Black Ducks Supporters Thread

[swannies]

Well fella's, I was with the senior player, thinking we would struggle. Had a chat to Percy the week before and he said, how could you not know they didn't have talent. I felt ashamed of myself, thanks Perc.
Anyhow, as others said, great to get the win without playing well.
The 3-2-1 from the match committee was 1 - Elari, 2 - Swoop, 3 - Simmo
During the game I was saying to my son, is there a better cut out mark than Simmo? Great to see him playing so well. Elari had been off a few weeks but he was at his reckless best in those packs on Saturday. The buzz in the clubrooms was very buoyant after the match, and they don't want to waste such a good start to the season.
Great to see the colts fantastic start to the season as well. 8 - 0.
Keep it up you black ducks.

 

[masai]

The Duckies this season are proving the adage, "a champion team beats a team of champions".

I feel the players we had last season, were individually more talented, but were they giving 100% of their talent ?.

This season, the players may be down in "talent", but they are bonded and playing with all their heart.

 

[Beetlebum]

Been impressed by the ducks this season, play with no fear.

 

[swannies]

Well, what a game today. Down 7.1 or 8.1 to 0.6 before running them down and steam rolling them in the last. Great team effort.

BOG, for me, was Faulkner, who kept having a crack when the chips were down and trying to drag the team with him.
Closely followed by Notte for me. When he went into the ruck in the second, for longer stints, we started winning more of the ruck contests and then dropping into defense in the last to help out, taking some great marks and running all over the ground. You all know how much man love I have for him anyway.
Ugle was dynamite again, as was Howie and Latch, despite all making some basic errors early in the game, they didn't go back into their shells.
Boekhorst ran all day and contested better than he has in my mind.
I could go through the whole playing group but I will mention Riddoch, Kirkup and Manton, who all came in and had an impact and really helped the team.

Go you Black Ducks!

 

[Spearhead]

Well, what a game today. Down 7.1 or 8.1 to 0.6 before running them down and steam rolling them in the last. Great team effort.

BOG, for me, was Faulkner, who kept having a crack when the chips were down and trying to drag the team with him.
Closely followed by Notte for me. When he went into the ruck in the second, for longer stints, we started winning more of the ruck contests and then dropping into defense in the last to help out, taking some great marks and running all over the ground. You all know how much man love I have for him anyway.
Ugle was dynamite again, as was Howie and Latch, despite all making some basic errors early in the game, they didn't go back into their shells.
Boekhorst ran all day and contested better than he has in my mind.
I could go through the whole playing group but I will mention Riddoch, Kirkup and Manton, who all came in and had an impact and really helped the team.

Go you Black Ducks!

Great summary as always Swannies.
When we went 7 goals down with Elari injured half way through the 2nd qtr I thought we might be in trouble but yet again the boys dug deep and took control of the contest and started to take the game on whilst Perth seemed to go back in their shells in the 2nd half.
Swoop was BOG for me as his efforts early in the game kept us within striking distance of the Demons and to kick 6 goals from CHF was a superb performance.
Subi next week back at Basso will be another tough game with Amesy & Cass out & hopefully Elari is ok.

 

[swannies]

Great summary as always Swannies.
When we went 7 goals down with Elari injured half way through the 2nd qtr I thought we might be in trouble but yet again the boys dug deep and took control of the contest and started to take the game on whilst Perth seemed to go back in their shells in the 2nd half.
Swoop was BOG for me as his efforts early in the game kept us within striking distance of the Demons and to kick 6 goals from CHF was a superb performance.
Subi next week back at Basso will be another tough game with Amesy & Cass out & hopefully Elari is ok.

The only reason Swoop doesn't get BOG from me were 2 incidents in the third. One the ball was delivered poorly into him and rather than get on with it and chase his opponent he stood there remonstrating towards the Swans player who kicked it in. The second was the ball delivered at his feet which the Demons defender ran away with and he just stopped. He stopped so suddenly I thought he had done a hammy. Then he got on his bike in the next minute or so and kicked another goal. I would have dragged him for that. Yes, I would have been wrong, but I would have done it.
What I liked the week before this, is Elari was telling Swoop off for one such incident in the Claremont game and was basically telling him to pull his finger out and get on with the game. It was then I became so much more confident in the team, because they were not going to let any player dictate to the team.

