Will be interesting to see how we line up in the end on Saturday, interesting changes. Glad to see Thurlow in, a bit surprised to see Melican out, and think COR is a little stiff. Yes he had that brain fart moment last week, but I thought more broadly he did ok.
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
Dawson in, COR out. Can we please leave them both in the side for a run of games whilst nobody is knocking down the door to get in.
The changes look a little odd to me.
My thoughts exactly. I thought we went in too tall in defence in round 1, with Melican, Reg, Aliir and Rampe also able to play tall. We now seem to have gone the other way, with both Melican and Reg out of the side. Presumably they're banking on Thurlow being able to play tall. As with others on here, I'd rather pick him to play medium to release Mills.Originally Posted by 707
And now up forward we have Reid, McCartin and Buddy, plus Blakey. I know Longmire hinted at Blakey playing up the ground, but he's still tall. And Dawson can play tall in a forward role too.
But mostly I share the frustration at seeing COR and Dawson in and out of the side, a continuation of what we saw at the tail end of last season too. Get them in - one at a time if necessary - give them time to settle in the team, and if they are deficient in some way after a decent period, send them back to the NEAFL for a block of time with specific things to focus on.
Great that McCartin is back. It means we finally have three tall forwards, so Heeney can play more in the middle. Ronke to crumb, Dawson and Blakey to deliver it. Also, Tom has that attack on the ball. Carlton look a little vulnerable down back, too.
Not convinced by O'Riordan, especially under pressure. Happy for Thurlow to come in.
I like Melican, so I'm a bit bummed he's out, although happy for the coaches to back their judgement.
still no one to give sinclair a spell. please don't use ali leave back line alone. last year we had fox and towers to just give a little relief.
I didn't get to see the game last week (Lucky me), was COR that bad that he is dropped after one game??
Looking at the changes there are 2 like-for-like moves:
Thurlow for O'Riordan in defence and Dawson for Clarke as a winger/half-forward (Clarke spent a lot of time up forward in the last quarter).
The other changes, McCartin for Melican will require a reshuffle and there are 2 main possibilities.
The first one and the simpler of the two would be for McCartin to replace Reid as a key forward and Reid to shift to key defence. However I think this is unlikely as I don't recall Reid ever starting a match as a key defender, he's only been thrown in there due to circumstances (mainly because of injury) and even then it's as rare as hen's teeth. Mills was mentioned last week by Longmire as playing as a tall defender (on Lynch IIRC) and I expect him to continue with this role most likely on McGovern who is not as big as Carlton's other key forwards Casboult or McKay.
The second option would be for McCartin to go into attack, form a tall trio with Franklin and Reid, and push Blakey to the wing. Zak Jones would then shift from the midfield to defence where he could offer much needed run and carry on a more permanent basis. Blakey's already shown some smarts with some of his delivery into the forward line in the first 2 rounds. Therefore I feel he has more value in further up the ground rather than as a deep lying forward where his underdeveloped physique cannot at this stage match it with key experienced AFL defenders.
My team breakdown
Backs: Rampe Aliir Mills Lloyd McVeigh Thurlow Jones
Mids: Sinclair Kennedy Parker Hewett Papley Florent Blakey Cunningham
Forwards: Franklin Reid McCartin Heeney Hayward Ronke Dawson
Heeney and Dawson can rotate through the midfield to swap with the likes of Parker and Papley.
I miss D.Towers. Was a terrier.
I'm a bit surprised at the number of changes. Usually, the Swans make minimal changes unless forced to by injury. Maybe Horse is experimenting a bit as the form in general has been patchy in the last 2 weeks.
A bit surprised they dropped Melican and I thought COR deserved another week. I'm happy with the ins though.
I go into this game with low expectations based on what I've seen in Rounds 1 and 2. Unless the basic skill levels rise I can see the defence being under seige again.
I am a bit surprised also with a couple of the selections. Melican is a bit stiff as we don't have 2 talls in our defence now unless Reid goes back - he was very quiet last week.
Who will give Sinkers a spell - Dawson maybe.
I am also not very confident with this game as we are struggling to kick enough goals to put ourselves in a winning position, and our defence is not locking down the opposition.
Reckon you're spot on with option 2.
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I share your low expectations. We've got a handful of elite players, a band of reasonably reliable solid players, and a bulk of unproven players.
I see this year as working out who we can rely on going forward.
And a coach who doesn't seem to utilise them to the best of their abilities
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