Opinion Posts That Don't Deserve a Thread (Random Opinion or Questions)

[wolftone57]

How many other clubs

Port, Carlton, Bulldogs, Cats, Adelaide, Lions, Dockers, Eagles, Hawks, Pies, North, GWS & Bombers so far. That is the majority I believe, 13 of 18

 

[bedford]

Port, Carlton, Bulldogs, Cats, Adelaide, Lions, Dockers, Eagles, Hawks, Pies, North, GWS & Bombers so far. That is the majority I believe, 13 of 18

So you've watched them all , at all those clubs ? wow

 

[SM]

Coaches! What would they know?

According to this board very little.

 

[Callipygian]

Great to see Rowy getting a bit more public recognition and acknowledgement. I don't expect it to silence the critics altogether but I reckon a few of you will dial it down a bit watching these comments from his teammates. It's not only the coaches who rate what Rowy does.

 

[SM]

Great to see Rowy getting a bit more public recognition and acknowledgement. I don't expect it to silence the critics altogether but I reckon a few of you will dial it down a bit watching these comments from his teammates. It's not only the coaches who rate what Rowy does.

I'll believe it when I see it on the field. A club talking up a player isn't conclusive of much.

 

[bedford]

Great to see Rowy getting a bit more public recognition and acknowledgement. I don't expect it to silence the critics altogether but I reckon a few of you will dial it down a bit watching these comments from his teammates. It's not only the coaches who rate what Rowy does.

He performs a Swans role that's for sure , he makes the Chads and Errols space .

 

[Callipygian]

I'll believe it when I see it on the field. A club talking up a player isn't conclusive of much.

You've already seen it. You just don't seem to recognise it. I like that you're backing your own judgment. But I prefer the judgment of his teammates and coaches topped up with a some of my own, less-savvy observation.

 

[wolftone57]

I mean they won so thats all that matters but if we managed to win in that way i would be sheepish bringing it up.

Infact you can go back to the Prelim vs GWS and make a case there as well.

GWS had that game won until the last 10-15 minutes when the free kicks started to be paid against them. They were Cheats Frees for sure

 

[wolftone57]

We'd all be pretty pissed by the end of the first game this year.

By the end of the first quarter I reckon

 

[SM]

You've already seen it. You just don't seem to recognise it. I like that you're backing your own judgment. But I prefer the judgment of his teammates and coaches topped up with a some of my own, less-savvy observation.

Yes, I saw how poor he was in 2023.

I also saw how good he was in 2022. I'm not saying he's a bad player?

 

[bloodsbigot]

I think Rowie is sensational

I rate Rowbottom. He played sensationally in his second or third season I think. Not so much last year, but at least I know he's capable of better things and he's probably just doing the team thing.

Hayward on the other hand, I've never seen play that well consistently in any season. A few flashes here and there, but nothing that suggests to me that he's as underrated as some defenders of him here think.

 

[wolftone57]

Rowbottom absolutely does need to lift. He had a horrible 2023.

Where were you in the Simpson desert, out of streaming range, no electricity?

UNTIL NOW!

He was bloody good. He does the hard work. The grunt that people just don't notice.

 

[SM]

Where were you in the Simpson desert, out of streaming range, no electricity?

UNTIL NOW!

He was bloody good. He does the hard work. The grunt that people just don't notice.

Huh?

 

[wolftone57]

So you've watched them all , at all those clubs ? wow

No I have not but they are available on You Tube. that was my point. Why is the Swans Intra not available on You Tube when most others are? Are we keeping everything close to the dress pants. I don't need to watch orther clubs whole practice matches but I will take a look at bits & pieces ya Sarky bastard.

 

[Deccas]

I rate Rowbottom. He played sensationally in his second or third season I think. Not so much last year, but at least I know he's capable of better things and he's probably just doing the team thing.

Hayward on the other hand, I've never seen play that well consistently in any season. A few flashes here and there, but nothing that suggests to me that he's as underrated as some defenders of him here think.

He's the fastest player to 50 goals since Buddy. That's more than a flash for medium forward. It's a remarkably good start to a career.

I'd really like Hayward to improve his set shot kicks and go from 25ish to 35ish goals a season.

Can't help but think that 80% of the frustration fans feel with him is down to the strong emotions we feel when a goal is missed, rather than a sober assessment of his contributions.

 

[caesar88]

Great to see Rowy getting a bit more public recognition and acknowledgement. I don't expect it to silence the critics altogether but I reckon a few of you will dial it down a bit watching these comments from his teammates. It's not only the coaches who rate what Rowy does.

I reckon he's a remarkable kid.

 

[bloodsbigot]

He's the fastest player to 50 goals since Buddy. That's more than a flash for medium forward. It's a remarkably good start to a career.

I'd really like Hayward to improve his set shot kicks and go from 25ish to 35ish goals a season.

Can't help but think that 80% of the frustration fans feel with him is down to the strong emotions we feel when a goal is missed, rather than a sober assessment of his contributions.

He blew two or three games last year when the game was on the line. He's weak minded and not a winner.

Most of the goals he gets every game are gjmmes off the back of other players hard work. Often junk time goals. Never when the game is at stake.

 

[Deccas]

This seems a great example of an emotional reaction to a miss (blowing a game) producing a bit of a unsober assessment (weak minded seems a reach for someone you've only watched play football on tv).

He blew two or three games last year when the game was on the line. He's weak minded and not a winner.

Most of the goals he gets every game are gjmmes off the back of other players hard work. Often junk time goals. Never when the game is at stake.

 

[Del198236]

I reckon he's a remarkable kid.

You wrote about 100 posts saying he should be traded during the 12 months after Hewett left.
Big turn around?????

 

[RubbaDuck]

Gee. No mention of Hayward.

What gives?

Stupid overrated coaches pet.

Warning: Essay time

For the longest time I've tried not to become a fan of Rowbottom, but he grew on me, like the mole on my shoulder that my GP swears is benign. I just didn't want to accept the new, not because I think Rowy doesn't belong where he is - the mole is a different story - but I just don't think I wanted him to be our new inside mid when I missed the inside mids we'd had before. They were stars, Rowbottom's just, well, Rowbottom. Or so I thought.

Now, finally, I have to admit it. I have come to like Rowy, even to admire him, quite a lot, unlike the mole on my shoulder. I cannot imagine not having Rowbottom in our midfield.

There's an old adage that seems made for Rowbottom:

It's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that matters

I don' t like small dogs (I detest cats) but Rowy's an exception. He's like a bloody minded terrier on the field. He fights like the world depends on it. Perhaps it does, in a spiritual way. I don't wish to come on all Mystic Meg here (I really do) but Rowbottom reminds me of Brett Kirk, perhaps his reincarnation. Sure, Indhi Kirk looks like his dad, but Rowy reminds me more of him. It's his approach to football. The intensity, the scary determination of his gaze. It's like he's reciting a mantra with his eyes open. "See ball, get ball, if someone else has ball, tear them to pieces then take ball, if they fight back tear ball from their dead cold limbs. See ball...repeat". It's spiritual, not personal but programmed. His opponent simply must be exterminated.

You could say Rowy is Terminator 2, the good version of Arnie, re-programmed to fight the evil forces who would erase the Swans from the future. "Your play stops here" (go on, say it in Arnie's voice - you know you want to). Rowy sets the tone for the team, tough, resilient and uncompromisingly competitive. He has two modes, irresistable force in attack, unmovable object in defence. He doesn't know how to back down so he wills himself time and again into contests. What teammate could not love that willingness to sacrifice for them? That dogged determination to drag down any opposition, be they larger, faster or more skilled. Who couldn't love his innate ability to break through congestion and snap a crunch goal, much like Kirk used to.

Look at Rowbottom's pedigree - if such a mongrel can claim to have a pedigree. Rowy learrned his trade under some serious hard-nuts, like Kennedy, Parker, Hewett and Jones. Rowy learned how to bring down bigger opponents and better teams by being tougher, having more mongrel. In just his debut year of 2019 he laid a monster 12 tackles in a single game against Carlton, more than anyone else on either team. The Swans fell agonisingly short, with insult added to injury when Nic Newman snagged the three Brownlow votes for a best on ground performance, in his first season since leaving the Swans.

During the 2019-2020 dark ages, the only thing that seemed to be improving at the Swans was the performance of our discards. Membrey was averaging 2 goals per game in 2019, more than any Swans forward except Buddy. Nankervis had become a Premiership ruckman and would pick up two more medals by the end of 2020, while we were left playing Aliir in the ruck before he too nicked off and became feted as one of the hottest intercept defenders in the land. At least that traitor Mitchell hadn't won a premiership (yet). Really, I started to wonder if Horse had kicked a Karma Fairy in the nuts at a Pride game.

The reality was the Swans of 2019 were at the end of an era, a team that had been slowly sinking was now in free fall. After nine straight years of playing finals under Horse, Rowbottom debuted in the worst year that younger fans could remember. The once mighty Swans finished a lowly 15th, with just eight wins. We'd become a victim of our own sustained finals success, bereft of early draft picks while the AFL's unlawful trading ban had prevented the Swans from finding the diamonds in the rough we might have used to keep our premiership window open.

The remaining fading stars, upon which we relied upon so heavily, ate heavily into our salary cap, so we struggled to pay emerging stars enough to keep them. Grundy only played round 1 in 2019 before a back injury forced him into retirement. Buddy managed only ten games. Aliir was forced to play ruck and forward. Rampe, Mills and an inexperienced Dawson were trying to hold up our defence. In the midfield, Jones and Hewett were hard-nosed and honest toliers but this was not the star studded midfield that saw the Swans finish minor premiers in 2016. Hanners and Mitchell had gone, even Kieren Jack and Pointy McPointface were on their last legs and retired that year. Kennedy soldiered on, carrying the team and now with the weight of the captaincy on his shoulders. We owe that man so much.

