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Thread: Changes for Round 5 v Tigers

  1. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by troyjones2525 View Post
    The thing is Mills looked like a better pure midfielder than Heeney was bottom age. He accumulated the ball at will! I remember him having a 40 odd possession game as a bottom ager in the NEAFL! I believe it may have been against the Gold Coast, so there was many AFL listed players playing against him.

    The problem is that for whatever reason the coaching staff have not given him an opportunity to play a run of games as a pure centre square inside midfielder which is what he was as a junior. We obviously have Parker and Kennedy who fill that role of strong bodied, mid paced midfielder and the coaching staff clearly favor them to do that job over Mills. There lies the problem! The coaches will not make the move the rest of the Swans and footy world want to see, Mills as a pure midfielder!

    It probably has more to do with the seeming need for him to play as a half back and he has been decent without being outstanding since his debut. It's also probably due to the fact that both Kennedy and Parker can't really play anywhere else (Parker maybe as a forward) and the coaches don't see another option but play them as it would be pretty embarrassing having your Captains in the 2nds!

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    Mills will probably end up in the midfield one day. One of the reasons he isn't, is that I can't remember him ever being beaten by his opponent over the course of a game with the possible exception of the 2016 GF where, like McVeigh that day, he shouldn't have played

  2. #14
    Surely if Mills playing in the mids means less inside 50s raining down on the defence that’s a win-win?

    Out of the centre square: Parker
    Into the centre: Mills

  3. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Markwebbos View Post
    Surely if Mills playing in the mids means less inside 50s raining down on the defence that’s a win-win?

    Out of the centre square: Parker
    Into the centre: Mills
    Yes. And he will probably take a fair few games in their to find his best as he hasn’t played midfield for a few years. Who cares , get him in there , let him find his feet and become the player who was bid on at number 2-3 in the draft. I’m writing this season off, we will finish bottom eight, let’s work on finding the right mix and game style. There will be beltings and hair pulling moments but by seasons end , there may be a spark of hope for the future.


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  4. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Melbourne_Blood View Post
    Yes. And he will probably take a fair few games in their to find his best as he hasn’t played midfield for a few years.


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    He led the onball division in the practice game against GWS (the first one, not the official JLT game) in the absence of the AFLXing Kennedy and Parker, and looked like he'd been playing there all his life, notwithstanding that the GWS midfield wasn't at its best that game. I agree with you that we can't expect him to emulate Cripps from day one, but the sooner he starts, the sooner he can find his feet.

    I can understand why Longmire is loathe to move Heeney full time into the midfield because he is so effective up forward. And I'm not convinced he's a natural onballer either, though he can certainly take his turn in there. With Mills, I'm curious whether they think he's too valuable down back to move, or if they have reservations about his midfield capabilities, based on what he's done at training. I suspect it's the former. But while he is usually very reliable and courageous overhead in defence (forgetting about yesterday for a minute), I'd have thought they can find someone else who can perform that role nearly as well. It's not as if Mills has breakaway speed that he uses to rebound from defence. And his overhead marking strength will be just as valuable further up the ground, ideally creating turnovers (in our favour) before the ball gets in the defensive 50.

  5. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by liz View Post
    He led the onball division in the practice game against GWS (the first one, not the official JLT game) in the absence of the AFLXing Kennedy and Parker, and looked like he'd been playing there all his life, notwithstanding that the GWS midfield wasn't at its best that game. I agree with you that we can't expect him to emulate Cripps from day one, but the sooner he starts, the sooner he can find his feet.

    I can understand why Longmire is loathe to move Heeney full time into the midfield because he is so effective up forward. And I'm not convinced he's a natural onballer either, though he can certainly take his turn in there. With Mills, I'm curious whether they think he's too valuable down back to move, or if they have reservations about his midfield capabilities, based on what he's done at training. I suspect it's the former. But while he is usually very reliable and courageous overhead in defence (forgetting about yesterday for a minute), I'd have thought they can find someone else who can perform that role nearly as well. It's not as if Mills has breakaway speed that he uses to rebound from defence. And his overhead marking strength will be just as valuable further up the ground, ideally creating turnovers (in our favour) before the ball gets in the defensive 50.
    Jordan Dawson. Height, solid, strong overhead and penetrating boot. Agree he gets lost at times but maybe at AFL level, has not found his best position yet?

  6. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Dawg View Post
    Jordan Dawson. Height, solid, strong overhead and penetrating boot. Agree he gets lost at times but maybe at AFL level, has not found his best position yet?
    Possibly. I think the most important attribute for a defender is confidence, and the mental ability to move on immediately after a mistake. Mistakes often lead directly to goals conceded, meaning they bite more than mistakes delivering the ball forward. They shouldn't, since a mistake moving the ball forward can cost a goal scored, which has the same net impact. But I think psychologically they are different.

