The positives thread

[liz]

Sure, we got done by 39 points. But surely we can get to at least page 2 of a thread like this just focussing on the good stuff? Can't we?

To kick off...

1 Barry Hall. Made something out of almost every chance that came his way. Played like he had super glue on his hands - best I've seen him mark at night time for a fair while. But it wasn't just that his hands were secure. He attacked contests with a renewed vigour, winning some contests he looked well out of position for. Sure, it was only against Harry Taylor, not Matty Scarlett, but still as dominant a forward performance as you can get with so little quality ball coming your way.

2 Craig Bird. If nothing else comes of this season, even if we bomb out over the next fortnight and miss the finals altogether, this season will have been worth it for the pleasure of watching this lad blossom and grow. Still needs to find more of it, get fitter, stronger, etc etc but the way his confidence, vision and skills have improved as the season has progressed has been a delight. The goal he kicked tonight was evidence of this. 15 weeks ago he wouldn't have had the confidence. Tonight he knew exactly what he was trying to do, wasn't over-awed by the nearby presence of Hall demanding the ball, and had the skills to execute it too.

Next...

[swantastic]

Monty's return was pretty good.

[Goal Sneak]

The biggest positive IMO was that we tried to play a more exciting brand of footy. We played on much more than we usually would have in the past. This is exactly what I was hoping Roos would try and encourage and it looked like he actually saw that the old game plan was not cutting it against the top sides.

Apart from the points already mentioned, Malceski got another game under his belt and hopefully put an end to the "his season is over" rumors. It's one less game before Mick O'Loughlin comes back, Fosdike's tat makes him look tougher and Tadhg's arm only popped out once.

[mcs]

Bird is going to be an absolute gun imo. He has all the ingredients imo to be a fantastic player for the club for a very long time.
Hall also looked much better then he has been going. Marked it very well, and even though he had a first year player on him did a lot of good things.
It might sound funny but the other positive I took was that maybe just maybe finally it has stuck in the minds of the coaching staff that we need to adapt our gameplan and change how we plan. It probably will be a hindrance in the short term (Ie look at how many handballs were dreadful and missed targets etc), but I thought I saw it a bit against the Dogs and definetly saw it against the cats, we tried where we could to move the ball quick and play in a different way. If it continues and more importantly is how we try to start playing more often, then longer term I think its a big positive.

[tasswan]

Mal, Mattner and Kenelley all played.

I thought all the players really gave there all, yes we made some stupid errors but gee they tried hard, a good example of this was Mattner, made many mistakes but gave everything he had.

Bird was very good as was J bolton, Kirk, Hall and Crouch

[Swansinger]

1.We got three points closer than last time :-)

2.We got to see G.Ablett play - probably the best (or at least , most eye-catching) performance by an opposition player in Sydney since Matthew Richardson kicked 7 at the SCG in the wet a few years ago.

3.Confirmation that Spider is clogging our list and has to go at season's end - or sooner.

Agree about Bazza - best performance in a long while.

[hot potato]

Bird's lightning sidestep on the Eastern flank right on the boundary to then drive the ball long into the goalsquare was GaryAblettesque and better.....:)

[satchmopugdog]

Bird's lightning sidestep on the Eastern flank right on the boundary to then drive the ball long into the goalsquare was GaryAblettesque and better.....:)


That's what I like to hear...go you good thing Birdy.

[AlexC]

I saw Barry Hall's first half, then switched it to something else when it was like 100-57, can anyone tell me did add to his goals or keep his form going at least in the 2nd half?

[Primmy]

Barry's marking technique has shifted. I noted it, and when I asked my mob they had also noted independently he is bending his arms up like a big shovel, and allowing the ball to fall into it, and turning his body to prevent spoiling. Works for him, works for me.

Another good thing is that the boys did not hang their heads.
Other teams have lost to Geelong by far greater margins.
Bevan played a game of guts and determination, we've got a keeper here.
Birdy makes first year mistakes, and he will improve as time goes on. Rememer when Kirky couldn't even get a game? But the prospects are good. Tough little unit.
Our kicking for goal has improved a bit.

On the negative side, what's with the handballs. Our mob is making a new rule, three handballs, then kick the silly thing.

LRT made some shockers, and he had some great moments. A new Leo down back do we think? Horrid and Hero?
And just think of the future. All those kiddies to be tried and tested yet to come.
We got to see Geelong without having to shell out for air fares.

My Pollyanna moment has run it course.

[dimelb]

Hall was good all night.
Several players had ordinary games and you'd expect them to lift: Jolly, Richards come first to mind.

