Match Thread: Swans v Demons.

[Kumarangk]

Coming along very nicely ! Notice that the side won t lay down and are always in it , in true bloods
style !

[stevoswan]

That was about what I expected. A fit Sam Reid would have made a difference. I reckon we still need another tall defender to free up Rampe a bit more. Melbourne being able to take a couple of contested marks up forward was probably the difference. The umpiring was inconsistent but I didn't think there was a deliberate bias at any stage.

That is becoming a glaring deficiency now and should be a major off season mission.

[Foreign Legion]

Rampe was incredible - he usually is brilliant. Such a well balanced player and reader of the ball.

If Heeney played tonight we win. Mills may be worth a punt on the Brownlow. He has had a great consistent season.

[dejavoodoo44]

Suprising but not. Its all the calls that aren't given or just compeltely at random (5 let go then no 6 given) that drive me nuts. And I'm certain some players get completely different treatment to others out there too.

I didn't think the umpires were too bad tonight. Well, once I factored in just how random holding the ball/illegal disposal decisions are these days. Probably the area where we had the most to complain about, was we laid 34 inside 50 tackles to 14, but I don't think we were properly rewarded for that.

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Rampe was incredible - he usually is brilliant. Such a well balanced player and reader of the ball.

If Heeney played tonight we win. Mills may be worth a punt on the Brownlow. He has had a great consistent season.

Yes, despite Darcy's match long love affair with Oliver, I thought Mills was BOG tonight.

[Thunder Shaker]

Great effort, though we didn't get the win. It was a good effort to get within nine points of the side I consider to be the premiership favourites.

Some positives:
* A nine-point margin is closer to the rampant Demons than any other side has come this year so far.
* We won the last quarter (by one point). Melbourne has won every other last quarter this year. We were the first side to go with them for the whole game.
* We got no injuries in the game so far as I can tell.

[dejavoodoo44]

We finished on the right side of the ledger in most of the statistical categories, had one more scoring shot and had four of the top five players in the Fantasy points category yet according to the Fox Footy crew the Swans were lucky to get as close as they did. 🤔

I thought it was an even first quarter, Melbourne were clearly the better side in the second, and we were marginally better in the third and fourth.

[aardvark]

What we do with the second ruck is a big issue. Sinkers just isn't good enough, McLean is not a ruckman and Reid is made of tissue paper and should never be risked in the ruck again. Maybe when Naismith is ready we play him and Hickey and drop Sinkers and McLean.

[COB]

Umpiring is just crap in general I think!

Sick of people criticising the umps. It is a near impossible job. They don't get replays, have to see through a mass of bodies and often have to make subjective decisions re prior opportunity, genuine attempt to dispose of the ball, control of the ball in a mark, realistic attempt at a mark, distance run, distance ball travelled etc

[aardvark]

That is becoming a glaring deficiency now and should be a major off season mission.

How about a mid season mission. Paddy seems to go alright down back when he's not whacking people.

[mcs]

Sick of people criticising the umps. It is a near impossible job. They don't get replays, have to see through a mass of bodies and often have to make subjective decisions re prior opportunity, genuine attempt to dispose of the ball, control of the ball in a mark, realistic attempt at a mark, distance run, distance ball travelled etc

Yes Mr Stevic.... Just kidding!

No one says they do it on purpose or it is an easy job - but imho the standard of umpiring in general is not improving and getting more inconsistent by the year. Partially driven by the obsession of the AFL with tinkering, partially driven by the ongoing unwillingess of the AFL to admit that they should have made umpires truly professional a long time ago. But also driven by the fact there are some umpires out there that individually are simply not very good at being an umpire at this level either.

I've long been a critic of the AFL for not doing enough to help the umpires out - but I do think the standard of umpiring is getting worse, markedly this season again.

And do note the criticism in this case was at 'umpiring' (I.e. the action not the people).

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What we do with the second ruck is a big issue. Sinkers just isn't good enough, McLean is not a ruckman and Reid is made of tissue paper and should never be risked in the ruck again. Maybe when Naismith is ready we play him and Hickey and drop Sinkers and McLean.

Very hard one to nut out - but its a key issue, because as the season wears on, Hickey will need more consistent support, in particular if we are in genuine contention to make finals and make a stir.

[SwanSand]

I reckon the difference was only with composure with the ball when we had it vs when they had it. That is only because of ability to absorb pressure and take the right option - comes with more games under the belt. We are on the right track - in fact more than right track.
We are not getting enough contested marks in a game of footy anywhere on the ground. We need to fix that.

[Wardy]

Yes Mr Stevic.... Just kidding!

No one says they do it on purpose or it is an easy job - but imho the standard of umpiring in general is not improving and getting more inconsistent by the year. Partially driven by the obsession of the AFL with tinkering, partially driven by the ongoing unwillingess of the AFL to admit that they should have made umpires truly professional a long time ago. But also driven by the fact there are some umpires out there that individually are simply not very good at being an umpire at this level either.

I've long been a critic of the AFL for not doing enough to help the umpires out - but I do think the standard of umpiring is getting worse, markedly this season again.

And do note the criticism in this case was at 'umpiring' (I.e. the action not the people).

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Very hard one to nut out - but its a key issue, because as the season wears on, Hickey will need more consistent support, in particular if we are in genuine contention to make finals and make a stir.

Agree with This 100% !! those of us who’ve been watching this game for over 50 years have seen the decline in umpiring over that time. And after paying $400 for a ticket to the GF in 2016 and witnessing the diabolical umpiring on display that day - I’m going to complain about umpiring if I bloody well feel like it.