Young bloods - incl Harry wins RS nomination

[jetts32]

As I posted in another thread, I don't believe we need to look for new ruckmen as Nankervis looks like he has a great future from what I've seen, and Naismith is narrowly behind him.

I think we've covered a few basis of our ageing stars already and hopefully we can keep a hold of them for future reasons.

Some of these guys could have a couple years left but this is for example.

* ROK - Tom Mitchell/ Parker
* Goodes - Membrey? (hopefully we keep him)
* Shaw - Jones?
* Malceski - Rohan?
* Richards - could be Reid? But I think we need to look for a future CHB.

Otherwise our midfield has quite a few years to go with already developing young bloods like - Mitchell, Parker, Cunningham, Lloyd, Jones, Rohan, B.Jack and Lloyd Perris.
Also Hanners is still very young!

I've also got a feeling Jetta won't stay after his contract, last time he signed I remember he was thinking of going home and only signed a 2 year deal.

Thoughts?

[swansrob]

Reid is taking on the swingman role of LRT - I doubt he'd take over Richards' role. The rest of them look about right, though.
Ressie watchers - who's our next Richards?

[Auntie.Gerald]

Succession......it is looking very good but it is almost to easy to continually look at our talent without being aware of the depth of other clubs.

Nonetheless I just love the knowledge (almost the feeling of contentment) that we have a very deep list in 2014 and it appears that 2015 even if we loose Shaw, Goodes, LRT and ROK that we are looking very healthy. The real test is when the likes of Ted, Kennedy, Buddy and Tippett are out for extended periods via injury but this is the same for all clubs.

Tall Forwards - the icing on the cake is no doubt the combo of Tippett and Buddy taking over from Bradshaw and Goodes. Obviously Bradshaw we didnt get the 3 years we were hoping for which left a real gap and we did very well to get Tippett across for half of 2013 as Reid was/is a young key forward and White and Walsh didnt work out.

Small to Med Forwards - we are very strong with our rotation of goal kicking small forwards that are emerging. Harry, BJ, Rohan, Membrey all are players of the future and could do a very solid job for us now and in the future. Lastly Rohan who we probably all thought would average 35 to 40 goals per season has been a slow development due to injury.

Ruckmen - Pyke, Nanny, Sam, TD are looking like a good rotation of ruckmen and you cant have everything under a salary cap so I am happy with this emerging depth

Midfield - I really like our midfield rotation but I must say that the top 8 teams all have midifelds that can beat you on the day..........it does appear that we have such a plethora of midfield talent across the whole of the AFL.

Play making from the Backs - My guess is that bit by bit we will see Jones, McVeigh, Harry and maybe Rohan take over from Shaw and Mal. It will be an interesting experiment to see what works best. Im not sure if Rohan is being groomed for the long term as a back or simply providing him the best opportunity to play Snrs in 2014 via the backs? Either way it is good insurance for 2014 and felexibility for the team and Gary for 2015. I do like the quick decision making by Jones already and he has the right attitude to bring greater energy to the team which tends to fuel success along with talent and work ethic.

Key Defenders and shut down backs - I really like the emergence of Rampe and Laidler in the shut down / extra defender roles....... I am guessing that Laidler to some extent who is probably finding out a lot about what it takes week in week out. We have AJ still who could come back like Mal and make a very strong contribution to take over from a Ted Richards type role. Young X has potential and just needs time to keep filling out.


My main concern is if the Demons go after John Longmire as their next 5 year coach !!!

[Primmy8]

As a rabid Watcher I would put my faith in X Richards as a future Ted. BUT. I noted that Shane Biggs did all the kicking in and speed work this week, X not being on deck. Built like a bird tho, so I would expect him to be a Mal type. On the fly.

Agree that Sam is going to make his mark as an exceptional swing man.

I am glad someone else has noted Membrey to take over from Goodes, eventually.

I have slated Jones in for ROK. And then there is George and Dan and and. Of course, we have a great reputation of Money Balling, so we'll probably go shopping accordingly.

Just quietly I would love to pick up Robby Grey from Port. Why? Dunno. Just like him.

[Melb Blood Bro]

Harry got the Rising Star nomination for this week. Congrats Harry.

[liz]

Harry got the Rising Star nomination for this week. Congrats Harry.

Good on him. A reward for a consistent season and the adaptability to play different roles rather than any particular stand out game but certainly well deserved.

[Swanny40519]

Congratulations to Harry. A well deserved nomination and I think that he has shown great improvement in fitness and team dedication this year.

I am sorry but I cannot get over the LWS Dorks - they have a congratulation on their AFL web page but with Harry wearing a Giants jumper. From what I recall they overlooked him and the Swans grabbed him up. They don't show respect and they don't deserve any.

[ShockOfHair]

ALso, congrats to the RS people for nominating Harry. I'd forgotten he was even eligible. Good call - he's performed his role every week and a couple of times has been a standout.

[Melb Blood Bro]

Congratulations to Harry. A well deserved nomination and I think that he has shown great improvement in fitness and team dedication this year.

I am sorry but I cannot get over the LWS Dorks - they have a congratulation on their AFL web page but with Harry wearing a Giants jumper. From what I recall they overlooked him and the Swans grabbed him up. They don't show respect and they don't deserve any.

I can't find it. Is there a link?

[dimelb]

I can't find it. Is there a link?

Harry on the rise - sydneyswans.com.au

[707]

I can't find it. Is there a link?

Probably already taken down off the GWS website after they realised how stupid it looks!

[stellation]

Well deserved, really happy for Harry that he got the acknowledgement. He's been an extremely consistent performer all year.

re: GWS acknowledging Harry- they just retweeted a tweet congratulating him. mentioning it was the second from the GWS Academy and included a picture of Harry in a GWS jumper. The original tweet was by the guy who ran the GWS Academy when Harry was there, I really see no issue with that at all and think it was good of their social media/PR people to retweet it and acknowledge it. They have a twitter feed on their website that shows their recent posts, hence it popping up there.

If they posted a story on it as well I really don't see how we could take issue with it- our current argument justifying the Swans Academy is that it's primarily for the development of elite footy skills n NSW- Harry, to me, is almost the perfect story to be able to stick it to Eddie (and whilst not doubting that it's well earnt, you have to wonder whether someone at AFL HQ had a smile on their face about who got the RS nod given the timing).