Page 15 of 16 FirstFirst ... 5111213141516 LastLast
Results 169 to 180 of 192

Thread: #AFL Round 4, Sydney Swans v Bulldogs, 4:35pm 14/04 Etihad @sydneyswans #AFLDogsSwans

  1. #169
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    As we all know, Hanners injured his knee quite badly at the end of the third quarter of the 2016 Grand Final. He had a bit of a rest in the off-season but then got back into his running in a big way and blitzed the early pre-season, which, according to Longmire (at the recent AGM) was the worst thing he could have done (with the benefit of hindsight) because he then developed groin soreness. I thought he worked his way through 2017 pretty well considering. He changed his game to play a bit more on the inside, presumably because he could no longer deliver the outside gut running that we'd come to expect from him. 2017 wasn't his most dominant year but he was still a pretty good contributor after a slow start.

    As we also all know, he had no pre-season leading into 2018 so it's hardly surprising that he's not firing on all cylinders. He's going just OK but the idea that he's lucky to be getting a game is daft. We have no-one running around in our NEAFL midfield who could come in and perform even at his currently reduced level of output.

    He may well be past his best but we can only know that in hindsight. He's still in the peak years, age wise, and there have been plenty of players whose form line has stuttered, coinciding with a period of niggling injuries, only to regain their mojo and have more excellent seasons.

    I'm also a bit baffled by the certainty implied within the comment "JPK's demise". He's started the season slowly but he did so last year too. By the end of the year, he was deemed by many to be the unluckiest player to miss the AA team and he polled 23 votes in the Brownlow, finishing 4th in the count. In neither year was he dreadful at the start - he was just down a bit on his normal levels of production.

    Every player eventually declines but, as with Hanners, we can't know whether he's fallen off a cliff until we have the benefit of hindsight. It would seem unlikely that a player still close to the prime age (especially for a solidly built inside mid) would "demise" (I don't know what the correct verb form is) over such a short interval. Maybe we should wait a bit before condemning him to the scrap heap.

  2. #170
    Veterans List
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Crowland :-(
    Posts
    6,096
    It's never as bad as it looks and it's never as good as it looks is an old adage that posters should remember before hitting the keyboard.

  3. #171
    pr. dim-melb; m not f
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Central Coast NSW, Costa Lantana
    Posts
    6,889
    Hanners has been offered a $1,500 fine for starting a melee. Underperforming? Nah,he's extending his skills.
    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)

  4. #172
    RWOs Black Sheep AnnieH's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    At Goodesy's Place
    Posts
    11,332
    Quote Originally Posted by crackedactor View Post
    Just on Dan Hannebery. Article in today's Herald Sun suggesting he is past his best and is lucky to get a game. Combined with JPKs demise, it looks like we need to get a couple of new mid-fielders.
    Don't forget Hanners has been playing for 9-10 years... we got him when he was still in nappies.
    Don't give up on Hanners yet... he'll get his groove back.
    Wild speculation, unsubstantiated rumours, silly jokes and opposition delight in another's failures is what makes an internet forum fun.
    Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones who let in the light.

  5. #173
    Can you feel it? Site Admin ugg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Chucked into the ruck
    Posts
    15,929
    Quote Originally Posted by dimelb View Post
    Hanners has been offered a $1,500 fine for starting a melee. Underperforming? Nah,he's extending his skills.
    Hanners would feel harshly done by. He engaged in a bit of push and shove with Johannisen before the bounce, but it's something you would see in many AFL games. The fact that it turned into a melee was due to the Dogs wanting to stick up for Johannisen when they failed to do so at our last meeting. No fines for the other participants in the melee as far as I can tell.

  6. #174
    Goes up to 11
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    3,326
    Any AFL Fantasy player worth their salt knows that JPK always starts the year relatively slowly (by his lofty standards) and then roars home as the season progresses. No cause for alarm yet..

  7. #175
    Wow. Can't believe a minority are willing to ride off a couple of our best mids. Hanners and Joey are nowhere near past it. They will fight their way back into form too. True champions of the AFL and our club.

  8. #176
    Senior Player
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,567
    Quote Originally Posted by Ludwig View Post
    Hanners doesn't quite have that zip in his game since the groin problems of last year. It may take him a while to get back to that massive work rate that makes him such a good player. He's only 27. I think he will do it. Lots of players have sluggish periods due to injury and work themselves back into top form.

    JPK had a rare off game. I certainly wouldn't write him off either.

    The midfield seems to be going through a bit of a makeover with a lot more positional rotations. We see more variation in individual performances form midfielders than before when just a few players dominated the on ball time.

    The team as a whole is not quite right at the moment. The forward line won't be right until Reid gets back. The first thing to work on will be to fortify the defence once Melican and Aliir are both fully fit. And then we'll how that goes and what the possibilities are of releasing Mills into the midfield.
    I just hope he is really over the groin problems.


    Sent from my SM-T805Y using Tapatalk
    We have them where we want them, everything is going according to plan!

  9. #177
    Senior Player
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,567
    Quote Originally Posted by jono2707 View Post
    Any AFL Fantasy player worth their salt knows that JPK always starts the year relatively slowly (by his lofty standards) and then roars home as the season progresses. No cause for alarm yet..
    I also think that he is sharing the load more to allow others, such as Heeney and Papley, time on the ball. It's a good strategy to improve our overall midfield strength.Probably time to give Mills more of a go too.

    Sent from my SM-T805Y using Tapatalk
    We have them where we want them, everything is going according to plan!

  10. #178
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark26 View Post
    Wow. Can't believe a minority are willing to ride off a couple of our best mids. Hanners and Joey are nowhere near past it. They will fight their way back into form too. True champions of the AFL and our club.
    I'm not writing them off, but there is no denying that they are not playing their best (which admittedly is a very high standard). If it's just fitness then they have to play. If it's an injury, then maybe they should be rested so they have a chance to recover properly.

    Unfortunately our draw is pretty tough, with no games against genuine bottom teams until about round 9, so I think it will be hard for them to rest if they are carrying a niggle.

  11. #179
    Quote Originally Posted by bloodspirit View Post
    I agree with Ludwig that our defence this year is a concern. Normally we are just about best in the comp when it comes to points against - so far this season we are mid-table in this regard. Ahead of Carlton and Brisbane but way behind GWS. Even the Suns have allowed fewer scores and even after being thrashed this weekend. Interestingly it is North who have conceded the fewest points so far this season - and by a long way!
    Remember that North played in torrential rain in week one, and have also played Carlton & St Kilda - so no surprises that they haven't had many points scored against them.

    Quote Originally Posted by ugg View Post
    MRP
    Lachlan Hunter can accept 1 game, rough conduct on T Papley.
    I thought this one was borderline, but glad to see he got a week. It was a very poor act - completely unnecessary and unsportsmanlike.

    Quote Originally Posted by Billericay View Post
    Interesting article by Nick Dal Santo, which a few on here would agree with

    Sydney is "vanilla, but it�s a damn good vanilla,� says Dal Santo
    I love vanilla. It's my favourite flavour. You know that person at the gelato shop shouting "Vanilla is a flavour too!" - that's me.

  12. #180
    It's Goodes to cheer!! ScottH's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Master of the house, keeper of the zoo
    Posts
    23,665
    Blog Entries
    2
    Did anyone see Papley run 50+ metres from the fwd area into the centre square during a stoppage in the first qtr?
    Snared the ball from the tap, unmarked ran out of the pack easily with the ball. didn't result in the goal but it was a great bit of individual effort from Papley.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO