. He seems to be tentative with passing resulting in endless missed kicks, turnovers and resulting goals to gws. he often brought some great linkage play to a standstill by miss kicks. Going to be a gun when he gets a bit more kicking confidence, and was best for the swans.

Bell: Lots of hard work and body work. Solid game

Wicks: In midfield and forward. Super clean by hand and foot, set up a number of goals. Lots of tackling pressure inside 50 including two holding the ball decisions that resulted in goal assists.

Armatey, Rucked most of the game against Jacobs. Held him ok which was well done. When Connor took over the ruck duties sauce really killed him. Armatey was a little quiet around the ground but had his hands full in the ruck.

Warner: strong and alert to any opportunity. He kicked three, with a couple finishing off some nice linkages. He also suffers from poor disposal by foot, missing targets, but definitely looks the goods.

Stoddart: Played well and what he did was clean and purposeful. Some nice clean marking with good ball movement.

Foote: Not quite as good as last week, however he provided some good running from half back and wing, and the 6 or 7 touches he got were solid with good run and spread.

Taylor: Played well but missed a number of tackles he should have made. One thing about him though, his disposal is excellent. He created a couple of goals through accurate passing into the forward line.

The following players were quiet or did not press for selection in the seniors. Fox, did a few nice things but not enough. Thurlow just looks disinterested. Maibaum ok but not much. Ling not much. Connor was quiet. He really got dominated by jacobs when in the ruck. Jacobs was getting perfect uncontested taps. Elijah was quiet. Gould struggled. His disposal was poor, and other than a great run in the dying minutes that resulted in a goal he was quiet.

What was really apparent is how poor the first years dispose by foot. I guess they need a couple of seasons to get that right.

So good, thanks barracuda.

I wonder whether Amartey is a chance to come in to ruck this week, allowing Aliir to play back, avoiding the need to replace Melican, noting the absence of tall defenders fit and in form.

I'd also love to see Stoddart in for O'Riordan and Warner for Gray.

[dimelb]

Thanks barracuda. So much better than the club drivel, with no scores and not even who won!
There sounds like some possibles in the 2s. Glad to see Bell working hard.

[Mr Magoo]

I remember the days (not that long ago) when some first/2nd year players would be getting forty plus disposals in the NEAFL and not getting a call up . To be considering anyone from that report other than through necessity does not really scream "earn your spot".

[Scottee]

Not very hard! I don't care how few people are currently in our media department, it takes 10 minutes for someone, probably Laidler, to add a playing list and a couple of notes on who played where.

U8's motherhood reporting of "pleased everyone had a dip" type stuff tells you nothing. Doesn't help us advise the MC via RWO on what changes we want in the senior team this week :-)LOL[emoji23]

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[Scottee]

Ok here is my match report
Game was played in 8x7.5 minute periods.

Overall my best players were: Stephens, Bell, Wicks, Armatey, Warner. Goal kickers Warner 3, Stoddart, Bell, Taylor, Stephens. Swans won 7 goals to 6.

Stephens: Wow can he find the ball, and he is tough. Great clearance work and running. There is a pretty big development area and that is disposal by foot. He seems to be tentative with passing resulting in endless missed kicks, turnovers and resulting goals to gws. he often brought some great linkage play to a standstill by miss kicks. Going to be a gun when he gets a bit more kicking confidence, and was best for the swans.

Bell: Lots of hard work and body work. Solid game

Wicks: In midfield and forward. Super clean by hand and foot, set up a number of goals. Lots of tackling pressure inside 50 including two holding the ball decisions that resulted in goal assists.

Armatey, Rucked most of the game against Jacobs. Held him ok which was well done. When Connor took over the ruck duties sauce really killed him. Armatey was a little quiet around the ground but had his hands full in the ruck.

Warner: strong and alert to any opportunity. He kicked three, with a couple finishing off some nice linkages. He also suffers from poor disposal by foot, missing targets, but definitely looks the goods.

Stoddart: Played well and what he did was clean and purposeful. Some nice clean marking with good ball movement.

Foote: Not quite as good as last week, however he provided some good running from half back and wing, and the 6 or 7 touches he got were solid with good run and spread.

Taylor: Played well but missed a number of tackles he should have made. One thing about him though, his disposal is excellent. He created a couple of goals through accurate passing into the forward line.

The following players were quiet or did not press for selection in the seniors. Fox, did a few nice things but not enough. Thurlow just looks disinterested. Maibaum ok but not much. Ling not much. Connor was quiet. He really got dominated by jacobs when in the ruck. Jacobs was getting perfect uncontested taps. Elijah was quiet. Gould struggled. His disposal was poor, and other than a great run in the dying minutes that resulted in a goal he was quiet.

What was really apparent is how poor the first years dispose by foot. I guess they need a couple of seasons to get that right.Thanks Barracuda, your bloods worth bottlin!

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[troyjones2525]

And you’ve let them know about it on their Instagram post by the looks of it haha !


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkHaha bloody oath mate! Sick and tired of the lazy reporting by our club!

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[troyjones2525]

It's a bit surprising that Stephens foot skills looked poor as from the vision I saw of him last year he looked pretty polished by foot which was something I was most excited about. Hopefully it was just a bad game.

Gould was another who was rated as a good kick last year so hope the same.

I think Warner was probably never a super skilled youngster but just a hard at it desperate type player, one type player that we've always targeted.

What we really need though is skill, we've been poor in that area for many years barring a couple of quality players so I really hope Stephens, Gould, E. Taylor and others improve fast!

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[707]

Thanks Barracuda, keep getting to those games on our behalf, cheers

[barracuda]

It's a bit surprising that Stephens foot skills looked poor as from the vision I saw of him last year he looked pretty polished by foot which was something I was most excited about. Hopefully it was just a bad game.

Gould was another who was rated as a good kick last year so hope the same.

I think Warner was probably never a super skilled youngster but just a hard at it desperate type player, one type player that we've always targeted.

What we really need though is skill, we've been poor in that area for many years barring a couple of quality players so I really hope Stephens, Gould, E. Taylor and others improve fast!

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Yes, watching them play on the weekend they were not confident with their passing kicks. As a consequence they were poking at them. So many dropped short or missed. I imagine over time they will get confident and start really banging their passes. Florent and Rowbottom can be a bit similar in that they are trying so hard to hit the target they choke the kick.

[jono2707]

I'd guess that whilst it's not ideal to play the same team too often, GWS have a pretty strong Reserves team so development wise, it's gotta be good for our kids to come up against them. Potentially the underwhelming disposals were at least in part due to strong pressure from a strong opposition? It must set our young 'uns up on a decent learning curve and be good preparation for the real thing....

[rb4x]

Thanks again barracuda. I remember before the draft one review stated Dylan Stephens as being lightining quick with a big tank and elite disposal by either foot and having played for Norwood in the SANFL also used to playing against mature bodies despite lack of size. Would have expected him to be standing out much more in the scratch matches and disappointed to hear of his poor kicking skills. Maybe SANFL form is not all that good. Jordan Foote was apparently Woodville-West Torrens best player last year after being delisted by us.

[barracuda]

Thanks again barracuda. I remember before the draft one review stated Dylan Stephens as being lightining quick with a big tank and elite disposal by either foot and having played for Norwood in the SANFL also used to playing against mature bodies despite lack of size. Would have expected him to be standing out much more in the scratch matches and disappointed to hear of his poor kicking skills. Maybe SANFL form is not all that good. Jordan Foote was apparently Woodville-West Torrens best player last year after being delisted by us.