In 2020, the Swans dropped even further, winning just 5 games to finish a lowly 16th. The only consolation was the Hawks were languishing next to us, so Mitchell was also suffering. Two of the greatest teams of the decade were decimated, tired, needing to be rebuilt from the ground up. The difference between the two was Horse who, unlike Clarkson, had that But that Covid interrupted year, out of the public eye, was a great opportunity to build a closer team with the first building blocks put in place of a new game plan, one that relied on fast ball movement attacking through the corridor. We saw glimpses of that game plan in late 2020 but with the aid of Don Pyke in 2021 it was further honed.

We began 2021 4-0, including the scalps of powerhouse Brisbane at the Gabba in round 1 - Rowbottom had 22 possessions and 8 tackles - and a 45 point hiding of the reigning Premier in round 3 - a delicious dish of schadenfreude (served cold) after Softwick's uncalled for comments on the Swans' style of play after their last match. The turnaround of our Swans in 2021 was nothing short of miraculous. We won 10 more games than the previous season and returned once again to finals. Rowbottom only played 17 games in 2021 but it was a break-out year for the 20 year old. At 23, Rowbottom has become a very important cog in our midfield machine.

In season 2022 we upped the pressure on our opposition to Off-the-scale Manic++. Commentators needed a logarithmic display to properly illustrate the difference between the Swans' pressure and that of other teams. We were forcing turnovers and exploiting them with our well-oiled rebound play. If Rowbottom was already an important part of the Swans' rebuild, he was crucially important when it came to putting pressure on opposition ball carriers. In 2022 Rowbottom led the Swans with the 2nd best overall tackle numbers in the AFL. He was a big part of the Swans return to a suprisingly early grand final re-appearance in 2022.

Did Rowbottom drop off in 2023? It's true Rowbottom's average disposals per game, his inside 50s, goals and marks all dropped a little, but his tackles went up, well above both Brett Kirk's and Jude Bolton's best total tackle numbers for a season. He again made the 2nd most tackles in the AFL with an astonishing 176 tackles in total.

While Rowbottom's average disposals fell by 0.6 per game in 2023, his average tackles went up by another 0.5 tackles per game. I'd argue his increased tackle count is the more important stat. When an effective tackle forces a turnover it not only stops several more opposition disposals down the chain from ever occurring, but it also stops them scoring before they even get to inside 50. Each Rowbottom tackles that lead to a turnover meant more possessions for his teammates on the counter-attack and more scoring shots for the Swans.

Rowy is not big bodied, but he's as tough as titanium and he's harder to shake off than any bunny boiler once he sets his sights on a player. In a team with a game plan that relies on putting incredible pressure on the opposition, a player like Rowbottom is worth his (82kg) weight in gold. Is it any wonder the players love Rowy? His job is to stop opposition momentum and send the Swans back into attack. Who wouldn't love that?

 

[RubbaDuck]

Yes, I saw how poor he was in 2023.

I also saw how good he was in 2022. I'm not saying he's a bad player?

I'm not sure it's fair to say he was poor in 2023. His stats changed but his role seemed to have shifted too. Rowy does exactly what the coach asks him to do, putting team ahead of personal wants. He may get some inside relief from Taylor and (maybe) Jordon this season, allowing him to get outside a bit more. He is pretty elusive when it comes to finding space.

The most important thing is we now have depth and versatility in our midfield, and a cracking ruck brigade. Expect to see more inside 50s and we win more centre clearances, which will also mean fewer intercepts and fewer rebounds out of defence, if all goes well.

 

[RubbaDuck]

He blew two or three games last year when the game was on the line. He's weak minded and not a winner.

Most of the goals he gets every game are gjmmes off the back of other players hard work. Often junk time goals. Never when the game is at stake.

Bit harsh. Hayward does a lot of hard work and unrewarded defensive running too. Swings and roundabouts.

No-one weak minded gets onto an AFL list. It takes guts and determination. Winners make themselves, they aren't born that way.

 

[RubbaDuck]

You wrote about 100 posts saying he should be traded during the 12 months after Hewett left.
Big turn around?????

Caesar's not the only one to take some time to realise Rowy's worth

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

He's the fastest player to 50 goals since Buddy. That's more than a flash for medium forward. It's a remarkably good start to a career.

I'd really like Hayward to improve his set shot kicks and go from 25ish to 35ish goals a season.

Can't help but think that 80% of the frustration fans feel with him is down to the strong emotions we feel when a goal is missed, rather than a sober assessment of his contributions.

Shanked missed set shots from the likes of Reid, Hayward and last year, Heeney are momentum killers.

These misses suck oxygen from the team, cheer up the Oppo and yes they are sober assessments of the damage done by players who cannot do the fundamentals.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Bit harsh. Hayward does a lot of hard work and unrewarded defensive running too. Swings and roundabouts.

No-one weak minded gets onto an AFL list. It takes guts and determination. Winners make themselves, they aren't born that way.

It was accurate.

Sorry I have gone from a huge fan of Hayward to open resignation he will miss set shots. When even an astute and kindly commentator like Healy uses the Wayward nickname there is a problem.