Autopsy Another bad loss. Sydney 13.8.86 def. by Fremantle 16.7.103

[Chaisa]

New week, same s**t.

I'll start with the positives:

• We don't deserve Errol Gulden. He was fantastic today, basically seemed everywhere and generally made good decisions.
• I think this was Rowbottom and Heeney's best games in a while. Rowy in particular cracked hard and looked good.
• McLean tried really hard, as did Fox
• Francis wore off a bit late and did a few dumb things but did a lot of good early on and had a massive crack.

Now to the negatives:

• More injuries. And it looks like Mills and McDonald will be out for quite some time.
• Tall structure looks dire TSTL. Freo's talls killed us all across the ground. Hickey was kind of on a hiding to nothing, but he still should've done better.
• Second week in a row where Buddy did nothing. Is he even in the 22 when McDonald and Amartey are back?
• Gould and Sheather don't look up to it.
• Hayward and Papley quiet again.
• Lloyd's worst game all year.
• But the big story is that the midfield just isn't functioning well enough. I think we actually did alright when we got it in there, but we got slaughted in the I50's. Functionally we're just not winning good enough ball.

 

[SwansProudly]

Full post-match, R9: Swans

Watch Sydney's press conference after round nine's match against Fremantle

www.afl.com.au

 

[Olian]

2020 all over again losing too many key position players.

Midfield is struggling as a unit but then you get a Gulden performance today to show that their is the potential.

Forwards are struggling with a few injuries and form. Although I thought Heeney was better today.

Defensively we are exposed by injuries. We’ve lost our most experienced defender and two of the top ten intercept defenders for periods this year. Hard to cover those gaps.

 

[MR0808]

We also did our usual bad decisions, handballing to a player about to be tackled. I'm getting so sick and tired of watching that

 

[WillHayward]

44 to 61 Inside 50s.

 

[Olian]

44 to 61 Inside 50s.

When we got the ball inside 50 we were far more efficient. Problem is we didn’t get in enough.

 

[The King!]

Full post-match, R9: Swans

Watch Sydney's press conference after round nine's match against Fremantle

www.afl.com.au

he is leaning into the injuries big time


just an aside when did he starting calling them CBs kinda hits the ear wrong

 

[RilesMacca]

The inconsistencies with our ground balls are pathetic. Way too many times when there was a 50/50 to be won, we would constantly be outnumbered and they got the ball out way too easily. Contested game same old tripe.

 

[The King!]

we suck ,
there's a lot of reasons why

we won't even play finals and the depth looks , not poor , but very shallow in certain areas

the list needs a mini blow up

we aren't fun to watch

Imo our Intent is ratshit

buddy worst game today

 

[Dan87]

Working off each other with certainty whilst having no continuity to train it is what I hear

Players are playing that are touch and go

 

[The King!]

parker just went missing today

gulden stood up

papley was a joke today , Heeney was rubbish too, but Papley is actually selfish

if those senior guys are missing and performing poorly what can you expect from others ?

I like a guy like fox who at worst is solid every week, and his effort is top notch , he is pretty smart with it too

we look better when Rowbottom makes decisions, I think z warner and gulden are guns and Gulden was great today, but both a little inconsistent this year
and can use it poorly ,
make dumb calls at times

Rowbottom to me is the smarter player.

Make Heeney the full forward , he should be the most targeted option , we saw a glimpse of how dangerous he is

 

[The King!]

Horse is probably going to be outcoached by clarko next week maybe have a week off and coach the VFL side


seasons cooked get buddy to 350 , why not

don't play hurt players - i bet mills was injured before the bounce already, and just pick fit players, going to lose most weeks anyway at the moment

frustrating times

 

[SuperMal]

Very happy with Swannies effort - if Mills or McDonald had stayed fit…might have ended differently.

However , some players are cooked.

Lloyd got r@ped by Schulz, Buddy just helped form packs, McInerney was shallow, Francis and Gould have an enormous amount to learn about Swans footy (but tried), and Hayward was deadwood…hasn’t taken a contested mark in weeks.

Cunningham brutalised the ‘magic man’ Walters, Goulden was scintillating, Heeney found his d1ck, and Hickey will be better for the run.

Freos best weapon, clearly Darcy.

Where to from here?

Field a team.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

It was notable that we didn’t bomb to Buddy today - which I thought was a positive.

But ultimately, Freo had quality talls & we didn’t. Especially after Logan’s exit.

