Autopsy 2021 Swans Vs Giants Elimination Final. Lost by 1 point

[LukeParkerno1]

We are a superior team to gws who had the majority of the play, we should have won

We probably do had we got the selections right and we actually were composed. Why were we bombing in all day long when that is Sam Taylor's forte..it was dumb!

 

[Jewelsbon]

We are a superior team to gws who had the majority of the play, we should have won

Yes we should have, but we can be proud and hold our heads up and the boys can be inspired by the result, they didn't passively lie down and play dead like a few other teams this weekend.
The ball was in our court, we blew it, but that's footy.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Murdered by blocking by GWS forwards , have a look . The punch is the right thing to do running at full tilt, not knowing who else was around for support and obviously no one talking to him . As much as i don't like some stats he was our highest rated player !

I think GWS' tactics were telling ...

Work it slowly to 70m out, then go long.

It worked for them - as they exposed our weakness (big defenders).

Conversely, they had Taylor & Haynes dominating the air in their own back 50. Coupled with Buddy being a terrible contested mark, bombing long for the entire first half was our downfall.

Coaches pray on opposition weakness. I think Leon Cameron exposed ours.

 

[swanssince2002]

I think it was a deliberate plan by the coaches. I mean look at how we lost against the Hawks... they had tall timber in their forward line, exposed our lack of size down there. And it worked for the opposition. Leon Cameron

Leon Cameron

Age

51

Ht

185cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.2

4star

K

12.4

5star

HB

4.7

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

0.9

3star

No current season stats available

D

20.8

5star

K

14.4

5star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

0.8

3star

no doubt looked at that game this week.

Gonna be a multi year fix... as we might need to develop a big bodied KPD we will potentially draft.

 

[melbournehammer]

wow.

Murdered by blocking by GWS forwards , have a look . The punch is the right thing to do running at full tilt, not knowing who else was around for support and obviously no one talking to him . As much as i don't like some stats he was our highest rated player !

the board's grump has a soft spot for one of our players. how interesting.

 

[bedford]

wow.

the board's grump has a soft spot for one of our players. how interesting.

Thanks hammer have a soft spot for 99 % of Swans players and yes very grumpy after we might have thrown away a flag , might have i said. Keep hammering away

 

[Bloods86]

First post since the game. I missed a fair chunk of it due to other commitments, but caught some of the 1st, some of the 3rd on radio, then watched the last qtr and a half. God that hurt. I think others have said it all before, haven't read that far back though - we had chances and we just didn't take them. From what I saw, there was a lot to like about our comeback and we never said die, but composure and finishing bit us big time. As much as I didn't know why Bell was brought back in, you can't hang the result on him. Poor guy. There were 12 other behinds and plenty of flubbed plays from the bit I did see. I wasn't confident going in, GWS the worst opponent for us in the top 8 IMO, but to get so close...

Anyway, with some luck in-game and not losing a few key players right before finals, maybe it would have been different, but IMO you play the team you can, and the better team is who is in front at the end. Part of that is handling pressure. Fair effort from GWS to get in and get through.

What a year though. I didn't rule finals out for us at the start, maybe that's the 'fan from the mid-90s' in me and being used to September action, but I didn't quite expect for us to be as good as we were at times. Now the trick will be to back it up, take another step into Top 4, in what will likely be a last hurrah for Buddy, JPK and maybe Rampe. Nothing is guaranteed, but hopefully we can get our senior players through the year to support the up and comers.

Onto the draft/trade period! Hopefully with a Port flag detour on the way (imho).

 

[The King!]

Woke up today

We still *EN lost by a point to those *ers

*

 

[caesar88]

Personally I'm over GWS. How nice that they are making footy in NSW better.

Wrong.

WE were making footy in NSW better. THEY are repeatedly killing our season.

**** them out of the competition. Manufactured ****s

 

[WillHayward]

Cannot win a flag with Melican and Bell out there.
Its harsh but true.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Cannot win a flag with Melican and Bell out there.
Its harsh but true.

Harsh but so true. Both are far from standard let’s be realistic

 

[TheMase]

Murdered by Hogan & then Sproule - both had career high contested marks.

Punched when he could readily have marked & sent us forward.

He’s an ok-ish player when fully fit, but always brings that propensity to frustrate.

Unsure why Sproule keeps coming up with reference to Melican.

At best Melican might have been on him after half time where he recorded 2 disposals, 2 marks and a goal. Hardly match winning stuff.

Sproule had 9 disposals and 5 marks in the first half. I think he might have been opposed to COR?

I actually thought Melican went to Himmelberg in the last and McCartin went to Hogan.
Himmelberg only had 1 handball in the third and didn’t touch it in the fourth.

Melican in the final quarter had 9 disposals, 4 marks, 5 intercept possessions in the final quarter. Ended up equal with Dawson for most marks (8) for us followed by McCartin with 7.

 

[TheMase]

Melican also covered 14.7km which was only behind Heeney with 15.1km.

Perhaps we need to play Melican as more a CHB where he follows the CHF up the ground rather than getting potentially exposed inside 50 for position and strength. McCartin more suited to play that role perhaps.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Melican also covered 14.7km which was only behind Heeney with 15.1km.

Perhaps we need to play Melican as more a CHB where he follows the CHF up the ground rather than getting potentially exposed inside 50 for position and strength. McCartin more suited to play that role perhaps.

Well that and not playing Bell at least. Some pretty average selections by the match committee and I know it’s not just Horse there

 

[Superstar swan]

Melican also covered 14.7km which was only behind Heeney with 15.1km.

