R12 Swans V Saints @SCG - Live

[Maltopia]

Tough game, umps were trying their hardest to make us lose in the third and fourth. Neither of the 50 meter penalties were there, even channel 7 commentators said that, along with other soft frees. Glad we held on. We were under pressure a lot because of Ryder's strong leap in the ruck with Hickey not able to jump much, especially with Kennedy being very underwhelming in the first half. Possible BOG for both sides was Jack Higgins who kicked 1.6 to keep us in the game lol, and for St Kilda, kept taking i50 marks to keep them in the game too.

Almartey looked fumbly and didn't attach the ball early but flourished as the game went on, which is great for us. Hickey despite not jumping much was great too. Hayward was excellent. Cunningham was really good too I thought. Papley, Kennedy, and to an extent Heeney, Parker and Mills were not up to their usual standard, but can bounce back next match hopefully.

[Matty10]

Just for a moment, let's consider the htb decision against mccartin. The bank was between King's legs. Now, for the last 4 weeks it has been almost impossible to be paid holding the ball. If the umpire saw the ball between king's legs, why did he pay it? If he didn't see the ball, why did he pay it? It was right in front of the goals. A mistake will cost the swans a goal. I just wish Longmire would raise it and take the fine.

When a player is on the ground and elects to drag the ball in (which in this case was probably just taking possession), rather than knocking it on, it becomes his responsibility to clear the ball. McCartin didn’t clear the ball, so a free kick was paid.

It looked weird because King was sitting on it at the end, but the AFL doesn’t want players who are already on the ground trying to take possession of the ball as it rarely gets out. If the roles were reversed I would expect the Swans to receive the free kick - and would be screaming out if it was not paid (but perhaps this might be called one-eyed). I was nervous when McCartin picked it up.

The point of contention more than anything is whether McCartin’s action of taking possession is equivalent to dragging it back in.

[stevoswan]

Just got in from work, about to watch the game on replay. Am I to assume there might be some soft/non frees to Saints during this game?

As a general comment, there are far too many soft frees paid across most games, some are double the total frees of other games and when you watch those you roll your eyes at some of the soft/non frees paid. Just let the game flow umpires, it's not about you!

About 4 goals worth.

[Matty10]

This was probably the worst game Fox has played for a while.

I am a fan of Fox but thought he was a bit off today. I wondered if his hand was bothering him. There was also a lot of finger pointing in the back line today. We didn’t seem to gel as well for some reason.

It also seemed like the whole team fumbled a bit today. Throw that bag of footballs out, I reckon.

[Nico]

Just for a moment, let's consider the htb decision against mccartin. The bank was between King's legs. Now, for the last 4 weeks it has been almost impossible to be paid holding the ball. If the umpire saw the ball between king's legs, why did he pay it? If he didn't see the ball, why did he pay it? It was right in front of the goals. A mistake will cost the swans a goal. I just wish Longmire would raise it and take the fine.

He paid it because McCartin dragged the ball back in. Strange that he blew the whistle when ball was between King's legs.

[Markwebbos]

Didn’t see the whole game but thought Amartey keeps his spot. Was a great 2nd game.

[TheBloods]

I better sit this one out !

[Roadrunner]

How do we let Higgens take 12 marks? The most he's had in any previous game was 6 and averaging around 3. Fox was on him at the start of the game. I don't recall if we switched in the 2nd half. This was probably the worst game Fox has played for a while. Kennedy with only 14 disposals; must be a career low or close to it.

I thought Fox was poor today. I don’t understand why he was preferred to Brandt, who played ok last week and who should have played on King. As good as Ramps is, he shouldn’t be expected to play on guys giving away so much height. As for Joey, he comes good late in the game when opponents are tired. A bit sad, really. Amartey improved during the game and should retain his spot, as should Logan, but Wiks didn’t do enough today. Overall, we were a little flat and we are not strong enough in the air to keep bombing into our forward zone. Happy with the win but not a game that was satisfying. Hope we improve next week!

[Nico]

What kept St Kilda in the game was our 6 misses close in from set shots. Higgins missed up the other end but we were poor kicking for goal. Papley 2, Amartey 1, Hayward 2, Heeney 1. Heeney picked out his mum in the crowd on the opposite wing.

[i'm-uninformed2]

An average game featuring bad goal kicking by both sides. I know the spotlight is on Higgins but boy we missed some too.

Parker, the Hick and Mills very good in the middle. Thought McCartin had a nice game after last week’s difficulty. And a player going through what King is going through does not need a Rampe smother speciality all day. Oh, and that Buddy guy can play a bit.

Gee Amarty got better and better. Some of his marking in the last quarter was terrific, and he showed good hands in the ruck.

One watch is a few of the young guys look a bit tired. Wicks and Warner, and to a degree Rowbottom, lacked their usual pep. The bye will come at a good time for them, and it’ll then be a watch as to whether they need another week off at some point between then and end of year.

[Ralph Dawg]

Glass half empty says we only just beat a very mediocre side.

Glass half full says we hung tough and won, despite a few of our usuals having average days out and being on the wrong side of the umpires.

I'll take the 2nd option.

[Matty10]

I don’t quite understand how we are playing the Hawks next week (on a 6 day break) when they are coming off a bye this week.

Surely it is pretty easy to manage a draw that ensures any team coming off a bye only plays another team in the same situation.

Our players are looking pretty flat and might be crawling to the bye after today’s slog, while the Hawks will presumably be refreshed.