List Mgmt. Welcome new rookies: Sean McLaren, Nic Newman, Lewis Melican, Jordan Foote

[Punts]

A little off-topic, but it's interesting to me that we picked up a defender/ruck. With the number of allowable interchanges tipped to continue to fall, the Swan's focus on versatility could really pay off down the track - having a primary ruck, a defender/ruck and a forward/ruck with mids rotating through the small forward role could end up being a very efficient way of managing limited interchanges.

Pretty sure Mase brought this up a few weeks back , that having a bigger defender like this could do the ruck work in the back 50 and someone like Tippett forward/ruck to do the ruck work when inside our 50 ala times this year.
Having your main ruck go between the arcs and when resting you throw a Tippett in there just for 5mins or so.
Very interesting if that's what there thinking.
It allows you to play 1 ruckman without them having to run into the ground, then having another mid/forward in the 22

 

[GotTheGoodes]

A little off-topic, but it's interesting to me that we picked up a defender/ruck. With the number of allowable interchanges tipped to continue to fall, the Swan's focus on versatility could really pay off down the track - having a primary ruck, a defender/ruck and a forward/ruck with mids rotating through the small forward role could end up being a very efficient way of managing limited interchanges.

Not as off topic as debating the quality of character of the Waugh brothers...

I think the club was well before it's time in this regards. We've been at it for years! You just need to look at LRT & Goodes as perfect examples of this "rotationally flexible" type player.

In the current line up you can look at Reid who can play fwd/ruc/def, Rohan can play fwd/def, Benny Mac is a fwd/mid, so is Mitchell, Parker, Jetta etc etc... It's arguable Pyke & Derickx are both mobile ruc/fwd's. Buddy can push up into the midfield at times. It's a plethora of players able to cover more parts of the ground than we've ever seen before & I love that aspect of what our coaches are trying to achieve.

And it can really pay off big time with regards to injuries. Remember LRT covering for Reg that final in Adelaide? As an insurance policy it has huge advantages. Likewise with exploiting match ups with height etc.

However, with the good comes the bad and I'm always a bit hesitant to throw players around while they are developing certain aspects of their game. Sure, run a player as a tagger to learn the ropes then let them off the leash when they're ready (e.g. Jack) but don't stagnate their development doing so (e.g. Jesse). I think there needs to be a fine balance between developing the skills dedicated to particular roles and developing all round flexibility in multiple positions and roles.

I suppose our defensive core is a good example of this, Teddy/Reg/Smith/AJ & Mal (when he was here) find their roles all within the confines on the defensive 50m arc. They are the focused on one position & one role. They learn it and work together better for having stuck together. This was something I noticed on GF day, Reid looked lost and was just about getting in the way half the time. You could see Teddy's frustration. That results largely from a lack of being familiar with the other players, their patterns and decision making which can cost you big time.

So it's a fine balance I reckon between building players that can cover a larger array of positions and thus more vast areas of the field and opponents. However, that flexibility should not be gained with a significant loss in overall development in each role to the standard we require. I'd rather a guy like Reid play one position for a few years, then another for a year or two, then another... Until we're happy enough he's developed into each of them well enough before moving him on. Eventually, in the back end of his career you would hope the dividends of such development would come to the fore.

 

[Michaelg]

Not as off topic as debating the quality of character of the Waugh brothers...

I think the club was well before it's time in this regards. We've been at it for years! You just need to look at LRT & Goodes as perfect examples of this "rotationally flexible" type player.

In the current line up you can look at Reid who can play fwd/ruc/def, Rohan can play fwd/def, Benny Mac is a fwd/mid, so is Mitchell, Parker, Jetta etc etc... It's arguable Pyke & Derickx are both mobile ruc/fwd's. Buddy can push up into the midfield at times. It's a plethora of players able to cover more parts of the ground than we've ever seen before & I love that aspect of what our coaches are trying to achieve.

And it can really pay off big time with regards to injuries. Remember LRT covering for Reg that final in Adelaide? As an insurance policy it has huge advantages. Likewise with exploiting match ups with height etc.

However, with the good comes the bad and I'm always a bit hesitant to throw players around while they are developing certain aspects of their game. Sure, run a player as a tagger to learn the ropes then let them off the leash when they're ready (e.g. Jack) but don't stagnate their development doing so (e.g. Jesse). I think there needs to be a fine balance between developing the skills dedicated to particular roles and developing all round flexibility in multiple positions and roles.

I suppose our defensive core is a good example of this, Teddy/Reg/Smith/AJ & Mal (when he was here) find their roles all within the confines on the defensive 50m arc. They are the focused on one position & one role. They learn it and work together better for having stuck together. This was something I noticed on GF day, Reid looked lost and was just about getting in the way half the time. You could see Teddy's frustration. That results largely from a lack of being familiar with the other players, their patterns and decision making which can cost you big time.

So it's a fine balance I reckon between building players that can cover a larger array of positions and thus more vast areas of the field and opponents. However, that flexibility should not be gained with a significant loss in overall development in each role to the standard we require. I'd rather a guy like Reid play one position for a few years, then another for a year or two, then another... Until we're happy enough he's developed into each of them well enough before moving him on. Eventually, in the back end of his career you would hope the dividends of such development would come to the fore.

Thoughtful post.

 

[mtooler]

Even though I think we could have done with a silky small fwd, I love our first three rookie selections. Well done recruiting team!

I love the Mclaren pick the most, hes massive already!

