I just got home....

[Foreign Legion]

Well, it looked as if there was quite a few on the wings - but I haven't been to Olympic Stadium (TELsss stadium) but I reckon 8 - 10 thousands at tops.

Still, good to see a few Swans guernseys though!

Cheers

[Jimmy C]

Originally posted by Foreign Legion
I reckon G. Teasdale was solely behind our entry to the finals in '77.

In fact (big statement coming up) I reckon Teaser played the best 1 season of football I have ever seen. I probably saw 18 games that year and he destroyed every side we played. Ruck, Full Forward, CHF etc he killed 'em.

He was all class. I felt disgusted last year when Sheedy said that Teaser was an example of a player who didn't really deserve a Brownlow medal (just 'cos he doesn't have one-dirty besstid). Teaser was another great example of a champion player who combined footy talent with being able to get on the turps. I loved him then (as we all did). Sorry, this is somewhat off topic, but I've imbibed lots of Wild Turkey (for THAT, I make no apologies).

[treespirit]

Well, it's mostly been said before but -
- too small
- too slow
- too short
- too young
- too dumb
to beat a champion team. Is there anyone else with the vision and ability to deliver like Voss? Unbelievable.

I thought the established players had listened too much to Roos and weren't taking the game seriously. Only the youngsters who are trying to prove their worth seemed to be trying hard.

There were multiple times where a Brisbane player outsprinted 2 or more Swans to get to the ball. Ben Matthews' brain is too slow for AFL. He takes a week to make a decision and routinely gets run down. Even apart from the umpires, Lynch was too big for Schauble to handle.

Delivery was appalling, especially into the 50 - surprise, surpirse. Haven't we been here before. What the hell have they been doing at training? This has been a problem for years and doesn't appear to have improved. Even Maxfield kicked it straight to the defenders. Expect another BBBH brain explosion if the delivery doesn't improve significantly. J. Bolton, hang up your boots because they should NEVER be allowed near a football.

I know it's pre-season, but my expectations for the season are not good. Let's hope Carlton has another shocker to keep us off the bottom.

[treespirit]

...and don't let the score fool you. The Lions backed right off in the second half, resting Akermanis, Voss, etc. If they'd been serious, we would have been beaten by 70+.

[vagary]

with what everyones saying it sounds like the game was not worth seeing.
QUESTION: comparing the swans performance from the last 2 weeks, could anyone notice any differece between this week and last week?

[Reggi]

Brisbane may have had a few Premiership players missing from last year, but let me say that they still had 3 Brownlow medalists in pretty good form, as well as players like Copeland, Charman, Bradshaw and Shattock who have played a fair bit of AFL even though they weren't in the premiership team last year. Add Caracella to the list as a new player.

We on the other hand had almost half a side.

It should not be news to anyone that seeing as we had half the playing list missing, and we have a heap of very skinny youngsters, we struggled.

I expected it, they were way to strong for our guys, simple.'

But there is only one Brisbane Lions side out there (and they are probably the best side I have seen)

Of their guns they were only missing Lappin, Brown, Scott and White.

We on the other hand were missing Ruckman, half of our defence etc.

Don't panic.

That said they didn't seem focussed.

[TheMase]

Originally posted by Reggi

Don't panic.

Exactly my thoughts. The results should not be taken into consideration tonight. The only thing that should be looked at is the form of our younger players.

This I thought was extremely good. We may have scored in the latest draft, as each of the new players seems to have a touch of class.

Thewlis looks like he could play quite a bit of football this season as he has the build. Seems to have great skills to, and that will only get better.

Malceski is a bit light on, but really has a footy brain (from what I saw). A couple of very quick handballs in there, did quite well.

Dempster had limited opportunities, but was in the thick of it at times.

McVeigh didn't do too much, although that tap to Goodes was excellent vision and peace of mind.

Stevens was sensational at times, and given that he was thrown down back, and seems to be able to play there, we will have some versitility with him, either dominating up forward or down back. Looks like he will have a big year.


On the other hand, Boltons endeavour was great. Got in there got the ball etc. But unfortunately what he did after that was abysmal. Needs to work on that, and very quickly. I think I can kick straighter than him.

[treespirit]

Don't panic.

That's what we said last year (and the year before (and the one before that (etc.))) and we were wrong each time. They're crap and I'm going to consider them crap until they prove otherwise. I've spent too much energy trying to see the positives over the last few years.

[Diego]

I agree with you treespirit. Yes it was the pre season but we are seeing the same monumental head explosions from the same guys year in year out.

We really do have a list who are all style and no substance. Harsh but true IMHO.

