Swans v Dons, online score

[Glenn]

Hmmm going by a report in the daily terror players were going to be played out of position. wouldn't worry about a practice game

[Jeffers1984]

Originally posted by katie-scarlett
can we still use our "we don't have a prem full team" excuse?

We didn't have Simon Phillips.

[ScottH]

Originally posted by katie-scarlett
can we still use our "we don't have a prem full team" excuse?

Neither do they

[ben.carbonaro]

Originally posted by Jeffers1984
Full Time.
Essendon 85
Sydney 53

eek.

It's not the real stuff, I wouldn't be too worried.

[Tuesday]

Originally posted by katie-scarlett
can we still use our "we don't have a prem full team" excuse?

Kenny did not travel down with them.

[ROK Lobster]

No cheersquad, no Swans. Damn Sydney FC, damn them to hell.

[Foreign Legion]

Originally posted by Glenn
Hmmm going by a report in the daily terror players were going to be played out of position. wouldn't worry about a practice game

I went - average game and a fair few mistakes considering it was dry and not windy.

Most players played in position - Hall FF, Vogels FB or back pocket, Leo FB or back pocket.

Schneider spent a bit of time at half back and created a lot of run - ok for a first up attempt I guess.

Wouldn't worry about the scoreline, Sydney were only at about 80% after half time. Rotations aplenty which was wise considering it was 34-35C.

Young blokes - no one really stood out - Brabazon gets to the ball well and is very mobile. The other young 'uns were outmuscled basically.

The newbies - Chambers was OK - not great - his tapwork is pretty good but doesn't take many marks. Richards presented well but didn't have a great influence - in fact I don't think he appeared after half time much.

Hall looked very good - missed a few as did O'Keefe.

Malceski - well, well. He is one of the most skilled players but gee he runs himself into trouble at times. Seems to get caught on his "wrong" side - which as a lefty means he can't kick right foot!

Spriggs actually did a few good things - and at least 1 bad one but he did feed it out. Willo was Ok but turned it over a few times early.

In summation we look average but don't need to be any better in praccies.

No Willoughby BTW - or I didn't see him anyway.

[ben.carbonaro]

Thanks, Foreign Legion.

Good report mate.

[punter257]

let the dons have their win, it'll mean stuff all when we pump them in rd 1

[Bleed Red Blood]

I was unimpressed.

"Super" Ted did @@@@ all.

[swans4ever]

Originally posted by punter257
let the dons have their win, it'll mean stuff all when we pump them in rd 1

haha good one ya, i totally agree
these bombers fans think they are gonna go the whole way this year
people should not get the impression that the swans will go down this year from a few practice matches
its the real season that counts

[anniswan]

Originally posted by Foreign Legion


Most players played in position - Hall FF, Vogels FB or back pocket, Leo FB or back pocket.

Yeah, Nick Davis in the backline was a corker, an experiment that won't be repeated!

[stellation]

Originally posted by anniswan
Yeah, Nick Davis in the backline was a corker, an experiment that won't be repeated!

Where did he actually play in the backline? He lined up at HBF for the 'Pies a few times.

[liz]

I went along too - just got home. (And before someone accuses me of being a complete football tragic, I had to go down for work but we finished at 3.45pm so I got there halfway into the first quarter).

Most of the game was pretty terrible. The Swans only really clicked into gear in the second quarter.

O'Keefe was pretty good in the first half but didn't really sight him in the second half. It is possible he was rested for much of it. Apart from the kick for goal he missed he was good. He looks very lean, very fit and pretty switched on for this time of year.

Those of you who are about to sign off on Willo's retirement obituary, hold off for a while. Someone else has commented that he turned the ball over early - I didn't see this - but in the second quarter he was very very very good. It was largely down to him that the Swans were driving forward for most of the quarter and he turned on a couple of sublime pieces of skill.

Hall looked reasonably sharp without ever breaking into a sweat. The delivery to him was pretty terrible for most of the game.

Davis also looks lean and fit at the moment but struggled to get into the game much.

I thought B2 had a pretty decent first half, but again, I can't recall seeing much of him after half-time.

Vogels wasn't too bad on Lloyd in patches. Lloyd kicked a few and got away on a few leads, but when Vogels was able to keep close to him he showed that he knows how to spoil without infinging. And he took a great slips catch - not unlike the one Kirk took in the final quarter of the GF. Leo was switched onto Lloyd for the second half, I think. Certainly he was on him in the final quarter.

