Autopsy Swans beat Dockers by 3 points

[SwansProudly]

 

[GreyGooseGuy88]

I sat next to a few Freo supporters who commented multiple times a lot of our guys looked hobbled/laboring/unfit/lazy (they couldn't figure out which but those were their various guesses.) I couldn't really unsee it after that. Swans players taking literally a year to get from defence down to the forward line, and vice versa. A lot of standing around in the outfield, straddling the line between holding their width and just plain coasting without wanting to be involved (though when it was time for them to get involved, they seemed to be giving their all - cracking in, defending desperately, being physical.)

As well as all the other issues that have been well-discussed but that I only got to see for myself in the flesh yesterday, I was reminded of just how far off our best I think we are. Yet we were 3 goals off the Hawks, a goal off the Lions, and arguably should've won by a few goals today. That's with all the injuries, too.

All things considered to be 1-2 whilst looking fiercely competitive in a scoreboard sense isn't a bad position to be in. Not great, but honestly... I'll take it.

I didn't quite see the clearance success that others saw. I actually thought part of the reason we struggled to maintain any sort of momentum was because every time we'd kick a goal, it'd go back to the middle and Freo would win it and take it down their end. But it was a good battle in the stoppages.

Of the so-called whipping boys like Hayward, Florent, Grundy & Papley, I think only the latter really did himself any favours going forward. Still not even close to where we need Papley to be, but much improved, and he had a crack. I actually don't care if a player is average whilst playing with an injury, as long as they do the best they can.

A lot of players had good-to-great games - Warner, Jordon, Rowy, Bice, Ladhams, McLean, Campbell, Wicks, Hamling, Roberts, Amartey, Warner Jr. and Lloyd. If you had said we'd be having any win with those names (Warner, Rowy & Lloyd aside) at any point this year, let alone one on the road in Perth, I would've probably fallen off my chair laughing. But I think it speaks to the overwhelming positive part of this somewhat underwhelming first month of the season - the depth we've been forced to build. Could pay dividends later in the season.

Go Swans.

I wouldnt say Warner Jr had a good to great game. I'd give him a C+. Lacks confidence still and very slow with his decision making. Missed targets regularly going forward and needed to keep his feet a few times when going to ground. He'll be better for the experience but he needs to lift and stop looking for the easy marks and kicks. His fitness is a big plus.

 

[caesar88]

Agree with most of this mate, the team defence worries me as there seems to be some disconnect in the defence at times, it was however a mile better this week than the first two (especially round 0). This team defence needs to be a lot better and Jordan has his biggest job jet on LDU coming up for sure, it's him or Sheezel but I'd tag LDU he's in serious form.

Florent was better as the second half wore on, Hayward was awful, sorry but you can't miss 2 gimmie dolly's and be seen as a good game, even 1 of them and the margin is safe. I can't agree on Rowy having a good game but agree on the rest, Rowy did some good thing but boy jeez he butchered the thing, would call his game average, not great not bad but middling and that's fair.

Yeah the defence looked to me like a group whose confidence isn't quite sky high right now. I think McCartin is one who needs to be more confident. He is great at reading the play and playing as that hulking brick wall defender, but if he's gonna be in that role he can't be so fumbly and shaky under pressure. That's the role of the player who is supposed to not care about any heat or pressure and just own the back-line.

Re Rowy, I thought it was a mixed bag from him. There were times he looked sloppy and all over the place, but there were also times where he was mopping up others' mess with poise. I was also sitting directly behind the goals so was able to see just how immense he was in helping out the defenders all day. He was basically the eighth man down there, which is great to see from a guy who was playing inside mid/half forward all day. I'm also 99% sure he's carrying a knee injury, it was strapped pretty tight and his minutes have been heavily managed over the last two weeks. So yeah I thought it was a good game and he definitely gets a pass mark from me.

The less said about Hayward & Florent the better!

 

[caesar88]

I wouldnt say Warner Jr had a good to great game. I'd give him a C+. Lacks confidence still and very slow with his decision making. Missed targets regularly going forward and needed to keep his feet a few times when going to ground. He'll be better for the experience but he needs to lift and stop looking for the easy marks and kicks. His fitness is a big plus.

