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Thread: This weeks NAB Challenge against Carlton

  1. #1
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    This weeks NAB Challenge against Carlton

    Hi all,

    Long Summer absence but watching last week via the internet, I was not impressed against GWS. I know, it is a trial/practice match but some patterns are worrying.

    Likes:
    Mills - hard to tip out for round 1 - class act
    Papley - a burst for sure but showed the ability to read the ball and tenacity - a chance to play this year
    Dawson - great booming kick - hope he can get the ball more - definite player to watch but not round 1
    Heeney is not injured - thought he was in trouble after Port
    Sinclair - looks like he can handle the ruck and works hard - nothing outstanding but might improve a bit too.
    Grundy - very good 2 games so far - looks more ready than most for round 1
    Nic Newman - seen him once live and last week on TV. Like the look of him, composed and lovely kick. Might need some injuries to have any chance but he can play.


    Dislikes:
    FIELD KICKING! bloody terrible. Yep its early but we need this fixed quickly - Nick Smith - I love you as a player but work needed. This is the current worst element of our game.

    Marks in forward 50 - can't say I've seen many... Tippett MUST play forward for the majority of each quarter.

    Our Tier 2/3 players who have a few seasons under their belts but seem stuck - Lloyd, Cunningham, Towers, B.Jack, Robinson (yeah I know but he is 22 this year) If these blokes don't play much this year they should be gone

    Buddy in the midfield - probably just for fitness etc but could he and Tippett possibly play 1 game in the forward line - just in case history is a guide?

    I know this sounds mostly doom and gloom but if we get rolled by Carlton - without any promising signs - particularly kicking accuracy, then I will be REALLY worried.

    Still positive for the year. Most recent years our Pre-Seasons have been average at best but we haven't really rested many big guns this year. If we lead Carlton at 1/2 or 3/4 time then rest players I will be happy but need to see some of the above errors addressed.

  2. #2
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    As I've said in other threads - we don't have an AFL quality 22, run out around 18 then go into players who have failed to step up in the past. Our ability to hit targets is bottom four standard, it was an embarrassment against GWS. A win against a pathetic Carlton list this week will prove nothing, they are witches hats at best.

    Injuries already have our R1 side looking vulnerable and if we pick up more we are in strife UNLESS the miraculous happens and a number of these fringe players break out.

    The Tier 2/3 players you mention are rapidly moving into list clogger territory, please do something guys!

    Unlike you I am bracing for not only a fall out of the top 4 but it could be a fall out of the top 8 as a number have sides have improved over summer but we haven't, we've gone backwards. Don't shoot me, I'm taking of the coloured glasses and being a hard nosed realist.

  3. #3
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    G'day 707, no worries about your opinion at all. I think unless something really unexpected happens then top 4 will be VERY tough. Our kicking this year seems worse than last year - probably seeing the loss of Malceski the year before and Jetta starting to show. Yeah, I know Jetta was not an accurate kick for goal but his kicking to a man was usually accurate and travelled fast - no high loops.

    Even if we beat Carlton by 10 goals I would still be wary - they have different goals from us this season I suspect. We will see.

  4. #4
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    Judging by past years NAB game results and the season-proper results I'll be more worried if we start looking good in these practice games!
    Those who have the greatest power to hurt us are those we love.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by The Big Cat View Post
    Judging by past years NAB game results and the season-proper results I'll be more worried if we start looking good in these practice games!
    I'm inclined to agree with this.
    Early days.

  6. #6
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    I would not be so worried if we were playing kids and the guns played a half here and there. This has not happened this year. Nothing like the days when Roosy was coaching anyway. The skill level is what worries me - not intensity. But gee I hope I am wrong!

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Foreign Legion View Post
    I would not be so worried if we were playing kids and the guns played a half here and there. This has not happened this year. Nothing like the days when Roosy was coaching anyway. The skill level is what worries me - not intensity. But gee I hope I am wrong!
    I've not yet waded into the talk about Friday night at Drummoyne, and (not so) happily share the observations about the terrible, terrible field kicking, the apparent absence of any plan for moving the ball forward, and the prevalence of O'Keefe-esque throwing the ball onto the boot and heaving away. That all needs to improve.

