Page 14 of 40 FirstFirst ... 410111213141516171824 ... LastLast
Results 157 to 168 of 471

Thread: 2023 Preseason

  1. #157
    Quote Originally Posted by liz View Post
    One would have to be aware that there is an internal trial game planned tomorrow...do you have any further details (eg start time)?

    As an aside, I think it's unlikely either Reid or Armarty will participate given recent reports of interruptions to their pre-seasons (or non-start of a preseason in the case of Reid).
    Hi, I don't have a start time, usually 9am though.

  2. #158
    Senior Player
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    1,315
    Quote Originally Posted by barracuda View Post
    Anyone going to the internal trial game tomorrow? If so could you do a comparison of the players trying to get into the "up for grab spots" For example,
    Stephens and Campbell.
    Clarke, Wicks, Konstanty and Sheldrick.
    McLean, Armarty and Reid.

    Thanks
    I am hoping Cunningham is in good nick/form as he has rarely has a very bad game, is a decent bloke from the interviews I have seen, and was unlucky to lose his spot in the starting 22 due to injury.

    Not sure who would go out the team for him though. Maybe Florent can play the Clarke/Bell/Wicks position.

  3. #159
    Ego alta, ergo ictus Ruck'n'Roll's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Over here!
    Posts
    3,855
    Quote Originally Posted by Maltopia View Post
    I am hoping Cunningham is in good nick/form as he has rarely has a very bad game, is a decent bloke from the interviews I have seen, and was unlucky to lose his spot in the starting 22 due to injury.

    Not sure who would go out the team for him though. Maybe Florent can play the Clarke/Bell/Wicks position.
    Harry gave Stengle a bath in the March Geelong game, which should illustrate his value as a lock down small defender to all. And at the moment I think he is the only potential player of that role. Florent and Lloyd are more attcking and at 72kg Vickery will need to spend time in the gym before he's ready for the firsts.

    The world is a bit topsy turvey, defensive forwards are much lauded, as are offensive defenders - but maybe defensive defenders are out of vogue?
    Loose translation from the Latin is - I am tall, so I hit out.

  4. #160
    Regular in the Side
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    799
    AFL releases full two-week practice match schedule and Swans will play as below:

    UNOFFICIAL MATCH SIMULATIONS
    Friday February 24
    Sydney v Brisbane, Tramway Oval (Moore Park), 12pm (4 x 25 minutes, no time on)

    OFFICIAL PRACTICE MATCHES
    Friday March 3
    Sydney v Carlton, Blacktown International Sports Park, 7.10pm

  5. #161
    I attended training much too late today and arrived just in time to see the practice match finishing. Looked like it was played on a rectangular field across tramway oval but I might be wrong because, as I say, I turned up as it was finishing. SeanM was there and will hopefully provide one of his usual excellent reports. He departed when it finished but I hung around.

    What happened next was that the players engaged in willing handball drills (of the type that SeanM has been describing). The thing that impressed me most is that @@@@ is getting real and the level of contact is increasing. Errol got towelled up a couple of times, slow to dispose of the ball, which made me laugh to see.

    After that there were some of those drills - roughly 6 attackers v 6 defenders - where a coach would kick the ball in long to the top of the square where a mark would be contested between the opposing tall players. After a while the teams were switched and different sets of 6 would come on. The first tall match up was Melican defending Edwards and Melican cleaned him up. Most of the other match-ups were pretty even. I thought Francis did reasonably well, as did Tommy McCartin - but they got beaten too. An intriguing match up was Melican defending Logan McDonald. The honours were pretty evenly divided but what I noticed was that every now and then Melican had a lapse in concentration and let McDonald have an easy run at it. I wonder if that is a key part of Melican's problem? His best is fine but his lapses in concentration are untenable?

    After that most of the players gradually left the ground. But about a dozen stayed in the middle to do 100 m sprints. After 4 sprints a few of them dropped out (Corey Warner finished first in that 4th sprint before he departed). After the 5th 100m most of the rest dropped out and there were 4 left. In that final sprint they finished in the following order: Heeney, Campbell, Rampe, McInerney. I don't know how much we can read into that because I have no idea of their relative workloads etc over the rest of the training session but I was still impressed with Heeney - and with all of those 4 for being the last out there.

    In the time I was there I didn't see Buddy or Hickey. I'm dubious about Hickey's fitness. I hope he's ok.

    A few players were doing some running on the sidelines (HHK, Rankin, Mitchell, Vickery among them). Cam Owen was also doing some running on the sidelines - but all by himself.

    It was really hot in the sun. Those players are going to be sore and need to recover. I pitied them the extended walk to Swans HQ - another 200 m down the road!
    All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)

  6. #162
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,394
    I watched part of today's session. I arrived at about 9.50am, just in time to see Cooper Vickery slot a long range snap through the goal posts, and then the whistle blow for the end of a period. They played two more periods after that, but since I don't know exactly when they started, I don't know how many they played in total.

