Which is it?

[swan_song]

Im interested in finding out what people think about last night's shocker
1...Is it, as Paul Roos has suggested, that the youngseters will be inconsistent during the year, and not to expect that much.
or
2....Is it same old same old swans...good swand one week, bad swans the next?
or
3...Are Fre that much better that they made us look incompetent?
or
4...are our players just not up to it...they looked knackered by half time.
or
5...is it a realisation that when our better players are held...ie Willo and Stewie yesterday...that there ain't much left to spur the team on.

Incidentally, I thought BBBH was teriffic in the first quarter...he gave the first goal away through his bullocking work, then got the next two (I think)...after that the delivery to him was appalling. Nick D was as he was at the wobbles (gone missing for much of the time). As for the rest. I think the Captain (Kirk that is) did a good job on Des Headland who was rarely sighted, but who the hell (if anyone) was playing on Haselby...???

I like Freo and have always thought they could be real contenders, especially if they didn't keep giving players away to other sides...White, Burton, Pickett etc... I also DO like Cookie (as he's a fav ex-Swan), and it was nice to see PK and he having a good chat on the field after the match...
With efforts like that we could well be one and four after five.

[Nico]

Put this one behind us.
Maybe the long trip is too much for most sides East of Adelaide.

[desredandwhite]

A combination of all the things you mentioned, S_s.

We're a young, inconsistent side. We've also been doing that for a while. and Freo ARE a 5-6 goal better side at home. AND our depth is also shot right now.

[swan_song]

Des, u are absolutely right...inconsistent is the word. But when does this excuse wear thin? We were inconsistent these past umpteen years with an experienced list. We are now warned not to expect much from one of the youngest lists in the comp...it's a great excuse to hide a multitude of sins.

[desredandwhite]

There's talent there for sure. But we're shooting ourselves in the foot at the same time by exhibiting lousy skills and decision making. Maybe PR has to be a bit more ruthless.

[penga]

imo 1 and 4

[NMWBloods]

Re: Which is it?

Originally posted by swan_song
Im interested in finding out what people think about last night's shocker
1...Is it, as Paul Roos has suggested, that the youngseters will be inconsistent during the year, and not to expect that much.
or
2....Is it same old same old swans...good swand one week, bad swans the next?
or
3...Are Fre that much better that they made us look incompetent?
or
4...are our players just not up to it...they looked knackered by half time.
or
5...is it a realisation that when our better players are held...ie Willo and Stewie yesterday...that there ain't much left to spur the team on.

I think it is 1, 2, 4, and 5.

Of course there are lots of unrealistic expectations by supporters. Witness some of the comments in this site last week - that we would comfortably win by 30 points.

[RogueSwan]

Maybe its just that Roosy's honeymoon is over. The excitement and interest in a new playing style has worn off the team?

Nah, I don't believe that. Lets get back to the cosy SCG and see how they go.

[robbieando]

I think the style of play isn't suited to a ground as big as Subiaco. Not having a CHF doesn't help, but next week we will be different. It will be at least 1 kick shorter to goal out of defence and thats where we fell down last night

[penga]

something really drained the players, maybe it was the travel... we seemed to be attack side of the ball all night and watched the opposition run away. scg will be way better for us!

bring on the crows, i really hope carey plays so i can scream at him! i hope he goes missing like he did this weekend!

[NMWBloods]

So we are no good without a CHF on a big ground. Fat lot of good we'll be at finals time then!!

[Xie Shan]

it's probably a bit of 1-5 there.

They seemed pretty flat, maybe they found it hard to adjust to actually having some pressure on, unlike last week when Carlton's pressure was almost non-existent after 1/4 time!

I thought having Ball around the ground really helped - although he's obviously not fully match-fit yet, he still took a few relieving marks.

I think Kirk was supposed to be tagging Headland as reported in the SunHerald today - if so he did a good job.

I noticed PK on the TV coverage chatting to Troy Cook after the game - who by the way was a thorn in our side for much of the game.

[motorace_182]

Kirk did a great job on Des. Jude did ok on his different opponents, but whoever was on Hasleby did a job poor enough to match Warfes efforts. I wouldnt balme Stevens, CHF or not the delivery was shocking

[hardluck_harry]

Bit of all 5, but with Freo's undermanned backline I thought we had a great chance.

Got to admit I'm really impressed with Freo now, Pavlich and Haselby are absolute stars, Simmonds in the ruck is aggressive and feeds them the ball most times.

Shows the benefit of not trading early draft picks!!!

[skilts stilts]

Craig Bolton is a good acquisition.He seems cool under pressure and goes about his job with a minimum of fuss.A good purchase.
Nick Davis was conspicuous by his absence and Kennelly just showed that he is a long way off being the gun player everybody is dreaming he is.
How the kicking skills can disappear in the space of a week is mind boggling.Perhaps this is a true indication of where the team really is at.I hope not.