Re Dawson.
The same happened with Newman and others.
Many here (probably rightly) banging on about how wonderful he is and why he isn't getting a go.
Same with Mitchell when he was getting 50 possies in the reserves.
Fair enough, but to me it's pretty simple.
The coaching staff are asking specif things and looking for specific areas of growth.
They have an agenda and when the time is right, Dawson will get a run.
Other players obviously were ticking more boxes. Heeney, Mills, etc all walked in to the side.
So given that the club is not opposed to bringing any playing in when ready, it indicates that Dawson isn't (for whatever reason)
Allir alluded to the same thing recently.
The difference between insanity and genius is measured only in success.
I agree with you, mcs. What I like most about Sinclair is that he gives it his all, whenever I've seen him play. I agree that he's not the best player, but I doubt that he would claim to be, nor would those who selected him. But he was playing well before he was dropped, and from what I gather, he has not sulked about being in the twos, he's continued to work hard. So I'm quite okay with his being brought in for this match.
What I don't understand is Brandon Jack being named as an emergency. Was it the Carlton game I last saw him?, and he simply looked out of his depth. He may well try hard, and perhaps in that way is similar to Sinclair, yet I don't think he's been other than out of his depth whenever he's played in the firsts, except maybe a long time ago in the thrill of his first game or two.
Nor is Sinclair as a replacement for our best marking player / swingman. He's not mobile enough and can't mark. I think putting Sinkers back in the team and playing 2 rucks is a backward step. It shows how desperately short of KPFs we are - admittedly with Reid, Tippo and Cameron all injured.
Naismith is pretty huge, you wonder if he'll add marking to his game as he develops. He's still pretty young.
I'm trying to put a positive spin on Dawson not being an emergency - that they want to give him one more game in the NEAFL to get up to fitness before unleashing him in the AFL next week
It has almost become a Swans Mission Statement!
And on the whole the policy of holding people back until they are really ready has worked pretty well for us. People have mentioned Newman, Mitchell, Aliir and of course Dawson. My favourite example in recent years is waiting for Mitch Morton to be elevated - it was a bit like waiting for Godot. The move with Callum the Large is the fruit of his diligence on the field, where he has shown he can mark (not in Sam's class, but few are), can kick a goal (where Sam had fallen away somewhat) and is prepared to throw his weight around, which may be useful if StK has picked a second ruck. We wish him well - he strikes me as a player who has absorbed a good dose of the Swans spirit, and fair play to him.
He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
I rarely watch the ressies but was there for AJ's return and Sinclair was very good indeed. In Reid's absence and Tippo's injury, he's the obvious replacement.
I like Dawson and think he will burst onto the scene next year but, with the safety of his re-signing in the bag, I like that we are really making him earn his senior spot. He is paying his dues.
And there may well be something there we don't see. I didn't think the NEAFL match last week displayed a team effort and I thought the comments from Barracuda, that the senior NEAFL players were bullying the toppies for possessions, was worrying from a cultural point of view. From his post it sounds like it is something the coaching staff are aware of and I'd expect them to stamp this out asap, it's entirely possible that they want to pull a few of the NEAFL "stars" into line a bit and if (and it is a big if) Dawson is amongst those a bit big for his boots in the Ressies they may just want to hold him back a bit until he pulls his head in.
I reckon our best 22 is this week with two changes - Hayward for Robbo and Reid for Sinclair. Anything else will determined by injury or loss of form. I think that Dawson may have to wait until 2018 but I definitely rate the kid.
If Sinclair can present well and bring the ball to the ground in marking contests for our smalls, he'll be doing his job. He was needed for our fwd structure to take pressure off of Buddy and Rohan
I think we need to keep some game time into Sinclair in case Naismith goes down with injury. One ruckman seems to work fine with Reid or Tippet on call but it's a tough gig and Tippet has shown he needs time to work into form.
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