Opinion The Way Forward

[Bloods86]

Yer heard this before

More experience etc etc , this player better etc

Won’t cut it

Mids do generally get better with experience.

We could turn to Oliver with all his issues I guess, that'd solve it.

 

[Punts]

Mids do generally get better with experience.

We could turn to Oliver with all his issues I guess, that'd solve it.

Never said that so no need to be smart about

He would certainly win the ball and help

But like you say the mid group definitely showed experience from 22 to 24

 

[kickthething]

Yer heard this before

More experience etc etc , this player better etc

Won’t cut it

need a big bodied mid on-top of all that

 

[The King!]

I think you need to try and learn from the best and have someone come in and observe the culture, meet everyone one on one, talk to the coaches, talk to the assistants. Talk to groups.

For starters what was this perfect prep they speak of in grand final week, what did they do? What did Brisbane do. From the outside we know for certain Brisbane changed the day they came down fromm 23 to 24. Maybe thats not the answer, but at least they did something.


They need an external voice to say this is great, this is complete crap, this is what other clubs are doing,

Get someone who was involved in multiple flags, Hawks 3 peat, Tigers 3, Lions 3, heck get someone from Penrith Panthers in or business world I dgaf. But do something that is clear, observable and transparent. Give the members some sort of report, stop being secretive. Stop the cagey shit around selection too all year. Don't give out all the secrets, but I would like to see more explanation around selection for instance and sub picks. Maybe others disagree, but I think the ducks and drakes we play around fitness and form is pointless.

I remember in 07 the cats started shit remember Bomber Thompson saying in public something like, There are players going through the motion who aren't showing me enough and they can just go, he was sick of it etc. The I remember Chapman I think it was saying this is the players fault and they were soft.

I think even back in our best years there been more honest accounts and less we need to be harder or we just dont know. We do know, you all played pathetic footy, just admit it.


We can get a bigger mid, or throw Adams /Mills in, get a better tall, etc etc but it wont solve fundamental flaws imo.

 

[Bloods86]

Never said that so no need to be smart about

He would certainly win the ball and help

But like you say the mid group definitely showed experience from 22 to 24

We've never had a midfield of Heeney, fit Mills, and Rowbottom. So I'm not sure how you can say it definitely won't work.

Closest we got was Heeney attending half the centre bounces in Rd 1 2022, with Mills and Rowy the main mids. And hey, we beat the Giants in clearances. Admittedly Florent was also key in that strangely.

 

[kickthething]

I think you need to try and learn from the best and have someone come in and observe the culture, meet everyone one on one, talk to the coaches, talk to the assistants. Talk to groups.

For starters what was this perfect prep they speak of in grand final week, what did they do? What did Brisbane do. From the outside we know for certain Brisbane changed the day they came down fromm 23 to 24. Maybe thats not the answer, but at least they did something.


They need an external voice to say this is great, this is complete crap, this is what other clubs are doing,

Get someone who was involved in multiple flags, Hawks 3 peat, Tigers 3, Lions 3, heck get someone from Penrith Panthers in or business world I dgaf. But do something that is clear, observable and transparent. Give the members some sort of report, stop being secretive. Stop the cagey shit around selection too all year. Don't give out all the secrets, but I would like to see more explanation around selection for instance and sub picks. Maybe others disagree, but I think the ducks and drakes we play around fitness and form is pointless.

I remember in 07 the cats started shit remember Bomber Thompson saying in public something like, There are players going through the motion who aren't showing me enough and they can just go, he was sick of it etc. The I remember Chapman I think it was saying this is the players fault and they were soft.

I think even back in our best years there been more honest accounts and less we need to be harder or we just dont know. We do know, you all played pathetic footy, just admit it.


We can get a bigger mid, or throw Adams /Mills in, get a better tall, etc etc but it wont solve fundamental flaws imo.

The fundamental flawis structure that may be a result of not having a bigger mid

 

[The King!]

The fundamental flawis structure that may be a result of not having a bigger mid

The big flaws are the patches where we don't even have head in the game, don't man up, don't get the ball.

we can't see player weights anymore but there's some decent size in there, not enough to be as uncompetitive as our worst performances are imo.

If you have Heeney, Rowbottom, Mills, Adams going through that's pretty decent fight wise.

 

[Bloods86]

The fundamental flawis structure that may be a result of not having a bigger mid

This grand final wasn't the result of playing against a bigger midfield.

Dunkley is a bit taller, but Neale is small. We had solid lads in there too in Rowy and Heeney.

Parker was moved in there too late. A fit Mills in there again would help, and has bonus height.

Warner only showed up late (again). Move him to half forward with mid cameos.

Bring in a mature ager sure. I think this is the best we can do.

 

[Kiama Chris]

We've never had a midfield of Heeney, fit Mills, and Rowbottom. So I'm not sure how you can say it definitely won't work.