[NMWBloods]

- We've struggled to score goals and Geelong has one of the best defences in the competition, but we managed to score 14 goals which wasn't bad (nothwithstanding some extra benefits).

- Although Hall beat a first-year player, it may be very good for his confidence.

- Bird is looking like a top-line midfielder for us in the future.

- Bevan's defensive skills continue to get better and against better teams, and while offensively not great he is looking more solid and has more potential than Ablett at both aspects.

- Although not spectacular, a solid return from Fosdike.

- Some good run in the midfield from Buchanan.

- The team seems to have finally recognised that the stop-start-chip game is finished as the primary tactic.

[JudesaGun]

I thought Crouch gave us fantastic run all night and was a key to our more attacking style of play.

[TheGrimReaper]

-Barry Hall was a real positive I thought. Imagine, if he had played right throughout the season? He could have easily kicked 70 plus goals for us. :(
-The continued good form of Martin Mattner, he has been a real good pick up for us this year. :)
-Amon Buchanan's return after a 4 week break.
-And I thought Jude Bolton has defied his critics again after last nights performance. He has been great this season, and should continue on from it, in the next two or three seasons hopefully.

[hammo]

-And I thought Jude Bolton has defied his critics again after last nights performance. He has been great this season, and should continue on from it, in the next two or three seasons hopefully.
I don't think Jude has had any critics for a couple of months now and rightly so. He's the form player in the team.

[573v30]

The positives:

Barry Hall taking marks and kicking goals
Crouchy in the first half
Solid returns from Fosdike and Buchanan
Mattner and Kennelly went they didn't turn over the ball
Bevan's tackling and defensive pressure
Craig Bird giving it a crack against the best team of the comp

[hammo]

I thought Crouch gave us fantastic run all night and was a key to our more attacking style of play.
I know this is a positives thread, but wasn't Crouch playing on Ablett in the first half? His attacking game was good but defensively he's not what he used to be.

[ScottH]

Sure, we got done by 39 points. But surely we can get to at least page 2 of a thread like this just focussing on the good stuff? Can't we? :rolleyes: You're always so positive!


To kick off...

1 Barry Hall. Made something out of almost every chance that came his way. Played like he had super glue on his hands - best I've seen him mark at night time for a fair while. But it wasn't just that his hands were secure. He attacked contests with a renewed vigour, winning some contests he looked well out of position for. Sure, it was only against Harry Taylor, not Matty Scarlett, but still as dominant a forward performance as you can get with so little quality ball coming your way.Regardless of Scarlet not being there some of his marks I don't think scarlett would've been able to stop. It would be a huge boost to his confidence, just to get so much of the ball, and get back to his pre-brain-fart form.


2 Craig Bird. If nothing else comes of this season, even if we bomb out over the next fortnight and miss the finals altogether, this season will have been worth it for the pleasure of watching this lad blossom and grow. Still needs to find more of it, get fitter, stronger, etc etc but the way his confidence, vision and skills have improved as the season has progressed has been a delight. The goal he kicked tonight was evidence of this. 15 weeks ago he wouldn't have had the confidence. Tonight he knew exactly what he was trying to do, wasn't over-awed by the nearby presence of Hall demanding the ball, and had the skills to execute it too.

Next...

Bird was also the one who long kicked to Hall one out in the F50, after a series of many handballs to get out of the D50, and I thought he was about to off load another HB, when he decided to bomb it long, and he did and it was great to see.

Malceski's long kick to Hall, again one out, was a sign of his confidence returning too.

Monty had a fair game.
Fosdike was OK, but his kicking let him down. I like him because he prefers to kick not a handball.
Crouch loves to straighten up, and was our BOG, until his injury.
And Bevan's attack on the ball is exhilarating, doesn't always come off, but he is just hard at it.

[swansrule100]

i am probably alone but spida is playing better than he was, and is still a better option than say white.

But having said that i actually think Jolly played better when he had little to no help.

The biggest positive has to be bird, the other positive is given they are related maybe noggy can get gary to show him how to play

[ScottH]

i am probably alone but spida is playing better than he was, and is still a better option than say white.No you're not alone. I've mentioned it a few times, and a few others have as well. :)


But having said that i actually think Jolly played better when he had little to no help.

Jolly was in great form until a few weeks ago. Not sure why.

[ScottH]

I left out Jude.
I thought he was very good last night. He'll never be a Judd of Ablett, but he was in there fighting all night.

[liz]

Malceski's long kick to Hall, again one out, was a sign of his confidence returning too.