 

[Spearhead]

Unfortunately we put in our worst performance of the year on Saturday vs Subi. We relied on individual efforts rather than what has been the usual for this season of everyone chipping in. Losing Kirky Ugle early on in the match didnt help either. Having said all that we were still in the contest less than a kick down midway thru the last qtr until some to say the least interesting umpiring got Subi a couple of goals and then the dam wall was well & truly broken when they kicked a few late one's to make it look like a one sided result in the end. This week we travel to Mandurah to take on Fremantle's Reserves which will be a massive task with Amesy, Cass, Connor B, Ando et al still all out at the moment.

 

[swannies]

TBH Spearhead, I was not at all disappointed in the result. We put up a very good fight, with a fairly undermanned side. Great to see the colts get back to their winning ways and we'll see how we fare against the Thunder Dockers on the weekend.

 

[Spearhead]

Very enjoyable day down at Royalties For Regions Park with the Mighty Black Ducks beating that pitiful bunch of Pretenders in all 3 grades yet again.
Great to have Amesy back marshalling the back line with Simmo, Howie, Jetts & Kirky (who was also sorely missed last week vs Subi) plus Riggs, Doc, Boeky & co in the guts consistently winning the centre clearances against a supposed AFL squad of players and Swoop, Davo & Ando back at home from the State 18's up forward.
As for that pathetic mob we played playing that butt ugly Ross Lyon style of stoppage's crap footy they got their just desserts yet again from a bunch of local youngsters with a real club.
So much for the alignment supposedly improving players what a load of tripe the so called developing players like Wood, Vanderleur, Moller, Crozier, Hannath et al are going backwards at a rate of knots under this s**t and the sooner the comp goes back to the old way the better for everyone in the WAFL!
And of course if you have a browse on the Freo site it is all Cam Shepherd and the Peel boys fault they continually get flogged it has nothing whatsoever to do with the piss poor development of the Freo youngsters and the form of experienced AFL campaigners the likes of Bradley, Griffin, Morabito, Taberner et al.
I wonder where that "predominately a Swans fan" Nickoff is hiding these days???

 

[masai]

This alignment is junk, the AFL teams acted like bullies to get their way.

Still reckon it is better for player development for the players to be spread around the teams. Freo is forcing Peel to play alot of talls ( more than team balance dictates ), it would be better spreading their talls over the other WAFL teams.

 

[Spearhead]

Well what do you say after that remarkable come from behind win by the Mighty Black & Whites I witnessed at the Fremantle Aquatic Centre yesterday.
We could not have played any worse if we tried in the 1st qtr with only 2 Inside 50's for the whole qtr with our incompetence more than matched by the orange martians who saw fit to hand SF the first 11 free kicks of the game most of them to Schloithe & Hams who only had to move their head sideways to suck the umps in time after time for a "supposed high tackle" free kick!
So after not troubling the scoreboard attendent in the first qtr at all things only marginally improved in the 2nd qtr where we at least finally scored with our first scoring shot a point to Jukes followed by a goal to Rogers coming at around the 15min mark of the 2nd qtr, I cannot remember in 34 years of following our great club ever taking that long into a game to either 1) score and or 2) score our first goal?
The 3rd qtr wasnt much better and when SF scored a goal late in the qtr we were 6 goals down and in the conditions that would have equated to 12+ goals in the dry and I had almost given up the ghost of us winning and was just hoping we limited the damage with Cook, Hams, Schloithe, Bairstow, Martinez & co hopefully tiring after completely out playing & out running us for the first 3 qtrs.
But in the back of my mind I was thinking the Black Ducks of 2014 dont lie down so if somehow we could just get our hands first to the footy in the centre and started to put a bit of scoreboard pressure on you never know what sort of panic that might produce in the minds at SF.
Harding made a few positional changes late in the 3rd swinging Kirky & Simmo forward and after an arm wrestle for the first 10 mins or so of the last qtr Simmo kicked a nice snap goal that almost seemed to bring the boys to life with Kirky kicking a couple in quick succession & then Rogie & the Jukebox also snapping a couple of nice goals on the left not too long after and you look up at the scoreboard and we are only a point behind at the 25 min mark of the last qtr.
Then after winning yet another centre clearance a quick kick forward out of a pack saw both Davo & another Swans player somehow both alone in space with Davo taking the mark 50m out but with a wet ball no certainty but he went back and put it right thru easily but with a still a few minutes of play left our defence stood up under enormous pressure as SF had one last gasp at getting the lead back.
When the final siren finally went the jubilation amongst the boys was only matched by those of us who braved the outer in what can only be termed Arctic conditions but when you have a win like that it was worth every second!!

