Review R12: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly vs. Sydney Swans

[Hodgy]

Interesting take. I think a lot of Sydney's clearances were rushed and under pressure, many quick hacks fwd rather than deep entries which helped our backs. A lot of that was due to our pressure, so even whilst the likes of Warner got the ball, he wasn't able to set up clean entries. It also helped that they had pretty much zero marking power up forward, and their smalls were largely ineffective. Even Collingwood lose clearances regularly by similar margins (esp recent games, where they've still been able to win handsomely). I do agree, however, that we'd want to even the clearances and contested possession up a bit, however, as the top sides will exploit those areas much better than Sydney could.

Agree with this. The thing I’ve noticed this year however is that having Peatling and Rankine in the mix has meant that a lot more of the clearances that we have been getting are more explosive. Laird, Sloane and Crouch all lack burst speed and so tend to break sideways or backwards to where there is space, whereas this year we are coming forward from stoppage much more or inside out to a running player like Dawson.

Our forwards have undeniably benefited from some pretty awesome delivery as a result.

 

[LiquidCrow]

View attachment 2331623

Incredible. "Wayne Milera roasts" could really be a great thing...

 

[Eddie Murphy]

Any other Nicks critics starting to waver?

Saturday night was the first time I've thought we could maybe win a final or two with this guy.

I know Sydney were trash but it was more how our guys were genuinely getting around each other. Every good effort had team-mates there giving a pat on the back. Every player who ended up on the ground in a pack had a team-mate there instantly help him up. Seems like full buy in from everyone.

Holding fire until the bye.

 

[SugarShane]

Halfway through the second quarter Peatling is done for running too far, I’ve watched it numerous times and I count no more than 10 paces. It’s probably the shortest “too far” I’ve ever seen

Running too far desperately needs fixing too. Whether it's the adjudication, or the actual rule (probably the latter). It's umpired incorrectly 99% of the time, ignored in most egregious cases, and usually only called correctly in minor infractions, and only when an umpire feels the need to get himself up on the big screen.

I can say with absolute certainty that any umpire that calls running to far when it's not bleedingly obvious was the kind of kid who used to tell the teacher they forgot to set homework.

 

[ssj3Pretz]

A comfortable win Friday night might shift the narrative a bit.

Back that up with a win in Tassie and I'll start working on the "Sorry Maffew I was wrong" proforma

Win the next 2 games and I'll actually start calling us contenders this year

 

[skam85]

Watched the first half:

Our forward line pressure was insane and the ability to pressure their exit kicks meant we kept pumping it back in. Did the smaller ground suit us? If we can replicate that on bigger grounds and against better opposition will be interesting.

We moved the ball on quick and kept pumping it in. Our forward line is elite and we need to keep getting the ball in there quickly, puts the opposition defence in a panic mode.

Sydney were a rabble, that was in part caused by our pressure but they lacked any spirit or method, how much were due to injuries and how much coaching? Their decision to put a forward up the ground leaving Keane on his own was self defeating.

Smith. Credit to him, his form is way better than it was in 2024 and he’s the type of attacking half back we don’t have and if we can add NWM would be huge. Where to play Laird when he gets back, I wouldn’t play him in defence. He’s the ideal sub, able to come on anywhere and collect possessions at which is what you want from your sub.

Rach is having a ripper year and our forward line needs him.

Tex is definitely slowing. Hopefully he can get to the end of the year without being a liability and he ends his career still contributing.

Our defence has some real quality about it. Keane is so much better when freed up to play intercepting role, Butts back has helped.
Worrell is a gun.
Max is a gun.
Hinge very handy.
Milera and Laird on their day have been ok to good, but they’ve also been our weakest links when we’ve struggled. We can’t play both back there. I’d definitely play Smith over Laird if it means being wedded to experience in defence.

So far we’ve beaten shit, one top 8 side we’ve beaten is GWS and they are flakey. We need to beat Brisbane. We can’t go defensive against them, the best way to beat them is to use our strength and that’s the forward line. Break even with inside 50s and we will beat most teams if we move it in quick.

Everyone that has a crack at you for hating the crows or finding negatives when we win should be referred directly to this post in the future.

 

[George CantStandYa]

Everyone that has a crack at you for hating the crows or finding negatives when we win should be referred directly to this post in the future.