That draft review is pretty spot on from what I have seen. The games against GWS have been pretty intense. Some of the guys in the GWS squad are very big, fast and skilled. If you miss a kick they pretty much kill you on the rebound everytime. I think guys like stephens are a bit careful as they adjust. I don't think it will be too long before stephens starts to relax a bit and allow his skills to come to the fore. I think he has a very bright future.

[rojo]

Thanks from me too Barra. Is Maibaum injured?

[dazedjosh]

Thanks Barracuda, I am going to post this over to the Swans reddit as well, you'll get the credit for it. If that's not alright please let me know, I know we're starved for news over there and this match report is like manna from heaven.

[bloodspirit]

Great report barracuda. Thanks so much!

[MattW]

To be fair, need to mention the Wicks interview on the official site - appreciate the club giving us more interviews with the reserves players. Seems a smart young lad, who sounds like he's playing well.

[Mel_C]

Hopefully we can can play a team other than GWS this week seeing as Melbourne and Hawthorn are staying in Sydney.

[707]

Hopefully we can can play a team other than GWS this week seeing as Melbourne and Hawthorn are staying in Sydney.

With injuries we're playing 10 a side I reckon!

[troyjones2525]

Did we play a reserve game this week?

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[barracuda]

Did we play a reserve game this week?

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Yes, they played Melbourne with 10 a side. Apparently was a comfortable victory with Elijah kicking 4 and Wicks 3. Comments were that it was so apparent just how good the GWS depth is. Melbourne were so much easier to play against even with their best fringe players.

[MattW]

Yes, they played Melbourne with 10 a side. Apparently was a comfortable victory with Elijah kicking 4 and Wicks 3. Comments were that it was so apparent just how good the GWS depth is. Melbourne were so much easier to play against even with their best fringe players.

Thanks mate.

[dejavoodoo44]

Yes, they played Melbourne with 10 a side. Apparently was a comfortable victory with Elijah kicking 4 and Wicks 3. Comments were that it was so apparent just how good the GWS depth is. Melbourne were so much easier to play against even with their best fringe players.

10 a side? I suppose that reflects our injuries and the lack of top ups? Does anyone know if our academy program is still on hold, and if so, is it likely to resume?

[barracuda]

10 a side? I suppose that reflects our injuries and the lack of top ups? Does anyone know if our academy program is still on hold, and if so, is it likely to resume?

The swans gave Melbourne 2 players a quarter. My bests were Taylor, Elijah, Wicks and Foote

[ugg]

Did Aliir play?

[Ralph Dawg]

10 a side? I suppose that reflects our injuries and the lack of top ups? Does anyone know if our academy program is still on hold, and if so, is it likely to resume?
My son played U10s on Saturday, 12 a side! They won by 5 goals, first game of season 2020 for them. Really great to see the boys and girls run around again!

[barracuda]

Did Aliir play?

Yes, he rucked the whole game and was good. Sam Reid played a half as well.

[MattW]

Yes, he rucked the whole game and was good. Sam Reid played a half as well.

Buried the lede there, barra! Reid would be a massive addition.

[Markwebbos]

Yes, he rucked the whole game and was good. Sam Reid played a half as well.

Was he rucking against Preuss?

[barracuda]

Was he rucking against Preuss?

Preuss did not play

[Aaron]

Was Maibaum playing against Melbourne? Before he was injured, most thought that he was developing slowly to one day replace Grundy... but now when we are running out of talls, he still has not been given any chance/ So wonder if he has really recovered from his ACL injury.

[Mr Magoo]

10 a side? I suppose that reflects our injuries and the lack of top ups? Does anyone know if our academy program is still on hold, and if so, is it likely to resume?

Academy is back in full training but they arent allowed to top up like previously due to covid so no chance of supplementing from the NDS or U18s

[dejavoodoo44]

Academy is back in full training but they arent allowed to top up like previously due to covid so no chance of supplementing from the NDS or U18s

Good to know that they're back in training, but I wonder if they'll be playing any serious games? Giants, Suns and Lions academies, perhaps?

Actually, I was a bit annoyed a few weeks back, when I read that there was a plan to play a short NAB League season, but only for Victorian sides. Though I suppose now, we may not want to travel to Victoria.

[dejavoodoo44]

The swans gave Melbourne 2 players a quarter. My bests were Taylor, Elijah, Wicks and Foote

So, our list is in better shape than Melbourne's? Though I suppose that our injuries are more quality, than quantity.

And I wonder if Wicks and Foote, will be able to do enough to keep their places on the list?

[Mr Magoo]

Good to know that they're back in training, but I wonder if they'll be playing any serious games? Giants, Suns and Lions academies, perhaps?

Actually, I was a bit annoyed a few weeks back, when I read that there was a plan to play a short NAB League season, but only for Victorian sides. Though I suppose now, we may not want to travel to Victoria.

Nothing formalised yet but the talk is that they will do exactly that , an academy series between the four.

[Meg]

So, our list is in better shape than Melbourne's? Though I suppose that our injuries are more quality, than quantity.

I think it might be that Melbourne didn’t bring their full list to Sydney.

[Ludwig]

I noted that Charlie Gardiner mentioned the names Ling and Thurlow, but I'm not sure he meant that they got some good training time in or actually played well. I know Thurlow has come back from surgery many months ago, but there hasn't been any mention of the state of Ling's injury issues from last year. So it's hard to say if they are being managed because of these old injuries or they're actually playing okay and available for selection. Ling hasn't appeared on the injury list any time this year, to my recollection. He's an important piece in our game plan if we're to compete for a premiership by 2023. You always want your 1st round draft pick to be a walk up selection by the 4th year, which is next year for the group that includes Ling, Stoddart, McCartin and Amartey.

[Meg]

I noted that Charlie Gardiner mentioned the names Ling and Thurlow, but I'm not sure he meant that they got some good training time in or actually played well.

I think he meant they got some good training time, implying they were coming back from injury. Though I agree it was a bit ambiguous.

[MattW]

So earlier today I tweeted at the Swans account asking if Laidler could provide some quotes on the scratch match: https://twitter.com/mattlwood/status/1282477467140149248?s=19

They just tweeted back to say they've posted one: Laidler breaks down scratch match (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/742783/laidler-breaks-down-scratch-match)

Fair play to the club; a few of us have written to them seeking more reserves content and they have really picked it up.

[rickmat]

Thanks MattW for the follow-up. This is the first of this type of more in-depth write-up for our NEAFL boys. Hope it is a regular summary with more players mentioned.

[dejavoodoo44]

So earlier today I tweeted at the Swans account asking if Laidler could provide some quotes on the scratch match: https://twitter.com/mattlwood/status/1282477467140149248?s=19

They just tweeted back to say they've posted one: Laidler breaks down scratch match (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/742783/laidler-breaks-down-scratch-match)

Fair play to the club; a few of us have written to them seeking more reserves content and they have really picked it up.
Well done you.

Pleased that El Taylor* seems to be doing well. And that Ling is playing and not injured. Though slightly surprised that his role was lockdown small defender, as I would have said that his main attribute was his elusiveness. Still, if we manage to develop someone who can the keep small forwards quiet and hurt them on the rebound, then it can only be a good thing. Though I suppose that some would argue, that first round picks shouldn't become back pockets.

* Too early to go for the El Tel moniker?

[Ludwig]

Thanks MattW for getting that report from Laidler. Hopefully it will become a regular part of the club's website.