One of my favourite micro-plays of the game. Everyone could see that he had Hall on if he could kick the ball to his advantage but Hall had two defenders in his vicinity and not just any kick would do it. Rather than kick long quickly and hope for the best, he held onto it for just the perfect length of time before he unleashed. The kick itself wasn't quite one of those Mal-sizzler-specials but the play was a sign that the best football brain in the team is still alive and throbbing even if the body it's in isn't quite up to scratch at the moment.

Agree on Buchanan as well. He was pretty good. Love his move of diving on a loose ball in dispute to stop the opposition moving it off the ground in their direction but then standing up immediately with ball in hand. It's a trick a few of our in-and-unders try but none of them is as good at getting to their feet so cleanly as Monty is.

[ScottH]

Agree on Buchanan as well. He was pretty good. Love his move of diving on a loose ball in dispute to stop the opposition moving it off the ground in their direction but then standing up immediately with ball in hand. It's a trick a few of our in-and-unders try but none of them is as good at getting to their feet so cleanly as Monty is.One of Kellys tricks he used to use quite often to perfection.

[Ludwig]

Agree with Liz on Hall and Bird. In a few years I think Bird will become a player spoken of much like Bartel and Hodge.

But for me, considering the opposition, Bevan was fantastic. All the joking is over now. He is genuine AFL footballer. Showing real poise and good skills. I have him in my top 10 B&F this year.

[Mike_B]

Jolly was in great form until a few weeks ago. Not sure why.

Perhaps the change in style of play doesn't suit him as much?

[liz]

Bevan was fantastic. All the joking is over now. He is genuine AFL footballer. Showing real poise and good skills. I have him in my top 10 B&F this year.

I think Bevo is a monty to finish in the top 10 B&F (unlike Monty!)

Putting aside the debates on here about his merits, it is evident that the coaches rate highly the job he does each week.

[liz]

Jolly was in great form until a few weeks ago. Not sure why.


Perhaps the change in style of play doesn't suit him as much?
What happens when the ball is in play should have little impact on his ability to influence ruck contests - which he seems down on. Plus where he was adding so much value earlier in the year was hard running forward to present an option close to goals. Quicker ball movement should help that, not hinder it.

It's as likely as anything that he's carrying a niggling injury that is hampering him during games and/or preventing him working on the track during the week. I realise that players get judged on what they do out there, if they're fit enough to play, and lots of players will be sore this time of year. But very frequently when a good player is down on form, some form of injury is at least part of the cause. We mob sitting up in the stands, who don't have the inside knowledge, are a pretty unforgiving and demanded bunch who demand the best each week from every player. In reality, they're not always physically able to give what we demand.

[Nico]

My poisitve is I thought the spark returned last night even though it was a 39point defeat.

There was a positiveness and fluency that hasn't been there for some time. Crucial set shot misses by Hall and Goodes at critical times and some stupid over possessing in the midfield let Geelong in for easy goals just when we looked back in the game, twice.

[Xie Shan]

Good thread, even though top 4 now looks unlikely I think the Swans will be able to take a fair bit out of this year. Not just the new talent we've unearthed, but the last few weeks (excluding the Collingwood and Adelaide losses) has seen a gradual shift to a more positive style.

[Wazza]

Positive for me -

the return of Monty and Fossie, with Goodes restricted we need Fossie playing the outside Midfield role and Monty gives us the extra grunt in the MF we have missed. The trio of Mal Monty and Fossie could prove the difference against Collingwood next week.

[BSA5]

One thing I took from Bird's game, and from what I've seen, seems to be reflected by most here, is that while it probably wasn't Bird's best game in terms of overall output, it was probably his most promising game. He showed more flashes of brilliance, he showed more confidence, and while it didn't always come off, it bodes well.

And still, people who don't support the Swans think I'm referring to Brett Burton when I mention Bird!

[smasher]

I can't understand why Bird doesn't get much respect from the opposition team.He is often standing alone on the field.He just continues to fly under the radar.Unfortunately for Jack he became a marked player early in the season.Possibly due to the hype of his old man being a rugby league great.
Moore seems to be getting some good tags now but I think he has adjusted.

[Wardy]

My positive - and shoot me down if you must, was that Leo Barry didnt play. With his form this year - he would have been too slow for Mooney and the other kiddy (Lonegan ?) would have always been trying to spoil the ball from behind and would have given away even more hands in the back and over the shoulder free's than we actually copped on Saturday - which would have resulted in certain goals - Leo would have stood there hands on hips intimating that he hadnt done anything wrong. BUT I do love seeing how well the young kids are improving every week - Moore Bird (and Jack - get that boy back in the side with Vespremi) are looking great..

There will be retirements this year naturally, but the future I feel is looking pretty bright. The kids we have coming up are looking good and I hope they are given the chance to shine.

