NEAFL discussion thread

[ugg]

What was a relatively close contest for 3 quarters was completely turned on its head in the last when the Swans completely dominated the final quarter with an exciting brand of running footy that the Sharks couldn't match. There were numerous marks inside 50 pretty much uncontested as a result of the Southport players unable to keep up with their opponent.

Cameron was excellent today in the ruck, both at the taps and around the ground. A previous criticism of his play has been that his tapwork was ordinary at best. However today he totally outpointed Fraser Thurlow, a former Essendon rookie lister who only a few weeks ago Paul Roos said should still be on an AFL list. Most of Cameron's taps were well directed to his teammates' advantage - in particular the main onballers for the day Fox, Robinson, Newman and Towers. More on them later. Cameron's marking has been very solid for a month now and he was doing it on both ends of the ground, in the forward 50 as well as intercepting helping out the defence. His improvement this year has been really impressive and I wonder how much the arrival of Cox has contributed to his and Sinclair's step up this year. He probably deserves a game, but I can't see the Swans adding another tall forward to the mix at the moment and McCartin's superior aerobic ability gives him the edge over Cameron. Perhaps the only chance he'll have is as a direct replacement for Sinclair, either enforced or if the Swans think it would be wise not to burn Sinclair out.

Next best I have Robinson just over Newman. Robinson's a hard worker whose ability to keep non-stop running allows him to accumulate a big tally of possessions over all quarters. Our best inside midfielder today following up his BOG against Aspley two weeks ago. Deceptively very effective delivering the ball inside 50. Newman played mostly wing today with some stints inside. Can get a little ahead of himself in this level and bite off more than he can chew, but again hard to fault him in another excellent performance. Encouraging for our depth that Newman can't make our 4 emergencies at the moment, but must be frustrating for him as he is consistently playing well at this level.

Fox again reverts to a role he doesn't take on at senior level - inside midfielder. His big frame and surprising turn of speed meant he was very effective in this role, getting his hands to the ball first on many occasions. His ball use wasn't as good as Robinson's though so he was a little wasteful kicking inside 50.

O'Riordan was probably our best in the first half, fell away a little in the third but finished off strongly in the last. Along with Marsh, he's the main director of traffic from the backline and also like Marsh not afraid to venture further up the ground. Kicking and ball use is as good as any in the current NEAFL team. Marsh not as prolific as he was last week against the Giants, spending the whole game in defence. Towers split time between midfield and forward and while his play was on the whole generally pretty solid, it wasn't to the level of the other fringe senior players. Styles had his best game playing as a winger, his quiet start to the season probably due to being played out of position as an inside midfielder.

Aliir had an okay game, did some very nice things in terms of intercepting marks but then would blot his copybook by dropping easy marks and creating chaos in our backline. Was used in an interesting defence/ruck role that Majak Daw is currently occupying for the Kangaroos at the moment. Southport had a very short forward line with only one tall forward, who was usually handled by Maibaum meaning Aliir was marking a man much much shorter than himself. Maibaum solid again but with only 29 inside 50s to defend, didn't have much to do.

Rose spent the majority of the game as a half forward. He kicked 3 of his 4 goals in the last quarter. He can be selfish at times with his propensity to go for goal, but he definitely has the capability to pull some of those tough shots off evidenced by 2 of his goals today. Amartey matched Rose with 4 goals, and also had 3 in the last. I like his contested marking around the ground where if he can a run and jump at the ball, he is a good chance of marking the ball. Not so good when he has to engage the defender in a wrestling contest.

Ling just like he did for most of last week played as a half forward flanker. Kicked one goal in the first but to be honest didn't do much else. At the moment he is struggling to win his own ball or get in a position to receive the ball from a teammate. 9 disposals is a disappointing return.

From the topups, of course most of the attention will be focused on Blakey. He kicked 2 goals, one from being held off the ball in the marking contest (thanks Alastair!) and the other an easy run to an empty goalsquare after the Swans fully utilised the overlap. It won't show up on the stats sheet, but it's the way he moves, the decisions he makes, the way he positions himself that gives you that impression that he has a real footy brain, that certain je ne sais quoi. However, he is very slight at the moment and will need to bulk up considerably.

My best topup was actually the late replacement for Stoddart in number 53 Connor Flanagan. Playing as a small forward who worked up the ground, he is a nice kick of the football. #50 Sam Wicks kicked his 2 goals in about 1 minute, both well taken but had limited influence on the game other than that. #56 Joey Reinhard solid outing as a medium defender alongside #58 Mitchell Rogers

Swans 5.4 7.4 10.8 20,11 (131)
Sharks 4.0 5.3 6.6 6.7 (43)

Goals: Amartey 4 Rose 4 Blakey 2 Cameron 2 Newman 2 Wicks 2 Aliir Ling Shumack Stern
Best: Cameron Newman Robinson Fox Marsh

My best: Cameron Robinson Newman Fox O'Riordan

[troyjones2525]

Ugg what are your thoughts on Ling? I know I may be going a little early but to me he is showing all the hallmarks of being another first round pick bust from us!

