Autopsy Should have Could have - but didn't. Down by 2 against Port

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

Thinking about the Buddy situation another way, does anyone truly think we are a premiership threat this year with Buddy in the forward line?

If the answer no, then there is no reason to play him, even if you think (a) he is still is one of our top talls and (b) you think the team plays better as a whole with Buddy in the team.

I know some are also saying to play him up the ground on the wing, but he can no longer keep up with a full back running out of the defence, let alone an opposition winger who runs all day - he would get slaughtered on the wing. This is before considering that he struggles to mark above his head and he can barely step past players in open play anymore - so how exactly is he going to find space on the wing to use field kicking strength?

I’ll ram the point home even stronger; if I am the opposition coach I am brimming with glee if Buddy is picked. It means the Swans will play predictable lazy football centred around a player who is no longer up to the job of playing superstar when players kick it on his head. No only that, buddy will also be a liability for the swans when my team transitions from defence to attack, he will give away silly frees, and will barely receive frees when they are there. My key defender is going to look awesome (look at Aliir), walk taller and grow the confidence of his team mates (who will seeing him slaying the best forward of a generation). What’s not to love?

I’m sorry to go so hard, but I feel like people are holding onto Buddy of the past. He is a 6ft 6inch 37 year old who’s strengths were his athleticism, long kick and hyper competitiveness. His first two strengths are largely gone and his third strength is now just as likely to be a liability.

As I’ve said before, it is full credit to the man that there is even debate whether he should play, but I just can’t see the point. I’d love to be wrong have people throw this post in my face when he carries us to a premiership this year, but even this sentence feels silly as a write it. Sorry.

 

[Banyo Bloods]

the midfield bomb to everyone

i think we aim to get it inside 50 asap

then hold it in there

True,
Without Reid we can’t do it though as he usually at least brought it to ground and applied defensive pressure.

Just need to adjust to the cattle and we will be ok.

Even if we change it by a small
Percent it should work.

 

[SwansProudly]

Sydney Swans vs Port Adelaide
VOTES
PLAYER (CLUB)
9 Chad Warner (SYD)
7 Aliir Aliir (PORT)
7 Oliver Florent (SYD)
5 Zak Butters (PORT)
1 Xavier Duursma (PORT)
1 Jeremy Finlayson (PORT)

AFLCA Champion Player of the Year - AFL Coaches Association Awards - AFL Coaches Association

aflcoaches.com.au

 

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

Sydney Swans vs Port Adelaide
VOTES
PLAYER (CLUB)
9 Chad Warner (SYD)
7 Aliir Aliir (PORT)
7 Oliver Florent (SYD)
5 Zak Butters (PORT)
1 Xavier Duursma (PORT)
1 Jeremy Finlayson (PORT)

AFLCA Champion Player of the Year - AFL Coaches Association Awards - AFL Coaches Association

aflcoaches.com.au

Chad 5, 4
Aliir 2, 5
Florent 4, 3
Butters 3, 2
Xavier 1
Finlayson 1

Florent and Aliir votes might be the other way around

 

[Bloods86]

Thinking about the Buddy situation another way, does anyone truly think we are a premiership threat this year with Buddy in the forward line?

If the answer no, then there is no reason to play him, even if you think (a) he is still is one of our top talls and (b) you think the team plays better as a whole with Buddy in the team.

I know some are also saying to play him up the ground on the wing, but he can no longer keep up with a full back running out of the defence, let alone an opposition winger who runs all day - he would get slaughtered on the wing. This is before considering that he struggles to mark above his head and he can barely step past players in open play anymore - so how exactly is he going to find space on the wing to use field kicking strength?

I’ll ram the point home even stronger; if I am the opposition coach I am brimming with glee if Buddy is picked. It means the Swans will play predictable lazy football centred around a player who is no longer up to the job of playing superstar when players kick it on his head. No only that, buddy will also be a liability for the swans when my team transitions from defence to attack, he will give away silly frees, and will barely receive frees when they are there. My key defender is going to look awesome (look at Aliir), walk taller and grow the confidence of his team mates (who will seeing him slaying the best forward of a generation). What’s not to love?

I’m sorry to go so hard, but I feel like people are holding onto Buddy of the past. He is a 6ft 6inch 37 year old who’s strengths were his athleticism, long kick and hyper competitiveness. His first two strengths are largely gone and his third strength is now just as likely to be a liability.

