According to AFL.com "Newman was passed fit, but was the unlucky Swan to make way for the skipper's return."
According to AFL.com "Newman was passed fit, but was the unlucky Swan to make way for the skipper's return."
This is the Swans website:
Newman was cleared of any serious damage and passed his fitness test on Thursday, but the coaches weren't going to take any chances.
�Nic got through training so he is feeling good and will come to Adelaide with us," Longmire said.
�He is a good player who we expect to come back into the senior team pretty shortly because he is a bit stiff."
No way Newman would be just dropped.
I'd say he's fit enough to play, but not 100%, so easy choice for a rest.
He'll be back for finals... Unless Longmire is falling into old habits...
Newman's disposal efficiency was 50% last week. Pretty poor. He is creative, and he tries to do something with every disposal, but maybe the coaches are giving him a little wake up call.
C'mon Chels!
He has definitely been down on form since McVeigh has pushed him out of his usual role. He may struggle next yr if McVeigh gets contracted for a year more unless he learns how to adapt. He's a great half-back flanker and I believe he has a long future with us there but at the moment he is playing as a subpar winger and even small forward.
He was injured last week and played only half a game. He shouldn't be judged on this one game.
Not true. If you look at his previous 2 games:
- Newman had 19 disposals at 68% v. Geelong with 66% game time. Towers had a total of 7 disposals, least on the team even though he had 79% game time.
- In the Hawthorn game, the one previous to the Geelong game, Newman had 29 disposals, most for the Swans, at 83% DE. Towers had 14 disposals at 50%.
Newman has Towers covered in just about every measure this year. I would be interested in knowing some of the Champion Data stats that we usually don't see, like pressure acts. Newman is far and away a better defensive player who puts physical pressure on his opponent, something Towers rarely does.
Towers has clearly improved over the year and is not the liability to the team that he once was. I'm happy for him to play in lieu of Newman this week, who would probably be playing with a slight injury. I think we will rest someone like McVeigh v Carlton, just to lessen the load on his calves, so he's fresh for the finals, and Newman will come back in.
I think Towers was picked mainly because he is too psychologically fragile and it would crush him if he were dropped. Newman is made of tougher stuff. He'll be okay. It would bad for the team to have someone crying inconsolably in the locker room all week.
It doesn't help the credibility of RWO if some of us are spreading Fake News.
Towers has a completely different role to Newman.
Towers is an in and under tackling machine.
Newman has 68 tackles at an average of 4 per game. Towers 47 at an average of 3.1
2017 Sydney Team Page - FinalSiren.com
Towers has speed and height on his side. If he was slow / short he'd have a different career.
Bookmarks