Match thread: Round 6 Swans v Port.

[UUaswan]

We are down on a few players but it's hard to argue any of our losses haven't been self inflicted.

The Pies game was probably the only one we couldn't have won.

Fox Sports just put an article out about us losing the game at Match Committee, is very obvious.

Tom Mc forward is hopefully just Cox's stubborn brain fart because if the whole Match Committee is behind that idea then we have bigger issues. Hopefully we can move on from that call.

Ladhams has to play, it helps so many things in our team. We have permanent big marking presence in Mclean and less Grundy is more Grundy, plus Ladhams has been handy.

Those 2 calls are making Cox look very Amatuer atm.

[crackedactor 01]

We miss targets up forward, we cannot take contested marks we cannot kick straight. How does the most skilful side in 2024 lose all these qualities

[Nico]

42 Tackles is piss poor when Rowy gets 8 of them

Agree. Alan Jeans always said if you have more than 70 tackles a game you most always win.

[Velour&Ruffles]

We are down on a few players but it's hard to argue any of our losses haven't been self inflicted.

The Pies game was probably the only one we couldn't have won.

Fox Sports just put an article out about us losing the game at Match Committee, is very obvious.

Tom Mc forward is hopefully just Cox's stubborn brain fart because if the whole Match Committee is behind that idea then we have bigger issues. Hopefully we can move on from that call.

Ladhams has to play, it helps so many things in our team. We have permanent big marking presence in Mclean and less Grundy is more Grundy, plus Ladhams has been handy.

Those 2 calls are making Cox look very Amatuer atm.

100%

[Dow]

Err, 8 of our best out. It does make a difference.

Anyway, again we showed Bloods 'never say die' spirit and came up a bit short. Yes it is frustrating and in the end, we probably should have won that game, with all those missed chances at the end.

However. with our currently severely weakened team, which more on here than just Dow seem to forget or at least don't adequately take into account, we ARE going to struggle against better teams but we'll still beat weaker teams IMO and hopefully stay in touch of the eight when some of our injured players come back. At full strength, we are going to be top eight material, I have no doubt.

I actually take heart out of this performance as bad as it seemed at times today. We lost by less than 2 goals to a team that beat the much vaunted 'Hollywood Hawks' last week. Of course, I am an eternal optimist.....I know that truly irks some on this site.....but bottom line is, keep the faith Swans fans, the season is not lost.....yet.

See you all next week.

I respect what your saying, to me it’s not the personal missing that has hurt it’s the team based efforts that have completely gone missing I don’t think we would be fearing much better with the players out than we are now we had a pressure rating of 158 that’s well below the league average until we can fix that part of our game up the personal won’t matter it’s clear there is a big disconnect within the group as stated by others if you are making just 42 tackles a match you just not trying (league average is 60 approx). I love your optimism and I truly believe the form is based on our attuide not personal IF we can turn thst around we may still have a pulse left this season - next 2 games will tells all we need to know

[Auntie.Gerald]

Whate evryones thoughts re Caiden Cleary so far ?

[Roadrunner]

Whate evryones thoughts re Caiden Cleary so far ?

Has potential but a long way to go- not sure what is his best position. I feel he’s only in the team atm due to our extended injuries. Would like to see him dominate in the ressies to find his position but no- one is threatening at this stage. Same goes for Corey and young Hanily. Hopefully they will gain some experience though they are in our bottom 5.

I’d like to say something about young Braeden- it seems he’s regressed somewhat. Gets caught often, picks wrong options, his kicking is not what it can be, his handballs are poor. Is it his confidence? He’s capable of so much more, and by now he should be showing it. C’mon Braeden, you’re better than this!

[wolftone57]

We could not have orchestrated a loss like this. Hw many times can you lose a match? The second quarter 1.5, in the last 5.8. Thirteen scoring shots in a quarter will win you a close match every day of the week. We also kicked OOF three times and dropped 5 marks in the forward 50. But why did we lose? We lost because certain players, Chad, Blakey etc decided to be heroes and didn't hit up targets because they were too busy going for goal. Very disappointing how selfishness has crept into our game when the disposal efficiency has deserted us.

[mcs]

Whate evryones thoughts re Caiden Cleary so far ?

Like Hamily, no where near ready for significant time in the middle of the ground. Both should be played in the forward line as forwards, working at the feet of whatever talls are down there, with a focus on tackling pressure when we don't get the ball at the fall, and being ready for opportunistic goals when we do get it. Cleary clearly has potential, including becoming a future midfielder, but in my book is nowhere near ready at this point in time.

I’d like to say something about young Braeden- it seems he’s regressed somewhat. Gets caught often, picks wrong options, his kicking is not what it can be, his handballs are poor. Is it his confidence? He’s capable of so much more, and by now he should be showing it. C’mon Braeden, you’re better than this!

