Beaten Again

[Reggi]

Doyle needs to stop jumping so high, as long as he keeps jumping like that he'll keep getting injured.

Agree on Goodes plays better away from the ruck. Hopefully Meiklejohn will come on because you can see that spot being a weakness for us.

[SWANSBEST]

Sometime ago I made a comment about Goddes being best suited to a midfield or a ruck rover role .He would be very difficult to match up but I also think that, unfortunately, he will be used to plug holes . I have a bee in my bonnet about Meiklejohn and I used the "ask Roosy" e - mail facility to find out what is going on . He played OK against Essendon and has not been sighted since. Other rookies have been used in the 2 follow up matches and he would have been helpful against Carlton as no regular ruckmen were included.

I do not expect a reply from the club as they advised only a few queries are answered fom the "1000s'' received each week.

[NMWBloods]

I think the issue is not that we lost, because it's a pre-season match and who cares. The bigger issue is that we played a team that barely managed to win one game last year and we were flogged. Sure, we had a lot of key players out, however that means that the others in our side were not even up to matching it with, or even coming close to, a pretty ordinary side.

[chammond]

I'm in favour of playing Goodes in the ruck, but only in bursts. Playing him on the ball for extended periods just gives bigger, heavier ruckmen time to wear him down.

There's no doubt in my mind that Goodes' rucking style seriously confuses some teams. In particular, rucks like Allan and White, who pride themselves on their mobility, are bemused by having Goodes continually beat them to the ball, and then sprint away from them.

If Roos is able to rotate Ball and Doyle between ruck and forward line, and use Goodes in the ruck in bursts to upset the rhythm of the opposition, the Swans could do some major damage this year.

[liz]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
I think the issue is not that we lost, because it's a pre-season match and who cares. The bigger issue is that we played a team that barely managed to win one game last year and we were flogged.

Agree to a point - but one of the reasons Carlton were so bad last year was because they had lots of injuries to key players. Their list isn't that much worse - if any - than that of probably 10-12 other teams, including ours. The worrying sign for theirs (and still ours) is how many of their better players are the veterans. Even having lost Schwatta, Dunks and PK from last year, we're faced with the fact our 3 best and most consistent players are Willo, Maxie and Cressa. We can only hope the kids will turn out alright. Carlton's problem is more severe, I suspect, with Ratten, Kouta, Hickmott, McKay, Martyn, McKernan, Manton all 30 or very close to it. I also think they have more out-and-out duds than we do in their mid-aged player group. And of course limited access to the best kids for a while won't help their cause.

But back to yesterday, they did have a much stronger squad playing than we did, and 40 points isn't really much in the overall scheme of things. When one team gets on top it is pretty easy for the score to blow out a bit. Certainly no reason to panic, unless they are able to repeat the performance come March 29.

[NMWBloods]

No - I agree not a time to panic, just some mild concerns. I think this is a big year for our side to see if that middle group of players can stand up and replace the veterans who have left or will do so soonish.

[LondonSwan]

Originally posted by SWANSBEST
[
I do not expect a reply from the club as they advised only a few queries are answered fom the "1000s'' received each week. [/B]

I must have been one of the lucky ones then.

With state of the side - you arent going to have a choice - if Ball fails to come up - Goodes has got to do it - who else can.

[desredandwhite]

Originally posted by LondonSwan
Goodes has got to do it - who else can.

Amon Buchanan?

Or probably Scott Stevens, Demon Ruckman (tm).

In a sense, this is not something we're wholly unfamiliar with, sad as it sounds. Barry Hall and Andrew Dunkley have been doing ruckwork when the ball is down their end, and now I expect Stevens and Schauble to do a little too. As long as we can have someone provide a contest in the middle, I think we can cover the ends (though it's not ideal)

[LondonSwan]

Originally posted by desredandwhite
Amon Buchanan?

Or probably Scott Stevens, Demon Ruckman (tm).

In a sense, this is not something we're wholly unfamiliar with, sad as it sounds. Barry Hall and Andrew Dunkley have been doing ruckwork when the ball is down their end, and now I expect Stevens and Schauble to do a little too. As long as we can have someone provide a contest in the middle, I think we can cover the ends (though it's not ideal)

Crikey- you wouldnt put Barry Hall in the ruck would you - they would be asking for trouble. Stevens - yes I can see that but Schauble - DRW please explain.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by LondonSwan
Crikey- you wouldnt put Barry Hall in the ruck would you - they would be asking for trouble. Stevens - yes I can see that but Schauble - DRW please explain.

Why would either of these be a problem? In the backline, you could also use Saddington.

In any case, I still believe that the ability to have talls to mark and provide a contest around the ground, and also having a good midfield, is more important than a big ruckman.

[Dpw]

Originally posted by desredandwhite
Amon Buchanan?

Or probably Scott Stevens, Demon Ruckman (tm).

In a sense, this is not something we're wholly unfamiliar with, sad as it sounds. Barry Hall and Andrew Dunkley have been doing ruckwork when the ball is down their end, and now I expect Stevens and Schauble to do a little too. As long as we can have someone provide a contest in the middle, I think we can cover the ends (though it's not ideal)

Steven's rucking for Perth, must of been in the two's Des because I sure don't recall seeing him playing there.

[desredandwhite]

the first time I saw Scotty in the ruck was last week vs Brisbane!! I think Roosy said during the week "the last time he rucked was in Auskick", re: throwing him in there

I suspect it's an experiment, not much more - though he may be used in a fill in role ocassionally.

[liz]

I could have sworn I saw Powell doing ruckwork last weekend against Brisbane. Were my eyes deceiving me?

[Rizzo]

The report I read said that when Hall went off the ground with his hip injury the scoring dried up. With Stevens in the ruck who did we have in the forward line?