I guess I judge players off what I expect of them. I think Warner Jr.'s skill execution and decision-making could improve with experience and confidence. For now I just want to see him compete and crack in and try to make things happen. I thought he did that. And he worked back to defence quite a bit as well, and didn't look over-awed there.

 

[liz]

give Ollie a few weeks, this was a new position yesterday for him, finally moved the bloke out of defence

Not really. He spent a lot of last season playing further up the ground.

That said, he wasn’t bad. Just so-so. Just like most of our team at the moment.

But that’s ok. Last year we peaked at around the halfway point of the season. Right now they’re adjusting to slight tweaks in the game plan, while also accomodating a handful of players with whom they’ve not played much football. It will come together. (Or it won’t - that’s football.)

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Yeah the defence looked to me like a group whose confidence isn't quite sky high right now. I think McCartin is one who needs to be more confident. He is great at reading the play and playing as that hulking brick wall defender, but if he's gonna be in that role he can't be so fumbly and shaky under pressure. That's the role of the player who is supposed to not care about any heat or pressure and just own the back-line.

Re Rowy, I thought it was a mixed bag from him. There were times he looked sloppy and all over the place, but there were also times where he was mopping up others' mess with poise. I was also sitting directly behind the goals so was able to see just how immense he was in helping out the defenders all day. He was basically the eighth man down there, which is great to see from a guy who was playing inside mid/half forward all day. I'm also 99% sure he's carrying a knee injury, it was strapped pretty tight and his minutes have been heavily managed over the last two weeks. So yeah I thought it was a good game and he definitely gets a pass mark from me.

The less said about Hayward & Florent the better!

I'd give him a borderline pass, the turnovers were really bad, and yes I know he wasn't alone but he's lucky we were playing Freo and not Hawthorn or Brisbane with them. Worked his tail off in defence though so probably a 6/10 game, so a fair game, I need a 7/10 or above to call a game good though.

 

[MarkP]

Been thinking about Kinnear saying that Amartey is one of his favourite ever picks over the years. Reckon he could become a genuine hazard over the next 5 years.

Any chance we could make that happen in the next 5 weeks to months? Be real helpful

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Not really. He spent a lot of last season playing further up and he ground.

That said, he wasn’t bad. Just so-so. Just like most of our team at the moment.

But that’s ok. Last year we peaked at around the halfway point of the season. Right now they’re adjusting to slight tweaks in the game plan, while also accomodating a handful of players with whom they’ve not played much football. It will come together. (Or it won’t - that’s football.)

Thought he was significantly better after halftime that's the positive. I blame Horse massively for this, he's never been a defender can we stop drafting attacking players only to play them as defenders. It isn't some surprise that Bice looked great...he's actually a defender!

 

[caesar88]

I'd give him a borderline pass, the turnovers were really bad, and yes I know he wasn't alone but he's lucky we were playing Freo and not Hawthorn or Brisbane with them. Worked his tail off in defence though so probably a 6/10 game, so a fair game, I need a 7/10 or above to call a game good though.

Eh, I didn't think he was any better or worse than anyone else with the ball. He had that bizarre grubber ball early in the first but from there on he seemed to be connecting decent enough. I don't know if we would've won without him.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Eh, I didn't think he was any better or worse than anyone else with the ball. He had that bizarre grubber ball early in the first but from there on he seemed to be connecting decent enough. I don't know if we would've won without him.

Wouldn't have him near my votes, he was half fine that's about it for me, needs to significantly lower his eyes and he isn't alone in this

 

[wolftone57]

Lloyd says the Dockers should have won if Amiss didn't miss. but we had three more scoring shots and many more entries. We spent at least 60% of game time forward in the second half, in fact for 3 quarters we were way ahead for forward entries and time in forward half. Which is so frustrating. They run the ball out and kicked scores. We wasted so much ball bombing forward. We should have won this by at least 30 points, but I think much more. If we used the ball well into the forward line we would have kicked a far bigger score. The first quarter was forgettable. What is wrong with Heeney? He fumbles ll the time, as if nervous.