As I’ve said before, it is full credit to the man that there is even debate whether he should play, but I just can’t see the point. I’d love to be wrong have people throw this post in my face when he carries us to a premiership this year, but even this sentence feels silly as a write it. Sorry.

I'll put it this way, I don't think we're a premiership threat unless Buddy has a decent year.

Whether that's 40 odd goals, or him taking the best KPD(s) out of the game (though that requires some smarts with our delivery).

 

[BloodySwan]

Thinking about the Buddy situation another way, does anyone truly think we are a premiership threat this year with Buddy in the forward line?

If the answer no, then there is no reason to play him, even if you think (a) he is still is one of our top talls and (b) you think the team plays better as a whole with Buddy in the team.

I know some are also saying to play him up the ground on the wing, but he can no longer keep up with a full back running out of the defence, let alone an opposition winger who runs all day - he would get slaughtered on the wing. This is before considering that he struggles to mark above his head and he can barely step past players in open play anymore - so how exactly is he going to find space on the wing to use field kicking strength?

I’ll ram the point home even stronger; if I am the opposition coach I am brimming with glee if Buddy is picked. It means the Swans will play predictable lazy football centred around a player who is no longer up to the job of playing superstar when players kick it on his head. No only that, buddy will also be a liability for the swans when my team transitions from defence to attack, he will give away silly frees, and will barely receive frees when they are there. My key defender is going to look awesome (look at Aliir), walk taller and grow the confidence of his team mates (who will seeing him slaying the best forward of a generation). What’s not to love?

I’m sorry to go so hard, but I feel like people are holding onto Buddy of the past. He is a 6ft 6inch 37 year old who’s strengths were his athleticism, long kick and hyper competitiveness. His first two strengths are largely gone and his third strength is now just as likely to be a liability.

As I’ve said before, it is full credit to the man that there is even debate whether he should play, but I just can’t see the point. I’d love to be wrong have people throw this post in my face when he carries us to a premiership this year, but even this sentence feels silly as a write it. Sorry.

There's a bigger problem if Buddy isn't performing and we insist to play him as our FF.

Buddy is still a great player to have on our 22 but he's shown to no longer be the player he used to be. If he plays as a 3rd tall though he'd have a huge influence. Still a good field kick, can run out the ground and take one of the opponents main defenders.

If we keep playing Buddy the way we have been we definately won't be winning anything but we can still use him

 

[Punts]

Making Finlayson look like a star

 

[bloodsbigot]

We were well below our best, but if we don't have both McCartin's go down early I think we carry on our 1st qtr form for longer and at least get a 20-30 point win.

We were lucky to have Fox as sub, and he did well despite a lack of match fitness. Rampe was peak Rampe, Lloyd was good, Florent was crucial. But we had to restructure our whole defence and that has flow on effects.

We should still have won, but it reminded me of Hewett getting concussed early, similarly Blakey getting hobbled with a cork early, then Reid going down in the 2nd half against the Suns in 2021. We lost by 40, then had the Cats the next week. Rampe was out, Tom McCartin still young in the KPD game just came back from injury, and we had Dawson as the 3rd tall defender (Melican was the 2nd). Had one of our best wins in recent history.

We should account for the Tigers (it'd be nice to see a live win for the first time in 5 years), trust Rampe, Fox, Gould/Francis to do the job. Tigers had Tarrant go down in VFL so they're short on talls in general.

Agreed. Losing both our key defenders ruined our structure.

I hated seeing Port carry on after they won like they were world beaters. 'Port spirit' my ass. They won because they got seriously lucky with two players with concussion problems getting concussion in the same match in 1 and a half quarters.

We'd basically owned them until Paddy went down.

I'm also annoyed at our own fans writing us off already and it's fricking round 4. How many seasons of any sport do you need to watch where teams turn it around after a slow start? How many times have the swans done that?

It ain't looking good I'll admit losing our key backmen, and Buddy stinking it up, but come on, we killed Geelong last year in Buddy's 1000. Then they killed us in the Grannie. We're 2-2 when it should have been 3-1. In 2017 we were 7-0 or something ridiculous like that.

We can do it.

 

[Crust]

Not enough love here for Sir Dane who in my view was our BOG.
With our two tallest defenders out, Dane went on Dixon. I can't find his stats but I reckon Dixon is at least 5 cm and 10kg bigger, yet Dane kept him goalless, and also initiated multiple attacks. He was immense.

