Reserves v Eastlake Demons

[ugg]

Swans 20.16 (136)
Eastlake 8.9 (57)

Goals: Vogels 5 Fixter 5 Saddington 4 Schauble 3 Bevan Grundy James
Best: Fixter Vogels Saddington Moore Schauble Potter Campbell

A more detailed report to follow.

[ScottH]

Only 3 goals to Schauble, this week. pathetic effort, no wonder he can't get a gam ein the seniors!!!!

[ugg]

He only played 1 half in the forwards. So that's 6 goals, around his average

[ScottH]

Originally posted by ugg
He only played 1 half in the forwards. So that's 6 goals, around his average

Bah, no excuses.

[Wil]

PUT VOGELS AND FIXTAR IN TEH SEN1ORZ for HALL AND OLOGLIN!!!!!11

[satchmopugdog]

So pleased to see Fixter get amongst it.

[ugg]

A bright and cloudless day greeted the Sydney Swans Reserves and the Eastlake Demons for their round 14 game at the SCG. The Swans were hoping to continue their rampaging form which have seen them win all 13 of their games to sit on top of the ACTAFL table. The Demons meanwhile sit in 4th position, just holding out the Belconnen Magpies on percentage.

A heavy injury toll from the Swans last game against Tuggeranong forced a few changes. Notably, star ruckmen Andrew Ericksen and Earl Shaw were both missing, providing the teams coaches with an interesting dilemma. Also absent were ball magnet Tim Schmidt and utility Mark Powell while Jarrad McVeigh earned a late callup to the senior squad. This meant that the Swans team were missing the 4 top midfielders which had served them so well this season in McVeigh, Schmidt, Nick Malceski and Adam Schneider. 3 top up players were required to round up the 20 man squad, which included NSW/ACT under-18 captain Kieren Jack.

1st Quarter
Supplementary list player Ryan Quade lined up as the replacement ruckman while in a surprise move, Jason Saddington started in the centre square alongside Jarrad Sundqvist and Nick Potter. Andrew Schauble lined up at centre half back with Guy Campbell positioned at full back and Matthew Davis and Ed Clarke in the pockets. Up front, a dangerous forward line consisted of the tall trio of Heath James, Luke Vogels and Heath Grundy complemented by the smaller Paul Bevan and Ben Fixter.

It was tough going early on as the Demons were fired up and were intent on sticking plenty of men around the contests. Early goals to Vogels and Saddington gave the Swans a 1 goal lead. Saddington undertook a heavy workload as he took the ruck contests around the ground with Quade taking the centre bounces. Vogels added another just before the quarter time siren with hard running forward after a Demons turnover, taking a strong mark right in front and converting. Saddington was the outstanding player in the first quarter as the Swans went into the quarter time break with a 8 point buffer.

Sydney Swans Reserves 3.6 (24) Eastlake Demons 2.4 (16)

2nd Quarter
The Swans were spoken to animatedly at quarter time by the coaching panel of Longmire, Jonas, Nicks and Allison and it seemed to inspire them. 4 goals in the first 8 minutes of the quarter pushed the lead out to a comfortable 5 goals. Firstly, Saddington continued his good form by intercepting an ambitious pass across half back, chipping it to Grundy who dribbled home the goal through an open square. Campbell had replaced Quade in the ruck and he immediately made his presence felt with some hefty thumps from the ruck contests. Two of these led to quick clearances which resulted in goals for Grundy and James. To complete the 4 goal blitz, Saddington goaled again as the Demons turned over the ball once again.

Eastlake then tightened up the contest and held the Swans at bay, and with some enterprising play kicked their first of the quarter. However, when Paul Bevan marked and goaled from well outside 50m, the floodgates reopened. Potter spotted Fixter with a sumptuous pass to the right forward pocket who goaled from an acute angle. Great work in and under by Bevan and Fixter amongst the pack led to a Grundy mark and goal 40m out. Fixter ended his quarter on a high note when he led well, marked and goaled from 45m out on a 45 degree angle. This 2nd 4 goal spurt earnt the Swans a 53 point half time lead. The midfield got on top thanks to some big hitouts from Campbell that cleared the congestion in the middle. Potter, Bevan and Jarred Moore were working hard in the middle with ferocious attacks on the football.