Deja, I think that small defender role is a good one for Ling. His quickness and agility are needed to cover these small forwards, who seem to be getting better and more numerous. One time, it was just Rioli and Betts, but now just about every side has a dangerous small forward. Ling has a pesty hardness to him as well. He's a bit like Zak Jones in that regard. I think that helps in playing that role as well. I often think that Jake Lloyd is a bit too amiable, which is why the defensive side of his game lets him down sometimes. The main thing is for him to stay fit and injury free. If he does that, I'm sure we'll find a role for him in the team.

[MattW]

Well done you.

Pleased that El Taylor* seems to be doing well. And that Ling is playing and not injured. Though slightly surprised that his role was lockdown small defender, as I would have said that his main attribute was his elusiveness. Still, if we manage to develop someone who can the keep small forwards quiet and hurt them on the rebound, then it can only be a good thing. Though I suppose that some would argue, that first round picks shouldn't become back pockets.

* Too early to go for the El Tel moniker?

I feel it likely that he will be one of those rare players we refer to by their first name, i.e.as 'Elijah'.

That report from Laidler on him was so promising. Great to hear he's backing up his talent with diligence.

[dejavoodoo44]

Thanks MattW for getting that report from Laidler. Hopefully it will become a regular part of the club's website.

Deja, I think that small defender role is a good one for Ling. His quickness and agility are needed to cover these small forwards, who seem to be getting better and more numerous. One time, it was just Rioli and Betts, but now just about every side has a dangerous small forward. Ling has a pesty hardness to him as well. He's a bit like Zak Jones in that regard. I think that helps in playing that role as well. I often think that Jake Lloyd is a bit too amiable, which is why the defensive side of his game lets him down sometimes. The main thing is for him to stay fit and injury free. If he does that, I'm sure we'll find a role for him in the team.

Yes, I remember Ling throwing his weight around in the NEAFL last year. Which I would have been more comfortable with, if had some weight. Hopefully he's bulked up. I suspect that he'll debut in the not too distant future. And after seeing Lloyd live the last couple of weeks, I've been more impressed with some of his defensive work. Against West Coast, he even managed to stop Nic Nat from marking in the goalsquare.

- - - Updated - - -


I feel it likely that he will be one of those rare players we refer to by their first name, i.e.as 'Elijah'.

That report from Laidler on him was so promising. Great to hear he's backing up his talent with diligence.
Yes, perhaps him and Kirky have formed a bit of a bond.

[Mark26]

Thanks Matt for contacting the club and getting that report out of Laids. It's encouraging to read about the development of our young lads - let's hope some break into the senior squad and thrive. I'd love to see them all given the chance, especially Ling, given his run with injuries. But our coaches know best. They'll play if and when they're ready this year. There are enough holes at the moment that need filling!

[Meg]

Plus one re the report from Laids.

I fear the lack of mention of Maibaum means he is not standing out as ready for a senior call up.

[707]

Great response from the club and Laidler, exactly what we all wanted format wise I reckon and the news therein is pleasing, particularly given there are a lot of holes to be filled in the senior side.

A year to get senior game time into reserves players and solidify our draft position :-)

[Ralph Dawg]

I'm picturing Ling as the next Jared Crouch from Laidler's description. Stick him onto the opposition's premier small, hassle him until he doesn't want to play anymore (Aker still has nightmares about Crouch) then burn him with a serious set of wheels!

[mcs]

So glad to hear Ling is finally getting a run of games - long may it continue, perhaps with a late season debut thrown in if he improves. Like they are trying to groom him into a small defender role - we are crying out to fill that gap at the moment. And he couldn't learn from anyone better than the human glove.

[Meg]

I think it might be that Melbourne didn’t bring their full list to Sydney.

Confirmation of the above:

‘Demons Josh Wagner, Corey Wagner, Kade Chandler, Kyle Dunkley and Oskar Baker were among those left behind (in Melbourne). They have continued to train with the handful of club coaches and staff who have remained in Victoria.’

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/cats-to-face-freo-on-monday-night-in-round-eight-pies-v-eagles-on-sunday-20200713-p55bl9.html?btis

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Thanks MattW for prompting this change of heart. Absolutely brilliant! 👍

I am also very glad that Ling is getting a few games strung together. He was drafted so long ago, that the hyperbolic expectations surrounding him on RWO had muted down to rationality.
It would be great if he could make a debut this year, there's going to be some serious pressure on spots at the end of the year with the reduced lists.
I suppose getting a back pocket player/tagger from a first round wick could be seen as a poor return on investment, but wasn't Crouch also a high pick? On the other getting nothing out of an early pick would be far worse.

Interesting that Mills has been helping Gould out, one usually thinks of mentors as being older.

[barracuda]

Yes, I remember Ling throwing his weight around in the NEAFL last year. Which I would have been more comfortable with, if had some weight. Hopefully he's bulked up. I suspect that he'll debut in the not too distant future. And after seeing Lloyd live the last couple of weeks, I've been more impressed with some of his defensive work. Against West Coast, he even managed to stop Nic Nat from marking in the goalsquare.

- - - Updated - - -


Yes, perhaps him and Kirky have formed a bit of a bond.

Kirk is his one on one mentor, helping him adjust to the afl life.

[Blood Fever]

Kirk is his one on one mentor, helping him adjust to the afl life.

Invaluable member of staff, especially in tough times.

[ugg]

I thought Kirk was one of the staff stood down due to COVID?

[liz]

I thought Kirk was one of the staff stood down due to COVID?

Tadhg and Maxfield were the two specifically mentioned, though seems Perris might also have been stood down (from report on here of him getting a new job). Kirk is currently running in the senior matches.

[Ralph Dawg]

Tadhg and Maxfield were the two specifically mentioned, though seems Perris might also have been stood down (from report on here of him getting a new job). Kirk is currently running in the senior matches.
I saw Brett Kirk with his son at the end of the game v Eagles at Metricon. He was dressed in official Sydney gear with a lanyard around his neck.

[rojo]

At last the kind of news we want to hear. Great work MattW. Are you planning to let them how much we (all of us) appreciate it!

[MattW]

At last the kind of news we want to hear. Great work MattW. Are you planning to let them how much we (all of us) appreciate it!

Done!

https://twitter.com/mattlwood/status/1282859242517479424?s=19

[stevoswan]

* Too early to go for the El Tel moniker?

No.....surely El Tay Tay?😂

[rickmat]

Just watched Charlie Gardener's video on Swans website and his comments on the Scratch Match against Melb. It was as if he wasnt watcning the game and gave less extra info than what Laidlaw gave. Great pity and missed opportunity to give some of our lesser lights a lift in the eyes of the fans and club in general. Gardener should do more in his role, hopefully he will lift his game rather tgan saying "they all played well". No mention of Maibaum, Brand. Thanks again to MattW for stirring the club to give the rest of the Swans list a fair go

[Ludwig]

Gardener should do more in his role, hopefully he will lift his game rather than saying "they all played well". Totally agree. This term has never been seen before on RWO. In fact, until you just posted it, I thought it was banned. I was quite surprised not to see "they all played @@@@"

[Meg]

Just watched Charlie Gardener's video on Swans website and his comments on the Scratch Match against Melb. It was as if he wasnt watcning the game and gave less extra info than what Laidlaw gave. Great pity and missed opportunity to give some of our lesser lights a lift in the eyes of the fans and club in general. Gardener should do more in his role, hopefully he will lift his game rather tgan saying "they all played well". No mention of Maibaum, Brand. Thanks again to MattW for stirring the club to give the rest of the Swans list a fair go

Brand still on injury list posted on AFL site today - another 2 weeks away. Also Melican another 1-2 weeks.