    Mills seems naturally confident and strong minded. I'm not convinced it comes as naturally to Dawson - he seems to be quite introverted, and we introverts tend to brood.

    In any case, I think Dawson has the ability to be the second best field kick* in the Swans' side if and when he finally starts to believe he belongs. He's certainly a more penetrating kick than Mills. While that can be valuable in the backline, it is even more valuable across half-forward so long as the player can find enough of the ball. It's a harder position to play because you have to know where to position yourself to become dangerous, while in defence you can often be lead to the right place by the forward you're defending against. But I think Dawson's most valuable position is across half-forward if he can get used to the reduced time and space at senior level.

    * Possibly 3rd best - depending on how long Blakey takes to develop into a player who can find more of the ball. It's too small a sample yet, but he has given us fleeting indications that he might be a superb field kick.

  7. #19
    My assessment of the midfield Mills fiasco is that we can’t play him much in the midfield with Parker and kennedy at the minute because we are already vulnerable to fast exits from the centre clearance

    Kennedy, Parker and Mills makes us too heavy inside players without a dominant ruckman

    If we had a dominant ruckman and less injuries in the backline it could change the options available

    with no smith, macca, Grundy etc we need every bit of cohesion and regular voice/leadership down back

    I have always seen Mills as a Luke Hodge style player ie 50/50 midfield HBF

    Ps the games where nsw played qld and Heeney was in yr 12 and Mills was in yr11 was the game that a lot of us supporters thought wow check out mills as he dominated the game and was BOG as an inside hunting mid

  8. #20
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    We are being too negative.

    The reason we started to lose in the second half was that Gawn effortlessly pass the ball to his midfield.

    Once that started we were always going to be toast!

    Find a ruck who doesn't get thrashed by Gawn or Grundy: doesn't have to break even but maybe just lose 40/60.

    Our rucks are very ordinary, and i don't think Naismith will ever be good; a bit like Reid, always giving us glimpses but never actually a full game!
    doof-doof

  9. #21
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    We lost the hit outs 73-13. Preuss their number 2 ruckman had 13 hit outs which was the same as Sinclair and Reid combined. He looked very athletic for his size and his two Q1 Goals were excellent. Naismith will never show that agility. Grundy beat English 58-6 last night and English is probably one of the most promising developing ruckmen around. Just needs a couple more years. Gawn and Grundy are so far ahead of the pack it is not funny. Sinclair had a bad night and needs help. With Naismith still a long way off and Reid too fragile we need to bring in Cameron and give him a run. I know his debut last year was poor but he is all we have so let us use him before Sinclair is broken.

  10. #22
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    Ok, everyone settled down yet after Thursday night? I still haven't watched the game yet but the stats tell an obvious story, Blakey is struggling and McInerney shouldn't have been picked. We were basically two down with the numbers produced there.

    COR was the obvious inclusion for Macca IMO and must come in this week if he looks good in the NEAFL. Rowbottoms numbers last week were impressive as were the reports on him, should come in for Blakey. Ronke is the other that he could replace.

    But they'll probably bring in Clarke :-(

  11. #23
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    I'm not sure why we're making it difficult for ourselves by playing two specialist tall defenders. It's forcing us to play Heeney and Reid back to stem the tide. It's also constricting Rampe. Melican should play. Blakey needs a break. McCartin play forward.

    Sinclair looked a bit injured on Thursday. Certainly gassed. Perhaps it's time to consider playing Cameron, particularly against ruckmen. May not be necessary against Richmond.

    Finally, clearly McInerney won't play. Happy for whoever plays better tomorrow out of Rowbottom and Rose to come in.

  12. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Auntie.Gerald View Post
    My assessment of the midfield Mills fiasco is that we can’t play him much in the midfield with Parker and kennedy at the minute because we are already vulnerable to fast exits from the centre clearance

    Kennedy, Parker and Mills makes us too heavy inside players without a dominant ruckman

    If we had a dominant ruckman and less injuries in the backline it could change the options available

    with no smith, macca, Grundy etc we need every bit of cohesion and regular voice/leadership down back

    I have always seen Mills as a Luke Hodge style player ie 50/50 midfield HBF

    Ps the games where nsw played qld and Heeney was in yr 12 and Mills was in yr11 was the game that a lot of us supporters thought wow check out mills as he dominated the game and was BOG as an inside hunting mid
    You might be right about that

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