Closest we got was Heeney attending half the centre bounces in Rd 1 2022, with Mills and Rowy the main mids. And hey, we beat the Giants in clearances. Admittedly Florent was also key in that strangely.

First half we had a big mid named Grundy. Who was also rucking pretty well. Made Heeney et al very effective. When his form fell away it got much harder. It's not much more complicated than that.
Replicating what we had earlier is the difficult part. Mills? Probably, replacing Warner. Reduce Heeney's attendance so he lasts, use Warner? Give Sheldrick a block of games. Maybe Adams back into the team.
Probably most important is to reduce Grundy's ToG or manage his games to get him through to finals. Work on tactics.
Most of the pieces are there.

 

[sataris]

I think you need to try and learn from the best and have someone come in and observe the culture, meet everyone one on one, talk to the coaches, talk to the assistants. Talk to groups.

For starters what was this perfect prep they speak of in grand final week, what did they do? What did Brisbane do. From the outside we know for certain Brisbane changed the day they came down fromm 23 to 24. Maybe thats not the answer, but at least they did something.


They need an external voice to say this is great, this is complete crap, this is what other clubs are doing,

Get someone who was involved in multiple flags, Hawks 3 peat, Tigers 3, Lions 3, heck get someone from Penrith Panthers in or business world I dgaf. But do something that is clear, observable and transparent. Give the members some sort of report, stop being secretive. Stop the cagey shit around selection too all year. Don't give out all the secrets, but I would like to see more explanation around selection for instance and sub picks. Maybe others disagree, but I think the ducks and drakes we play around fitness and form is pointless.

I remember in 07 the cats started shit remember Bomber Thompson saying in public something like, There are players going through the motion who aren't showing me enough and they can just go, he was sick of it etc. The I remember Chapman I think it was saying this is the players fault and they were soft.

I think even back in our best years there been more honest accounts and less we need to be harder or we just dont know. We do know, you all played pathetic footy, just admit it.


We can get a bigger mid, or throw Adams /Mills in, get a better tall, etc etc but it wont solve fundamental flaws imo.

The most sydney thing to do would be to have an external review done by someone like PWC.

PWC famous for saying whatever the **** you want as long as you pay for it.

 

[rustycrate]

I think you need to try and learn from the best and have someone come in and observe the culture, meet everyone one on one, talk to the coaches, talk to the assistants. Talk to groups.

For starters what was this perfect prep they speak of in grand final week, what did they do? What did Brisbane do. From the outside we know for certain Brisbane changed the day they came down fromm 23 to 24. Maybe thats not the answer, but at least they did something.


They need an external voice to say this is great, this is complete crap, this is what other clubs are doing,

Get someone who was involved in multiple flags, Hawks 3 peat, Tigers 3, Lions 3, heck get someone from Penrith Panthers in or business world I dgaf. But do something that is clear, observable and transparent. Give the members some sort of report, stop being secretive. Stop the cagey shit around selection too all year. Don't give out all the secrets, but I would like to see more explanation around selection for instance and sub picks. Maybe others disagree, but I think the ducks and drakes we play around fitness and form is pointless.

I remember in 07 the cats started shit remember Bomber Thompson saying in public something like, There are players going through the motion who aren't showing me enough and they can just go, he was sick of it etc. The I remember Chapman I think it was saying this is the players fault and they were soft.

I think even back in our best years there been more honest accounts and less we need to be harder or we just dont know. We do know, you all played pathetic footy, just admit it.


We can get a bigger mid, or throw Adams /Mills in, get a better tall, etc etc but it wont solve fundamental flaws imo.

I always wished Chapman was a Swan. Loved watching him play. Reminded me of The Doctor (Socrates) who captained the best Brazilian soccer team. They just passed the ball to him and he put his touch on it and it went on it's merry way. He almost always got the ball in every raid on an opponent. Chapman was similar in that he got the ball almost always as they went forward. Tough as.

 

[Neverwas]

22 is less relevant as the midfield looked different.
A fit Mills with a full pre season and some continuity should work well with Heeney, Heeney, Warner, Rowey and Sheldrick. Mills is a good sized midfielder. I would play all of these 6 and have one resting in the forwards at all times (Heeney or Warner) and one on the bench.
Small tweaks to the team are required to win more contested ball and be more defensive. Plus the forward strucutre needs some work. . We had a good enough list to make a GF. Issue is the pychology of the playing group more than the list IMO

I like the idea of 2 Heeney's. Definitely an improvement.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[rustycrate]

The fundamental flawis structure that may be a result of not having a bigger mid

Enter Cooper Hynes

 

[Jeffers]

I don’t recall Mills being a clearance machine when he was in the mids in 22. I knew he got the ball but didn’t think Clearance work was his forte

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Enter Cooper Hynes

Gettable?