[connolly]

My positive - and shoot me down if you must, was that Leo Barry didnt play. With his form this year - he would have been too slow for Mooney and the other kiddy (Lonegan ?) would have always been trying to spoil the ball from behind and would have given away even more hands in the back and over the shoulder free's than we actually copped on Saturday - which would have resulted in certain goals - Leo would have stood there hands on hips intimating that he hadnt done anything wrong. BUT I do love seeing how well the young kids are improving every week - Moore Bird (and Jack - get that boy back in the side with Vespremi) are looking great..

There will be retirements this year naturally, but the future I feel is looking pretty bright. The kids we have coming up are looking good and I hope they are given the chance to shine.

And Bevo leading them from the front.

[Wardy]

And Bevo leading them from the front.

:D you never cease to amaze me!!;)

[connolly]

:D you never cease to amaze me!!;)

Some times i get a bit light headed myself. Confidently predict that in five seasons Bevo will be in our leadership group coached by Stewie Maxfield and playing in another Grand Final.

[Wardy]

Some times i get a bit light headed myself. Confidently predict that in five seasons Bevo will be in our leadership group coached by Stewie Maxfield and playing in another Grand Final.

Dont get too carried away now!:D

[AnnieH]

Some times i get a bit light headed myself. Confidently predict that in five seasons Bevo will be in our leadership group coached by Stewie Maxfield and playing in another Grand Final.

Light headed???

Air-headed more like it!!;)

[AnnieH]

Positives from Saturday night ....

Australia Post handed out the cardboard loud speaker thingies ... Roosey could REALLY hear me (from three rows behind)!!

Ling could also hear me say "sorry ranga" - every time he ran past. (Jeez he's ugly.)


Did anyone else get a good look at Fossie's new tatt? Positively revolting. I can't wait for gravity to take over ... it's going to make a great bracelet one day.

[Rob-bloods]

Bevo keeping Steve Johnson out of the game, a really smart forward nullified by the (ex?) RWO boo boy.

Digressing...

Can't entirely forget the negatives though ....Lonergan,Mooney, Johnson all pretty ineffective.....but the small runners kept waltzing through 50 slotting goals. Who was accountable there?

Did anyone notice Varcoe put a few cheap shots in the clinches and Rook putting knees into the player on the ground a few times but the commentators only called one. And of course the trip (more of a cumberland throw in the old RL) didn't even get a free!

[Darren Thomson]

I noticed a lot of things that went unnoticed by umpires, the amount of time given to dispose of the ball was disproportianate for both teams, meaning the cats had 6 minutes after being tackled and we had 6 seconds, push in the back? Fingernail on the shoulder! The Cats are a great football side, but I think that sometimes the umps get a bit mesmerised by them or something. Positives, Bevo just keeps getting better and better, he actually looks taller to me than he did last year, is that possible? There is no shortage of guts in the Swans team, and if Fosdike gets up to speed as quickly as Baz we might do something in the finals, plenty of sides would not want to play us at full strength, which we are arriving at once Leo comes back in to organise the backline and provide that little bit of unpredictabilty and spark he does so well. Bird looks good to me, runs, carries kicks long and efficient. Goodbye Spida

[ShockOfHair]

Some times i get a bit light headed myself. Confidently predict that in five seasons Bevo will be in our leadership group coached by Stewie Maxfield and playing in another Grand Final.

With what you're smoking, no wonder you're light-headed!


The positive I hang onto is we're doing OK so far in what is really a transition period. We've blooded some good young players, and some of the previous generation of juniors like McV and Bevan have stood up. We've got a good mid-tier playing group but we need a couple of big marking forwards and a mongrel backman.

Good to hear Roosy today hinting that he'll bring on more young ones in the last two games. Too many of the old guard are too slow or out of form.

[reigning premier]

Some times i get a bit light headed myself. Confidently predict that in five seasons Bevo will be in our leadership group coached by Stewie Maxfield and playing in another Grand Final.

Excellent....

Hope he does something in that one!

[ScottH]

3 pages when liz was hoping for 2, that's a positive.

[goswannie14]

For me the two big postives were our attacking game plan and the form of Bazza. Both really good signs in my mind.

[liz]

3 pages when liz was hoping for 2, that's a positive.

'Cept the project failed before it got off its first page!

[Triple B]

'Cept the project failed before it got off its first page!

It was always going to be "MI-1V" Liz.

[Lohengrin]

'Cept the project failed before it got off its first page!
Really? Most of the first couple of pages look like positives.