But would like to know if Maibaum played. I fear he is not yet showing senior form.

[Blood Fever]

Brand still on injury list posted on AFL site today - another 2 weeks away. Also Melican another 1-2 weeks.

But would like to know if Maibaum played. I fear he is not yet showing senior form.

Sinclair and Amartey a chance. Maybe McCartin.

[barracuda]

Solid 15 v15 against a big bodied hawthorn side. Best was bell, wicks and Foote. Bell and wicks were very strong physically through the mids and forward. Wicks ended up with 2 goals but could have got 5/6. Foote ran all day.
Jack maibaum and will Gould were the best defenders. Maibaum looked the better of the two.
Ling, mcinerny and gray were quiet. Reid continued to get some good minutes and provided a solid forward target.
Bell, wicks, Foote, maibaum and Gould are ready for senior games.

[Scottee]

Solid 15 v15 against a big bodied hawthorn side. Best was bell, wicks and Foote. Bell and wicks were very strong physically through the mids and forward. Wicks ended up with 2 goals but could have got 5/6. Foote ran all day.
Jack maibaum and will Gould were the best defenders. Maibaum looked the better of the two.
Ling, mcinerny and gray were quiet. Reid continued to get some good minutes and provided a solid forward target.
Bell, wicks, Foote, maibaum and Gould are ready for senior games.Many thanks Barracuda. Do you know if Ling played a full game?

Sent from my SM-T805Y using Tapatalk

[barracuda]

Many thanks Barracuda. Do you know if Ling played a full game?

Sent from my SM-T805Y using Tapatalk
No, looked like managed minutes

[Nico]

Solid 15 v15 against a big bodied hawthorn side. Best was bell, wicks and Foote. Bell and wicks were very strong physically through the mids and forward. Wicks ended up with 2 goals but could have got 5/6. Foote ran all day.
Jack maibaum and will Gould were the best defenders. Maibaum looked the better of the two.
Ling, mcinerny and gray were quiet. Reid continued to get some good minutes and provided a solid forward target.
Bell, wicks, Foote, maibaum and Gould are ready for senior games.

We need the height of Maibaum. Just play him if he is fit and ready. The pressure on Rampe is starting to show.

[MattW]

We need the height of Maibaum. Just play him if he is fit and ready. The pressure on Rampe is starting to show.

Yep, although Fox is promising as a defender of the third tall.

[royboy42]

At Lakeside?

Solid 15 v15 against a big bodied hawthorn side. Best was bell, wicks and Foote. Bell and wicks were very strong physically through the mids and forward. Wicks ended up with 2 goals but could have got 5/6. Foote ran all day.
Jack maibaum and will Gould were the best defenders. Maibaum looked the better of the two.
Ling, mcinerny and gray were quiet. Reid continued to get some good minutes and provided a solid forward target.
Bell, wicks, Foote, maibaum and Gould are ready for senior games.

[Ralph Dawg]

Solid 15 v15 against a big bodied hawthorn side. Best was bell, wicks and Foote. Bell and wicks were very strong physically through the mids and forward. Wicks ended up with 2 goals but could have got 5/6. Foote ran all day.
Jack maibaum and will Gould were the best defenders. Maibaum looked the better of the two.
Ling, mcinerny and gray were quiet. Reid continued to get some good minutes and provided a solid forward target.
Bell, wicks, Foote, maibaum and Gould are ready for senior games.
How did Squizzy go?

[bloodspirit]

So earlier today I tweeted at the Swans account asking if Laidler could provide some quotes on the scratch match: https://twitter.com/mattlwood/status/1282477467140149248?s=19

They just tweeted back to say they've posted one: Laidler breaks down scratch match (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/742783/laidler-breaks-down-scratch-match)

Fair play to the club; a few of us have written to them seeking more reserves content and they have really picked it up.

Let me belatedly add my thanks for this excellent contribution! Only catching up with this thread now. We have indeed been crying out for more of this type of information from the club.

P.S. Got a bit distracted enjoying some of your other Twitter feed also.

[Markwebbos]

Thanks Barracuda for providing the weekly “hope” update.

[bloodspirit]

Thanks Barracuda for providing the weekly “hope” update.

+ 1

[Aaron]

Solid 15 v15 against a big bodied hawthorn side. Best was bell, wicks and Foote. Bell and wicks were very strong physically through the mids and forward. Wicks ended up with 2 goals but could have got 5/6. Foote ran all day.
Jack maibaum and will Gould were the best defenders. Maibaum looked the better of the two.
Ling, mcinerny and gray were quiet. Reid continued to get some good minutes and provided a solid forward target.
Bell, wicks, Foote, maibaum and Gould are ready for senior games. - Many thanks for the update. Where can we find out when and where these scratch matches are going to play before they happen?

[bloodspirit]

- Many thanks for the update. Where can we find out when and where these scratch matches are going to play before they happen?

We can't. They don't want people attending. The players are meant to be in a bubble. Somehow barracuda has inside information I don't think (s)he's going to share. I, for one, am jealous.

However if fans can attend the AFL matches, why not the scratch matches?

[MattW]

Let me belatedly add my thanks for this excellent contribution! Only catching up with this thread now. We have indeed been crying out for more of this type of information from the club.

P.S. Got a bit distracted enjoying some of your other Twitter feed also.

Cheers mate. Let's hope we get another this week. (I don't want to pester them every week.)

- - - Updated - - -


Thanks Barracuda for providing the weekly “hope” update.

Haha, indeed. Much appreciated barracuda.

[barracuda]

At Lakeside?

Yes

[cherub]

We can't. They don't want people attending. The players are meant to be in a bubble. Somehow barracuda has inside information I don't think (s)he's going to share. I, for one, am jealous.

However if fans can attend the AFL matches, why not the scratch matches?
I would think there is professional security ( or as professional as it gets!) at AFL matches, not so for scratchies. There was an idiot attempted streaker who tried to get on the ground at OPTUS when Coll. vs Geelong. The security guys got him before he got near the players.

[bloodspirit]

And yet I was able to stand next to and chat with a couple of players I saw in public on the eve of our match a couple of weeks ago.

[royboy42]

Saturday a.m.'s? And thank you for the info

Yes

[barracuda]

Having the benefit of the video of the game against hawthorn my observations would be:

1. Will Gould; best game he has played for the swans against quality opposition. Looks to have taken the next step. Lots of good positioning, level headed, good drive forward and plenty of touches
2. Zac Foote; really pushing for senior selection. Endless run matched with good head over the ball attack. Still fine tuning his use of the ball, but is definitely ready for a run in the seniors.
3. Jack Maibaum; Smart defender, with some strong intercept marking. Also looking ready to step up
4. Jammes Bell; Has now developed in to a strong body able to withstand the rigours. Used the ball very well and generally either won the midfield or squared it.

These were the best four. Next was probably Wicks who got plenty of ball and laid a ton of tackles. Some of his ball use could have been better. If so would have got more than 2 goals. However he is a real competitor around congested traffic and is very hard to beat one on one. Ling was pretty good when he was on as was Gray and Thurlow. McIneney was interesting. He can find the ball but is not strong in the tackle. He gets taken to ground very easily rather than standing up in the tackle and disposing of the ball. Rowles started to find the ball, however his use is atrocious. Actually a bit of a problem.

