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Thread: Eastern Conference Grand Final: Sydney Swans Reserves v Belconnen Magpies

  1. #49
    On the Rookie List BillyRayCypress's Avatar
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    Thanks for the photo's Xie Shan. Great subject matter and quality.
    Nothing like a good light bulb moment.

  2. #50
    Veterans List Ludwig's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wolftone57 View Post

    4. Young Jake Lloyd needs to bulk up a bit but he is really fast, as fast as Brandon but doesn't even look as though he is moving his running style is that economical. He is also a great tackle and always puts pressure on an opponent, he is also not afraid of the big blokes. The kid is a sensational talent.
    .
    As you have probably noted, I am also gushing over Jake Lloyd. I have only seen him on several of the NEAFL streams, but every time he impresses. Is very consistent and seems to run all day. And looks to be a leader too.

    Robinson looks bigger than his listed 183 cm 84 kgs. and Brown also looks taller than his listed 191 cm. Anyone know if they've grown a bit this year?

  3. #51
    Senior Player Swansongster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyRayCypress View Post
    Thanks for the photo's Xie Shan. Great subject matter and quality.
    +1

  4. #52
    Veterans List aardvark's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ludwig View Post
    As you have probably noted, I am also gushing over Jake Lloyd.
    Poor Jake

  5. #53
    I stated this a few times but one of the reasons I started following afl was because someone I know had something to do with Jake Lloyds development.. so followed pre season training and then NAB cup and now thru season. He has received 57 B&F pts for year. Next best in mid 30's. He came to the club extremely fit and has improved. His consistency is the big plus. My concern .. and has been especially in later part of season is that he has seen 4 players go past him on the rookie list. You can put justification in why this is the case but as a young guy living a long way from home it may seem hard. Also I have seem all the public comments by the coaching staff and his name has been ignored or only fleetingly mentioned. Although I have no knowledge of a problem it does nag at me that maybe there is.

    On the size issue I think his strength will stand him in good stead in the seniors. It is sometimes hard to pick up on reports but appears he has a highish strike rate with his goals and appears to be mostly from 50 out.

  6. #54
    Can you feel it? Site Admin ugg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by southsideswan View Post
    My concern .. and has been especially in later part of season is that he has seen 4 players go past him on the rookie list. You can put justification in why this is the case...
    I will try!

    The 4 players who have been elevated (Rampe, B.Jack, X.Richards and Biggs) don't play the same position as Lloyd. For all our injuries this year, our midfield core has remained intact (touch wood!) and so Lloyd hasn't really had an opportunity in this regard.

  7. #55
    Veterans List Ludwig's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by southsideswan View Post
    I stated this a few times but one of the reasons I started following afl was because someone I know had something to do with Jake Lloyds development.. so followed pre season training and then NAB cup and now thru season. He has received 57 B&F pts for year. Next best in mid 30's. He came to the club extremely fit and has improved. His consistency is the big plus. My concern .. and has been especially in later part of season is that he has seen 4 players go past him on the rookie list. You can put justification in why this is the case but as a young guy living a long way from home it may seem hard. Also I have seem all the public comments by the coaching staff and his name has been ignored or only fleetingly mentioned. Although I have no knowledge of a problem it does nag at me that maybe there is.

    On the size issue I think his strength will stand him in good stead in the seniors. It is sometimes hard to pick up on reports but appears he has a highish strike rate with his goals and appears to be mostly from 50 out.
    I don't have any inside information, but perhaps others like BJ have been promoted off the rookie list before Jake because of the speed factor. Lloyd is quick enough, but with the loss of Jetta, Rohan and Goodes, we were probably looking for that big burst of speed from the sub spot rather than another consistent hard running midfielder, of which we have plenty. Those spots went to Mitchell and Lamb, which is understandable.

    I think Lloyd already looks a better player than Lamb and should move up in the pecking order next year. Nothing wrong with having a development year. Not sure if he will be promoted to the senior list, but would be shocked if he is not given another contract. He made the NEAFL team of the year and is clearly leading the ressies best list, so it seems that everyone recognises his talent.

  8. #56
    All 4 that have been promoted have done very well ..and yes also need to be in needed position at right time. If he is to have a long career a slow transition will be a big benefit. This is sometimes hard to understand at that age. I just hope the support is there from the Club. I would hate to see him think a better option is to be closer to home and playing top grade.

