Preview Sydney Swans vs Richmond Tigers, Saturday April 3 @ MCG

[Heeney2Franklin]

Gould still too fat to be considered? When do the seconds games start?

skinfolds?

 

[Kiama Chris]

skinfolds?

Any reliable opinion I've heard is that Gould is in excellent shape. Not an issue. Don't know what is.

 

[mattpolo8]

Stephens will get his chance was more than handy against Geelong in round 23.

Whats the feeling folks more or less confident of a win? probably the same feeling i had prior Brisbane in round 1 didn't expect to win but be competitive.

Generally. Over the 4 quarters I'd like to see;
- tag Dusty for the whole game and keep him < 20 touches.
- Kick 100 points and remain attacking.
- Don't lose by more then 4 goals.

That way I'd see it as a successful game.

 

[Mister B]

Think it is going to be interesting to see who handles the heat better. Are our young kids going to start cramping late or are the Richmond team, less use to warmer days going to struggle. Could be an interesting factor.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Generally. Over the 4 quarters I'd like to see;
- tag Dusty for the whole game and keep him < 20 touches.
- Kick 100 points and remain attacking.
- Don't lose by more then 4 goals.

That way I'd see it as a successful game.

They don't concede 100pts often that would be a terrific result but i think if we kick over 100 again we win.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Hope this isn't the case but i feel the club resting Franklin and not taking a risk with Rowbottom feels like we aren't putting everything into a win?

 

[caesar88]

Hope this isn't the case but i feel the club resting Franklin and not taking a risk with Rowbottom feels like we aren't putting everything into a win?

Franklin was always going to be rested at various points, the club was clear about that.

And would you rather we risked Rowbottom?

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Franklin was always going to be rested at various points, the club was clear about that.

And would you rather we risked Rowbottom?

If it was a final they both play.

 

[caesar88]

If it was a final they both play.

But it's.... round 3?

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Blown out to $4.35 late out?

 

[Ticky009]

Blown out to $4.35 late out?

Rest of the world finally remembering Buddy isn't playing

 

[J_Moore]

A good feeling going in knowing it’s very unlikely to the worst loss of the round

 

[Indie_]

A good feeling going in knowing it’s very unlikely to the worst loss of the round

Let’s not tempt fate.

 

[bungee]

I like that about him tbh. He and a few others like Papley do that a bit when it's too risky to pick it up. Keeps the ball going forward, hope for a bounce up. At the very least you gain metres and don't give away a free/turnover immediately.

Swans players are also tapping the ball on more, without taking possession in tight spots. We used to absorb the tackle and feign trying to get rid of the ball to get a ball up and a reset, hoping to win the clearance. Now we're all about movement, momentum and fast play.

 

[mtooler]

So we are trying to play a shorter backline this year , seems that way as melican is fit

Get In trouble and have to through Reid back

Biding time till Fox, that will be an interesting one.

 

[bungee]

He is purely marketing now.
We'll play better without him against the Tigers.
Unpredictable & dangerous on the MCG.
The Tigers will have no idea where our goals will come from.
I now have us as a chance to win.

I can't agree that taking Buddy out of the team makes us a better team. We may be more unpredictable, but if we follow that your logic to its ultimate conclusion we'd be a better team if made up entirely of unknown reserves players. We're certainly not as dependent on Buddy as we once were and we have many more ways to goal, but I think you're letting your well known anti-Buddy feelings cloud your judgement if you think a fit Buddy isn't an asset to any team. In any case I believe we can win this game, with our without him.

We've lost 3 of our last 5 against Richmond but in the last game we held them to 4 goals (remember the Hardwick whine-fest). Sadly we had no options forward of our own, losing by 8 points. The fifth (2016) was a blowout in our favour, an absolute shafting where we bent them over and made them squeal like a pig to the tune of 19 goals, 7 of them from Buddy who also picked up the 3 brownlow votes and 37 disposals from JFK who picked up 2 votes. We've got progressively closer to Richmond over the last 3 games and I'm quietly confident we can win this one and make it 3-all for the last 6. We've already beaten the only team who knocked Richmond over in the finals.

I can admire Richmond's achievements as a team, the skill of the players and even their coach but I'd never have a beer with any of them or with any of their dick-head fans. Hardwick is the biggest whiner among all the coaches, even worse than Clarkson, and probably the only coach who'd think it was OK to have it off with one of club staff. Reiwoldt whines more than any player of any team. He must have picked that up from Hardwick as his family aren't like that at all. Martin comes across as just a complete bogan with a huge ego. There's no way I'd support the Swans picking him up, no matter how good he is as a player. We don't need that kind of influence in our team. Besides, we've got some brilliant young mids coming through. At least that faker/diver Rance has gone. I really don't like Richmond at all. I hope we beat the stuffing out of them and show the footy world that i) Richmond's brief run at the top is over and ii) our young Swans have siezed their legacy and will dominate the AFL for the next decade.

 

[Ticky009]

Game Day Thread now open

 

[bungee]

Did we run out of legs?
Or did we relax after smashing them in the first 3 quarters, doubling their score and passing 100 points.

I don’t think we will really know how well we can run out a game until we are pushed in the final term.

I agree. Cue was in the rack at 3/4 time, resting up for this game. Nice to be able to do that.

