Preview Sydney Swans vs Essendon Bombers, Saturday, 7:40pm @ Gabba - Round 20

[swanssince2002]

Part of me wishes that Ronke would have been given 3-4 games to settle in the side but understandable why hes dropped. Maybe if he kicked 2-3 when we were well on top in the 3rd quarter last week, who knows. Time is up for him I think, which is a bit sad as I will look at that 7 goal game fondly.

 

[GoodesStuff]

Hooker being given a ‘freshen up’ apparently.

 

[Millky95]

Hope Stringer has a flat-track bully game

 

[Millky95]

Ray Chamberlain umpiring. Punishment for showing up the MRO

 

[swanssince2002]

Ray Chamberlain umpiring. Punishment for showing up the MRO

Who saw that coming? /s

 

[RUNVS]

Ray Chamberlain umpiring. Punishment for showing up the MRO

Could be worse, could be Stevic.

 

[swanssince2002]

Could be worse, could be Stevic.

Stevic umpired the West Coast game where we smashed them by 90+ points anyway. They probably said nah, Razor Ray for the win!

 

[rebeti]

Thought rowbottom would get dropped

He has dropped of big time this year

Rowbottom hurt his knee early in the year & hasn't appeared right since. Wouldn't surprise if he's carrying the injury & has a clean up at year's end.

 

[Ticky009]

Rowbottom hurt his knee early in the year & hasn't appeared right since. Wouldn't surprise if he's carrying the injury & has a clean up at year's end.

Yep, feels like that's on the cards.

 

[Punts]

Why play him then

 

[RUNVS]

Why play him then

Should have sent him in for surgery immediately if he needed it.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Sensible changes.

Can't imagine Rowbottom has declined so much without injury being at least part of the cause. I wonder if having not been rested he is battling through an injury that requires surgery and an end to the season to fix so they are trying to keep his fitness up incase of injuries.

My thought exactly. Wonder if that hyperextension stretched the ligaments and requires surgical tightening and reattachment. Something like that. He just hasn't quite got the zip. Hope he'll be OK.

 

[Ticky009]

Why play him then

Should have sent him in for surgery immediately if he needed it.

Could be like Hickey's PCL injury aka still capable of playing and playing a role but not enough to pull him out for immediate surgery. If we lose a mid to injury for finals Rowbottom is still capable of playing a role for us.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Dont think we can afford a slow start here not against Essendon.

 

[Punts]

Could be like Hickey's PCL injury aka still capable of playing and playing a role but not enough to pull him out for immediate surgery. If we lose a mid to injury for finals Rowbottom is still capable of playing a role for us.

He is a 20 year kid

You don’t * around with long term damage

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Was that Ronke’s last senior game?

Given there will be 3 games left after this round and he is OOC end of the season.

Odds will be yes

 

[Ticky009]

He is a 20 year kid

You don’t fu** around with long term damage

But none of us know Punts, that's my point. We're all just guessing and until the club choose to tell us otherwise unfortunately that's all we've got.

 

[Millky95]

Dont think we can afford a slow start here not against Essendon.

Stringer in clearances worries me a little bit

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Part of me wishes that Ronke would have been given 3-4 games to settle in the side but understandable why hes dropped. Maybe if he kicked 2-3 when we were well on top in the 3rd quarter last week, who knows. Time is up for him I think, which is a bit sad as I will look at that 7 goal game fondly.

Its not even the goals its the fact he layed 0 tackles.

 

[Punts]

But none of us know Punts, that's my point. We're all just guessing and until the club choose to tell us otherwise unfortunately that's all we've got.

You said it was hicky like

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Stringer in clearances worries me a little bit

Yer explosive in the middle

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Stringer in clearances worries me a little bit

Agree. He’s caused many an injury to shoppers at those Aldi bargain bins.

 

[anotherletdown]

Was that Ronke’s last senior game?

Yes... and possibly ever too. I can't see anything but delisting now and I also doubt he's getting picked up by another club. Still think there might be something there but fresh air is needed.

 

[caesar88]

Rowbottom's been averaging 65% TOG this year. Very few 18 year old first-year draftees are managed that heavily. So it's not a matter of IF he's not right. He clearly hasn't been right.

The likely reasons why:

- Could be the knee injury from round 1 giving him grief. This is very possible, as when Buddy also had bone bruising from that knee injury earlier in the year, I was doing some reading and several people who had hyper-extended their knees said the pain and discomfort lingered for months after the injury itself had healed.

- Could be a different injury all together, a niggle he's picked up along the way. This is also very possible, as it's easy to forget he is 82kg playing as an inside mid. He weighs less than guys who are shorter than him, like Florent and Warner. He's very slight for his position and role, and so the toll on his body is greater.

- Could be that the knee injury earlier in the year, happening so soon when players are supposed to be building UP their fitness loads, not reducing them, has meant he's on restricted training. This would effect how match-fit and match-ready he is come game day (evidently not very, given his TOG), but it would also effect his form and confidence. Young players especially need every bit of training they can get behind them and if his training has been limited in some capacity then it's not surprising he wouldn't be as sharp and confident in matches.

Tbh, I suspect it is a bit of all of the above. His movement has looked restricted since that injury in round 1; he's not as sharp, agile or powerful as he usually is, so it's safe to assume there is discomfort there. That's likely effecting how he is able to train, which is then effecting how much game-time the coaching and conditioning staff are willing to give to him. Domino effect that's hard to get on top of.

 

[rustycrate]

Gulden named as follower playing on ball with Parker.