Round 19: UWS Giants v Sydney Swans Reserves

[ugg]

NEAFL Round 19
UWS Giants v Sydney Swans Reserves
Saturday 4th August 2012 10.30am
Skoda Stadium

Note This is the curtain raiser to the GWS Giants v Port Adelaide AFL match. Plenty of tickets left!

The Reserves will become the first Swans side to play at Sydney's newest AFL venue taking on their crosstown rivals the UWS Giants on Saturday morning. The Swans will be looking to complete a clean sweep over the Giants after winning the previous 2 contests this year by convincing 118 and 87 points margins.

UWS have struggled in the NEAFL this season due to the weekly changes put upon their seniors as their coaching staff seeks to share the load on their team's young (and old) bodies throughout the year. This has meant that UWS has had to rely on a lot of their contingent of topups, mostly drawn from their Academy. While these youngsters have performed admirably they haven't been able to match the hardened bodies of the other NEAFL sides, and with only 4 wins for the year they are well out of the running for the finals.

For the Swans, a victory would keep them within sight of the minor premiership, being only 1 game behind current league leaders the Queanbeyan Tigers with just 3 rounds to go. The side scored an impressive away victory over the Gold Coast Suns Reserves last week and will look to consolidate that result with a win in their last clash against an AFL Reserves side this year (unless they make the NEAFL Grand Grand Final of course :tongue:)

Eastern Conference Ladder
Team|Played|Wins|Losses|Draws|For|Against|Percenta ge|Points
Queanbeyan|15|12|3|0|1735|1179|14716%|48
Reserves|15|11|4|0|2097|1076|194.89%|44
Eastlake|15|10|5|0|1470|1211|121.39%|40
Ainslie|15|9|6|0|1658|1430|115.94%|36
Hills Eagles|15|9|6|0|1570|1421|110.49%|36
{colsp=9}-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belconnen|16|4|11|1|1396|1644|84.91%|18
UWS Giants|15|4|11|0|1170|1869|62.60%|16
Sydney Uni|15|3|12|0|1105|1965|56.23%|12
Tuggeranong|16|1|14|1|1218|2201|55.34%|6



Past Meetings
2012
R1 UWS Giants 4.9 (33) defeated by Reserves 23.13 (151) @ ANZ Stadium

The Swans began their NEAFL season with a bang kicking 8 goals in the first quarter and keeping the hapless and undermanned Giants scoreless. The rout continued throughout the game, with Mark Seaby, Jarred Moore and Dylan McNeil dominating the clearances, and Trent Dennis-Lane and Jesse White finishing off their teammates' good work with 10 goals between them.

Goals: Dennis-Lane 6, White 4, Seaby 2, Lamb 2, Pyke 2, Moore 2, Cass 2, Biggs, McNeil, Morton
Best: Seaby, Dennis-Lane, Moore, White, Lynch, McNeil

R14 Reserves 18.21 (129) defeated UWS 6.6 (42) @ ANZ Stadium
Poor conversion in front of goal didn't cost the Reserves anything but a bigger victory as they were too strong for the youngsters from UWS. Nick Malceski was in fine form, rebounding from half back in a dynamic display with ex-West Coast rookie Lewis Broome setting the stadium alight with 5 well taken goals.

Goals: Broome 5, Dennis-Lane 4, Gordon 2, Biggs, Mitchell, Spangher, McNeil, Moody, Potter, Moore
Best: Malceski, McNeil, Meredith, Broome, Dennis-Lane, Potter

2011
R6 GWS 3.9 (27) defeated by Reserves 12.15 (87) @ Manuka Oval

GWS were much improved from their previous showing against the Reserves, and managed to keep the contest low-scoring and tight right up till the end of the 3rd quarter. The Swans kicked away in the last quarter but onlookers left very impressed with the disciplined and well-drilled side that Sheedy and Choco have managed to build up. Luke Parker was immense in the midfield and up forward, earning a debut in the next week based on this performance. Lewis Johnston and Chris McKaigue were lauded for their defensive work, especially their spoiling down back.

Goals: White 3, Haren 2, E.Moody 2, Dennis-Lane 2, Parker, Bevan, McNeil
Best: Parker, Johnston, McKaigue, Thompson, Roberts-Thomson, McNeil

R12 GWS 3.11 (29) defeated by Reserves 17.13 (115) @ Blacktown Olympic Park

A tight and intriguing struggle developed during the early stages of the game where GWS's pressure and tackling strangled the Swans' movement of the ball. After an adjustment during the second quarter where the Sydney players started to kick longer and more direct, they managed to break the Giants' swarm and coast to a comfortable victory. Daniel Currie starred both in the ruck and at full forward finishing with 4 goals. Luke Parker was the pick of the dominant midfielders.

Goal Kickers: Currie 4, Gordon 3, White 2, Dennis-Lane 2, Otten 2, Everitt 2 McNeil, Meredith
Best Players: Parker, Heath, Meredith, White, Gordon, Currie

R17 Reserves 9.3 (57) defeated by GWS 18.13 (121) @ Blacktown Olympic Park

Bad weather saw resulted in this SCG-scheduled match being relocated to the Giants' training ground. With only 9 listed players on the ground and 13 topups lining up, the team started well and were still in the game at half time but fell away in the 2nd half.

Goal Kickers: Dennis-Lane 2, Moore, Gordon, Murphy, White, Potter, McNeil
Best Players: Potter, Gordon, Moore, White, McNeil, Murphy

Recent Form
Reserves
Round|Team|Venue|Result|F|A
R1|UWS|Away|WIN|151|34|
R2|BYE|
R3|Gold Coast|Home|LOSS|55|91|
R4|Ainslie|Away|LOSS|85|111|
R5|Tuggeranong|Home|WIN|213|41|
R6|NT Thunder|Away|LOSS|90|112|
R7|Sydney Uni|Away|WIN|239|36|
R8|Brisbane|Away|WIN|120|86|
R9|Eastlake|Home|WIN|144|43|
R10|Gold Coast|Home|WIN|109|56|
R11|Queanbeyan|Away|WIN|137|96|
R12|BYE|
R13|Sydney Uni|Home|WIN|188|40|
R14|UWS|Home|WIN|129|42|
R15|Brisbane|Home|LOSS|103|122|
R16|BYE|
R17|Belconnen|Home|WIN|197|66|
R18|Gold Coast|Away|WIN|131|100|


UWS Giants
Round|Team|Venue|Result|F|A
R1|Sydney|Home|LOSS|34|151|
R2|BYE|
R3|Brisbane|Home|LOSS|81|109|
R4|Hills Eagles|Home|WIN|130|94|
R5|Queanbeyan|Home|WIN|98|94|
R6|Eastlake|Away|LOSS|85|103|
R7|BYE|
R8|Gold Coast|Home|WIN|90|75|
R9|Brisbane|Away|LOSS|33|274|
R10|Hills Eagles|Away|LOSS|27|136|
R11|BYE|
R12|NT Thunder|Away|LOSS|93|139|
R13|Tuggeranong|Away|LOSS|89|118|
R14|Sydney|Away|LOSS|42|129|
R15|Gold Coast|Away|LOSS|72|103|
R16|Sydney Uni|Away|WIN|126|79|
R17|Ainslie|Home|LOSS|98|111|
R18|NT Thunder|Away|LOSS|72|154|


Last Round
Reserves 20.11 (131) defeated Gold Coast 15.10 (100) @ Metricon Stadium
A close fought game was blown apart in the last quarter when the Reserves unleashed an 8 goal display to easily triumph away at Metricon Stadium. Mitch Morton was the star forward, kicking 9 goals in a consistent all round display with Nathan Gordon and Matt Spangher's competitive displays leading the way for the Swans.

Goals: Morton 9, Spangher 3, Plug 2, Moore, Potter, McNeil, White, Everitt, Gordon
Best: Gordon, Spangher, Morton, Meredith, Plug, Cunningham

NT Thunder 23.16 (154) defeated UWS Giants 10.12 (72) @ TIO Stadium
A young Giants side backed up by some local topups were overpowered by the strong Thunder team. The Giants' defence struggled to contain the many attacking options of the home side, who had 11 goalkickers on the day. Half forward Nathan Wilson topped the goalkicking list with 3 with tough halfback Adam Kennedy, ruckman Andrew Phillips and key defender Jack Hombsch the best players for UWS.
Goals: Wilson 3, Assan 2, Darley, Green, Redfern, Dhurrkay, Phillips
Best: Kennedy, Phillips, Hombsch, Golds, Whiley, Clifton