Yeah everyone!!

 

[skam85]

I haven't filtered through the 29 pages but has any of the Usual Suspect come in and tried to big note themselves about the Bigfooty Experts being wrong again?

All hail the BRAN NUE MAESTRO

 

[Betts are off]

5 games from 12 with 10+ goal wins is something worth noting. For reference we did that 6 times in 2017 (plus 2 in the high 50's).

On track to equal or even surpass that.

 

[cleanhands]

Everyone that has a crack at you for hating the crows or finding negatives when we win should be referred directly to this post in the future.

They’ll skip over it

 

[Pugsley]

Good:
No notes, just enjoyed
(Okay, 1 note) Curtin is a slow burn, might end up the best player from his draft class. Lets grab his brother this year.

Bad:
Sid Draper might end up with 5 full games equivalent of TOG by end on year.




Ugly:
Being at a pub thats not showing the football

Was it an Amish type set up?

 

[Pugsley]

Taylor Adams is trash. Collingwood very shrewd operators.

Downhill skier.

 

[Golumless]

Anyway, I've properly watched the replay and have thoughts.

Honestly the biggest positive was how we won that game. Typically in the Nick's era, when we've been productive offensively it's been from punishing teams in transition. Whilst there was some of that on the weekend, a lot of it was field position and grinding an opponent with defensive pressure. It's important to have that kind of style in the toolbox for finals. However, it is worth noting we did look a bit lost playing this style after Thilthorpe was subbed out.

The other big one? I'll go left field and say Milera. The telephone box evasion was back this week, which bodes well that Milera's form is about to spike.

Keane/Worrell/Milera just smashed Sydney. Was an impenetrable wall throughout the game, with all three recording at least 7 intercepts. Keane in particular, with 15 intercepts, 8 intercept marks and 10 spoils is just stupid numbers.

Best game Neal-Bullen has played for Adelaide. Was a monster.

Another week, and more strengthening of the argument that Rachele is an elite small forward. Dude was electric, and my god, that assist.

Midfield did the job they needed too, and not a whole lot more. Good clearance work, but beyond that this game was a masterclass on suffocating ball movement. The big upcoming issue is can Sam Berry overtake Crouch in the next month? I don't think that game really helps Sam's case, outside of Adelaide winning. Lot of clearances, and ground ball gets, but 16 disposals is low and not a whole lot of damage.

Ben Keays

2

Ben Keays

Age

28

Ht

185cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.1

3star

K

5.8

2star

HB

7.3

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

3.9

5star

G

0.4

3star

D

13.7

3star

K

8.7

3star

HB

5.0

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

3.7

4star

G

0.3

3star

D

13.0

4star

K

4.8

2star

HB

8.2

5star

M

1.4

2star

T

4.4

5star

G

0.4

3star

is a gun.

Didn't seem like any of Thilthorpe/Fog/Tex/Rankine ever took the game by the scruff of the neck (Thilthorpe wasn't far off by the time he got subbed), but all bobbed up with some nice moments throughout.

Pedlar looked good. 5 tackles is a great number to see from someone who's had a history of being unreliable defensively, and 1 goal/10 disposals/4 score involvements is a solid day.

Curtin on the wing really does just shore up our defense on transition. Was an impressive game and is really making the position his own.

Finally, Smith had a pretty good run as the go-to defensive replacement. Just looks like someone who's at peace with the fact it's the end of his career and is trying to make the most of what is left.

 

[Pugsley]

Any other Nicks critics starting to waver?

Saturday night was the first time I've thought we could maybe win a final or two with this guy.

I know Sydney were trash but it was more how our guys were genuinely getting around each other. Every good effort had team-mates there giving a pat on the back. Every player who ended up on the ground in a pack had a team-mate there instantly help him up. Seems like full buy in from everyone.

Let's see how we go this week.

 

[Greenfinger]

I don't back every decision the club makes.

I have been very critical about the defensive focus last year. I have been frustrated by selections. Keeping Crouch in the 2nds for way too long, when his inclucsion immediately had a positive impact. Soligo being sub in that Collingwood game, only to be brought on too late. There are plenty of mistakes... the entire drafting through the Pyke coaching era...


But I don't claim to magically know something about the fitness and game readiness of a player that the club is blind to.

