Swans vs Giants Solitary Pre-season Match

[KTigers]

Can't quite make out the writing? But I think Wicks played for Manly, so it might be; Manly's Great?

Actually it says "Make The Midfield Great Again". I was hoping to get number "8", but the club sent me "26".
Oh well, it'll have to do for now....

[Blood Fever]

[QUOTE=Ludwig;810944]It was just noted on the injury update on the Swans website that Mill suffered a concussion in the 2nd qtr or the game and has delayed symptoms.

This is most probably the cause for his below par performance. A bit too much rushing to judgment sometimes.

Sometimes? More like far too often.

[MattW]

I'm glad you posted this. I strongly agree. Wicks is anything but a 'deer in the headlights'. He's been the most impressive surprise package of the pre-season (with Warner a close second). I've found Wicks to be a quick decision maker for someone of such limited experience. His hands are quick and he's always been a goal kicker. We don't have many success stories that come to the Swans as a Cat B Academy rookies, but Wicks looks the real deal. I have had the expectation that this route to the AFL is probably doomed to fail, but Wicks is proving the exception. It's hard to fit everyone into the Round 1 side, but I hope Wicks makes it through. He deserves it.

Well put. I was impressed with Wicks on the weekend. He came into the league with a self belief and competitiveness which was itself impressive and suggested strength of mind, but I sort of wondered whether he'd pick up enough ball to be a regular in the first team. He gathered 16 possessions on Sunday, more than any game last year, and obviously it wasn't an AFL game, but there was something about his poise and confidence which suggested it'll be sustainable. He's taken feedback and improved.

[MattW]

Heard several callers on SEN yesterday questioning why North didn't select McDonald on his showing last Sunday, particularly when they had parted ways with Ben Brown. They all reckon McDonald is going to be a goodun and some rated him higher than what the King brothers were showing at the same stage. Apparently Tilthorpe didn't raise much of an eyebrow in his performance with Adelaide. Very early (and unfair) to making such comparisons/predictions after just 1 official practice match, but it was interesting hearing the feedback from the punters nevertheless.

I for one am glad we picked McDonald as a long term KPF prospect over Daniher, even if he does recapture his form with the Lions as i don't think he fits where our list and cap $$$$ is at for now.

I'm really excited about McDonald - the marks were great, but the carry on that goal was something else.

On the other hand feel bad for North and Adelaide fans - their clubs seem mired in that mediocre management loop that is hard to jag out of.

[mcs]

Strongly disagree with most of what you have written here. Wicks is involved in many Swans goals, you dont see it until the replays and you notice his deft touch or shepherds to set up a teammate in a better position. Invaluable. Modern game is all about forward 50 pressure, like it or not. 9 tackles for Wicks. That will see him in the rd 1 team and thankfully John Longmire won’t need your approval !

Your “your mate” comment i am going to assume is about Rowbottom, because what else do you have to moan about if not him. You have said in the past that you have high expectations of him but isnt that a bit unfair ? He posted similar numbers to Hewett who is 5 years older than him, Florent who is 2 years older than him, and Warner who is only 1 year younger than him. He is the one you choose to single out again and say that he didnt have enough impact. He is only 20 years old for goodness sakes. He was awesome. Only two players on the ground on Sunday had double digits in contested possessions while going at over 80% disposal efficiency ... one of them was Josh Kelly, i will leave it to you to guess who the other one was !

There must be more to the story then meets the eye. The outrageous constant moaning seems to have no end. He could come out, have 40 possessions, kick 5 and it still wouldn't be good enough..... But then I guess we aren't all the oracle - see other players now being totally written off as well, such as Wicks.

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I'm really excited about McDonald - the marks were great, but the carry on that goal was something else.

On the other hand feel bad for North and Adelaide fans - their clubs seem mired in that mediocre management loop that is hard to jag out of.

Was a lovely kick for goal. Can't wait to watch him develop in coming years - seems to have pretty decent tree trunks for legs already, just needs to work on the upper body strength.

No sympathy from me for Lol@Norf. Long may they suffer at the bottom of the ladder.

