For me I am absolutely amazed our midfield can not adjust and respond to what’s before them??
If this was a boxing match we were completed left hanging like amateurs !!!
our issue , above all , was not dominating the midfield contest !!!
We at the swans like the contest in tight when fighting for the ball on a throw in or centre clearance - this works well for Parker, Kennedy and or Heeney in close qtrs muscling over their opposite player
The Bulldogs know this
They proved it when we played them in the GF 2016
So what do u do when you fight a heavy handed heavy bodied boxer ? You stand on the outside and pick ur moments !!!!!
the doggies did this perfectly.....pealing back from the contest with a player south or north of the scramble and then the bulldogs player in tight paddles the ball / tunnel balls / punches it out north or south when we rush in to tackle
This leaves us in tight in numbers and looking like absolute amateur idiots because the ball has rushed out of scramble and the doggies have possession on the outside with players flooding forward away from our players
It is simply embarrassing that we can not adjust and see this
There is not always enough time to handball traditionally these days in the - sometimes the punch along the ground is the quickest exit and catches out the in tight heavy opposition midfielders like ours
If ur the opposition Do anything u can to get it away from Kennedy and Parker getting their hands on the ball and letting them clear
Make sure they don’t get the ball
He has, and he looks rusty. That doesn't mean he can't rub off that rust in the NEAFL for a few weeks.
I have no particularly strong preference between the two. If we're looking towards the future then that sits with Melican rather than Reg. I think Reg is probably (still) capable of playing at a more consistent level than Melican. All my comments were based more on overall balance - ie picking the best team rather than picking the best 22 players.
Our 2 best contested midfielders, Kennedy and Parker, are not good defenders, particularly Kennedy, so we are really at a disadvantage when we don't win the contested possession. We can't survive constantly playing in our defensive 50. It's the same problem as last year.
I had Thurlow and COR virtually locked for this game and was surprised they didn't make the cut. I'd be inclined to drop Melican instead of Reg and wait until Melican shows form in the reserves.
We shouldn't jump to conclusions after only 1 game, but the fact that we look the same as last year is not encouraging.
If things don't change we may have to try something more dramatic, like playing Reid and Aliir in defence and bring McCartin into the forward line, leaving out both Reg and Melican. This should add more speed to the team.
I also didn't have Clarke in my 1st round side, but thought he earned a shot given his good JLT. Ronke should come in to replace him.
Dawson looked shaky, but I think we have to play him in the seniors and build his confidence. We know he can play at a very high level in the reserves, so not point in sending him back. Maybe he should spend more time in the forward line.
The team overall looked sluggish, often giving up on contests around the ground. The Bulldogs got more players to contests and came out winners when the dust settled. There's not an easy cure for this except to go harder.
Well, that was a fun night.
Go killed for speed and skill.
Started taking risks in the 2nd half which paid off until we turned it over leading to Bonts goal. Then we lost the momentum.
And here I was hoping we'd left the mindless long bombing into the forward line back in last year. Obviously not.
To say our delivery in to the inside 50 still needs work is an understatement.
I thought Sam Reid was a positive. I hope he can play a full season.
Melican is clearly struggling for form after his long time out, and agree with the Lloyd comment above. His disposal and decisions aren’t really that great a lot of the time. As for positives, Parker worked into the game to dominate the last quarter, Reid also showed how valuable he is, Buddy will be better for the run and our fight was impressive.
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