Sydney Swans Reserves vs. Belconnen Magpies 26th March

[ugg]

Lakeside Oval
26th March
2pm this time, probably to cater for the Magpies travelling up from Canberra.

The Reserves might get Tadhg and/or LRT and/or Spangher back but they'll probably lose 2 or 3 players as travelling emergencies for the game in Melbourne. Coach Maxfield will also probably be in Melbourne as is a runner for the seniors, leaving Henry and Crouchy with the reins.

One thing that I haven't seen confirmed or denied is whether the substitute rule will apply in the NEAFL this year, or even whether they're going to continue with the 6 man extended bench and the 13 on the field restrictions. Does anyone know?

[ugg]

Weather forecast for tomorrow:


18-23
Cloudy. The chance of showers, mostly in the east. Winds south to southwesterly averaging up to 30 km/h increasing to up to 40 km/h around dawn.

Sounds like another wet one.

Possible teams:
LRT apparently in.
Not sure what's going on with Bird.
Longmire said Sumner needed another solid 4 quarter run so he might play in this one.
White, Reid out with TDL, Meredith possibly joining them.

I'll be at the game, tweeting but I'm not sure whether I'll be there from the start.

[BSA5]

I'm in Sydney over the weekend and might rock up.

[ugg]

No Tahs or NRL games that I can see on that day, so traffic and parking should be alright.

[Primmy]

Two of us will be there with our chairs, water bottles, binoculars and umbrellas. We plan tobe there during rain, but not during monsoon. Generally speaking we shelter in the shelters with chairs and lean on the fence during game, about halfway down. Look out for no longer lithe female with short natural platinum hair and attitude.

[ugg]

7. Meredith?
8. Dennis-Lane?
10. Currie
11. Lamb?
14. Bird?
23. Johnston
26. Parker
28. McNeil
30. Roberts-Thomson
34. Johnson
36. McKaigue
38. Pyke
43. Kruger
44. Otten
45. Gordon
46. Haren

1 or 2 of Meredith, Bird or Lamb will be a travelling emergency. Not sure on TDL's status

[liz]

Not great news out of today's game. Might well have lost two players (possibly three) to injury of yet-to-be-determined severity.

Firstly (and most significantly) LRT sat out most of the second half and at the end of the game was limping and had a big ice pack stuffed down his sock.

Secondly, Currie was also on the sidelines for a large part of the game, though I can't remember when I noticed he wasn't out there. He seemed to be still standng in one piece and not visibly limping after the game, so no idea what the problem might be.

And thirdly, unless they have found an anti-dote to a severe case of leather poisoning, expect Parker to need intensive treatment this evening. He had the ball on a string today. I didn't count his possessions but I'd be surprised if they weren't significantly above the 40 or so mark, and he must have had easily double figures in centre clearances. He's a bit of a bull in a china shop, not a huge amount of finesse about him, but he keeps his feet in contests, is good off the deck and in the air, makes decisions quickly, and just can't help finding the ball.

He had very good support from young McNeil, who goes about things a bit differently but also found the ball at will.

Bird was the third of the triumverate who spent most of the game at centre bounces and he was also pretty effective, though maybe not as dominant as Parker and McNeil. His trade-mark sidestep and baulk were a feature of his game today. Am curious as to why he seems to have slipped down the pecking order for the senior team, given he has played all the pre-season senior games and didn't appear hampered by injury. Maybe his fitness isn't quite up to scratch at the moment if he's been on a modified training programme, or maybe they just wanted a slightly pacier team against the Dees.

Pyke absolutely dominated in the ruck and he is really far too good for this level. Having taken the risk he did to switch codes and having done all the hard work to develop his game to the point it is now at, it seems a real shame if he is to languish in the NEAFL for the bulk of the season. He was throwing his weight about all around the ground, even flying high for a "speccy" in front of goal, and in the second quarter, kicked two goals in the space of just a couple of minutes. He also laid a few tackles that will leave the Belconnen blokes really knowing they were tackled.

Up forward, Haren relished having the space he was denied last week by the presence of White and Reid. He is still very very raw but he moves well for his size, has a bit of pace about him, and when he timed his leads correctly, showed he has a very good pair of hands.

Johnson and Johnston played the much of the game together in defence (with LRT down there also for the first half). Johnson got a second half and moved forward. He, too, has good pace and he appears pretty confident. His disposal / decision making under pressure need a bit of work but at this early stage he looks to have the making of a senior player. Poor Lewis was left minding a largely empty and lonely defence for most of the game, though he did push forward on a few occasions and I am pretty sure he kicked at least one goal. There really wasn't enough of a challenge for him to be able to assess his game properly, but some of his kicking (in very tricky swirly windy conditions) was a sight to behold.

No sign of TDL anywhere, suggesting he picked up some kind of injury at training yesterday. Meredith was also absent - he must be down in Melbourne with the seniors, given that both Bird and Lamb played today.

Young Jed is a bit too unselfish for my liking, though no doubt the coaches are drilling this into him. He has no chance of being the next Steve Johnson if he keeps on looking to square the ball up for players in better positions to take a shot. The conditions today weren't exactly conduicive to pinpoint kicking, but he got his hands on the ball a fair bit and would have been reasonably happy with his outing today.

Of the rest, Nipper and Eugene were lively at times, but neither really looks AFL ready. Otten was a bit anonymous. McKaigue tried a bit of dash at times, but the defence wasn't under pressure for enough of the game for him to really have much of a challenge.

Some very solid contributions from Academy players. Not sure of many of their names but redhead (#21) kicked a couple of pearlers, #6 (Lynch) was reasonably lively and if it was Lynch, he has filled out nicely compared to last season. He's a very good size / build for the modern day tall atheletic running player. His confidence / intensity seemed to have improved from last year, but possibly still needs a bit of a lift. Potter was quite prominent early, but I don't remember seeing much of him late in the game. #15 had a good final quarter. No idea who he is but he moves quite similarly to the real owner of his guernsey and he's about the same size too. He kicked a ripper goal towards the end of the game.

All in all, it was a marginally more competitive game than last week, but not by much. Belconnen really took it up to the Swans in the first quarter, matched it around the midfield, and took reasonable advantage of the windy conditions favouring their end, kicking three goals to the Swans' two openers. The second quarter was an absolute clinic by the Swans. I really should have counted the goals - the lady next to me thought they'd kicked 8 but I suspect it might have been a couple more than that. In the second half, the Swans kept the ball out of the Belconnen forward line pretty consistently (at the scoring and non-scoring ends) but Belconnen knuckled down a little better in defence and the goals didn't flow quite as freely. No doubt I will find out what the final score was from the Swans website (or from Ugg or Primmy) but it would have been the Swans by plenty in very trying conditions.

[Primmy]

OK, watched the game, and enjoyed it. Not going to flog this but

1. MikePyke can now kick on the run, well, lope actually, but he can definitely motor and is reading the play WAY better. His rucking is beautiful.
2. We'll keep Ben Haren.
3. Really liked Otten too.
4. Apparently TDL rolled his ankle during the week.
5. Birdy was playing and did his best to prove he is a senior player.
6. LRT is obviously a senior player, except left at full time with an iced calf and I am fairly sure I am not pleased at seeing that.
7. Whoever Toppie 22 is, I wanna keep him. He is even smaller than Benny, but has the same attitude, and We loved him.
8. It was a stinker of a day in regards to wind. It did not stop. Make kicking difficult. Great long kick and it would go half way then fall down vertically.
9. We didn't mind Toppie 3 either.
10. Eugene is a good player. I have something else to say and may do so about half way through season propper, but not yet.
11. Chris McKaigue makes mistakes.
12. Jed Lamb is a keeper.
13. Luke Parker could play seniors this year. He is good, he is persistent and was organising things. His second and thirds were also evident.
14. I do like Dylan McNeil. Just something about him.
15. Redhead in 21 is a good player.

We won, and it was done with work, not a walk in the park.

We think that the quality of the toppies has increased massively over the last couple of years. If we can keep the core playing today, it will be in our favour.

[BSA5]

Alright, back home after a dominant display. I arrived just after quarter time. These are my thoughts from the last 2.75 quarters of footy:

Currie: Good with the taps, didn't do much else. May have picked up an injury in the second half.
Lamb: Would like to say he made a good combination with Currie (), but unfortunately I didn't notice them do much together. In any case, he's deceptively tall, very classy, and he did some very nice things. Could definitely play senior footy this year if the opportunity arose.
Bird: Pure class. Booted three goals from the midfield, won god knows how many clearances, just constantly found a way to get the ball to advantage when in close. Always seems to have that extra half-metre of space in the stoppaged.
Johnston: Liked him down back. Probably needs more time in terms of defensive body work, but he's not without potential in that area, and his rebounding efforts were great. Could do very well down there.
Parker: Part of an inside mid brigade that was simply irresistable. Looked very classy out there, won a bunch of clearances, burst through packs, not with raw acceleration, but by running at great angles (would probably make a decent union or league player), used the ball very well, had great vision, etc. Give him some development to the point where he'll be able to hold a full-time position in the senior midfield, and he'll step right in.
McNeil: Alonside Bird and Parker, simply dominated the clearances. Not big, but neither is he small, at least not anymore. Solid and nuggety. He's also very clever. Unlike some rookies seem to do, he hasn't dropped off in his second year, but has maintained and improved his performances. Seriously impressed.
LRT: Had very little to do. Assuming he's fit, he should slot straight back into the seniors next week. However, news about the icepack are concerning. Didn't see that. Damn. :(
Johnson: Rather impressed. Quite big, and smart too.
McKaigue: Not bad. Not fantastic, made some errors, but not bad.
Pyke: Liked his performance a lot. Found a fair bit of ball, more than he usually does, took some wonderful grabs up forward, his kicking was reasonably solid, his tapwork was very good, and he just looks overall a lot more comfortable. Keeps improving.
Kruger: Fast, tough, clever, and quite good reach. A very nice combination for a winger/flanker. He's very raw, however. Kicking lets him down, takes a bit of time to handle the ball and switch from carrying to kicking, etc, and will probably take some time before he's racking up the touches. Still, there's plenty to be excited about. His development could follow a similar path to Jack.
Max Otten: Wasn't impressed, to be honest. Just didn't seem particularly involved.
Nathan Gordon: Again, wasn't too impressed. Found a bit of it, certainly contributed, but there's just nothing about him that stands out as a potential AFL player. Unless he can make it as a brilliant tagger, I don't feel there's much hope for him.
Ben Haren: Had a quiet second quarter (don't know about his first), but came alive in the second half. Looked fantastic out there, with some brilliant grabs, strong leads, and even some good work at ground level and running with ball in hand (slotted a nice running goal from about 50 out near the boundary). Really stood out as a player with potential at senior level.

Toppies:

2: May have been Blake Guthrie (think heard him referred to as "Blake"). Looked fit, solid and comfortable out there. Good to see.
3: May have been Nathan Kenny (think heard him referred to as "Kenny"). Looked OK, did some good things.
4 - Jackson Potter: The most promising of the scholarship boys had a fairly good game. Probably not as involved as he would like to be in the year leading up to his potential selection or non-selection, but contributed. He's quite well built for a little guy.
6 - Jack Lynch: I've seen him before and was not particularly impressed, but I must say he looked quite good today. He has really filled out, and he looks like he could develop further. Played mostly forward, and led hard and well, brought the ball to ground, wasn't outmuscled at all, and did some clever things. Could earn himself a rookie spot over the course of the year, when it wasn't looking too likely last year.
8: Didn't do much.
15: No idea who he was, but he looked quite reasonable, did some very nice things including a very well executed run-down and tackle for HTB.
21: Red-head who I think played in the intraclub as well. Kicked two goals and was very handy.
22 - Kane Murphy: Interesting to see him line up for us again. Clearly being looked at for a spot on the rookie list next year, and you can see why. Very short, but he's strong, smart, brave and his skills are decent. If we rookie him, he could turn out to be our Jarryd Blair in 2012.

Not sure if I've missed anyone.

Probably the best, and most physically mature, group of toppies I've personally ever seen, and I think that went a long way to contributing to the result. As they say, it's not your best 6 that win you games, but your worst 6.

[Primmy]

Good for you B. 22 Kane Murphy. Of Course!!! Talk about me whooping it up on the sideline, I loved him.

I note that you two were not impressed with Otten? I thought he was involved, but has a way to go.

[ugg]

Only time for a quick post

21 I think is Mitch Thompson. Not sure on 15 but I have seen him before last year
Edit: had a look at last years records. Could be David Linsen think he plays for Wests in the SFL

[dimelb]

Thanks everyone,much appreciate your comments. I hope LRT comes up OK - my favourite Swan at the moment and we could use him. Not surprised at Pyke, seems to soak knowledge up like a sponge and he'll be back in firsts before the season's out. Even more so for Bird - if he's fit I have no idea he he was omitted, his space sense and fabulous hands make up for any lack of pace.
Funny - no-one mentioned the score!

[ugg]

Reserves 19.18 (132) Belconnen 5.5 (35)
Goals Bird 3 Haren 3 Pyke 2 Kruger 2 toppie21 2 Johnston Parker McNeil Lamb toppie15 Johnson toppie22(Murphy)

[dimelb]

Reserves 19.18 (132) Belconnen 5.5 (35)
Goals Bird 3 Haren 3 Pyke 2 Kruger 2 toppie21 2 Johnston Parker McNeil Lamb toppie15 Johnson toppie22(Murphy)
Thanks ugg - again, much appreciated!
Looks like the reserves are shaping up for a good year.

[satchmopugdog]

Thanks you lot for keeping the rest of us so well informed

[Auntie.Gerald]

thanks everyone

great to hear Parker is on the rise and rise !

Luke "Manchild" Parker.............if he can keep his mobility, maybe he will become the next Swans dominant in and under midfielder..............from memory he clocked 15 on the beep test at the Draft also so besides his tenacity and solid distribution he has the stamina but not quite the speed......he definitely looks like the old style midfielder.........ie a Voss or Ruscitto

I just reckon he is a stand out.......... but a stand out with Kennedy, Bolton and Macca playing in the role that would most be suited to him in Seniors..........he will get his chance very soon.

[Frog]

Since I wasn't home today, your tweets were much appreciated ... Thanks Ugg!

[ugg]

Arrived a few minutes late, but looks like I only missed a few behinds. The clouds were circling overhead, preventing the sunlight from coming through and providing a nice chilly atmosphere. It started drizzling quite a bit in the 1st quarter but it quickly cleared up and was pretty dry for the rest of the match. In the 2nd half, there was a strong breeze blowing from the west that added to the chill factor.

For the 2nd week running, the Swans were dominant heading towards the City end. Last week they only conceded 1 goal in 2 halves, today it was a complete shutout. It may just be a crazy co-incidence but one that I've keenly noted.

Steve Taubert was an interested onlooker on the sidelines, but on the opposite side to where the Swans bench and the rest of the coaches were. Injured players Jarred Moore and Campbell Heath were there to support their mates, but I didn't see any sign of TDL (the mystery thickens as I saw a training photo from yesterday with him in it)

10. Daniel Currie - besides one clever kick into space for Kruger to run onto, it was a pretty frustrating game as he seems lost out there. Pyke spends the majority of the time in the ruck with Dan picking up the scraps as his backup - doing well in the taps mind you. Up forward, he seems bereft of confidence and his once sticky hands seem to have turn into hands of stone. Injury-wise, he started the 3rd quarter but was taken off not long after, I spotted padding/strapping on his upper right thigh and had a slight limp.

11. Jed Lamb - 2 things about little Lamb. He runs hard and straight out on a lead - reminds me a lot of Vez in this regard. Secondly, he relishes the one-on-one contests and ends up winning a lot of them. Does his utmost to keep his feet and has a terrific ability to change direction quickly. Lamb is also terrific by foot, keeping a lot of his passes into the forward line low giving the defenders less chance of spoiling it.

14. Craig Bird - way too good for this level. He didn't look to be troubled by his reported foot injury, and his quick hands in traffic were a highlight. Drifted forward continuously and was rewarded with 3 goals. As liz has said, why he went from playing all preseason games to being the 26th or 27th man remains a mystery.

23. Lewis Johnston - a delight to watch his distribution in defence, looks incredibly balanced and calm when kicking the ball. A very attacking defender as he loves to get up the ground and is a potent threat near goal. He has yet to be tested defensively though and I still hold doubts about whether he can play against big forwards as he tends to get outpositioned and outmuscled at times.

26. Luke Parker - Yes he found a lot of it, especially off Pykey's hands and off the ground but I thought he wasted too much ball. Perhaps should rely on his first instincts as he tends to hesistate at the first option and while he was strong enough to hold off Belconnen today, I'm not sure that will happen at the next level.

28. Dylan McNeil - A quieter game from the Dyl compared to last week's stellar performance. Like the other midfielders, was fed a lot of ball by Pyke's taps but to be honest I didn't notice him that much and was probably behind Bird and Parker in the rankings.

30. LRT - Didn't even notice him until the 2nd quarter, he did what he had to do without being stretched too much. In the 2nd quarter he found Lamb in the forward pocket with a nice kick (which he subsequently missed). Didn't notice he went off until I read liz's report, hope he's okay but may need another run?

34. Alex Johnson - In the first half, spent his time in defence but with Currie's injury moved up forward and played reasonably well. He had a couple of shots that were just rushed home by Belco and finished with 1.3. He moves well, apparently was an strong middle distance runner and this was on show. But he's still too slight and got pushed off the ball a few times when in good position in the forward line.

36. Chris McKaigue - I still think he's a long way from getting a game. Defensively he goes alright, safely punches in a contest, gets stuck in during tackling but when he has the ball he really has no idea what to do besides run and (sometimes) bounce it. He was caught holding the ball a few times today because he was in two minds about what to do.

38. Mike Pyke - He had a taller and more mature opponent this week but gave the same masterclass as he did to the younger East Coast ruckman last week. Taps were consistently going down the throats of Bird, Parker, McNeil and Gordon and they must have been loving Pykey's stellar service. When rested for a short period in the 2nd quarter he took 2 contested marks and with his improved kicking, never looked like missing

43. Eugene Kruger - He's exciting when he turns on those afterburners and sprints clear. I don't think he's as quick as a Jetta or Rohan over a short distance, but quick enough to beat most of the Belconnen players over 20-30m today. As I said last week, he loves a ping at the goals. Also needs work on his kicking as he has a tendency to hook some of his kicks when going for distance.

44. Max Otten - Didn't mention him once in my Twitter feed, so he didn't do anything important. He is tall enough to play key position but at the moment looks more comfortable playing as a halfback flanker. I know the ball didn't go down in defence a lot, but he has to get himself into the game more as it's the 2nd week in a row he's been that quiet.

45. Nathan Gordon - Full of running and the effort was there but just didn't seem to impress me that much. An elite runner with vanilla skills, he'll need something extra to take him to the next level.