    HOWEVER. The Swans played with an obvious�and I would want to say, notwithstanding Horse's post game presser, a deliberate�lack of intensity. The delayed start saw the Swans boys sitting on the grass, chatting with each other, while GWS went through drills. I remarked to my companion at the time that none of them looked like they were preparing themselves for a red hot go. The game was played as opposed practice, with an attempt to get a new backline set-up playing together (Mills and Talia in particular). Very little that they tried came off, but I don't think that that it is necessarily a doomsday scenario yet. No-one seemed to get out of about second gear.

    I may well be proven wrong, but I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.

  8. #8
    Go Swannies! Site Admin Meg's Avatar
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    One thing I didn't realise during the match was that for the first two weeks of the NAB there was no cap on rotations. I have read (but now can't find) the number of rotations used by both the Swans and GWS. I think we were not much over the 90 which will be the cap during the home-and-away, while GWS used considerably more. That might be a (small) part of the explanation of our skills deficit if our players were more fatigued. Seems to me to have been sensible coaching tactics to get players accustomed to being on the field for longer periods in a stretch.

    However, in the final NAB week, only six players will be allowed on the bench (still two more than in 'real' matches) with the cap on rotations brought down to the 90 limit. Will be interesting to see if there is any noticeable impact on teams generally.

  9. #9
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    Since we do need to "find" a handful more players capable of playing senior footy this year, I hope they rotate the fringe players from last week. I'd keep anyone whose close to a certainty for a round 1 spot (unless anyone has a niggle that needs managing). That means Mills stays, as do Cunningham and Towers. Even though these two remain at the bottom of our best team, with the injuries to Rohan, McVeigh and Reid, they are both sit comfortably in our best likely available 22 for round 1.

    Jones will get another game, given they want / need to get him up to match fitness quickly. He may not be deemed fit enough for round 1 but he's up there in the pecking order when he does get enough game time under his belt. I'd like to see Papley get another game. Last week was his first chance and he earned another go. Similarly with Newman. He'll be in senior team calculations, so he should get another game.

    But then I hope Hewitt gets a second game, after missing out last week. Robinson has played two without impressing so I'd swap the two. Similarly with Jack and Rose, whose been close but missed out both times. And maybe switch around Aliir and X, though that might depend on whether Ted is available.

    Though given that the squad size reduces by three players, some of my "outs" will likely lose their spots without my "ins" getting a go. I suspect Dawson will lose his spot, notwithstanding his excellent cameos. So it could be Dawson, Robinson, Jack and X out, with just Hewitt in. Or more likely we'll see one or both of Robinson and Jack keep their spots, with Hewitt left on the sidelines and Papley cut.

  10. #10
    McVeigh for Brownlow Site Admin RogueSwan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Foreign Legion View Post
    ... The skill level is what worries me - not intensity. But gee I hope I am wrong!
    I think that, for our guys, intensity and skill go hand in hand. I guess if they are not totally in a game they are not also going to be completely focused on their next kick and its result, more about just getting through the game. In the season proper, intensity rises, instincts and reflexes dominate more and the footballer (and hopefully those drilled in skills) in them emerges.
    "Fortunately, this is the internet, so knowing nothing is no obstacle to having an opinion!." Beerman 18-07-2017

  11. #11
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    Hopefully I am just overreacting to a bad game at Drummoyne and yes the start was not ideal. The only problem with this week is that some of our "Senior" players need more game time and so some younger blokes won't be introduced. I really would love to see AA get a run, unless he is injured?

    It is hard not knowing about injuries and pre-season sessions etc but a lot of our list don't get to play against VFL+ standard players - be good to see them tested.

    I will go out on a limb about Nic Newman - having seen him once live (GWS at Spotless NEAFL) and on TV at Drummoyne, he could very well be a player. Reads it well and good disposal - reasonable height. God knows we need someone from half back who uses it well.

  12. #12
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    You may well be right RogueSwan - I guess it is hard to see Buddy somehow being unable to kick 1+ goals in a game.

    I am pretty sure he will be OK but some others have me worried skill wise.

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