Autopsy Good win against Tricky opposition.

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Sliding doors. Witts is one of my favourite Oppo players, even if he does invariably towel us up.

I wonder why we did not pick him up instead of the Pies when he was first drafted. I wonder too whether we were interested in trading for him in 2016 when he went to the Suns. I reckon he would have been great for us.

Yesterday we managed to do well in the clearances despite Witts dominating in ruck contests. As he is not a great contested mark, more often a spoiler in packs, I thought Hickey might get him around the ground but it was not to be. McLean got him a couple of times.

Dont know whether RJ copped a knock early but he did not seem as mobile as last week. He seemed to spend a lot of the game on the bench. Maybe he struggles to come up week to week. Thoughts?

 

[ErrolisGoldun]

I know I’m repeating myself but we cannot carry hickey anymore, this guy straight up cost us like 6 goals together from his pathetic ruckwork and zero awareness of what’s around him, he used to be a gun for us but we can’t carry this guy, bring in ladhams or anyone else

100% agree, he was a liability today. Unfortunately I think his body is not doing what his minds wants from it.

Surprisingly for me, McLean is probably our best competitor in the ruck and will be the best bet next week v Crows. Question is who to support.

I would suggest Hickey gets dropped, freshened up for the Melbourne game. He can no longer play at the level required for multiple games.

 

[ErrolisGoldun]

Credit to Gold Coast they brought a very tough and smart style of play.

I thought we won a tough arm wrestle and credit to the team, was not easy and GC can be hard to play against.

Our kicking for goal has improved out of sight and for mine is a direct link to our confidence levels. When up and about we nail our shots, when we are struggling we seem to miss more.

We have turned our season around to be back in the 8 with 2 and a bit rounds left. Taking a step back and looking at where we were around rounds 6-9 this is a huge achievement, our best is the best.

We are one of the form teams in the comp and one more win should see us in the finals which is a remarkable achievement.

We play Adelaide oval well but will be a cracking game v Crows, who would still fancy their chances of stealing a spot especially with their %.

 

[Wolftone]

The negative would be if the suns nailed their gettable shots in the last early we may be having a different discussion

They missed 3, 2 rushed. Not enough to win still. We also parked the bike in the last 5.

On CPH2471 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The King!]

They missed 3, 2 rushed. Not enough to win still. We also parked the bike in the last 5.

On CPH2471 using BigFooty.com mobile app

Rushed is inevitably from a missed attempted shot given you can't walk it over anymore

 

[Wolftone]

I know I’m repeating myself but we cannot carry hickey anymore, this guy straight up cost us like 6 goals together from his pathetic ruckwork and zero awareness of what’s around him, he used to be a gun for us but we can’t carry this guy, bring in ladhams or anyone else

Ladhams is not even rucking in the reserves. McAndrews is.

On CPH2471 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Glenn_]

A win against what has been a bogey side of late , and for now at least a spot in the top 8.
Gold Coast had to sacrifice their best midfielder in Miller to go to a tagging role on Gulden , which is a testament to the the growing stature of Gulden. With the tag Gulden struggled in the first half , but found more freedom when moved up to half forward in the second half.
In the absence of the influence by Gulden ,the likes of Warner,Papley and Heeney stepped things up , keeping Sydney in the game.
Special mention to Hayward , after his tagging role on Taylor last week , 4 goals this week also to LMac with 3 goals.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Gold Coast had to sacrifice their best midfielder in Miller to go to a tagging role on Gulden , which is a testament to the the growing stature of Gulden.

This is a good point which has been overlooked. Miller may well have muted Errol in the first half, but for GC to do that, there was a significant cost for them to pay.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

This is a good point which has been overlooked. Miller may well have muted Errol in the first half, but for GC to do that, there was a significant cost for them to pay.

Calculated coaching move almost payed off for them.

 

[BasicSwan]

Having watched the full game here are just some of my opinions:

The forwards - Whilst the Swans have always had a strong Key Forward in the form of Franklin or Hall, I genuinely believe if everyone stays fit, the combination that McDonald, McLean and Amartey will be the club's strongest it has had (particularly with Heneey, Hayward, Wicks and Papley as the smaller units). One of the big improvements that has led to our kicking streak is also the goal kicking. Having watched The Round So Far on the AFL website, we are currently the most accurate goal kicking team in the competition between rounds 18 - 22 at 67.6%. A lot of our close losses earlier in the year was due to poor goal kicking and even in games we got over run at the end could have been wins if we kicked straight when the momentum was with us.

The midfield - Probably the main area of concern and well documented by everyone. It might be an issue with our combinations in centre bounces, the ruck or the positioning. As individuals, the Swans have really good ball hunters (Rowbottom, Mills, Gulden, Parker) and good distributors/runners on the outside (Gulden, JMac, Campbell, Warner) but it doesn't click for the full four quarters which is why the team has periods where they get absolutely dominated in the middle and takes a lot of effort to regain the lead. At centre bounces, my personal opinion would consider having two quality ball winners and one good distributor/runner (i.e. Potential Combos: Rowbottom, Mills, Gulden or Rowbottom, Parker, Warner or Mills, Parker, Warner or etc..). The current interpretation of our mids mindset is to negate or even the contest against the opposition mids instead of trying to get themselves into aggressive positions and outmanoeuvre them with quality handball chains...Which again is strange, because in general play throughout the year, they have shown they can clearly do this just fine.

The defense - Looking much stronger compared to the start of the year. Even when the mids are getting dominated, the defense has really held up really well. Francis continues to improve with more time playing in defense (and clearly shouldn't play in the forward half...EVER!). Tom M, Blakey were intercepting wonderfully too. Fox, Lloyd and Florent provided good run from the defensive half.

