Squad of 26 named

**Newbie** · 11 March 2004, 06:27 PM

I dont know since when we have the impression that Robert-Thomson is a border-line selection case. His name seems to be throwed out as soon as we start to discuss who should be left out of the team when a more mature established player is ready to return.

Roos has stated that LRT is in our best 22 and thus if he is fit, there should be no question mark on his selection, period. Same for Schneider.

One thing, Paul Roos has done extremely is to fast-track young players with abundance of talents at the expense of established good average players.

It would not come any surprise to me to see those likes C. Bolton, Barry, Fosdike, etc.. to make way for younger and more talented players. If O'Keefe could not step up this year, he should expect the same faith. We have many good average players but our top-end talent is thin. We will never unearth any by playing safe at the selection table.

**SWANSBEST** · 11 March 2004, 06:53 PM

The chances of Craig Bolton and Leo Barry being dropped for any of the younger players is about 1000000/1. Last year these two players were the glue that helped to make the backline such a great defensive unit. Fosdike may be another matter but at present there is not an adequate replacement.

**Jeffers1984** · 11 March 2004, 07:10 PM

Originally posted by SWANSBEST
The chances of Craig Bolton and Leo Barry being dropped for any of the younger players is about 1000000/1. Last year these two players were the glue that helped to make the backline such a great defensive unit. Fosdike may be another matter but at present there is not an adequate replacement.

Agreed with that. Also agree with Newbie about O'Keefe, he's 23 now?? and really has to take that next step now which i',m pretty sure he can.

**Charlie** · 11 March 2004, 07:17 PM

Leo Barry and Craig Bolton to make way?

Mate - they've gotta do something wrong first! You do realise that the general consensus in the Melbourne media, Bigfooty and other indicators of general sentiment was that Leo was robbed of AA selection last year, and that Craig Bolton left Brisbane with egg on their faces (no small thing considering they won the premiership, what that effectively says is that Craig Bolton would have demanded a spot in the premiership side)... don't you?

**dimelb** · 11 March 2004, 07:43 PM

And Fossie is not that far behind, and closing fast on form towards the end of last year.

**Newbie** · 11 March 2004, 07:48 PM

Certainly Not in Round 1! But it will only take an average season to change.

There is a question mark if Barry and C Bolton could carry the 2003 form over.

Once we could find a good defensive KPP, I would expect one of them to make way. Either by moving up the field or to be pushing down the pecking order. We are one to two talls short down back and we could not fix it by leaving both there. They are not growing any taller.

In recent matches, we might have seen Roos trying to move C. Bolton up the field, playing him in the midfield and also the forward line. That is probably good planning for all involved.

It is true that we dont have any replacement for Fosdike yet. But if McVeigh develops as he should and if Kenelly is moving to the midfield, I expect Fosdike to be a trade candidate by the year end. A third man in the list of running type of players is a dangerous place to be, especially if he could only play in that position.

O'Keefe and Albett need to perform to hold their spots.

A question mark should be asked of Schauble as well. If he is getting injured as he is, should we keep faith in him or throw a youngster at the deep end (we might not have any, mind you). Schauble is a weak first choice key defensive position for a premiership winning team, I think.

We might not need all things falling into places to win the premiership but we should cover all bases if we plan to win one.

***NMWBloods*** · 11 March 2004, 08:31 PM

No teams are full of stars. There need to be a lot of solid players to back up any top-liners.

C Bolton is very handy as he is a good defensive player, on either big guys or small. He can also run with players who move around the field. I personally don't think he will be a good regular midfielder, but he would be okay on occasion. He's still pretty young, 24yo this year, and only 53 games, so I expect he will improve markedly as he gets older and more experienced.

Barry has really found his niche at half back. He still does some crazy things, but less so than in the past, plays solid defence and most importantly is critical for the Swans' run off the half back line. He is one of the key drivers of our running game.

I hope we do find a good defensive KPP, but I don't think it will affect Bolton, Barry or probably Schauble either.

O'Keefe is only 23 and shows a lot of talent. Just needs to get more involved I think.

Fosdike is also only 24 this year and improved a lot last year. However I think he will need to take the next step this year. Needs to increase his possessions, particularly in pressure games, make them count a bit more, and increase his clearances.

Ablett will be under a lot of scrutiny this year.

**Bleed Red Blood** · 11 March 2004, 08:32 PM

I'm thinking ship Ablett off to Geelong....

**Jeffers1984** · 11 March 2004, 08:47 PM

Originally posted by Bleed Red Blood
I'm thinking ship Ablett off to Geelong....

Ablett for Ablett Jr. seems fair don't you think?

**liz** · 11 March 2004, 08:48 PM

This is turning into one of the more mind boggling of recent threads (and it has some competition).

Personally I'm hanging out for Daniel Hunt or Sean Dempster -or even Matthew Davis - proving to be a top line FF/CHF this year because if Barry Hall doesn't repeat his performance of last year he will surely slip down the pecking order and we'll need to find someone else.

OK, so that was a tad facetitious, but players like Leo Barry, Craig Bolton and Nic Fosdike are so clearly in our best 22 players - and would so clearly be in the best 22 of pretty much every other club in the league (with Brisbane posing the only real question mark) - and are in the "prime years" agewise of their careers, yet still with scope for improvement (particularly B2 and Fossie). Why are we looking for reasons to throw them on the scrap heap?

**chammond** · 11 March 2004, 09:02 PM

Originally posted by lizz
This is turning into one of the more mind boggling of recent threads (and it has some competition).

Personally I'm hanging out for Daniel Hunt or Sean Dempster -or even Matthew Davis - proving to be a top line FF/CHF this year because if Barry Hall doesn't repeat his performance of last year he will surely slip down the pecking order and we'll need to find someone else.

Come on Liz, we need to move BBB on while he still has some trade value! We might get a 1st round pick for him, then we can recruit a 17 yo KPP who might turn out to be really good in 6 or 7 years.

In the meantime, Luke Taylor is a KPP . . . .

**thommoone** · 11 March 2004, 09:12 PM

i can't belive what some are saying.
C.Bolton is still fairly young and more than handy. could play midfield forward or back. Lets say he sits in the back pocket for the rest of his career, able to play small or tall with speed, strength and skill, aswell as almost 10yrs left in him.
I don't think there would be anyone who wouldn't want him. Even if he was somewhat wasted their.

L.Barry - almost an AA, no questions needed. We would not have got as far as we did if he was not there, and he is in the prome of his career.

N.Fosdike - in our best 22, dunno bout best 18 though. Never been a fan but deserves his spot for the moment and needs a bit longer to prove himself. Will want to have taken that next step by years end though, like J.Bolton did last year.

***NMWBloods*** · 11 March 2004, 09:25 PM

This is turning into one of the more mind boggling of recent threads (and it has some competition).

i can't belive what some are saying.

You guys want to be a bit more specific?

**Reggi** · 11 March 2004, 09:53 PM

Seems like a pretty normal thread to me

Squad of 26 named

Squad of 26 named

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