  9. #57
    Can you feel it? Site Admin ugg's Avatar
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    My first visit to Kippax Oval and I was quite impressed with the ground, it's certainly a step or two up from your standard community oval. The clubhouse (The Nest) stands on one wing with quite a few rows of seats in front of it stretching all the way to the end of one pocket. On the other side, a few temporary stands were erected for the day with the rest the standing areas. The crowd as you would expect was mostly pro-Belconnen, although the area where I was sitting was definitely the Swans area (which I only happened to stumble across serendipitously) and there was also vocal support near the scoreboard pocket from some Ainslie players/officials who had stayed behind to watch after their reserves team had won their premiership.

    However the decibel level of the crowd paled into comparison to the rabid cheering at Manuka for Queanbeyan last year, which was so fierce and loud that it acted as an extra boost to the home team that day. I'm not sure whether it was the fact that the Swans kicked the first 3 goals of the game that deflated the crowd somewhat, but it was a lot tamer than I was expecting.

    Overall a great team performance as highlighted by the spread of 12 goalkickers, there were no passengers amongst the listed players and the topups as has been the case all year all played their part with solid contributions. The scoreboard would seem to indicate a very one sided contest but in fact Belconnen had plenty of the ball, probably got their hands to the football first more and collected enough forward 50 entries to beat us but full credit to the defenders who never relented from the first bounce to the final siren and made the Belconnen forward look impotent.

    Perhaps a question mark hangs over the standard of the competition in comparison to last year's model, but given the way some of the reserves players have taken their chances in the seniors this year, it is undeniable how well coached this team has been and how well it's working to serve the main purpose of training the youngsters to play the Swans way.

    First Quarter
    The opening minutes were fiercely fought with both sides feeling each other out, the Swans had more of the ball but the Belconnen defence held firm. Down the other end, the Swans back six were under early pressure too due were slick enough with their in-close handballs to run themselves out of trouble. Lewis Roberts-Thomson was moving freely patrolling the 50m arc and he became the first goalkicker when he converted a set shot inside 50, the recipient of a short Dean Towers pass. Tall topup Matthew Vicic kicked the next goal when he anticipated a poorly executed Belconnen pass across the goal face, making no mistake from his set shot 15m out. Tony Armstrong drifted forward and kicked another long set shot, this time thanks to a square up by Gary Rohan.

    Belconnen were struggling to retain possession inside their forward 50, with our three tall defenders Xavier Richards (on Matthew Lokan), Jordan Lockyer and Alex Brown not only beating their individual opponents but working well as a unit to clear the ball from the danger areas. It took a mistake by Richards for Belconnen to get their first major, the tall defender overcommitting to a kick that was always falling short, bouncing pass him at ground level, for Lokan to gather and hand off to Shane Harris in the goal square for an easy finish. Harris then kicked his second, and the goal of the day when he was corralled into the left forward pocket but managed to screw a shot over his shoulder, and despite being the completely wrong angle for a left footer, managed to split the big sticks.

    At the quarter time huddle, coach Jared Crouch was relatively happy with the performance but he wanted his charges to stick to the simple options, believing they had overelaborated on a few occasions. In particular he wanted his ruckman Sam Naismith to hit to the feet of his onballers rather some of the outlandish flicks around the back that he had been attempting. He also stressed the importance of playing the territory game.

    Sydney Swans Reserves 3.1 (19) Belconnen 2.3 (15)

    Second Quarter
    Rohan opened the scoring in the second half, after dropping a tough high ball looking into the sun, some smart handballs from Brandon Jack and Lloyd Perris allowed Rohan enough time to attempt an outside of the boot shot successfully. Harris hit back yet again for the Magpies with a smart crumbing job from a Richards spoil. The Swans pushed their lead back out to 15 points from consecutive set shots. The first was awarded to Tim Membrey, thanks to a fine low, direct Tony Armstrong pass after Naismith had been infringed at the boundary throw-in. The second was to Jake Lloyd, who had marked unopposed right on 50m arc after Daniel Robinson had been awarded a contentious holding the ball free kick. Topup Jack Hiscox then finished off a brilliant chain of handballs involving speedsters Yarran Jaffer-Williams, Matthew Spinks and Jack with a 40m snap. The Swans were then clearly in the ascendancy but failed to fully captalise on their dominance, kicking 5 behinds to end the quarter - 3 to Membrey and 1 each to Towers and Robinson. All but one were set shots and the Swans would go into the main break hoping their wastefulness wouldn't allow the Magpies back into game in the second half.

    Sydney Swans Reserves 7.6 (48) Belconnen 3.5 (23)

    Third Quarter
    LRT moved slightly further up the ground, starting the centre bounces on the wing slightly forward of centre, a position Swans fans would recognise as the Jesse White spot. Membrey made amends for his earlier misses by hooking home from 35m after LRT had cleanly collected a stray Thomas Head set shot. The Swans continued to comfortably deal the Belconnen forays forward, with their long bombing and wayward kicking playing right into the hands of our defenders, in particular Richards who read the fall of the incoming ball well. The Magpies may have had a few entries during this quarter, but the Swans backmen were quick to deal with the danger and managed to rush 5 behinds as a result.