[liz]

This year is a bit different though. Last year we were led to believe that we were a serious premiership contender. Lockett had rejoined in the belief that he and Hall could form an unstoppable force up forward, we still had Schwass, Kelly and Dunkley who, based on the previous season's form, still seemed likely to have enough good footy in them.

This year we know that we're not. We have a rookie coach, a smattering of quality senior players (especially Willo, Cressa and Maxfield), a middle age group who are OK but not stars (with exception of Magic, who could be a star) and lots of undernourished kids who look like they can play footy but have almost no experience and are going to struggle physically.

This year is all about seeing what they've got up top. Can they learn the composure required to hold their own against bigger, more experienced teams? Can they execute skills under pressure? Can they collectively put together a game plan where speed and mobility counter physical force?

We already know that sometimes they are going to be made to look very ordinary, especially by teams who are not only as good as the Lions but also as supremely confident. In these cases its going to be what they learn from the experiences that counts, not the score. Hopefully against other teams it will click and we'll be delighted with the result.

If anyone is looking to support a premiership team this season, I suggest you get off the Swans and start supporting the Lions. But if you're interested in watching first hand the development of a new squad into something that might - next year or the year after that - become very good, hold on tight. It could be fun!

[treespirit]

I've been going to most of the Lions Melbourne games for 3 years (including last year's GF) and it is great to support a winning team. My mate and I go to each other's teams games. I think it took over a year for him to see a Swans win. We had to hunt down one of the few pubs that can afford Fox Footy to watch last night's game (without commentary). I am seriously considering dual memberships this year.

I agree with all you said Lizz, but right now they are still crap. I will be extremely happy to follow a burgeoning force over the next few years, but so far there are very few signs that will happen.

[robbieando]

I'll harp on this point until I'm blue in the face - our midfield HAS to improve 10 fold on what it is now and was last season. There are good signs about it depth wise but we lack 2 top line midfielders who can rip open a game. McVeigh is seen to be one of these midfielders the other is not known.

If we can get a top line midfield it would relieve the pressure on our defence and thus trying to find a FB won't be as important. We are 2 midfielders (and I mean 2 in the Voss/Black mold) away from even challenging for a flag. I doubt we'll make the finals this season and most likely as well in 2004, but come 2005-2007 I expect to be up there pushing for a flag, IF we can get hold of the 2 midfielders we need.

[Nico]

A few observations.

1. Didn't seem to have that flow on style of the second half of 2002. Too stop start alah Eade. Lets hope Roos is leaving his game plan for the real stuff. Looked like that to me.
2. Disposal skills when not under pressure were shocking. Warfe is Shouse.
3. Most importantly we lacked intensity and the 'hard at it' factor. Some of those young players as pointed out earlier were happy to get the easy options, but few really hit their opponents hard.
4.. Malceski, as in the GF last year has continued his appalling disposal. No good having twinkle toes if you kick it out on the full. Ditto for Frosty.
5. Strewth someone was a bit tough on Maxfield, as he had the most disposals on the night. I only remember about 3 poor kicks to the forward line, and besides he is entitled to be rusty. Looked good to me and led by example.
6. Too often we kicked to contests and had few players running to position or space.
7. Roos threw players all over the park, so it just looked like a conditioning hitout more than anything else.
8. Stevens was impressive, but please leave Barry Hall at full forward and don't try to plug holes with him. His is our only option at FF.
9. Cresswell was in for the run.
10. Noticed Akermanis tagged Williams all game. Is this going to be the norm all season.
11. Give Jude a break. Didn't anyone noticed how ferocious he was at centre bounces and the number of times he was first to the ball and at the bottom of centre bounce packs.

By the way Barry Hall is a very underrated player. While he is our spearhead we will be a danger to any team, as it looks like he will take 3 players every week which leaves plenty for the rest of the forwards.

Wayne Schwass is a very competent, knowledgeable and articulate commentator.

[Nico]

Robbie,

Agree on the midfielders, but I reckon we have one in Fixter who is simply wasted in the back half. Runs all day, finds the footy, reads the play and would give us heaps of direct run though the centre.

We also need a Merv Neagle type. That is, tough, wiry, poised and balanced with plenty of disposal time.

[robbieando]

We need a ball winning type of midfielder who can change the game just like Voss can. At the moment we really don't have that player, sure we have players who would play the role, but none who are really good enough to do it. The other midfielder we need is a runner type which we have in McVeigh. So if we can get the ball winning the draft at seasons end we should be OK come 2005 and beyond but before then we must build our side up.