He is such a confidence player - his (lack of/substandard level of) awareness when he has the ball seems to be really hurting his ability to use the ball well. I think he has really suffered from his trips here, there and everywhere across the ground so far - whereas for Mills it clearly made him a far better player, I'm not convinced is has helped Campbell at all. Either play him off the half forward flank, or play him on the wing (I'd be happy to see him up there instead of Corey Warner) and leave him there for a month or two, with a clearly defined role. I still think long term he does have a future in the midfield, but it is worrying that he is now starting to hit the 'sweet spot' of games (up to 77 games) and still looks very much a fair way off being really comfortable at AFL level. I have no doubt he will get there - the kid wasn't taken where he was without reason, but I was hoping we'd see that real 'blossoming' point reached this year, and it doesn't look likely at this point.

[SwanSand]

I disagree regarding Braeden being a midfielder. I think he doesn’t have what it takes. Quick thinking and choosing the best option in traffic. And being strong in contest. Both not his strong points. He tends to bang the ball on his boot when he gets pressured or tries to take the game on and gets tackled.
what he could be suited for - Half back where the game is in front of him, however he has been tried there and he doesn’t have the composure for it.
Or half forward - I think he should be the finisher. He is pretty good at kicking at goals from 50-60 m. He should be the half forward who can run the opposition down with his speed off the mark and kick towards goals when he gets the opportunity.
Really disappointing that we don’t know after 4 years where his best position is.

i remember that Rowbottom was like this. Bang on the boot as soon as he get the ball. He seems to have the composure now to kick and I am hoping that Braeden can get it too.

[Dow]

Whate evryones thoughts re Caiden Cleary so far ?

Long term prospect but quite a few years away - doesn’t do anything particularly well but the inside game is his thing will be better for the experience at the moment

[mcs]

I disagree regarding Braeden being a midfielder. I think he doesn’t have what it takes. Quick thinking and choosing the best option in traffic. And being strong in contest. Both not his strong points. He tends to bang the ball on his boot when he gets pressured or tries to take the game on and gets tackled.
what he could be suited for - Half back where the game is in front of him, however he has been tried there and he doesn’t have the composure for it.
Or half forward - I think he should be the finisher. He is pretty good at kicking at goals from 50-60 m. He should be the half forward who can run the opposition down with his speed off the mark and kick towards goals when he gets the opportunity.
Really disappointing that we don’t know after 4 years where his best position is.

i remember that Rowbottom was like this. Bang on the boot as soon as he get the ball. He seems to have the composure now to kick and I am hoping that Braeden can get it too.

The thing is Campbell was pretty good with those characteristics at junior footy in terms of midfield play - but to this point it hasn't translated to senior footy at all.

But that's not entirely unusual either for significant variations to occur - indeed Rowy's breakout footy at junior level by all reports was playing a much more agressive, attack focused role than he plays for us. I actually think he is a little bit wasted by the Swans in the way we use him, but fully understand why he played like he is, especially because we seem to have put minimal effort in finding him a few other hard nut buddies to help him out in the past few years.

And to be fair - I think Rowy is still very much bang on the boot. I think he's just got a bit better at being able to find that extra little bit of time to get bang on the boot right more often. Chad is in a bad patch of extreme bang on the boot at the moment too, often after trying to beat 7 players in the process and putting everyone under pressure.

[UUaswan]

I believe you have 2yrs to turn your Draft mid into an A Grader or else he is going to be a Flanker etc.

Chad did more dumb sh8t than anyway but he was backed in more than anyone to have a crack.

Braeden always plays like he has a restricted license, he should be looking for goal anytime he is fwd of centre at the SCG with his boot.

Even when we had Hewett, we always made him defend, a very good defence is a guy that gets it 30 times with his eyes closed like he does.

I think we put blinkers on too many

[Dow]

I believe you have 2yrs to turn your Draft mid into an A Grader or else he is going to be a Flanker etc.

Chad did more dumb sh8t than anyway but he was backed in more than anyone to have a crack.

Braeden always plays like he has a restricted license, he should be looking for goal anytime he is fwd of centre at the SCG with his boot.

Even when we had Hewett, we always made him defend, a very good defence is a guy that gets it 30 times with his eyes closed like he does.

I think we put blinkers on too many

I think Braeden has been backed in far more than he has deserved, He has skills no doubt, but some players never get passed that stage and he is one of them this is as good as he will get, definitely not a midfielder even when has played in the VFL as a mid he really struggled to have impact and stay involved in the game. Was praying being a forward flanker would suit him but it appears its probably not the case.

[UUaswan]

I think Braeden has been backed in far more than he has deserved, He has skills no doubt, but some players never get passed that stage and he is one of them this is as good as he will get, definitely not a midfielder even when has played in the VFL as a mid he really struggled to have impact and stay involved in the game. Was praying being a forward flanker would suit him but it appears its probably not the case.

Has he ever had a Centre Bounce attendance and been told to chase the ball ?
Supposedly the best mid if his draft, thats the least of an opportunity he should have been given.

I remember all his opportunities being deep in defence last year, he has looked good at times forward this year, but id run him thru the middle at times aswell.