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3rd May 2013, 05:46 PM
I'm Only Sleeping
NEAFL Round 7
Sydney Swans Reserves v Brisbane Lions Reserves
Sunday 5th May 2013 9.30am
Sydney Cricket Ground
The highly anticipated clash between two unbeaten sides from each conference has unfortunately been scheduled for the soporific start time of 9.30am. The Lions are also the reigning NEAFL premiers, defeating Queanbeyan for the title in 2012. Under new coach Leigh Harding, they have started the season in brilliant form, smashing their archrivals the Suns Reserves twice in the past 3 weeks.
The Swans had a bye last week to coincide with the historic Wellington trip by the seniors, and prior to that have also been in good form, posting 3 consecutive comfortable triumphs after their 1st round thriller against the Giants.
With no listed players restrictions for either side, we should witness some good football being played by these fringe players desperate to break into their respective senior sides. The 2 sides have fought some entertaining battles since the introduction of the NEAFL. The Swans have emerged victorious in 4 of the 5 battles but the Lions' only win was at the SCG last year.
Eastern Conference Ladder
Team|Played|Wins|Losses|Draws|Byes|For|Against|Per centage|Points
Queanbeyan|5|5|0|0|1|572|384|148.96%|20
Reserves|4|4|0|0|2|602|293|205.46%|16
Belconnen|5|3|2|0|1|628|478|131.38%|12
UWS Giants|5|3|2|0|1|600|466|128.76%|12
Ainslie|5|2|3|0|1|484|490|98.78%|8
{colsp=10}-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hills Eagles|5|2|3|0|1|500|582|85.91%|8
Eastlake|5|2|3|0|1|406|540|75.19%|8
Tuggeranong|4|1|3|0|2|249|540|46.11%|4
Sydney Uni|5|0|5|0|1|440|634|69.40%|0
Northern Conference Ladder
Team|Played|Wins|Losses|Draws|Byes|For|Against|Per centage|Points
Lions Reserves|5|5|0|0|1|672|324|207.41%|20
Southport|5|5|0|0|1|552|330|167.27%|20
Morningside|6|4|2|0|0|589|524|112.40%|16
NT Thunder|5|3|2|0|1|625|476|131.30|12
Aspley|5|3|2|0|1|519|466|111.37%|12
{colsp=10}-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suns Reserves|5|2|3|0|1|523|518|100.97%|8
Labrador|5|1|4|0|1|373|531|70.24%|4
Redland|5|1|4|0|1|382|550|69.45%|4
Broadbeach|5|1|4|0|1|365|564|64.72%|4
Mt Gravatt|5|0|5|0|1|291|681|42.73%|0
Past Meetings
2012
R8 Brisbane Reserves 11.20 (86) defeated by Reserves 18.12 (120) @Yeronga
The Reserves travelled to Brisbane to upset the Lions who aided the Swans by being incredibly wasteful in front of goal. The Swans stormed to a 6 goal lead at quarter time and maintained a 4 goal lead at the main break and despite a couple of Lions surges in the 2nd half, confidently withstood the fusillade of shots from Brisbane to win quite comfortably. Mitch Morton continued his goal glut by bagging 8 to complement his 10 the previous week. Captain Jarred Moore dominated the stoppages yet again aided by the taps of big Canuck Mike Pyke
Goals: Morton 8 Walsh 2, Davis, Thurgarland, Spangher, Cunningham, Moody, Bosschieter, Moore, Meredith
Best: Moore, Pyke, Walsh, Cunningham, Biggs, Heath
R16 Reserves 16.7 (103) defeated by Brisbane Reserves 17.20 (122) @ Sydney Cricket Ground
The Swans for a variety of reasons had plenty of regulars missing and a very strong Lions outfit took advantage of their absence to record a strong away win. Truth be told, if they had converted a higher number of their set shots, the game would have been over early in the 2nd half. Tommy Walsh stood up in the absence of his forward line teammates to take strong grabs, and finished with a deserved 3 goals. Brett Meredith provided plenty of run and dash from the half back line while Trent Dennis-Lane continued to impress onlookers in his new hybrid midfield-forward role.
Goals: Broome 3, Parker 3, Dennis-Lane 3, Walsh 3, Moore, Krochmal, Mitchell, Lamb
Best: Walsh, Meredith, Dennis-Lane, Heath, Plug, Parker
R21 Brisbane Reserves 13.8 (86) defeated by Reserves 17.15 (117) @ Yeronga
The Reserves coped well without leading goalkicker Mitch Morton with his replacement Trent Dennis-Lane kicking 5 goals and the two talls Matt Spangher and Tommy Walsh 3 each. It was the impressive use of the ball by Andrejs Everitt that saw him named best on ground alongside midfield general Jarred Moore. Campbell Heath yet again led the defence superbly, blanketing the Lions tall forwards.
Goals: Dennis-Lane 5, Spangher 3, Walsh 3, McNeil 2, Everitt 2, Cunningham Gordon
Best: Everitt, Moore, Heath, McNeil, White
Recent Form
Reserves
Round|Team|Venue|Result|F|A
R1|BYE|
R2|UWS|Away|WIN|107|102|
R3|Gold Coast|Home|WIN|110|65|
R4|Tuggernong|Away|WIN|237|40|
R5|Hills Eagles|Home|WIN|148|86|
R6|BYE|
Lions Reserves
Round|Team|Venue|Result|F|A
R1|BYE|
R2|Morningside|Away|WIN|144|57|
R3|UWS|Home|WIN|101|62|
R4|Gold Coast|Away|WIN|180|70|
R5|Broadbeach|Home|WIN|136|56|
R6|Gold Coast|Away|WIN|111|79|
Last Round
Reserves had a bye - so let's go back to Round 5
Reserves 22.16 (148) defeated Hills Eagles 13.8 (86) @ SCG
Goals: Walsh 5, Head 4, Everitt 2, White 2, Robinson 2, Lloyd 2, Towers, Jack, Lockyer, Lamb
Best: Brown, Bird, Lloyd, Lamb, Hadden, Walsh
Suns Reserves 12.7 (79) defeated by Lions Reserves 17.9 (111) @ Mackay - Harrup Park
Goals: Lisle 8, Newell 2, Tickner 2, McKeever, Black, Stevenson, Radford, Hayes
Best: Lisle, Black, Hayes, Newell, Stiller, Michael
Team List
Listed players
#|Name|Games|Goals|Votes|Notes
1|Tim MEMBREY|3|9|0|Presenting well on leads and will be fresh after a 2 week break.
6|Tom MITCHELL|3|1|0|Hasn't dominated the possession tally as he did last year but will have to step up in Lamb's absence.
10|Mitch MORTON|3|18|8|Very unlucky to only receive half a game of football as reward for his excellent reserves form, will be keen to do well against tough opposition here. His last reserves start netted him 10 goals and almost as many score assists.
13|Andrejs EVERITT|2|6|6|Half a reserves game here, 3 quarters of the seniors there, the Swans management of him has been questionable. Expect time to be split in the midfield and the forward line
17|Tommy WALSH|3|12|5|Has tended to play in defence when there is a gorilla to mark and Jordan Lisle's presence could mean he moves to defence despite kicking 12 goals in the last 2 games.
18|Jesse WHITE|4|3|8|Billy Longer's promotion last week means that White will be battling a ruckman who is very similar in style to himself. Sam Michael is not a natural ruck but a very athletic tall who has a good leap.
22|Dean TOWERS|4|3|0|A quietish game against the Eagles was a disappointing follow up to his improved showing in the Hawks game.
23|Jordan LOCKYER|4|1|0|Has been employed as a wingman in the past 2 matches but hasn't fully exploited the uncontested nature of this position.
27|Daniel ROBINSON|4|4|3|Important part of the inside midfield rotation but also knows how to bob up for a goal or two.
28|Matthew DICK|3|0|0|Hasn't seen much game time and was omitted last week, will be assigned to mark one of Brisbane's tall forwards
31|Harrison MARSH|3|3|0|Spent signifcant minutes as the side's tagger, would be a huge task if he were to mark Simon Black.
33|Brandon JACK|4|6|0|5 scoring shots, 4 score assists and 8 inside 50s against the Eagles highlight the scoreboard impact he is having but his defensive work has just been as impressive.
36|Alex BROWN|4|2|8|Acting captain settled in a key defensive post after being used all over the ground earlier in the season. BOG last game.
42|Xavier RICHARDS|3|0|0|Had a bit of freedom against the Eagles and moved up the ground at times to be involved there but will have his hands full this week.
44|Jake LLOYD|4|4|8|More opportunities in the inside midfield this week but is as adept playing in an outside role. 30+ touches in each of the last 2 games
46|Shane BIGGS|4|0|0|Took some impressive contested marks in defence and is a crucial link man.
Changes
In: Membrey (???), Morton (seniors) Dick (???), Marsh (???)
Out: Lamb (seniors), Bird (seniors)
Although the reserves won their last match against the Eagles quite comfortably, the midfield as a collective unit did not have it their own way with Amon Buchanan and Marc Dragicevic just as prominent for the Eagles as Bird, Lloyd and Lamb were for the Swans. With the promotion of Bird and Lamb to the seniors, a lot will depend on their replacements' output against a tough looking Lions midfield including Brownlow medalist Simon Black.
Defence is also another worry area with a new look combination with the likes of Richards, Brown, Dick, Lockyer and Biggs still trying to work each other's games out. Taking the Eagles game again as an example, the Hills scored 13 goals from a limited number of forward 50 entries.
Kicking goals hasn't been an issue though and even if Walsh is sacrificed to the backline, the inclusion of Morton will more than compensate.
Academy Players/Topups
#|Name|Games|Goals|Votes|Notes
47|Stephen WRAY|2|0|0|
50|Lloyd PERRIS|1|0|0|
51|Mitch CRAWFORD|3|0|0|
53|Harrison GREEN|1|0|0|
59|Thomas HEAD|3|5|0|
60|Jordan WEIR|4|1|0|
In:
Out: James BEHAGG, Doug HADDEN, Erol SERTBAS
Head was impressive last game with 4 goals and 9 marks and while Perris didn't get a lot of the ball he showed composure and skills when he did. Weir usually plays as a tall-ish defender.
Reserves leading goalkickers
Mitch Morton 18
Tommy Walsh 12
Tim Membrey 9
For full list: 2013 Goalkickers - RWOwiki (http://www.redandwhiteonline.com/wiki/index.php/2013_Goalkickers)
Reserves leading votegetters
Jed Lamb 14
Craig Bird 10
Alex Brown, Jake Lloyd, Mitch Morton, Jesse White 8
For full list: 2013 Best Votes - RWOwiki (http://www.redandwhiteonline.com/wiki/index.php/2013_Best_votes)
Brisbane Lions Reserves
|||
B:|36. Matt MAGUIRE|40. Niall McKEEVER|53. Lachlan DIGNAN
HB:|1. Sam DOCHERTY|14. Brent STAKER|33. Michael CLOSE
C:|2. Ryan HARWOOD|20. Simon BLACK|29. Andrew RAINES
HF:|28. Patrick KARNEZIS|19. Jordan LISLE|25. Richard NEWELL
F:|34. Jesse O'BRIEN|45. Jordan BOURKE|18. Todd BANFIELD
Foll:|46. Sam MICHAEL|43. Nick HAYES|47. Jack CRISP
Int:|51. Zac SOUTHERN|59. Fletcher BARCLAY|57. Dylan BRESNEHAN|
|50. Blake GAMBALE|60. Daniel DAYE
In: Barclay, Bresnehan, Crisp, Daye, Docherty, Gambale, Karnezis, Maguire, Raines, Southern
Out: Isaac CONWAY, Liam DAWSON, Sam GRIBBLE, Lewis RADFORD, Aden RUTLEDGE, Archie SMITH, Cameron STEVENSON, Josh STILLER, Cain TICKNER
An imposing looking side with Simon Black, Matt Maguire, Brent Staker and Andrew Raines all having 100+ AFL games experience. Add to that impressive youngsters Sam Docherty, Nick Hayes and Jordan Bourke as well as fringe players Jack Crisp, Todd Banfield and Jesse O'Brien and the magnitude of the Swans' task becomes clearer.
Jordan Lisle has been in superb goalkicking form, kicking 24 of them in the 5 matches, including a haul of 8 last week against the Suns Reserves. Alex Brown has been doing well in a key defensive post but he lacks the height to go with the 196cm Lisle and that job may well fall to Walsh. In any case, the Lions have plenty of height to throw around with the likes of McKeever, Staker, Bourke and Karnezis able to play forward as well so Brown and his fellow defenders Richards and Dick will need to work well as a unit to help each other out.
It will also be interesting to see how Crouch tackles Simon Black, whether to employ a full time tagger in Marsh or to pit our best midfielder in Tom Mitchell against him. Other dangermen in the midfield include Hayes who has been a great accumulator of the ball and Newell who has added an offensive side to his customary run with role. The dangerous run and carry of Sam Docherty from half back must also be curbed and Brandon Jack may well be the man for the job given his excellent tackling record.
The Lions are somewhat weakened by the unavailability of some of their Academy players due to the Queensland U18s side playing a practice match.
NEAFL Round 7
Sydney Swans Reserves v Brisbane Lions Reserves
Sunday 5th May 2013 9.30am
Sydney Cricket Ground
The highly anticipated clash between two unbeaten sides from each conference has unfortunately been scheduled for the soporific start time of 9.30am. The Lions are also the reigning NEAFL premiers, defeating Queanbeyan for the title in 2012. Under new coach Leigh Harding, they have started the season in brilliant form, smashing their archrivals the Suns Reserves twice in the past 3 weeks.
The Swans had a bye last week to coincide with the historic Wellington trip by the seniors, and prior to that have also been in good form, posting 3 consecutive comfortable triumphs after their 1st round thriller against the Giants.
With no listed players restrictions for either side, we should witness some good football being played by these fringe players desperate to break into their respective senior sides. The 2 sides have fought some entertaining battles since the introduction of the NEAFL. The Swans have emerged victorious in 4 of the 5 battles but the Lions' only win was at the SCG last year.
Eastern Conference Ladder
Team|Played|Wins|Losses|Draws|Byes|For|Against|Per centage|Points
Queanbeyan|5|5|0|0|1|572|384|148.96%|20
Reserves|4|4|0|0|2|602|293|205.46%|16
Belconnen|5|3|2|0|1|628|478|131.38%|12
UWS Giants|5|3|2|0|1|600|466|128.76%|12
Ainslie|5|2|3|0|1|484|490|98.78%|8
{colsp=10}-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hills Eagles|5|2|3|0|1|500|582|85.91%|8
Eastlake|5|2|3|0|1|406|540|75.19%|8
Tuggeranong|4|1|3|0|2|249|540|46.11%|4
Sydney Uni|5|0|5|0|1|440|634|69.40%|0
Northern Conference Ladder
Team|Played|Wins|Losses|Draws|Byes|For|Against|Per centage|Points
Lions Reserves|5|5|0|0|1|672|324|207.41%|20
Southport|5|5|0|0|1|552|330|167.27%|20
Morningside|6|4|2|0|0|589|524|112.40%|16
NT Thunder|5|3|2|0|1|625|476|131.30|12
Aspley|5|3|2|0|1|519|466|111.37%|12
{colsp=10}-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suns Reserves|5|2|3|0|1|523|518|100.97%|8
Labrador|5|1|4|0|1|373|531|70.24%|4
Redland|5|1|4|0|1|382|550|69.45%|4
Broadbeach|5|1|4|0|1|365|564|64.72%|4
Mt Gravatt|5|0|5|0|1|291|681|42.73%|0
Past Meetings
2012
R8 Brisbane Reserves 11.20 (86) defeated by Reserves 18.12 (120) @Yeronga
The Reserves travelled to Brisbane to upset the Lions who aided the Swans by being incredibly wasteful in front of goal. The Swans stormed to a 6 goal lead at quarter time and maintained a 4 goal lead at the main break and despite a couple of Lions surges in the 2nd half, confidently withstood the fusillade of shots from Brisbane to win quite comfortably. Mitch Morton continued his goal glut by bagging 8 to complement his 10 the previous week. Captain Jarred Moore dominated the stoppages yet again aided by the taps of big Canuck Mike Pyke
Goals: Morton 8 Walsh 2, Davis, Thurgarland, Spangher, Cunningham, Moody, Bosschieter, Moore, Meredith
Best: Moore, Pyke, Walsh, Cunningham, Biggs, Heath
R16 Reserves 16.7 (103) defeated by Brisbane Reserves 17.20 (122) @ Sydney Cricket Ground
The Swans for a variety of reasons had plenty of regulars missing and a very strong Lions outfit took advantage of their absence to record a strong away win. Truth be told, if they had converted a higher number of their set shots, the game would have been over early in the 2nd half. Tommy Walsh stood up in the absence of his forward line teammates to take strong grabs, and finished with a deserved 3 goals. Brett Meredith provided plenty of run and dash from the half back line while Trent Dennis-Lane continued to impress onlookers in his new hybrid midfield-forward role.
Goals: Broome 3, Parker 3, Dennis-Lane 3, Walsh 3, Moore, Krochmal, Mitchell, Lamb
Best: Walsh, Meredith, Dennis-Lane, Heath, Plug, Parker
R21 Brisbane Reserves 13.8 (86) defeated by Reserves 17.15 (117) @ Yeronga
The Reserves coped well without leading goalkicker Mitch Morton with his replacement Trent Dennis-Lane kicking 5 goals and the two talls Matt Spangher and Tommy Walsh 3 each. It was the impressive use of the ball by Andrejs Everitt that saw him named best on ground alongside midfield general Jarred Moore. Campbell Heath yet again led the defence superbly, blanketing the Lions tall forwards.