Perhaps we need to play Melican as more a CHB where he follows the CHF up the ground rather than getting potentially exposed inside 50 for position and strength. McCartin more suited to play that role perhaps.

Nobody can fault Melican for work ethic, he’s just not that good at football

 

[caesar88]

Cannot win a flag with Melican and Bell out there.
Its harsh but true.

Hawthorn won a flag with Matt Spangher.

I'd say a more accurate way to put it would be:

Cannot win a flag with a scoreline of 10.13, without two of our leaders and prime ball-winners, and with 10 finals debutants.

FWIW, I'm not blaming the finals debutants directly. I thought Rowbottom and Gulden were good, Wicks worked his arse off, McInerney never stopped trying etc. But having that many finals debutants is perhaps indicative that we haven't settled on our team that will win us that flag yet. No shame in that. Hopefully that happens next year.

 

[WillHayward]

Hawthorn won a flag with Matt Spangher.

I'd say a more accurate way to put it would be:

Cannot win a flag with a scoreline of 10.13, without two of our leaders and prime ball-winners, and with 10 finals debutants.

FWIW, I'm not blaming the finals debutants directly. I thought Rowbottom and Gulden were good, Wicks worked his arse off, McInerney never stopped trying etc. But having that many finals debutants is perhaps indicative that we haven't settled on our team that will win us that flag yet. No shame in that. Hopefully that happens next year.

Melican is a great athlete.
Its just the footy iq that worries me.

 

[caesar88]

Melican also covered 14.7km which was only behind Heeney with 15.1km.

Perhaps we need to play Melican as more a CHB where he follows the CHF up the ground rather than getting potentially exposed inside 50 for position and strength. McCartin more suited to play that role perhaps.

I've said this from the moment McCartin was moved back. Everyone said Melican was the slow brute who lacked the athleticism to play CHB type and McCartin was the more athletic one suited for that role. I just never saw it that way. Melican has always looked better against mobile opponents (won his RS nomination on Riewoldt who pushed up to the wing a lot that year) while McCartin has always looked best monstering an opponent closer to goal through his body work and marking.

 

[swanssince2002]

I think we would kill for a May/Weitering/Moore kind of KPD that would provide height in the backline. Blakey will be back for next season for sure but need a big-bodied defender that can win 1 on 1 contests. I prefer Blakey to make the run off halfback and be the high flyer.


Problem is those kind of defenders are hard to get. We need to pull off a Hickey-like diamond in the rough imo. Maybe wont be an AA but solid enough that we can trust week in week out. Wonder who it might be...

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I think we would kill for a May/Weitering/Moore kind of KPD that would provide height in the backline. Blakey will be back for next season for sure but need a big-bodied defender that can win 1 on 1 contests. I prefer Blakey to make the run off halfback and be the high flyer.


Problem is those kind of defenders are hard to get. We need to pull off a Hickey-like diamond in the rough imo. Maybe wont be an AA but solid enough that we can trust week in week out. Wonder who it might be...

Think we have to look at Daniel Taila for me that screams a perfect 2 year option.

 

[Bloods86]

I think we would kill for a May/Weitering/Moore kind of KPD that would provide height in the backline. Blakey will be back for next season for sure but need a big-bodied defender that can win 1 on 1 contests. I prefer Blakey to make the run off halfback and be the high flyer.


Problem is those kind of defenders are hard to get. We need to pull off a Hickey-like diamond in the rough imo. Maybe wont be an AA but solid enough that we can trust week in week out. Wonder who it might be...

May is 193cm, Weitering 195cm - neither the towers that some people think we need. You can win flags without a taller KPD (195+).

 

[Bloods86]

Think we have to look at Daniel Taila for me that screams a perfect 2 year option.

Yes we should definitely sign a player who couldn't get on the park this year, and who was dropping off last year.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Yes we should definitely sign a player who couldn't get on the park this year, and who was dropping off last year.

Obviously do the medical things but for a base cheap deal why on earth not. There are not a million monster defenders available.

 

[the hypnotoad]

Where's my fair weather mate that's an expert on all ?

hmmm ... i'll take the bait ... although i'm assured i am not the aforementioned 'fairweather friend'
there are just too many on this board too keen to crow in defeat? some posters really do seem to revel in it ...
i haven't bothered to post since the game, after trying to wade through the abysmal sulking and sniping and unpleasant personal crud that's been posted on this board ...
and yes, because it was a gutting way to lose, and a great opportunity blown ...

but if you want a silver lining, compare the two eliminated teams, us and essendon, two of the best young, improving squads in the league ...
we trailed by 29 early third quarter, after being clearly the better side in the first term and simply not capitalising ...
from the time the giants kicked that first goal early third quarter we were the better side, and as many have pondered, how we didn't win it in the last is just one of those infuriating puzzles of sport ...

on sunday essendon matched it with the dogs deep into the third quarter, still within three goals and in the match at the last change ...
but in that last term they went to water, blown away by a team that went into finals in the worst form of all eight ...
the difference between our effort and theirs was stark, and a reminder of what a friggin great club we support ...

 

[the hypnotoad]

It's a loss that will stew all f*n off-season long, into next season until we lift the premiership cup in 2022.

that's the other thing to take out of this ... that loss will be a scar on the hearts of everyone at the club, and the best lesson in terms of hardening the team, particularly those first and second year players, they will carry that with them the rest of their careers ...
this has been an wonderful season, and if something more was needed to stamp the swans as a team to be reckoned with, that is exactly the kind of loss that will make those kids grow up fast ...
obviously there's no guarantee, and so much will happen between now and when season 2022 begins, but the absolute agony of saturday's game, so near yet so fckng far, might catalyse our path to the ultimate triumph