So on Saturday night the following players were missing
These players are certain contenders for the best 22
Is there anyone in the list below that won’t make the best 22 if all players injury free ?
Swans outs:
1. Franklin
2. Jones
3. Grundy
4. Macca
5. Jack
6. McCartin
7. Smith
8. Menzel
Does Jack get a start? And if Franklin, Menzel and Reid are fit, does McCartin get (anywhere near) a game?
We certainly need a Smith or a Grundy. Both?
To readjust the back half by playing Grundy, Smith and McVeigh is challenging if we are looking at a re-invention of plan coming out of defence. There is a balance to be struck. I didn't follow the game on Saturday, but gather that the defence was a shambles, so the argument may well be that we can't rush the transition to whatever is coming, but I'm a bit worried about the back to the future feel of, say, dropping O'Riordan, Fox, Thurlow . . .
And to be fair, it is hard to know how much to read into a JLT performance, particularly as we gave away a five goal start.
My thoughts
1. Franklin Best 22 obviously
2. Jones Best 22
3. Grundy Not sure what Horse has in mind, but he's in my best 22
4. Macca Yep still best 22 for the moment
5. Jack Wasn't best 22 last year IMO
6. McCartin On the borderline, will play until Buddy gets back (if fit)
7. Smith Think Horse still has him best 22, I'd like to see someone else challenge him for the spot.
8. Menzel Best 22 for mine when fit[/QUOTE]
So at least 6 of the above to included
“Ryan and Jackson are going okay. They’re just getting used to playing with new teammates and in new roles. They’ve worked really hard over the pre-season, we’re getting used to them and they’re getting used to us. But their work rate and commitment have been outstanding,” Longmire said post-match.
I disagree with Horse on Clarke. He has a go but he seems always under pressure when disposing the ball. North supporters were not too disappointed on losing him thinking he turned it over too much. Thurlow does look reasonably polished and could prove useful.
Thurlow looks a good pickup, especially now with Maibaum getting injured. Thurlow adds some reasonable height to our backline and has good skills.
Clarke was a good pick-up, given it cost us almost nothing. He's a poor kick, which puts him at a great disadvantage. But he knows where to go on the footy field, finds the footy, works hard and is very competitive. So he's got a lot of other things going for him. He might find it hard being a top 22 player unless he can tidy up his kicking. At worst, he's a better depth player than Robinson and Towers.
Robbo has us missing the finals. Reckons we're falling off the pace, lack outside run and don't win enough of the 50-50 ball. The more I hear of these type of predictions the more comfortable I feel, as we have good record of proving the doubters wrong!
Outline - Read & annotate without distractions
It’s hard to disagree with a lot of what he says, and I’m not a robbo fan. The potential upside of our youth and a few returning injured players fortunes this year will tell the story of how our season unfolds IMO. If they don’t take that step up in impact and consistency then it’s probably very unlikely we will make the finals. That being said we weren’t far off being top four last year , and beat both the grand finalists ( the premiers twice ) so who really knows how far off the pace we are. Our best footy last year put away some of the top teams and challenged , at least in patches of games, some of the others. Some very ho hum wins and some bitterly disappointing losses ( Gold Coast suns ) against poor opposition maybe stick in the minds more than the great wins we had, perhaps because they seemed to highlight our deficiencies in skill execution and game plan. But those skills and game plan when executed well were good enough to beat the premier twice , grand finalist once and a rampaging demons side. 6-9 for me
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Robbo says of the Swans: "They have stars and they have question marks, the Swans, but those questions will be answered by the coach and how he wants his team to play. More of the same trench footy will get the more of the same trench-footy results, so am expecting a slightly different Swans style this year."
Lets hope he's right and we do see a different style this year.
Bookmarks