Round 18: Swans v Cats

[Legs Akimbo]

And that is to be honest the biggest win out of it all. Pick 3 means in 99.95% of likely scenarios, we are going to have a live pick before we have to worry about the academy boys. That'll feel like a bonus pick at the very tip of the draft. Will be really interesting to see what our strategy will be now we have pick 3 - if it was me, I'd be taking the best Forward or Forward/Ruck we can get (Logan McDonald perhaps), as I can't see in what world you wouldn't be gluing McCartin's marker at CHB on the whiteboard. The kid has poise and reading of the game like a 200 game veteran!

Logan McDonald and our 2 acadamy boys and we are set for the next 3 years. We are already in an upwards trajectory with our list and new game plan. This year we have games into our next gen with a stack of good players coming back. Touch wood and all but a lot to look forward to.

[i'm-uninformed2]

At the start of the year we looked thin and slow through the middle of the ground.

We now know Rowbottom will be terrific in the centre square, Blakey has come home well, and we’ve got a decade ahead of Stephens and McInerney running the wings with their kicking skills. Add Campbell to that mix in the draft, and we have taken a big step forward.

[Hotpotato]

It was certainly a blast watching so many emerging players and the potential of a fair number of them .
Just wish it wasn’t so long until the first game next year .

[aardvark]

J-Mac is a ripper. Things look good for the future and pick 3 is a bonus.

[giant]

Love this club - how many other clubs would throw in the towel in these circumstances? Not the Bloods - just lacked a little polish, but that will come. Great fun to watch us give the Cats a real scare, and frankly we should probably have won it.

Now let's nail pick 3 in a way we haven't nailed a first round non-academy pick for an awfully long time...about to see down and, I suspect, not for the first time this year, wonder why the heck we didn't pick Serong.

[Kafka's Ghost]

Great effort by our young team. Losing Bell so early and all those lost opportunities in the second quarter cost us in the end, but the ball movement is some of the best I’ve seen from a Swans outfit. We’re fast, with great kicking skills, and a solid preseason with the return of some key players will see us back at the pointy end sooner rather than later. Looking forward to the draft, further development in McInerney and Stephens, and a bright future for our club. Can’t wait to be back at the SCG, pandemics permitting.

[jono2707]

Very proud of the effort they put in today. Onwards and upwards for next year!

Looking forward to adding a key forward at #3 and the continued development of our young guns on what I hope is a much more normal 2021.....

[mcs]

I can't wait for season 2021

It'll be another up and down season like this year I think - but you can't not be excited about the style of footy we are trying to play, and the way our young playing group is starting to come together. A good off season of continuing to evolve the list (both incoming and outgoing) and we can be well on our way. To think some of our best performances this year have been without players the quality of Franklin, Heeney, Hewett, Kennedy for a reasonable chunk - it shows our depth is starting to build nicely.

My four wishes for the off season:
- Get a nice bounty at the draft (KPF is what I'd use Pick 3 on if Mcdonald is still there);
- Get some of our injured boys fit and firing and ready for season 2021;
- Send the umpires back to school; and
- @@@@ this @@@@ing virus off so we can all get back to the grounds and start to enjoy watching our Cygnets grow into a mighty football team.

[Ludwig]

I've been saying for a while that we've got a lot of depth with this group; but just young. Now it's all unfolding before us. We have 35 players that can be in our best 22.

JMac has been a surprise at how quickly he's developed into such an exciting player. And Stevens is looking a fine first round pick for us. Plenty to like all around.

[mcs]

Logan McDonald and our 2 acadamy boys and we are set for the next 3 years. We are already in an upwards trajectory with our list and new game plan. This year we have games into our next gen with a stack of good players coming back. Touch wood and all but a lot to look forward to.

McDonald would be my choice too - though I reckon we might be tempted by someone like Tilthorpe, as we know the ruck situation needs solving. But that might depend on what happens in the trade period, which could tell us a lot about our plans.

[Markwebbos]

It's been a surprisingly fun season this year. I've enjoyed watching our young players develop and there are promising signs for the next few years if we can hang onto them.

I've had fun... and I am soooo looking forward to being at the SCG again next year.

Thanks to everybody here for their contributions, I love being here and reading all the comments. There are some really knowledgeable and great fans on this site.

Till next time...cheer cheer.

I totally agree that it's been a fun year despite going 5-12.

Having a lot of injuries and no NEAFL forced Horse to play a lot of kids and a significant number of them have take big steps forward: Rowbottom, JMac, Blakey (eventually), Stephens.

Plus a few players have consolidated their positions: Fox, Cunningham and McCartin's in defence. Even Clarke and Thurlow have looked like they are worth persisting with, which I would not have said two months ago.

I also think hub life has suited such a young side from both a bonding and player development POV.

Bring on 2021!

Also agree Geelong aren't going to be the 2020 Premiers.

[Agent 86]

What was Clarke thinking?

Hopefully retirement