Team List
Listed players
#|Name|Games|Goals|Votes|Notes
7|Brett MEREDITH|12|5|17|Named in the bests against the Suns, making it 3 out of the last 4 games he has polled.
10|Mitch MORTON|13|64|17|(Seniors extended bench)9 goals edged him just ahead of James Kavanagh (Queanbeyan) in the goalkicking race. First time he's been named in a Swans seniors squad.
11|Jed LAMB|11|12|2|
13|Andrejs EVERITT|4|3|3|Out of seniors contention with his omission from the extended interchange. Hard to tell from 2 minutes of highlights but it looked like he was playing midfield last week.
17|Tommy WALSH|13|20|22|Missed one week with a shoulder injury, it was bad timing for him as he was an emergency in the week he hurt it and could have been a real chance as Reid's replacement
18|Jesse WHITE|10|24|8|A key forward goes down and yet White can't even make the extended interchange. With Seaby not named, he'll have to ruck and without any ruckmen in the topups will have to ruck for most of the day with the occasional chop-out from Walsh, Everitt and/or Spangher.
19|Tony ARMSTRONG|8|1|6|(Seniors extended bench) A victim of the strong form of the current Swans' defensive set-up and in particular Malceski's recent purple patch. Will have to bide his time and wait for an opportunity.
27|Matthew SPANGHER|8|19|15|Was mentioned as a possible replacement for Reid after a good showing against the Suns reserves, but only 2 games into another comeback from a hamstring setback playing him would have been too risky.
28|Dylan McNEIL|15|6|8|
33|Jarred MOORE|15|12|36|His hot run has tapered off only registering one vote in the past 4 games after 35 in the first 11.
35|Campbell HEATH|15|0|16|Could man up Folau again after Izzy was dropped from the GWS team.
36|Alex BROWN|7|1|3|
42|Jack LYNCH|15|7|8|Will need to be at his wily best against some tall timber in the resting ruckman: both Phillips and Downie are 200cm+
44|Harry CUNNINGHAM|14|10|16|
45|Nathan GORDON|11|25|9|(Seniors extended bench)My pick for the traveling emergency.

Changes
In: Walsh
Out:

At least one of the senior emergencies will be traveling to Melbourne as cover, and perhaps another emergency could join him on the plane given the doubts over the fitness of Mumford and Goodes. So while there are 19 listed players in this squad, the number should shrink to 14 and maybe even 13 if extra cover is needed down in Melbourne.

Tom Mitchell and Mark Seaby reportedly one week away from yet another injury comeback whilst poor Shane Biggs seems to be perpetually stuck on 2-3 weeks on the Swans injury list, with a "lower leg" issue. Eugene Kruger is the only other reserves regular out, 1 week with a hamstring problem.

Academy Players/Topups
#|Name|Games|Goals|Votes|Notes
47|Jackson POTTER|15|6|1|
?|Lewis BROOME|3|9|3|
?|Mitch CRAWFORD|5|0|0|
?|Beau HEENEY|2|0|0|
?|Jack McKINLAY|1|0|0|
?|Dane RAMPE|0|0|0|
?|Dylan ROOS|1|1|0|
?|Thomas THURGARLAND|2|1|0|
Changes
In: Broome, Crawford, Heeney, McKinlay, Rampe, Roos, Thurgarland
Out: Jack Davis, Lachlan Kilpatrick, Bradley Plug, Nick Roberts, Sam Tagliabue, Jordan Weir, Stephen Wray

A whole new set of topups, except the one constant in Potter.

Reserves leading goalkickers


Mitch Morton 64
Trent Dennis-Lane 30
Nathan Gordon 25

For full list: 2012 Goalkickers - RWOwiki (http://www.redandwhiteonline.com/wiki/index.php/2012_Goalkickers)

Reserves leading votegetters


Jarred Moore 36
Trent Dennis-Lane 28
Mark Seaby 24

For full list: 2012 Best Votes - RWOwiki (http://www.redandwhiteonline.com/wiki/index.php/2012_Best_votes)

UWS Giants
|||
B:|13. Sam DARLEY|36. Jack HOMBSCH|42. Mark WHILEY|
HB:|22. Shaun EDWARDS|47. Josh BRUCE|43. Kurt AYLETT
C:|24. Stephen CLIFTON|29. Dom TYSON|45. Sam SCHULZ
HF:|16. Nathan WILSON|20. Adam TOMLINSON|19. Nick HAYNES
F:|32. Gerald UGLE|22. Tom DOWNIE|4. Israel FOLAU
Foll:|27. Andrew PHILLIPS|7. Rhys PALMER|15. Tim GOLDS
Int:|41. Josh GROWDEN|?. Stuart TURNER|?.Joe REDFERN|
|?. Liam FLAHERTY|?. Zac WILLIAMS||


In: Bruce, Edwards, Folau, Growden, Haynes, Palmer, Tyson, Flaherty, Williams
Out: Matthew Buntine, Adam Kennedy, P.Green, R.Assan, B.Bara, T.Dhurrkay, L.Narndu, F.Kintari, B.Wharton

7 listed players ins boosts their playing stocks to 19 listed players and with their reserves being the curtain raiser to their seniors game, they won't have to sacrifice any of their 3 emergencies (Folau, Palmer and Hombsch) from their lineup, not until halftime at the very earliest. This is their best lineup for many weeks (as an aside, a few weeks ago in a match against GC both sides only played 16 a side as they struggled to find enough players) and will be a much tougher challenge than the other 2 victories the Swans experienced over them earlier this year.

There is a nice balance between talls (Downie, Phillips, Tomlinson, Bruce, Hombsch, Edwards, Folau) and the smalls but the one aspect lacking is some experience with only Palmer and Clifton the more mature aged of the lot. Expect the Swans to exploit this discrepancy with the likes of Moore, Spangher, White, Everitt and Armstrong possessing multiple years of AFL football under their belt.

[Swansongster]

Thanks Ugg. Love your work.

Are you going to the game? We should shout you a pie and a beer for your reports.

[stellation]

For those who are going (purely for the reserves, of course! ;) ) have you opted just for GA or for reserved seats? I know there's not going to be a big crowd, but not really sure what the go is at Skoda and Stella Junior and I are thinking of toddling along.

[ugg]

I bought a GA ticket ($20 specially discounted from $24 for Sheedy's 1000th game!) but I've been told you can move around to the reserved seats without anyone really batting an orange and charcoal eyelid.

[Doctor]

I'm planning to toddle along too. Not sure if I'll get there for the ressies as I have the junior sport rounds to make but it's a good opportunity to check out the ground on what is forescast to be a nice afternoon. Hopefully GWS will be semi-competitive.

[Big Al]

I'm going with a bloke who has an Achy Breaky HEART and will be sitting in the GWS members. I'll probably get a better seat for the important match of the day at 10.30 though.

[stellation]

What's the pick of the grub, Big Al? I appreciate your traveling partner will simply say the chips, but any other dazzling culinary delights to keep an eye out for?

[Primmy]

I hate seeing nicmal on the list.

Does anyone know how far it is to walk from P1 to Skoda? I am a bit dodgy on my legs this week, and if it is too far then I cannot make it. Was told that there was a little train that shuttles you about. Anyone?

[desredandwhite]

I hate seeing nicmal on the list.

Does anyone know how far it is to walk from P1 to Skoda? I am a bit dodgy on my legs this week, and if it is too far then I cannot make it. Was told that there was a little train that shuttles you about. Anyone?

Judging by the images on google maps.. It looks to be a little more than the walk from P1 to the Brewery, just on the other side.

[Doctor]

P1 is the main one next to the Superdome right? If so, it's not very far. You walk past the Superdome and across the main road (Olympic Boulevard?) and it's pretty much right there.

[111431]

Ugg thks for your insights. Can you plse keep an eye on Tim Golds from the Giants - i am interested to hear how he goes.

thks

[Big Al]

What's the pick of the grub, Big Al? I appreciate your traveling partner will simply say the chips, but any other dazzling culinary delights to keep an eye out for?

They have a Subway which does get quite crowded.
They also have a Pie place that actually has a decent selection of Pies.
SKODA also has a sausage joint with lots of different styles to choose from with lashings of onions of course.

.... Or so I've heard. :)

[Sidney V]

Hey Big Al - where have you been ?

As usual great pre match report - thanks

[ugg]

Updates from today's game Swans Reserves (swansreserves) on Twitter (www.twitter.com/swansreserves) from 10.30am

[Primmy]

thank you ugg. bless.

[stellation]

We've NARROGARFed it in the end, the lego set of Diagon Alley arrived at our house this morning- little chance of dragging him away. I'm dissapointed, looks like a great day for footy.

[Primmy]

Been following uggs posts on twitter; not a straight forward game. Kind of got all excited, the other mob have made the ressies work. And it looks like Roos can play (I surmise).

