Changes for Rnd 21 V St Kilda.

[wolftone57]

The only 'niche' (is that a crevice if you are a ROK?) could fill would be ably filled by either Mitchel or Jones, the inside midfleider role.
If, and I hope it won't happen, only if Bird or Kennedy go down Pebbles could step into that position. If it was for finals game would you prefer Pebbles, Mitchell or Jones? In that situation I think I would prefer the experience of R'Ok in over the youth of Mitchell/Jones.
Otherwise McGlynn could move into the middle and bring in another crumbing/defensive/attacking forward?

It is pretty obvious you haven't watched Jones. Her plays as a small back like Rhyce or Smithy. He is not a mid. You are getting confused there. if Bird or kennedy go down you also have the luxury of having a proven finals player who can play both back & mids in Biggs. You could also look at Hewett. ROK is not up to playing in the mids at AFL level any more. LRT battles to get a kick at NEAFL level and is actually lucky to hold his place. Sad!

Have you seen any footy this year? Sorry for this but Benny has played in the mids all year. He is no longer a small forward he is a mid/foerward. This is something we are doing with al our small/med mids and forwards. They haver to be flexible. Benny plays more time mid than forward. He has been a wonderful mid this year and looks like getting All Australian selection.

[liz]

It is pretty obvious you haven't watched Jones. Her plays as a small back like Rhyce or Smithy. He is not a mid.

Not in the games I've seen. He's played as a small defender. And he's played as a midfielder. He played as both at U18 Championship level and at TAC Cup level last year. He might start off at senior level earmarked as a small defender but I doubt the club has pigeonholed him into a specific career-spanning role yet.

[wolftone57]

Not in the games I've seen. He's played as a small defender. And he's played as a midfielder. He played as both at U18 Championship level and at TAC Cup level last year. He might start off at senior level earmarked as a small defender but I doubt the club has pigeonholed him into a specific career-spanning role yet.

In the games I've seen he has played as a small defender. He has spent a few games in the mids but not many. first year at the club. We generally like players to be very well trained in our mid set ups before even getting a game at Senior level in the mids. He isn't! Simple because he hasn't played enough there to be well versed in the mids. Almost all his games have been in the defence for the Twos. He might have played one or two games in the mids or some part games. When they want to move him to the mids he will play not just a lot of time there he will play there all the time. Marsh back, Biggs from wing to back, Harry from wing to back to forward, BJ from wing to forward, Hewett inside mid to outside mid to learn. They get put in positions to learn what is expected and if they excel they are retained there, Biggs is a good example. Jones has been seen as a really goof option in defence and he was rewarded for playing really well with 3 AFL games. Next year if Rhyce retires he will probably move into his spot.

[RogueSwan]

It is pretty obvious you haven't watched Jones. Her plays as a small back like Rhyce or Smithy. He is not a mid. You are getting confused there. if Bird or kennedy go down you also have the luxury of having a proven finals player who can play both back & mids in Biggs. You could also look at Hewett. ROK is not up to playing in the mids at AFL level any more. LRT battles to get a kick at NEAFL level and is actually lucky to hold his place. Sad!

Have you seen any footy this year? Sorry for this but Benny has played in the mids all year. He is no longer a small forward he is a mid/foerward. This is something we are doing with al our small/med mids and forwards. They haver to be flexible. Benny plays more time mid than forward. He has been a wonderful mid this year and looks like getting All Australian selection.

Yeah, okay Jones is a defender with midfielder possibilities. I suppose I just have difficulty not picturing him charging into packs, around the ground, to get the ball out.
Similarly, I still see Ben in that forward role with rotations through the mids, probably because Harry, who I am assuming took his small fwd role, does not stand out as much as Ben used to. Sure Ben follows the pack around the ground but I still think a lot his more obvious impact is still forward of centre.
BTW I have seen the footy this year, I also have most games on recorded too. I just don't see everything the same way you do.

[Ludwig]

With the finals looming, it seems far more important to give priority to players outside the best 22 that have a more realistic shot at playing finals than ROK, e.g., Mitchell, Laidler, Jones, Biggs and Towers.

Horse is just soooooo sentimental.

[Melbourne_Blood]

It was good to see Goodesy breaking the lines in a few passages of play on Saturday. I thought he looked better than he has for a while for most of the game, although others said he looked sore in the last qtr which I must have missed. I agree it Would be nice to see ROK get a farewell game at the SCG

[ernie koala]

Swans won't rest on their laurels as finals approach - AFL.com.au

A predictable Horse response. So all conjecture of resting sore players goes out the window....

As aardvark predicts, so do I...

IN : Smith

OUT : Laidler

[liz]

Swans won't rest on their laurels as finals approach - AFL.com.au

A predictable Horse response. So all conjecture of resting sore players goes out the window....

As aardvark predicts, so do I...

IN : Smith

OUT : Laidler

Nothing if not boring and predictable is our Horse. Must be a nightmare for the journos to interview. You could listen to two dozen of his interviews - pre match, post match, midway through the week - and he says exactly the same thing. When we lose, we just weren't good enough. When we win, lots of players played their roles, which was pleasing.

It must be far more fun to interview Malthouse or one of the Scott brothers, who always manage to find something other than their teams to blame for ordinary performances.

[The Big Cat]

Nothing if not boring and predictable is our Horse.

Agree entirely Liz. Just add "we need to continue to improve". "It's a relentless competition". etc etc.

Perhaps more predictable is the young bloke who does the after match interviews in the rooms "How important was it to kick the first four goals?" "How important was it to stop Gary Ablett from having an impact?" "How important was it to get a team performance" "How important was it to feel you were over your injuries?" How important was it to score more goals than the opposition?" "How important was it to our finals chances to keep winning" "How important was it to my question to ask how important was it ....."

[ShockOfHair]

Agree entirely Liz. Just add "we need to continue to improve". "It's a relentless competition". etc etc.

Perhaps more predictable is the young bloke who does the after match interviews in the rooms "How important was it to kick the first four goals?" "How important was it to stop Gary Ablett from having an impact?" "How important was it to get a team performance" "How important was it to feel you were over your injuries?" How important was it to score more goals than the opposition?" "How important was it to our finals chances to keep winning" "How important was it to my question to ask how important was it ....."

The 'how pleasing' question is just as dense. 'How pleased are you at winning your fourth grand final in a row?'

I do like Horse's deadbat to all the questions. He even managed to make his rejection of Eddie's job offer sound boring. It was probably a hilariously incendiary conversation, but Horse made it sound like as interesting as a wet weekend at the beach shack.

[Ludwig]

One thing I would like to see is both Cunningham and Lloyd in the 21 this week. Both had good games on Saturday. Harry looked confident all game and is looking as if he will develop into a top shelf player. Lloyd had 8 possession in 12 minutes and was very composed for such an important game. That sealer goal would have been a big confidence builder and it would be good to reward him with a full game.

[liz]

One thing I would like to see is both Cunningham and Lloyd in the 21 this week. Both had good games on Saturday. Harry looked confident all game and is looking as if he will develop into a top shelf player. Lloyd had 8 possession in 12 minutes and was very composed for such an important game. That sealer goal would have been a big confidence builder and it would be good to reward him with a full game.

That's all very well, but at the expense of who? The other youngish, "fringe" player currently in the team is Rohan but he was good at the weekend too, playing a different (and arguably more pivotal role than either Harry or Lloyd) and is improving every game playing this new role.