Swans to stay patient

[dendol]

Despite three straight defeats, Sydney coach Paul Roos has ruled out making many changes to the side to play West Coast at Subiaco Oval on Saturday.

?There will probably be two or three (changes),? Roos said at the SCG prior to Wednesday?s training session.

?That is probably not a reflection of the guy?s form but different opposition, different size ground so I think that becomes a factor as well.



?You play on a small ground you can probably get away with bigger type players. Over there it?s a massive ground so you need a fair bit of run.?

Although still disappointed in the two-goal loss to a struggling Richmond outfit at home last Sunday, Roos admits he thought twice about making too many changes after watching the video.

?When you look at the tape and you dissect why you lost,? Roos said.

?Certainly there are guys who are not in great form but in the cold hard light of the day we just didn?t take our chances early.

?So that is where you have to be careful, that is what Monday?s are all about, making sure you understand why you lose the game and 31 inside-50?s to 16, suddenly you are up by four or five (goals instead of one) then suddenly the game takes on a different completion.

?There are some players who are not playing who we would like in the team but they are injured.

?The other group which makes it difficult is LRT (Lewis Roberts-Thomson), (Jarrad) Sundqvist and (Nick) Malceski.

?They are the second tiers and they are all injured as well so sometimes you are a little bit hamstrung but I think we will be happy with the 22 we put out on the field on Saturday.?

link afl.com.au

[boroboy]

I'm stating the obvious but this game has enormous impacts for us - I'd go as far to say it's one of the most important games we've played under Roos.

It's not just the 4 points at stake here - it's probably going to be a season defining match. Win - and we get back our own self belief and that all important perception (supporters, media and other clubs) that we are a genuine, hard to beat top 6 team. It'll act as a real launch pad for the rest of the season...

Loose - and I think we'll just be one of several teams scrambling for 7th or 8th - no better than the Dogs, Blues or Cats (which is depressing in itself!). We'll have other clubs marking us down as a win, and I can't see us pulling out of mid-table mediocrity.

It's all about self belief on Saturday - let them go out and do what's natural, prepared to make mistakes but backing themselves to the hilt (how I'm missing the Leo Barry "heart in mouth" runs from half back....). I just hope Roos gives them the licence to do so.

[Sanecow]

It's lose, not loose.

[Go Swannies]

Originally posted by Sanecow
It's lose, not loose.

Or tight, and win?

[Snowy]

on news tonight it was reported that Hall, Willo and MOL will travel to Perth two days earlier than the rest of the team.

[DST]

Originally posted by boroboy
I'm stating the obvious but this game has enormous impacts for us - I'd go as far to say it's one of the most important games we've played under Roos.

It's not just the 4 points at stake here - it's probably going to be a season defining match. Win - and we get back our own self belief and that all important perception (supporters, media and other clubs) that we are a genuine, hard to beat top 6 team. It'll act as a real launch pad for the rest of the season...

While important this week, in reality the two home games the following two weeks are extremely important games.

To make the finals and at least be in a position to do some damage we can't afford to drop more than 3 home games. Need to get the confidence back playing at home and then build on that on the road.

But a win on the road would be nice

DST

[liz]

Re: Swans to stay patient

Originally posted by dendol

Although still disappointed in the two-goal loss to a struggling Richmond outfit at home last Sunday, Roos admits he thought twice about making too many changes after watching the video.

?When you look at the tape and you dissect why you lost,? Roos said.

?Certainly there are guys who are not in great form but in the cold hard light of the day we just didn?t take our chances early.

[/URL]

I finally managed to face up to watching the tape of the game yesterday and, strange though it might seem, was quite encouraged, certainly compared to how I felt at 5pm on Sunday afternoon.

The final quarter was absolutely woeful and that was what was uppermost in mind at the end of the game. It looks just as bad on tape. And sure, even towards the end of the third quarter the signs were there that the team had run out of ideas and was losing cohesion.

But for the rest of the game, the structure and even skills were not completely horrible if one allows for the conditions. It was really only the delivery to the 50 that really let the team down. And the only thing that was really keeping Richmond in the game was the superb performance of Richo, who was one-grabbing everything (phenomenal effort in those conditions) and kicking them from pretty much everywhere.

