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Thread: Round 11: Sydney Swans Reserves v Belconnen Magpies

  1. #13
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    There were a couple of mouthwatering exchanges between Membrey and Jack, with Jack using his pace to great effect, and Membrey picking out long targets and delivering impeccably.

    Special mention to a couple of the top ups. Hadden was terrific, I thought. He's tiny but is a little terrier and has excellent skills. He's played quite a few games with the reserves now, and you can see the benefit of these kids getting more familiar with the team, and more confident as a result.

    At the other end of the spectrum was no 58, playing his first game - Pola Smith. I don't think he played in the first half but got a few opportunities late in the game. He's a tallish, skinny lad - he has the look of someone who has shot up in the last year or so and is still trying to adjust to his new height and arms that look far too long. But he took an intercept mark 40m or so out from goal, almost on the boundary line, and went back and slotted the goal. I remember reading an article on the Swans website a year or so ago - IIRC his dad played Richmond. I think he was playing U16 last year, so must still be 17 or so, and a year off draft age. I look forward to seeing a bit more of him over the next year and a bit.

  2. #14
    Liz

    given you know your stats -

    if your friends son was achieving the following:

    15yrs of age
    193cm tall
    14.4 on the beep test
    20m = 2.92 sec
    3km run in 11:00 mins

    how do you think these stats rate at the national draft ?
    "be tough, only when it gets tough"


  3. #15
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    I'm not an encyclopaedia of draft camp stats. On the face of it, those figures suggest he's a good athlete relative to the pool that typically gets drafted. Whether he can play football is another matter.

  4. #16
    Just wild about Harry
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    The observation has been made in the media in the past few weeks that recruiting seems to be coming full-circle. It seems that recruiters are moving away from natural athletes and moving back to natural footballers. Obviously, a mix of both is ideal...

  5. #17
    Can you feel it? Site Admin ugg's Avatar
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    The game wasn't as one sided as a 91 point margin might suggest, Belconnen had plenty of the ball themselves but struggled against a very tight Swans defence who were ably assisted by a midfield that put the Magpies midfielders under constant pressure. In addition, a lack of a genuine, potent forward target meant that many of their forward 50 entries were rendered ineffective. Matthew Lokan, who kicked 12 goals the week before, did start forward but eventually put himself back to help his under-siege defenders.

