Player Watch #11 Tom Papley - Telling it like it is

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Tom Papley

Player Profile

Tom Papley swapped his plumbing tools for a Sherrin when the Sydney Swans sprung a draft surprise in 2015 – and the pocket-rocket forward has since become a crucial member of coach John Longmire’s side. Papley has played 20 or more senior games in every one of his four full seasons in the AFL and was at his best in 2019, topping Sydney’s goal-kicking leaderboard and finishing fourth in the Bob Skilton Medal voting. The Gippsland Power product took on more time in the midfield in 2019 and is likely to again split his time between the forward line and centre bounce this year. Papley was selected in the AFL Players’ Association’s 22Under22 team in 2017. Draft history: 2016 Rookie Draft selection (Sydney) No. 12; 2016 AFL Draft rookie elevation (Sydney).

Tom Papley
DOB: 13 July 1996
DEBUT:2016
DRAFT: 2016
RECRUITED FROM: Bunyip (Vic)/Gippsland U18

 
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Tedeski

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Oct 2, 2006
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And yet that translated into 15th on the 'Points For' scale beating only the illustrious forward lines of Essendon, St Kilda, Carlton, Fremantle, Melbourne and Gold Coast (in that order)

Maybe, just maybe there simply aren't enough entries into the F50

Just sayin
A decent ruckman will help (Naismith) & not a bloke who has only played 4 games or so (McLean) or our CHB (Aliir) or our second ruckman who is a terrible tap to ruckman (Sinclair).
 

kelpie_X

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Jul 26, 2014
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A decent ruckman will help (Naismith) & not a bloke who has only played 4 games or so (McLean) or our CHB (Aliir) or our second ruckman who is a terrible tap to ruckman (Sinclair).
If we were to all wait for the day there were no excuses in football, we would be long dead.
 
Nothing wrong with giving them a serve on the way out in such circumstances I say.
No hard feelings.


They are highly paid and want to be mobile

Fans will turn a bit even if for a moment that’s reality
 

J_Moore

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And yet that translated into 15th on the 'Points For' scale beating only the illustrious forward lines of Essendon, St Kilda, Carlton, Fremantle, Melbourne and Gold Coast (in that order)

Maybe, just maybe there simply aren't enough entries into the F50

Just sayin

Seems like a separate issue to what Arwib’s talking about, though?

He was responding to the claim that there is no organisation around how we get the ball inside 50. Clearly we were trying to pinpoint passes- maybe too much?
 
Seems like a separate issue to what Arwib’s talking about, though?

He was responding to the claim that there is no organisation around how we get the ball inside 50. Clearly we were trying to pinpoint passes- maybe too much?

Disagree

We were far more prone to banging it forward imo and the conversion rate camouflaged the real issue which is not enough forward entries

Blame the midfield and lack of a better tap ruckman imo
 
A decent ruckman will help (Naismith) & not a bloke who has only played 4 games or so (McLean) or our CHB (Aliir) or our second ruckman who is a terrible tap to ruckman (Sinclair).

I agree

Midfield improves with better service from the ruck

Not sure Naismith is the long term solution
 

MC Bad Genius

No, not THAT MC Bad Genius. The other one.
Apr 15, 2008
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We were the club with the most marks inside 50 per entry this year, and were fourth for points scored per inside 50, I dunno that this is a valid criticism. When we got it up there, we seemingly had less trouble than most converting our chances, even without Franklin firing much.
Sorry, just to be clear, I was trying to summarise what the Swans board were saying. The Longmire thread isn't really worth wading into, but that seemed to be the general feeling.
 
Oct 2, 2016
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Player retention has always been an issue for us and always will be. We've gotten better at identifying flight risks but until NSW produces enough talent it's just something we need to live with.

Why would a player like Papley want to stay in Sydney when he can get an offer for the same or more but he plays at home?

For me it just stung with Papley requesting a trade because from the beginning he seemed like a player who just loves the club & everything about it.
 
Player retention has always been an issue for us and always will be. We've gotten better at identifying flight risks but until NSW produces enough talent it's just something we need to live with.

Why would a player like Papley want to stay in Sydney when he can get an offer for the same or more but he plays at home?

For me it just stung with Papley requesting a trade because from the beginning he seemed like a player who just loves the club & everything about it.
And he would probably still love the club and eveything about it even if he played elsewhere.

Seperating business and private, it makes sense to look after himself. His footy career isn't going to be forever. He needs to make the most of it.

Glad he's on board again in 2020 though. Hopefully he sticks around for a lot longer after too. But I guess we'll see.
 

Arwib

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Apr 9, 2011
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And yet that translated into 15th on the 'Points For' scale beating only the illustrious forward lines of Essendon, St Kilda, Carlton, Fremantle, Melbourne and Gold Coast (in that order)

Maybe, just maybe there simply aren't enough entries into the F50

Just sayin

Yep, midfield has been the entire issue. Smashed in clearances from both stoppages and the centre, and really struggling to present options for the ball coming out out of half back which has resulted in repeated entries by the opposition. Those opposition entries are defended really well - we conceded less marks per entry and second least points after Geelong, and that level of defence has been the case for years. But the sheer weight of the entries often eventually told, even if we ended the year with only one blowout loss and a percentage of 98 or so.

I think some of our 2019 issues were to do with a young group and changing approaches to ball movement. The best 22 these days has much more of an outside than inside focus, is trying increasingly to take high risk movement options through the corridor, and is turning it over a fair bit. They're also getting killed in the "second ring" of players out of stoppages (the guys set up 15-25 metres from them), losing their opponents or not getting into good positions to recieve the footy.
 
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Kummerspeck

Cancelled
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Sep 12, 2013
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Harley also avoided answering how Tom was feeling and just jumped straight to we'll put our arms around him and he'll put his arms around us and we'll all get to work. Nice deflection Harley.
In fairness, that's no one's business except Tom and those he wants to divulge it to.
 
Jun 14, 2011
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In fairness, that's no one's business except Tom and those he wants to divulge it to.
Could have easily said something like Tom's a little disappointed but understands the reality of the business and is happy to move on and focus on next year. See easy.
 

Kummerspeck

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Could have easily said something like Tom's a little disappointed but understands the reality of the business and is happy to move on and focus on next year. See easy.
He essentially said that, minus broadcasting Tom's exact thoughts.
 

RobbieK

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Aug 20, 2009
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Could have easily said something like Tom's a little disappointed but understands the reality of the business and is happy to move on and focus on next year. See easy.
You realise that a banal statement like that which says nothing anyone wouldn't already be aware of is as much a deflection as not addressing it directly, yeah?

It isn't appropriate for Harley to speak for Papley. Papley is more than capable of doing that for himself if he desires.
 
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