Some games stick in the memory - often not particularly memorable games on the face of it. One such game for me is round 5 2014. It was against Freo at the SCG. Many will remember that we had started that season in pretty ordinary form. First there was the ignominy of the club's first loss to GWS, followed by an ordinary performance against the Pies out at Stadium Australia. The team looked to have redeemed itself with that great win in Adelaide against the Crows, only to dish up rubbish against North Melbourne in the pissing down rain back at the SCG.
So we entered round 5 1 and 3, with the season looking very much on the line. The first quarter started scrappily and it looked like we were in for a long afternoon. Enter Ben McGlynn. His first quarter epitomised so much of the Swans' season to date (and, at times, McGlynn's career). He attacked every contest as if it might be his last, but then dished up turnovers that had the crowd groaning and holding its collective head in its hands. But he persisted. And the rest of the team started to come along for the ride. And as the team's intensity lifted, so did their confidence. They started hitting targets more regularly, and the team regained its coherence. Despite Nat Fyfe playing a blinder, Freo were never in with a chance from the second quarter onwards. The Swans have had better and more memorable wins, but this one was critical in kick starting the season.
The point? I think Papley's first half efforts on Saturday had a similar effect. The team was not as low on confidence as it had been in 2014, and the season wasn't exactly on the line. But they had lost the previous weekend - albeit playing well - and much of the first quarter was played on West Coast's terms. Papley was the beacon that refused to let the game slip away. He was far from perfect, and made some bad errors in his enthusiastic inexperience. But the errors mattered less than his refusal to let West Coast have their way around the contests. Part way through the second quarter, despite the loathsome rain, the team dug in and you could literally feel them wrest control of the contests back from the Eagles, and to strangle them with pressure all over the ground. It would be simplistic to credit this all to Papley. In particular, the defence was already doing a great job holding back the dam walls. But I do think it was Papley who largely showed the way to a number of vastly more experienced team mates.
How many players have been nominated for the rising star award and then have to go back on the rookie list the next week? That is what will happen unless they nominate him as a replacement for AJ as Gary Rohan comes of the long term injury list this week.
Which they will
There is no way Papley will be going back to the rookie list now. I think they nominated him against Gaz to start with so they could keep the AJ position open - say if we had a season ending injury occur, or alternatively if Papley found the going in the top level too tough at this stage. But given the area we have injury concerns doesn't have anyone on the rookie list really ready to go for senior footy, then surely Papley gets the nod without even a second thought.
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
Several times it has been mentioned about grandfather Max, who won 1966 B&F and could have been anything if he came earlier and stayed longer ... but a bit sad that the other grandfather, Jeff Bray of the same era is often overlooked by commentators etc.
Gary, I have posted here before that Max found out some years later that he had a heart condition. Some days he was off, others he was on. Some days he couldn't train because he was tired. He had no idea why this was happening. I think some people thought he was just lazy. Goodness knows his status now if he had good health then. Jeff was a good solid performer.
Good call Liz. I commented at half time to my Bay 29 cronies that Papley was into everything but just needed to stop rushing his disposal. The effort and the intensity was exactly as you described it. The longer the game went though, the better his disposal and decision making got.
Today's a draft of your epitaph
Thanks Nico for that input on Max ... hadn't heard it before but it ties in with the mix of great and ordinary games. Still think Jeff needs equal billing in the reminiscing references.
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