Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 13 to 23 of 23

Thread: Expectations

  1. #13
    Travelling Swannie!! mcs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    7,800
    I think our premiership window is going to slam shut when our final siren for the year goes. Leo Barry is a shadow of the player he was as is Barry Hall, Everitt isnt getting younger, Kirk is still playing very well but isnt quite what he was. Time to cut our losses I feel and look to rebuild around a solid nucleus of Goodes, O'Keefe, C. Bolton & Malceski. To make it a quick turn around we desperately need to get some new blood in and the only way to do it I feel is to trade.

    Hammo you are harsh throwing O'Keefe in with all those other players that havent developed. He has had a very good year- granted he hasnt been so good the last 6 weeks but if you cant compare his performance solely on goal returns either as he has been playing much more a midfield role this year. If O'Keefe got to actually play where he should on the half forward line week in week out he would show himself to be an elite player of the competition. I really would like unless we manage to trade someone big into the club like Fev to see ROK become our next CHF. I think he could absolutely kill it playing there and kick a bag of goals... not that Roos will ever do that!

  2. #14
    pr. dim-melb; m not f
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Central Coast NSW, Costa Lantana
    Posts
    6,889
    No to the original question - our expectations are not too high, and I mean by that genuine contenders, not guaranteed premiers. If we had the best team on the park and fit we would be much further up the ladder and the others would be worried about us. To state the bleeding obvious we are missing half of our best back six (Tadhg, Leo and LRT), and we have gained in the ruck division with Spida and in the resting ruckman when either he or Jolly go forward as they have been recently.
    The heart of our problems atm is, imho, the midfield. Jude consistently gets numbered among our best because the dills who decide these things count disposals without assessing how effective they are. The missing link we haven't been able to replace is Paul Wiliams, and that's what we need to trade for.
    He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)

  3. #15
    Formerly 'BBB' Triple B's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    6,999
    Quote Originally Posted by hammo View Post
    but the likes of Buchanan, Schneider, Dempster haven't kicked on as we'd hope. I;m tempted to throw O'Keefe in that category as well.
    What stopped the temptation to throw O'Keefe into the 'haven't kicked on since '05' category?

    All Australian in '06 perhaps?

    Good stuff you're smoking.

  4. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by BBB View Post
    What stopped the temptation to throw O'Keefe into the 'haven't kicked on since '05' category?

    All Australian in '06 perhaps?

    Good stuff you're smoking.
    No, it was the reaction of apologists like you.

    On his day he is an elite player but he lacks consistency.

    I will guarantee you he won't be an All Australian this year because in 2007 he has gone missing in big games far too often.

    After the 2005 PF it would be fair to assume he was about to become a very good, consistent player for us. Has he really kicked on that much?

  5. #17
    Out of Bounds on the Full Goal Sneak's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    639
    The problem with expectations and the Swans is that over the past few years, while not really outshining all other teams in the comp, ie Geelong this year, West Coast in previous years, They have really stood up when it counted. This year, when it was time to stand up, the Swans have not quite cut it. Our fans must have known deep down, we were not playing the type of footy that was going to match the tops teams, but, because we have produced when it counted for a few years now, expectations were still high for the finals. It only took a draw and a loss to change most peoples expectations, which, when you leave it to the last minute like we have so many times (both in Seasons and Games) can really hurt because it kinda comes out of nowhere.

  6. #18
    Travelling Swannie!! mcs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    7,800
    I dont know why people are suprised that O'keefe has gone missing at times this year- maybe if Roos would play him where he is suppose to play as a true half forward week in week out his return would be much more impressive. But because our midfield has been generally inept it has often been O'Keefe in there trying to clean up the mess made by many others.

    Of course he wont be AA in 07 as he hasnt kicked the goals of 06 as he hasnt played where he should for a large chunk of this year! And he aint ever going to make it into the AA midfield either!!!

  7. #19
    We would be travelling better if we didn't have injuries to key position players like Kennelly and Hall - don't forget we haven't had our preferred backline for most of the year. They've done quite well when you take all this into account. They haven't collapsed, and they always fight back. We just need Kennelly, Barry and LRT back, it would open up so many options on other fronts.

  8. #20
    On the Rookie List
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Coming to you LIVE from a Stand near you!
    Posts
    517
    My expectations at the start of the year was to again be somewhere in that top 4.

    We have an inconsistent year and I believe injuries have played a huge part in that.

    Looks like we go into 2007 in the bottom half of the eight with average form(not taking this week into consideration).

    We can only hope of going into the finals this year and show some better form in the game against Hawthorn and hopefully go further in the finals series.
    Well done Craig Bolton for getting the co- captaincy in 2008.

    Your determination,your tenacity and your under-rated skill is why you have become my favourite player!

  9. #21
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,394
    Quote Originally Posted by hammo View Post
    After the 2005 PF it would be fair to assume he was about to become a very good, consistent player for us. Has he really kicked on that much?
    Surely BBB's observation that he was selected as an AA one year ago answers that question to some degree. And the reason it doesn't totally answer it is because he was already a darned good player in 2005.

    Not only did he win AA selection last year, he was judged BOG for Australia against the Irish (which is an achievement regardless of what one thinks about the series) and finished equal second in the club B&F, trailing only the Brownlow winner.

    He's hardly been poor this year and the fact he won't be selected as one of the best 22 players in the comp is hardly reason to claim he's not come on. Expecting players already judged in the top echelon of the competition to get significantly better is asking an awful lot.

  10. #22
    Senior Player Zlatorog's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Rhodes, NSW
    Posts
    1,748
    I'm resetting my expectations for the next year to pre-2005 level not expecting top 4 anymore and will hope for finals only.

  11. #23
    Senior Player Plugger46's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    3,674
    Forget the AA stuff - it's only picked by a group of people who have an opinion like the rest of us. I really don't know why people regard it so highly.

    As for O'Keefe, I think he's had another good year. He's right up there with the best medium forwards in the game. He could probably kick a few more goals, but his workrate and ability to get around the ground prevent him from doing so.

    As for him going missing in big games, what a lot of rubbish. Both Eagles games and the Crows game are perfect examples of him playing well in big games.
    Bloods

    "Lockett is the best of all time" - Robert Harvey, Darrel Baldock, Nathan Burke, Kevin Bartlett, Bob Skilton

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO