Game Day Swans (well, some of them) vs Suns (Preseason)

[dosser]

Hanily & Wicks the two big plusses from tonight for me.

Wicks looks much more confident coming out of defence than he ever did up fwd and the move allows him to utilise his speed.

However it does highlight an issue for me; where's Blakey's rebound?
I really don't want him in a quasi lockdown role.
Even with Rampe returning I'd still like to see two talls back there, along with Dane and the Lizard.

On the stats sheet Blakey (in less than 50 TOG) & McIneney led the way in R50s, but I never felt we saw the 'dangerous' Blakey with his run and carry.

Wicks & Blakey coming out of defence taking on the opposition would be most welcome

Without Melican and Rampe, Blakey's role last night was as a KPD, not an attacking defender. This was good as it helps him to develop his defensive game, but we shouldn't be concerned as i think he will revert to type when the others return.

I also thought the Wicks experiment is a good one, as he provides a release if Blakey gets taken out of the game by a defensive forward. The great unknown though, is can he handle a defensive job against someone like Cameron or Hill?

I thought Sheldrick was ok as it is still a part of his development, but at the moment he is only Parker-lite. Same pace as Parker but without the aerial ability. He will find his niche somewhere.

I'm liking McCartin up forward a little more now as well, and i think Amartey is starting to realise he has a big body that can be thrown around, too. I think our KPFs this year may have a bit more impact than last year.

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[wolftone57]

Gulden out (along with Mills) sucks but weirdly I feel like the fact that it will force us to give more players looks in the midfield will be a good thing long-term. Good to have options when an opposition midfield gets on top.

I liked having Jordan, Gus, Mitchell, Macca etc in there. I thought when they put Jordan, Rowie & Gus in there in the last, we extracted really well. Matty Roberts was in the mix in the backs, playing almost as an extra mid. He's an exceptional player.

So many of the young guys were great last night. Andrew had a really good start to his career. Hanily & Bice both good. So was Paton. Green and Indi were also good. I thought Indi took a little while to get the pace of the game but when he did, he looked good. His tackling is super. Young Green is going to be s very good ruck. He was able to hold his own against Witts, who's is seen to be the strongest ruck in the AFL.

We came home really well. There was a period in the third and half way through the last where we were still trying to overdo stuff and stuffing it up. Our young blokes were getting used to the play and then about half way through the last we just clicked. I am pleased for the young guys and this bodes well for our depth, which was a ???? after the last VFL season. I think the change of VFL coach is a good thing because the players seem to be developing already and the young guys are on the same page as the seniors. It is noticeable already. Young Kirk, Green, Sid and Hanily are all developing well.

Just a shout out to Francis and Hamling. Both were really good. Wicks was great. Llloyd proved yet again why he is in the team, dependable and cool. Ladhams was good in the time he had. The McCartin experiment might just work but I am concerned over concussion. Amartey has gotten some aggression in the off season and I like it. He pushed three big guys, including Witts, and they were all vgiving ground. We tend to forget, Joel is a BIG BOY. He's 195cm and I think he is now about 100 kilos. His shoulders and arms are huge. But he has still retained the athleticism that mde him stand out. Some of his run downs of small players were sensational. These are players picked for their speed and he ran three down last night and they were not getting out of his tackles.

 

[bedford]

How was Roberts game? I’m keen for him to step up as our no1 distributor.

Good as always , but Jon Ralph has only rated him our 23rd player

 

[wolftone57]

There’s this bloke called Gulden that mangled his ankle.

He’s a pretty good player.

Not a disaster. It could have been worse, it could be broken. He'll be back in 4-6 weeks. It's a setback but not disastrous

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Not a disaster. It could have been worse, it could be broken. He'll be back in 4-6 weeks. It's a setback but not disastrous

I hope you’re right.

Syndesmosis, if it requires surgery, is a large part of the season - yes, he’d be back in a few months, but nowhere near full fitness.

Here’s hoping for the best of a range of possible outcomes.

 

[McRobie]

Good as always , but Jon Ralph has only rated him our 23rd player

Well that checks out as Ralph is an imbecile.

 

[wolftone57]

McCartin forward works for me. Still did a few spuddy things but prefer that in the forward 50 rather than D 50. The best news the defence is fine without him. Hamling will work out OK next to Melican and Rampe. Francis isn't as bad as some make out, I'm comfortable enough with him playing also. Paton adds a bit, Bice looks nice and Wicks is a lock.
Nobody blew me away but all the of the unknowns were very solid. I feel quite content. List is in good shape.

It's the role players who win premierships. They provide the backbone of the team and if a leader steps up and they come along with them then, you have the best in role players. I thought every player played their roles. They stuck at it and played to the game plan. This would not have been possible last year because you could see when a player from the reserves came in they were patently confused. The Reserves were not on the same page as the Seniors. but now, a player comes in and they know their role and the game plan and they know if they stick at it they will get results. This makes our depth look far better. Longmire was hamstrung to a great extent last year because if he picked a fringe player from the reserves, that player might take a good deal of time to adjust, so he only picked a small group of players, Francis, Corey, Mitchell (2) etc. Hamling was playing FF so there was no hope of him playing back in the seniors. I think the coaches are now all on the same page.

 

[bedford]

Well that checks out as Ralph is an imbecile.

I let him know on X

 

[The King!]

Some people read of lot of absolutes into meaningless practice games. Many employed to cover the game.

 

[bedford]

Some people read of lot of absolutes into meaningless practice games. Many employed to cover the game.

So did you watch it

 

[Donza]

Not a disaster. It could have been worse, it could be broken. He'll be back in 4-6 weeks. It's a setback but not disastrous

He's gone for 3-4 months.

 

[The King!]

So did you watch it

Only Errol's injury.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

He's gone for 3-4 months.

Seems like the club are resigned to it being months, not weeks.

 

[Donza]

Seems like the club are resigned to it being months, not weeks.

Yup.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Seems like the club are resigned to it being months, not weeks.

Weeks/Months

12 weeks is 3 months so same thing

2025 is a wipeout for him anyways

 

[Membling]

If Gulden is out for three months, I do not want us rushing him back.

If we have to ice his season to ensure his long term health, so be it.

Will wait for the med team to say what it is but reckon something along the lines of 3 months to indefinite is my expectation

 

[SSwans2011]

At the very least some injuries means that come the end of the season we should have a better understanding of who the best options are for the last half a dozen spots in the best 23. Plenty of players should get opportunities this year which is a good thing given our depth didn't look great at times last year.

 

[momentbymoment]

Any one else suprised Gulden is playing in this game?

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In hindsight, yes.

 

[GreyGooseGuy88]

I can see Hanily becoming a consistent started in the next year or so. Not afraid to have a crack.

Hanily is Papley MKII

 

[SeanM]

I think it was good that Gold Coast came back into the game rather than continue being a one sided contest like in the first quarter. It is better preparation for the season to grind out a win where the other team has periods of momentum.

Also good for the young players to get so much game time against AFL opposition. It will make it easier for them to make a debut this season and not feel out of place.

 

[Callipygian]

Apologies for jumping in without having read most of the thread (only this page) but the GC player who impressed me was Budarick. I kept noticing stuff he was doing and thinking "Dang!"

 

[Kiama Chris]

If Gulden is out for three months, I do not want us rushing him back.

If we have to ice his season to ensure his long term health, so be it.

Will wait for the med team to say what it is but reckon something along the lines of 3 months to indefinite is my expectation

We won't know for a while until they can gauge progress. Even then it's guesswork.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Apologies for jumping in without having read most of the thread (only this page) but the GC player who impressed me was Budarick. I kept noticing stuff he was doing and thinking "Dang!"

Apparently he's made a big leap.

 

[liz]

Apparently he's made a big leap.

He's been impressive right from when he debuted. He's just has a series of knee injuries that have curtailed his career.

I was also impressed by Clohesy - not a surprise after his impressive debut season. I thought he was one Sun who looked dangerous even during the periods of the game where the rest of his team was pretty flabby.

 

[GotTheGoodes]

Hanily & Wicks were the big positives for me.

Looking forward to seeing how both adjust to the step up from pre-season intensity/skill/opponent/tempo etc as the seasons kicks into full gear.