Overall Hawthorn would have beaten the swans by 5-10 goals. It should be noted though Hawthorn was providing 3 or more players to the swans including the ruckman, so the score is not that useful.

My overall observation is that players need to be played in the correct positions. For example:

Zac Foote is an awesome running wingman. As a midfielder or small forward, not so good.
Jammes Bell is a very good inside mid, and a handy high forward
Justin McInerney is a good running wingman but the body strength to be a midfielder is absent, and is not much good playing forward
Wicks is a strong inside mid and a good small forward
Barry Connor ain't no ruckman!

It was really clear when these players were played out of position the impact on the team. In the midfield you could almost count on the clearance being squared or won with bell and or wicks in there. With McInerney especially you could almost count on it being lost. This is noting that Gray in particular is purely an outside mid and will not engage in the body contest to win the ball.

Next week:

If the seniors need backmen go for Gould or Maibaum. Gould tends to stay a bit deeper. Maibaum a bit higher.
If an inside mid is needed go for Bell
If a small kieran jack type forward/mid go for wicks
If a hard running wingman is needed go for foote.

What I hope doesn't happen is they pick the best performing player from the scratch match and play him out of position in the seniors.

[Rod_]

Having the benefit of the video of the game against hawthorn my observations would be:

1. Will Gould; best game he has played for the swans against quality opposition. Looks to have taken the next step. Lots of good positioning, level headed, good drive forward and plenty of touches
2. Zac Foote; really pushing for senior selection. Endless run matched with good head over the ball attack. Still fine tuning his use of the ball, but is definitely ready for a run in the seniors.
3. Jack Maibaum; Smart defender, with some strong intercept marking. Also looking ready to step up
4. Jammes Bell; Has now developed in to a strong body able to withstand the rigours. Used the ball very well and generally either won the midfield or squared it.

These were the best four. Next was probably Wicks who got plenty of ball and laid a ton of tackles. Some of his ball use could have been better. If so would have got more than 2 goals. However he is a real competitor around congested traffic and is very hard to beat one on one. Ling was pretty good when he was on as was Gray and Thurlow. McIneney was interesting. He can find the ball but is not strong in the tackle. He gets taken to ground very easily rather than standing up in the tackle and disposing of the ball. Rowles started to find the ball, however his use is atrocious. Actually a bit of a problem.

Overall Hawthorn would have beaten the swans by 5-10 goals. It should be noted though Hawthorn was providing 3 or more players to the swans including the ruckman, so the score is not that useful.

My overall observation is that players need to be played in the correct positions. For example:

Zac Foote is an awesome running wingman. As a midfielder or small forward, not so good.
Jammes Bell is a very good inside mid, and a handy high forward
Justin McInerney is a good running wingman but the body strength to be a midfielder is absent, and is not much good playing forward
Wicks is a strong inside mid and a good small forward
Barry Connor ain't no ruckman!

It was really clear when these players were played out of position the impact on the team. In the midfield you could almost count on the clearance being squared or won with bell and or wicks in there. With McInerney especially you could almost count on it being lost. This is noting that Gray in particular is purely an outside mid and will not engage in the body contest to win the ball.

Next week:

If the seniors need backmen go for Gould or Maibaum. Gould tends to stay a bit deeper. Maibaum a bit higher.
If an inside mid is needed go for Bell
If a small kieran jack type forward/mid go for wicks
If a hard running wingman is needed go for foote.

What I hope doesn't happen is they pick the best performing player from the scratch match and play him out of position in the seniors.

Thanks for the detailed update!

[Markwebbos]

Having the benefit of the video of the game against hawthorn my observations would be:

1. Will Gould; best game he has played for the swans against quality opposition. Looks to have taken the next step. Lots of good positioning, level headed, good drive forward and plenty of touches
2. Zac Foote; really pushing for senior selection. Endless run matched with good head over the ball attack. Still fine tuning his use of the ball, but is definitely ready for a run in the seniors.
3. Jack Maibaum; Smart defender, with some strong intercept marking. Also looking ready to step up
4. Jammes Bell; Has now developed in to a strong body able to withstand the rigours. Used the ball very well and generally either won the midfield or squared it.

These were the best four. Next was probably Wicks who got plenty of ball and laid a ton of tackles. Some of his ball use could have been better. If so would have got more than 2 goals. However he is a real competitor around congested traffic and is very hard to beat one on one. Ling was pretty good when he was on as was Gray and Thurlow. McIneney was interesting. He can find the ball but is not strong in the tackle. He gets taken to ground very easily rather than standing up in the tackle and disposing of the ball. Rowles started to find the ball, however his use is atrocious. Actually a bit of a problem.

Overall Hawthorn would have beaten the swans by 5-10 goals. It should be noted though Hawthorn was providing 3 or more players to the swans including the ruckman, so the score is not that useful.

My overall observation is that players need to be played in the correct positions. For example:

Zac Foote is an awesome running wingman. As a midfielder or small forward, not so good.
Jammes Bell is a very good inside mid, and a handy high forward
Justin McInerney is a good running wingman but the body strength to be a midfielder is absent, and is not much good playing forward
Wicks is a strong inside mid and a good small forward
Barry Connor ain't no ruckman!

It was really clear when these players were played out of position the impact on the team. In the midfield you could almost count on the clearance being squared or won with bell and or wicks in there. With McInerney especially you could almost count on it being lost. This is noting that Gray in particular is purely an outside mid and will not engage in the body contest to win the ball.

Next week:

If the seniors need backmen go for Gould or Maibaum. Gould tends to stay a bit deeper. Maibaum a bit higher.
If an inside mid is needed go for Bell
If a small kieran jack type forward/mid go for wicks
If a hard running wingman is needed go for foote.

What I hope doesn't happen is they pick the best performing player from the scratch match and play him out of position in the seniors.

Thanks Barracuda. If only your wish were to come true. Most mids stepping up seem to get played as forwards, with mixed (Chad Warner) results. BTW was L Taylor the non-playing emergency on Saturday?

[Ludwig]

Thanks barra for the update.

I would like to make one comment regarding your suggestion that players should be played there correct positions. This is true if the sole aim is to get the best performance from them at present. But playing them in a different position is a learning experience. A case in point is Will Hayward. Look how much his game has improved since being played in defence.

It's only a practice match, so learning is more important than winning, for both coaches and players.

[barracuda]

Thanks Barracuda. If only your wish were to come true. Most mids stepping up seem to get played as forwards, with mixed (Chad Warner) results. BTW was L Taylor the non-playing emergency on Saturday?

yes

- - - Updated - - -


Thanks barra for the update.

I would like to make one comment regarding your suggestion that players should be played there correct positions. This is true if the sole aim is to get the best performance from them at present. But playing them in a different position is a learning experience. A case in point is Will Hayward. Look how much his game has improved since being played in defence.

It's only a practice match, so learning is more important than winning, for both coaches and players.

I agree, my point was more when the players debut in seniors they are often asked to play positions they are not familiar with. In the practice match setting by all means play in a variety of positions.

[chalbilto]

Thanks very much barracuda for your reports, greatly appreciated as there are no official reports from the club.

[bloodspirit]

Thanks barracuda. Great report and excellent to have it.

I wonder if Wicks could be adapted to play a lockdown small defender role given his ability to win the contested ball and his tackling? Do you think there's enough overlap in skillsets? Could he become the next Smooch, barra?

[barracuda]

Thanks barracuda. Great report and excellent to have it.

I wonder if Wicks could be adapted to play a lockdown small defender role given his ability to win the contested ball and his tackling? Do you think there's enough overlap in skillsets? Could he become the next Smooch, barra?