I might be in minority - but I actually thought the mids went OK. Just hard when you lack forward targets, so we over-possessed.

Rowy, Campbell and Errol in particular I thought had good games.

The biggest issue - the VFL side is dire. Apart from Gus and perhaps McAndrew, there’s just nobody even remotely putting their hand up.

 

[Dan87]

Far out its brutal

Wilderness

Steady hands required

 

[The King!]

that margin was flattering

we were shocking

fremantle will struggle to beat many teams

 

[The King!]

oh last one Hickey looked 48 today

 

[caesar88]

That was awful. Really really awful.

Get the obvious out of the way, absolutely predictable that Darcy & Jackson were the two most dominant players on the ground, given our situation. Nauseating the lovefest over them in the commentary box with little acknowledgment of how our outs specifically favoured those two.

Which then had a knock-on effect. Darcy literally just pumping the ball into the clear for their mids to run onto.

That's about where the "uncontrollables" end.

The rest, we firmly had control over and squandered.

There are three players in particular who are really getting on my last nerve. Papley, Warner, Blakey. They are so damn obsessed with trying to be spectacular that their ability to do the basics just completely undermines them. The worst part is that because they're so busy trying to be spectacular, they just give really poor efforts going the other way. All are non-factors without the ball and wildly inconsistent with it. Buddy I would add in this group, but I can't blame him as his is as much to do with age as it is ego.

Our players in general seem to just not be switched on this year. The shitting the bed under the mildest of pressure, the complete lack of game awareness (soooo many run-down tackles today!), the missing of the easiest kicks or the dropping of the simplest of marks. These are things that a team that is primed and dialled in just doesn't do.

Which brings me to the two players who I reckon (for the most part) operate a little differently: Gulden and Rowbottom. I can't really explain it but I have an instinctive trust that they know what they're doing when they get the ball. There was a play in the first when Gulden had the ball and feigned a handball to draw the tackler towards one Swans player, then he dished it off to another Swans player completely. And in the third, Rowbottom was charging off half back and had a number of handball options around him, each as under pressure as the next, and he assessed each one and decided to go long to a 1v1 for territory instead. These are split-second things that these two do, that others just can't seem to do. Not only is their footy IQ on point, but so is their love for the club. They actually back up their ability with persistent work rate and courage. Unfortunately one gets too much ball on the inside where he is less effective, and the other doesn't get enough ball because he's minding opposition mids.

I thought Francis had some good moments, Heeney reminded us of some of his brilliance (unfortunately still just 'reminders'), and Fox just keeps on being Mr. Reliable.

 

[The King!]

under pressure sydney look like they give up

Heeney lifted for 5 mins and it was infectious then they all looked ready for the siren again

 

[RilesMacca]

Hickey was a bit disappointing. Think he'll start to build on form as the weeks go on however, hard to matchup on Darcy.

 

[kickthething]

We are off the pace and keep racking up the injuries. Anyone who doesn't think they are a big factor is nuts. Our depth, particularly with talls is lacking badly, we are struggling then to play any sort of Footy that can last 4 quarters. We lack consistent effort across the ground, and the lack of cohesiveness is palpable. This wasn't a game I tipped us in, and the result is the result. Its kind of superfluous when looking a the context of our list and where it is at, as well as our coaching panel and where they are at.

We are not winning many more games this year, its a time now to really test out things for 2024. Its just how it is. No point berating the players I just thnk the obstacles are too big this year to get the results. They are not too big to see fight and desire in every player though.

Enjoy the moments each game. This is a year where you take all the bad with the bits of good.

 

[The King!]

Gould was pretty rubbish, but given where we are at , maybe just give him a month at it

 

[strauchanie59]

Tired of the coaching, tired of the injuries, tired of the excuses, tired of the recruiting.

Hickey looks cooked. Maybe next week isn't the worst time for McAndrew to debut?

Gould...want him to succeed, but he just doesn't have any qualities that make you think he's going to be a serviceable AFL level player.

Papley needed a big one after last weeks horror show and didn't deliver. He did deliver, however, a reminder that there is a selfish side to his game that gets him and the team into trouble far too often.

 

[WillHayward]

When we got the ball inside 50 we were far more efficient. Problem is we didn’t get in enough.

Maybe Freo are just inefficient inside 50 which saved us from something worse

If Geelong get +15 I50s we all know what happens .

 

[WillHayward]

Rampe turns 33 in June so I bloody hope we aren't pinning our hopes on him.