I've watched the few NEAFL streams that we've had so far this year and to me he has shown basically nothing that makes me think, geez this kid will be a good player in a few years! I know with kids you will get inconsistency but you usually will get a glimpse hear and there of their talent, like we did last year with Florent and Hayward. Stoddart has shown it, as has McCartin and even big Amerty (even though he needs a LOT of work on his kicking for goal). But Ling, I just don't see it yet and by the sound of todays performance he did nothing to prove me wrong...and there was some good young kids playing senior AFL footy right now taken after him...I really hope I am wrong though!

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[ugg]

He looks like he is lacking confidence at the moment, his kicking is hesitant and doesn�t get to many contests.

They shifted him to tag Aaron Hall in the second half against Gold Coast after a quiet first half and reportedly were happy with that job. Last week he started in defence but finished forward after again struggling to get involved.

I understand the rationale of moving him to positions where he can get more involved but given we drafted him as a line breaking pacy half back I�d rather he be played there and work through his issues in his most natural and favoured position.

Still it�s very early days and it�s easy to dismiss a player based on their first few games. For example Sam Murray was awful in his first few games but his improvement was noticeable the more he played.

[ugg]

Sydney upsets ladder leaders Southport with stunning last quarter

[aguy]

I met Kyle McKellar and Connor Flanagan�s families in the stand during the NEAFL game. Great to have a chat with them. And very exciting to see boys playing

[ugg]

[ugg]

First game, first goal for gun @AFLDraft prospect, Nick Blakey! ???? #NEAFL | @sydneyswans | @aflnswact pic.twitter.com/hzKlzZdjbB

— NEAFL (@neaflofficial) May 21, 2018

[ugg]

[chuckie]

On an average the senior team uses 33 players a year, currently we have played 30 players as I don't get to see the reserves play who are the next most likely 3 or 4 players to get a game.
I would have thought Cameron will get a run at some stage mainly cause Sinclair will need a spell.
There was rapts on Ling from the coaches earlier in the year but reading the recent reports on here he may still be a bit off.
Dawson would have been one but I think his year maybe over as far as seniors go due to injuries.
Stoddart is a chance you would think.
With Tippett retired, Naismith, Johnson, Bell, Pink & Brown all injured it doesn't leave many to choose from, unless they go back to Rose or Foote.

[liz]

On an average the senior team uses 33 players a year, currently we have played 30 players as I don't get to see the reserves play who are the next most likely 3 or 4 players to get a game.
I would have thought Cameron will get a run at some stage mainly cause Sinclair will need a spell.
There was rapts on Ling from the coaches earlier in the year but reading the recent reports on here he may still be a bit off.
Dawson would have been one but I think his year maybe over as far as seniors go due to injuries.
Stoddart is a chance you would think.
With Tippett retired, Naismith, Johnson, Bell, Pink & Brown all injured it doesn't leave many to choose from, unless they go back to Rose or Foote.

Based on their performances on Saturday, I'd have been happy to have any of Fox, Newman, Robinson and Marsh in the senior side. I know that doesn't exactly answer your question, given they are all in the 30 who have already played this year, but they'd be next in line to come into the side, along with Aliir, who was also reasonable.

Cameron will surely debut this year at some point, unless injury again intervenes. His last month has been terrific. I don't know how long the coaches will give McCartin in the senior side - they seem happy with him thus far but you'd imagine he'll get tired or sore reasonably soon. If/when they decide he's had enough for now, I think there's a good chance they'll give Cameron a go. He has the advantage of being able to give Sinclair a bit of a break, and maybe the opportunity to spend some time forward.

Stoddart and O'Riordan are in with a shout, probably O'Riordan ahead of Stoddart, just based on size. Colin has been up there with the senior-experienced players in the last few weeks.

Ling looks a way off now but it is early days for him. I thought he was pretty good early in the game on Saturday but didn't do much as the game progressed. He missed a chunk of the late-preseason with injury so is playing catch-up. He's done nothing yet to suggest he'll debut this year but things can change.

I don't think Dawson has necessarily blown his senior chances for the season. We'll have to wait and see when he finally gets back but if he is able to pick up where he left off last year, he must be a chance of getting a game or two, depending on injuries to the rest of the squad.

Maibaum has been going OK too. I think he's improved quite a bit since last year. But he's unlikely to get a senior game unless we suffer multiple injuries to our existing defenders.

So, to answer your question, Cameron and COR are probably the two most likely of those yet to play senior football this year.

[barracuda]

I thought Robinson had a pretty good senior game a couple of weeks ago with 20 or so touches. He backed that up with 40 in the neafl. I think he would be a good senior player but more in the midfield.

[chuckie]

Thanks Liz