Goals: Dennis-Lane 5, Spangher 3, Walsh 3, McNeil 2, Everitt 2, Cunningham Gordon
Best: Everitt, Moore, Heath, McNeil, White
Recent Form
Reserves
Round|Team|Venue|Result|F|A
R1|BYE|
R2|UWS|Away|WIN|107|102|
R3|Gold Coast|Home|WIN|110|65|
R4|Tuggernong|Away|WIN|237|40|
R5|Hills Eagles|Home|WIN|148|86|
R6|BYE|
Lions Reserves
Round|Team|Venue|Result|F|A
R1|BYE|
R2|Morningside|Away|WIN|144|57|
R3|UWS|Home|WIN|101|62|
R4|Gold Coast|Away|WIN|180|70|
R5|Broadbeach|Home|WIN|136|56|
R6|Gold Coast|Away|WIN|111|79|
Last Round
Reserves had a bye - so let's go back to Round 5
Reserves 22.16 (148) defeated Hills Eagles 13.8 (86) @ SCG
Goals: Walsh 5, Head 4, Everitt 2, White 2, Robinson 2, Lloyd 2, Towers, Jack, Lockyer, Lamb
Best: Brown, Bird, Lloyd, Lamb, Hadden, Walsh
Suns Reserves 12.7 (79) defeated by Lions Reserves 17.9 (111) @ Mackay - Harrup Park
Goals: Lisle 8, Newell 2, Tickner 2, McKeever, Black, Stevenson, Radford, Hayes
Best: Lisle, Black, Hayes, Newell, Stiller, Michael
Team List
Listed players
#|Name|Games|Goals|Votes|Notes
1|Tim MEMBREY|3|9|0|Presenting well on leads and will be fresh after a 2 week break.
6|Tom MITCHELL|3|1|0|Hasn't dominated the possession tally as he did last year but will have to step up in Lamb's absence.
10|Mitch MORTON|3|18|8|Very unlucky to only receive half a game of football as reward for his excellent reserves form, will be keen to do well against tough opposition here. His last reserves start netted him 10 goals and almost as many score assists.
13|Andrejs EVERITT|2|6|6|Half a reserves game here, 3 quarters of the seniors there, the Swans management of him has been questionable. Expect time to be split in the midfield and the forward line
17|Tommy WALSH|3|12|5|Has tended to play in defence when there is a gorilla to mark and Jordan Lisle's presence could mean he moves to defence despite kicking 12 goals in the last 2 games.
18|Jesse WHITE|4|3|8|Billy Longer's promotion last week means that White will be battling a ruckman who is very similar in style to himself. Sam Michael is not a natural ruck but a very athletic tall who has a good leap.
22|Dean TOWERS|4|3|0|A quietish game against the Eagles was a disappointing follow up to his improved showing in the Hawks game.
23|Jordan LOCKYER|4|1|0|Has been employed as a wingman in the past 2 matches but hasn't fully exploited the uncontested nature of this position.
27|Daniel ROBINSON|4|4|3|Important part of the inside midfield rotation but also knows how to bob up for a goal or two.
28|Matthew DICK|3|0|0|Hasn't seen much game time and was omitted last week, will be assigned to mark one of Brisbane's tall forwards
31|Harrison MARSH|3|3|0|Spent signifcant minutes as the side's tagger, would be a huge task if he were to mark Simon Black.
33|Brandon JACK|4|6|0|5 scoring shots, 4 score assists and 8 inside 50s against the Eagles highlight the scoreboard impact he is having but his defensive work has just been as impressive.
36|Alex BROWN|4|2|8|Acting captain settled in a key defensive post after being used all over the ground earlier in the season. BOG last game.
42|Xavier RICHARDS|3|0|0|Had a bit of freedom against the Eagles and moved up the ground at times to be involved there but will have his hands full this week.
44|Jake LLOYD|4|4|8|More opportunities in the inside midfield this week but is as adept playing in an outside role. 30+ touches in each of the last 2 games
46|Shane BIGGS|4|0|0|Took some impressive contested marks in defence and is a crucial link man.
Changes
In: Membrey (???), Morton (seniors) Dick (???), Marsh (???)
Out: Lamb (seniors), Bird (seniors)
Although the reserves won their last match against the Eagles quite comfortably, the midfield as a collective unit did not have it their own way with Amon Buchanan and Marc Dragicevic just as prominent for the Eagles as Bird, Lloyd and Lamb were for the Swans. With the promotion of Bird and Lamb to the seniors, a lot will depend on their replacements' output against a tough looking Lions midfield including Brownlow medalist Simon Black.
Defence is also another worry area with a new look combination with the likes of Richards, Brown, Dick, Lockyer and Biggs still trying to work each other's games out. Taking the Eagles game again as an example, the Hills scored 13 goals from a limited number of forward 50 entries.
Kicking goals hasn't been an issue though and even if Walsh is sacrificed to the backline, the inclusion of Morton will more than compensate.
Academy Players/Topups
#|Name|Games|Goals|Votes|Notes
47|Stephen WRAY|2|0|0|
50|Lloyd PERRIS|1|0|0|
51|Mitch CRAWFORD|3|0|0|
53|Harrison GREEN|1|0|0|
59|Thomas HEAD|3|5|0|
60|Jordan WEIR|4|1|0|
In:
Out: James BEHAGG, Doug HADDEN, Erol SERTBAS
Head was impressive last game with 4 goals and 9 marks and while Perris didn't get a lot of the ball he showed composure and skills when he did. Weir usually plays as a tall-ish defender.
Reserves leading goalkickers
Mitch Morton 18
Tommy Walsh 12
Tim Membrey 9
For full list: 2013 Goalkickers - RWOwiki (http://www.redandwhiteonline.com/wiki/index.php/2013_Goalkickers)
Reserves leading votegetters
Jed Lamb 14
Craig Bird 10
Alex Brown, Jake Lloyd, Mitch Morton, Jesse White 8
For full list: 2013 Best Votes - RWOwiki (http://www.redandwhiteonline.com/wiki/index.php/2013_Best_votes)
Brisbane Lions Reserves
|||
B:|36. Matt MAGUIRE|40. Niall McKEEVER|53. Lachlan DIGNAN
HB:|1. Sam DOCHERTY|14. Brent STAKER|33. Michael CLOSE
C:|2. Ryan HARWOOD|20. Simon BLACK|29. Andrew RAINES
HF:|28. Patrick KARNEZIS|19. Jordan LISLE|25. Richard NEWELL
F:|34. Jesse O'BRIEN|45. Jordan BOURKE|18. Todd BANFIELD
Foll:|46. Sam MICHAEL|43. Nick HAYES|47. Jack CRISP
Int:|51. Zac SOUTHERN|59. Fletcher BARCLAY|57. Dylan BRESNEHAN|
|50. Blake GAMBALE|60. Daniel DAYE
In: Barclay, Bresnehan, Crisp, Daye, Docherty, Gambale, Karnezis, Maguire, Raines, Southern
Out: Isaac CONWAY, Liam DAWSON, Sam GRIBBLE, Lewis RADFORD, Aden RUTLEDGE, Archie SMITH, Cameron STEVENSON, Josh STILLER, Cain TICKNER
An imposing looking side with Simon Black, Matt Maguire, Brent Staker and Andrew Raines all having 100+ AFL games experience. Add to that impressive youngsters Sam Docherty, Nick Hayes and Jordan Bourke as well as fringe players Jack Crisp, Todd Banfield and Jesse O'Brien and the magnitude of the Swans' task becomes clearer.
Jordan Lisle has been in superb goalkicking form, kicking 24 of them in the 5 matches, including a haul of 8 last week against the Suns Reserves. Alex Brown has been doing well in a key defensive post but he lacks the height to go with the 196cm Lisle and that job may well fall to Walsh. In any case, the Lions have plenty of height to throw around with the likes of McKeever, Staker, Bourke and Karnezis able to play forward as well so Brown and his fellow defenders Richards and Dick will need to work well as a unit to help each other out.
It will also be interesting to see how Crouch tackles Simon Black, whether to employ a full time tagger in Marsh or to pit our best midfielder in Tom Mitchell against him. Other dangermen in the midfield include Hayes who has been a great accumulator of the ball and Newell who has added an offensive side to his customary run with role. The dangerous run and carry of Sam Docherty from half back must also be curbed and Brandon Jack may well be the man for the job given his excellent tackling record.
The Lions are somewhat weakened by the unavailability of some of their Academy players due to the Queensland U18s side playing a practice match.