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ACCESS: 'Nothing changes' for dour Dees, young Hawk praised

Damian Barrett and Matthew Lloyd with the latest AFL news and opinions from Round 2

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[Trance]

my Apple Watch was going crazy at the end with heart rate notifications, and sound level notifications!

was a thrilling game to watch in person, still a lot of work to do admittedly, but glad the boys got a win

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Lloyd says the Dockers should have won if Amiss didn't miss. but we had three more scoring shots and many more entries. We spent at least 60% of game time forward in the second half, in fact for 3 quarters we were way ahead for forward entries and time in forward half. Which is so frustrating. They run the ball out and kicked scores. We wasted so much ball bombing forward. We should have won this by at least 30 points, but I think much more. If we used the ball well into the forward line we would have kicked a far bigger score. The first quarter was forgettable. What is wrong with Heeney? He fumbles ll the time, as if nervous.


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ACCESS: 'Nothing changes' for dour Dees, young Hawk praised

Damian Barrett and Matthew Lloyd with the latest AFL news and opinions from Round 2

www.afl.com.au

Yeah and we'd have won by 20 if Hayward wasn't trying to remind me of James Bell all game long Lloyd!

 

[zyzzbruh]

I guess I judge players off what I expect of them. I think Warner Jr.'s skill execution and decision-making could improve with experience and confidence. For now I just want to see him compete and crack in and try to make things happen. I thought he did that. And he worked back to defence quite a bit as well, and didn't look over-awed there.

Expectations should be raised then because he should be showing improvement in those areas by now.

Greygoose is spot on saying he looks for the easy marks and kicks, especially kills us when majority of his easy kick decisions are to just slap it long at a contest which poses no advantage for us. It's doing my head in to be honest - it's the type of decision making that lacks creativity, teams with poor ball movement like carlton have an abundance of Corey Warner types. I think creativity is natural, i don't think it's something that cant be gained with experience (its the skill execution that can be improved, but that's not relevant if creativity is non existent), he has played more than enough games by now to actually show a bit of it.

 

[Del198236]

Thought he was significantly better after halftime that's the positive. I blame Horse massively for this, he's never been a defender can we stop drafting attacking players only to play them as defenders. It isn't some surprise that Bice looked great...he's actually a defender!

So are you saying that McCartin should play fwd, Wicks should play fwd, Lloyd, Cunningham (when he returns) should play wing, Roberts should play as an inside mid, Blakey as a tall fwd etc etc etc,.....
What about Heath Grundy and Nick Smith - Horse played them out of position

This whole thing about playing players out of position is... BS. Ill back a senior AFL coach (and his assistants) to know where a player fits into an AFL team better than his previous U18s coach. Ill back the same AFL coaching panel to recognise and develop players strengths while on an AFL list better than their junior coach from 2,3 or 5 years earlier

This whole agenda that Horse is the devil is... BS. Pull your head in! you clearly dont see the game as well as Horse does, you clearly dont see as much of the players on field, off field, or at training as Horse did.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Expectations should be raised then because he should be showing improvement in those areas by now.

Greygoose is spot on saying he looks for the easy marks and kicks, especially kills us when majority of his easy kick decisions are to just slap it long at a contest which poses no advantage for us. It's doing my head in to be honest - it's the type of decision making that lacks creativity, teams with poor ball movement like carlton have an abundance of Corey Warner types. I think creativity is natural, i don't think it's something that cant be gained with experience (its the skill execution that can be improved, but that's not relevant if creativity is non existent), he has played more than enough games by now to actually show a bit of it.

I get what you're saying and partly agree but also think that coaching has a role to play in helping players "see" the opportunities. Think about the nice piece of play where Campbell hit Lloyd with a neat pass who handballed wide to the unmarked Bice running past in space. Great vision by Lloyd where the previous week McCartin burnt the same run from Bice. Coach needs to sit Corey down with that and similar vision so he becomes attuned.
You play the way you train.