In particular, for that first part of the game, the team actually was kicking long down the guts whenever it got the chance. And the midfielders - Jude and Fozzie in particular - were working exceptionally hard at really trying to get the ball moving from the centre clearances. Overall the intensity and work rate of the team seemed much better than it did for much of the Essendon and Dees games.

I'm not trying to claim it was an acceptable performance for a team with even a glimpse of premiership aspirations. The disintegration in the final quarter truly was horrible (and is not something we're accustomed to) and Goodes' form still is a concern. And the team does need to work on its wet weather skills. But overall the performance wasn't quite as horrible as the recollection etched on my brain at the end.

[penga]

Re: Re: Swans to stay patient

Originally posted by lizz
But overall the performance wasn't quite as horrible as the recollection etched on my brain at the end.

i felt the same leaving the game - my main note for positive thinking was that we werent smashed out of the middle with the two big ruckmen we had to come up against...

bazza playing at FF was my main concern, as ottens was just chopping it off

[BAM_BAM]

I watched the first half last night and am going to do the second half tonight. I too, thought it wasn't as bad as I remembered it. I particualrly paid a lot of attention to Fossie given the bagging he was getting on here. He had a few misguided disposals, but that aside his first half was ok. Not good or great. But he was into everything and trying.

[Mike_B]

Originally posted by Snowy
on news tonight it was reported that Hall, Willo and MOL will travel to Perth two days earlier than the rest of the team.

I'd guess it would be 1 day earlier unless they left tonight and the rest of the team flies out on Friday.

[dimelb]

Re: Re: Swans to stay patient

Originally posted by lizz




But for the rest of the game, the structure and even skills were not completely horrible if one allows for the conditions.

Lizz, I respect your judgement more than just about anyone else's on the board, but the thing that bothered me was that Richmond played in the same rain. And you're right, our wet weather skills do need some work. And I agree with you about B1 and Fosdike. They tried.

[liz]

Re: Re: Re: Swans to stay patient

Originally posted by dimelb
Lizz, I respect your judgement more than just about anyone else's on the board, but the thing that bothered me was that Richmond played in the same rain. And you're right, our wet weather skills do need some work. And I agree with you about B1 and Fosdike. They tried.

Up until the midpoint of the third quarter, I think our skills generally looked superior to Richmonds'. Certainly our ball getting skills were better and even the transfer within the midfield was probably better. The one area they clearly outdid us was delivery into the forward 50, even during this period. They had far fewer than we did but made most of them count. Having Richo in the form he was in, and Sydney allowing Richmond a fairly open forward line, certainly helped.

It was in the final quarter that we looked a rabble compared to the Tigers. I'm still scratching my head as to why the team - pretty much each and every one of them - completely lost any semblance of being footballers during this term. It is a bit of a turnaround from what we were used to, even during the late Eade era, where the team slumbered for the first half before deciding they would chase a game, only to run out of time.

[NMWBloods]

How was Willo on the repeat watching?

[Go Swannies]

I still haven't had the heart but I've just come in from watching the first 3 quarters. I'm with Lizz that it's not as hopeless as I left the ground thinking. In fact, I was impressed by the application from most of the team. Willo was okan, Bevan was very good, Kirk and Jude were trying hard. Fossie certainly wasn't outclassed.

It always seems as if there's a lag between reality and perceptions. There were times when our delivery was woeful. But there were lots of times when our forwards were simply outplayed (later flooded). Ray Hall did okay and Richo back gave Ottens lots of room to move and disrupt our players. I haven't seen anyone mention how much our forwards were found wanting. We had twice the number of deliveries into the forward 50 - and not all of these were terrible - but our forwards simply couldn't get the scores on the board and often as not Richmond rebounded. From memory Bazza dropped three chest marks. But the ball must have been like a greased pig from the way the players (esp Swans) couldn't hold it.

I really hope the showers hold off in Perth on Saturday. I'd like to see how it goes on a big ground with a dry ball. We may have a season after all.

[liz]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
How was Willo on the repeat watching?

Pretty good actually. He was one of the villians who kicked into the forward line without giving our guys a realistic chance but otherwise his disposals were pretty good and he was working hard at creating something. I agree with others that the quality of his disposals has been mixed so far this year but wouldn't criticise him for this on the basis of this game.

He probably was our best IMO, just edging out O'Keefe. O'Keefe's efforts were more visible but his opponent was playing wide of him and also picked up lots of ball (Campbell).