Goodsey tried hard. Maybe too hard. He was in the play a fair amount but some of his decision making and skill execution left a lot to be desired. I think we'll just mark this one down to extreme rust.

Was a little disappointed with Schmidt's first outing. He didn't seem to have any impact.

Malceski did a few nice things and seemed to be working harder than last week but his thinking isn't quite up to speed for AFL level yet - and this was just a practice game.

Moore had his moments, Buchanan and Kirk were Ok, Fosdike maybe a little better than just OK. Grundy and Richards didn't really have much impact at all, though I'm pretty sure Richards spent most of his time down back. Jolly looked a little sluggish to me - and maybe just a tad overweight?

Overall, the team was killed by soft turnovers in the midfield. Some of this was down to trying to be too cute and a lot can be attributed to the younger players making mistakes. Roos didn't seem to hold back on giving them lots of game time. He was probably saving the older players in their first outing at the expense of the youngsters. Towards the end most of them looked exhausted in the heat. They were all pretty willing and running to contests but it was noticeable that they tend to just hold back for a split second, by which time the ball has passed them by.

Of the newbies, Prior looked lively, Jack worked hard and seems to have a decent turn of speed about him, and I'm pretty sure it was Laidlaw operating down back who was very good at times in rebounding from defence. If it was him, he looks to have a nice package of attributes. Brabazon was a littler quieter than last week, from what I saw, but he looks the most confident of the newbies in terms of where to run and his attack on the ball. Barlow was lively - the combination of his height and hair makes him stand out - and took a couple of nice marks, but is one who looks like he's not always sure how to approach a contest.

Overall, I think it's fair to say that the team has some improving to do over the next couple of weeks but there's no real need for doom and gloom. Just a bit more sharpness around the ball and some marginally better decision making, and things will hopefully start to come together.

[Nico]

I went and had an objective look, sitting near some old scrags who did nothing but knock the umpires all game.

Leo - out for a trot on the park
Craig Bolton - played within himself but looked very fit, polished and focused.
Amon - worked hard enough, got the footy, look good,
Nick Davis - rusty, Round 1 is his aim I would say.
Fozzie - pretty good, disposal has improved out of sight, could see the best of him in 2006.
Goodsey - Our best by far, a star. Looks super fit and had the ball on a string.
Jolly - not much ground time but looked OK.
Chambers - got a few taps but would need to do a lot more to get a gig in R1. No way could he hold down a key position.
Kirk - another out for a stroll, got plenty of it, didn't seem to apply a lot of pressure to the opposition.
Mathews - nothings changed, got the footy, maybe one day he will kick it a lesser light.
Moore - gee he is supposed to have improved his stamina, could have fooled me. Didn't do much, looks good when he gets it, but is slow on the chase. Seemed to struggle a bit to cover ground. Could be an SCG specialist.
O'Keefe - good early, didn't extend himself.
Schmidt - took a short step going to contest in the first quarter, oh no, but corrected that later with some hard stuff - just as well.
Brabazon - looks a player, not on for long, not as short as people seem to think. Good skills and finds the footy.
Laidlaw - looks to have something coming off half back.
Jack- keep your eyes on the footy son when you call for it, good flighted kick he should have marked, but saw 2 bombers coming towards him so instead of going forward to mark stopped and let it bounce, lost the footy, looked bad. Otherwise had a genuine go.
Malceski - Don't know about this bloke. Very one sided, had a dozen or more kicks and hardly hit a target. As a matter of fact most went straight to the opposition by a country mile. Looks quick off the mark but gets run down. Handballs to players under the pump and worst of all pulled out badly from a couple of front on contests when the ball was in dispute, and in a potential marking contest had a big look.
Needs to find a bit of intestinal fortitude if he is to break into a team that won the flag on guts. Plays a bit in the style of John Stevens.
The young blokes did bits in patches but as usual they thought they had to give off to senior player even when covered.
Dont reckon they had a game plan. Played in circles and around the boundaries.

On the Bombers, they are clearly trying to copy Sydney and Adelaide game plans. Kicked short a lot and waited for targets. had a lot of players congregating in the middle, ready for a quick burst.