 

[scaryness]

McLaren is a good pickup if we use him as a defender. Don't see the point if he is another KPF.
I would have liked to give Petrenko a chance on the rookie list since no one picked him up. Small forward with good defensive pressure.

 

[McRobie]

Stuart Foote....

 

[S120]

Stuart Foote....

Money don't make my world go round, I'm reaching out to a higher ground.

 

[McRobie]

Money don't make my world go round, I'm reaching out to a higher ground.

Why do you wanna work here?..Shoot!

 

[McRobie]

Money don't make my world go round, I'm reaching out to a higher ground.

Cus we're liven! liven! in a crazy maze....

 

[Tedeski]

Ed & Newbold will ask Gill to have us excluded from taking part in the rookie draft because are too good at it.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

McLaren is a good pickup if we use him as a defender. Don't see the point if he is another KPF.
I would have liked to give Petrenko a chance on the rookie list since no one picked him up. Small forward with good defensive pressure.

Glad we didn't go near Petrenko, one of the few I would have no interest in picking. There were some very weird choices. I am surprised Panos and Jordan Schroder (ex Geelong) didn't get picked up.

 

[scaryness]

I'm just sick of Longmire not playing any small forward.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I'm just sick of Longmire not playing any small forward.

I agree but Petrenko isn't the answer. Ideally we find a Bruest type though.

 

[Punts]

Article on sydneyswans.com.au:

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2014-12-03/swans-finalise-2015-list

THE SYDNEY Swans have shored up their defensive stocks, recruiting three defenders in the NAB AFL Rookie Draft.
Victorians Sean McLaren, Nicholas Newman and Lewis Melican were taken with picks 17, 35 and 52 respectively in the rookie draft on Wednesday.
Coach John Longmire said the trio were bright prospects that will bolster the Swans' backline, with 21-year-old Newman seen as a potential replacement for Nick Malceski, who moved to Gold Coast as a free agent at the end of last season.

Mod edit: when posting articles from another website, please provide the source. When quoting from the article, just a couple of lines or sentences is enough, so people can read the full article for themselves. If you don't have the link, that's fine, just say where you got it from.

 

[Sanecow]

"The Swans passed on picks 64 and 69 and then snared Jordan Foote with pick 76."
​

What's that all about?

 

[CaptainChardonnay]

You know him personally then?

Last time I checked we have a lot to be grateful to Paul Roos for.

One of which is an off field culture and administration of team first.

What's the biff?

So you lay down at the Altar of Roos?

Standby to have your eyes opened wide and your rose coloured glasses obliterated over the next two years at MFC.

 

[doona]

"The Swans passed on picks 64 and 69 and then snared Jordan Foote with pick 76."
​

What's that all about?

Acedemy Rookie/Father Son prospects that make it through to the Rookie draft can be taken by their respective club with their last rookie draft pick.

 

[swansfan51]

I agree but Petrenko isn't the answer. Ideally we find a Bruest type though.

Who will be this year's Breust, Langford or Suckling? The player from NSW that we weren't good enough to identify in our own backyard.

 

[scaryness]

We all know that a 40-50 goal a year small forward like Breust wouldn't be very useful to Longmire anyway.

 

[Kummerspeck]

Who will be this year's Breust, Langford or Suckling? The player from NSW that we weren't good enough to identify in our own backyard.

Langford and Suckling both rejected chances to sign with the Swans.

 

[Dan87]

So you lay down at the Altar of Roos?

Standby to have your eyes opened wide and your rose coloured glasses obliterated over the next two years at MFC.

No altar. Just miffed at the Biff. Not a good look making shitty judgement calls on club legends.

Will watch the Dees with intent, don't worry.

 

[J_Moore]

Who will be this year's Breust, Langford or Suckling? The player from NSW that we weren't good enough to identify in our own backyard.

I'm honestly curious as to what you think an acceptable strike rate is for our recruiters? Obviously the first round picks have generally been poorly used, but we have a good team overall and have for years, including a number of NSW-born kids. Why do you get so hung up on a relative handful of players?

 

[swansfan51]

I'm honestly curious as to what you think an acceptable strike rate is for our recruiters? Obviously the first round picks have generally been poorly used, but we have a good team overall and have for years, including a number of NSW-born kids. Why do you get so hung up on a relative handful of players?

My expectation is that the games played by their selected players are more than the average games played by the average of all draftees picked by all recruiters in the year's draft.

IE that our recruiters perform above the AFL average.

 

[RW]

do you include rookies in working out average games played? surely we'd be above average in games played by players drafted as rookies?

 

[swansfan51]

do you include rookies in working out average games played? surely we'd be above average in games played by players drafted as rookies?

Yes I do (I have separate calculations for the National Draft, and Rookie Draft. Didn't bother with the PSD as there are so few players and it is usually used for players who already have considerable AFL experience). And no, we aren't. Beatson has lost to the average in 6 of the last 9 rookie drafts.

I have stats on every single draft he has taken since joining the Swans, plus his previous years, unfortunately I am away and they are on my home PC but if anyone genuinely cares I can post them next Thursday.

A key part of my stats is that they exclude shenanigans picks - these are any players that were not available for clubs to take at fair value. Examples include Jaeger O'Meara (mini draft), Tom Hawkins (Father/Son), Dylan Shiel (pre-listed), Taylor Walker (scholarship), Shem Tatupu (international), Johann Wagner (TV show). They have to be left out because they weren't drafted in an open process.