Going Forward (The Future)

[Wolftone]

Forget about Xavier Richards for next year he has requested a trade

 

[dangle]

The real issue is Sinclair. If he holds his marks we will have a winner. His 400K a year has been a poor investment so far. He has the potential to be seen as a very cheap pick up and a shrewd exchange for Jets. But it's a gamble that is not shaping well.

I hate the fact we picked up Sinclair. I watched him closely playing footy in WA and he is just not an AFL level footballer. He has never held his marks so I don't see why he would start now. Would love to send him to Richmond and keep Nanks.

 

[Vin Rogue]

Bloody oath he is. Kicks 75 metres, can take a big mark & is a very accurate kick for goal even outside 50. When he gets a mark 60 or less from goal the players all expect him to kick for goal. He does and doesn't miss too many. High end talent who was injured all but 8 games, 6 of which he played in Sturt's league side.

Then the bye bye to XR is of little consequence. Look forward to seeing him get his opportunity.

 

[Vin Rogue]

I hate the fact we picked up Sinclair. I watched him closely playing footy in WA and he is just not an AFL level footballer. He has never held his marks so I don't see why he would start now. Would love to send him to Richmond and keep Nanks.

You would think that there is an issue in his head. If he drops marks at training then why pick him? Not gonna happen in a game. If he takes them at training but drops them in games..... You can work on that. He is a good mover and often is in a great position to contest... but then he drops it...again. Up to the coaches to sort this.

 

[Tuco]

Bloody oath he is. Kicks 75 metres, can take a big mark & is a very accurate kick for goal even outside 50. When he gets a mark 60 or less from goal the players all expect him to kick for goal. He does and doesn't miss too many. High end talent who was injured all but 8 games, 6 of which he played in Sturt's league side.

If I was Fayals Swans I'd be masturbating furiously to this post.

 

[Maddhew]

Agree very strongly with this statement. He was woeful in the GF. doesn't come up in big games. Needs to do something about that.

My point wasn't that Rohan was poor in the GF, which he was, but its one game and it happens. It seems to have clouded peoples judgment about his output in the rest of the season which a lot of the time was no better

My concern is in 2016 he had
5-9 possessions 8 times
10-15 8 times
16-20 twice
and never had a game with more than 20

I get that he doesn't need to get as much of it as others to have an impact, but if that's the case 25 goals in 18 games isn't good enough. Id have him fringe 22 at best going into 2018

 

[RW]

I have appreciation for it, I just don't agree with it.

I wish all posters were as respectful as you when replying to posts they don't agree with

Anyway, what was I going to say? The Hawks' decision to trade Sam Mitchell, a former skipper, should tell you that no-one is untouchable. I don't have the answers re McVeigh - maybe he will be ok with a full pre-season - but the club should not be afraid of making the hard calls such as sending a veteran player to the NEAFL if it comes to that or giving someone else the captaincy. Just my two cents.

 

[MickyG]

I wish all posters were as respectful as you when replying to posts they don't agree with

Anyway, what was I going to say? The Hawks' decision to trade Sam Mitchell, a former skipper, should tell you that no-one is untouchable. I don't have the answers re McVeigh - maybe he will be ok with a full pre-season - but the club should not be afraid of making the hard calls such as sending a veteran player to the NEAFL if it comes to that or giving someone else the captaincy. Just my two cents.

McVeigh had an injury over the pre-season and missed the first three games. The first few games he played were ordinary. He played some very good football in the middle of the year. He got injured in the SF, missed the PF and then faded badly in the GF. A bad beginning and end to the season distorts perceptions. People here are remembering a lot more of the not so good and forgettting the good.

If the injury clears and he has a good pre-season then he will be a solid contributor next year as he was this year. I have concerns over loss of pace and his tackles not sticking, he's 32 early next year. I expect that he'll continue to be co-captain next year.

 

[Faysals Swans]

If I was Fayals Swans I'd be masturbating furiously to this post.

You've awoken the beast...

 

[Bandicoot]

Horse and many other coaches have made the comment in the past "if you don't improve each year, you are going backwards". So, we have now lost our 4th ranked midfielder who has got better with each year, a key forward deemed good enough to play in our grand final team (Richards) and our third ranked ruckman (Nankervis). These are all to be replaced with draft picks only. On top of that GWS have pick 2.
Sure, Heeney will spend more time in the middle as could Mills but their current places then need to be filled. So we are only robbing Peter to pay Paul. So many of the kids will get more opportunities but that can be said of every club.
I hope Horse is wrong with his assertion cause I can't see any improvement from the 2016 list to the 2017 one.

