Swans game - player analysis

[Fossie 32]

I'm surprised that Hargrave is being mentioned as one of the better players. Thought he fumbled the ball heaps today.

but he had a dip and did some good things too. Most of the others made mistakes too. given the opposition it wasn't a great performance by most of them.

 

[wedesweiler]

I'm surprised that Hargrave is being mentioned as one of the better players. Thought he fumbled the ball heaps today.

I think I must be judging Hargrave on the Glass Half Full / Glass Half Empty syndrome. I believe he played one of the better games that he has played for the club, and sure , he made a few fumbles, but he is not the out & all Turkey that some (ahem .. incuding me ) have made him out to be.

Maybe he is not the player that will be there when we win the Premiership, but it appears that he now wants to be a player that will try & be there for the jouney.

I thought his second efforts today were very good. Its like someone put a Rocket up him!

Cheers - Pete

 

[The Doctor]

My 3 best players were Gilbee, McMahon and Minson

Minson was so dominant in the ruck in the 2nd half. It was only when he was rested did the Swans come back. When he came back on we lifted again. I think that says a lot.

Gilbee was very good. Great use of the ball and excellent ball handling. Got outsmarted a couple of times by being turned the wrong way. Hope he learns from that, Looks set for a fantastic year.

McMahon was close to BOG. I never thought he'd make a defender but by gee isn't he showing a lot of promise back there. And guess what? He will improve a hellavalot.

Other points

* Hargrave must work on his ball handling

* Rawlings needs a kick in the butt

* Johnson can play much better and has to be smarter with the ball

* I like the use of Smith and I likes the way he responded

* Harris must never kick in from full back. But I love him anyway.

 

[OldSchool]

but he had a dip and did some good things too. Most of the others made mistakes too. given the opposition it wasn't a great performance by most of them.

He did some very nice things today but he was also very frustrating to watch. Thought he could have been clearly one of the best if he didn't make as many errors. He is a most versatile defender and if he can maintain that type of form then our defence looks a lot more flexible.

 

[Fossie 32]

the way they played in the start of the 3rd quarter it looked like someone had put a Rocket up all of them! how was that lady on the teev crying for joy when Murph kicked that goal. My wife said they should get a clip of that for the players to show them what the fans go through.

 

[stevebiscuit]

Write off half the list then if your looking at 40 games of the last 2 years.

Where and when did he make mistakes, run to wrong position and look lost today? When did Spriggs run off him? We were talking the same about players like MacMahon not long ago. Power was one of the best 2 week back.

If you looking at mistakes count the number Hargrave had today and even an experienced player like Johno did. Any calls to delist Johno?

Every player (including my favourite Harrison) deserves a go this year with new coach and a new system.

I think your missing the point, it is not about mistakes, he ain't that creative.
Jordan has on many occassions looks dangerous, he uses the ball well, he can have an effect on a game and has done so.

The thing about our list is that the younger guys have shown glimpses and look dangerous at times, IMO Power is yet to show this despite having been given every chance.

 

[The Doctor]

My wife said they should get a clip of that for the players to show them what the fans go through.

Fossie

That has just about got to be the post of the year already.

Couldn't agree more. That lady had me blithering. Great stuff.

 

[Fossie 32]

 

[O Grobbecker]

Over on the main board, they are not as impressed.

 

[Turtleman3]

Just got home.Stayed to watch some of the saints/hawks games as winner will be opponent.

Was happy with elements of the game especially the first half. Second half I though we went back in to old habits a bit. In the first half we had numbers at the ball but in the second half the Swans seemd to have more numbers at the contest and took the ball away more when it hit the ground. First half we did this well which was good as we didn't do it much at all last year.
Accountability was good mostly. Held up the swans looking for targets as the Doggies had they Swans players covered.
It was also good to see several players showing leadership and directing team mates to loose men. The players covered for team mates when they were caught out of position.
It was an undermanned Swans team but a typical Swans game with the play closed down and a lot of flooding. The new interpretation of the over the ball rule may force them to change their tactics a little as the gave the ball up a lot for laying over it. they do this a lot to cause stoppoages especially at the SCG.
Eade through the team around a lot and tried several things so it was hard to get a real feel for the eventaul structure he will go with initially in the seaon proper.
Sydney has a lot of pace and this really showed.
Rawlings looked more at home in the backline.
Granty looked slow at times. I was surprised.
Hargrave made a lot of errors that resulted in goals. I think he has work to do. I was surprised some had him as best.
Faulkner showed a little. Gradually getting better. His grubber goal a highlight.
Cooney was very good, especially his attack on the ball and his tackling.
Boyd played quite well.
Harris, a quality player. Seems at home in the backline. Reads the play well.
Murph OK. Played everywhere. Even rotated in the goalsquare at full forward for a period.
Gudo played well. Rarely wasted a possession.
McMahon and Gilbee good. Hopefully development will continue upwards.
Johnno tood when attacking, but could do more defensively. Runs off for the receive too often when he could protect his team mate. I agree he tends to be selfish at times.
Bubba brought his defensive skills to the forward line and fought well to keep it in there.
Players need to read Minsons big thumps forward better.
Others like Ray, Bowdo, Bandy seemed to not have much ground time.
Oh, well in to the quarter finals. St Kilda in Tas is a big ask but it will be good to give us and the players/coaching staff a better idea as to where we are at and what work we need to do to mix it with the better sides. They will also more likely meet a team at close to full strength.

 

[Fossie 32]

Over on the main board, they are not as impressed.

Sour blighters! Oh well, its an imnprovement on the Allstars game so if we keep improving things will be sweet.

 

[Ching]

I think your missing the point, it is not about mistakes, he ain't that creative.
Jordan has on many occassions looks dangerous, he uses the ball well, he can have an effect on a game and has done so.

The thing about our list is that the younger guys have shown glimpses and look dangerous at times, IMO Power is yet to show this despite having been given every chance.

Rawlings, Cross and Harris weren't that creative today and also made mistakes. Delist them as well?

What chance has Power had with the new coach? Two games I'd say-both were preseason and one he was good in.

 

[the dog catcher]

Yeah the shedding of tears was one of the most emotional examples of crowd interaction at the footy. It beats the 'James Hird hug the fan rot' hands down, THATS PASSION.
On a lighter note, I nearly fell over when I saw Hargraves, every time he went near the ball he botched it. I have followed him closely since he came on board, however he will go at the end of the season, so Im afraid will Skipper. Again got excited about him and even though this is the first game of the season he will continue to be very average. Very pleased with Boyd and have always been a big wrap for him and Birssy. Jordie has reinvented himself. Lindsey will cement himself as a senior player this year. Murph could have done more and Harris is establishing himself as a consistent back man who will rival Scarlett etc as the best in the game.

 

[Turtleman3]

Over on the main board, they are not as impressed.

Depends who it is. Some who post there have some knowledge of the game, others have no idea.
Also being at the game gives you more of an idea than if you were watching it on the box.

 

[Go_The_Coon]

3 - Gilbee
2 - Cooney
1 - McMahon

 

[Dry Rot]

Just got home.Stayed to watch some of the saints/hawks games as winner will be opponent.

What did you think of the Saints?

 

[stevebiscuit]

Rawlings, Cross and Harris weren't that creative today and also made mistakes. Delist them as well?

Read the previous post.

 

[ReservoirDog]

I haven't looked at the stats yet, but i'll rate the players.
Excellent: Cooney
Very good: West Johnson Darcy McMahon Giaan Boyd, R Smith
Good: Hahn, Griffen (not on 4 long), Rawlings, Hargrave, Harris, Faulkner, Murphy Bowden
Average: Gilbee, Minson,
Quiet/poor: Grant, Bandy, Cross, Skipper, Power, Ray

Harris was better than good. Id have him the next level up at very good.

 

[home at dawn]

1 Johnno
2 Bubba
3 Harris
4 Guido
5 Gilbee, Hargrave [his best game in a while on one of the Swan's best], Cooney, Mitch
9 Murph, Boydy [off in 2nd quarter? - very good in first and 3rd]
11 Cam, Jordy
13 Westy [may have missed his possies but thought he was quiet in first half]
14 Cross, Rawlings, Minson
17 Granty - in the play in first quarter but little after that
18 Sam and Bowdo
20 Griffen [nice goal],
21 Ray
22 Bandy
23 Skip

Darcy??

 

[Petergm]

but he is not the out & all Turkey that some (ahem .. incuding me ) have made him out to be.

Geez, I dont know about that. I thought he was terrible today for someone who is playing AFL. Dropped marks, letting his opponent take marks with very little contesting, handballing to players who are manned up, fumbling....and not once, but several times!

I'm sorry, but I was shouting at him through the telly whenever he went near the damn footy because he was always going to ******** it up.

Nope, I think he needs to improve very rapidly or out the door and let someone in there that is going to go forward in the long term.

It may sound tough, but the Rhode era has finished where players get the easy ride.

 

[stugutz]

geez, what does west have to do to get a vote? a victim of his own excellent standards I think.

You must have been at a different game.

Watch the game again.

Count his possessions.
Count the times the Bulldogs got the ball next.
Count the times the Swans got the ball next.

Don't even bother counting the times he disposed of the ball cleanly to a Bulldog player.

He had a poor game by any standard. Hardly saw him in the first half and only saw him stuffing it up in the second half.

The best thing about today was the even contribution from most of the players.

 

[starz]

Harris was better than good. Id have him the next level up at very good.

He was good wasn't he. I agree i should have put him in the very good category. He put on a great shirtfront against one of the young swans.

 

[Bulldog1954]

I was happy with the game. Sure they were understrengthed but despite only winning by 20 it was a comfortable win. We lead all day, had far more shots and never looked in real danger of losing.

I think some are getting carried away with Minson. I like everyone else loves how hard he is and how he punches the hell out of it in the ruck, but he doesn't take enough marks or get enough disposals at this stage of his career. Don't think he could be counted in the best today

 

[SonOfScray]

Comments re: Shaggy have been a bit harsh so far IMO. He made some atrocious errors but on the whole had a decent game against a quality opponent.

A lot of the time (ok, it was only 2 incidents, but from the way he is being judged for the errors you'd think everything he touched turned to ********) he'd go in for the footy, come up with it looking for a handball only to be left in a contested situation 3 on 1. Turnover! On the whole I thought he contested well in the air, made the correct decisions in close and attacked the ball hard. His skill level when receiving the ball was poor.

 

[stefoid]

You must have been at a different game.

Watch the game again.

Count his possessions.
Count the times the Bulldogs got the ball next.
Count the times the Swans got the ball next.

Don't even bother counting the times he disposed of the ball cleanly to a Bulldog player.

He had a poor game by any standard. Hardly saw him in the first half and only saw him stuffing it up in the second half.

The best thing about today was the even contribution from most of the players.

17 posessions according to the paper, but thats neither here nor there. I dont remember him turning the ball over very much, but I do remember him doing a lot of hard work in close, getting the ball out to a player in a _good_ position by hand when others would have hospital-handballed or just got wrapped up.

he should be marked down for turnovers, its just that I didnt notice them.

Minson will need to get a lot fitter before he has much impact on an AFL game.