    Jack kicked his first goal of the day after Head's pack-crashing leap from Perris' speculative high ball brought the ball to ground, allowing Rohan to gather with clean hands and feed BJ for a clear shot on his left. Towers provided the mark of the day highlight with an early leap, sit on Rohan's shoulders but fell into the classic trap of playing on with the adrenaline coursing through his veins and was easily tackled and pinged for HTB. Harris continued to keep his team in the hunt, with his fourth goal resulting from a long lead and mark deep in the left forward pocket. Robinson kicked an important goal late in the quarter after a smart extraction by Spinks for the Swans to hold a commanding 34 point lead going into the last quarter.

    Crouch again was calm and collected in the huddle, allowing his line coaches to address their respective groups while he considered the matchups with his assistants, including George Stone. He singled out topup Stephen Wray for special praise for his job on Harris, even though the small forward had kicked 4 goals up to that point, Wray was still instrumental in preventing Harris from adding more to that total. He re-iterated the need to keep going and play out the match in the same committed manner they had shown in the match so far.

    Rohan had one of his calves iced at three quarter time and although he was moving around during the huddle, he didn't play any more part in the match.

    Sydney Swans Reserves 10.8 (68) Belconnen 4.10 (34)

    Fourth Quarter
    Andrew Dess kicked the all-important goal to give Belco a sniff, a rare mark deep in the forward 50 and smart conversion from an acute angle. However, goals to Towers, LRT's second from a set shot and Membrey's 3rd quickly put an end to the locals' hopes. LRT's subsequent withdrawal from the game was more likely co-incidental than planned, but that seemed to signify that the fight was up and both teams were content to play out the game with the result beyond doubt. Head added his name to the growing list of goalkickers with his trademark big leap. Naismith also joined the party after Towers' snap towards goal was partially smothered with the Sherrin fortuitously bouncing into his hands allowing Naismith to run unimpeded into the open goal square. Dess added another goal as a small consolation.

    Sydney Swans Reserves 15.11 (101) Belconnen 6.13 (49)

    Swans Goals: Membrey 3, Roberts-Thomson 2, Rohan, Armstrong, Towers, Robinson, Jack, Naismith, Lloyd, Vicic, Hiscox, Head
    Belconnen Goals: Harris 4, Dess 2

    Swans Best: Armstrong, Lamb, Lockyer, Lloyd, Towers, Wray
    Belconnen Best: Curtis, A.Bennett, Harper, Jansen, Collins, Turnbull

    • Tim Membrey (#1) - Played at full forward, a return of three goals, five behinds was a little disappointing given his usual accuracy from set shots. Can tend to drop a few marks that he probably should hang onto, but always chases and tackles well without the ball. Probably lacks the bulk to hold down a key forward post in the seniors, but given how well he moves will be a chance to be a roaming tall target in the mould of ROK of the mid to late 2000s.
    • Jed Lamb (#11) - Loved his drive from the middle, low centre of gravity allows him to power through some tacklers and also his direct kicking to the forwards. He started well, fell into a quiet period in the 2nd quarter, but then came to the fore again in the 2nd half with his physicality. Did a lot of work off the ball as well with his tackling especially effective.
    • Gary Rohan (#16) - Forward line duties, didn't see much of the ball but was clean when he had possession and set up a few goals to go along with his clever goal.
    • Tony Armstrong (#19) - Clearly best on ground with plenty of possessions. When the game was still up for grabs early on, he was cool under pressure and was instrumental in some good clearance work from the back half which was very encouraging to see as he usually tends to struggle with his kicking under pressure. Further up the field, was on the end of many handball receives with his pinpoint kicking a highlight with most deliveries inside 50 resulting in marks. Also, special mention must be given to his strong tackling today, another area of his game that has been noted as a weakness.
    • Dean Towers (#22) - LRT's presence released him to play a little further up the ground so that he was running into the inside 50 zone rather than leading out of it or was the player delivering said balls into the forward line. Enjoyed the freedom that this role provides and really used his pace on a few occurrences to maximum effect.
    • Jordan Lockyer (#23) - Another commanding performance at CHB, his improvement in the 2nd half of the season has been noticeable. Comfortable in using his body now to out manoeuvre his opponent and take the mark whereas he looked lost in such a role earlier in the year. With the defensive aspects of play under control, he was able to use his good disposal skills becoming one of the Swans' main distributors from the backline.
    • Daniel Robinson (#27) - Spent a lot of time in a run-with role (sharing it with others) on James Bennett rather than a hard tag which allowed him to win his fair share of the ball. Bennett was one of their better players but didn't exert the sort of dominant influence that he is renowned for.
    • Matthew Dick (#28) - Calm presence down back whose neat, controlled kicking style was a good option for the rebounding defence. Provided some run with his pace but ball use especially the handball needs work.
    • Lewis Roberts-Thomson (#30) - Played predominantly as a forward, first half more as CHF and in the second half roamed a little further up the ground. The Hyphen moved freely, took many solid marks, his two set shots from wide angles were accurate and he set up a few more scores with smart handballs.
    • Brandon Jack (#33) - A bit like Rohan, didn't rack up many disposals but was potent when he did with a few scoring opportunities resulting from his involvement. I especially liked the way he put his body on the line a few times despite a much bigger and sturdier Magpie coming at him from the opposite direction.
    • Sam Naismith (#35) - Haven't seen too much of Naismith so I'm still learning things about him. From this game I learnt he's an athletic specimen for his size, he covers the ground reasonably well and has good instincts. He is still of course very raw, having missed a lot of the season and not played much football prior to that. I'm waiting in anticipation to see what he can do with an extended run in the team.
    • Alex Brown (#36) - Utility defender, sometimes covered a tall sometimes a smaller forward, worked well with the other defenders to clear the ball when in danger.
    • Xavier Richards (#42) - Played mainly on the dangerous Matty Lokan, and used his strengths very well. Lokan is not as tall as Richards' usual opponents, but is a smart, strong player who knows how to position his body to gain an advantage. Richards was smart though in not engaging in wrestling contests, but knowing he had good closing speed and good anticipation skills, played a little off Lokan but close enough to spoil any incoming balls.
    • Jake Lloyd (#44) - Not as prolific as he has been but with his constant running up and down the field collected enough possessions to be an influential player in the game. His goal was kicked right on the 50m arc and easily sailed pass the goal umpire's head.

    • Lloyd Perris (#47) - Stunning game from the youngster, if you had rocked up to the match without any idea of which players were on our list and which were topups, you would definitely have classed Perris in the former category. That is to say he played with a maturity that belies his young age. He found plenty of the ball running through the midfield, but more importantly his ball use was very classy. He had the vision, calmness and skill to clear the ball effectively under pressure but also not afraid to put his body over the line when required. Being one of our last (THE last?) NSW scholarship holder we have the opportunity to draft him on the main list with one of our last picks in the draft and I have little doubt that the Swans will do so.
    • Yarran Jaffer-Williams (#48) - Outside runner whose pace allowed him to break clear with the ball from congested areas. Kicking skills are okay but decision making can improve.
    • Matthew Spinks (#49) - Lively type who consistently puts in good efforts and is a hard gut runner.
    • Stephen Wray (#50) - Great role as a shutdown small defender on Harris, who despite kicking 4 goals had to fight hard and had some luck in some of those goals.
    • Matthew Vicic (#51) - Smart play to intercept the Belconnen kick for his goal but probably didn't see much game time until late in the game when players were being rested.
    • Jack Hiscox (#52) - Half-forward / wing role, tidy player who won some outside ball. Snapped a skilful goal from 40m out.
    • Thomas Head (#59) - Another solid display from Head whose giant leap and strong hands have made him been a favourite topup of mine. Very athletic type who relieved Naismith in the ruck.
    • Jordan Weir (#60) - After playing the majority of the year in defence, found himself in the forward line for this game but unfortunately didn't have much of an impact.

    A little disappointed and surprised that Doug Hadden (#54) was one of the topups left out as the 3 emergencies having played well in previous games.

  10. #58
    Thank you for that comprehensive report, Mr Ugg, and for all your efforts this year. It's really appreciated by those of us unlucky enough not to see more of the reserves live. Swans have had a great run recycling players from other teams but there's a certain satisfaction in nurturing your own talent.

  11. #59
    Senior Player Swansongster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by swanwolf View Post
    Thank you for that comprehensive report, Mr Ugg, and for all your efforts this year. It's really appreciated by those of us unlucky enough not to see more of the reserves live. Swans have had a great run recycling players from other teams but there's a certain satisfaction in nurturing your own talent.
    +1

    Ugg = All Australian Swans fan correspondent.

  12. #60
    Veterans List Ludwig's Avatar
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    +2 Ugg

    The Herald Sun should sack Robinson and Ralph and hire you. Fantastic stuff.

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