The bottom line is that the most vocal posters who constantly called for a ground up rebuild are proving that they don't actually have the balls or patience to ride out everything that entails.

Are you happy with the fact we invested 100 plus games into Murphy? Did you blindly trust coaches then ? then it’s entirely reasonable for some of us to question the judgment of our coaches and to question selection and whether some players sitting on our list for a couple of years , might need a chance in the 1st. I think there’s 80 games plus that we wasted on Murphy where we could have tested our list more

 

[Mr_Moogle]

Any other Nicks critics starting to waver?

Saturday night was the first time I've thought we could maybe win a final or two with this guy.

I know Sydney were trash but it was more how our guys were genuinely getting around each other. Every good effort had team-mates there giving a pat on the back. Every player who ended up on the ground in a pack had a team-mate there instantly help him up. Seems like full buy in from everyone.

No. Sydney were far too shit to take anything from that game.

Players getting around each other and defending each other from opposition attempts to intimidate them was good though.

 

[Mattrox]

Are you happy with the fact we invested 100 plus games into Murphy? Did you blindly trust coaches then ? then it’s entirely reasonable for some of us to question the judgment of our coaches and to question selection and whether some players sitting on our list for a couple of years , might need a chance in the 1st. I think there’s 80 games plus that we wasted on Murphy where we could have tested our list more

You realise that about 50 of the games were when we had done a clean out and were short of match-fit players. He is a break-glass in case of emergency depth player and it was an emergency.

 

[screech]

We should be having Thilthorpe siring as many children as possible

How long until in the professional world of AFL, this does not start to become arranged?

Kinda like the human equivalent of racehorse breeding.

Right attributes, get to 100 games and then start hiring elite female athletes to bear children.

 

[Golumless]

Are you happy with the fact we invested 100 plus games into Murphy? Did you blindly trust coaches then ? then it’s entirely reasonable for some of us to question the judgment of our coaches and to question selection and whether some players sitting on our list for a couple of years , might need a chance in the 1st. I think there’s 80 games plus that we wasted on Murphy where we could have tested our list more

"Testing our list more" is done in preseason. By the time the season proper rolls around, all that matters is winning the next match.

 

[spenze]

You realise that about 50 of the games were when we had done a clean out and were short of match-fit players. He is a break-glass in case of emergency depth player and it was an emergency.

Emergencies shouldn't take 5 years

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Nick Blakey

22

Nick Blakey

Age

25

Ht

196cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.9

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

2.9

3star

M

2.3

2star

T

2.4

4star

MG

189.1

3star

D

8.1

2star

K

6.3

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

2.1

2star

T

2.6

4star

MG

189.1

3star

D

7.2

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

2.0

2star

M

1.2

2star

T

1.2

3star

is a bit shit and overrated.

 

[Mr_Moogle]

Sydney are a less competitive side than West Coast atm. If anyone said the lid is blown off because we beat the Eagles, they'd get laughed out of the room.

 

[cleanhands]

Nick Blakey is a bit shit and overrated.

Wouldn’t mind his run off half back

 

[WeeBlake]

Factions on here are pretty tiresome. It’s like the Trump-Is-All-Bad vs Trump-Is-All-Good tribes, but with way lower stakes.

All of us are sometimes right and sometimes wrong. When we’re right about something, it doesn’t mean we’re right about everything, and vice versa.

And even when we’re right, it doesn’t prove all our other points.

Eg Smith and Milera played really well, so many of us were wrong about them. But still, them playing well in a crushing win doesn’t answer the question - would we have been better off getting a game into Edwards, or even Ryan?

Any other Nicks critics starting to waver?

Saturday night was the first time I've thought we could maybe win a final or two with this guy.

I know Sydney were trash but it was more how our guys were genuinely getting around each other. Every good effort had team-mates there giving a pat on the back. Every player who ended up on the ground in a pack had a team-mate there instantly help him up. Seems like full buy in from everyone.

What do you mean by waver?
I still think he should go, but I agree it doesn’t seem impossible we could win a final under him. Simon Goodwin coached a flag and I am not sure he’s a good coach either. Coaches are important but the players are way more important, and our list is now good (and still improving).

 

[Slime Roy]

This is visual diarrhoea.

It has us finishing 3rd.
So I like it.