 

[caesar88]

Horse and many other coaches have made the comment in the past "if you don't improve each year, you are going backwards". So, we have now lost our 4th ranked midfielder who has got better with each year, a key forward deemed good enough to play in our grand final team (Richards) and our third ranked ruckman (Nankervis). These are all to be replaced with draft picks only. On top of that GWS have pick 2.
Sure, Heeney will spend more time in the middle as could Mills but their current places then need to be filled. So we are only robbing Peter to pay Paul. So many of the kids will get more opportunities but that can be said of every club.
I hope Horse is wrong with his assertion cause I can't see any improvement from the 2016 list to the 2017 one.

I think Horse has seen the benefit of keeping things fresh and reinventing the side. Which is risky because I doubt every season will go as splendidly as 2016 did, but it also worked for us well this season. I sure as hell didn't have Aliir, Papley, Mills, XR, Naismith, Hewett, Jones etc in our best 22, but by the end of the year they were. Wouldn't surprise me if round one 2017 saw some head-scratchers in the team line-up

 

[dangle]

Horse and many other coaches have made the comment in the past "if you don't improve each year, you are going backwards". So, we have now lost our 4th ranked midfielder who has got better with each year, a key forward deemed good enough to play in our grand final team (Richards) and our third ranked ruckman (Nankervis). These are all to be replaced with draft picks only. On top of that GWS have pick 2.
Sure, Heeney will spend more time in the middle as could Mills but their current places then need to be filled. So we are only robbing Peter to pay Paul. So many of the kids will get more opportunities but that can be said of every club.
I hope Horse is wrong with his assertion cause I can't see any improvement from the 2016 list to the 2017 one.

So you're a glass half full kinda guy?

 

[anotherletdown]

In order for that to happen though he has to give up the captaincy. Otherwise he's staying in the side every day of the week. When's the last time a captain of a side got dropped?

I reckon we'll find out shortly....

 

[Vin Rogue]

Horse and many other coaches have made the comment in the past "if you don't improve each year, you are going backwards". So, we have now lost our 4th ranked midfielder who has got better with each year, a key forward deemed good enough to play in our grand final team (Richards) and our third ranked ruckman (Nankervis). These are all to be replaced with draft picks only. On top of that GWS have pick 2.
Sure, Heeney will spend more time in the middle as could Mills but their current places then need to be filled. So we are only robbing Peter to pay Paul. So many of the kids will get more opportunities but that can be said of every club.
I hope Horse is wrong with his assertion cause I can't see any improvement from the 2016 list to the 2017 one.

You would expect that with more games put into the fresh kids in the team, that they shall improve considerably. Will their rates of improvement negate the loss of Mitchell and his improvement? We shall see. Richards and Nankervis were fringe 22. Reid will be and has been forever better than XR. Sinkers should be better than Nank, but there is a real fear that he might not measure up and Nank may well prove the better of the two. Either way, they are much of a muchness.

 

[dangle]

You would expect that with more games put into the fresh kids in the team, that they shall improve considerably. Will their rates of improvement negate the loss of Mitchell and his improvement? We shall see. Richards and Nankervis were fringe 22. Reid will be and has been forever better than XR. Sinkers should be better than Nank, but there is a real fear that he might not measure up and Nank may well prove the better of the two. Either way, they are much of a muchness.

Nankervis will be a much better footballer than Sinclair.....he's only 22 and already a better player in my eyes. I agree with everything else you said though.

 

[Tuco]

We've shown an ability to improve a Ruckman numerous times in recent years. Sinclair is young. Still time for us to turn him into an excellent 2nd Ruck.

We got Pyke to focus on his contested marking, his defensive positioning and set shots and he really became a weapon. Honestly if Sinkers clunked a couple more a game I'd be happy.

 

[Bandicoot]

So you're a glass half full kinda guy?