Was a very good defender in his juniors from what I know

[MattW]

And here are Laidler's views on selected players, including Ling.


Laidler sees promise but room to improve (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/746522/laidler-sees-promise-but-room-to-improve)

[troyjones2525]

Having the benefit of the video of the game against hawthorn my observations would be:

1. Will Gould; best game he has played for the swans against quality opposition. Looks to have taken the next step. Lots of good positioning, level headed, good drive forward and plenty of touches
2. Zac Foote; really pushing for senior selection. Endless run matched with good head over the ball attack. Still fine tuning his use of the ball, but is definitely ready for a run in the seniors.
3. Jack Maibaum; Smart defender, with some strong intercept marking. Also looking ready to step up
4. Jammes Bell; Has now developed in to a strong body able to withstand the rigours. Used the ball very well and generally either won the midfield or squared it.

These were the best four. Next was probably Wicks who got plenty of ball and laid a ton of tackles. Some of his ball use could have been better. If so would have got more than 2 goals. However he is a real competitor around congested traffic and is very hard to beat one on one. Ling was pretty good when he was on as was Gray and Thurlow. McIneney was interesting. He can find the ball but is not strong in the tackle. He gets taken to ground very easily rather than standing up in the tackle and disposing of the ball. Rowles started to find the ball, however his use is atrocious. Actually a bit of a problem.

Overall Hawthorn would have beaten the swans by 5-10 goals. It should be noted though Hawthorn was providing 3 or more players to the swans including the ruckman, so the score is not that useful.

My overall observation is that players need to be played in the correct positions. For example:

Zac Foote is an awesome running wingman. As a midfielder or small forward, not so good.
Jammes Bell is a very good inside mid, and a handy high forward
Justin McInerney is a good running wingman but the body strength to be a midfielder is absent, and is not much good playing forward
Wicks is a strong inside mid and a good small forward
Barry Connor ain't no ruckman!

It was really clear when these players were played out of position the impact on the team. In the midfield you could almost count on the clearance being squared or won with bell and or wicks in there. With McInerney especially you could almost count on it being lost. This is noting that Gray in particular is purely an outside mid and will not engage in the body contest to win the ball.

Next week:

If the seniors need backmen go for Gould or Maibaum. Gould tends to stay a bit deeper. Maibaum a bit higher.
If an inside mid is needed go for Bell
If a small kieran jack type forward/mid go for wicks
If a hard running wingman is needed go for foote.

What I hope doesn't happen is they pick the best performing player from the scratch match and play him out of position in the seniors.Loving your insights Barra and totally agree with you regarding us needing to play these young guys in their best positions! Unfortunately more often than not when they play seniors they don't and the results seem to speak for themselves! Horse needs to back these kids more! Yes they will struggle at times but at least they will hopefully show enough to let us know if they are worth persisting with at the highest level!

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk

[Puppy Eyes]

Anything happen yesterday?

[troyjones2525]

Any updates on a scratch match last weekend Barra?

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[barracuda]

Any updates on a scratch match last weekend Barra?

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk

No scratch match. This week GWS again

[troyjones2525]

No scratch match. This week GWS againDamn! Thanks for letting us know!

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[ugg]

Looks like the scratch match is on now

Can see Amartey, Foot, Maibaum, McInerney, O'Connor, Reynolds, Rowles, Warner, Wicks in the short clip.


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[Aaron]

Laidler Report :
https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/video/786153/laidler-we-cracked-in-for-the-whole-60-minutes?videoId=786153&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1596178596001 (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/video/786153/laidler-we-cracked-in-for-the-whole-60-minutes?videoId=786153&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1596178596001)

[MattW]

Laidler Report :
https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/video/786153/laidler-we-cracked-in-for-the-whole-60-minutes?videoId=786153&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1596178596001 (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/video/786153/laidler-we-cracked-in-for-the-whole-60-minutes?videoId=786153&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1596178596001)

The social media team is doing its best, but we didn't get a whole lot of detail from Laidler there.

[Melbourne_Blood]

The social media team is doing its best, but we didn't get a whole lot of detail from Laidler there.

Not as much as we’d like but more than they were offering before you gave them a nudge !

Good that they incorporated some fan questions from Twitter.

Sounds as though Gould is pretty close, considering who has debuted already he seems a little stiff to have not gotten a call up yet.

Surprised to hear Harry Reynolds name mentioned , for some reason I though he was long gone from our list.

Sounds as though Amartey may get a look soon too, and Wicks.


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[dazedjosh]

Not as much as we’d like but more than they were offering before you gave them a nudge !

Good that they incorporated some fan questions from Twitter.


Considering how little the Swans used to talk, a 3 and a half minute video is a flood of information! A weekly update like this isn't bad though. I also liked that they added some Twitter questions about players, thought that was a nice touch.

I definitely agree on Amartey, I think he might get a run in the next few weeks if we decide to rest a couple of big guys. Sounds like they're being patient with Gould, I like how they're rotating him against small forwards and tall forwards so he gets a good spread of opponents to develop against, it might mean he takes a little longer to debut, but long term it should stand him in good stead.

[Scottee]

Not as much as we’d like but more than they were offering before you gave them a nudge !

Good that they incorporated some fan questions from Twitter.

Sounds as though Gould is pretty close, considering who has debuted already he seems a little stiff to have not gotten a call up yet.

Surprised to hear Harry Reynolds name mentioned , for some reason I though he was long gone from our list.

Sounds as though Amartey may get a look soon too, and Wicks.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkGreat to see that the communication has been ramped up by the club.

On Harry Reynolds, he's a real dasher with a lot of potential and a bit of size. Its only some injuries and his youth have held him back.

If he stays fit I predict he will be a senior player.

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[ugg]

Scratch match against the Pies right now. Tweets from Collingwood's Performance and Strategy Manager.

From the photo - Gould on Cox, O'Connor on Cameron, Amartey in the ruck, Blakey and Clarke in the middle. Gray in the forwards. Looks like Pies have lent us a player judging by the defender in red top and black shorts.


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[ugg]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All over here, Swans got on top late. Ended up running away 8.4 to 3.2. Great to see Levi and Langers back out there...<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/goPies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#goPies</a> <a href="https://t.co/dSJsc1nNjz">pic.twitter.com/dSJsc1nNjz</a></p>&mdash; Marcus Wagner (@WagsVargs) <a href="https://twitter.com/WagsVargs/status/1291229987631067136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[dejavoodoo44]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All over here, Swans got on top late. Ended up running away 8.4 to 3.2. Great to see Levi and Langers back out there...<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/goPies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#goPies</a> <a href="https://t.co/dSJsc1nNjz">pic.twitter.com/dSJsc1nNjz</a></p>&mdash; Marcus Wagner (@WagsVargs) <a href="https://twitter.com/WagsVargs/status/1291229987631067136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Racking my brain working out who Levi and Langers were, until I noticed the #gopies.

I had a look at Marcus Wagner's other tweets, to see if I could find any other match info. No luck. However, I did find a clip of Pies debutant, Trey Ruscoe, doing his version of, phoning the parents to tell them the good news. It's well worth a look. It starts with his mum berating him for not phoning recently. And when he manages to let her know that he's playing, her reaction is, "Oh, @@@@ off!" Pretty funny.