The inclusions - Congrats to Roberts on his first goal, lovely on the non-preferred foot. Wasn't much for him to do yesterday, but he provided some good kicks to the corridor. Stephens game was also an interesting watch. He had some really quality moments like running back to take the mark, crashing in the bigger bodies to tackle or get the ball and then his air swing in defense that led to a goal. He currently is fit and gets to a lot of the action. Hope he stays and the club finds ways to improve his game because I do see a lot of upside in him.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

we are currently the most accurate goal kicking team in the competition between rounds 18 - 22 at 67.6%.

I just wanted to re-post that comment.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Any intel on Rampe's return?

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

I just wanted to re-post that comment.

Ugh how can football be so simple yet so complicated at the same time.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

Any intel on Rampe's return?

Not sure. I did see he and Campbell doing some sprints and training on Tramway yesterday morning, so could be a chance to return this week?

 

[Pugnacious1874]

Any intel on Rampe's return?

He was hobbling out on the ground after the game as we were settling in for the Matildas.

 

[the hypnotoad]

I just wanted to re-post that comment.

be interesting to see the heeney/hayward stats in that stretch, seeing as they were two of the obvious culprits earlier
both look so much better with a bit of self-confidence

 

[SeanM]

The forwards - Whilst the Swans have always had a strong Key Forward in the form of Franklin or Hall, I genuinely believe if everyone stays fit, the combination that McDonald, McLean and Amartey will be the club's strongest it has had (particularly with Heneey, Hayward, Wicks and Papley as the smaller units). One of the big improvements that has led to our kicking streak is also the goal kicking. Having watched The Round So Far on the AFL website, we are currently the most accurate goal kicking team in the competition between rounds 18 - 22 at 67.6%. A lot of our close losses earlier in the year was due to poor goal kicking and even in games we got over run at the end could have been wins if we kicked straight when the momentum was with us.

What I like about the 7 players in our forward line is that each of them are capable of having a 3 goal game. So even if someone is having a quiet start to the game, you feel they are still capable of kicking 2 goals in a quarter.

They are also different type of players so hard to match up on. So an opposition defender might go from tracking Logan's leads around the ground, to worry about McLeans overhead marking to handling Amartey's thicker body and explosiveness.

 

[caesar88]

be interesting to see the heeney/hayward stats in that stretch, seeing as they were two of the obvious culprits earlier
both look so much better with a bit of self-confidence

Hayward - 66.7%
Heeney - 81.8%

 

[lazy77]

We play Adelaide oval well but will be a cracking game v Crows, who would still fancy their chances of stealing a spot especially with their %.

I don't think Adelaide can realistically make the finals anymore. 12 wins is unlikely to be enough. Could be a good time to play them. They'll probably be flat knowing they've missed their chance.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Ugh how can football be so simple yet so complicated at the same time.

I just love that we have a two tiered scoring system in Aussie Rules. One of the best things about our game.

Adds so much psychological depth to the equation. Something that completely eludes trolls from other codes, particularly soccer, who say "that's the game where you get a point for missing, right?" But I know they're just trolling and should just ignore them. (Or maybe they are that dumb? Dunno).

 

[Edmund hunt]

Logan was quiet the 1st half and a bit but started to warm up after that with 3 goals, 1 assist and 6 score involvements.

On SM-A515F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[caesar88]

Didn't love people dragging Stephens for multiple occasions where he failed to effect contests yesterday. That play in the goal square where he went up for the spoil (and timed it horribly to be fair) might've been a mistake, as he left Suns players unmanned at ground level. It's probably emblematic of why he's struggled to get off the canvas for us, and why I'm not sure I see a player of the future in him. Footy is really just a series of decisions and getting as many right as you can. Stephens doesn't get those right often enough compared to others. But FFS there's worse things than a kid trying to prove himself showing some desperation to make an impact in the heat of the moment.

 

[the hypnotoad]

Didn't love people dragging Stephens for multiple occasions where he failed to effect contests yesterday. That play in the goal square where he went up for the spoil (and timed it horribly to be fair) might've been a mistake, as he left Suns players unmanned at ground level. It's probably emblematic of why he's struggled to get off the canvas for us, and why I'm not sure I see a player of the future in him. Footy is really just a series of decisions and getting as many right as you can. Stephens doesn't get those right often enough compared to others. But FFS there's worse things than a kid trying to prove himself showing some desperation to make an impact in the heat of the moment.

and i would rather persist with stephens than trade him for the sake of bringing in a plodder such as crouch or dow

 

[lazy77]

I just love that we have a two tiered scoring system in Aussie Rules. One of the best things about our game.

Adds so much psychological depth to the equation. Something that completely eludes trolls from other codes, particularly soccer, who say "that's the game where you get a point for missing, right?" But I know they're just trolling and should just ignore them. (Or maybe they are that dumb? Dunno).

The scoring system is a little weird. You literally do get a point for missing. No need to denigrate fans of other sports because they find it a bit odd. It is.

 

[Jewelsbon]

Credit to Gold Coast they brought a very tough and smart style of play.

I thought we won a tough arm wrestle and credit to the team, was not easy and GC can be hard to play against.

Our kicking for goal has improved out of sight and for mine is a direct link to our confidence levels. When up and about we nail our shots, when we are struggling we seem to miss more.

We have turned our season around to be back in the 8 with 2 and a bit rounds left. Taking a step back and looking at where we were around rounds 6-9 this is a huge achievement, our best is the best.

We are one of the form teams in the comp and one more win should see us in the finals which is a remarkable achievement.

We play Adelaide oval well but will be a cracking game v Crows, who would still fancy their chances of stealing a spot especially with their %.

I tend to think the opposite - when we nail the set shots it builds the teams confidence and gets them up and about.