Jon Ralph on Twitter suggests Tom McCartin and Rampe trained a bit last week:
https://twitter.com/RalphyHeraldSun/...d6P6Bky0g&s=19.
If they play, could be:
OUT: Francis, McInerney/Stephens, McLean, Roberts
IN: McCartin, Rampe, Hickey, Sheldrick
Mills into the centre. Best player to move to a wing is Gulden, which would better suit Stephens going out than McInerney.
It would be great if Tom Mc and Ramps could come back in. I wouldn’t drop Francis though- surely he needs more than 1 game! I think Harry needs to go, unfortunately- looks past it now, sadly.Originally Posted by MattW
IN: McCartin, Hickey, Sheldrick
OUT: Roberts, McLean, Cunningham.
SUB: Gould
Can we play both Hickey & Ladhams in same team? Can either play McLeans role up forward? Are we better off playing smaller forward line with only McDonald as KPF?
Does Buddy come back into calculations if fit and how does that work with if both Hickey & Ladhams play? Are Rampe & Tom Mac certain to be fit this week?
Biggest selections dilemma we've had in a while after a very disappointing performance.
Must be the week to play Buddy with Taylor out
Out: McLean, Roberts, Cunningham, McInerney (they won't drop McInerney but they really should)
In: Hickey, Rampe, Sheldrick, McCartin
Sounds like Franklin will be ready the week after.
If Hickey is fit, yes. I think he has shown that he can be good up forward and has a decent set shot.
"Fortunately, this is the internet, so knowing nothing is no obstacle to having an opinion!." Beerman 18-07-2017
Not a bad shout to play him forward to ease back into the season/fitness
Who knows who's coming back from injury??
This is not a knock on Hickey per se, but I'd be loathe to play two rucks right now. I reckon one of our woes is the lack of forward pressure compared to last year, when we were manic at holding the ball inside 50 or our getting repeat entries. People on here (rightly) remark on McLean's lack of defensive pressure; well, Hickey or Ladhams ain't gonna be any quicker.
It 'may' be that we can play Ladhams in the role McLean currently has, once Hickey returns to full fitness and resumes his role in the ruck. Ladhams did occasionally play that second ruck role at Port. The other argument for this arrangement is Logan is not yet a stand-your-ground pack mark inside 50, and works better roaming around; so there's a case for a big body closer to the goal square.
But I'd rather play a smaller, quicker forward line built around Logan, Heeney and Paps until we get the cavalry back after the bye. It also reinforces for me the value a good small forward like Konstanty will hopefully bring in time. Clarke is an excellent tagger, but he doesn't do the scrambling defensive work (the role Wicks had in '21) and as others have noted, his disposal is slow and a weakness.
'Delicious' is a fun word to say
Is this due to the quality of our entries, our lack of forwards creating a contest or our ability to keep the ball in our F50? I believe it is all three, with a heavier weighting on the kicks in the F50. We've seen Heeney, Papley, McDonald and Hayward are all capable of winning their own contest, be it marking or ground balls. Better delivery to these targets, and we know the team has the skills to do this, would be a starting point to keeping the ball "locked in". I don't think having another small forward being outmarked by the oppositions interceptor is going to solve this problem.
Last edited by RogueSwan; 24th April 2023 at 05:24 PM.
"Fortunately, this is the internet, so knowing nothing is no obstacle to having an opinion!." Beerman 18-07-2017
Fox to miss according to Tom Browne:
https://twitter.com/TomBrowne7/statu...15538185482240
I thought Fox looked a bit dazed on the TV coverage and was surprised that they opted not to assess him (perhaps they did during a break), but maybe the effects were delayed.Post script to Mitch Duncan, Fox failed head injury assessment and will miss this week.
Longmire didn’t have a problem with the MRO decision, but noted Buddy was rubbed out for bracing in round one and subtly called for consistency.
Just what we need sigh. Both us and GWS will struggle to put a team out at this rate.
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
Bugger - Fox would have been perfect for Toby Greene.
'Delicious' is a fun word to say
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