..And the Swans are the Premiers...The Ultimate Team...The Ultimate Warriors. They have overcome the highly fancied Hawks in brilliant style. Sydney the 2012 Premiers - Gerard Whately ABC
Here it is Again! - Huddo SEN
I think there are several layers to a few being very critical of our skills - Adam Goodes showed you dont just loose your skills over night........but sometimes there are factors that pressure your skills and at the Swans there has been more pressure on execution via our change of play around the rucks and direct play
in years gone past we saw players like ROK be instructed to kick immediately out of the ruck and that mean bomb it forward without looking - this used to drive me insane as a spectacle, but I understood that a couple of our midfield players were instructed to move the field advantage into areas we could create another contest and the swarm our pressure in a tighter space........we very much liked to do this forward
Then in 2012 we became very good out handling the pressure of the forward press and we developed our counter attack brilliantly coast to coast with Jetta and Jack making Slingshot footy and art form !
In 2013 and more so this season I have noticed us bringing in two significant changes with our style of play
Firstly, we are backing our extraction skills from rucks and looking to play thru hands and feet alot more then seasons past and this has certainly contributed to more pressured disposals and what has stood out to us spectators has been turnovers from players that we have never noticed make errors much at all in the past
Secondly, From the backline we are desperately trying to share our attack and play more direct with our kicks - I have never seen Nick Smith kick as direct ever in season past and in the first 4 games his frequency of kicking direct increased dramatically.......in addition I have also never seen Nick Smith turnover kicks as much as he has in 2014 which was a direct result of Nick kicking direct and into high pressure areas of the field........I only use the protected smooch as an example of the Swans varying up their counter attack and that in the real games this has been a little tricky for our guys to learn to play as direct out of the backline - at training this pre season this was a big focus ie the direct corridor passing
For me the evolution of our football at the Swans is critical and such has been the leadership by our coaches to find players that can match the blue print of success for the 2014 season
My gut feeling is that if we had Tippett, Goodes and Reid in all first 7 games we may not have had to work as hard on our clearances and direct counter attack and our forward structure may have appeared better..........but i strangely feel very comfortable with our season thus far
1. we have had a stack of injuries to key players
2. we have blooded with conviction young outside players, a new Key Forward and Laidler into our "back 6"
3. we have changed Shaws and Roks roles which has been significant..........
4. We have sent a very clear message on our Plan A, Plan B and Plan C to our playing group and opposition
5. we met GWS and North at their best this season and we got taught a serious lesson how deep this competition is this year
6. We had a few midfielders not at their best in their early games and this was a real frustration that probably brought a greater resolve towards our team goals via honest communication
"be tough, only when it gets tough"
Watching the replay. Loving it
I have to admit that did bother me a little in "how hard is it to be moderately informed" manner. I think Tony Shaw at one point was basically suggesting it should be a new permanent role for him.
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I'm not sure that last night's game is a good one to use as an example of where we'd be better off with Mitchell over Derrickx.
oops and
7. no mummy !!! .....playing and training without Mummy is a massive change........I loved having a guy like Mummy in the team when playing any sport........Mummy brought a presence to the midfield and he knew when to lift intensity and when to crack a joke !..........its a big change and you could equally see what he brought to GWS in the first few games this season
"be tough, only when it gets tough"
Regardless of the poor opposition, you cannot deny his effort to work hard and run hard to the spaces. 29 disposals is not bad for someone who previously played just 5 quarters of footy. But did anyone see the last quarter evasion skills of Lloyd in the back pocket? Where he eluded 3 players, almost Gary Ablett like! But I suppose we should not get carried away until he does it against quality opposition.
Good win. Plenty of positives .
Not necessarily a predictor of our next game , though - it was a bit like the Hawks v Saints game : hard to fathom how the commentators were praising the Hawks so effusively when it was , effectively , a two-hour training drill. Friday will be the real thing - a huge test for both sides .
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
Impressed with Bo. All that criticism from R&Wers didn't seem to phase him. He will get better.
Point out to some of you - Mummy has played only two games this season, he is injured. Again. No point in what ifs here.
Yes, noted that Jetts is carrying a bit of muscle density around his back. Not impressed with his team efforts and decision making all the time. Maybe that's why he appears to be a bit slower. However his defensive work has improved a lot. Thank heavens he has lost the Buddy look alike do.
Salute to Macca we can be proud of him.
Impressed with Young Harry. All he needs is experience.
As for JLo. I shake your hand young man.
Rampe is such a reliable player that Reg looked to be having a bit of a rest. Luxury
Really enjoyed Rhyce and Mals' game . they can be such a combo together that it's a pleasure to watch.
Next week is going to be a killer. Cannot feel confident, but ...
I apologise for tooing and froing. New iPad is doing its own thing.
Last edited by Primmy; 4th May 2014 at 05:36 PM.
If you've never jumped from one couch to the other to save yourself from lava then you didn't have a childhood
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