#AFL Round 7 Lions v Swans Sat 4-May at The Gabba #AFLLionsSwans @sydneyswans

[waswan]

We arent tanking the coach is past it
Wrong market to think its ok to have an ordinary year
Player retention and attraction is going to be an issue with this coaching style

[stevoswan]

We seriously could have won this game if only we had turned up for more than 20 minutes.
I STILL believe we're tanking.

If indeed true (which I don't think it is) we'd want to be very careful in how we go about it then......we are not Melbourne, we are the 'evil' Swans who must be crushed.

[AnnieH]

We seriously could have won this game if only we had turned up for more than 20 minutes.
I STILL believe we're tanking.

[caj23]

Well, he actually was a great defender, read the play really well and the intercept possessions was great to watch.

Things have changed with 2, then 3 & now 4 of our main defenders on the injury list. Plus, with his own return from serious injury, that move we were expecting hasn’t eventuated. &, I can’t see it happening for a while yet.

He was an average defender at best and wouldn't have been ranked in the top 50 general defenders in the league.

Yes he is capable of taking intercept marks without an opponent, but he has also been the weak link targeted by opposition coaches to be isolated one out.

This assessment is based on his performance prior to his decline in form this season

[Bond007]

**

[Agent 86]

It’s farcical at this point. He’s not a great defender , he’s performed admirably there for the most part , particularly his first year or so. But why is he still there now ? Longmire has all but said we are rebuilding , so why isn’t he giving this guy , who we effectively gave up Mitchell for ( so was the faith in Heeney and Mills) a crack in the spot that we recruited him for ? That’s the one thing I really can’t cop about our selection at the moment


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Well, he actually was a great defender, read the play really well and the intercept possessions was great to watch.

Things have changed with 2, then 3 & now 4 of our main defenders on the injury list. Plus, with his own return from serious injury, that move we were expecting hasn’t eventuated. &, I can’t see it happening for a while yet.

[Merdo5555]

Since we are losing anyway why aren't we trying things, why not say to Mills you will get a couple of games through the midfield prove to me thats where you belong. Why not say to a youngster you have 5 games to prove yourself or show something. The fundamental problem is that Longmire is a reactive coach.

Criticize the Hawks all you like but Clarkson is so pro-active you can see where he is heading. Things are not perfect but he changes and adapts and looks forward we look backwards.

Once again Longmire goes on and on about teaching the fundamentals like contested football, etc., this is part of the problem the most important fundamentals in today's game is skill. Great so even if we finally learn to win contested possession again we will simply give it away.

[Auntie.Gerald]

The first defence is our stoppages and we are struggling so much in this area still

It astounds me how fast teams break against us flooding forward even when the opposition doesnt have a clean possession

As soon as the ball is on the ground and a 50/50 chance , the opposition midfield just bolt forward on our midfield

It’s heart breaking

[liz]

It’s farcical at this point. He’s not a great defender , he’s performed admirably there for the most part , particularly his first year or so. But why is he still there now ? Longmire has all but said we are rebuilding , so why isn’t he giving this guy , who we effectively gave up Mitchell for ( so was the faith in Heeney and Mills) a crack in the spot that we recruited him for ? That’s the one thing I really can’t cop about our selection at the moment


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I suspect the lack of overall experience down there has convinced the coaches that they can't afford to lose him.

He's a good defender against a long ball into our forward line when the midfield is putting pressure on the opposition as he reads the ball well. He's not a great defender when we have oodles of repeat entries against us into a crowded forward line because he gets lots amongst the bodies. And again, he's not that useful in rebounding from a crowded defence because he doesn't have the pace to take on an opponent and try to run the ball out.

In previous seasons, we were hard to score against, even when we were struggling to score ourselves. This year we're much easier to score against, even when we have 16 players in our defensive zone. Stands to reason that we probably won't leak more goals if we have fewer stationed in the defensive 50, and we might have a better chance of retaining possession on the outskirts of the defensive 50 if we have more players there.

[Agent 86]

I’m on my phone so no need to be a tosser about spelling errors ????

Or commas?

[Melbourne_Blood]

Should have happened this week, but didn't.

It’s farcical at this point. He’s not a great defender , he’s performed admirably there for the most part , particularly his first year or so. But why is he still there now ? Longmire has all but said we are rebuilding , so why isn’t he giving this guy , who we effectively gave up Mitchell for ( so was the faith in Heeney and Mills) a crack in the spot that we recruited him for ? That’s the one thing I really can’t cop about our selection at the moment


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[Nico]

Sinclair had 2 clearances, 1 of which was a centre clearance. Agree he tried hard. Kennedy 9(3), Hewett 7(4), Parker 5(1).

I must have been watching another game. A clearance I gather is given to the first person who kicks or handballs from a centre clearance. Sinkers followed up a number of times when the ball was on the ground after centre clearances, and affected a clearance. I'll say it again; where were our smalls to gather the ball.

[Markwebbos]

And, I would add, given where we are now we should play him in the midfield so he can have as much time s possible there for the rest of the season. COR can have the "vacant" defence spot.

Should have happened this week, but didn't.

[dimelb]

I think if there was a poll on RWO today "where should Mills play next week?" you'd get about 90% saying "midfield"
And I wonder if his heart isn't in it, having trained with the mids but being forced to play in defence.

And, I would add, given where we are now we should play him in the midfield so he can have as much time s possible there for the rest of the season. COR can have the "vacant" defence spot.

[Markwebbos]

I think if there was a poll on RWO today "where should Mills play next week?" you'd get about 90% saying "midfield"
And I wonder if his heart isn't in it, having trained with the mids but being forced to play in defence.