- Aug 9, 2016
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- Sydney
Managed to catch the practice match (?) against Fremantle from a few days back. Worth noting that this was ridiculously low-intensity. Like below NEAFL level even. Fremantle players were like witches hats, and the game was played almost entirely in our forward half as we dominated proceedings. So bear that in mind...
Warner - Had some brilliant moments where he charged out of the middle to win quick, fast clearances and hit targets inside 50, and his second and third efforts were great to see. I'm almost positive half the stuff he did out there would not fly at all at AFL level, so I'm not convinced by him, but I'd be shocked if he wasn't selected this week.
Brand - Came on about 3/4 of the way through in his return from injury, and instantly looked our best key defender. Really sharp, albeit from incredibly limited opportunities to really do anything.
Clarke - Standard Clarke game. Racked up possessions and wasn't overly damaging with them. I'm pretty sure he wasn't on for the entire last 20 minutes or so, so possibly carrying a niggle?
Gray - Probably BOG for us. When others tired as the day wore on he kept going, running hard and presenting. Not sold on him but in fairness to him it was a good showing.
Gould - Forget about him debuting. Miles behind his opponent on a few occasions and got out-bodied badly on a few occasions as well. Think I counted two solid contested wins for him overall. He is going to be in for a long, long summer running laps.
Ling - Excellent contested game from Ling. Got beaten once late, but every other time he won his one on ones convincingly. Didn't see much by way of attacking from him, but defensively he was the most consistent throughout the day.
Franklin - Really impressed throwing the balls back into play from behind the goals. Clean arm, swift motion, looked good.
McInerney - Standard McInerney game really, used the ball well generally and worked hard but gets rag-dolled in tackles easily and also won about 80% of his possessions through uncontested cheapies in the back-line. Wasn't different enough from his usual form to suggest the coaches minds will be changed about him playing senior footy, but who knows.
Taylor - He is very weird to watch. On the one hand his weight clearly restricts his movement as he looks slow and can't even turn quicker than the QE2. Then at other times he is agile AF. In any case he looked lazy and at one point someone on the sidelines bellowed "****ing switch on Lewy!" when he gave a half-arsed effort in a one-on-one.
O'Connor - Barely sighted in the first half, and that was playing as a forward where it was down his end. Grew into the game and won two very impressive one on ones late.
Aliir - Standard Aliir game, both as a defender in the first half where he had some massive spoils and seemed more willing to jump up and impact contests much to the applause of those watching. Then in the ruck in the second half absolutely dominated, won about 4 clearances from roving his own footy which helped our mids get on top. Still looked lethargic though so if that's a determining factor in him not playing senior footy, didn't do enough to change that in my mind.
Rowles - Big call here but this kid might just be the fastest Swan I have seen since Rohan. His boots literally look like wheels when he gets going they are that quick. Played more as a half forward which I thought kinda wasted him. Would've preferred to see him using that run off half back instead of watching Ling, McInerney, Gray and Warner just chipping it around all game.
McLean - ******* frustrating. Was by far the dominant big man on the ground in the first half. Took 6 excellent marks - all contested - for three shots at goal. All missed. Took the wind out of his sails by the second half but somehow ended up with 3 goals and about 10 contested marks for the game. IMO he is clearly too good to not be playing senior footy for us, but at the same time he makes it hard to select him when he squanders potentially dominant games with poor finishing. Which brings me to...
Amartey - Who ended the day as the dominant big man on the ground. Competitive in the ruck in the first half then moved forward where he took mark after mark and finished with 3, should've had 4. A few of his shots were difficult too but he went back and slotted them. His effort at ground level was also really impressive, following up every contest with tackling pressure. Between he and McLean, I'd happily give either a go in the senior side.
No sign of Knoll out there.
Yeah Rowles was 9th in the combine for 20 metre sprint finishing under 3 seconds. so has a lot of speed