AFL Canberra Round 14
Sydney Swans Reserves v Eastlake Demons
Saturday 31st July 2010 3.50pm
ANZ Stadium
While AFL Canberra had a bye last weekend, a select group of the best Canberra players represented the league at the Australian Country Football Championships. ACT failed to defend their title but finished a creditable 3rd at the carnival. From what I can gather, there were 6 round robin matches of shortened length (35 min) across Thursday and Friday before the final game was a full length Australian Rules match on the Sunday. Eastlake were heavily involved with 8 of their players selected including captain Chad Gibson and vice-captain Aaron Bruce.
So although Reserves Coach Daniel McPherson put the team through a hard training session during their week off (
Reserves tough it out - Official AFL Website of the Sydney Swans Football Club), they should be fresher than their opponents for this match.
Ladder
Team Wins Losses Draws Points For Against Percentage Reserves 10 2 1 42 1537 1080 142.318% Ainslie 7 5 1 30 1179 1011 116.62% Eastlake 6 7 0 24 1181 1045 113.01% Belconnen 6 7 0 24 1044 1125 92.80% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Queanbeyan 6 7 0 24 1139 1323 86.09% Tuggeranong 3 10 0 12 976 1472 66.30%
Past Meetings
2010
R4 Reserves 18.10 (118) defeated Eastlake 17.9 (111) @ SCG
In an entertaining and competitive match, the Reserves managed to hold on against a fash-finishing Demons outfit. Top-up player Kieran Emery and Matthew O'Dwyer both booted 3 majors while Mike Pyke, Gary Rohan and Dylan McNeil were the standouts.
R9 Eastlake 8.13 (61) defeated by Reserves 14.12 (96) @ Manuka
The Reserves completed their 5th straight away game with a comfortable victory over the Demons. Kristin Thornton and forwards Lewis Johnston (5 goals) & Trent Dennis-Lane (4 goals) were the Swans best players.
2009
R2 Reserves 11.9 (75) defeated by Eastlake 27.13 (175) @ ANZ
R8 Reserves 16.10 (106) drew with Eastlake 16.10 (106) @ SCG
R12 Eastlake 17.16 (118) defeated Reserves 8.10 (58) @ Manuka
R17 Eastlake 18.11 (119) defeated Reserves 10.13 (73) @ Manuka
Recent Form
Reserves - WWWWL
Eastlake - LLWWW
Last Round
Ainslie 18.12 (120) defeated Reserves 7.11 (53)
A terribly depleted Reserves line up earnt the wrath of their coach with their worst performance of the season. McPherson singled out their lack of effort and chasing as incredibly disappointing and refused to use the excuse of injuries for the big thrashing.
Tuggeranong 5.3 (33) defeated by Eastlake 7.18 (60)
Team List (number of 2010 AFL Canberra games in brackets)
Listed players
- 8. Trent Dennis-Lane [10]
- 10. Daniel Currie [12]
- 11. Ed Barlow [10]
- 13. Pat Veszpremi [12]
- 16. Gary Rohan [5]
- 20. Sam Reid [12]
- 22. Byron Sumner [8]
- 23. Lewis Johnston [13]
- 28. Dylan McNeil [12]
- 35. Campbell Heath [8]
- 36. Chris McKaigue [11]
- 45. Nathan Gordon [13]
- 46. Taylor Gilchrist [11]
In: Dennis-Lane (Travelling senior emergency), Rohan (injury), Heath (injury)
Out: Kristin Thornton (hamstring), Lewis Jetta (senior promotion)
Not much larger than the previous game, but perhaps saved by the fact it's a home game so none of the emergencies will be wasted. It will be Dennis-Lane's first reserves game since his promotion and subsequent demotion to the seniors.
Scholarship Players
- 47. Jackson Potter [7]
- 48. Blake Guthrie [5]
- 49. Jack Lynch [4]
- 52. Mitch May [7]
In: Potter, Guthrie, Lynch
Out: Jay Lewis, Nathan Kenny
Top ups
- Joseph Britton (Balmain Dockers)
- Andrew Duthie (UNSW/Eastern Suburbs)
- Mitch Knight (Newcastle City)
- Matthew Lemme (Western Suburbs)
- Etiosa Okunbor (East Coast)
- Angus Rodgers (North Shore)
- Mitchell Thompson (North Shore)
Okunbor will be making his fourth appearance of the year, Lemme his second. Everyone else will be making their debuts, although Britton did play as a topup in 2009.
Reserves leading goalkickers
- Trent Dennis-Lane 33
- Lewis Johnston 30
- Henry Playfair 20
For full list: 2010 Goalkickers - RWOwiki
Reserves leading votegetters
- Dylan McNeil 31
- Sam Reid 31
- Daniel Currie 26
For full list: 2010 Best votes - RWOwiki
Eastlake
As mentioned at the beginning of this preview, Eastlake had 8 players in the ACT representive side:
- 4. Aaron Bruce - Utility who is equally adept down back or up forward, but has played his best football at Eastlake in the midfield.
- 6. John Van Meurs - Speedy youngster who has good endurance and terrific set of hands
- 7. Sam Gumley
- 12. Riley McMahon - Midfielder
- 20. Leigh McMahon - Quick player who is versatile. Has been named in the Canberra Team of the Year 2007-2009
- 23. Chad Gibson - Reigning Mulrooney Medallist, Eastlake Club Captain, ACT Player of the Carnival and the Ruckman of the Carnival, these honours are a true reflection of what an influential player he is. Superb at the ruck contests and around the ground but is also dangerous as a goalkicking forward.
- 32. Dean Roulstone - Another utility who can play in many positions.
- 46. Mitch Taylforth - Leading goalkicker for Eastlake with 23 from his 11 matches
Also look out for ex Richmond Tiger 10. Ray Hall who after overcoming an injury in the early part of the season has been playing solid football in defence.
Talking points
- Reid - Way ahead of schedule, he is now on the cusp of senior selection. With LRT still expected to be missing next week and with the twin towers of Buddy and Roughy due to visit the SCG next week, a good performance might earn him a spot.
- Rohan - The bye came at a very inopportune time as it meant that he has missed the last 3 weeks. This run will be a test of his match sharpness, and hopefully a springboard back into the seniors.
- McNeil - Very quiet month or so after a scintillating start to his Swans career. He will need to be at his best against a strong Demons midfield.
- Johnston - Has shown flashes of brilliance in individual plays, but needs to perform at a more consistent level.
- Sumner - I really liked his 2nd half of the last reserves home game, where he shown good attack on the ball and a willingness to run up the ground off half back.
Why the Swans can win
- Unbeaten at home this year.
- Received a baking from their coach over their non-performance last round.
- 8 Eastlake players backing up from multiple games over the bye weekend.
Why the Demons can win
- A cursory glance at the results shows that the Swans begin to struggle when the number of listed players hits 13 or below. With exactly 13 listed players this week, and none of the better topups named (Kieran Emery and Eugene Kruger) a few in-game injuries or rests could crucial if the margin is tight in the last quarter.
- They're in a tight battle for a finals spot, equal on points with Belconnen and Queanbeyan at the moment.
- A very good record against the Swans over the past 3 years, even away from home.
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Originally Posted by hammo
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