Diagon Alley lego set? oooohhh.....

[Dirtyburt]

Been following uggs posts on twitter; not a straight forward game. Kind of got all excited, the other mob have made the ressies work. And it looks like Roos can play (I surmise).

Diagon Alley lego set? oooohhh.....
The Lego version of shades of grey is somewhat more controversial

[BigBarryRound25]

I hate seeing nicmal on the list.

Does anyone know how far it is to walk from P1 to Skoda? I am a bit dodgy on my legs this week, and if it is too far then I cannot make it. Was told that there was a little train that shuttles you about. Anyone?

Is mal playing ressies? He's named in the seniors for tomorrow.

[wolftone57]

I didn't see Mal's name in the tweets so I presume he didn't play. So will be playing tomorrow.

[ugg]

Full time Swans 18.18 (126) UWS 9.10 (64) Morton 6 Lamb 4 Spangher 2 Everitt McNeil Broome Roos #55 #58 #goswans #neafl #fb

Gordon the traveling emergency

[satchmopugdog]

Diagon Alley leggo set...that is the most exciting thing I have heard for ages.........plus hooray for the win.

[stellation]

It was outrageously expensive, he's had it on layby for a while and has paid it off with pocket money and doing extra chores. It's close to the most impressive lego set I've ever seen.

Watching the Giants vs. Port game I kind of wished I'd been a harsher dad and made him go to the footy with me!

[dimelb]

Thanks ugg for the intro and, with others, for the tweets. Much appreciated.

[Big Al]

My boy Lamb had his best game of the year and was in the middle of the best brawl I've seen this year. On the brawl it was great to see Mitch Morton flying the flag for his team and run into protect Jed.

[wolftone57]

You go Jed and good on Mitch!!!

[ugg]

Sydney SwansGoal Kickers: M. MORTON 5, J. LAMB 4, M. SPANGHER 2, M. Crawford , A. EVERITT , B. Heeney , T. Thurgarland , D. Roos , D. MCNEIL , L. Broome
Best Players: C. HEATH, J. WHITE, J. LYNCH, J. MOORE, J. LAMB, T. Thurgarland

[wolftone57]

Thurgarland must be a pretty good toppy to get in the best. What sort of a player is he Ugg?

[ugg]

I wish I could tell you but I'm not sure which player he was today

[ugg]

Okay that's not exactly true, he's either 55 or 58. I suspect he's 58 he was the larger of the two.

Topup numbers if anyone's interested, question marks next to their name if I'm not 100% sure

51 Crawford?
52 Roos
53 McKinlay
54 Roos
55 Heeney?
58 Thurgarland?
59 Rampe?

[Primmy]

Two sets of Roos?

[ugg]

Sorry 54 Broome

[BillyRayCypress]

Two sets of Roos?

The other was at the ground but not playing. As was Dad.

[BillyRayCypress]

They have a Subway which does get quite crowded.
They also have a Pie place that actually has a decent selection of Pies.
SKODA also has a sausage joint with lots of different styles to choose from with lashings of onions of course.

.... Or so I've heard. :)

I've heard the kebab place is pretty good as well. The kransky and saeurkraut hot dog was worth a mention.

P1 was full to the brim with a Jehovah Witness convention so that back carpark was a much better option.

Triple B gave Kenny Williams a "God talking to me" experience. That was rather funny.

We were sitting above Ugg and his harem of ladies, so kept an eye on him.

Kenny was there shaking hands with the GWS players. I think he was trying to get Cameron to jump ship. Poor young Cameron looked confused by the end of the conversation.

Good brawl between the teams and the game was fairly even till into the second half.

I'm wondering what the issue is with young Roos and the mattress pads. Are they a family heirloom? If you're cynical, it does make you stand out. He doesn't have a very long kick on him and Walsh towered over him in height.

[Industrial Fan]

Thurgarland must be a pretty good toppy to get in the best. What sort of a player is he Ugg?Interestingly enough, he was only a lower case best.

[ABloodsMan]

Any reports from people who were able to watch the game? Anyone demanding to take Boltons spot in the side?

Could Lamb get his first run, or mayhap Morton for TDL.

[Primmy]

I am waiting to see what charges MM faces from the stink before expecting him to get a gig.

[707]

Whilst Morton would be new to the Swans he is an experienced senior AFL player so not as risky debuting him as an untried player.

