Will we admit it now???

[Wil]

Originally posted by LittleSchneider

How bad were the umpires last night though...What did we have to do to get a free kick

The umpires didn't kick 7.18. The Swans are just as poorly skilled without the ball then they are with it. They make sloppy spoils and tackles giving away too many free kicks. Having no FB or CHB in the team means small defenders playing out of position and not having much of a chance to get clean spoils. Demons got their fair share of poor decisions.

[gossipcom]

I stated last night at the ground when they showed Kels on the screen that he would have been doing a better job than most of the players last night and a one-armed Willo would have been able to dispose the ball better

Our disposal of the ball and kicking in particular was absolutely shocking.

ETA: Does anyone know if Matthews will be okay for next week's match? He was playing more in the midfield last night than defence and since he was hobbling to the rooms after the match, if gave me the impression he's another player in doubt.

[Dave]

What I would love to see:

A ruckman who actually punches the ball clear of all the traffic at his feet.

Delivery to Hall that is not consistently in the right forward pocket on some @@@@ty angle (which is made worse for a right footer)

Someone who can kick the bloody ball about 60m from a kick in instead of passing 15m to the left or right. (and then usually back again via a handball, which causes play on and an eventual stuff up.)

That's just for starters...

[Thunder Shaker]

I think we've changed places with the Kangaroos. The Roos are headed for a top-four finish, we're going to finish between 10th and 12th. Some predicted the reverse at the start of the season.

On current form, we're not making the finals this year. At least we're in good company; Port are also struggling to post wins due to injury. They will be much better once they get their players back, but sadly we won't.

Our draw has also unexpectedly turned quite difficult. Each of the sides we play in the first seven rounds we must play again in the last seven rounds. Does anyone fancy the prospect of repeat games against Melbourne (away), West Coast (home), the Kangaroos (away) and Adelaide (away) when there's a good chance these sides will make up the top four this year? Brisbane (home) won't be an easy ask either.

Next week against the Eagles is probably going to be our toughest game to win this year. I want to see what Moore can do.

[liz]

Originally posted by Thunder Shaker
Our draw has also unexpectedly turned quite difficult.

Any draw looks difficult when you look incapable of beating anyone.

[Schneiderman]

Time to start rotating the youngsters into the senior side.

We should have at least one debut season player each week in the side. Possibly two, if Dempster keeps his spot.

I also think that Melbourne were very good (or lucky) in defense last night, as I reckon more than half of our 18 behinds were rushed or touched on the line.

[gossipcom]

I think I calculated 9 rushed behinds last night and 1 hitting the post. The one that they rushed behind in the 1st quarter that was very close to the line looked like a goal on the replay.

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Originally posted by ugg
Not quite correct, we're highly skilled at miskicking the football and handballing it to teammates under pressure.

I know. You watch Stewie Dew kicking out for port adelaide for example. He kicks it long and to a target pretty much every line. How many of our kicks land on the half volley to teammates, thus resulting in either a fumble of the football, a ball up, or a panicked and inaccurate handpass to somebody under greater pressure.

Opposition teams simply do NOT have to be that brilliant to beat us. They just wait for our often horrendous error and kick to often unmarked men upfield. They hit their targets with their kicks and goal.

Was anyone else tearing their hair out at how our forays up forward were such laboured horrendous affairs. then Melbourne would kick a goal with the minimum of effort and only about 3 or four clean possessions. I was going mad in that 3rd quarter, I tell you. we HAD much of the play. and should have done better with the amount of ball we had at that time of the match.

A mate of Beaussie's was musing that the Swans would fail to win most matches because they can't kick more than 12 goals a match. The Hawthorn match aside, i think this guy is dead right.

for a team that seems obsessed with avoiding the contested possession, why are we constantly creating unwanted and unneeded ones?

JF

[Xie Shan]

Originally posted by JF_Bay22_SCG
for a team that seems obsessed with avoiding the contested possession, why are we constantly creating unwanted and unneeded ones?

Great observation!

I'll go further to say that the reason we're struggling to kick goals is that it is incredibly easy to defend against this kind of play. Far too labour-intensive, and just not moving the ball quickly enough.

Very frustrating to watch. The best thing you can say about this as a spectacle is that it's a great advertisement for rugby league. Could someone tell the Swans that they are promoting the wrong game in Sydney?

(as they suggested in the AFL segment on Sportsworld today)

[Dooloo]

I'm a little confused at the style of play the team continually play. We have possibly the most damaging forward set up in the league, but they continue to persist with this ridiculas chipping and flooding. we came within a quarter of making the 2003 Grand Final, and we done this by run run run, by Roos using the side as all midfielders, and constant attacking, why change the winning formula??? Maybe its just my ignorance, but I have to admit after 35 years of supporting the Bloods, last night was the first time in a long time I felt embarrassed about the lack of endeavour and heart that was AWOL within the side.

[Nico]

They look like the so called run hard to a tackle etc is taking it's toll physically. They are just not getting to the contest like the last 2 years.

Is it possible for Roos to change the game plan. Will soon see in the next few weeks.

I would suggest that the board if not already, will be asking some hard questions this week.

[sharpie]

Originally posted by Nico
They look like the so called run hard to a tackle etc is taking it's toll physically. They are just not getting to the contest like the last 2 years.

I've been thinking this for a few weeks now. I think the fact that we have been blown away only in the last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter points to this as well. The hard running, high-skilled, high possession gameplan requires far too much energy. It is tiring, and as soon as the players get tired, the skills drop off and then we see them make those frustrating mistakes such as when they handball to the opposition.

Is it possible for Roos to change the game plan. Will soon see in the next few weeks

This, I fear, is not possible until next preseason. I hope I'm wrong.

[anne]

Oh well, we are desperate for high draft picks. Let's get them before they take them away. There is no point coming 12th. 16th is much more beneficial. And talk about embarassing - our flight back had half the Melbourne team on it and I had a Swans backpack that I tried to hide. Pity the plane didn't crash - get rid of half the Demons team and put me out of my agony.

[BonBon]

Originally posted by JF_Bay22_SCG
for a team that seems obsessed with avoiding the contested possession, why are we constantly creating unwanted and unneeded ones?

Becuase we play possession football. When the stats come on the screen, we'd have just say 20 possessions and they'd have 5. I know that one team has to have more possessions than the other, but we're just over flowing with the numbers.

[Schneiderman]

Originally posted by anne
Oh well, we are desperate for high draft picks. Let's get them before they take them away. There is no point coming 12th. 16th is much more beneficial. And talk about embarassing - our flight back had half the Melbourne team on it and I had a Swans backpack that I tried to hide. Pity the plane didn't crash - get rid of half the Demons team and put me out of my agony.

And yet Melbourne finished 14th in 2003, and would have felt like you this time two years ago. What comes around goes around, and then again.