 

[swannies]

This alignment is junk, the AFL teams acted like bullies to get their way.

Still reckon it is better for player development for the players to be spread around the teams. Freo is forcing Peel to play alot of talls ( more than team balance dictates ), it would be better spreading their talls over the other WAFL teams.

Actually, it was Bronte going behind the other clubs' backs that contributed to it as well, not just the AFL teams.

Spearhead, I only wish I had endured those conditions but, alas, I had more work commitments. At 3/4 time I was about to write them off as well, but thought, hang on, these guys simply don't go away. The only sobering thought is we have done it the last 3 weeks, given a team a handy start and tried to run them down. The 2 we successfully did it against are in the bottom 3. We can't give good teams, like Subi and the 2 Easts, head starts.
However, I will enjoy that win all the same.

 

[Spearhead]

Ordinary performance by the boys yesterday that has probably been a few weeks coming. Claremont had far more intensity than we did right from the first bounce and we only lost by 4 goals due to a handful of players keeping us in the contest like Faulks, Swoop, Davo, Riggs. Hopefully the boys learnt something from the game in that you cant go into any game with that she'll be right attitude as you will end up with egg on your face. Next week doesnt get any easier with WP up at Joondalup.
Kudos to the Colts who just keep on winning and now go 4 games clear on top of the ladder & the Ressies who posted their 3rd win in a row.

 

[swannies]

Well, that was as bad a performance as I have witnessed for some time. It was awful watching it. However, a win would have glossed over the fact we think we can play for 15 mins and win matches, this was the 4th week in a row they've done this. Hopefully it causes them to switch on. As spearhead says, next week is a very big game.
I thought our 2 best, over 4 quarters, were Ricky and Faulks. Davo and Riggs were next best, IMO. The rest were pretty poor.

 

[Underdog]

I think our lack of depth is starting to hit. Our players are looking tired an unable to sustain the intensity. It would be nice to have the luxury of resting someone like Riggs on a flank at times but he's too vital in the middle. God help us if he cops an injury. The intensity and fluid ball movement is sorely lacking. We may also need to consider pushing Simmo forward more. Notte is well down on 2013 form, Geappen isn't as consistent and Ricky is copping more attention.

On the bright side, I'd also like to commend Faulks, Riggs and Davo on yesterday's game.

 

[swannies]

Well, that was a different team and a fantastic result, for all grades. If I could only have 1 win a year, it would be over West Perth.

This week it was hard to split the better players, but I think Blakely, Davo, Faulks, Ugle, Howard, Simmo and Elari were probably best.

Honourable mentions to the more inexperienced players who are developing and improving rapidly, like Cary, Riddoch, Burnham and Manton who are all making it difficult for the MC to drop them. Cary's repeat efforts are becoming fantastic.

Can't sing the teams praises highly enough after today, when we played mature football to control the game for most of the second half and particularly that last quarter. Bring on the bye and get ready for the challenge of cementing a top 2 spot.

 

[Spearhead]

Always great to beat WP anywhere Swannies let alone win all 3 grades at Joondalup.
The bye has come at an opportune time with a few of the boys crying out for a break with the likes of Davo, Nottey & Boeky having played every week since our first game vs EP, Faulky, Simmo & Amesy have played sore plus our plethora of youngsters would no doubt have been feeling the pinch being up for so long.
Special mention to our Colts & Ressies who continued their great form the Colts are now 4 games clear on top with a 13-1 record while the Ressies with plenty of Colts boys stepping up have now won 4 games in a row.
After the break we have the chance to redeem our last average performance vs Claremont when we play them this time at the Showgrounds.
Carn the Mighty Black Ducks!