    • 1. Tim MEMBREY - Very good in the first half, quieter in the second. Seemed to push up the ground more and had some telling pieces of play on the wing. An excellent kick of the football, he set up 3 goals in the first half alone with some judiciously placed long kicks to the advantage of players like Jack and topup Levi Sands. When played deeper in attack, didn't enjoy the same type of service that he was providing himself and was frustrated by his teammates ability to take full advantage of his leads.
    • 7. Harry CUNNINGHAM - Sat out the first quarter and when he was utilised from the second period onwards played in a very attacking midfield role. Plenty of run and carry and delivered the ball numerous times into the forward 50, although most of them didn't result in a goal. Great to see him back.
    • 11. Jed LAMB - Was my BOG, not quite Mitchell-type numbers but definitely filled the void as the premier on-baller in this side. Worked hard all day at the ruck contests and contested situations to not only find plenty of the footy but to complete many tackles as well. Incredibly evasive in tight situations and now has the ability to buy himself that bit of time that can make a difference between a rushed kick and an effective one. Ran back hard to help in the defensive 50, in good form and deserves a senior recall if a spot can be found for him.
    • 18. Jesse WHITE - Another solid outing for White, restored to full ruck duties. Had a great battle with Matt Porter in the ruck, probably just edging ahead in the taps, but when thrown forward late in the last quarter, he had a late flurry of shots at goal, being too agile and too strong for his opponents.
    • 19. Tony ARMSTRONG - Compared to his first half cameo 2 weeks ago, I felt as though he was relatively quiet today. Started a few centre square bounces in the middle but mostly played off his favourite half-back position. He was average to okay, the only blemish was running too far without bouncing the ball, but Biggs was definitely the more effective half-back
    • 22. Dean TOWERS - Again started in defence before finishing in attack in what is now the norm for him in a ressies game. Confidence still seems low, mistiming a few of his leaps and badly missing some of his shots on goal. Was okay in defence, made one memorable crucial tackle that prevented a Belconnen shot, but his best period was definitely in attack where his leap is his big advantage when going for contested marks. Once in a while he will display a breathtaking piece of skill to remind us of why he was drafted so high, like hitting and gathering the ball cleanly at full pace but then struggle to dispose of it effectively. Definitely one of his better games but surely he can perform at a greater level.
    • 23. Jordan LOCKYER - Lockyer had a tough afternoon against his opponent Chris York, who was Belconnen's top goalkicker with 3. York ran Lockyer off his feet and beat him on a lead a few times, in addition Lockyer's positioning at times was questionable. On the positive side, he's a good reader of play and an effective spoiler
    • 31. Harrison MARSH - Continues his development and education in the midfield, not sure if he had a hard tagging role this week or was allowed to run freer. In any case, was not one of the prolific midfielders this week. His best feature remains his lightning quick hands.
    • 33. Brandon JACK - His best game to date, his first half especially was impressive and I had him BOG at half time. Combined well with Membrey for his first goal and then showed great poise to coolly convert his next 2 goals in open play. A smart player in the forward half of the ground, knows when to use his impressive pace to full advantage in either getting to a loose ball first or running down an opponent.
    • 36. Alex BROWN - Back in defence this week, made spoils but didn't get much of the pill himself. Used in the ruck in the last quarter when White was switched permanently forward.
    • 42. Xavier RICHARDS - His confidence must be through the roof at the moment, using his body effectively in marking contests and definitely not afraid to attack when he does have the ball. One of his highlights (can be seen on the SwansTV highlights) was of Xavier spoiling, sprinting away from a Beclonnen player, taking 2 bounces, looking up and taking his time before hitting White with a 50m pass. Had the dangerous Lokan early on but when the ex-Collingwood utility was reassigned to defensive duties, played on less potent opponents and helped organise the Swans backmen very effectively.
    • 44. Jake LLOYD - Crunched between two players in one of the very first plays of the game. Took some time to get up but did eventually rejoin the game. Not sure if this was the reason for his quieter game, didn't touch the ball as much as he has been in the past 3 weeks. Lloyd saw more time in an inside role this week and it's great to see he has the versatility to play different roles.
    • 46. Shane BIGGS - Continually drove the ball out of defence with his precise and calm kicking and did a good job defensively in his one-on-one contests


    Topups - Most of the topups were excellent, their competitiveness and tenacity were very noticeable and played a big part in the Swans' dominance on the scoreboard. Doug Hadden, Levi Sands and Lachlan Kilpatrick were my pick of the lot. All played mostly forward and had plenty of score involvements including kicking 6 goals between them. Hadden is the smallest of the lot but his lack of size and bulk is not evident in the confident manner in which he attacked the football. Has the skills and football nous to back his courage. Kilpatrick kicked 3 including 2 left foot snaps under pressure, while Sands was the relief ruckman but showed plenty of dash across half forward - his mobility caused some issues for his Belconnen opponents.

    Stephen Wray who had been playing as a wingman/half-forward in his previous games, slotted in to complete the back six in defence. Jordan Weir played forward again and kicked a very nice goal (also in the highlights) showing pace and good judgment to run onto a spoil and snapping through the middle.

    The first topup appearance for young Ben Hodgson, he was lively and ran to the right places a few times to manufacture 3 shots at goal but didn't convert any of them. Also the first appearance of Jackson Pola-Smith who I didn't see until the 4th quarter but one of his involvements was to leap high and use his height and reach to mark a wayward Belconnen defensive kick and then calmly slot it through on a tight angle. (also on SwansTV)

    Yarran Jaffer-Williams played as a high half-forward and Erol Sertbas had a deeper role forward but both had little impact on the game.

    Special mention to James Bennett of Belconnen, he played one of the best games I've seen from an opposition Canberra side. Playing in the midfield, he saw a heap of the ball, had a hand in many clearances and was involved in many of the few scoring chances that the Magpies had.

    Swans 4.2 (26) 7.7 (49) 13.13 (91) 20.20 (140)
    Belconnen 2.4 (16) 3.6 (24) 5.10 (40) 6.13 (49)

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