 

[DobmusEdge]

A shocker by Isaac trapping the ball for freo with six seconds to go …of all the permutations it was the only one that could have sunk us

But all good …onwards

 

[Neverwas]

Gus was shithouse.
Basically jogged between contests.
There were times he could close on a opponent and he just. Fkking jogged

He looked so slow mentally as well.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[killablood]

I wouldnt say Warner Jr had a good to great game. I'd give him a C+. Lacks confidence still and very slow with his decision making. Missed targets regularly going forward and needed to keep his feet a few times when going to ground. He'll be better for the experience but he needs to lift and stop looking for the easy marks and kicks. His fitness is a big plus.

I agree. To me he looks like he doesn't have self belief/confidence. Totally opposite to the Chad. If he can find some of Chad's confidence he will be very handy.

 

[zyzzbruh]

I get what you're saying and partly agree but also think that coaching has a role to play in helping players "see" the opportunities. Think about the nice piece of play where Campbell hit Lloyd with a neat pass who handballed wide to the unmarked Bice running past in space. Great vision by Lloyd where the previous week McCartin burnt the same run from Bice. Coach needs to sit Corey down with that and similar vision so he becomes attuned.
You play the way you train.

Absolutely. He needs to at the very least be shown what is expected at the level. The rest is then up to him. At some point the rookie mindset of just getting rid of the ball and thinking you've done your job has to be phased out of his game.

 

[joeykanga]

Yes but I can’t recall who. Usually it’s Clarkson but I don’t think it was. But either a Coach or the media brought attention to it and we copped the nit 15 stuff the next game onwards.

Probably Hardwick

 

[Caj]

So are you saying that McCartin should play fwd, Wicks should play fwd, Lloyd, Cunningham (when he returns) should play wing, Roberts should play as an inside mid, Blakey as a tall fwd etc etc etc,.....
What about Heath Grundy and Nick Smith - Horse played them out of position

This whole thing about playing players out of position is... BS. Ill back a senior AFL coach (and his assistants) to know where a player fits into an AFL team better than his previous U18s coach. Ill back the same AFL coaching panel to recognise and develop players strengths while on an AFL list better than their junior coach from 2,3 or 5 years earlier

This whole agenda that Horse is the devil is... BS. Pull your head in! you clearly dont see the game as well as Horse does, you clearly dont see as much of the players on field, off field, or at training as Horse did.

 

[momentbymoment]

Yep when you have a McLean or Ladhams in the side he is rucking like 20% less or so and it makes a big difference. He rucked 67% ruck contests compared to 89% in the Hawthorn loss and 67% in the Brisbane game

Agreed.
Personally I would have McLean and Amartey share the second ruck duties and Ladhams rotated in when needed. We need a squad mentality if we find ourselves in the running again this year.

Edit - this is assuming Logan comes straight back in.

 

[joeykanga]

He's dropped a mark inside 50 every game so far.

There's not nothing to work with there but he's one of the first to go out.

Clearly not a popular opinion and he's still very new to the team but I'm feeling the same way about Hanily so far. He tries hard but he hasn't been having much of an influence.

I'm not seeing that...great goal when we really needed it. And he puts amazing pressure and actually lays effective tackles. I'd love to see him more in the midfield at times.

 

[joeykanga]

I wouldnt say Warner Jr had a good to great game. I'd give him a C+. Lacks confidence still and very slow with his decision making. Missed targets regularly going forward and needed to keep his feet a few times when going to ground. He'll be better for the experience but he needs to lift and stop looking for the easy marks and kicks. His fitness is a big plus.

At the very least he made a really important tackle late in the game where he was trailing the ball and Freemantle were looking really dangerous.. he kept on tracking the Freemantle players and nabbed the last man in the passing chain. That was worth its weight in gold. I think he's getting better and more confident

 

[Dubai Quacker]

I'm not seeing that...great goal when we really needed it. And he puts amazing pressure and actually lays effective tackles. I'd love to see him more in the midfield at times.

None of our small / medium forwards really shone. But then again, our entries didn’t really go near them either.

I’m cutting Hayward some slack. Simply because he runs incredibly hard & I can’t fault his effort. He would have been out of camera shot quite a bit, but at the ground you really see the work he puts in.

Overall, I thought our backline was superb, our mids were good ….. but our forward line is still a bit toothless.

I’ll again point out how hot it was. The effort alone in those conditions was first rate in my view. By both sides.