 

[Spearhead]

It would be fair to say we threw that game away with a poor last qtr kicking into a howling wind that seemed to spring up from nowhere at 3qtr time
With equal top spot up for grabs & our loyal servant Jetts playing his 100th game we served up absolutely nothing in the all important final stanza while the Tigers lifted another gear.
Our ineptness around the stoppages and our lack of run & spread in the last qtr was only matched by that buffoon in orange Worobec who just refused to award us a free kick even tho some were as obvious as the nose on your face!
Next week we venture back to Basso where we have dropped our last 2 games to play a desperate Perth who will be stinging after yesterdays loss to Subi.
Lets hope the boys come out breathing fire next week after letting Jetts down in his milestone game & also the chance to cement a top 2 finish!

 

[swannies]

I've been too shattered to post Spearhead. And when Worobec smirked across the fence at the suggestions from our mate, as to his complete and utter ineptitude, then my blood got boiling further.
That being said, we made plenty of basic mistakes, one of which was a lack of run for a large part of the day, in that last. We started playing again at about the 25 minute mark and almost stole it, but they are bad habits to be creating. The last 6 weeks have me worried, however, where we are compared to where I thought we would be still have me satisfied.
A couple of things to note, apart from us slipping over a lot, some players were trying kicks that were too cute and fumbling the ball a lot. To single out one player, which may be unfair, Burnham just couldn't pick the ball up cleanly all day. And when you're going to spoil the ball in defence fella, belt the living s**t out of it across the boundary, not limp wristed tap it in the air to gather. Take a leaf out of Notte's book.

 

[Kram]

Wow so they fought back to get over the line, wasn't looking good at all there at one stage.

 

[Underdog]

Amazing comeback!

5 goals to 3 quarter time, 5 goals down and then a 6 goals to 1 final quarter to snatch the win. I couldn't sit down, I was going nuts.

Howie was huge in the last quarter. Took massive grabs and didn't let anything past.

Jetta, Elari and Cary had great games.

 

[Spearhead]

Well we didn't exactly come out "breathing fire" as I had hoped after last week's fadeout, in fact our first 3 qtrs against Perth yesterday were lamentable.
We were second to the ball and when we did actually get hold of the footy we seemed intent on handballing incessantly which considering the extremely wet conditions was a disaster waiting to happen.
And that was exactly what happened with the inevitable turnover that we must have coughed up 5 or 6 goals to Perth from silly overuse by hand.
But remarkably similar to the SF game a month or so back we were let off the hook by Perth missing some pretty easy chances in front of goal & us kicking a late goal just before 3 qtr time to bring the margin back to the 5-6 goal difference.
At last we decided to come to play in the last qtr, we got in first to the footy & kicked long & direct down to our forwards in Cary, Davo & Ando who always threatened to take hold of the game the only problem was it just wasn't getting down there.
After wiping the deficit down to a goal by the 15 min mark we then started missing some golden opportunities to put Perth away & when the inevitable goal happened down the other end (I'm still trying to work out how that actually came about after a kick in ) after we had dominated the play for 20 minutes Perth were back in front by 8 points and seemingly holding on to take the 4 points but we came again, finally regained the lead and due to some fine contested marks by the likes of Nottie, Howie, Doc & Bluey held Perth out until the final siren finally blared at the 35 min mark.
Once again we got out of jail with a scintillating last qtr but we cant keep doing that and expect to win games especially against the likes of Eagles Reserves, Subi & EF, we desperately need to put 4 qtrs together for the first time in a quite a while.
Another extremely tough game coming up this week playing WP up at Joondalup yet again, hopefully Simmo is back after missing yesterday's game.

 

[Underdog]

The free kick came from Blight abusing the umpire after being called as stepping out of the square when kicking out.

 

[swannies]

The free kick came from Blight abusing the umpire after being called as stepping out of the square when kicking out.

The umpires were muppets, though, yet again. How he even picked up the out of the square in that mud heap, and the only one all day, is beyond me. However, Blighty should have shut up.
I was like you Underdog, going spare on the outer. After thinking I had lost a bet over a trampoline, with my youngest son, at 3/4 time (that will teach me for being a smart arse ) and giving up on the game, to getting the chocolates. Ah, who wants to be a footy supporter.

 

[Kram]

What the feck happened yesterday?