#AFL Round 2 Swans vs Crows Fri 29-Mar at SCG #AFLSwansCrows @sydneyswans

[Ralph Dawg]

Why will it be successful parking Stoddart, McInerney or Rowbottom there with an instruction to tackle everything that moves if it isn't parking Ronke and Hayward there?

One of our issues is the lack of effectiveness of tackling all over the ground and, in part, this can be attributed to the number of young, immature bodies we have out there. I'd hoped it would improve a bit this season compared to last but the early evidence is that it hasn't. But I don't think you can expect any of the similarly immature frames of Stoddart, McInerney or Rowbottom to fare any differently.

For more than a decade now, the Swans' ability to effectively apply pressure all over the ground was a major factor in us being a very good side. Our midfield has never been the most skilled, disposal wise, so has always been prone to turnovers, but they were generally able to apply supreme pressure to win the ball back. Now we can't. But throwing another young body into the fray can't be the answer.

It might not be, I agree. But look at the young bodies that have been wheeled out this season so far who have more than held their own against "men". If youngsters have the fight in them, they will take down anyone. I'm just sick of seeing our current small / medium forwards not making their tackles stick and not manning up. Throw Rampe in there then, anything but not convinced by the current batch.

[Agent 86]

15 and 16 disposals for mills and Heeney is just not enough influence on the game for good decision makers

Yes u can argue that less is more if it is high quality but the counter arguement is if inferior players are not using the ball well then let’s make sure our best players have the ball more

Isaac carrying an ankle injury, so full game in middle wasn't an option. He also appeared to be affected by a knock early on. He'll be back.

[ernie koala]

First out for mine is Clarke...He was extremely disappointing, and I'm not referring to his disposal.

I'm referring to his attack on the footy and non existent pressure (0 tackles for the match) ...Sorry to say this, but it was soft.

I would also bring in McCartin for Blakey. Blakey's going to be a top player, but right now we could do with the more physical McCartin.

The 50/50 umpiring decisions might of gone against us, but it was the poor tackling, and at times the lack of pressure around the ground, that cost us the match.

[Blood Fever]

[QUOTE=Velour&Ruffles;770004]Me too. My dog ran from the room.[/QUOTE

LOL

[gazza]

where is the famous bloods pressure, kirk must feel sick watching the fumbles,missed tackles and half paced chasing opponents. they seem to think they are better than reality. I have been a supporter since their Sydney arrival, I saw more desperation and pressure in the years when we couldn't win a game. very concerned about the coaching, stop making excuses and give them all a bollicking

[Hotpotato]

The Eagles won the Granny against the biggest club in Victoria and AFL umpires .
So it can be done.

[Blood Fever]

Horse as expected did not go anywhere near hard enough as he should have. We'll never win a free kick count with weak leadership like this!

Check out @7AFL’s Tweet: 7AFL on Twitter: "John Longmire comments on the umpires.

#AFLSwansCrows… "

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On the other hand, I admire his restraint while intimating that there was a problem. Look at total press conference.

[waswan]

Scrww the coin toss, didnt see it but the way it was fumbled and dropped sounds like she may be picked in our midfield next week


Mills and Heeney in the middle more, not sure how many people in the country need to say it before Longmirr changes

One thing it has made me feel good about is Mitchell going.... Longmire would probably have him on the opposite HFF to Heeney
Still not ready to graduate to the midfield

[Melbourne_Blood]

Swans have kicked 17 goals in 4 hours so far. Have to work on that.

Yet we’ve also twice had 5 goal quarters . We can score , we can score well, but we can’t do it consistently over the course of the game . That’s the issue .


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[Melbourne_Blood]

I think it may have been Liz mentioned earlier but what has happened to our tackling ? They don’t stick them like they used to . Not just the young guys but the veterans too. Parker was a big culprit last night . Kills us .


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[Blood Fever]

Pretty much this. We were just a tiny bit less clean with our ball handling skills than the Crows, just slightly slower at reacting to the drop of the ball, just slightly poorer at getting players to contests, and just slightly worse at missing tackles (or better at missing tackles). It all adds up and saps the confidence somewhat, but we only need a handful of players to improve by a small margin and better football will follow.

The umpiring was frustrating as. It was signalled with a free to Walker in the first quarter for being out of position in a marking contest and flailing in the air, and carried on all night. I have no idea what some of the decisions against us were for but I am sure others will provide an autopsy over the next few days. However, I did just want to comment on a couple of acts by our two oldest and most experienced players out there this evening. They were both among our better contributors tonight, so my criticisms are specific to a few instances.

Firstly, the 100m penalty rule is dumb, but players trying to milk a 100m penalty by veering off course and deliberately running into an opposition player is not on for me. The umpires fell for it in a JLT game but weren't going to fall for McVeigh's attempt tonight. I expect better from him. (It wasn't helped by the fact his mind was clearly not on the next passage of play, given he then proceeded to kick the ball 15m to an unmarked Crows player.

Secondly, I know a lot of players play for frees, and appeal for frees, particularly when they get frustrated. And I'm sure Buddy was as frustrated by the umpiring tonight as we were, sitting in the stands. But twice (at least) he just fell over with minimal contact from an opponent and voraciously appealed for a free kick. You're better than that Lance. Leave that for the mere mortals. (I also don't think I've seen him blatantly duck into a tackle as he did once this evening - and actually fooled the umpire and kicked a wonderful goal from it. Another thing I hope doesn't become a regular part of his game. He's too good to resort to that).

Not only do I not like the poor sportsmanship of incidents like these, it also sends a poor message to the younger players. Team do get shafted by the umpiring from time to time, and sometimes possibly perceive they are getting shafted even when they're not. But there's little they can do to control that. The players just need to move on from decisions that go against them, and play the next passage of the game. A lot has been said about the 2016 GF umpiring but the 2012 umpiring was almost as bad. Yet the team still won the game because they didn't let it affect them. If the leaders of the team don't ignore it, and just keep their concentration on what they can control, how can we expect the younger players to do so.

Having said that, it was wonderful to see Buddy starting to get some touch back. He showed tonight that he's got a lot of quality football left in him yet. He's not quite up to full speed yet, but a few of his plays tonight were exquisite.

Perhaps Buddy and McVeigh, who are only human, acted as they did as because they were in effect of and frustrated by the unequal treatment handed out to them personally and to the team. Neither are saints and there is a limit to turning the other cheek.

[Blood Fever]

As disappointed as I am with the result, I was encouraged by tonight's game. The team was much better than last week and will continue to improve. The Swans have a bunch of youngsters on the team and I was impressed with the energy of Ronke and Blakey, in particular. The mid-field came together in the middle of the game and really took command. Unfortunately, the officiating (again) was uninspired. I do get frustrated at the last few years of the AFL and NRL treating the umpiring like special flowers when they are criticized. They are supposed to be the best in the world at what they do and they were ordinary...they should be held to account. If the Swans continue to progress, I would expect them to have a solid win next week.

I chuckled when I saw the chart of the last six times the Swans went 0-2. Made Finals every time. If this list stays healthy, it will be competitive... there are 20 games to go!

We will be competitive but don't think we should get hung up on making finals this year. Watching development of side, regardless of result, can make this year worthwhile and enjoyable.