46. Ben Haren - I've talked him up in the other thread quite a bit. He was really good for the first 3 quarters, might have gone off in the last as I didn't notice him out there that much. Firstly, he leads well for a big man, he took a lot of marks leading out to the 50m line. Secondly, he has tremendous reach which he applies just as the ball comes in, rendering the defender's attempted spoil ineffective. Some of the key position rookies in the past in their first year (Sam Rowe, James Wall, Paul Currie) have looked real awkward - a mess of tall, gangly legs and arms that seemed ready to snap at the first sign of physical contact. Haren's definitely more filled out, although still has a lot more to go. He also has a terrific left boot, kicking an awesome goal from out wide from about 50m out.

Topups
2. If this was Blake Guthrie, then he has completely changed his appearance, much shorter hair. Looks to have a solid pre-season of weights under his belt.
3. Didn't note anything that he did.
4. Jackson Potter - again got a good run in the midfield. Compact player.
6. Jack Lynch - Must have been working with RC in the offseason. Used to be a spindly fellow but has filled out and has muscles on show now. Last year looked ill-equipped to play key position but this year will be a handy backup for the reserves if they are short of talls. Played first half defence, second half attack from memory.
8. No idea who he is, didn't see him for big patches of the game, but looked skilful enough when he had the ball.
15. Well built midfielder, as I said before I think it's David Linsen but I could be wrong.
21. Same redhead as last week, I think it's Mitch Thompson but haven't got a confirmation or denial either way. He has an eye for goal, a big kick on him and also looks very fit.
22. Kane Murphy. Played a half-forward role not too dissimilar to that of McGlynn . Not so enthusiastic about him as some others, yes he's fearless but I think his disposal is subpar and combine that with his lack of size you can see why the Saints didn't pick his option up.

Sydney Swans Reserves 2.2 11.5 14.7 19.18 (132)
Belconnen Magpies 3.3 3.3 5.4 5.5 (35)

Goals: Bird 3 Haren 3 Pyke 2 Kruger 2 toppie21(Thompson?) 2 Johnston Parker McNeil Lamb toppie15(Linsen?) Johnson toppie22(Murphy)

My Best: Pyke Bird Haren Parker Lamb Johnston

[Primmy]

22. Kane Murphy. Played a half-forward role not too dissimilar to that of McGlynn . Not so enthusiastic about him as some others, yes he's fearless but I think his disposal is subpar and combine that with his lack of size you can see why the Saints didn't pick his option up.

Interesting point ugg. I think all of our perspectives came from where we were placed around the ground. The bulk of the watchers were either on the southern part of Driver Ave side, or southern part of Anzac Pde side.

I saw Kane just go for it and dispose from ground level at speed - but that was near halfway and on the Driver Ave side, where I was. I saw Otten work his way into the game in the second half and become more evident and available - on my wing.

I also watched Lewis Johnson and commented to my friend later that he reminded me a bit of Dale Lewis, looked laconic but his work was good although his spoiling wasn't as good as I would hope (but that's me). He's tall enough to see almost all over the place. Ben Haren is a bit hard to miss and I am delighted as I noted him quite a while back as being persistent; of course I was watching him particularly so its hardly surprising I noted how he is travelling.

Guess its all part of the footy package to see it from varying levels and site lines. I did like the redhead though.

Ah well, Jude Bolton used to play like an over enthusiastic puppy so there's hope for all of them.

[ugg]

After last week's great effort, this week's official report is disappointing in that it's even worse that last year's affair.

Reserves improve in second win - Official AFL Website of the Sydney Swans Football Club (http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7106/newsid/110129/default.aspx)

It does say LRT played 3 quarters and sounds like it was all pre-planned. The Bombers don't have a particularly tall forward line though there's no need to rush Mr RT back in there.

[ugg]

4. Apparently TDL rolled his ankle during the week.

Primmy, I didn't pick this out till now. Do you mean Moore rolled his ankle, because that was the problem he had carrying over from the St Kilda NAB Challenge game, or did TDL also roll his too?