I must admit that I was quite pessimistic re our chances at the start of 2016 and it proved to be a year way beyond my expectations.
We have historically been heavy traders at this time of year in order to improve our list however this year has been the opposite with players going out and nothing coming back in return. Hopefully, we can find a few kids from the reserves again next year as we did this year, but that is purely speculative.
I felt we did the Mitchell deal too early and should have demanded a top 10 pick (which is what he was worth). With this draft said to be one that runs quite deep, we may find a couple of good ones at 14 & 17. Our first round draft selections over the past decade have not been brilliant though.
Had we won in 2014 & 16 as expected, I would not be concerned as we would have received the benefits from Tippett & Buddy risks but it is now starting to hurt us.

 

[Kirkswan]

Nankervis will be a much better footballer than Sinclair.....he's only 22 and already a better player in my eyes. I agree with everything else you said though.

Time will tell, but I see it the other way around. Sinclair has more agility, more speed, better hands, and is a better kick imo. Sure he had issues this year with clunking them and he needs to keep working on his tackling, but a little time more time with our development group and ruck coaches and I reckon he just might be a winner.

With Toby in the ruck, you have more brute force and fierce tackling (when he can catch them), but the mids have to work overtime to break even...

 

[Punts]

Time will tell, but I see it the other way around. Sinclair has more agility, more speed, better hands, and is a better kick imo. Sure he had issues this year with clunking them and he needs to keep working on his tackling, but a little time more time with our development group and ruck coaches and I reckon he just might be a winner.

With Toby in the ruck, you have more brute force and fierce tackling (when he can catch them), but the mids have to work overtime to break even...

Sinclair is a big potato

 

[Wolftone]

Then the bye bye to XR is of little consequence. Look forward to seeing him get his opportunity.

X Richards is not gone yet. But I think if he doesn't get a trade he will go into the draft. The thing is if he stayed he could have built up some purchase by playing a whole year in the forward line. ButI get the feeling that clubs don't think he has a great deal to offer as the bids don't seem to be flowing in.

 

[Kapanis]

Sinclair is not young, he's 27. To suggest he's suddenly going to learn his trade now is ridiculous.

 

[Wolftone]

I think Horse has seen the benefit of keeping things fresh and reinventing the side. Which is risky because I doubt every season will go as splendidly as 2016 did, but it also worked for us well this season. I sure as hell didn't have Aliir, Papley, Mills, XR, Naismith, Hewett, Jones etc in our best 22, but by the end of the year they were. Wouldn't surprise me if round one 2017 saw some head-scratchers in the team line-up

I agree. There are still some really good young players in the wings. Players who were relatively close to a start this year.

Dawson, Newman, Davis, Leonardis, O'Riordan, Melican Murray I believe wouldn't look too shabby at AFL level. We still have Robinson, BJ, Rose, Harry (hit some bad form toward the end of the season), Sinclair, Reid, AJ (hopefully, fingers crossed), Hiscox (sus about Jack, not sure), Towers, Talia, Marsh, Foote & Aliir who all have played AFL footy, some of whom would have played the GF if fit. Our list is healthy and our first three draft picks are quite low so could pick up some really good talent.

We now have three retirees, three traded & one rookie de-listed. that gives us six spots free on the senior list. One of those spots will be taken by Nick Newman as he has already been promised an upgrade. I would suggest now that Mitchell has gone Jordan foote will probably be upgraded with Tom Papley. This will leave three senior places left unless we delist more players. I would suggest we won't do that but get in three top drafts and fill our Rookie List with players who were seen as VERY unlucky not to go in the draft, like Tom Papley.

i can see us taking several of the Acadamy boys as Rookies. Matt Wilson, Jake Veale, Ned Reinhardt & Ryan Hebron come to mind as they played quite well in our reserves this year. we could end up with a full contention of Rookies which would be good.

 

[sataris]

O Riordan a chance?

 

[Kirkswan]

Sinclair is a big potato

Yes, I know you and the rest of the board think so, but I have no problems daring to be different or being wrong (had lots of practice!)

I think he might be able to add something to the team... if he starts clunking them in the F50

 

[Kirkswan]

Sinclair is not young, he's 27. To suggest he's suddenly going to learn his trade now is ridiculous.

Don't be shy, tell me what you really think

No I expect he already knows the basics of his trade, but I also think that players change depending on the team they are in and the requirements of that team. I also think that a lot of players get better playing at the swans (and I put that down the development and coaching staff, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

If you mean he is never going to be a superstar, then yes I agree. If you mean that he will never be able to do the role Horse asks of him, then no I don't agree with you. I don't think we need a team full of superstars, just a team with a few stars and a whole bunch of workers... and I'm hoping that Sinkers will turn into a worker...