Sydney Swans Reserves 11.9 (75) Eastlake Demons 3.4 (22)

3rd Quarter
Some positional switches were made at half time - Schauble and Grundy swapped positions while Saddington pushed forward with Bevan on the ball. The Demons opened the scoring in the 3rd term with a sweeping move off halfback. The Swans replied immediately when Schauble took a contested mark right in front from a Vogels kick. The sides then traded goals with Fixter's 2 goals and a Vogels single interspersed with 3 Demons goals. One of these was the goal of the game when Eastlake midfielder picked up the loose ball in the centre square, raced clear from his chasing marker and kicked truly from 55m. In the dying seconds of time on, Schauble took another strong grab in the pocket, and goaled from a tight angle. The Swans had extended their lead to 59 points going into the last quarter. Campbell and Quade dominated the ruck, with Fixter and Schauble starring up forward with 2 goals apiece.

Sydney Swans Reserves 16.11 (107) Eastlake Demons 7.6 (48)

4th Quarter
Fixter continued where he left off when he completed a diving mark, and converted confidently from 40m out on a slight angle. Soon after, a nice piece of interplay between ruckman Campbell and fill-in player Jack resulted in Fixter running clear with the ball and the No. 9 squared it up to Saddington who marked strongly and goaled from directly in front. Saddington had taken over the rucking duties in the forward line and it was one of his taps to Moore who found Vogels unmarked. He spun around and goaled with a neat left foot snap 30m out. Moore set up the next goal as well when he picked up the loose ball from the centre bounce, found Saddington with a well weighted kick, who handballed over the top to Schauble who finished easily 15m out. The rest of the match petered out with the Swans missing some gettable chances and the Demons kicking a consolation goal late in the quarter. In the end, it was a comfortable 79 point victory for the home team.

Sydney Swans Reserves 20.16 (136) Eastlake Demons 8.9 (57)

Goals: Fixter 5 Vogels 5 Saddington 3 Schauble 3 Grundy 2 James Bevan (I mistakenly credited Saddo one of Grundy's goals in the first post)


The Round Up
This was a good victory considering the ruckmen and the key midfielders were unavailable for this match. It wasn't as dominant a performance compared to some of the earlier games. This was partly due to some committed tackling and defending by Eastlake which forced quite a few turnovers. Still, there was too much class in the Swans team for the Demons to deal with. This was especially evident in the key positions where the Swans used their height advantage to continually outmark their smaller opponents.

Quade and Campbell made sure that Ericksen and Shaw's absence wasn't felt with a commanding run in the ruck, while Moore, Sundqvist, Potter and Willoughby controlled the midfield without putting in a Malceski-type performance. I like the look of Potter - he has been working on his physique. His willingness to get in and under as well as putting in some very good chases will endear him to the coaching staff.

Benny Fixter was a livewire up forward, taking marks and pressuring the defence. He reads the play very well, has excellent foot skills and pace, has a lovely kick for goal and he might be a useful player to come into the senior squad come finals time.
Schauble worked very well early on, even when his opponent tried to drag him out of position by pushing up to the wing. He dominated his opponent in the first quarter, but after an almost soporific 2nd quarter where the Swans dominated possession he was moved forward to see more of the action. He finished with 3 goals as well as a couple of strong grabs. Also, any questions about his match fitness should be dispelled after this game as he played the whole game in what was unusually hot and sunny conditions.
Rounding out the bests list would be Saddington who was everywhere today. Started almost every centre bounce in the square, but continually pushed forward to provide an option there. He also did quite a bit of ruckwork around the ground. These 3 would be pushing for senior spots in the coming weeks.
Vogels also deserves a mention. Besides kicking 5 goals he also set up a couple of goals with well placed kicks.

The only bad news was that Stefan Garrubba fell on his left hand while completing a mark in the 3rd quarter and came off in pain. He didn't take part in the game from that point onwards.

[Charlie]

Ugg, I have a feeling that Chammond will be posting that on the main page, with your permission.

Good work. It is yours, isn't it?

[ugg]

Sure no problemo.

And I'm pretty sure its all my work, unless the only other fan I spied at the opposite end of the ground during the first quarter was also writing a report

[Tuesday]

I know, I know. I always seem to be so complementary in my comments regarding the ressies, but what can you say after the boys and the top-ups step up to bat and smack one out of the park (well, not literally)? Solid. Plus, that's the biggest crowd I have seen at a ressies match in a long time. Was good to see.

Schmidt -- After watching the game against Queanbeyan two weeks ago, I was surprised how dominant Schmidt had become. I think the boys really missed him in the middle today, and lacked the solid leadership he provides them with. Hope he returns to the side soon.