 

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

I wonder how much role, if any, fatigue played in his form in the second half of the year. Fatigue makes even the best of players look and do things that are just a bit silly. It really felt like he didn't really know what he was doing, or there wasn't any clear intent in what he was doing, in the second half of the season. It was all just very messy. Scrapping with the other ruckman and then when he'd win it just banging it on the boot, not even trying to use his mids or get it to a clear drop zone as he did earlier in the season.

But then I'm also reminded of this and think... maybe it's just what Grundy is as a player??

Maybe this goes in the thread of unpopular opinions, but I am not sure Grundy is the smartest footballer going around.

Sure he is smart and reflective off the field, but boy can he do some dumb things on it. And they are not when he doesn’t have time to think, they are often when he has more than enough time.

Maybe fatigue was a factor, but then have the smarts to ask for a break! I recall horse saying that Grundy said he didn’t need a break, which was just madness - we could all see it clear as day.

 

[GoTheSwannies]

Heeney & Petracca in the same team would be awesome

 

[The King!]

Longmire can heck off to the EPL then

 

[GoTheSwannies]

Apologies in advance for the long post, but a few thoughts from me about the way forward.

If I were coach of the swans in 2025 there's a few things that are a must.

Firstly, as a group, we would have to acknowledge the fact we failed to turn up in the 2024 grand final. But then I'd offer the team a way forward in 2025.

First thing to address would be the challenge of backing up after a grand final belting. It's rare for a reason. A team that makes the grand final and gets belted tend to carry a sense of futility into the following year because they did everything they had to throughout the year and overall performed well, only to get embarrassed at the final stage. Looking ahead at all the hard work required the upcoming year with no guarantee they'll reach the stage they'll be able to atone for their failing last year (the GF), it will break some players psychologically. It will be a hill too high for some.

The way I would address it would be to bring the challenge of grand final retribution into the H&A season. Every game would present each player an opportunity to atone for the GF and prepare for the 2025 grand final.

The whole team would be expected to apply grand final-like pressure to their opponent. Each player would be asked to get as much mongrel into their game as is necessary not to get bullied by their opponent. Acts of courage, determination and desperation would be rewarded, and games where a player doesn't go hard enough, is outgrunted by their opponent or is bullied would come into question and would be subject to demotion (with instructions on what's required in the 2s to win their spot back).

For me, midfield spots are up for grabs at the start of the pre season, and those who are willing to go hardest to win the ball will be rewarded with a starting spot. The season would then present opportunities for those players to prove they're the hungriest mids in the team, and for other hungry mids currently out of the main group to displace them. Whenever the mid numbers are down or the opposition gets a hold of us. We reset for the next quarter and players or asked to perform to premiership quarter standard (turn up the pressure to maximum with the aim of breaking the opposition). The H&A season is an opportunity to identify which of our players can perform at the most challenging moments throughout the season, and they get first crack at the role at the pointy end.

Players who repeatedly fail these tests fall down the pecking order in favour of a "lesser" or younger player who is able to demonstrate they're able to cope with the pressure.

That's obviously only part of the equation, but that would be a starting point for me. With an approach like that it is important to be up front with the players from the start and get buy in. Acknowledge that we ARE facing an uphill battle just to get back into the position to atone for 2024, but that every step along the way will be in service of the goal of not only getting to the grand final, but grabbing it with both hands irrespective of who lines up against us.

Some players will not respond well to the approach, and that's a good thing, because that's a short cut to separating the wheat from the chaff. The players who are really committed to winning a premiership and those who already have a strong internal drive will welcome the opportunity to have everyone on the same page and battle-hardened by the time finals roll around. And those who don't have the work ethic to get on board are part of the problem.

I'm aware that applying premiership pressure isn't possible every quarter of every game, I'm not suggesting that. I'm suggesting it needs to be switched on in the 1st quarter, and we need to be able to switch it on if an opponent dominates, or starts pulling back a lead etc. We need to show that we have the killer instinct and we need to be able to turn it on when we need to. And most importantly, we need to figure out which players are capable of being part of that group.

If we have a significant lead, my instructions would be have fun, just make the right decisions and execute, and apply enough pressure not to allow our opponent back in the game. Otherwise, it's back to premiership-quarter mode.

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

Out: Parker, McLean, ( 2 out of Lloyd, Florent, Jmac)
In: Cleary, Sheldrick, Mills, Adams

Can’t win the flag with the 2024 GF line up

 

[Punts]

No way out goes jmac imo

 

[Punts]

Unless amartey 2nd rucks McLean stays

Agree a tall goes

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

No way out goes jmac imo

Yeah - pre injury jmac no way but 2 knee injuries Jmac there is for sure a question mark over. GF Jmac to come back through VFL

 

[Punts]

Yeah - pre injury jmac no way but 2 knee injuries Jmac there is for sure a question mark over. GF Jmac to come back through VFL

Thibk he will be fine by r1

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

Thibk he will be fine by r1

Hope so, after the first knee injury it took him nearly a year to get back to his best.

He’s one of may favourite players but I’m concerned after 2 knees.