[ugg]

Giants were the slightly better team in the 1st quarter and the Swans would have been happy to be only 2 goals down at the first break. The second quarter was an even contest; the height of their tall forwards was causing some issues for our defenders who were forced to scramble wildly when they moved the ball quick and direct. It was certainly a major component of their game plan to exploit the height differential between our defenders and their forwards and although they only took one contested grab in the forward 50 (thanks to Andrew Phillips' looong reach), there were a few instances when Campbell Heath did incredibly well to spoil his much taller opponent, the Giants cleaned up the spillage and managed to goal.

Palmer was withdrawn at halftime to as the emergency for the GWS-Port game and this would have contributed to their woeful second half performance although it would not have been a satisfactory excuse from their point of view. The Giants struggled with the defensive intensity and tackling prowess of the Swans, and when the turnover inevitably happened, the Swans spread harder and faster and with a much more open forward line to work with, the likes of Morton and Lamb were the main beneficiaries on the scoreboard. In fact the Swans should have won by a greater margin but they slaughtered a host of gettable chances in the beginning of the last quarter, eventually finishing with 3.8 for that term.



Brett Meredith - Fast developing a reputation as the "Mr. Fixit" of the side. He played a variety of roles throughout the day: started at halfback on the dangerous Nick Haynes then a small stint on Israel Folau when the Giants went taller in the forward line. He ran off Izzy at every opportunity and was never threatened defensively by Folau who still struggles to run to the right spots as a forward. The second quarter involved a shift to the midfield including a rest in the forward half before being told to go back to defence. Looks comfortable playing off halfback with his kicking being his major asset. He managed to find space in the last quarter for a 4 bounce canter down the corridor but sadly panicked a little when confronted by two defenders and miskicked the ball for a behind.
Mitch Morton - He was well contained by Shaun Edwards in the first half who had great assistance due to the Giants pushing back huge numbers into our forward 50 to block our forwards' space. The forward line opened up in the second half and Morton cannily ran to the right areas to take a number of marks inside the forward 50 and converted with his usual "around the corner" style. He's been criticised for his selfish play in the past so he deserves credit for his unselfish act of passing off to Dylan Roos unmarked in the goalsquare for one of his set shots and was also the first teammate in to assist Jed Lamb when the brawl before three quarter time broke out (see below)
Jed Lamb - An eventful day for Jed, 4 goals topping off another good performance as well as being involved in the 2 physical clashes of the day. The first happened after he executed a legal shepherd on Edwards who took strident exception and shoved Lamb violently in the back to the ground. The second occurred about 5 minutes later during a boundary throw in, where with heavy numbers around the ball, Gerald Ugle blew up for some unknown reason and started a confrontation with Lamb. There were a few punches thrown from players on both sides but luckily none of them really connected. Lamb received a 50m penalty and kicked his 3rd goal from that incident. He played more up forward with bursts in the midfield. His set shot conversion was impeccable (could give TDL a run for his money): he nailed 2 goals from the 50m arc including one from the intersection of the 50m line and the boundary line. His other goal was a clever gather from a boundary throw-in, a sly inside step and pivot freeing him for a clear shot on goal.
Andrejs Everitt - Played as an onballer with the freedom to run hard in both directions. His ball use, particularly when delivering the ball inside 50, was very good especially when he had the time to think it through. I don't think he would be afforded this sort of luxury at AFL level but it may well be a moot point because Longmire rarely uses Everitt in a midfield role in the seniors.
Tommy Walsh - He was prominent on the leads and presented well for his teammates but once he marked the ball, he either failed to convert the resulting set shot or made a poor decision in trying to find an option inside 50. With such a powerful right boot the temptation for Walsh is to boot it as hard as he can which rarely results in an advantageous situation for the team. However when he tries the shorter pass he tends to overcorrect and the ball tends to fall to feet of his intended target.
Jesse White - A mammoth effort to ruck almost the whole game against Phillips, Folau and Tom Downie, and is testament to his improved fitness that he was able to perform this role. The only time he went off was when he landed awkwardly on his right leg (ankle?) in the 3rd quarter and limped off to get treatment but came back to ruck the 4th. Everitt relieved him in the ruck during this resting period - there was an amusing incident when Phillips told a teammate to block Everitt from being the third man up at a throw-in not realising he was actually the opposing ruckman and ended up giving away the free kick for an illegal block.