    I can't provide a full roll-call of who played and who didn't. The bulk of the squad participated, topped up by VFL players, some of whom seemed to rotate in and out. (I saw a youngster who I think was Inhi Kirk standing on the side-lines for periods, and Collis also seemed to be in and out.) Some of the players were numberless and others were in rogue numbers (PMac in 31; Mills in 15). Many wore caps, making it harder to identify them, especially those parked on the other side of the ground.

    Those who didn't play, but who were in attendance, included Franklin, Reid, Hickey, McLean, Amartey and Lloyd.

    I think I saw Blakey on the ground shortly after I arrived but then couldn't spot him. After the match simulation ended, I saw him walk onto the ground to join the rest of the group and participate in non-match drills but I didn't stick around to watch. Gould also walked on with Blakey, which prompted me to realise I hadn't noticed him during the match simulation.

    The most notable absentee, who didn't appear to be even watching on, was Chad. It is possible that he was one going incognito in a cap, but I doubt it. Firstly, he doesn't strike me as a "play in a cap" kind of guy. Not with those curly locks. Secondly, he has a distinctive gait that I reckon I'd have recognised. And lastly, he'd have been playing onball, meaning I would most likely have noticed him.

    The teams were "mixed ability" in the sense that those we expect to line up in round one were split across the red and turquoise teams, with a slight concentration into the red team. Parker, Mills, Gulden, and PMac were the most notable senior players in the turquoise team. Ladhams switched to turquoise, I think, just after I arrived. He rucked against McAndrew in red. Campbell was another in turquoise.

    Despite the presence of Parker and Mills in the middle for the turquoise team, it was mostly one way traffic towards the red team's goal. That was quite handy for me, since that was the end I was standing closer to (and they didn't switch ends between periods). The red forward line was stacked with Papley, Hayward and Heeney, all of whom looked fit and sharp. McDonald was also on the red team, closely minded by Paddy. He found it tough to find space or time leads. Admittedly the ball wasn't delivered to him in the way a tall forward would ideally like, but when it was in the air, McDonald tried hard to fight for position but not with success.

    Konstanty was also in the red forward line. I didn't see him do anything remarkable with the ball in hand, but his pressure was good and he laid some vigorous tackles.

    Whenever the turquoise team did manage to get the ball down their end, it was routinely mopped up by a combination of Fox, Rampe, Florent and Tommy Mac. Given my earlier list of who was watching rather than playing, you can work out that there was no tall target of note playing for the turquoise team.

    The session was willing and energetic rather than flowing or clean. I can't say there were many instances where players did stuff that surprised me, or made me metaphorically (as I was standing) sit up and take notice. But, based purely on what I saw today, the one fringe player who I think might bust his way into the side early on, and possibly stay there, is Sheldrick. He worked in tandem with Rowbottom for the red onball division, and I think they had the better of Parker and Mills (albeit those two may not have been going full bore). He was clean off the ground, purposeful in his movement of the ball, and delivered the best kick into the forward line that I saw all morning, right onto the chest of a leading team mate.

    PS One interested onlooker was none other than JPK. He's lost nothing in calf muscle definition since retirement.
    Last edited by liz; 1st February 2023 at 05:03 PM.

  7. #163
    Team photo day was yesterday. Here's a gallery - not up yet on the Swans site: AFL Photos - Galleries - AFL Photo Galleries.
    All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)

  8. #164
    Thanks Liz

    I think I have mentioned over previous seasons that in the English Premier League close to 80% goals from turnover......of which most turnovers occur in the opposition's defensive half

    The reason for raising this again is we saw how Geelong played it vs us in the GF......they did everything they could to tunnel ball it in our back half and lock it in.....and it worked

    So I am guessing we are looking very closely at he can create a higher level of turnovers in forward line but equally who is best as capitalising and making goals from these turnovers

  9. #165
    The flip side of that is that if we are pinned in we have to work out a way to get out and unlock that press. I understand what you're saying but I think in the grand final we never actually got to that situation to apply our own press.

  10. #166
    It started 9.15am. It seemed to be 4 quarters of roughly 15 minutes. Probably 75% of our list played. Shortage of tall forwards meant that Francis(red) and Edwards(green) both played full forward for the whole game.

    Red team seemed to have the senior forwards and senior back line with other players occasionally switched in. The midfields was more even. Green team midfield had Parker, Mills, Gulden, Mcinerney and Campbell.

    Positionally Sheldrick played the whole game in midfield. And Caleb Mitchell played in defence often marking Hayward (presumably because we had too many other wingers available)
    Last edited by SeanM; 1st February 2023 at 07:26 PM.

  11. #167
    Awesome insights bloodspirit, Liz and Sean. I feel blessed reading three accounts! I'm looking forward to seeing how Campbell, Gould and Sheldrick go this year.

  12. #168
    Don’t know if it’s just me but I can’t see Chad Warner in our team photo

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO