It will be interesting to see what they do here as this is our best chance of another win before the season finishes.
Do they rest players for this game given the daunting rest-free schedule? This would decrease our chances of winning this game but strengthen our chances of a stronger showing against the good teams next (Brisbane/Geelong).
I can see some rotation. Maybe Gould comes in for Thurlow and Stephens for Wicks/Florent?
PS I think Wicks doesn’t deserve to be dropped but maybe “managed”
I am not sure they would rest Wicks. He has a pretty niche role as the small defensive forward. He has been executing this well and the upsides are significant. By holding the ball in the 50 the swans mids get a breather and get to position up. By harassing the ball on exit from the 50 the swans mids have a good chance of winning it on turnover. Without the forward pressure the ball slingshots out of the 50, with swans mids gassed and out of position. This open the floodgates for rebound opposition goals. I am not sure who in the team can execute this as well as Wicks right now? Maybe Stephens but he has no real experience in terms of what is involved. Through the year they have tried a few younger players through this role but most did not quite get what it is about.
I totally agree. I don’t think anyone can execute this like Wicks. I reckon he has been a massive plus this year.
My only thinking is that they’d probably like to get Stephens into the team for another run before the end of year and I couldn’t quite work out who else might get rested. I’m actually a fan of Florent but can agree that he has been down in form and could possibly do with a rest so maybe this is that opportunity.
We will find out soon enough.
Wicks has been a positive this yr. Of all the young ones to come out of this yr, Blakey, Rowbottom (if last year wasnt convincing enough with those two), McInerney and Wicks are the keepers. Stephens will hopefully prove himself to be the same next yr, along with Gould and Warner, with Campbell and maybe Gulden all trying to do the same. It will be a competitive bunch that will drive each other no doubt. But I maintain my reservations that there is a superstar in that group, so I really want us to invest heavily in the draft to try and find that player.
my mistake. Pressed the 'reply with quote' in error.
I wondered if Florent playing forward against the Demons was a way of resting him. I reckon if Stephens comes in, Clarke goes out. Who will make way for Mills is the big question. Maybe Clarke if they play Mills as an inside mid tagger on Cripps?
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