Regarding our forward entries, compare:
1. Mcinerney. Heeney pointed to the pocket where there was a big hole. McInerney ignored that, and bombed it to Buddy at the top of the square. Spoiled, no score.
2. Gulden. Had it on the wing. Kicked to a hole into which McDonald was leading. Logan took the mark and kicked a goal.

We need more of 2.

What we used to do was look for the switch, working it back and forth until an opportunity in the corridor or on the lead presented itself, ie, option 2 above.
Now we bomb.

 

[Bandicoot]

I actually think it will.

Agreed, but it won't happen.

 

[stevie26]

The 50m penalty against Warner for manning the mark coming from beside his opponent almost makes me want to stop watching AFL. I see 20 similar ones let go every week.
The frees against Parker for maintaining his line to intercept the ball and Ladham's play on call were terrible calls too. All three decisions ended in goals to Port.
To be fair Port had some shocking calls against them too.
I haven't seen a game so badly officiated since.......................2016?
How many arms out dissent actions have been penalised this week? Zero.
Can we have some consistency please?

 

[The King!]

 

[BloodySwan]

Good thing the AFL introduced a fourth official. Otherwise they would have been missed

 

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

Isn’t the interpretation now that so as long as they try to handball and the action roughly resembles a handball then it is play on?

On that basis, and having only watched the video once, I reckon only the last one should have been called a throw (fingers were always out, so no fist was formed).

 

[Dubai Quacker]

There's a bigger problem if Buddy isn't performing and we insist to play him as our FF.

Buddy is still a great player to have on our 22 but he's shown to no longer be the player he used to be. If he plays as a 3rd tall though he'd have a huge influence. Still a good field kick, can run out the ground and take one of the opponents main defenders.

If we keep playing Buddy the way we have been we definately won't be winning anything but we can still use him

There’s an even bigger problem if Buddy isn’t performing and we insist on playing him - anywhere.

 

[Wheresbuddy]

Buddy taking the best key defender is not enough to keep him in the side if that defender smashes him like aliir did. Any one of Amartey, McDonald or even Mclean would've done better on aliir.

 

[The King!]

Depends where he takes them

 

[Wheresbuddy]

Depends where he takes them

Into a pack, deep in forward 50 with the ball landing on his head.

 

[The King!]

Into a pack, deep in forward 50 with the ball landing on his head.

out to the pub?

 

[Kiama Chris]

Buddy taking the best key defender is not enough to keep him in the side if that defender smashes him like aliir did. Any one of Amartey, McDonald or even Mclean would've done better on aliir.

Should have double teamed Aliir. He goes on Buddy, Amartey goes with them. Or bring Fox forward to spoil him.
Do something different FFS!
Use a bit of imagination.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Props to Ticky009 for correctly titling this thread. Would have made my toes curl to see:

Should of could of

 

[Olian]

the midfield bomb to everyone

i think we aim to get it inside 50 asap

then hold it in there

Problem is we don’t hold it in. We haven’t won an inside forward 50 tackle count this year. Bomb the ball in and watch it waltz out. Oddly we miss the tackling pressure of a Wicks/Clarke type.

 

[dosser]

It's his third year though. Most genuine stars have more of an impact by this point. He seems to be developing very slowly and it's becoming a concern. He never looks dominant. Even when he kicked 5 against very poor opposition the other week, he was barely sighted otherwise.

Bigger guys take longer. Hawkins debuted in 2007 and for years was a frustration for Cats fans. It wasn't until the 2011 GF against Collingwood that he finally stood up and announced himself to the rest of the competition, even though he had shown sporadic signs before that.

Jack Reiwoldt debuted the same year and it wasn't until his 4th season that he took a hold of the comp (to Hawkins' detriment as they were continually compared). In that year he kicked 78 goals, more than doubling the previous year's tally of 32. In fact, you can see a good comparison (albeit from a small sample size) between Reiwoldt and McDonald thus:

Year 1
JR - 8 games, 7 goals
LM - 7 games, 9 goals

Year 2
JR - 18 games, 18 goals
LM - 17 games, 15 goals

Year 3
JR - 20 games, 32 goals (ave. 1.6)
LM - 3 games, 8 goals (ave. 2.67)