[Aaron]

https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/792183/development-update-with-jeremy-laidler Another report about the Scratch match against the Pies last Thursday. He mentioned that Blakey " just needed a bit more confidence and we put him back to the 2s and put him in the midfield again and it helped him for the second half of the season. " Moreover, as the team are in strict quarantine, so no chance of another scratch match before we play the Dickers

[MattW]

Development Update with Jeremy Laidler (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/792183/development-update-with-jeremy-laidler) Another report about the Scratch match against the Pies last Thursday. He mentioned that Blakey " just needed a bit more confidence and we put him back to the 2s and put him in the midfield again and it helped him for the second half of the season. " Moreover, as the team are in strict quarantine, so no chance of another scratch match before we play the Dickers

Sounds like Nick is expected to come back in this week; for Elijah, presumably.

[MattW]

Seems to have been a while since we've had a scratch match. Any news barracuda/anyone?

[Mel_C]

Seems to have been a while since we've had a scratch match. Any news barracuda/anyone?
I was wondering the same thing. Obviously we couldn't play one during the 14 day quarantine but from now on we should be able to play one every week.

[barracuda]

I was wondering the same thing. Obviously we couldn't play one during the 14 day quarantine but from now on we should be able to play one every week.
I think they played freo reserves and wore easily. Warner played well

[MattW]

I think they played freo reserves and wore easily. Warner played well

Cheers!

[barracuda]

I had a chance to watch the freo swans scratch match. Definitely a training drill. The short sideways chips from grey to taylor to clarke then back to taylor then back to grey, then repeat 10 times nearly put me to sleep. Mclean took 9 marks up forward for about 3 goals 6. He is a deep forward, which he does quite well. Gould is getting worse, not sure what is going on there. He was on Jesse Hogan, perhaps that is why, but he din't seem to have much run.
Did I say grey, taylor and clarke like to chip the ball around and go nowhere! No tackles though. Grey was probably the best, but if they are under any pressure they mis-kick or turn the ball over. Warner was ok in parts, same with McInerney. Allir rucked for a bit and won some good clearances.
Overall, it was very much a hands off game, not much tackling or pressure, lots of uncontested ball. Swans probably won by 3/4 goals. It is hard to judge who is going well in this environment, and who could step up.

[Markwebbos]

I had a chance to watch the freo swans scratch match. Definitely a training drill. The short sideways chips from grey to taylor to clarke then back to taylor then back to grey, then repeat 10 times nearly put me to sleep. Mclean took 9 marks up forward for about 3 goals 6. He is a deep forward, which he does quite well. Gould is getting worse, not sure what is going on there. He was on Jesse Hogan, perhaps that is why, but he din't seem to have much run.
Did I say grey, taylor and clarke like to chip the ball around and go nowhere! No tackles though. Grey was probably the best, but if they are under any pressure they mis-kick or turn the ball over. Warner was ok in parts, same with McInerney. Allir rucked for a bit and won some good clearances.
Overall, it was very much a hands off game, not much tackling or pressure, lots of uncontested ball. Swans probably won by 3/4 goals. It is hard to judge who is going well in this environment, and who could step up.

thanks Barracuda

Not great news about everyone's favorite yet-to-debut draftee. Although playing on Jesse Hogan wouldn't be easy, surely? I do remember when Dane Rampe first played he'd been told to focus on the defensive side of his game. Wonder if that's also true of the Manchild, hence the lack of run?

Any sign of Knoll in scratch matches yet?

[Blood Fever]

I had a chance to watch the freo swans scratch match. Definitely a training drill. The short sideways chips from grey to taylor to clarke then back to taylor then back to grey, then repeat 10 times nearly put me to sleep. Mclean took 9 marks up forward for about 3 goals 6. He is a deep forward, which he does quite well. Gould is getting worse, not sure what is going on there. He was on Jesse Hogan, perhaps that is why, but he din't seem to have much run.
Did I say grey, taylor and clarke like to chip the ball around and go nowhere! No tackles though. Grey was probably the best, but if they are under any pressure they mis-kick or turn the ball over. Warner was ok in parts, same with McInerney. Allir rucked for a bit and won some good clearances.
Overall, it was very much a hands off game, not much tackling or pressure, lots of uncontested ball. Swans probably won by 3/4 goals. It is hard to judge who is going well in this environment, and who could step up.

Thx for that. What venue was that?

[barracuda]

thanks Barracuda

Not great news about everyone's favorite yet-to-debut draftee. Although playing on Jesse Hogan wouldn't be easy, surely? I do remember when Dane Rampe first played he'd been told to focus on the defensive side of his game. Wonder if that's also true of the Manchild, hence the lack of run?

Any sign of Knoll in scratch matches yet?

No, but Brand played a half and looked ok

- - - Updated - - -


Thx for that. What venue was that?

It looked like freos home ground. Had artificial turf

[Markwebbos]

No, but Brand played a half and looked ok

Brand might be a better addition to the side than AA I think, unless they are going to drop Fox or the Pelican.
Who is going to get Charlie Dixon this week?

[barracuda]

Brand might be a better addition to the side than AA I think, unless they are going to drop Fox or the Pelican.
Who is going to get Charlie Dixon this week?

Gulp that is a scary thought!

[MattW]

Brand might be a better addition to the side than AA I think, unless they are going to drop Fox or the Pelican.
Who is going to get Charlie Dixon this week?

Lewis! He'll take all the big assignments for the rest of the year, deservedly after the last fortnight. Agree Brand back would be good though. Need some genuine height.

[Markwebbos]

Listened to the AFL exchange podcast. They talked about AA as one of the players that should be traded to another club as its not really working with the Swans at the moment

[MattW]

Listened to the AFL exchange podcast. They talked about AA as one of the players that should be traded to another club as its not really working with the Swans at the moment

I don't know Mark, those dudes are just trawling lists for shallow content.

[Markwebbos]

I don't know Mark, those dudes are just trawling lists for shallow content.

I think he is struggling to cement a role at the Swans as illustrated by the fact Fox has overtaken him... if Brand plays this weekend and AA doesn't?
I think he's got huge upside, the club needs to figure out where to play him...

[Mark26]

I think he is struggling to cement a role at the Swans as illustrated by the fact Fox has overtaken him... if Brand plays this weekend and AA doesn't?
I think he's got huge upside, the club needs to figure out where to play him...

Didn't AA have an injury recently? Maybe that's the reason why his form was down and he needed a spell to recover. Going to the ressies for a short stint can work wonders. Blakey is a good example and Hayward is a better one. I think AA is part of our best 22. He won't be traded.

[MattW]

Ooo - scratch match content: https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/802930/solid-hit-out-for-reserves.

Agree with whoever said McLean's value is basically as a forward. I don't think there's any point playing him in the ruck. I think we're almost better off playing Reid in the ruck and McLean forward.

Good to hear Brand got through another. I think he's a first team player in our squad.

[MattW]

Some photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEbZmrtn9sR/?igshid=s04qp7rsr072.

(Thought that may be Stoddart for a sec, but realised it was a Port toppie in his shirt.)

[ugg]

Here’s the view from the other mob which includes some info about our side too

Assuming they wrote about all the goals it looks like we kicked 5 goals to their 6. It was 3 goals to 2 going into the last period (game of three periods). Motlop kicked 4 goals, all of them in the final period. Which doesn’t match up with the Swans report of us losing by 18 points, unless they kicked a lot of behinds?

3 goals to McLean, 1 to their player Cox playing for us and one to Knoll

Match report: Youngsters shine in win over the Swans (https://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/802819/match-report-youngsters-shine-in-win-over-the-swans)

[barracuda]

I watched the port/swans scratchy.

My takeaways:

1. Taylor is noticeably out of shape. He has good skills and a good footy brain but spending such long periods on his haunches trying to recover is not good enough
2. Grey was better, but his ball use is too hurried and messy. Also hates to tackle
3. McLean, such a good deep forward. If that is the requirement then he is great. Struggling a bit around the ground and below the knees
4. Stephens played the entire game as an inside mid. There is some truth that he is a bit slight at this time for that role. But he had some very good runs out of the middle. Gradually getting some more confidence with his kicking on the run.
5. Chad Warner played inside mid. He is a solid lad, hard working. Over pre season I would slim him down a bit, try to up the zip but maintain the strength.
6. Armatey solid without being special
7. Gould, was solid and workman like. COR seems to break the lines a bit better, and attacks the ball better. Gould tends to be sitting deeper and moving the ball around the arc. Another one who needs another pre-season to slim him down a bit and gain a bit more pace. I wonder whether these new guys have fallen into the trap of bulking up too much.
8. Ling, had some good patches. He does have some zip
9. Rowles, wow this kid is quick. But his decision making and skills by hand are lacking. Having said that he does have a confident penetrating pass into the forward line which the swans lack.
10. Foote. Very quiet game. After his wonderful debut he had a quiet seniors game and was dropped. He now has to fight hard given his contract expires.

Overall port were much fitter. It was obvious looking at the body types. The swans were pretty gassed by the last period and motlop took full advantage with guys like taylor too tired to follow them into the forward line.
My revelation is that the swans need to change their pre-season training. Too many players are heavy rather than lean and quick.

[Mark26]

I watched the port/swans scratchy.

My takeaways:

1. Taylor is noticeably out of shape. He has good skills and a good footy brain but spending such long periods on his haunches trying to recover is not good enough
2. Grey was better, but his ball use is too hurried and messy. Also hates to tackle
3. McLean, such a good deep forward. If that is the requirement then he is great. Struggling a bit around the ground and below the knees
4. Stephens played the entire game as an inside mid. There is some truth that he is a bit slight at this time for that role. But he had some very good runs out of the middle. Gradually getting some more confidence with his kicking on the run.
5. Chad Warner played inside mid. He is a solid lad, hard working. Over pre season I would slim him down a bit, try to up the zip but maintain the strength.
6. Armatey solid without being special
7. Gould, was solid and workman like. COR seems to break the lines a bit better, and attacks the ball better. Gould tends to be sitting deeper and moving the ball around the arc. Another one who needs another pre-season to slim him down a bit and gain a bit more pace. I wonder whether these new guys have fallen into the trap of bulking up too much.
8. Ling, had some good patches. He does have some zip
9. Rowles, wow this kid is quick. But his decision making and skills by hand are lacking. Having said that he does have a confident penetrating pass into the forward line which the swans lack.
10. Foote. Very quiet game. After his wonderful debut he had a quiet seniors game and was dropped. He now has to fight hard given his contract expires.

Overall port were much fitter. It was obvious looking at the body types. The swans were pretty gassed by the last period and motlop took full advantage with guys like taylor too tired to follow them into the forward line.
My revelation is that the swans need to change their pre-season training. Too many players are heavy rather than lean and quick.

Thanks Barra. Insightful as always. How did O'Connor and Knolls look?

[111431]

I watched the port/swans scratchy.

My takeaways:

1. Taylor is noticeably out of shape. He has good skills and a good footy brain but spending such long periods on his haunches trying to recover is not good enough
2. Grey was better, but his ball use is too hurried and messy. Also hates to tackle
3. McLean, such a good deep forward. If that is the requirement then he is great. Struggling a bit around the ground and below the knees
4. Stephens played the entire game as an inside mid. There is some truth that he is a bit slight at this time for that role. But he had some very good runs out of the middle. Gradually getting some more confidence with his kicking on the run.
5. Chad Warner played inside mid. He is a solid lad, hard working. Over pre season I would slim him down a bit, try to up the zip but maintain the strength.
6. Armatey solid without being special
7. Gould, was solid and workman like. COR seems to break the lines a bit better, and attacks the ball better. Gould tends to be sitting deeper and moving the ball around the arc. Another one who needs another pre-season to slim him down a bit and gain a bit more pace. I wonder whether these new guys have fallen into the trap of bulking up too much.
8. Ling, had some good patches. He does have some zip
9. Rowles, wow this kid is quick. But his decision making and skills by hand are lacking. Having said that he does have a confident penetrating pass into the forward line which the swans lack.
10. Foote. Very quiet game. After his wonderful debut he had a quiet seniors game and was dropped. He now has to fight hard given his contract expires.

Overall port were much fitter. It was obvious looking at the body types. The swans were pretty gassed by the last period and motlop took full advantage with guys like taylor too tired to follow them into the forward line.
My revelation is that the swans need to change their pre-season training. Too many players are heavy rather than lean and quick.

thks Barra - just out of interest, how do you manage to see these games?

[barracuda]

Thanks Barra. Insightful as always. How did O'Connor and Knolls look?

Both pretty quiet.

- - - Updated - - -


thks Barra - just out of interest, how do you manage to see these games?

The links to the videos are provided to player families. They are allowed to share them with friends and family. I get the link from a friend who is related to a player.

[rb4x]

Thanks for the insights Barra. It is great. For the 2021 pre season I would be recommending that the coaches should go back to what Dave Misson used to have the team do. Endless running up and down the sand hills at Kurnell. L Taylor and Gray are two who look they would have trouble passing a skinfold test so perhaps a double helping of sand hills for them as it looks like we might be stuck with them for another year. Might not do Buddy any harm either or Sam Reid for that matter.

[stevoswan]

Thanks for the insights Barra. It is great. For the 2021 pre season I would be recommending that the coaches should go back to what Dave Misson used to have the team do. Endless running up and down the sand hills at Kurnell. L Taylor and Gray are two who look they would have trouble passing a skinfold test so perhaps a double helping of sand hills for them as it looks like we might be stuck with them for another year. Might not do Buddy any harm either or Sam Reid for that matter.

The Percy Cerutty approach.....I like it.:five:

https://www.runnerstribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Percy.jpg

That's Percy in front, leading the much younger squad.....what a legend!

[Nico]

Thanks for the insights Barra. It is great. For the 2021 pre season I would be recommending that the coaches should go back to what Dave Misson used to have the team do. Endless running up and down the sand hills at Kurnell. L Taylor and Gray are two who look they would have trouble passing a skinfold test so perhaps a double helping of sand hills for them as it looks like we might be stuck with them for another year. Might not do Buddy any harm either or Sam Reid for that matter.

Was that under the Roos era where we had very few injuries in 2005 and 2006?

[troyjones2525]

Both pretty quiet.

- - - Updated - - -



The links to the videos are provided to player families. They are allowed to share them with friends and family. I get the link from a friend who is related to a player.That's great Barra. Thanks for sharing your insights as there are so many of us in here that crave as much ressie info as we can get!

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk

[royboy42]

Was that under the Roos era where we had very few injuries in 2005 and 2006?

And Nathan Gibbs...best doc in any football code.

[Aaron]

Scratch match report: Fremantle v Sydney (https://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/808007/scratch-match-report-fremantle-v-sydney) Dockers'Head of development Simon Eastaugh runs through how the Fremantle players fared in a scratch match against Sydney on Sunday at Cazaly's Stadium. Not much about our performance but got plenty (50!) photos at the Gallery there. Wonder when we can see our report from Laidler .