[Mr Magoo]

I wasnt overly dissapointed with the effort on Saturday night. Scoreline was probably where expected but a couple of things influenced this :

1. Geelong absolutely kill you on the turnover for mistakes. they are a very good team who are probably only beatable if you are at 100% and they are not.
2. It seems that the men in yellow were sent out in the first quarter to ensure that we didnt get into the hunt. If they hadnt so overly influenced the game at that time , Geelong may not have played with such confidence after that.
3. we still arent totally fluent with the play on game but we are getting better at it.
4. Bird showed some glimpes of real brilliance , that jinking run to send into the forward fifty was brilliant. he is the future of our midfield.
5. The usual suspects mentioned in previous posts on this subject were all good (crouch, bevan, hall , bolton etc) . I also agree that everitt is getting better .

All in all, IMO if we play like that against Collingwood we will beat them but the worry is we fall back into bad habits against them.

[barry]

The way to beat Geelong, is man on man footy 100% of the time. Dont allow them to have a loose man to accept a handball to defuse trouble.

We didnt do that by any stretch of the imagination.

On the positive note, Hall was sensational.

[liz]

Really? Most of the first couple of pages look like positives.

But like Roos, I was hoping for 100% effort from all of the team, not just most.

[Lucky Knickers]

Sorry Liz I haven't been giving my all!
1. Fosdike being back
2. Bird continued growth in confidence - reminds me of Willo
3. Bazza playing good night football
4. Goodes not being too hobbled - did some nice things and kicked a couple of goodies from tight angles (which I love)
I feel quite positive about the Hall/Goodes set up in the F50. It's going to take a little time for them to click but this has lots of potential to be very damaging.
5. Kennelly played with a lot more confidence
6. Crouch straightens us up nicely - is an excellent example to Kennelly and Mattner
7. LRT wasn't too dusty
8. Ted continues to contribute each week
9. Amon's return was not to shabby
10. Kirky is a champion
11. Jude is playing his best footy and looks really confident and sure of himself

[Lohengrin]

But like Roos, I was hoping for 100% effort from all of the team, not just most.
Oh! :o

- Hall's form
- Buchanan's run
- Bird's progress
- Bevan's defence
- J Bolton's solid performance

[AnnieH]

I just thought of another ....

Micky O should be back soon.

[smasher]

I would love to see Roos throw Bird into the midfield.He said he is going with youth but as well as bringing in others he could give Bird a new role.

[ugg]

Last time, goals at 3q time = 2. This time = 6. That's a 300% improvement!
We're playing finals

[Robbo]

The only positive from tonight is that Brisbane lost.

[573v30]

Funny how the only positive doesn't directly involve the Swans...

[Xie Shan]

I'm going to have to report any post that tries to take any positives from tonight's game :p

[goswannie14]

Jude Bolton and Heath Grundy were positives from tonight IMO.

[Mogg0]

Buchanan showed a bit and Hall, for 80% of the game, presented nicely and did some very good things. That goal when he broke the tackle of two players and snapped it from 45 was goal of the night.

[monopoly19]

I tipped Collingwood!

[573v30]

I tipped Collingwood!

Who didn't?

[swantastic]

No positives last night at all.Hall looked very close to belting some one last night again.

[ScottH]

I reserve the right not to post in this thread, again.

[Big Al]

I am really really positive we have 2 games to go this season.

[swansrule100]

a serious crack at some positives

1- we could not play much worse surely
2- buchanan looked to be back in a bit of touch the last 2 weeks, at least he breaks the lines
3- roos moved mattner to the middle for a bit very late, and thats where he should play, he is being dragged to full back by the other teams and i feel sorry for him
4- moore getting 3 is a good effort

[NMWBloods]

I reckon Mattner has a lot to offer us if he's allowed to play on the wing.

[swansrule100]

I reckon Mattner has a lot to offer us if he's allowed to play on the wing.

exactly! we are making the same mistake neil craig made last year playing him out of position.

[Mark Busuttil]

The only positive is that 2008 is nearly over - this has been a season to forget!!!!!!
Hopefully it will lay the foundation for our future, but right now, the future is hard to see

[Wardy]

I thought Aaron Hamills comments about Wakelin every time he got near Hall were good - he reckons he was making a fool of himself diving just to milk frees that weren't there. about time someone had the balls to say it.

[ScottH]

Since the break, we've gone LLW LLW LL.
A in next week is on the cards!!

[ugg]

Could easily have been LLLLLLLL. Oh wait, this is the positives thread.

[ScottH]

Could easily have been LLLLLLLL. Oh wait, this is the positives thread.

:rolleyes:

:p

Our 2 wins had and average winning margin of 3, so it could quite easily have been that way.
Sad, but true.