Vogels -- He is playing some seriously good football, and makes it just look so damn easy! That goal of his in the third was magic, a bright spark for us in the midst of a Eastlake surge.
Looked like the left (?) shoulder of his was giving him grief leading up to half time, but other than that, I cannot see a reason why his efforts do not warrant selection in the seniors this week. I think, if utilised in the half back line matching up on the likes of Goodwin, it'd make for an interesting duel.

Saddo -- took some great marks, utilised his opportunities. Seems to be unlucky in selection circles.

Fixter -- Some good, clean football from him today. Five goals -- not a bad effort. I think there's too much competition for his preferred positions in the seniors to warrant selection this week. Sad, but true.

Schauble -- I am not big on bandwagons, but wtf is happening with Schaubs? Yet again, he played solidly today - chased hard and dominated in the contested marks. Overall, played a smart, mature game. He's fit and firing, and I will be disappointed if he doesn't get a look in against the Crows on someone like McLeod.

To the bloke from Eastlake who was stretchered off after taking one of the marks of the year -- well played. Hope that your head/neck/shoulder/back etc are all ok. You had the crowd gasp in amazement. Just hope you can remember it!

Missed the intros to the top up players, so does anyone know who played in #50 and #51? From memory, the latter did quite well -- was that Mini Jack?

[ugg]

50 - Jack
51 - Addison
52 - Twomey

Don't know what you're expecting from Fixter. I thought he played as well as he could have played. Five goals from a pocket is an excellent return.

Yep, Schauble is ready to go although I wonder if they're hesistant to tinker with the balance of a winning team. We might need him for the Kangaroos game with Thompson and Rocca the big worries.

I don't understand your comment on Schauble and Vogels lining up on McLeod and Goodwin respectively. Goodwin has been in terrific form in the midfield for the Crows, while Vogels is certainly not a midfielder. His left shoulder was heavily strapped and he got treatment at every break. And as for Schauble on McLeod, I don't know where you got that one from. If he came into the side, I'd expect him to line up on someone like Ian Perrie.

Saddo was fantastic, but you can't really expect him to play the same kind of role in the seniors. He just used his size and bulk to outmuscle his much smaller opponent today.

As for that speccy from the Eastlake player, he dropped it didn't he?

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Originally posted by ugg
And I'm pretty sure its all my work, unless the only other fan I spied at the opposite end of the ground during the first quarter was also writing a report

Actually we were however having read Tuesday's your own efforts I can't be bothered doing the hard yards ~ I'll just make a couple of comments.

Despite the scoreline the speed of the Swans centre breaks was way down, whether because of the Erickson/Shaw's or the Schneider/Schmidt/Nicks/McVeigh absence or the Demons efforts I'm not sure. Campbell ruck technique favours the big fist over the tap.

Schauble looks completely fit to me.

Vogels really is good, so much more comfortable overhead than anyone but Schauble.

I was not impressed with Saddington, he made a number of unforced errors, I suspect he may be going through the motions (though I hope not).

Ben Fixter played a lot in the midfield and while he did well, he still looks a little scratchy with his touch, and did extensive hamstring stretches after most Swans goals. He's still wary so it may be a while before he's really ready for the firsts.

Stefan GArubba impressed me again, but I was very disappointed when the little hunchback left the field with a wrist (?) injury.

[cruiser]

Good to see Fixter and James playing football again. Let's hope they can find enough consistent good form to push for a spot in the A's. Our depth is starting to look good, what with players like Vogels and Schauble also playing well and pushing for selection.

[Northern_Swan]

Without putting a dampener on things, I thought that #50 especially & #52 were out of their depth. They may have done ok in the first quarter-and-a-half (which I did not see), but from the rest that i saw I wasn't overly impressed (good footballers none the less but not at a draftable standard IMHO)

[Sean]

Originally posted by Northern_Swan
Without putting a dampener on things, I thought that #50 especially & #52 were out of their depth.

Completely disagree in regards to Jack. I thought he looked quite comfortable and would impress our coaches with his hardness at the ball. His tackling is very good.

His biggest problem is his height but hopefully he might still grow a couple of centimetres.

I'd expect him to be on an AFL list next year. Hopefully it'll be our Rookie list but I've read on BF that a couple of people think he will go in the "real" draft.

I agree in regards to #52 if he's the one I'm thinking of.