 

[Ticky009]

I agree. Cue was in the rack at 3/4 time, resting up for this game. Nice to be able to do that.

The Swans 4th quarter bench in the last 15 mins had Buddy, McDonald & Gulden. So basically half our forward line was off.

 

[bungee]

Don’t really care about the result this week. A win would be nice but realistically it’s not going to happen. I just hope horse doesn’t try manage the risk and play defensive. Let the boys play their style and let them measure themselves up against the benchmark

I disagree. We've got the players and the game plan to win this, and no pressure at all as we're the undisputed underdog. The kids will be as keen as mustard and completely unfazed by their opponent's record of reputation. They showed that against Brisbane.

Firstly, we need to match or better their pressure and create turnovers. Second, we need to win the ground ball and get it to the outside. Finally, we can use our fast accurate kicking to tear them apart on the MCG. If the Swans move the ball quickly and lower their eyes going forward they'll find plenty of targets to pick off inside 50. If the ball goes to ground they need to apply heaps of forward pressure to stop Richmond's drive off half-back. There'll need to be heaps of midfield pressure on Richmond ball carriers and domination of the corridor. We also need a massive defensive effort and fast accurate rebound. That's where Campbell and Dawson give us a huge advantage. It's pretty hard to defend a kick that can hit a target over 60m.

It's going to take a huge effort to win this game but our players have had an extra day's rest and a nice easy finish to the game against the crows. Maybe a couple of fresh players could be good for us, especially given how eager those on the outskirts of the best 22 are to impress. Let's not allow a 3 goal head start.

It may become a defensive arm wrestle but I doubt it will be Horse who turns it into one. For all his whining about defensive play Hardwick will instigate it if he thinks it's to Richmond's advantage. I wouldn't be surprised to see him try to turn the game into a slogfest to stop us getting into our fast free-wheeling game, especially if we get a run on as we have against our last two opponents.

 

[mikey_san]

Stephens will get his chance was more than handy against Geelong in round 23.

Whats the feeling folks more or less confident of a win? probably the same feeling i had prior Brisbane in round 1 didn't expect to win but be competitive.

We beat Adelaide - who have beaten both Geelong and GC.
We beat Brisbane - who have just beaten the Pies

We should be right in this. Couple of areas to tighten up, but if we do, we'll win.

 

[Prez]

All young sides need a breakout game that sets them up, not just for the year but for the seasons to come. Confidence and belief are important to ensuring the group moulds and obtains a swagger that other sides fear.

The Tiger have that at the moment but a win by the young Swans will set them on that path.

The talent & desire is there but can we take that next step and knock off a great side. I think we can and will. Our presure has been good ,ball movement outstanding and holding players in the forward line has allowed us to kick big scores. More importantly they are working for each other doing the team first things which all great sides do.

If we handle the pressure that will come and maintain our game plan where on our way. So looking forward to today and a great Swans win...one for the ages. Go Swans

 

[the hypnotoad]

I can't agree that taking Buddy out of the team makes us a better team. We may be more unpredictable, but if we follow that your logic to its ultimate conclusion we'd be a better team if made up entirely of unknown reserves players. We're certainly not as dependent on Buddy as we once were and we have many more ways to goal, but I think you're letting your well known anti-Buddy feelings cloud your judgement if you think a fit Buddy isn't an asset to any team. In any case I believe we can win this game, with our without him.

We've lost 3 of our last 5 against Richmond but in the last game we held them to 4 goals (remember the Hardwick whine-fest). Sadly we had no options forward of our own, losing by 8 points. The fifth (2016) was a blowout in our favour, an absolute shafting where we bent them over and made them squeal like a pig to the tune of 19 goals, 7 of them from Buddy who also picked up the 3 brownlow votes and 37 disposals from JFK who picked up 2 votes. We've got progressively closer to Richmond over the last 3 games and I'm quietly confident we can win this one and make it 3-all for the last 6. We've already beaten the only team who knocked Richmond over in the finals.

I can admire Richmond's achievements as a team, the skill of the players and even their coach but I'd never have a beer with any of them or with any of their dick-head fans. Hardwick is the biggest whiner among all the coaches, even worse than Clarkson, and probably the only coach who'd think it was OK to have it off with one of club staff. Reiwoldt whines more than any player of any team. He must have picked that up from Hardwick as his family aren't like that at all. Martin comes across as just a complete bogan with a huge ego. There's no way I'd support the Swans picking him up, no matter how good he is as a player. We don't need that kind of influence in our team. Besides, we've got some brilliant young mids coming through. At least that faker/diver Rance has gone. I really don't like Richmond at all. I hope we beat the stuffing out of them and show the footy world that i) Richmond's brief run at the top is over and ii) our young Swans have siezed their legacy and will dominate the AFL for the next decade.

for coach whining, hardwick is not in the class of the scott brothers ... and what makes it worse with that pair, well, the geelong scott, seeing as the other one's gone, is that he's so very aware of where the cameras are ... just another part of the geelong club that's so easy to despise

 

[SeanM]

I am happy we did not risk Rowbottom. It is still early in the season and in his career . So would not want to run him into the ground for a short term benefit.

 

[Whiskers]

Will McLean only play when Buddy is out? How many games you guys expecting McLean to play?