Apology would have been better; I really like Mike Pyke - lovely guy, hope he does well next year; Tanya Paolucci does a great job.
Apology would have been better; I really like Mike Pyke - lovely guy, hope he does well next year; Tanya Paolucci does a great job.
I was going to start a thread earlier about how I love Myke Pike (even more after than interview) but I'll just add my comments here.
To me he is the ultra-professional. He knows he doesn't have to be the best player in the team but that he has a very specific role. When Mummy was at the club he realised he needed to make himself dangerous in the forward line, and worked hard to become one of the best contested marks in the competition. Then Mummy left and he was suddenly the number one ruckman. His time spent working on being a forward largely became wasted, but he set about being the best ruckman he can for the team. Yet he knows he can do more, and has identified one specific thing to work on - more around the ground. His performance against Sandilands in the QF was one of the highlights of the year for me. Rather than panic at being up against Sandi, he just worked on doing what he could to negate Sandi's influence at the ruck contests but with the acceptance he would be beaten in the stoppages over the course of the game. So he made himself dangerous in other ways, and was the top ranking ruckman (in terms of overall contribution to the game) in that round of football.
I really think we made a huge error letting Mummy go in the sense that it left Pyke to be no 1 ruckman. Not doubting his abilities as No 1 ruck, but by gee he is a far more dangerous player when he is the second ruck in the team and can use his usefulness going forward. Hopefully Naismith will develop enough to really push for us to play 2 ruckman, thus allowing Pyke to spend more time doing his work around the ground without have to puff around the ground as the lead ruckman (with a little help from Tippett and Reid of course).
Kudos to Pykey - ultimate professional and if I'm there, he will get a huge roar from me next season when he reaches his 100 afl games. Not bad for the worst player in the competition according to a load mouthed fool behind the microphone.
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
I dont want an apology. I want some anger from the swans. Some steely determination to make amends.
I belief that premierships are our God given right and anything less is a failure that will not be tolerated.
Its a nice gesture, but it means nothing if they don't back it up on the park next season.
As much as I think KJ and McVeigh have been great servants of the club, to me, their reputations as leaders took a bit of a hit on Saturday. I think KJ tried very hard to try and lift the team, but McVeigh, for a player of his experience and ability, was completely anonymous on Saturday. If a similar thing was to heaven forbid happen in another big game next season, one of them has to find a way, will a way to lift the boys and get us back into the contest. I guess we've been spoilt in that aspect by recent captains (geodesy, Kirky, Kelly) - but we need these guys to show they can be that sort of leader. As I've said a few times, if the roles had of been reversed, would Luke Hodge have let the disaster unfold like it did - I'd argue he wouldn't.
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
The club and players do not owe me an apology. I posted on FB recently that I was disappointed not devastated by the loss. Having lived through the 70's and early 80's this is a golden era in the life of my support for my team.
I love the Swans regardless of how they play on the field. Sure I will be disppointed at times, but them I am sure my parents have been disppointed at the way I have lived my life at times too.
I can understand the frustration and even anger in some peoples reactions, but I choose not to be like that. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I am moving to the beautiful Torquay in the new year. When you live that close to the best surf beach (Bells Beach) in Australia, not much looks really bad!
Does God believe in Atheists?
What the heck. an apogee, the players are hurting enough, they know they stuffed up, should have seen them come into the GF dinner on Saturday night and I spoke to a couple of them and you could see it in their eyes. Sure we all must be disappointed but for "" sake get off the players backs.
They'd obviously be hurting but talk is cheap. Where was the support for Buddy when Lake tried to dislocate his shoulder? Where was the support for Hanners when Roughead crunched him twice? Why did Reg go back with one arm to spoil rather than get his body behind it? Why did Jetta decide not to chase?
They've taken this discipline and Mr Nice Guys crap too far. We were bullied.
Four Grand Finals in 10 years is a significant achievement and I love this club. We've been very lucky. But putting in your worst performance for 4 months at full strength on the biggest day of the year is going to take a while to get over.
Bloods
"Lockett is the best of all time" - Robert Harvey, Darrel Baldock, Nathan Burke, Kevin Bartlett, Bob Skilton
Bookmarks