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Wicks was brilliant on the weekend. He created several opportunities, including goals, without even touching the footy. There was a run down tackle on Coniglio in the middle, and later the crumbing of a pack to set up Parker. Just two of many.
His long switch to set up a goal, to I think Gulden, was brilliant play. He's got a great asset in his defensive work, but he is great with the ball.
He had 16 touches, a goal, 9 tackles and 6 score involvements.

Kids great

I thought it was a really good performance, and exactly what is expected from small forwards in the modern game. He isn't the most talented footballer out there, but he generally uses the ball well, his pressure is fantastic, and he can lay a tackle - something too much of our team still is struggling with. He is on the right trajectory to build on a decent start last year. Needs to back it up in the real stuff now, but most definitely deserves a crack at it in Rd 1.

[graemed]

Another Wicks moment to savour was his aggression when tackling Hopper. Hopper didn’t appreciate the tackle and tried to intimidate Wicks but the kid gave as good as got and never looked like he was bothered.

[MattW]

There must be more to the story then meets the eye. The outrageous constant moaning seems to have no end. He could come out, have 40 possessions, kick 5 and it still wouldn't be good enough..... But then I guess we aren't all the oracle - see other players now being totally written off as well, such as Wicks.

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Was a lovely kick for goal. Can't wait to watch him develop in coming years - seems to have pretty decent tree trunks for legs already, just needs to work on the upper body strength.

No sympathy from me for Lol@Norf. Long may they suffer at the bottom of the ladder.

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I thought it was a really good performance, and exactly what is expected from small forwards in the modern game. He isn't the most talented footballer out there, but he generally uses the ball well, his pressure is fantastic, and he can lay a tackle - something too much of our team still is struggling with. He is on the right trajectory to build on a decent start last year. Needs to back it up in the real stuff now, but most definitely deserves a crack at it in Rd 1.

The Bloods is in the @@@@ position where they need to keep deriding a player on the team they support to prove a rhetorical point.

Re North, you're right: their supporters booed Adam more vociferously than all but the West Coast fans. Shinboners, Carey, Brayshaw. But there'd be some like my late grandmother, who adopted them as an extension of her beloved North Albury.

[Aprilbr]

Actually it says "Make The Midfield Great Again". I was hoping to get number "8", but the club sent me "26".
Oh well, it'll have to do for now....

Very funny. Made me think back to the days when we had a midfield equal to any others around 5 to 7 seasons ago. It can happen again!

[111431]

I am disappointed he's gone. Sure, he was inconsistent but also a lot of fun to watch when he was "on".

But Liz when he was 'off' he was bloody awful

[Auntie.Gerald]

I suspect the hard part for Hayward has been rounding out the tough part of his game like Wicks, gut running, aggressive tackling, constant hot breath on the back of your neck.........but now Wicks is showing his value linking and kicking goals.

Wicks is moving into the zone of we cant leave you out of the 22.

This is leaving players like Hayward etc to find more in their game.

[giant]

I'm glad you posted this. I strongly agree. Wicks is anything but a 'deer in the headlights'. He's been the most impressive surprise package of the pre-season (with Warner a close second). I've found Wicks to be a quick decision maker for someone of such limited experience. His hands are quick and he's always been a goal kicker. We don't have many success stories that come to the Swans as a Cat B Academy rookies, but Wicks looks the real deal. I have had the expectation that this route to the AFL is probably doomed to fail, but Wicks is proving the exception. It's hard to fit everyone into the Round 1 side, but I hope Wicks makes it through. He deserves it.

+1. He's been a delight, an almost certain starter for round 1 I reckon.

[cherub]

+1. He's been a delight, an almost certain starter for round 1 I reckon.

I thought in earlier games he suffered from "the fear of making a mistake" that afflicts fringe players. As he became more secure, I felt he was prepared to take more risks and be more attacking. To me, this seems like a positive evolution which I would expect to continue. He seems to be enjoying his footy more, although I think he will always be intense with his footy.
This, coupled with an ability to concentrate, I think is a great virtue.