Tony Armstrong - Played off a wing in the first half with the task of running with one of the GWS midfielders. Was a little quiet by my reckoning but when he was swapped into defence in the second half he looked much more natural with his run and carry from halfback.
Matthew Spangher - He was the catalyst that sparked the Swans into action in the first quarter but found the going much harder after that. Jack Hombsch marked Spangher out of the game a few weeks ago when these 2 sides last met and he did it again for this game. Hombsch was particularly smart in his defensive positioning, either playing just in front or maintaining constant body contact to curtail Spangher having a clear jump at the ball. Spangher was so frustrated that after a topup's poorly directed kick fell short which allowed Hombsch to spoil easily he let out an anguished cry of "What the F was that kick?" that could be clearly heard around the ground. On the bright side, he would have wrapped up the Ressies Mark of the Year award with a perfectly timed leap onto Jesse's back who was kind (and strong) enough to keep him up there for a good second or two. It was reminiscent of the Grundy v Port mark from a few years ago.
Dylan McNeil - Was full of running despite playing an inside mid role and made the effort to push forward hard to create goalscoring opportunities but could only finish with 1.3 from his shots on goal.
Jarred Moore - Back to his clever best. He may not have goaled himself but had a direct hand in at least 3 of the goals. His vision and quick decisive play made him a standout in our midfield.
Campbell Heath - Marshalled the back six who did an outstanding job in the second half to restrict GWS to only 2 goals and 6 scoring shots. Heath's sangfroid under pressure would have undoubtedly assisted the few toppies who were playing alongside him in defence.
Alex Brown - Played in defence; some of his distribution from the back half was just outstanding with his long kicks turning defensive situations into attacking opportunities.
Jack Lynch - A great game from Lynch who displayed some fantastic bodywork in defence to outposition his bigger opponent. Like his partner-in-crime Heath, his kicking is a solid part of his game and along with his athleticism I feel he would make a fine half-back flanker, but alas will probably have to stick to key defence for the time being due to a lack of other key defensive options in the reserves' side.
Harry Cunningham - Tagged Palmer tightly in the first half and shifted onto Stephen Clifton in the second half but in not such a tight role. I'm pretty sure he's a right footer but does like to utilise his left for a quick kick around the corner when trying to clear the ball from a contested situation. Had a rare sighting of his pace when he hared down one wing and delivered a pinpoint pass to Morton who comfortably completed a chest mark.
Jackson Potter - Has spent a lot of time in defence this year but was used in some centre bounces in this game. Doesn't look out of place alongside the likes of Moore and McNeil with his tough, nuggety frame and penchant for tackling.
Topups - Dylan Roos (#52) sported the thigh pads again but looked more at ease than his first game a fortnight ago. His handball work in close was good but his kicking lacks penetration. Lewis Broome (#54) started each half on the bench and stayed there for some time before getting injected into the game. It was probably his most quiet Reserves game to date finishing with just the one goal. Has strong hands. Dane Rampe? (#59) a solidly built blonde midfield type, has VFL experience in his CV who played well. Jack McKinlay (#53) was in defence but didn't see much game time. Mitch Crawford (#51) played across half-forward and apparently had one goal which I had marked down for Morton. The remaining topups #55 and #58 were either Beau Heeney or Thomas Thurgarland each kicked a nice goal from 40 on the run. #55 started in defence and looked shaky early when outmarked by Nathan Wilson in the first quarter but to his credit was a solid player from thereon.


Giants 5.1 7.6 8.6 9.10 (64)
Swans 3.3 6.6 15.10 18.18 (126)

Next week is our first ever meeting against the Hills Eagles who have surprised the preseason experts by qualifying for the NEAFL finals in their first year.

[BillyRayCypress]

Great report Ugg.

Ugle certainly lost the plot there for some time. Something was obvioulsy said to him to make him that mad.

[Industrial Fan]

Great report Ugg.

Ugle certainly lost the plot there for some time. Something was obvioulsy said to him to make him that mad.Ay relation to Ugle that plays for the Pies?

[TPR4]

Good to see Lambchop getting involved, Spang has clearly transformed into a fulltime forward now that he's spraying others further up the ground for poor delivery.

Bonus points for using "sangfroid" in an Aussie Rules reserves report.

[barry]

Hombsch is an AFL standard defender (he was in my supercoach side for a while), so its not the end of the world if he beat spranger, especially if delivery was substandard.

[ugg]

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/videoaudio/tabid/8664/default.aspx?contentid=476830#playvideo

Highlights but sadly no Spangher speccie :(